Chapter 1214: The First Attempt

Chen Xi harbored ambitions of one day pushing Daqin (the Roman Empire) into the abyss of history, with the Han Dynasty dominating the Eurasian continent.

Although Chen Xi knew that theoretically, it was possible for the Han Dynasty to achieve such a feat, the reality rarely matches theory. The most likely scenario between Han and Daqin would be a low-intensity war spanning several centuries.

But just because the chance of sweeping Daqin into the trash heap of history was slim, it didn't mean that the possibility shouldn't be considered. Opportunities always favor those who are prepared.

Since it was inevitable that such a road had to be built, the strategy needed to be pushed to its limit. While the notion of completely destroying Daqin might sound far-fetched due to the distance, as the saying goes, without dreams, one is just a salted fish. And with dreams, who knows? One day, they might just come true!

If, by chance, within this lifetime, they could extend the imperial road to Parthia, deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to seize the Mesopotamian region, and push all the way to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean—breaking open a gap in the Roman "bath basin"—then this life would truly be well spent.

"Alright, it seems that everyone agrees. This is my plan. Pass it around and take a look," Chen Xi said as he handed the rough, yellowed scroll of paper to Li You after confirming that no one had any objections.

The plan wasn’t long, merely a broad outline. However, even this brief framework surprised everyone who saw it. Some didn't pay attention to the paper's material, but for those like Jia Xu and Guo Jia, upon feeling the rough texture, their expressions immediately darkened.

"Zi Chuan, when exactly did you prepare this plan? If I recall correctly, you only received that letter today, and you've been running around all day," Fazheng asked curiously, not having seen the plan yet.

"I drafted it a long time ago," Chen Xi thought for a moment and replied.

"This is from the first batch of coarse paper. Did you foresee this day back then?" Lu Su’s expression became a little grim. He had long known that Chen Xi’s planning abilities were unparalleled, but every time he encountered such foresight, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

"Yes. I filled in the basic framework back then," Chen Xi responded, recalling how he had pretended to be working on strategic planning just to avoid Lu Su dragging him into more administrative duties. In the end, that feigned effort led to a full-fledged plan for foreign expansion.

The others inwardly cursed him, then turned their attention to the rough outline in the plan. However, the two words "noble families" stood out prominently, glaringly obvious to many in the room.

"What are your thoughts?" Chen Xi asked after the scroll had been passed around and returned to him. He casually stowed it away without even looking at it.

"Sending someone capable of governing a province and proficient in commerce and military strategy isn’t difficult. Any of us here could handle it," Li You said slowly. While commerce wasn’t their expertise, with an army as backup, there wouldn't be any major issues.

"To establish a foothold beyond the Han court, tailoring strategies to the region—" Zhuge Liang frowned slightly. This was essentially opening private offices and building bureaucracies, ignoring the authority of the Han court and setting up independent fiefdoms.

"If we don’t do that, many things simply can’t be achieved," Chen Xi rolled his eyes. "Don’t argue this point with me. Without an imperial road, just one trip would take half a year."

Zhuge Liang had no further arguments. He wasn’t foolish, just someone who paid close attention to Han dynasty rituals and customs, trying to avoid overstepping whenever possible.

"Why do you insist on involving noble families?" Jia Xu asked, eyeing Chen Xi closely.

"Noble families already have the infrastructure in place to handle governance without needing training. A major noble family can set up a functional framework on the ground immediately, and after the initial operations stabilize, we can gradually absorb local people into the system. With the upper class and military in control, the territory will naturally become part of our sphere of influence," Chen Xi said with a smile.

"I think you know that’s not what I’m asking," Jia Xu narrowed his eyes. He knew the potential consequences of relying on noble families to establish a political framework. Surely, Chen Xi wasn’t blind to this.

"This is exactly the outcome I want," Chen Xi replied without backing down. "The noble families must move outward. Let them do whatever they want on the empire’s borders. Even if they oppress the locals or abuse their power, it’s no concern of ours. There, we can grant them all the authority they desire."

Xun Yue showed a bitter smile, unsure how to respond. As a representative of the noble families, he couldn’t tell if Chen Xi was leading them into a trap or reviving their former glory and power.

"Let me think about this..." Liu Ye and Guo Jia both began to speak at the same time.

They exchanged glances, both clearly troubled. Even with their vast intelligence, it was hard to discern Chen Xi’s true intentions. However, one thing was certain: this would place significant political power in the hands of the noble families in those regions, but those areas were at the empire’s periphery.

"I’ll explain my thoughts first. The noble families must relocate outward. If they don’t, they will eventually turn on the empire. And by noble families, I mean all of them, including my own," Chen Xi tapped on the table, refocusing everyone’s attention.

Everyone silently agreed with this point. Even Xun Yue nodded. The noble families were still beneficial to the empire, at least for now, but in the future, that might not be the case.

It was like butterflies pollinating plants: the benefit to the plants was significant, but butterflies come from caterpillars that feed on the plants. A few caterpillars aren’t a problem, but too many can destroy the plant entirely.

Noble families were like those butterflies. At their core, they were parasites feeding on the state. No matter how you dressed it up, they were an exploitative class. Yet, aside from their parasitism, noble families provided invaluable benefits to the country.

However, that didn’t mean more noble families would be beneficial. Quite the opposite—too many would lead to the empire's decline before it could even reach its peak.

"This land, the thirteen provinces of the Han, will be our core territory," Chen Xi’s bamboo pointer traced a line from Youzhou in the north to Nanyue in the south, then from Qingzhou in the east to Central Asia in the west. "These areas will be the foundation of the Han dynasty. Beyond this..."

"Is this a combination of the commandery-county system and the feudal system?" Man Chong, who was highly sensitive to governance, asked.

"It’s not feudalism. We’ll conquer fertile lands, relocate the noble families there, and establish a complete military and political system. That's all," Chen Xi said with a smile. He wasn’t talking about feudalism, but those regions would eventually become independent.

"What if the noble families rebel?" Xun Yue cut straight to the heart of the issue.

"If rebelling brings them greater benefits, only a fool wouldn’t rebel," Chen Xi responded with a grin. "Zhongyu, you don’t understand the nature of those lands," he said, his bamboo pointer sweeping across Central Asia and into the fertile plains of India.

"I don’t trust the loyalty of noble families. What they seek is profit," Chen Xi said. Centuries of history had made it clear that collective interests were always transparent.

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