Chapter 2001: Chapter 1793: Many Stand Behind You_2
"Young man, work hard. Sometimes seeking help from others is not a sign of inferiority. Remember, countless people stand behind you." Fa Zheng said with a smile, "It’s foolish not to use available resources, you must be willing to accept the goodwill of others."
After speaking, Fa Zheng waved his hand, turned around, and left with Li Tiao. In this era where the general trend is already clear, Sima Yi also has many people behind him. However, if Sima Yi does not take the initiative, these people will not offer him guidance.
Especially with people like Chen Xi, he might remember Sima Yi the first time, but later he might overlook Sima Yi’s existence. This is not impossible, but rather a very normal thing. When it comes to reigning over an era, Chen Xi’s approach is entirely different from Zhuge Liang’s.
Though both employ a commanding style, the methods of the two have significantly diverged in the present. Zhuge Liang is overly versatile and demands too much.
Moreover, Zhuge Liang habitually manages everything himself. Although not as exaggerated as before, a life of working day and night is normal for Zhuge Liang.
On the other hand, Chen Xi is the opposite. His requirements on governance are not too stringent, allowing for oversight and deviations. As long as the overall framework does not go wrong, the empire continues advancing briskly without getting stuck on minor issues.
More importantly, Chen Xi’s working style has always been that he’d rather not do the work himself and instead cultivate others to be able to do the work...
Which of these two methods is better or worse, Fa Zheng finds it hard to determine. However, having gotten used to Chen Xi’s laissez-faire management style, Fa Zheng doesn’t quite appreciate Zhuge Liang’s mode.
So Fa Zheng secretly began mentoring Pang Tong when he was at the Northern Frontier. Although Pang Tong is somewhat specialized in certain fields, it doesn’t matter as long as he can completely overshadow Zhuge Liang in military strategy and eventually share Zhuge Liang’s power.
But just Pang Tong isn’t enough. Lyu Meng seems capable, Lul Xun is fine too, Lu Yu, though absent, is an excellent character. Not to mention Sima Yi and the fast-growing Jiangh Wan. Fa Zheng happily nurtures these seeds.
Can Zhuge Liang handle it? He seems uneasy about everything. Worried about mistakes here and there, let me gather a team of comrades for you. With so many "divine teammates" aiming to trouble you, Fa Zheng believes Zhuge Liang will definitely have no time to trouble him.
Long before Zhuge Liang almost graduated, Fa Zheng noticed this problem. It seems Zhuge Liang always wants to manage things himself. This is not a good thing. Look, Marquis Chen doesn’t bother with such trivial matters. Why not just pretend you didn’t see them?
The problem is that’s utterly impossible. Zhuge Liang’s personality is the complete opposite of Chen Xi’s. Chen Xi’s management style is a rough laissez-faire approach. After all, everyone is intelligent, and with me over them, it’s impossible for chaos to break loose; everything gets done in a timely manner with quality and quantity, and that’s all that matters.
As for mistakes, oversights, and similar issues, Chen Xi doesn’t care much. For him, most problems don’t amount to anything significant. Moreover, amidst rapid societal development, many problems are crushed by the pace of growth before they can explode. So, Chen Xi doesn’t mind small issues.
Zhuge Liang is entirely different. That guy wants everything to be done impeccably, and he steps in to handle everything personally. Anyway, Fa Zheng feels that if it weren’t for Zhuge Liang’s capable comrades, this guy would work himself to death sooner or later.
To prevent Zhuge Liang from working himself to death and to prevent him from managing everything over them, Fa Zheng goes all out to find Zhuge Liang teammates.
First, their capabilities must not be too weak. If a group of rookies is sent to Zhuge Liang, they’ll be subdued by Zhuge Liang within three days. Wouldn’t that be a trap? Worst case scenario, the other party might turn around with this group to suppress them directly. They’d have nowhere to cry.
Hence, capabilities are vital. At least in one aspect, they must leave Zhuge Liang speechless. Likewise, their overall vision should be strong. Although they compete with each other, they must at least be like Liu Ye: Although constantly plotting to cause trouble and divide the cake, the most important thing is to make the cake with Chen Xi. If there’s nothing else to do, then cause trouble dividing the cake.
Fa Zheng expresses his current need for such a comrade like Liu Ye. Of course, the capability needs to be at this level too. Without this level, frankly speaking, making Zhuge Liang too busy with other duties isn’t easy, so Fa Zheng started looking for difficult comrades to cope with Zhuge Liang from the Northern Frontier.
Honestly, from Fa Zheng’s standpoint now, Zhuge Liang is already no less than the pinnacle figures of the time. What he lacks at most is experience, while others like Pang Tong and Sima Yi have some distance from their peak.
Thus, even if found, they still need to be nurtured. Under current circumstances, those who can barely catch up in potential can be found. As for capability, Fa Zheng has lost hope. Given Zhuge Liang’s education and resource expenditure, others simply can’t compete.
Can you imagine what it means to have at least one top civil official personally imparting life experiences to Zhuge Liang at any time?
This kind of treatment, others simply cannot enjoy. The best resources, the best teachers, the best talent, have forged the nearly perfect and invincible Zhuge Liang of today, although his micromanagement is indeed a flaw.
Of course, many people probably know what Fa Zheng is doing now. Zhuge Liang might even have a vague intuition, but Fa Zheng’s actions indicate that half of the truly powerful civil officials under Liu Bei agree.
This is why Fa Zheng tells Sima Yi that many people stand behind him. Although Zhuge Liang is recognized as the next generation’s core by the civil officials under Liu Bei, being the core doesn’t mean letting Zhuge Liang’s family monopolize power.
Unlike Chen Xi’s singular dominance, Zhuge Liang’s dominance, based on observations by Jia Xu, Guo Jia, and others, may not lead to a good result. Zhuge Liang’s meticulous management of details for this vast country may lead to a series of problems.
This is why Fa Zheng hints at any next-generation civil official who could pose a threat to Zhuge Liang. A country needs a core, but the core cannot cover everything, and the essence of a nation should not be wasted.
After cultivating Zhuge Liang, the civil officials under Liu Bei are mostly free, allowing them to focus on nurturing the next generation. An era cannot be solely represented by one person. Although Chen Xi is formidable, without the likes of Lub Su, Li Youu, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Liu Ye, Mann Chong, Fa Zheng, and others, he couldn’t have succeeded either.
If preventing Zhuge Liang from walking the path of self-destruction requires giving him a group of divine teammates so he can confidently handle governance and lead the officials, what better to do than to give him a disciple? That would be perfect.
There’s no denying that the previous generation of civil officials doesn’t want Zhuge Liang to overshadow them. But given the current state of the world, those like Pang Tong and Sima Yi who have potential comparable to Zhuge Liang are valued for cultivation by people like Jia Xu and others.
The previous era was theirs. Although there was the Lone Moon Soaring, and stars faintly appearing, the embellishment of the Han Dynasty’s firmament wasn’t only Chen Xi. In the next era, even if the sky still shows few stars, there must be new stars present.
Though Zhuge Liang is strong, he is still at the human level, and he too needs allies. Even if he can suppress this era, the next era is unlike any prior. From the perspective of people like Fa Zheng, the next era will be a grand age of imperial conflicts.
