The breach in the seal was discovered half a month later, revealing three new, misty canyons surrounded by collapsed rocks and piles of bones, looking desolate and eerie.
The three misty canyons weren't large, smaller than those guarded by other tribes, which was good news; at least the enormous beasts couldn't break out. As for why the smaller beasts weren't there, everyone speculated that they were probably food for the other beasts.
The best course of action, and the least risky, is to first block the largest canyon and then summon reinforcements from the rear. For everyone, the killing has begun again.
To be honest, this kind of fighting day and night, especially against such huge beasts, is very stressful and can easily lead to mental fatigue.
Fortunately, the ability to continuously increase their strength provides hope, and hope fuels motivation! Enthusiasm remains high. Numerous ferocious beasts are hunted, then bled, and used for alchemy; the entire camp is a hive of activity.
Another month later, an army of 30,000 entered, bringing with it a large amount of food supplies.
"Your humble servants Cheng Wuting, Duan Zan, and Liu Rengui have been ordered to lead our troops to the General's camp to receive orders! Of our 30,000 soldiers, 320 have died on the way. We beg the General's punishment." The three young generals, their faces full of remorse, clasped their hands and bowed as they spoke.
"Get up! Although the road was treacherous, you are still responsible for the deaths of 320 people. However, considering that we need manpower right now, I will temporarily record this and hope that you can atone for your crimes through meritorious service," Luo Cheng said solemnly.
"Your subordinate obeys!"
"Now you shall heed the orders of Qin Huaidao, the General Commander of the Lingnan Army," Luo Cheng continued.
There was no other way; Qin Mu's highest official position was currently that of Commander-in-Chief of the Military Circuit. Although it was nominally the Lingnan Circuit, Li Shimin had not revoked it, so he had to continue using it.
"Here you go!"
"Cheng Wuting!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Take three thousand men, rest for two days, and return from here. You must find a road suitable for the army to pass through. Even if there is no suitable place, you must find an easy-to-open route! There are no external enemies along this route! Therefore, the requirements are: safety, ease of passage, and especially the transportation of provisions!" Qin Mu did not refuse and took the command arrow to give orders.
"Here you go!"
"Liu Rengui, take five thousand men and go to the back of the mountains to find a place with abundant water, open terrain, and easy settlement. We need to build a logistics and supply city there."
"Here you go!"
"Duan Zan! You select the remaining people to build the brick kiln, examine the trees, as we're building a castle here. You also need to select people knowledgeable in minerals to explore the environment. You have the most to do, but I'll arrange for others to help you."
"Here you go!"
Although they hadn't received orders to fight, the group knew the mission was heavy, so no one objected and obediently agreed. Qin Mu even felt that he saw respect for him in their eyes.
This earth-shaking change also brought another change to the Tang Dynasty: the new generation began to take up real positions.
Actually, this is a good thing. Getting training early will likely lead to greater achievements in the future.
The large-scale conscription of local soldiers and the need to explore and garrison numerous areas, along with the emergence of many new territories, inevitably led to a surge in new affairs.
Li Shimin had initially thought there were too many officials in Chang'an, but now that a large number of central officials had been dispatched to other areas, the workload for others had increased exponentially. The manpower shortage suddenly became extremely severe.
There's a saying that goes, "When people are desperate, they will come up with a solution," or "A cornered dog will jump over the wall." They all mean the same thing: only when forced into a corner can people think of a way out.
Li Shimin employed a large number of talented individuals, mainly because he saw how overworked his subordinates were, with a group of ministers whose eyes were bloodshot every day. Even he himself only slept for two hours a day.
Everyone was equipped with numerous assistants to run errands and handle miscellaneous tasks. Li Shimin even prepared dozens of carriages in the palace to increase the speed of his ministers' travel and prevent them from being delayed on the road.
It can be said that throughout the Tang Dynasty, almost every official below the third rank was promoted by one and a half ranks this year. This was all to increase official positions! Capable individuals were needed everywhere. As a result, the talented people of the Tang Dynasty were rapidly promoted.
