You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

Many people don't understand the deeper considerations behind it, but Feng Tianyin dares to be a pioneer.

Xia He looked at both ends of the railway from the perspective of the person she was leaning on.

It's not as simple as just laying a track; you have to build sand-proof dikes on both sides and plant a grid of vegetation to gradually prevent wind erosion and fix the sand. In some areas with particularly strong winds and sandstorms, you might even need to use an overpass.

How expensive!

The Duchy of Ross simply doesn't have that much money in its coffers.

In Daqian’s view, it should be very worthwhile, because the western railway connects different settlements in the desert oasis.

At this moment, the large caravan entered one of the towns, which had developed into a small town with a population of tens of thousands, making a living through trade, which was truly rare in the vast desert.

"Wow, there are so many caravans this year! Welcome everyone."

"We'll settle you in the same old place. Everything's been prepared for you, so don't worry."

"Long time no see, hope you're doing well."

The caravan leader, Rasvich, was an old acquaintance with connections throughout the Western Regions valleys. He had made arrangements for their arrival before they set off. Their arrival was smooth, and even with a group of over a thousand people, everything was well-organized and there was no disturbance whatsoever.

This is certainly not just because of their high quality; after all, even Xia He, from his current mortal perspective, can see the garrison tents not far away.

Land reclamation soldiers.

The Daqian regime established a second-line force in the western border regions and restarted the land reclamation program.

Sending professional troops directly is a bit too expensive.

Moreover, it exacerbates the resource burden on impoverished areas, which does not align with Feng Tianyin's performance aesthetics, so it won't work.

It would be best to both station troops and farm the land.

The soldiers have been working with the locals to study farming techniques and plant a large number of drought-resistant crops. Special varieties of potatoes, sorghum, and sweet potatoes developed for this purpose have been planted in the fields, which has also improved the ecology, greened the desert, and expanded habitable areas, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

"Little robots love doing things that kill multiple birds with one stone."

Xia He was very satisfied with the development of the western region. He hadn't expected that Feng Tianyin had quietly laid the groundwork, which would be sufficient to support the continued development of this area in the future.

Good tactic.

The urgency likely stemmed from the frequent visits by caravans from the Western Continent.

She switched to the perspectives of several different people, who had different opinions about the caravan:

"These guys' proselytizing is so annoying."

"Hmph, they've already been warned and have toned it down, otherwise they would have been even more annoying. They've realized that the Heavenly Dao Sect won't budge."

"He's probably a spy."

“It’s inevitable that some information will be leaked during the exchange, especially since we are also trying to find out about them.”

"That's true, at least those guys weren't complete barbarians..."

According to the common perception of the Daqian people, a tribe must be as backward as a barbarian camp to be considered truly barbaric. Of course, with the help of the era's correction mechanisms, some barbarian tribes now have line infantry, and the matching mechanism has come into play.

However, they are no longer the main threat.

The times have left the wild monsters far behind, and even the clans are no longer so active. Now it is an era of constant contact, probing, and trade between great powers, and everyone is exploring new frontiers.

Even feeling lost, because you can't figure out your place in the world all by yourself.

Humans are social animals.

Different civilizations can only find their place in the world through constant interaction, communication, and exploration, just as the caravan members are reflecting at this moment:

"The Great Qian Dynasty is too big, and it's firmly under our control. There's no place for us here."

"If you're slow at one step, you'll be slow at every step, and it will be very difficult to expand into the center of the mainland."

"Exploration at sea is more efficient; land exploration is too troublesome."

They chattered amongst themselves, making no secret of their ambitions for the central region of the mainland. Despite its desolate and barren appearance, this place was poised to become a radiating center with a strong geographical advantage.

For example, trade.

The journey was quite expensive, and they had been paying tolls constantly. After all, according to the logic of the Great Qian Dynasty, "You can freely engage in trade and damage the ecosystem, and we are expected to restore it."

As for the merchants of the Great Qian Dynasty, they naturally do not need to pay this extra money.

Of course, this isn't about applying double standards, but rather about the fact that foreign businessmen do indeed pose a danger...

"It's contaminated!"

The sudden warning made Xia He look in the direction of the sound, and saw that several of the merchants showed signs of distortion, most likely because they had encountered subspace pollution at some point and their fates were uncertain.

The unfortunate ones, baring their teeth and brandishing their claws, themselves became a source of pollution, causing those around them to retreat in fear.

Rasvich took out his gun and said reluctantly, "I'll handle this."

"No need, we can handle it."

The local priest waved his hand, and then he and his subordinates immediately performed purification to dispel the pollution and suppress the mutation. They easily controlled the polluted creature and even reversed the process of its transformation into a clan, visibly restoring its vitality.

