Chapter 1053: A Different Kind of Deal

"It seems like you have a lot of able-bodied men at your disposal. Are we talking cash transactions, or do you prefer something else? If you're looking for something other than money—land, or anything else we have—it's all negotiable," Chen Xi said slowly, his voice measured as he probed for details. If Zhang Wei had too many men to sell, Chen Xi wouldn't be able to handle all of it with cash alone.

Zhang Wei's eyes flashed briefly, and then he posed a question, "Anything within your power to provide?"

Chen Xi narrowed his eyes. He sensed that Zhang Wei's request wouldn’t be simple, but he nodded nonetheless. Zhang Wei quickly took out a brush and paper, scribbling something down and then handing it over through a servant.

Chen Xi opened the note and was momentarily surprised. A smile spread across his face. He had just realized that Zhang Wei, a man who barely gets mentioned in the history books, was indeed someone of considerable skill.

"It's true that this is within my power," Chen Xi remarked, intrigued, "but one thousand able-bodied men aren’t worth this much."

"Then just give me one of the terms I proposed, and in return, I’ll provide three thousand more able-bodied men and one thousand women," Zhang Wei replied, his face calm and composed. At this moment, he wasn’t speaking as a representative of a small family but as someone negotiating on behalf of a powerful faction.

"Deal." Chen Xi agreed without further discussion, though his curiosity was piqued. "But I have to ask—where are you getting so many people?"

"Mountain tribes and Qiang barbarians. They're wild and untamed, impossible to assimilate. Keeping them in prisons is just another burden," Zhang Wei said with a shake of his head. When Zhang Ren had deployed his forces, there had been many rebellious tribes in the Hanzhong area that had to be subdued.

"Oh, no problem. I’ll have the items delivered, but once you've reviewed them, I ask that you destroy any evidence. Of course, if you want to deny the deal afterward, that’s up to you," Chen Xi said, still smiling. He was quite impressed with Zhang Wei—his mind was more agile than expected.

"As long as the methods are appropriate, the Zhang family will honor the agreement. We are nothing if not trustworthy," Zhang Wei responded, giving a respectful bow. "Once the matter is settled, our Zhang family will present Lord Xuande with a gift as well."

The others present had no idea what Zhang Wei and Chen Xi were discussing. Though they were curious, Chen Xi had been discreet enough that they had no way of figuring it out. All they could do was try to get some information from Zhang Wei later.

"Brother Zhang, could you perhaps share some details with us?" Shen Dan of Shangyong asked directly, using a voice transmission to Zhang Wei.

Recognizing the voice, Zhang Wei remembered that the Shen family had helped them when Liu Zhang campaigned against Hanzhong, so he discreetly whispered his deductions to Shen Dan.

Zhang Wei wasn’t a man of grand intelligence, but he had his fair share of cleverness. The earlier transaction had given Chen Xi a reminder—not only physical goods could be traded. Secrets, information, solutions—these, too, were commodities that could be exchanged!

After hearing Zhang Wei’s explanation, Shen Dan’s eyes lit up. So this was possible? As long as one could afford it, there seemed to be no problem that couldn’t be solved, especially with someone like Chen Xi—arguably the most brilliant strategist in the land—on your side. Sometimes, the solution to a problem was far more valuable than money.

Once the secret reached a third party, it inevitably became exposed. Shen Dan wasn’t the type to keep quiet, and Zhang Wei didn’t mind that he would share the information. Soon enough, all the other family heads had learned about this new avenue of trading.

By the end of the day, Chen Xi had received a pile of notes, each containing questions—some simple, some complex, and some purely for amusement.

For instance, the note sent by the Gu family asked, “How can we ensure our family’s prosperity for eternity?” Ignoring the absurdities about rare treasures listed in the note, Chen Xi figured the Gu family already knew that there was no real answer to such a question. Sending it in was clearly a way to stir things up.

"And what is this supposed to be?" Chen Xi groaned, looking at the query from the Xun family. It read simply: "Human nature: inherently good or inherently evil?"

There was nothing more—just that one line. Judging by the handwriting, it was written by Xun Shuang, and the offered payment was quite substantial. But what kind of question was this? It should be a matter for philosophers to debate! And even worse, the question wasn’t clear enough to provide a straightforward answer!

"Well, whatever. Considering the payment, I suppose I should give it some thought. Let’s see, Xunzi’s theory of the inherent evil of human nature, combined with Confucian ideas of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness—yeah, I can make it work. Pure good and evil are too subjective, so I’ll go with that..." Chen Xi muttered to himself, crafting a plausible answer. After all, he wasn’t above spinning some philosophical yarn when needed to placate an old man.

Compared to ancient people, modern individuals don’t necessarily have larger brains, but they do have more experience. With the constant bombardment of information, modern minds tend to approach problems from various angles, unlike the ancients, who often based their reasoning on a single school of thought. Give a modern person enough time, and they can cobble together something that looks perfectly logical, even if it’s a patchwork of different ideas!

After selecting the questions he felt he could answer, Chen Xi distributed some of them to Li You, Jia Xu, and others who had spare time. As for spare time—well, time is flexible. Jia Xu found time to drink tea, so he surely had time for this.

"Why do I have to deal with this stuff too?" Fa Zheng grumbled, glaring at Chen Xi. "Aren’t these your responsibilities?"

"You don’t realize I’m helping you build wealth here, do you?" Chen Xi glanced at Fa Zheng. "You’ll get a third of the profits for solving these. A third will go to the treasury, and I’ll keep the remaining third."

"Why should you get a third just for doing nothing while I rack my brain to solve these?" Fa Zheng retorted, clearly unhappy with the division of profits. He didn’t mind the portion going to the treasury, but he was displeased with Chen Xi’s share.

"Because I brought in the business," Chen Xi replied with a shrug.

"I want half. You’re just a middleman. After paying the treasury, you can have what’s left!" Fa Zheng haggled, clearly irritated, while casually pulling out a slip of paper to read.

He glanced over the paper and momentarily froze. After a brief hesitation, he closed his eyes, then reopened them with a resolute expression.

"Fine. Tell the person who asked this question that this is my answer. I’ll accept their payment," Fa Zheng said calmly, handing the paper back to Chen Xi. Sometimes, people just needed a definite response.

"Are you sure you don’t want to think about it some more?" Chen Xi asked with a smirk.

"There’s nothing left to think about. Like you said, the past is but a fleeting wind, nothing worth dwelling on. And you’ve already placed the solution right in front of me—how could I ignore it?" Fa Zheng smiled faintly.

"I’ll go distribute more to Wenhe, Wenru, and the others," Chen Xi said with a chuckle, handing five more slips to Fa Zheng before heading off. As he left, one of the papers Fa Zheng had returned lay open on the desk. Through the thin paper, the faint outline of the character “Wang” could be seen.

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