CHAPTER 1438: CHAPTER 1386: APPROACHING ENVOYS

Just as Gan Ning successfully captured the Strait of Malacca, Lyu Bu was riding Red Hare, which stood proudly at the bow of the Warship of Great Kun Brand, calmly pursuing the fleeing Kushan navy.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi finally reached Mount Tai. Compared to when he left, Mount Tai was still bustling and dazzling, with its tall city walls, tidy environment, and bustling pedestrians, all of which satisfied Chen Xi.

"Marquis Chen, Prefect Wang has come to welcome you." Inside the carriage approaching the government office, Hua Xiong’s voice appeared.

"Yo, Shuzhi, you look prosperous now; that’s good news. How’s it going with the governorship of Mount Tai?" Chen Xi jumped off the carriage and smiled at Wang Xiu.

"Except for occasionally focusing on commerce, it’s actually quite leisurely. Marquis Chen and Administrator Lub have arranged everything already, following the old saying, ’As Xiao’s rules, so do Cao’s followers.’" Wang Xiu shook his head slightly, smiling.

Chen Xi raised an eyebrow; he now gradually understood these words better. However, Wang Xiu indeed did a good job, and it seems likely he would take over Lub Su’s work in the future.

"Then work hard; this is where we started. Many resources depend on you for management. Zijing has gone to Ye City, so you’re basically acting as half caretaker." Chen Xi said with a smile.

Wang Xiu’s eyes lit up, then returned to a respectful expression, "Marquis Chen, please come in; a private feast has been prepared inside."

Chen Xi smiled and followed Wang Xiu inside, with Hua Xiong carrying his weapon and joining them, knowing he shouldn’t miss the meal.

Elsewhere, Wux Xi brought a diplomatic mission arranged by Ganasis, and another mission forcefully established by Li Jue, trekking over mountains finally safely reached Fenggao.

In reality, after arriving in Xuzhou, it was no longer Wux Xi and Anyue acting as the mission leaders; instead, Chen Deng ordered a military escort, knowing that sending the mission directly to Ye City was proper. However, Chen Deng commanded it to be sent directly there anyway.

Wux Xi communicated with Chen Deng, explaining Li Jue’s order to send the mission to Liu Bei, making Chen Deng’s hair stand on end due to the hidden intrigue.

Chen Deng had worked with Li Youu for a long time, which made him very aware of Li Youu’s ruthlessness and calmness. Half of the Xuzhou aristocratic family’s descendants were still in Qingzhou serving as officials, and the local aristocratic family’s strength hadn’t recovered yet.

Because of this, Chen Deng consistently followed Li Youu’s initial requests by suppressing and guiding the Xuzhou aristocracy. Thankfully, Chen Xi played the good face, relieving the restrained aristocrats, preventing major issues.

With Chen Deng’s intelligence, he speculated that possibly, Li Youu knew from the beginning that Chen Xi might be lenient, using such strategies to forcibly navigate through the chaotic Xuzhou transition period.

As for Li Youu, Chen Deng felt quite respectful and fearful. Having worked together, he deeply understood that Li Youu was very dangerous, even curious about his identity but never suspected it to be Li Ru.

After Wux Xi mentioned this, Chen Deng’s immediate thought was Li Youu being Li Ru, a thought that startled him while clearly realizing the luck of avoiding past mistakes. For people like this, eliminating oneself probably wouldn’t feel special.

Even the Young Emperor was one he could decide to kill instantly, making Chen Deng truly believe, should he cross paths oddly with them, there would be no reason for not being disposed of.

Yet, after having this idea, Chen Deng didn’t feel fear, but rather inner excitement.

This fellow who once challenged all of Central Plains now being under his lord’s command, no matter the angle, was good news.

Perhaps during the Eighteen Feudal Lords’ campaign against Dong Zhuo, some thought of Li Ru lightly, but after Dong Zhuo’s death, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji— among their forces, even Fan Chou alone defeated Lyu Bu in a field battle.

Afterwards, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was unstoppable, crushing everywhere, while Lyu Bu kept increasing his field battle achievements, proving that Li Ru’s strength wasn’t lacking, but his original plan was to eliminate the Eighteen Feudal Lords in one sweep.

Given the strength Xiliang’s forces later showcased, if Dong Zhuo hadn’t faltered, Li Ru might have truly subdued the Eighteen Feudal Lords rapidly—isn’t that stability for a unified country with only three provinces of Liu Surname across the Yangtze River remaining?

Thus, stable unity seemed to be the trajectory, but Dong Zhuo faltered...

For someone like Chen Deng, who only cared about his family’s betterment, it mattered little what Li Youu had done, so long as he could ensure his family’s legacy, losing morality was fine.

Thus, after receiving the diplomatic mission, Chen Deng secretly informed Ye City without making it clear, hoping to create established facts.

Therefore, after Wux Xi’s party entered Xuzhou, it was actually Chen Deng who arranged the escort along the official road directly to Ye City.

This was why the Roman delegation experienced shock upon entering Xuzhou, contrasting their difficulties traversing Sichuan and bumps sailing the Yangtze River; now, they sensed a powerful aura upon arriving in Xuzhou with Ganasis’s mission.

If entering Sichuan, the Land of Abundance gave them a sense of wealth and prosperity, after traveling from the Yangtze, upon entering Xuzhou they felt true strength.

This was an empire no less formidable than Rome, traveling on the broad official roads, encountering the military soon after, escorted throughout to a massive city, its clean surface and mighty walls indeed displayed imperial capital’s aura.

"Have we finally reached the Great Han’s imperial capital?" The Roman envoy commented on the newly built Xincheng in Xiapi, unable to deny that affluent Xuzhou after expanding Xincheng indeed had an imperial air.

Anyue translated these words to Wux Xi, who rolled his eyes, despite sharing surprise—for he visited Xuzhou years ago—compared to a decade, Xuzhou City’s changes were indeed major, having an imperial momentum.

"This is Xiapi City, considered quite an important city within the empire’s nation. However, starting from here marks the entry into the empire’s essence zone," Anyue translated this with a smile to Ganasis’s envoy.

Instantly, those who previously compared Xiapi’s shortcomings to Rome all silenced, faces somewhat awkward, realizing this was merely an important city, confirming it truly wasn’t the capital?

"Let’s go inside and look, the Xuzhou Inspector is waiting for us, we’ve reached safety," Wux Xi internally delighted.

Somehow recently, he felt an urge to slap down these opinionated Roman envoys, finally getting satisfaction.