Chapter 108: 108. Mi Clan Cooperation

chapter 108: 108. mi clan cooperation chen gui: "i have someone i know my lord, he doesn't reside in xu province but in xuchang in yan province. he is also from the chen clan and can be considered a distant relative, his name is chen ji and from what i heard his son chen qun is also a genius, he was told can bring their clan to prosperity." chen ji and chen qun, lie fan are only familiar with the name chen qun. chen qun was one of the people who advised liu bei to not succeed tao qian, as whoever controlled xu province at the time would be besieged by enemies from all sides. liu bei ignored that advice and true to what chen qun said, liu bei in the end lost xu province to cao cao and had to escape to jing province. seeking protection for liu biao, he brought tens of thousands of refugees with him which were a burden if you see it practically. chen qun was a very loyal man and he was also the reformer of the nine-rank system which became a standard system until the song dynasty, even the future qing and ming dynasties incorporated it. japan and korea also adopted similar systems, which can be said that he was a very prominent figure in history. lie fan: "then send an invitation to them, master sun qian please visit them personally. master chen gui's recommendation can never be considered average by us!" chen gui: "my lord compliment makes this old man ashamed, i just recommend them according to what i heard through the chen clan channels." lie fan: "sometimes it's true that information can be exaggerated, but they are noble clans so they will not embellish it grandly. as long as he has the talent, then it's okay to be recruited." sun qian was jotting down the names of chen ji and chen qun name on a paper, alongside their hometown as he would make a list of people he had to personally visit. lie fan's weakness right now is the lack of a domestic administrator he can trust, bringing in this talent can help him promote xu province to a greater height. jia xu at this time also suggested lie fan stop including titles such as master or general, as his position is vastly above them. it's to draw a line between him and his subjects, even if they are older. if it's outside of lie fan subjects, you can include that title as a show of respect. everyone aside from lie fan agrees with what jia xu says they are his subjects, and the ethique not only allows lie fan to call them by their name but enforces this to create his prestige. lie fan doesn't agree at first but finally relents under the pressure of his subjects. when lie fan finishes talking, a servant enters the main hall and informs them that the young master of the mi clan wants to have an audience with lie fan. lie fan allowed mi zhu to enter, my zhu's sudden visit intrigued him. he wanted to know what moves the mi clan wanted to make now seeing as in xiapi they are the most influential clan when though a merchant clan. unknown to lie fan, mi zhu's sudden visit is because the head of the mi clan which is mi zhu's father suddenly falls sick with a deadly illness. however, thanks to lie fan advocating for the advancement of medicine and building a hospital mi zhu's father's life was saved, he feared for his life and the endless wealth he hadn't enjoyed yet so he wanted to step down. mi zhu's father is afraid that if he steps down, mi zhu won't be able to handle the branch members who will protest. that's why he sent mi zhu to cooperate with lie fan, as a test and also a layer of protection for him and the mi clan. mi zhu enters the main hall, he sees lie fan and familiar faces between the officials wang lang which surprised him for a bit. mi zhu is determined to show his father that he is ready to lead the clan, they are the main line but due to his father having him at an older age some of the elders dare to contradict them. mi zhu: "mi zhu of the mi clan have seen governor lie fan, thank you for giving your time to meet me, governor." lie fan: "brother mi zhu, we can be considered a friend so of course i have time to meet you. what brings you here today to meet me?" mi zhu: "i'm here on behalf of my father wanted to thank governor lie fan, thanks for your action in building a hospital, advocating better medicines, and inviting doctors such as master hua tuo my father can be cured of a deadly illness." lie fan: "that's incredible! give my regards to your father, i'm just doing this for xu province as a whole, not just a group of people. i'm happy that due to my actions, the better medicine we have the longer the chances of our livelihood." mi zhu: "governor lie fan truly cared for the people, then next i wanted to represent my father to have a cooperation or am alliance you should say between your administration and our clan." lie fan was happy hearing this, he turned his eyes toward jia xu to see if he had heard something about the mi clan. jia xu shakes his head indicating that oriole hasn't sent some reports, which means that mi zhu and his father are either the only two who know or it's a spur-of-the-moment decision that they immediately do. lie fan: "oh? a cooperation? what kind of cooperation are you saying, brother mi zhu? my administration indeed needs your help but that doesn't mean we are desperate as we can still handle the situation." mi zhu: "my father even though he has been cured of his illness, he decided to step down from his position in a year or two. i was appointed to succeed him but the elders of the other branches are rioting, they don't agree with my father's decision. so we need a vote of confidence should we say from governor lie fan to endorse me in return we the my clan will support all your policies to come of course after we read them through." xun you: "excise me, young master mi the conditions you gave to us aren't