Of course, although the problems of his sworn brothers were solved or seemed to be solved, Lin Hai also knew that the objective problems had not been solved. There was nothing he could do about it now. When the morale was boosted, the sworn brothers did not want to and were unwilling to bother Lin Hai with more objective problems.
Pioneering new land is a matter full of uncertainty. Although there are actually rules to follow in pioneering new land, it is pioneering in a completely uninhabited place. Lin Hai has always firmly believed that the most uncertain thing about pioneering new land in the southwest is the attitude of the Daliang Empire, and it even involves the attitudes of the Chen Dynasty, the Xia Kingdom, and the often-forgotten Khmer Kingdom.
Even though the Daliang Empire has now given the southwest frontier areas except the Jinguan City area a high degree of autonomy, any rights that are easily granted will be easily taken back.
Lin Hai, who has been an agency manager for many years, has a deep understanding of this.
Lin Hai understood that if Xinqinghe County wanted to reach the scale of a lower-level preparatory county in a short period of time and at the same time had to have a certain ability to preserve its own independence, it would not be possible to do so by relying solely on the traditional pioneering method similar to the feudal dynasties of the Middle Ages. He needed to find another way.
Just as Lin Hai was thinking hard, Wang Liang came over and accidentally bumped Lin Hai with his shoulder. He jerked his chin to the side, made a mysterious gesture in front of everyone, and then walked away pretending to do nothing.
"Brother, what are you doing? If you want to plot, you don't have to do it under ninety-seven pairs of eyes." Lin Hai said helplessly.
"Yes, the brothers still have some questions for you. Of course, I want to ask you too, but you performed so well yesterday, and everyone was in high spirits, so it's not convenient to ask you in person. Let me ask you quietly."
"You call that quiet? The third brother with the biggest mouth is just standing less than two meters away from us, leaning sideways and listening with his ears perked up, okay?"
"Brothers, don't worry. I don't need to tell everyone. As long as your third brother knows about this, all the brothers will know. Hey, hey, hey, third brother, don't back away. Don't miss anything, otherwise I will have to tell you again."
"Okay, I roughly know what you want to ask, brother. I'll tell you in detail."
"First of all, why is our pioneering land so large? Brothers should know this. This is exchanged for the military merits of all the brothers in Qinghe Camp. In fact, if we exchange it for a better place, such as around Jinguan City, there will not be such a large area. It is because the place we exchanged is remote enough that the Ministry of Revenue is so generous for once."
"Remote enough? I can't tell from the map. How remote is it?"
"To put it simply, we're the only pioneering site within a few hundred miles. If we continue south, crossing the northeastern foothills of the legendary Hundred Thousand Mountains, we'll reach the Khmer Kingdom directly."
"Why would we go to such a remote place, just because it's so big?"
"Yes, but it's not just because of the size of the area. Back when this area belonged to the Chen Dynasty, a single county was the size of several, or even ten, counties in the central plains. So, ostensibly, we only have the area circled by the Ministry of Revenue, but in reality, as long as we can control it, we can occupy ten times more land. After all, the Ministry of Revenue's map only drew a circle around that area, so it's not that accurate, right?"
"Well, that makes sense, but why do we need such a large area? There are only ninety-nine of us, and we are pioneers. Even if we were given a prefecture or a state, it would be useless."
"Why would it be useless? You've forgotten I've been there. There used to be a stockade there. Although it didn't have walls, it had complete fences and trenches. It was just that our army swept through it, and many things were abandoned, but the houses and fences are still there. We can move in and make some repairs and it will be usable. To be honest, it's just that the masters in the Ministry of Revenue don't know about it. If they knew, they definitely wouldn't give it to us."
"Oh, I remember why you went there. But even if there is a village, there are not many of us. It would be difficult to support ourselves."
"We may not have many people, but there are people in the southwest. How many years has it been since the Chen Dynasty last fought a serious war in the southwest? Even though we have fought back and forth with the Xia army several times, and the Chen Dynasty has also conscripted men several times, there are still plenty of people, they are just hiding. The first thing we have to do is to raise the banner of the government and call the people down from the mountains to rebuild their hometown."
"Can the local people trust us, a group of outsiders?"
"Of course they won't believe it. I don't believe a bunch of strangers, either. But they have to trust the government. They've lived under the government's rule for countless generations. They're used to living with the government. Now the government has returned, even if it's replaced by the imperial government from the Chen Dynasty. Otherwise, why would I spend so much effort to get a county lieutenant?"
"Yeah, you haven't told me that yet. How can a county lieutenant get it just like that?"
"Well, from the perspective of imperial policy, this place originally had nothing. If we can open up a county for the empire for free, they will provide a county lieutenant. Isn't that a huge profit? Besides, your county lieutenant is just an empty shell. You only have a certificate from the Ministry of Revenue, no salary, and even the seal has to be carved by us in the local area. Only after you become a preparatory county of the lower level will the Ministry of Revenue officially appoint you. In this round trip, they are equivalent to giving you nothing."
"Then they won't be so generous. As an official, I know that even if there is no benefit, they will not let you off easily if they can make things difficult for you. How could they take the initiative to give you a certificate?" It's hard to say other things, but Wang Liang, including everyone in the team, has a say in what the government is like. As soon as Wang Liang finished speaking, all the brothers nodded as if they were being directed by an invisible hand. It can only be said that the invisible hand is indeed the power of the government.
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