"Principal, I feel like this is a trap." Ling Yang thought for a long time and replied with the most meaningless sentence.

"Bullshit, I know it's a trap. Who here doesn't know that?" Lin Hai said unhappily.

"The key lies in the third clause. It allows us to form a militia, but doesn't specify the organization or number. This means we have to recruit and maintain our own troops. This was previously unthinkable, and it's completely allowing us to become warlords." Wang Zuo added, "And the Central Government should be well aware that if we maintain too few soldiers, we won't be able to resist Qitian Village, let alone an attack from the other two major powers. If we maintain too many, won't our strength be exposed?"

"Don't raise too many. The current soldier-to-civilian ratio is already too high. Honestly, if it weren't for the insane military expansion of several countries, which increased our iron ore revenue, we would be bankrupt immediately, let alone expand our military." Shi Zhen'er, holding the money bag, clearly had no interest in military expansion. It turned out that the Ministry of Finance was the Ministry of War's biggest enemy...

Lin Hai grabbed a few melon seeds from Wang Liang's hand and slowly began to eat them. He said slowly, "We will expand our military. Our current military strength is completely insufficient to protect the ever-expanding territory under our control. The key is to understand whether this is a conspiracy by the Empire. Simply put, they want us to expand our military without thinking, drain our finances, and then destroy our army through war."

"Well, Xiao Linzi, aren't you thinking too conspiratorially? What will the empire gain by doing this?" Although he had little confidence in the empire, Wang Liang was still reluctant to think about the darkest aspect of things.

"What can we get? If this day really comes, our only way out is to ask the empire for help, and they will get a complete steel base. I think that's probably what they think." Lin Hai said slowly.

"But now this steel base also belongs to the empire, right? We won't lose a penny of taxes from the Ministry of Revenue." Wang Liang disagreed.

"Yes, that's the case at this stage. The Empire should obviously sense that we're disobedient, but the Central Powers can't tell how far we've come from the limited information they have. Of course, the most important thing is that the Empire can't afford to harass us right now. For example, they could send a large army to take over Qinghe County, disperse us, and find another place to resettle us. Furthermore, if we truly harbor rebellious intentions, it would be easy for us to actually rebel, and the Empire would only be left with a ruined Qinghe County. It would be better to maintain the status quo. At least the steel supply is guaranteed. If they can then use a third party to probe our strengths or weaken our positions, that would be even better."

To be honest, if the official who came up with this plan was here, he would definitely regard Lin Hai as a confidant and shout, "That's what I thought, hahahahahahaha."

"But even if this is a hook, the bait on the hook is so tempting that people can't help but want to taste it." Ling Yang sighed.

"I know what you are interested in. It's nothing more than that once we succeed, we will have a legal reason to control Xiangyun. If we can also confer a title, according to the imperial tradition, the fiefdom will most likely be in Qinghe. Then, no one else will have any reason to interfere with what we do in the fiefdom." Lin Hai said.

"But how can I eat the bait without getting caught?" Shi Zhen'er obviously hasn't caught up with the pace yet.

Wang Zuo, who had been thinking for a long time, suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Since you only want the bait, then just bite the bait off the hook bit by bit. As long as you don't swallow it in one gulp, you won't get caught."

"Well, this must be the experience that the Air Force has gained over a long period of time." Lin Hai remembered the recent rumors that Wang Zuo likes fishing, and added a timely blow.

Wang Zuo understood Lin Hai's meaning and quickly explained, "It's not that I dislike fishing. It's just that intelligence work has been quite busy lately, so I found a way to clear my mind and think more easily. If you don't like it, I'll break my fishing rod as soon as I get home."

"It's not that I don't like it, but I wouldn't stop my students from fishing. As long as it doesn't interfere with their work, that's fine. Besides, you can only handle official business in the city, and the Intelligence Department can't move out of the city. This is the principle." After saying this, Lin Hai stopped looking at Wang Zuo, who was sweating profusely, and said to the crowd, "Wang Zuo's basic idea should be correct. We eat the bait, but we don't touch the hook, so we have to come up with an idea."

In fact, Lin Hai really likes the current discussion atmosphere.

Ever since he started to lead his sworn brothers on a journey of thousands of miles to reclaim wasteland, he had often been the one who had the final say. Even the eldest brother Wang Liang often only assisted and reminded them, and rarely had he really discussed things with him.

But Lin Hai knew he wasn't incredibly intelligent. He often simply took advantage of broader perspectives and broader knowledge. The discussions taking place in the large office felt like a true decision-making process. Everyone had their own perspectives and different ways of thinking, but the overall direction was unified. Only such a decision-making body could truly achieve unity, efficiency, and stability.

Looking around at the chattering crowd, Lin Hai suddenly realized that among them were Wang Liang, who represented his sworn brother and the traditional thinking of the Great Liang Empire, and several students representing the new generation of Qinghe. Crucially, these students were united but also divided, depending on the departments they oversaw. There was also Shi Zhen'er, who represented the refugee group that had joined later, and of course, himself. These few people actually represented almost all social classes in Qinghe. This was the result of Lin Hai's careful planning. While these few people might seem a little insignificant now, if all those who could offer advice were added together, Lin Hai felt that they would be enough to represent the entire Qinghe County.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!