After Zhuge Liang pointed out the issue, Chen Xi's thoughts began to drift all over the place, though he indeed no longer felt the jolts of the carriage.
Seeing Chen Xi deep in thought, Zhuge Liang didn't speak further and silently endured the relentless shaking of the carriage.
Chen Xi furrowed his brow, pondering the challenges of governance.
Chen Xi sighed internally, realizing that the emperor and noble system, while ideal, was unlikely to succeed again since it had already failed once.
His thoughts slowly returned to the present, and another harsh jolt nearly made Chen Xi vomit.
"Cough, cough... It seems only by escaping into my thoughts can I avoid the external world. This shaking is unbearable," Chen Xi lamented, looking over at Zhuge Liang, whose expression was even worse than his own.
"Zichuan, what were you thinking about earlier? You seemed so absorbed that you didn't even notice the bumps," Zhuge Liang said with a wry smile. He felt utterly battered from the ride. During the day, the march had been tolerable despite the heat, but now Hua Xiong had activated a military formation to increase speed, making the ride even more unbearable.
"Lost in thought..." Chen Xi quipped, holding onto the carriage railing to stabilize himself.
"..." Zhuge Liang was speechless at the response. He had intended to ask Chen Xi about his earlier thoughts, hoping for some insight, but Chen Xi's answer was completely off-topic.
"How do you think we could establish an eternal dynasty in this world?" Chen Xi asked, half-curled up in the carriage.
"An eternal dynasty?" Zhuge Liang looked at Chen Xi curiously. "The Five Virtues cycle, creating a system that sustains itself... To build an eternal dynasty..."
"Forget the Five Virtues cycle; that's irrelevant. Let's just take things one step at a time. I've done my part," Chen Xi exhaled deeply. "Once I've laid the foundation, how others walk the path will no longer be my concern."
Zhuge Liang was utterly confused. How had they gone from discussing an eternal dynasty to this sudden mood shift? The leap in logic was so vast that he couldn't follow it, leaving him perplexed and silent.
The two of them sat in the carriage, enduring the relentless jolts until sunrise when the temperature began to rise again. Only then did Hua Xiong call for a halt, wiping the sweat from his brow as the group settled down to rest and eat some dry rations.
"Ah, Qingzhou used to be a densely populated province, but now it's desolate, with hardly a soul in sight. The impact of natural disasters has been too great," Chen Xi said with a sigh as he looked out at the barren wilderness. "If I'm not mistaken, this land was once fertile fields, but in just five or six years, it has become like this."
"Yes, we haven't seen any signs of life for more than a hundred miles. This land indeed used to be fertile farmland. Qingzhou was once worthy of being called the granary of the empire, but now it's all wasted," Zhuge Liang crouched down, picking up some soil and brushing it off his hands. Having worked the land himself, he knew this soil had once supported bountiful crops.
"We need to restore irrigation and reclaim the land. Qingzhou now has more land than people, but we must also plan for the future. Distributing land should be done cautiously, especially considering the remaining noble families and powerful clans in Qingzhou," Chen Xi said with a sigh. He realized that dealing with the nobility and powerful clans was inevitable since Qingzhou hadn't been completely destroyed, and many of these families still survived.
"Zichuan, you don't seem to have a personal grudge against the noble families and powerful clans. Although many of your policies target them, you don't appear to dislike them personally," Zhuge Liang remarked, lying on a mat and feeling exhausted.
"Yes, the emergence of noble families is inevitable. What I target are the aspects of them that conflict with the interests of the people," Chen Xi replied, yawning. He was on the verge of collapsing from the rough ride.
"No wonder some of your policies have actually benefited the noble families and powerful clans. Now it makes sense," Zhuge Liang said weakly, understanding Chen Xi's mindset. Many things became clearer once he grasped this.
"Noble families and powerful clans are also composed of people. If they obey the law, I have no reason to go after them. Moreover, their existence actually helps maintain local stability," Chen Xi added, closing his eyes in fatigue. If he hadn't been the one to order the increased speed last night, he would have commanded them to slow down long ago.
"These families and clans are essentially the evolved forms of local tribes. Their existence is unavoidable. As long as they behave, I won't scheme against them. But if they don't know their place and constantly push boundaries, then I won't have any choice," Chen Xi's voice grew quieter as he spoke, clearly exhausted from the night's journey.
"But you're obviously undermining the foundations of these families," Zhuge Liang observed, trying to maintain his composure. "While your policies may bring them significant benefits, your efforts to enlighten the populace are what they resent most."
"These families have dug deep into their heritage, but now they don't know how to move forward. Many are trying different approaches, and right now, it seems more of them support maintaining the status quo. That's why I'm suppressing that group while promoting another," Chen Xi said, recalling the insights he'd gained from the Chen family. The internal strife within the noble families had become quite evident.
"By the way, I'm not making all the noble families unhappy. Some are also trying to enlighten the populace," Chen Xi added with his eyes closed.
Hearing this, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but think of his own family. The internal discord in the Zhuge clan mirrored what Chen Xi described. Should they rest on their ancestors' glory and enjoy endless prosperity, or should they spread their teachings like the philosophers of old, striving for intellectual clashes that could spark a new era? This was likely a dilemma many families, whose ancestral teachings had been exhausted, were grappling with.