Chapter 353: Developing Islands

"Everyone, this matter must be discussed at length."

Zhang Liang said in a low voice, "You have all just escaped the pursuit of the tyrannical Qin. It is not easy to show yourselves now. That person is so important that the tyrannical Qin must value him highly, and there must be experts protecting him. If we strike in haste, we will likely fail and instead trap ourselves."

"We cannot afford to lose anyone else now."

Zhang Liang's words left everyone present silent. After thinking about it, they realized they had been impulsive.

They had only seen the threat that person posed, but had forgotten that assassinating such a person would inevitably be fraught with difficulties.

They could all see the importance of this person; how could Ying Zheng of the tyrannical Qin not see it?

The tyrannical Qin unified the world; there is no need to speak of Ying Zheng's capabilities. They hate Ying Zheng, but they have to admire his ability.

"Then, Mr. Zhang Liang, what do you think we should do next? Are we to do nothing and just watch as the tyrannical Qin promotes this agricultural technology to the whole world?"

Da Tiechui stared at Zhang Liang with wide eyes.

"Do you all think that even if we kill this child now, we can stop the tyrannical Qin from promoting this new agricultural technology to the world?"

Zhang Liang's counter-question left everyone silent again, not knowing how to answer.

"The tyrannical Qin has already mastered the new agricultural technology. Even if we kill this child or those in the Ministry of Agriculture, so what? The tyrannical Qin will just train more people."

Zhang Liang knew very well that killing would have no effect and would instead be detrimental to them.

If the tyrannical Qin were to announce directly that it was they who were preventing the spread of the new agricultural technology, their reputation among the common people would become even worse.

Reputation is extremely important to people like them, especially for their future rebellion. Only with a good reputation will people follow you.

"Then we do nothing?" Da Tiechui said, somewhat sulkily.

"Tie Tou."

Seeing this, Master Ban pointedly reminded him in a heavy voice. Upon hearing this, the former could only sit to the side.

The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly solemn.

"Mr. Zhang Liang, do you have any suggestions?"

Gai Nie suddenly spoke at this moment.

"Hmm!"

Zhang Liang was somewhat surprised to hear Gai Nie's words; he had not expected Gai Nie to stand up and speak at this time.

All along, every time everyone discussed matters, Gai Nie had never spoken.

"I do indeed have some thoughts, which we can discuss."

"First, as for that Ministry of Agriculture official and the people in the Ministry of Agriculture, even if they must be killed, we cannot be the ones to do it. Because once the tyrannical Qin announces to the common people that it was we who assassinated those people, and that it was we who prevented the increase in grain yields..."

"Our reputation will be ruined."

"Hiss~~"

Just as Zhang Liang finished speaking, everyone gasped. Only then did they understand why Zhang Liang had stopped them.

"Thanks to Mr. Zhang Liang's reminder, we really hadn't thought of this point."

None of those present were fools; once Zhang Liang reminded them, they understood.

"In that case, we truly cannot make a move."

Although the common people at the bottom might not count for much, when gathered together, this power is extremely terrifying. Moreover, in the future, when they want to restore their states and rebel, they certainly cannot do without the support of the people.

If those people knew that they were preventing the increase in grain production, the consequences would likely be that they would want to tear them apart.

"Mr. Zhang Liang, please continue."

"Hmm! As I just said, we cannot be the ones to kill this child, but others can. For example, the Agricultural School. The Agricultural School forms its own system; in the past, relying on their technology, they could even disregard the tyrannical Qin."

"Now that the tyrannical Qin has new agricultural technology, the demand for the Agricultural School has decreased. How could the high-level members of the Agricultural School not be anxious? They offended Ying Zheng deeply before."

"They must be afraid that Ying Zheng will settle scores later, so they will inevitably hate this child even more and will try every possible means to get rid of him."

"Not bad! The Agricultural School must hate this child even more; perhaps they won't be able to resist making a move."

Everyone's expressions finally became a bit more spirited.

Thus, everyone looked at Zhang Liang, hoping that he could give them more surprises.

And the latter did not disappoint them. Zhang Liang continued, "So we don't need to resist. The emergence of this technology is a general trend that simply cannot be blocked."

"Since it cannot be blocked, we should strive to adapt to it. We should send people as quickly as possible to learn these technologies."

"I won't even mention the importance of grain. In the future, if we want to overthrow the tyrannical Qin, we need a powerful army. An army needs people and grain, especially grain. Without grain, we cannot recruit people."

"The tyrannical Qin was able to unify the world by relying on the military merit system, and the most important part of that was grain."

"Therefore, we also need to prepare in advance. Since the tyrannical Qin can use this to increase grain production, we can also reclaim wasteland."

"But how can we reclaim wasteland? Now that the tyrannical Qin's hands reach every corner of the country, we simply cannot escape the eyes and noses of the tyrannical Qin's lackeys."

"Unless we are in the deep mountains, but that is too troublesome."

"Land is indeed unlikely, but overseas islands are not yet involved by the tyrannical Qin. This is our opportunity. As long as we can migrate a portion of the people to overseas islands to develop fertile fields and build an army..."

"Slowly develop and wait for the opportunity."

"This..."

Zhang Liang's proposal indeed made everyone somewhat moved. After all, they also knew that if they wanted to overthrow the tyrannical Qin, an army was indispensable.

But before, they simply had no power to maintain an army. Even the remaining forces of the Xiang clan were remnants from the battlefield, and they were hiding in the mountains.

If there were a safe rear base, it would be an excellent thing for them.

The members of the Xiang clan looked at Zhang Liang with extremely fervent gazes.

"Mr. Zhang Liang, have you discovered islands overseas that can be developed?"

Fan Zeng asked hurriedly. As a strategist, he also knew that there was simply no way out for the Xiang clan on the mainland right now.

The Great Qin is simply too powerful now, with millions of elite troops.

It is simply not something they can face.

"I have indeed discovered a few islands overseas. If developed properly, there would absolutely be no problem for a million people to survive on them."

Zhang Liang's tone was calm, but upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed. Being able to support a million people meant they were definitely not small islands.

If they could find a few more such islands, they could build an elite army of hundreds of thousands, even if they were not a match for the tyrannical Qin.

But they could wait slowly. As long as the tyrannical Qin showed any weakness, that would be the time for them to act.

"The most important thing now is population. If we want to develop the islands, population is indispensable."

Zhang Liang then brought up a problem, which immediately cooled the previously excited mood of everyone by quite a bit. ===== CHAPTER 354 =====