knife

Chapter 270 Focus
Although the imperial court has not yet approved the memorial regarding the abolition of the Anxi and Xi'an Protectorates and their restoration to the Beiting Protectorate, the region outside the Great Wall is already implementing this policy.

The Qin Dynasty court in Chang'an is gradually becoming a flag, used when needed and discarded like worn-out shoes when no longer required.

Therefore, the people outside the Great Wall did not take this memorial seriously.

Whether it's approved or not, the impact won't be significant; the tasks that need to be done will still proceed as planned.

However, having obtained the imperial approval made it seem more legitimate.

In any case, no one has yet stepped forward to say they want to start anew, overthrow the Qin Dynasty, and take charge of their own destiny.

He Zudao quietly caused trouble everywhere, never saying anything publicly, so no one could figure out the true intentions of this madman.

When Linghu Ye entered the pass, he did so under the pretext of defending the emperor and suppressing a rebellion, but he actually carried a genuine imperial edict bearing the imperial seal. In any case, the court has not denied it to this day.

Of course, I heard that one of the chief eunuchs in the palace has gone missing.
Scholar Zhou, who was in charge of drafting imperial edicts, was dismissed from his post and sent home.

Whether these events are related to Linghu Ye's entry into the pass is unknown.

As for many other forces, they either claimed to be protecting their hometowns and preventing He Zudao from poisoning their villages, or they claimed to be purging the treacherous and corrupt.

Anyway, they all sounded like they were loyal to the emperor and loved the people, and were devoting themselves to the Qin Dynasty until their dying breath.

Who cares what people think in private?
There was some debate about where the Beiting Protectorate should be located outside the Great Wall.

A significant number of people believe that Zhenwu City should be reopened.

After all, Zhenwu City had been the ruling center outside the pass for hundreds of years.

From the very beginning of the Qin Dynasty, when the Northern Protectorate was established, its administrative center was always located here.

After hundreds of years of development, Zhenwu City is indeed the most suitable place from any perspective.

But Li Dachui disagreed.

In his view, the area around Zhenwu City was already developed, and the Qin Dynasty had already established a strong centripetal force among the surrounding people. With just a little management, it could become a secure territory.

He wanted to place the capital of the Beiting Protectorate in Baoping City.

Zhenwu City is located to the east, so over the years, the development of the eastern part of the area outside the pass has far surpassed that of the west.
The so-called "black area outside the pass" is basically concentrated in the west.

By placing the new political center in Aquarius City, the western region can be better managed and ruled, thus truly integrating the area outside the Great Wall into a unified whole.

It should be noted that in the past, the western region had no respect or obedience whatsoever towards the Beiting Protectorate.

Because the Beiting Protectorate had never cared for them, instead treating them like savages. They would only remember them when they needed military merits, and otherwise, they were ignored whether these people lived or died.

Li Dachui's overall plan was to establish Baoping City as the political center, Tai'an City and Zhenwu City as the two economic centers, Yuan'an City, Qingtongxia, and Yezhuling as the military centers, the Qingshui River and Juma River, two rivers running through the area outside the pass, as the main arteries, and Xuanwu Prefecture as a transit point for the Maritime Silk Road, thereby constructing a complete region under the jurisdiction of the Beiting Protectorate.

The region beyond the Great Wall stretches for thousands of miles, and the latest population statistic shows a population of nearly three million. Li Dachui even felt that this number was probably conservative, as there might be people hiding in some remote corners!

Of course, population is population, and human resources are human resources.

Bringing so many people together and maximizing their collective benefits is a long and arduous task.

Linghu Ye's previous practice of targeting one group at a time hurt many people's feelings.

Destruction is easy, construction is difficult.

It's even harder to win back a heart that has grown distant.

The road can only be walked one step at a time.

This is also why Li Dachui went to great lengths to disrupt the stability of the Northern Yuan and plunge it into war.

Otherwise, if Linghuye were to flee, a unified Northern Yuan would inevitably launch an attack on the area beyond the Great Wall.

What could be a greater achievement than a newly enthroned emperor conquering the area beyond the Great Wall—a springboard for their decades-long dream of attacking the Qin Dynasty—that would boost domestic morale and win them domestic support in one fell swoop?

This will not change simply because that person ascended the throne of the Great Yuan Dynasty.

Whether it was the Tiele, Akdun, or even Jebe,
They all do this once they sit on the throne.

Now, they're fighting tooth and nail, and the situation has completely reversed.

The Beiting Protectorate is about to enter its golden age of development.

If millions of people can truly unite as one, what is a chaotic Northern Yuan?
The total population of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, if all were added together, would be at most a little over five million!
If we can truly destroy the Northern Yuan, then we can turn around and march into the interior without any worries.

Li Dachui and Xiao Changche rode side by side into Baoping City. In front of the Protectorate, Mao Daxian, Zhang Ruo, and other important figures from various prefectures, counties, and districts were already standing to greet them.

They take long-term planning and decision-making meetings, which cover the next five or even ten years, very seriously and have been preparing for them for a considerable period. It's just unclear why the two Protector-Generals changed their plans early this morning and went to inspect the countryside. Of course, the leaders are always right.

