Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 370 Building a Road to Beihai

"Wild grass cannot be burned out; it will grow again when the spring breeze blows."

At the foot of Langjuxu Mountain, Lin Dao sat in a chair fiddling with the grill in front of him, picked up a can of chili powder and poured it onto the lamb skewers. "We have to wipe them out, otherwise they'll rise again in a few decades."

Sitting on a small stool, Huo Qubing held a sizzling mutton skewer in his hand, biting off a piece from the skewer and chewing.

“Brother is right. Since we’ve started fighting, we must fight to the death and not give the Xiongnu any chance to breathe. Give me another bottle of beer.”

After glancing at the empty beer bottles scattered on the ground, Lin Dao got up and went to the container not far away, where he retrieved another basket of beer.

There are hundreds or even thousands of shipping containers like these densely packed together nearby.

Tens of thousands of Han soldiers, along with an even greater number of cattle, sheep, horses, and other livestock, almost filled the entire area between heaven and earth.

Along the banks of several rivers of varying sizes that flow from the mountains, large numbers of captured cattle and sheep are being slaughtered.

After bleeding, skinning, and cleaning, the Han soldiers skillfully cut the beef and mutton into chunks, skewered them with iron skewers, and sent them to the grill.

During the expedition to the northern deserts and the sweeping away of the various Xiongnu tribes, beef and mutton were naturally plentiful.

We've had enough of beef and mutton before, but now there's a new way to enjoy them.

In particular, Master Lin used his great supernatural powers to obtain a huge amount of spices and snow salt, which, when sliced ​​and roasted, became an extremely delicious dish.

Meat doesn't actually taste very good.

Humans use various cooking methods and seasonings to make it delicious and to suit human taste preferences.

Spices during the Han Dynasty were worth almost as much as their weight in gold, something ordinary soldiers rarely enjoyed.

More importantly, many important spices, such as chili powder, are absolutely absent.

For a time, the aroma of roasted meat filled the air at the foot of Langjuxu Mountain.

The soldiers kept moving beer from container to container.

No screwdriver is needed; a strong, calloused hand can easily pry it open.

As for the glass bottles used for beer, almost everyone has collected a few.

In the eyes of the Han army, this was a rare item.

"These are all fermented grain liquors," Lin Dao warmly invited. "Don't be shy, drink as much as you like."

Having obtained the head of the Xiongnu Chanyu, Zhang Qian asked curiously, "Can wine be made without grain? If so, I must try it."

They didn't believe that there could be fine wine made without grains.

Lin Dao wanted to explain to them what industrial manufacturing was.

But after thinking about it, I decided to forget it.

"Don't worry, it won't be given to you to drink."

He wouldn't be so tasteless as to give these warriors who annihilated the barbarians industrially produced liquor.

The numerous containers that Lin Dao brought were filled with alcoholic beverages, spices, grills, skewers, and even grill pans and ovens.

There are even special concentrated feeds prepared for horses.

It was a celebration of a great victory, and every soldier who participated in the battle received a share.

Horses also joined the battle, so naturally they deserved to eat and drink well and enjoy a grand feast.

This was actually a way to entertain the troops, and people other than the emperor who did this usually ended up in trouble.

It's only because of Lin Dao that he doesn't care about this.

"After we've eaten and drunk our fill, we'll head up the mountain."

Holding a roasted lamb kidney, Lin Dao looked towards Langjuxu Mountain and said, "You should get down to business."

Huo Qubing's main task, of course, was to seal the wolf's lair and reside in the Xiongnu territory.

Langjuxu Mountain was a sacred mountain for the Xiongnu people, and its status was similar to that of Mount Tai in China and Mount Fuji in Japan.

Offering sacrifices to the heavens on this place is like riding on the face of the Xiongnu and slapping them repeatedly.

There were no pedantic scholars among the Xiongnu; none of them would submit a petition urging them to ascend the throne, nor would any of them shamelessly offer such advice.
They either fight or run away.

Huo Qubing first offered sacrifices to Heaven at Langjuxu Mountain, and then went to Guyan Mountain to offer sacrifices to Earth.

Having accomplished these tasks, Huo Qubing continued northward, heading straight for Beihai.

Tens of thousands of Han soldiers dispersed, forming teams of a thousand men each, like a giant comb, and with the assistance of long-range drones, they found one tribe after another.

'This old barbarian, in his youth, repeatedly invaded the Han Dynasty, plundering, killing, and committing countless atrocities!'

"Those children, their eyes filled with hatred, play with toys stolen from Han lands! When they grow up, they'll ride horses across the Great Wall, plunder Han wealth, and slaughter Han sons and daughters!"

"Look closely at those barbarian women. The silks they wear and the jewelry they adorn are all from the plundered Han lands. In just a few decades, they could rebuild a kingdom!"

Under the propaganda of these slogans, the various Han armies searched for tribes large and small, all with the mindset of killing the innocent rather than letting the guilty go free, sweeping away tribes like autumn leaves without mercy.

Apart from the cattle and sheep that were carried as food, and the strong horses.

In each tribe, almost everyone who could still breathe was killed.

The entire northern desert region suffered a devastating cleanup.

Even wild animals like gazelles, rabbits, wolves, eagles, and giant eagles suffered the same fate.

The Han army was completely bloodthirsty.

Finally, they rode their horses all the way to Beihai.

Beihai is Lake Baikal.

If you continue north from here, you'll soon be approaching the permafrost zone.

Given the technological level of this era, this was basically the northernmost region where humans lived on a large scale.

"Since ancient times."