How can it be!

They could only kill people contaminated to this extent, but the priests of Daqian were able to cure them.

"The latest technology is very expensive."

"As long as you adults can save them, money is not a problem. Please help us."

Everyone expressed their deepest gratitude, while the missionaries from afar were naturally ashamed; the difference was too great, and they were easily overwhelmed by comparison. In truth, the Great Qian Dynasty didn't need many measures to restrict heretics; it was simply a matter of each person relying on their own abilities.

The two sides are far apart; they're not even in the same league.

Chapter 173 Searching for New Routes (4K)

hum!

The corrupted individuals recovered rapidly from the healing psionic fluctuations, but they were still taken into the church for observation and further treatment.

The minor incident didn't elicit any further reaction from the people of Daqian.

In fact, only the members of the caravan panicked and retreated just now, because they knew all too well that once the mutation stage was reached, there was no saving them, and they would surely die. They could not be contaminated.

But this notion has been challenged.

The priest demonstrated through his actions that everything was fine.

The people of Daqian found the matter quite ordinary, and it didn't even require the garrison troops stationed outside the city to take action.

"It will be safe after 3 days of observation. Anyway, you'll definitely be staying here for a while."

"Indeed, we'll sell some goods here to lighten our luggage."

They skillfully began selling goods that had come from afar, and Xia He, with the priest as her protector, naturally came into contact with the corrupted one, who was killed while passing through a desolate, uninhabited area.

bad luck.

It must have been the free-floating pollution that targeted his result.

Although the person involved was unlucky, she thought the situation was relatively good. Decades ago, such a large caravan would most likely have been wiped out or only one in ten survived if they easily crossed the no-man's land. The cost would have been too high.

"The mainland region is already quite safe because of the stronger stabilizing effect of civilization radiation, and land trade routes can be expanded."

Xia He directly gave Feng Tianyin the information.

The other party replied instantly: "Yes, Your Majesty. I will also take into account strengthening inland intercontinental trade."

She always keeps up with the creators' news, and even a single sentence can make her happy for half a day.

And they guessed it was the Western Regions.

Very accurate.

Despite the great distance, it wasn't difficult for the High Priest to sense the fluctuations with his current psychic abilities. He knew that it was the Heavenly Dao taking a long-awaited look, and that his work had been recognized—good news.

After giving her instructions, Xia He sped up the flow of time and the caravan's encampment period ended. They sold out all the goods they had ordered to sell here.

But the journey is far from over.

Captain Raswich had a meticulous plan: the first stop would only sell some heavy items and cheap goods.

After all, purchasing power in the river valleys of the Western Regions has reached its limit.

The local soldiers and civilians were indeed much wealthier than the people of their hometown, but that was nothing within the Great Qian Empire. Looking across the vast empire, the further one went into Xia Yi, the higher the economic level became. Their goal had always been the holy city watched over by the Heavenly Dao.

Let's set off again.

The large caravan of a thousand merchants drove straight in, crossing one town after another in the Western Regions, and the journey was quite smooth.

“This used to be a path where you were on the verge of death, but now you just have to follow the track.”

The caravan members kept remarking:

"I've only been away for four years, and there's already so much change. Were all these railways built all at once during that period?"

"I asked, and it is true, because the repairs on the mainland are almost complete."

"About right! That would be incredibly large. Could it cover the entire area of ​​the Great Qian Dynasty?!"

“Next time we probably won’t need camels, just pure baggage,” Rasvich said with a hint of regret. “Times have changed, and camel caravans will probably be a sight we’ll never see again.”

He had made up his mind to travel back and forth by train.

After all, there is a special terminal town at the western end of the railway line, so buying camels is not a problem, and it is not far to travel back to the Principality of Rus' by riding them, saving the trouble of traveling by long distance.

The further inland you go, the greater the changes become.

The once familiar Loulan and Kangguo were once lush and vibrant, but the area of ​​green space has actually increased instead of decreased, as cities have expanded on the desert and Gobi.

They are indeed cities experiencing population outflow, but that doesn't mean they're lagging behind.

Thanks to the maintenance and supply of trade routes from the mainland, and the fact that these cities were responsible for growing cash crops such as cotton and grapes, especially since there was a huge textile market in front of them that needed to supply them, the surrounding economy prospered.

You just need to plant.

The textile industry is overflowing with orders.

The land that was once considered barren has become an ideal place for cotton to grow.

Xia He returned to her high-altitude perspective and was struck by the sight of reservoirs and ditches being built, with groundwater being extracted for drip irrigation.