It is naturally extremely important to care about the production and lives of ordinary people in such heavy snow.

He loves the people like his own children!
In fact, it's not just these people; nowadays, both inside and outside the Great Wall, who among those who belong to any power isn't concerned about this Protectorate General's meeting?

The city of Aquarius is now teeming with spies.

Previously, spies were concentrated in Tai'an City, but as the political center outside the pass shifted westward to Baoping City, the spies also began to move their positions.

For example, a calligraphy and painting shop.

This calligraphy and painting shop is actually just a branch, but Zhu Chi has always been based here.

The Zhu Chi of today is not the same Zhu Chi of two years ago.

At that time, he was just a guy who had been exiled to a place thousands of miles away by the Southern Chu, someone who was dispensable.

However, now, with the opening of the Maritime Silk Road, a large number of goods from Southern Chu are transported by sea directly to Xuanwu. While meeting the needs of the area outside the pass, they also use Xuanwu as a starting point to travel westward by sea and then overland into the Yuan Kingdom.

Although it was only one trip, the huge profits have already sparked a shipping craze in Southern Chu. As a result, Southern Chu's shipbuilding industry has reached a peak, with large shipyards already booked for five years in advance. Some small factories that were previously barely surviving have also been revived.

Some merchants in Southern Chu who couldn't order ships directly approached Cai Ming in Xuanwu Prefecture. Within three months, Cai Ming's shipyard had received orders for more than ten seagoing vessels.

After Cai Ming obtained the blueprints for a large treasure ship from Li Dachui, he experimentally built one, which was immediately bought by Zhu Chi, who had the advantage of proximity, on behalf of the Zhu family.

This massive ship, exceeding three thousand liang in length and costing over two hundred thousand guan in construction, is currently en route to Southern Chu. Once it arrives in Great Chu, it will undoubtedly cause a sensation and attract the special attention of the imperial court.

Because the Southern Chu boasted that its shipbuilding industry was unparalleled in the world, but they were unable to build such a large ship with a displacement of over 3,000 tons.

Zhu Chi invested all the profits from the goods that the Zhu family had organized this time, which amounted to nothing, into buying this ship. Naturally, this was another investment in the Empress Dowager of Great Chu. After the ship arrived in Great Chu, it would certainly not leave port again, and it would definitely become a research object for the Great Chu shipyard.

Naval warfare is actually much simpler than land warfare in some respects.

Basically, they all fit the pattern of one big fish eating another small fish, and the other small fish eating shrimp.

If the main warships of the Great Chu were to encounter such large warships with a displacement of over 3,000 tons at sea, they would basically face certain death.

Although the Qin Dynasty is in chaos now, the Beiting Protectorate is still a subordinate of the Qin Dynasty.

What it possesses is also what the Qin Dynasty owns.

The Great Chu and the Great Qin have always been enemies.
We can't let our good relationship with Li Dachui and his group make us forget this point.

Who knows, one day they might take off their human faces and put on dog faces, and then they'll just grab their weapons and start fighting.

Such instances are truly countless in interactions between nations.

Once the Great Chu thoroughly studies this ship, given its deep-rooted expertise in shipbuilding, crushing its opponents at sea will be no problem.

Zhu Chi is currently riding high on success.

Li Dachui spearheaded this Maritime Silk Road initiative, and he was responsible for liaising with the Southern Chu side. With his successful establishment of contact with the Anxi Protectorate, the Zhu family, which had been blacklisted domestically, was given a new lease on life. The patriarch of the family was recalled to the court, although he was only a Minister of Rites with no real power, but he could see the Empress Dowager frequently, which was a world of difference compared to the past.

Being able to see the top leader frequently and not being able to see the top leader frequently are two different things.

The road outside the Zhu family's gate, which was overgrown with weeds, had now been trampled smooth again.

This was especially true after the first voyage, when the participating businesses made a fortune.

You should know that if you don't get through to Zhu Chi, even if your goods arrive in Xuanwu, they might not be able to dock and be unloaded!
Now that the Andong Protectorate has disappeared and the Anxi Protectorate is about to be upgraded to the Beiting Protectorate, Li Dachui will soon be in power, making Zhu Chi even more sought after.

However, Zhu Chi also had his own worries.

A high-ranking official from within the country has secretly arrived outside the Great Wall, reportedly to investigate the connections between important figures within the Anxi Protectorate and the Demonic Cult.

Whether it's a demonic cult or not, Zhu Chi doesn't really care.

The city of Shanghai is practically everywhere in Southern Chu. Despite being relentlessly suppressed, it remains an ever-present force, like a wildfire that cannot be extinguished and springs back to life with the spring breeze.

What does it matter if a few evil cult members emerge from beyond the Great Wall?
What does Guan Nan Chu have to do with this?

Could these guys possibly still hold real power outside the Great Wall and one day pose a threat to the Great Chu?
impossible.

Even if this person is the steward of the city lord's mansion, it won't work.

(End of this chapter)