Standing on the shore, watching the Han army chase after those silly seals, Lin Dao took a breath. "This place has been part of the Central Plains since ancient times."

"All you need to do is build a series of cities along the coast."

He pointed to the coastline and said, “From Dingxiang County and Youbeiping County, each build a road to bypass the two ends of the desert and reach here.”

"Dozens or even hundreds of cities and military forts were built along the way, and millions of people were relocated there."

"In this way, the entire northern desert and the endless frozen world to the north will all belong to the Central Plains."

Lin Dao wasn't just talking. In the spacetime he completely controlled, that's exactly what he did.

However, in addition to the highway, there is also a parallel railway line.

The transport capacity and timeliness of railways are more than a hundred times that of highways.

Unless a fool like Sima Guang, who gave away his own land, became prime minister, millions of square kilometers of land will truly become part of the Central Plains since ancient times.

“It’s a really nice place.”

Huo Qubing walked barefoot into the Beihai Lake, scooped up water, and splashed it on his face.

"I rode around on horseback these past two days. The land around here is extremely fertile, and there are many kinds of animals."

"Once it's reclaimed, feeding a million people won't be a problem."

"The only question is whether His Majesty will agree."

"After all, it's too difficult to build two roads this long."

“It is indeed difficult.” Lin Dao took off his shoes and stepped into the water. “However, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty is fond of fame, and he can appoint one of his sons to be the King of the North Sea Kingdom.”

“When recruiting laborers, rewards can be given in lieu of work.”

"After repairing a section of the road, we allocated pastures to them nearby."

"In this way, the cost would probably be less than the cost of repairing the palace."

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, loved nothing more than building palaces besides waging war, and in his old age he even sought immortality through Taoist practices.

He spent money like water when he was fighting wars, and he did the same when he was building palaces.

I dare not say much else, but if the money spent on repairing the palace were used to build roads, it would be enough to extend all the way to the North Sea.

Lin Dao plans to open up another source of income: "I can sell advanced tools."

"And materials for road construction."

"Prices are available for bulk orders."

The tools are naturally modern steel tools, including all but those that use electricity or oil.

In terms of quality, it must far surpass the tools made primarily of wood in the Han Dynasty.

As for the materials for road construction.

The situation was similar during the Han and Qin dynasties. When the Qin Dynasty built the Qin Straight Road, they used the method of steaming the soil.

This is a general statement; in reality, it simply means stir-frying cooked soil and adding salt.

The process involves crushing and roasting loess, then burning it to create a concrete-like structure. Salt is added to further enhance its stability.

It can not only effectively resist soil erosion, but also resist damage from plant roots.

The construction quality of the Qin Straight Road is beyond question. After all, anyone who dares to tamper with a national project of the Qin Dynasty would have their whole family wiped out long ago.

Of course, given the productivity of that era, it was extremely costly.

"The Qin straight road is troublesome, but its purpose is also to achieve the effect of concrete."

"If that's the case, why not just use concrete directly?"

"Don't worry, the price I offer is absolutely fair. I'll give you discounts, special offers, rebates, and even cut the price a little."

If infrastructure and road construction materials can be exported, manufacturers in the modern world will be overjoyed.

The discounts can be so large that they almost eliminate any profit margin.

There's no way around it; this kind of thing is produced in huge quantities and doesn't require much technology.

As for the demand for building two long roads, it is negligible compared to the output of the world's factory.

"Brother, don't worry."

Huo Qubing, gazing at the fish swimming in the water, immediately gave his assurance.

"I will do my utmost to promote this matter."

The army finally began its return journey.

Tens of thousands of Han soldiers drove the captured cattle, sheep and horses, along with the spoils of war that the forest roads no longer needed, and marched south in a grand procession.

On the way, they encountered a messenger who had come to deliver the message.

Upon learning of the great victory, the little pig was overjoyed and ordered all Han troops to return, preparing for a large-scale reward ceremony.

Huo Qubing destroyed the Xiongnu royal court, and Wei Qing also basically crushed the power of the Xiongnu Left Wise King.

In addition, there was the Xiongnu Right Wise King's forces, which had been eliminated earlier.

The Xiongnu, who dominated the north and intimidated the Han Dynasty for many years, forcing the Han Dynasty to continuously send women to the Xiongnu through marriage alliances, were now practically extinct.

The tribes that managed to escape no longer obeyed the Xiongnu's orders and sent people to Chang'an to curry favor with them.

In response, Lin Dao encouraged Huo Qubing to speak to the little pig.

"These cannon fodder are useless; all the men should be conscripted to fight."

"Then use immigrants to appease and care for their tribes and families, and to take in their wives, children, cattle, sheep and horses."

"No matter what, just make sure the cannon fodder who are conscripted don't go back alive."

Having successfully wiped out the Xiongnu, whom his ancestors had failed to defeat for generations, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, in high spirits, began a frenzied campaign of bestowing riches and titles upon them.

He took almost half of the national treasury as a reward for the soldiers.

He even bestowed titles upon dozens of soldiers in one go, and every soldier who went to war received a promotion.

The young Huo Qubing, along with his uncle Wei Qing, became a Grand General, and were qualified to discuss state affairs with the emperor.

Undoubtedly the pinnacle of military generals.

After receiving payment, Lin Dao also opened department stores in various mausoleums and towns outside Chang'an City.

They sell various industrial products from the modern world and earn gold, silver, and silk as rewards from the little pig.

On this day, Lin Dao was in the warehouse, preparing to deliver a batch of small commodities from Yiwu wholesale to Yuanshuo Time and Space.

Another portal to another time and space appeared before his eyes.

(End of this chapter)