Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 407: Unity of Knowledge and Action, Become a Saint

When the last ray of sunlight on the black soil disappeared in the vast land, Xia Lin suddenly turned around and said to Xiao Chenzi: "If you ask me, there are many talented people in the world, and you can be among the top three."

"You don't need to praise me like that. Just tell me what you want to do."

If someone else said this to Xiao Chenzi, he might feel proud for a while, but when Xia Lin said this to him, he just felt that this person was mocking him.

Being one of the top three capable officials might be a good thing to show off in front of others, but it was just a joke in front of Xia Daosheng. Although Chen Zi thought he had done a lot, he was still not satisfied, because in the same amount of time, Xia Daosheng had built Fuliang from nothing to something, from weak to strong, but when he came here, it was still a wasteland.

"Do you think I'm mocking you?"

"What else?" Chen Zi laughed out loud. "I know what I'm lacking. If you point it out, isn't that just mocking me?"

"You."

Xia Lin shook his head and laughed, "You are very smart but not smart enough. As the saying goes, knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the result of knowledge. I have seen what you know and do along the way. For you, it is the unity of knowledge and action. And to say that you are not smart enough is because you always compare yourself with others. You think I am mocking you, so let me ask you, is there anyone who helps you with what you do here?"

Xiao Chenzi was speechless for a moment and did not say anything.

"Fuliang's success was the result of the right time, right place, and right people. It was created by chance. But you, without any help or luck, have relied on your own strength to form alliances, settle disputes among different ethnic groups, and expand barren lands. In time, the achievements of your subordinates can be called a great help in times of trouble. But after the passage of time, Fuliang is just icing on the cake when we look back."

After Xia Lin finished speaking, he looked back at Xiao Chenzi with a smile and said, "You are above me. Your father is very pleased."

"Damn it..." Xiao Chenzi said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "I was touched, but you suddenly took advantage of me."

"As the saying goes, a disciple surpasses his master. It is not easy for you to achieve what you have today. You say you have some shortcomings, but that is because there are still things you don't know. When you are confused, you are hesitant. This is human nature. But you also need to know that no one in this world can be omniscient and omnipotent. If you can't do it today, it doesn't mean you can't do it in the future. What you are doing now and the results you have achieved deserve the saying of unity of knowledge and action."

Xia Lin took a step back and patted Xiao Chenzi on the shoulder: "Those who combine knowledge and action should be saints. You only have one more chance to turn the tide before you can be canonized."

As a professional diplomat, Xia Lin's ability to deceive is a gift from heaven. Although Xiao Chenzi is a top scholar, he has always been frustrated. Now that he is suddenly praised by his mortal enemy, it is hard for him not to be flattered.

"really?"

As the saying goes, you can listen to the flattery of your own people, but you must be proud of the praise of your opponents. After Xia Lin said this, although Xiao Chenzi didn't show any expression on his face, he was very happy inside.

"Why would I coax you?" Xia Lin pointed at the full moon on the tip of a distant mountain. "I've traveled 700 miles. What I've seen along the way can't be called a pure land of kingly virtue, but it's also a place where people live and work in peace and contentment, and it's thriving. This is something that not everyone can do. This place is at the intersection of wind and clouds, the situation is so complicated, and it's so difficult to pull together. It's rare in the world. If it were someone else, they would only see the stability here, but not how panicked he was at the beginning."

After hearing these words, Xiao Chenzi almost cried. It was not because he was fooled by Xia Lin, but because he thought about how he had suffered so much and how many sleepless nights he had gone through since he came here. He even went to the countryside to live and eat with pigs and cows for the sake of a policy.

Nowadays, everyone who comes here praises the good governance, but no one can understand how much sadness and exhaustion are behind this "good governance".

"Okay, there's still a long way to go, big boy." Xia Lin stood beside him with his arms folded and sighed, "I have a big thing going on, you should think about whether you want to participate or not."

"You want to rebel?" Xiao Chenzi suddenly narrowed his eyes: "Then I will kill you!"

"You, BYD, really don't want anything good from me."

Xia Lin brought Xiao Chenzi to the heavily guarded carriage and took out the wooden box. The moment he opened it, Xiao Chenzi's scalp went numb.

"You...you...you usurped the throne?"

"Are you sick?" Xia Lin took out the Huangya Pass military token and said, "Call me Marshal."

Xiao Chenzi reluctantly bowed his hands: "General... that's not right, which general directly took the twelve-level military token?"

"That's right." Xia Lin found a rock and sat down, holding a bunch of military tokens in his hands: "Your Majesty gave this to me."

Xiao Chenzi lowered his eyelids: "So now you are the last face of the Wei Dynasty?"

"The Great Wei Dynasty?" Xia Lin glanced over and said, "It's China. You don't want the Five Barbarians to invade China again, do you?"