favorable. yes, we need your help, but you need our help more than we need your help so this cooperation isn't balanced. our policy is for the betterment of xu province, merchant clan only cares about your profits." mi zhu: "we indeed care about profits, because that's our life, and no need to worry me and my father have reached an agreement that even if our yearly profit were cut 35% for the support of governor lie it's worth it." the heated exchange between mi zhu and xun you was informative, to say the least, lie fan knows that the mi clan needs his endorsement in the changing of their head. for lie fan having mi zhu there exactly like history is the only profitable move, now he can use this to leverage against them. lie fan: "okay xun you, i understand your concern and i appreciate it. brother mi zhu, we can negotiate this deal, why don't i receive only 10% of your yearly profits and you join my administration to become my financial advisor?" everyone was confused by this move, of course, they understood that lie fan wanted to garner support from one of the wealthiest clans in the land but having mi zhu as his financial advisor was a surprising move. mi zhu himself was shocked, only lie fan knew about the future mi zhu was an expert negotiator, full of bright ideas, and people-oriented which helped him in many negotiations. without him, liu bei would never have had power after losing xu province to lu bu and then cao cao. mi zhu: "financial advisor? i think governor lie fan have many more qualified man for this than me, i thank governor lie fan for thinking so highly of me." lie fan: "then there's no cooperation needed between me and the mi clan, i have long admired brother mi zhu since uncle mi yu told me about you. you're young but you managed to double the income of mi clan when you took over mi clan stores in xu province. this proves that you're an expert negotiator and have a keen sense of money and people." mi zhu hesitated, he and his father had never foreseen this scenario. this actually benefits him and the mi clan more, but in exchange, they tie themselves to lie fan's chariot. they as merchants are more sensitive to world-changing events than everyone, as they have to protect their interests and choose who to support. choosing lie fan is not a bad idea actually, but as merchants, they like to have more than one choice. lie fan now has a handle on them, without him, mi zhu and his father will lose their position. on the other hand, lie fan doesn't care who leads as long as they don't hinder his purpose. mi zhu: "hah... governor lie fan leaves me no room to maneuver, i agree with your condition as this actually benefits us more. mi zhu has seen my lord!" lie fan: "great mi zhu! having you join me will help in our financial and economic policies in the future!" *ding!!!* [congratulations host for completing the quest 'the coin maestro of shu', receiving 1.000.000 taels, 100.000 sp, and 10 longevity jade necklaces] •longevity jade necklace the wearer of this necklace will receive protection against curses and disease, allowing them to be healthy and fit all of their life until old age. lie fan was happy with the gift of this jade necklace, which can protect his family and subordinates from illness prolonging their life. lie fan uses the eye of erlang shen to see what kind of stats young mi zhu has. •mi zhu int: 568 wis: 78 vit: 80 chr: 88 mi zhu's stats are not bad, his stats will rise up when he becomes older and has more experience. with mentors like jia xu, chen gui, and xun you maybe he will reach new heights than his future self. mi zhu after being appointed by lie fan to become his financial advisor and join the ranks of lie fan's think tank, mi zhu excuses himself to report back to his father about the development that has just happened. lie fan was super happy today, 2 domestic advisors will join him and others will come. he dismissed the meeting and told everyone to go back to their duties, lie fan was then accompanied by liu pi and bo cai decided to visit the hospital. in the hospital, hua tuo and zhang zhongjin are doing experiments on a medicine called aspirin when they are informed of lie fan's visit to the hospital. lie fan when he arrived, was happy seeing that the hospital was clean and the people that he gave to hua tuo had been trained as a doctor or nurse. this is what lie fan wants, having more doctors with experience gained from learning under hua tuo and zhang zhongjing can help him promote medical advancement i'm all over xu province, opening a branch in big to small cities. hua tuo and zhang zhongjing came out from their 'lab', hua tuo was ecstatic when he met lie fan as the medical knowledge given to him was true. even though they can only replicate some of the effects, this has helped tremendously in curing patients. zhang zhongjing was behind hua tuo, observing lie fan whom he met for the first time. he has heard of lie fan's fame and reputation, whether it's from hua tuo or rumors he can see that lie fan is truly happy with how the hospital is and truly supports this idea. he was afraid that this was just a cover that lie fan made to invite him and hua tuo to his city. before they were a traveling doctor, going to city after city to cure people, and now they decided to stay in xiapi due to lie fan's medical paper that he said was given to him by a hermit. [at: the chapter for today! thank you for everyone's support!?? don't forget to give your ps and add it to your library if you like rtk!] ________________________ name: lie fan title: yellow heaven subjugator age: 18 years old (186 ad) level: 14 next level: 412.000 renown: 185 cultivation: yin yang separation (level 1) sp: 611.700 -> 711.700 attribute points str: 557 vit: 257 agi: 263 int: 284 chr: 93 wis: 239 will: 187 atr points: 0