Army expeditions naturally bring along various skilled personnel, so the construction of the castle proceeded rapidly. The tribes descended from the Yellow Emperor—You, Qi, Ji, Teng, Zhen, Xun, Xi, Ji, Xuan, and Yi—all sent representatives to visit. They were all curious about this sudden appearance of a friend. The gift of numerous much-needed items was seen as a sign of friendship. Although the Tang Dynasty couldn't directly send troops to guard the new breach in the seal, each tribe still dispatched several top experts.
They could tell that their new friend was quite strong, but still lacked the top-tier experts, so they sent top-tier experts as reinforcements. However, although they came, they weren't of much help, because the Tang Dynasty could easily hold them off on its own. They had many methods; the massive ballistae were unstoppable even by ferocious beasts, especially since the beasts were so large that they couldn't dodge them.
The food was delicious and the people were kind. The tribesmen quickly accepted Qin Mu and his companions as one of their own. They also revealed the secret of bathing in the blood of ferocious beasts. The secret was that two local medicinal herbs were added to the bath. Even ordinary soldiers could withstand the ferocious aura, and at most, they would only be irritable for a few days.
Soaking in the blood of ferocious beasts has another benefit: while this method, which works from the outside in, results in a slow increase in strength, it greatly enhances defense. It's no wonder that the tribe members, who grow up almost naked in the blood of ferocious beasts, have skin that is essentially top-tier leather armor, impervious to ordinary bows and arrows, and weapons without spiritual energy.
The clay was fired into bricks, the wood was made into carriages, and roads were opened up. The camp plan changed every day. In particular, Qin Mu asked people with Sumeru equipment to help transport stones and volcanic ash, which made the construction progress even faster.
The development gap of thousands of years, aside from military strength, meant that the ten tribes of the Yellow Emperor were worlds apart from the Tang Dynasty. Even if they had only just begun to show their power, it was enough to astonish them. Moreover, reinforcements were still arriving steadily from thousands of miles away.
The aristocratic families and the Buddhist families were closest to this place and had the greatest influence outside. To obtain more resources, they united like never before, using all their strength to gather 500,000 people, clearing roads through mountains and building bridges over rivers to create a road to heaven. Of course, this road was only wide enough for wheelbarrows to pass through. Fortunately, the area was large enough that it wasn't as treacherous as the Shu Road, only the journey was much longer.
These people were not only clearing roads, but also bringing their families with them. This was a relocation that would establish a new city in the mountains thousands of miles away, and settle down there.
As time went on, countless medicinal herbs and minerals were discovered. Unfortunately, the ten tribes in their time did not recognize so many minerals, nor did they know how to use them.
Gold, silver, copper, iron, coal, and gemstones have all been discovered, and this is only a small part of the area. Everyone understands the principle of "the emperor is far away," and even if there were imperial troops here, they know the court wouldn't touch them. Realizing the danger isn't significant, many forces want to make this another stronghold for themselves.
The Longyou region has always been a thorn in the side of the imperial court. However, the court needed these forces to guard the secret realms. Now that the secret realms have all reappeared, and the enemies within have been weakened beyond recognition, some even wiped out, what will the court do with them? There are still external enemies; once those enemies are subdued, will the court take action against them? This is almost an obvious question, requiring no further consideration; the answer is already known.
Even if we assume Li Shimin was magnanimous and spared them because of their contributions, what about the emperors after him? What about the next dynasty? Aristocratic families never only think of the present; for the sake of their long-standing family line, they are even willing to compromise and hand over their entire fortune. Therefore, finding another way out is a must.
This place is almost completely isolated from the outside world. The nearest city is thousands of miles away, and there are no roads for large armies to travel on. It is arguably easier to defend than Shu (Sichuan), and could easily become a state within a state. Therefore, many forces have set their sights on this place, and many have already begun to probe Luo Cheng and Qin Mu's intentions. It should be noted that they are not only the highest-ranking officials and nobles in the court here, but also Li Shimin's favorite generals. With their consent, or rather, if they turn a blind eye, things will be much easier. After all, this place is vast; even if one family carves out a large territory, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"I can promise you on behalf of His Majesty that all the resources here belong to whoever discovers them; the court will not take any of them. However, the court will take 30% of each mineral deposit as tax." The number of inquiries was so great that it even affected the defenses, which annoyed Qin Mu. After discussing it with Luo Cheng, he simply summoned everyone together.
