Shennong Dao Master-Chapter 1163 - 12: Beitu King, Self Domain, and Death Replacement Grass Man!

Chapter 1163: Chapter 12: Beitu King, Self Domain, and Death Replacement Grass Man!

In March of the second year of Yuan Shou, Zhao Xing arrived in Fengjing and also visited the Imperial Palace.

Since the passing of Emperor Jing, his visits to the Imperial Palace had increased.

In just two years of Yuan Shou, he had already gone over a hundred times.

He would wander around when he had nothing to do, chat with Ji Che, and often talk throughout the night.

"The countries of the Western extremities have always regarded our court as the Heavenly Dynasty. When you go, you must magnify the might of Great Zhou!"

Zhao Xing laughed and said, "Under the sky, none are not the Emperor’s lands; to the land’s shores, none are not the Emperor’s subjects!"

"Rest assured, Fifth Brother, when I go to Western Extreme State, I will certainly make those vassal states understand this principle."

Emperor Wu couldn’t help but be overjoyed upon hearing this: "Good, well said! Come, someone,"

Ji Che called for a Right Historian: "Record my elder brother’s words just now and circulate them among the officials."

The Right Historian, holding a pen and knife, his pupils twirling, emitted bursts of white light from his ears, then he heard the conversation between Zhao Xing and Ji Che and recorded it verbatim.

Seeing the Right Historian finish writing, Ji Che dismissed him and confided, "Elder brother, the Western Extreme State is a place that Father specially left for me to establish prestige."

"This is my first time dispatching a chief minister since becoming a ruler."

"If even a trifling vassal state dispute in the Western Extreme State cannot be resolved, I will be ridiculed."

"Those who love peace among the officials might use this matter to attack us later."

"I will be measured and will certainly not let Great Zhou fall into a great war at this time."

When Zhao Xing first heard of this order, he understood that Ji Che sending him to govern the Western Extreme State was not an emotional decision.

Two concepts need to be clarified here: the Western Extreme State encompasses both a geographical area and an administrative region.

The geographical scope of the Western Extreme State is far larger than the administrative region of Great Zhou.

Great Zhou’s actual control over the Western Extreme State is only one-thirtieth of the entire Western Extreme State (for convenience, referred to as the Western Extreme Continent hereafter).

The administrative area of Great Zhou’s ’Western Extreme State’ covers only one-thirtieth of the Western Extreme Continent, but this one-thirtieth comprises more than sixty percent of the fertile land of the Western Extreme Continent.

The rest either does not border Great Zhou’s territory, or are lands of vassal states, or are barren lands with extremely harsh environments.

The Minister of Agriculture Supervision once calculated that even if the Grand Minister of Agriculture were sent to alter the climate and manage the earth veins, with the Heavenly Craft Department’s cooperation, it would take over four hundred years.

This assumption is based on the premise of peacefully farming and developing.

It doesn’t account for the costs of garrison troops, civil and military officials, and the migration of people...

Financially, spending a hundred thousand pieces might not recover even a single yuan.

It’s not that Great Zhou can’t conquer it, but the cost is too high, which is why there is room for many ’vassal states’ to survive.

The further west you go on the Western Extreme Continent, the more barren the land becomes. Beyond the ’Heavenly Frost Mountain Range,’ nothing is called the Western Extreme Continent but instead the Western Extreme Ice Land or Western Extreme Ice Glacier.

Because there’s no land at all, just layers of ice.

Knowing this, even the most battle-hardened Earth Advantage Sect would not want to attack the barbarians there.

However, while Great Zhou does not wish to engage in battle, the barbarians desire to head east. Who wouldn’t want to live in a land where flowers bloom in the spring and the land is fertile?

Some tribes formed a nation with the help of the Grand Ancestor, becoming vassal states like the Moss State, and after the enlightenment of Emperor Wen, they gradually assimilated into Great Zhou, becoming a defense line for Great Zhou’s Western Extreme State.

Under such premises, expanding territories or initiating great wars in the Western Extreme State would result in severe losses.

Send military officers from factions there, and in a heated moment, they might start fighting.

Ji Che sending Zhao Xing, the Minister of Agriculture, over naturally understood how to calculate this account.

In summary: while showcasing the grandeur of the Great Zhou as the Heavenly Dynasty, they cannot allow the Western Extreme State to sink into a quagmire of war; at least large-scale wars are inadmissible.

If a war breaks out, then Ji Che’s assignment of a chief minister would be deemed a failure and criticized by many, Zhao Xing included.

Zhao Xing and Ji Che talked for many days, with the young brother full of vigor, but he mentioned ’war’ very little, not even speaking a word about it.

How could he not know Emperor Wu’s thoughts?

"To gather the power of the vassal states to fight the barbarians, unless absolutely necessary, I will not deploy the Great Lord of Western Extreme State," Zhao Xing said.

Isn’t it just like learning from Wang Xuanze?

Seeing Zhao Xing deeply understand his spirit, Ji Che clapped his hands and laughed: "With Elder Brother going, I have no worries."

"You may mobilize the Seven Grotto Heavens, the Two Blessed Lands, and the strongmen of each army, taking action as necessary. I’ve prepared an Imperial Decree for you. Should you deem it necessary, you can establish a State Mansion in the Western Extreme State, overseeing military and political powers!"

These words from Ji Che profoundly moved Mr. Zhao.

The uprising of Prince Liang was just over a hundred years ago!

What’s more, Zhao Xing wasn’t even his blood brother.

Working under Emperor Wu is summed up in one word: exhilarating.

But exhilarating experiences aside, Zhao Xing pondered briefly, finding it somewhat odd: "The chaos in the Western Extreme State is just like a minor ailment. Why such a grand gesture?"

Ji Che explained, "This is precisely what I’m about to tell you. Based on the latest summarized war reports from various places in the Western Extreme State this year, along with the Fate Officer’s deductions and reviews, the court has discovered that the Sith Country on the Western Extreme Continent, has experienced rapid expansion in power!"

"From last year, Ji Si and others, combining military intelligence and battle reports, repeatedly deduced and reached a startling conclusion: the Sith Country has overtly and covertly controlled eighty percent of the small countries and tribes in the Western Extreme Ice Land."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing frowned, for he had indeed heard of this Sith Country in his past life, which swiftly rose to power after the Emperor Wu Dynasty, becoming a hegemon in the West.