Chapter 1018: Chapter 974: Humanity, Human Nature

However, the cost of doing so is that Chen Xi would need at least twenty years to recuperate before he could make a move against the Kushan and Parthia of the Four Great Empires, but resting for twenty years, enjoying peace for twenty years, would they still be able to fight?

Ordinary people pursue petty interests, while those in high positions must think about what constitutes a hundred-year plan. Twenty years is enough to erode many things. Would a nation be willing to wage war after twenty years of peace without a blood feud?

Whether seeking to conquer the world or simply wanting to leave behind the strongest empire among the Four Great Empires of the same era, the complexities involving population, economy, culture, and religion are enough to occupy Chen Xi’s thoughts for a long time.

Rome is too distant to consider, while Kushan and Parthia are ones Chen Xi has wanted to take action against from the beginning. However, neither Kushan nor Parthia can be dealt with arbitrarily; to militarily conquer one of the Four Great Empires requires extensive preparations!

The two countries combined have a population exceeding thirty million, with numerous vassal states that signify tremendous war potential. Although the Han Dynasty is stronger, suggesting they could cross mountains and rivers to achieve victory without deploying extensive forces would be unrealistic.

[Subjugating Sunx Ce and Cao Cao! This is something no one has done in history or novels; their ambitions are too small. Had it not been for the insufficient preparation for the Yuan Liu conflict, I wouldn’t even wish for Yuan Shao’s death. This group of heroes is trapped in the Central Plains, oblivious to the vastness of the world, what a pity!]

If possible, Chen Xi wishes for the rhythm of war to be under his control, allowing him to manage the life and death of everyone on the battlefield perfectly, enabling the heroes of the Late Han to have a better future.

It is unfortunate that when strength has not completely surpassed the other side, even Chen Xi can only watch helplessly as Yuan Shao falls, abandoning that unrealistic idea; otherwise, there would only be endless troubles.

With the passing of the wise leader Yuan Shao, only Cao Cao and Sunx Ce remain as heroes with a complete foundation capable of challenging another empire. As for Sunx Quan, Chen Xi can only say that if tasked with confronting an empire, Sunx Quan would be frightened to tears.

In such circumstances, if Cao Cao and Sunx Ce were to also perish, Chen Xi would truly be left speechless, with tears streaming down endlessly.

[However, they are still not strong enough. Their opponents are, after all, two of the world’s great empires. Even if Kushan and Parthia have declined, they are not adversaries Cao Cao and Sunx Ce can easily tackle. At this time, the distinction between Chinese and foreign philosophies is universally applicable; they need to better understand how to fight against strengths.] Chen Xi’s face showed a hint of coldness, planning for a century, calculating for a millennium; sometimes sacrifices must be made!

As for the present, Liu Bei has not yet expelled Sunx Ce and Cao Cao from the Central Plains, and directly commencing a war that cannot be ended quickly essentially equates to murder–murdering the citizens of the Han Dynasty, along with implicating the fate of the entire Han Dynasty.

All power is relative; only when the power gap reaches a certain magnitude can it be termed absolute strength, akin to when Chen Xi hands the world map to Sunx Ce and Cao Cao, they would only ridicule it, at most send people to investigate, then treat the Central Plains as the core of everything.

Only when the strength gap reaches a certain level can they believe in certain truths, like how the earth revolving around the sun is evidently correct and backed by clear evidence; yet in the Middle Ages, dominated by religious might, the sacred ground beneath was considered the center of the universe. As long as the opponent possesses a force to counter your actions, doing certain things unavoidably leads to hesitation.

Cao Cao and Sunx Ce’s strength finds it somewhat challenging to contend with Liu Bei, but should they attempt to stall him, Liu Bei would find it very troublesome to resolve, even resembling the historical strategy Zheng Du suggested to Liu Zhang, involving mutual destruction, which is rather prevalent.

Feudal Lords of this era indeed possess substantial cultivation and genuinely work for the people’s welfare after satiating their needs, but when surpassing a certain limit, such as facing crises, their cultivation and morality are insufficient to restrain their bottom line.

Digging up the Si River, Yi River, Ying River, Yellow River, Bai River, Yangtze River, Xiangshui; such events all happened in the Three Kingdoms. If you truly believe digging up the Yangtze River merely flooded tens of thousands of soldiers–know that those soldiers were within the city; mutual destruction strategies are far easier than fighting and winning strategies!

Therefore, Chen Xi is very reluctant to showcase the evil of human nature, choosing to feign weakness to the enemy, offering opportunities to them, allowing them to perceive a chance of victory, preventing them from resorting to actions that cause damage to the state.

For the Feudal Lords, as long as they have hope, they will not recklessly abandon matters. Once all hope is dashed, whether it’s the Feudal Lords themselves or stubborn ministers under them, one could reference Kuai Yue who dug up the Yangtze River.

Previously, he was a noted scholar, a famous minister, a model of integrity who never committed wrongdoing, but when the momentum he poured his heart and soul into turned to dust, he would not mind dragging anyone he could into the mire, especially when he had the capability.

Since they lost hope in this life, they wouldn’t care about leaving a profound mark in history; even infamy is better than anonymity!

People have two sides; any ambitious monarch who desires supremacy will strive to maintain their integrity, to showcase their virtues and magnanimity, to avoid engaging in those things that provoke heavens and earth’s wrath.

Especially in the time when power is thriving, all ambitious monarchs will endeavor to portray themselves as flawless.

However, when their great endeavor seems hopeless, many wise and scheming individuals will lament over their poor judgment in selecting the wrong Monarch, mistakenly following the wrong person.

Simply put, those Monarchs are akin to giving up on everything; no emperor would willingly lose the Jiang values in their reign. If possible, every emperor would hope for peace and harmony, so they needn’t do anything–arrogance, impulsiveness, stupidity are only impressions…

If you observe someone favorably, their arrogance becomes a sense of pride, impulsiveness turns into courage, simplicity changes to straightforwardness and purity, sharp tongue transforms into keen eloquence, and vice versa.

For some people, Liu Bei is seen as hypocritical, similarly, others perceive Liu Bei as truly benevolent; some view Cao Cao as a noble ruler who supports the world, while Liu Bei and Sunx Quan are seen as chaotic traitors; yet there are also many who scorn Cao Cao as a traitor.

As for remarks that Sunx Ce is brainless and depends on luck, Chen Xi suggests discussing it with Zhou Yu for conclusions; he might illustrate it as straightforwardness. As for the second concern, delve into history.

Of course, none of these concerns are significant. What matters is that Chen Xi strives to have Sunx Ce and Cao Cao imitate them as much as possible. Anyway, once they completely swallow Yuan Tan, even if Cao Cao and Sunx Ce manage to emulate the gap a hundred percent, it will increasingly widen, not to mention Chen Xi estimates they might mimic fifty percent–if even that–it’s a blessing from the ancestors!