“Lord Qin, isn’t this inappropriate? If this were outside, we’d agree to 30%, or even 40%. But here, mining is difficult, transportation is challenging, and we don’t really have much profit to offer,” said an elder of the Dongfang family.
Qin Mu understood that this was an attempt to ask for an exorbitant price, and he offered to negotiate on the spot. He smiled coldly, raised his index finger, and shook it, saying:
"First of all, I'm not negotiating with you; these are the rules. Those who don't want to can withdraw. If you don't have enough manpower, you can go and capture some. There are plenty of wolves on the grasslands, and many strange creatures have appeared in the Western Regions, haven't they? The roads are difficult to travel, so neighboring areas can team up and build them together. Just think about it, this is a vast territory spanning tens of thousands of miles, with a better environment than the Western Regions, and a hundred times more abundant resources than Longyou Road. The land is fertile; the only thing lacking is manpower. The imperial court doesn't care; it only wants tax revenue! You won't have to do things secretly anymore. Where else can you find such a good deal?"
Quitting is out of the question; I just want to negotiate for better terms.
“What the Prince Consort said makes sense, and we believe His Majesty will agree. But what about after His Majesty’s birthday? Who can guarantee that? We’ve abandoned our ancestral property and paid a huge price, only to end up benefiting others. This place is far from the Central Plains, isolated from the outside world. With the court blocking the outside, we’re like turtles in a jar,” said another member of a prominent family.
Qin Mu looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "Dozens of forces, at least several decades, and you can't even defend this place? Are the experts trained by the ferocious beasts fake? Blockade! How many people would it take to blockade such a large area? The confluence of three mountains can stop the ferocious beasts, but can it stop people? You have been managing the Northwest for dozens of generations, the Tianshan Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains, and you can't find a way out?"
This place is rich in resources; surely the imperial court wouldn't allow you to run out of ammunition and food? Besides, we can collect taxes without firing a single shot. Who would be foolish enough to drive you away and then send their own people? Given the size of this new territory, the entire Central Plains wouldn't be able to digest it in less than a hundred or two hundred years. Where would they find the resources to concern themselves with such petty gains?
Qin Mu's series of questions made everyone's eyes light up, and even those who were initially skeptical had smiles on their faces.
Yes! So many places have appeared, where would the imperial court find so many people to occupy them? Besides, our own territory isn't isolated from the world; our talents are still elsewhere. To put it bluntly, this place is just a home.
"Of course! You should form a loose alliance. This will not only help you make up for what you lack, but also allow you to supervise each other and prevent tax evasion that could displease the court. It will also prevent any one party from becoming too powerful," Qin Mu suggested.
Unexpectedly, Qin Mu suggested that they form an alliance, which surprised everyone. After the initial shock came joy. They smiled and nodded at each other, while some people discussed among themselves.
After they had digested the information, Qin Mu continued, "The court will not force you to hand over your ancestral lands, but the land and rights will certainly not be the same as before. Of course, you can choose not to hand them over, but don't blame me for not warning you if anything happens in the future. The court will only retain 30,000 soldiers here, stationed in the city currently under construction. The castle ahead, along with the other two, will continue to be managed according to the previous agreement."
"Of course! Of course!"
This request was not unreasonable, and everyone immediately agreed.
"I want a place! Here! You can mine the volcanic ash here for free, but all the ore inside is mine." Qin Mu stood up and pointed to the map behind him.
This map was recently discovered. After just one glance, someone immediately said, "This place is not far from the city and is itself a place guarded by the imperial court. Needless to say, it belongs to you, Marquis."
It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision by Qin Mu to visit the extinct volcano. Rather, it was because the people transporting volcanic ash discovered minerals. Qin Mu hadn't paid much attention at first, only intending to take a look, but what he saw shocked him greatly.
70
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