Xiao Chenzi bit his lips and couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"The twelve frontier armies are now in the hands of different people. Some are in Li Jing's family, some are in Li Yuan's family, some are in Guo's family, and some are in Wang Shichong's hands. I only have the tiger talisman but no soldiers. And you, my dear eldest son, you are the only person your father can trust."

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have come to this remote place." "Damn it, you're the one who tricked me. If it weren't for my luck, I would have been killed by you in Lingnan."

After hearing this, Xiao Chenzi seemed to have nothing to say. They were all thousand-year-old foxes, there was no need to play with painted skins.

"So what do you want from me, Marshal?"

"You don't have to call me Marshal, just call me dad."

After hearing this, Xiao Chenzi lowered his head and began to search for something on the ground. When Xia Lin saw him, he asked, "What are you looking for?"

"I'll find a stone that's easy to use and smash your brains out. That will be my way of giving an explanation to my ancestors."

"Oh, okay, okay, don't be angry. Who would want to ruin your health if you get angry?" Xia Lin crossed his legs and said while admiring the moonlight in the sky, "Let me hear what I plan to do."

"You said."

Xia Lin cleared his throat. "I will take back as much of the original border army as I can. If I can't take it back, forget it. After all, the border army has become a private army over the years. I plan to reorganize the border army with the military system at hand. The original twelve armies will be integrated into four routes, each of which will guard a quarter of the country. I hope you will be in charge of the northern army."

"I?"

"Yes, but you can't make it public before the establishment is complete." Xia Lin stood up and climbed onto the carriage, took out the map, and unfolded it in the light of the campfire: "The scope of the northern route is very large. We are here now, and the final area you will be in charge of will be the seaside, 3,700 miles in total. It starts from the extremely cold land in the north and ends at Silla and Baekje in the south."

"So big..." Xiao Chenzi's pupils trembled: "This is bigger than the Central Plains. You are overestimating yourself."

Xia Lin smiled and said, "Everywhere the sun and the moon reach is Han territory."

After a while, Xiao Chenzi came to his senses from the shock. He looked up at Xia Lin, the moonlight just hitting his cheek. "It can't be hereditary. It has to be rotated every five to ten years. Otherwise, no matter who it is, it will be difficult to avoid having their own troops."

Xia Lin looked at Xiao Chenzi and suddenly burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at you." Xia Lin patted his shoulder and continued laughing. "I said that from the North Pole to Baekje in the south, the first thing you thought of was that I was overestimating my own abilities, but you didn't even think about whether this was right or not."

"Why not?" Xiao Chenzi stamped his feet in surprise: "Such a good place, can it be taken away by these barbarians? If so, I will not rest in peace. Even if you don't tell me, I will find a way to take these places back."

"Oh? Tell me how you plan to get it back."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Xiao Chenzi said, "First, make this place prosperous, and then disintegrate these country folk from the inside out, letting them kill each other. When the killing is over, I will intervene as a mediator and drive them to the island to reclaim wasteland. This land will be mine."

"You are so cruel."

"We can't let them occupy such a good land. I won't accept that. When the time comes, I will support a branch of the family and tamper with their history books. No matter where they came from, I will throw them all into the same pot and say that their ancestors were the heirs of King Wu of Zhou who were granted fiefs here. No matter what, I will first stamp this land as Han territory since ancient times. My descendants will come to deal with them. And if things continue to develop like this, it won't be long before they fight over the uneven distribution. I will just wait for them to fight among themselves."

After hearing this, Xia Lin laughed and clapped: "Awesome, awesome! This trick works well."

"But I still have to be careful now. Since the emperor has given me this authority, I must find a way to create a large territory for future generations."

"I'm confused." Xiao Chenzi pointed to the bitter cold land in the far north on the map and said, "This bitter cold land where even birds don't fly, why are you here?"

"This is not a bitter cold place. There are vast jungles here with all kinds of mineral resources. We can't use them, but what if our son can? If our son can't use them, can our grandson use them? If our grandson can't use them, he still has a son, who will be able to use them one day. Do you think it's better for our own descendants to use them, or for those hairy savages to use them?"

"Damn it, I can't give it to dogs, but I can give it to them. That would be a waste of good things. If anyone takes even an inch of my territory, I will jump into the coke oven and burn myself to death."

"That's it." Xia Lin slapped the map: "The larger the territory, the more benefits there are."

After saying that, Xia Lin slapped three tiger talismans on Xiao Chenzi's hand and said, "It's yours. I won't say anything more. You have to manage this piece of land well. I won't give it to others. You are the only one. Who says you are my eldest son? Until now, you don't even want to call me father."

"Where's my stone?" Xiao Chenzi lowered his head and looked for it again: "It's better for me to smash your head with a stone."

(End of this chapter)