As soon as Gan Ning heard that he could proceed as described, he was overjoyed and cupped his hands in a salute, "Xingba will not disappoint the Governor."
"Good. Remember to send Juncai back home, since his family has the sea vessels. Train a decent navy within a year and notify me. Only then will I give you the second task. Otherwise, hmph hmph hmph!" Chen Xi said with a sinister smile. "Did you hear me?"
"Yes!" Gan Ning answered loudly.
"Prepare for departure. I'll write you a letter of commission so I can cover for you if anything goes wrong. But if you fail, I won't help you at all!" Chen Xi said as he started writing. Once done, he stamped it with the Governor's seal, then wrote another note for funding, allowing Gan Ning to get money from Su Shuang, Zhang Shiping, and Mi Zhu.
"Take this as well. You can use it three times. The first time, you can request up to twenty million coins. The second time, you can request only half of that, and the third time, only half of the second. If by the third time you still aren't self-sufficient, you better come back!" Chen Xi said as he handed over the note to Gan Ning while shouting.
"I will not disappoint the Governor!" Gan Ning said loudly.
"Take the note and leave. I have other matters to attend to." Chen Xi waved his hand, signaling Gan Ning to stop lingering. Overjoyed with his orders, Gan Ning left quickly.
"Zichuan, won't this cause problems?" Lu Su said with a bitter smile. "Aside from the issue with the Governor of Yizhou, isn't your way of handling this a problem? Even if Gan Ning has joined us now, we can't use him openly."
"Does it matter?" Chen Xi rolled his eyes. "Gan Ning just transformed from a Yangtze River pirate into a sea pirate. What does that have to do with us? Anyone trying to connect us is just throwing mud. The ships are Lu family's, the people are pirates, lake bandits, and river thieves. Do we have any of our own people involved? Also, have you ever seen a military training outside of its own territory? And what general has such authority? A commander, you know what a commander means? It means you can do whatever you want. Who can authorize such power?"
Chen Xi's words left Lu Su stunned. He vaguely grasped Chen Xi's idea, but being a smart man, he quickly understood. "Are you saying you're just fooling Xingba? If Xingba realizes you're deceiving him, you won't even have a friend left."
"Hey, hey, hey, Zijing, be careful with your words. Don't accuse me of slander. And keep in mind, I appoint the judge. Didn't I give Xingba twenty million coins as startup capital? Who would deceive someone like that and invest so much of their own money? Am I stupid?" Chen Xi rolled his eyes. "When have I ever deceived Xingba? Come on!"
Lu Su was slightly sluggish, as it was his first time dealing with such matters. After pondering for a while, he finally understood. Sighing, he said, "This approach can only work temporarily. If Xingba trains his troops and the Governor of Yizhou recruits him, we can't let a navy-holding Xingba go. It would be better to handle it now."
"What's there to handle? Even if the Governor of Yizhou wants to recruit Xingba, he has to find him first. And even if he does, after getting used to being a sea lord, will Xingba go back? Plus, I don't have high hopes for the Governor of Yizhou. He doesn't have much time left," Chen Xi shrugged.
"Of course, I understand your concern about giving Xingba too much power. But don't worry, he won't betray us. Even without that position, we wouldn't be able to control him. We have no experts in this field. Rather than having outsiders command insiders, making everyone unhappy, it's better to give him full authority!" Chen Xi said, seeing Lu Su's hesitation.
"Alright, I trust your wisdom won't lead to making someone else's wedding dress. But I'm worried about other generals. Giving Xingba too much power makes it hard to place others," Lu Su sighed, agreeing with Chen Xi's idea but pointing out another issue.
"Yes, that's a problem. But such authority should be limited. There's a saying: 'A general in the field has command over the king's orders.' Given this, we'll directly address the issue. Commanding generals on a mission will be granted full authority, which will be withdrawn upon their return!" Chen Xi said, looking at Lu Su.
"This method is good," Lu Su contemplated for a long time, aware of its drawbacks. But compared to the potential rift between generals and the ruler, this approach clearly had more benefits.
"As for Xingba, it will probably take a year for him to train a usable navy. If by then, the Governor of Yizhou still wants to recruit him, I'll give him the second task. By the way, I'm quite interested in the horses from the north and would like to weaken the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes," Chen Xi said with a smile that made Lu Su feel a chill.
"Zichuan, could you stop smiling like that? It's unsettling," Lu Su reminded him.
"Ignore it. By the way, I've heard that Gongsun Bogui is having a tough time and is short on grain. Arrange to send three ships of grain and one of salt to sell to the Governor of Youzhou. Use the money to help General Gongsun. After all, he has helped Lord Xuande a lot, and we shouldn't neglect him," Chen Xi said, changing the topic to other matters.
"Yes, I've already assigned the Mi family to handle it. It shouldn't take long to deliver," Lu Su nodded.
After chatting about various trivial matters, Chen Xi's mind wandered. He had already planned the arrangements for Gan Ning. There was no denying Gan Ning's ability, though there was a minor issue above him. In about three years, Liu Yan would pass away, and Liu Zhang would take over, making it easier to bring Gan Ning under their control.
For the next three years, Chen Xi had it all planned out. First, let Gan Ning train the navy. If it takes two to three years to train the people of Qingzhou into a navy, training river pirates would be much easier, although discipline would be an issue. However, Chen Xi trusted that Gan Ning would live up to his title of Commander.
As for attacking other states, that was just a joke. Chen Xi said it in jest, knowing that Gan Ning wouldn't be foolish enough to do that. But fighting bandits and the like wouldn't need approval. Gan Ning would likely train his men while battling and turning captives into his navy.
In about a year, once Gan Ning had trained a usable navy, Chen Xi planned to send him to Yizhou to organize the locals, setting a foothold there. This would give Gan Ning experience and allow them to use it as a transit point for trading spices and other goods from nearby islands. After all, making a profit from such ventures is only natural!