Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1332 - 1285: The First Enfeoffment

"Who should we get to be the leader?" Chen Xi rolled his eyes and said, "We don’t have many people here who truly understand water management, Gong Youu might be the most suitable, but the problem is that what Gong Youu is doing now is not any easier than this."

Li Youu looked around, and it seemed to be true. Sunx Qian hadn’t returned during the Chinese New Year because he was researching how to build a bridge on the Yellow River. Although the scaled-down experiment had already passed, and theoretically the ability to construct was there, it was still not enough. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Why don’t we pick someone from the five of us?" Li Youu suggested to Chen Xi, and this clearly implied asking Chen Xi to take on this matter.

"My understanding of water management is basically just digging canals." Chen Xi directly refused. The others also looked helpless, and as for Li Youu himself, during the time in Yongzhou, he wanted to dig the Zhengguo Canal several times, but eventually gave up since neither he nor anyone under him understood it.

"There’s nothing we can do about this then." Li Youu tugged at his lips, "How about adding a spring exam subject, and those who pass will take full responsibility for this matter."

"Can you stop the Li Family from participating in the competition?" Lub Su asked before Chen Xi could say anything.

"If I don’t let him through, can he get through?" Li Youu would not bother with issues of fairness and principle if it didn’t solve the problem. He would approach it in the simplest way possible.

"The problem is, who will set this exam question, and who will grade it?" Chen Xi retorted.

"Hey, this is easy. With fairness and justice as principles, the exam papers will be posted at that time, allowing the people and the examinees to choose themselves, as this concerns people’s livelihood." Jia Xu, well-acquainted with Li Youu, immediately spoke up with Li Youu’s intended solution.

"As for setting the questions, it will be just this one, just like you, Zichuan, mentioned before about open-book exams, it’s even easier than that. The question can be taken home, and a response must be submitted six months later. During this time, field research, collaborating, and reviewing past materials are all allowed." Li Youu turned his head slightly and directly released his plan.

"This is indeed a good plan." Xun Yue’s eyes lit up, showing great interest in Li Youu’s proposal, hearing such a method for the first time.

"It’s certainly a clever idea." Lub Su raised an eyebrow, completely unexpecting such an approach.

"Eh?" Chen Xi was startled, inwardly thinking, {Li Youu indeed has potential, this is just like the model for a university thesis in the fourth year. There’s even no talk of plagiarism, and pooling the efforts might indeed yield a result. Back when Li Bing built Dujiangyan, he wasn’t a water management expert either!}

"Is there a problem?" Li Youu asked with a smile, as this idea could be considered an exam.

"No, I just think your method is really good, but I need to think about the rewards for this exam." Chen Xi said very satisfied, after all, the collective wisdom surpasses the individual.

"This indeed needs some thought, if it’s too light, there’ll be fewer people willing to commit to it." Jia Xu said matter-of-factly, having an excellent understanding of human nature, unmatched by Guo Jia and worlds apart from Fa Zheng.

"How about this, grant the selected one a Marquis title and a feud of twelve hundred households, under Lord Xuande’s jurisdiction?" Chen Xi thought briefly and said, "Positions and ranks are trivial without a title, you can’t enter the ranks without a marquisate, and countless families covet that!"

"Isn’t this going a bit too far?" Xun Yue, always disliking activities that challenge norms, remarked, "Besides, a title is not something that’s just given away."

"If it can ensure that the land in the Five Provinces remains bountiful regardless of drought or flood, not to mention a marquis title, even eternal worship with uninterrupted sacrifices throughout the four seasons is not an issue." Lub Su understood, seeing how Sichuan and Shu still worship Li Bing; he didn’t think Li Bing’s incense would end.

"So we could apply in advance, as the expense is definitely not an issue for us." Chen Xi shrugged, "Let’s do it this way, a Marquis title for twelve hundred households, with six thousand acres of land attached, what do you say?"

"It’s not like it’s mine, do as you please." Li Youu’s tone was casual, reminiscent of his younger self, writing Imperial Edicts heedlessly.

The group collectively finalized the entire process, listing numerous additional rewards, and the marquis title could be released in advance, as it wouldn’t face denial.

"I suddenly feel like a fiefdom..." Chen Xi suddenly remarked, causing Xun Yue, who was eating, to almost spit out his food. He struggled to swallow, almost choking, his eyes nearly rolled back, and finally managed to gulp it down with tea.

"Cough, cough, Zichuan, don’t talk nonsense!" Xun Yue, after swallowing a pastry, immediately retorted regardless of the discomfort in his chest.

"It’s nothing, we aren’t conferring it within the country." Chen Xi said nonchalantly, "Add a clause: a seventy-mile fiefdom, with self-governance rights, but only the selected candidate will know how to claim it."

"Who would go to those uninhabited places for a fiefdom!" Xun Yue said disgruntledly, knowing that there was plenty of land abroad, after all, the map hadn’t been hidden from him.

"Truly fertile land, and it would likely come with some population." Chen Xi said with a smile, "Add this clause; without it, the incentive isn’t enough. With it, many aristocratic families might be driven to madness. Without the Li Family, I refuse to believe we can’t handle it."

Li Youu didn’t comment, but he found it agreeable. In fact, Li Youu was quite fond of the enfeoffment system, though not the way the Han Dynasty or later Zhou Royal Family divided land, but rather using enfeoffment as a means to assimilate enfeoffed regions.

Early enfeoffments weren’t just to pacify an area and rest easy there. On the contrary, early enfeoffments often meant there was an enemy that needed handling; once subdued, the area became yours.

A prime example is Jiangg Shang; when King Wuu enfeoffed the Dongyi to Jiangg Shang, he was reluctant to go. After persuasion, he went, subdued the Dongyi, and thus the Qi State was established.

Similarly, the Qin State, subduing the Western Rong, had the Zhou Royal Family enfeoff that area to them. The Empire was just a support, not a spear in hand, nor a father’s care, so why should it solve all problems for you? Only through trials and hardships could it be enjoyed.

China’s most unique aspect lies here. Though both East and West practiced enfeoffment early on, China’s enfeoffments had a poignant connection, always with a divine being emerging to sweep the Eight Wastelands, suddenly greatly expanding the original territory.

This kind of enfeoffment essentially assimilated the area; the Dongyi became part of Huaxia, eventually forgetting their lineage, sharing culture, appearance, attire, and language—utterly integrated.