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

Chapter 597 finally allowed them to catch their breath.

The wilderness and backwardness of this place are unimaginable, but if it can be truly developed, the vast Hundred Thousand Mountains will remember this achievement. This is the great undertaking of the pioneers, no less significant than territorial expansion.

It will be forever remembered in the local annals and the future geography of the country, regardless of the change of dynasties and the passage of time, which can be considered a unique way of leaving a mark on history.

Xu Shiji found it hard to resist such temptation. Although his only regret was that he had failed to trick Xia Lin into wanting to become a retainer, he still felt that this matter was of great significance.

It was even comparable to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's conquest of the barbarian kingdom of Yizhou.

Therefore, Xu Shiji finally agreed to stay in this place to exercise his power of governing and educating people. Xia Lin even promised to find him a fifth-rank official position. It should be noted that Xia Lin was still only a fifth-rank civil official, a county magistrate. Xu Shiji was basically on the same level instantly.

The second brother didn't want to leave either. In his words, he believed that if someone saw injustice in the world, someone would eventually have to sweep it away. If they couldn't sweep it away, they would use themselves as a foundation and lay down on it until future generations could flatten the road.

It must be said that Second Brother has the spirit of a revolutionary who never gives up. Since he doesn't want to leave, then he won't leave. Xia Lin said that not only will he leave these thousand elite soldiers behind, but he will also send more people here for comprehensive management.

At first, Xia Lin thought this place wasn't very big, but after communicating with the local priests and comparing it with the map on his phone, he realized that the area they were in stretched from Wanfo Mountain in the west to Langshan Mountain in the east and Maoshan Mountain in the south—a huge no-man's-land.

If this territory can be expanded, it could indeed curb the impact of the future situation in the southwest on this region. After all, both Xia Lin and Li Er are eager to fight on the battlefield to see who is truly the number one in the world. Therefore, Li Er is unlikely to let go of the vast southwest region.

"Brothers, please don't see me off. I'm entrusting everything here to you two."

After several hours of hiking through the mountains, they finally returned to the exit. Xia Lin bowed to thank his two brothers, while Xu Shiji turned and pointed to the mountains: "Daosheng, let me ask you. If one day a new city is truly born in this wild and chaotic land, what will I do?"

Xia Lin's gaze swept over the towering mountains, and he replied with a smile, "Some people are etched in history books, some in place names, and some in the hearts of the people. All live and die with the world. For some, three lines in history books are enough to bring them the greatest glory, while for others, three pages are not enough to describe them."

"Hahaha, alright. Then I'll strive to be the one who can't finish writing in three pages."

Xia Lin clasped his hands and bowed deeply to Xu Shiji, saying, "The road ahead will be arduous; please take care."

Xu Shiji also clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Brother, I have plenty of strength and means."

"Alright, you two keep talking nonsense. There's still a lot to do inside." The second brother pointed inside: "If you don't go back, I will."

"Then I'll take my leave."

"I really don't understand you guys. We agreed to come out and have fun, but I didn't expect to end up with such a troublesome job. You always have to find something to do."

"You fool, how old are you? You still think about playing all day long. Why don't you use your talents to make something of yourself?"

"You old fox, you talk about being celibate and having no desires, but now you're ready to make a name for yourself."

The sounds of their bickering gradually faded away, and Xia Lin stood there watching until their figures disappeared into the vast mountains.

Xia Lin sighed deeply. He knew that assigning Xu Shiji, a man comparable to Li Jing, to this task was somewhat of a waste of talent. However, Xia Lin truly had no other options. He needed someone with both literary and military achievements to join the team. Direct recruitment was certainly an option. But directly recruited individuals wouldn't have the experience and insights gained from working their way up from the bottom. Born into aristocratic families, they would ultimately become opportunists rather than pioneers and builders.

This country needs builders, and this land needs pioneers.

Xia Lin returned to the county town alone. He sat there looking at the foggy sky outside. Before he knew it, it was almost the beginning of autumn. The weather in this place was rainy, and the rain was coming soon. The sky was gloomy.

Now that Xu Shiji and his second brother are not by his side, he needs to speed things up, and his bandit suppression plan has officially begun.

He bent down and wrote two secret letters, one for Miss Hongxiu and the other for Luo Shixin. Both letters were short, but his style was very traditional: the fewer the words, the bigger the matter.

These two letters were sent out as quickly as a sudden downpour in Lingnan. Meanwhile, the bandit leader, Master Hu, was still ruling as the local tyrant in Zhongwu County. As he wished, he had chosen a concubine, the most beautiful girl in the county, and indulged in nightly revelry, living a life of blissful happiness. He was content as long as Brother Zhang was in charge of things back home, and he could simply enjoy his life.

But now, he probably doesn't realize that his life is probably coming to an end, and he's just a used pawn.

Xia Lin's major move this time was mainly aimed at Wei Changsheng, the garrison commander of Guizhou. Speaking of which, this man was also one of the Spring Seedlings Projects when Emperor Jingtai was young, even earlier than Xia Lin. He was of commoner origin and also rose from a village head to a county magistrate. Then he married the daughter of the local garrison commander. Later, he chose the right side during the rebellion of the Prince of Lingnan, killed his father-in-law, and rose to prominence.

He was only a few years older than Xia Lin, yet he held the rank of a fourth-grade regional official, essentially the same as Old Guo of Jiangnan Circuit, wielding military power.

Now that Dongfeng is gaining momentum, he is naturally unwilling to remain ordinary.

But Xia Lin's influence in the north is too far away, while Lingnan Road is right under his nose. If we don't deal with him, then Xia Lin's efforts over the years will have been in vain.

After the two secret letters arrived in their respective areas, the spies scattered in various places immediately sprang into action, and all sorts of chaotic information followed one after another, making it impossible to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

One of the contents was that Master Hu had already colluded with Jiangnan Dao, planning to take advantage of General Wei's predicament and work together with Jiangnan Dao to devour a large chunk of Lingnan Dao.

Wei Changsheng initially didn't believe the news, but after repeatedly rebuking, questioning, and summoning Master Hu without any response, he had no choice but to believe it when such news came out again.

Another significant piece of news is that Xia Daosheng has been away from Jiangnan Province for over a month, heading straight for Guizhou.

As everyone knows, Xia Daosheng is practically synonymous with disaster. Wherever he goes, various problems inevitably arise that lead to the removal of the local leader from office.

From Wang Shichong's initial defeat and retreat to Luoyang, to the later rebellion of the Duke, to the subsequent turmoil in Chang'an, and finally to the expedition against the Turks, almost all the major battles over the years have been related to Xia Daosheng.

Anyone who hears the commotion of this warmonger will grit their teeth.

Wei Changsheng was under immense pressure. His strategists and officers were working around the clock to gather intelligence, but how could someone with no will fight against someone with a will? All the information they obtained had been processed by journalism, making it three parts true and seven parts false. Within a few days, the two prefectures of Gui and Liu were already in a state of panic.

"Damn it!" Wei Changsheng had now realized that Xia Daosheng was behind it all: "What did I do to offend that person?!"

(End of this chapter)