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

Chapter 661 Another year has passed.
While Emperor Jingtai celebrated the New Year, Huangyaguan also celebrated the New Year.

Xia Lin spent the New Year at Xiao Chenzi's house. Seeing his two daughters and son enjoying their company, he suddenly felt a little emotional. Fortunately, the lively atmosphere at the scene helped to soothe his longing.

"Hey, Chenzi." Xia Lin picked up her wine glass and took a sip. "How many years have we known each other?"

Xiao Chenzi paused for a moment: "Ten years? No, it's been fifteen years if you include this year."

"It can't have been that long, can it?" Xia Lin stroked his chin. "Fifteen years?"

"Yes, I recognized you back when you wrote the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng in Hongdu. It's just that you didn't recognize me."

Xia Lin didn't call Chen Zi "good son" today, mainly because his wife and children, as well as the little princess, were here. It would be too much for Chen Zi to accept, and it would also make him lose face.

"Oh, right. I remember you were the top scholar in Hongbao's tenth year, right?"

“Yes.” Xiao Chenzi smiled sheepishly, “In the end, didn’t I still end up guarding the border?”

"You're the top scholar!" Gongsun Hongyuan exclaimed, looking at Xiao Chenzi in surprise: "You haven't told me all these years?"

"It's nothing, nothing at all." Xiao Chenzi's face turned red, but he could only pretend that it was from drinking: "So what if you're the top scholar? You still get bullied."

"Who is it? They dare to bully even the top scholar?" Hong Yuan blinked, looking bewildered. "I don't believe it."

Xiao Chenzi glanced at Xia Lin and said with a wry smile, "Why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang? Right, Commander Xia?"

Xia Lin picked up a piece of food and crunched it in his mouth like chewing on a rubber band. He spat the tripe onto the table and looked at it. Even after chewing it like that, it was still intact, which made him exclaim, "Who stewed the bowstring of the Eight-Ox Crossbow?"

This one sentence avoided Xiao Chenzi's sour tone and brought laughter from both adults and children.

"Take a rest for the next few days. You'll be very busy after the New Year." Xia Lin pointed at Xiao Chenzi: "Your next plan is to expand Huangyaguan into a real city. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand." Xiao Chenzi nodded. "But the pressure from the imperial court..."

“I’ll take care of it.” Xia Lin said with a frown, “I just happen to have no excuse to come out and deal with them. Don’t worry, managing the Northeast is your most important task right now.”

Xiao Chenzi was a little confused at this moment, but still agreed, "I understand, don't worry."

"Don't just agree. I know you have some questions. Tell me."

"Alright." Xiao Chenzi took a sip of wine. "The focus of our current strategy should be on the Central Plains. It's not quite right for you to keep your eyes on that place all the time."

"You! You never learn. I ask you, why did Yang Ying lead 200,000 men to attack this place? Was it to cut off your dog's head and soak it in medicinal wine? Didn't you see where all the equipment they abandoned came from?"

"From the grasslands."

“That’s right.” Xia Lin slammed his hand on the table. “Guess why the grasslands are willing to pay any price to get this place? Anyone with a bit of foresight knows how important this place is. You should focus on developing it.”

"But it was the land of the Goguryeo tribes, so it was their territory."

Xia Lin smacked his lips and tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "Yeah, this isn't going to work either. We need to find a way to get this place over here."

"Um……"

“Yes, do it this way.” Xia Lin slapped the table again: “After the New Year, go and talk to those tribes about something, that is, ask them to rent their land to us.”

"Would they be happy?" "Let's raise them like pigs." Xia Lin frowned. "Then we'll sell them the produce from the fields at half price, and encourage them to grow ginseng and raise some toads. We'll spend twenty years replacing their human population."

"feasible?"

"Of course," Xia Lin chuckled, "It might even be simpler and faster than we think. How many of them are there in total?"

"The entire Goguryeo Kingdom had a population of about five million, which is not a small number."

Xia Lin quickly estimated, "It's simple, just five million."

"Do you have any idea?"

"Hehe..." Xia Lin drew a circle on the table: "This is the area connecting Huangyaguan and Shanhaiguan. I want to develop this into a continuous urban cluster, set up factories, and attract all those people here!"

"They are aliens!"

"That won't be the case for long." Xia Lin raised her chin: "How's the progress on teaching them Chinese?"

"It's been almost ten years now. People over there need to do business with us and learn skills from Han Chinese craftsmen, so most of them can speak Chinese now."

“Increase our efforts to establish Chinese language schools! After three years of study, they can come here to work.” Xia Lin continued, “Their children who come here to study and work will be treated the same as Han people and will not be bullied. If they wish to settle down, they can do so, but they must own property.”

"You want to kill someone and kill your heart?"

“If we don’t strike at their hearts, how can we take over this vast and magnificent Northeast? A soft knife is the most painful to kill, and this place is not easy to fight.” Xia Lin stroked his chin. “That’s how we’ll do it. Development is the only way forward. You know that the current infrastructure can’t support a large-scale troop advance. Supply lines are lifelines, and the grasslands are too far away. They’re not the grasslands they used to be. It’s too difficult to get there. Our tactics have limitations, you should understand that.”

Xiao Chenzi nodded: "The number of people is also a bit smaller. I'm afraid a few hundred thousand people are not enough to conquer the world."

"Tian Wei cannot afford any defeat at present, but defeat is a common occurrence in war. Winning is a matter of luck. No one can win every battle and never be defeated. You and I are no exception."

On this unknown New Year's Eve in an unknown year, the fate of five million foreigners from beyond the Great Wall was decided at a simple dining table.

After dinner, Xiao Chenzi arranged for Xia Lin to soak in a hot spring. He didn't even need to replicate the hot spring in Fuliang. A few days ago, Xia Lin blasted half a mountain outside the city, and springs emerged from the mountain, which then became a natural sulfur hot spring.

It was below -10 degrees Celsius outside, but the hot spring was 30 or 40 degrees Celsius. Soaking in it made me feel dizzy. Xia Lin had a large towel on her head and was leaning back against a smooth rock.

“These years have been so tiring,” Xia Lin suddenly blurted out. “I only realized today that it has been fifteen years since I left Luoyang for the south. I was sixteen years old then, and now I am thirty-one.”

Xiao Chenzi chuckled: "Back then, I saw you as a thorn in my side, but after several attempts, I ended up here myself."

"Alright, enough nonsense, my dear son. I was able to save you this time, but I might not be able to next time. If you dare to lie to me about military matters again, I won't be able to save you every time. Do you know how much money I spent on you this time?"

"I should be able to make it up to you next year. The corn you brought was a huge harvest. I originally said I would go after the annual report was completed."

How many kilograms?

"It's alright. It's only a mere two million catties. After replanting next year, there should be more. What can you do with it? Use it as food?"

"It's mainly used as animal feed. As for people, if they can afford it, they should mainly eat rice and noodles."

"Don't you dare! Don't think everyone is under your command. Right now, at least 80% of the world's population is still starving!"

(End of this chapter)