Chapter 1220: Responsibility

Ma did not think about carving out any great wealth for himself this time; if he achieved merit, what he still thought about was whether he could strive for an opportunity to continue learning. Now he was also working hard to learn characters, and he was not bad at it.

But he was still far from being a qualified official. Yet Ce was still constantly weakening his power, and he was not a fool; he could certainly feel it very clearly. But after all, Ce represented Huaxia, and Ce's meaning was likely also Huaxia's meaning.

After all, for such a distant place, Huaxia had already invested so much. He was just the original Tribal Chief of a tribe, with so many people in his hands and possessing a certain level of appeal. If he had enough power and directly called for a rebellion, he would certainly still have a certain number of supporters. Wouldn't that be too great a loss for Huaxia? Therefore, it was only right for Huaxia to guard against him.

And the only way was to become a true, qualified Huaxia official. In that way, naturally, they would not continue to weaken his power, but would fix his work and duties. From then on, as long as he did not make mistakes, he would continue to be promoted rather than demoted.

Ma was not stupid. Over such a long time, plus his contact with everyone, he had already understood that the future Western Development Group would certainly be built into a particularly large city, just like Huaxia City.

And now was the best time for him to make his fortune, because everyone was about the same, and there were not yet those formidable competitors who had come from Huaxia. His chances were greater.

If he could build the Western Development Group from scratch into a large city, then he would be a great meritorious official, and his status would inevitably rise with the tide. At least within this Western Development Group, he would have sufficient status.

He envied those nobles of Huaxia, each one wealthy enough and with such good status.

He wanted to become an official, but it was not for any great dream, unlike Ce and the others. If he could be allowed to go directly to Huaxia City, that would be the best, but he knew he had no chance. So, being able to obtain power, wealth, and status was enough.

There were many paths, but counting them all, his path of becoming an official was the most suitable. Although he was nominally an official now, he did not have the Official Seal that a true Huaxia official should have.

Don't look at Ce as young, but he had an Official Seal. A small Jiyin represented power. A piece of scrap paper, written on and stamped with the seal, represented an order that had to be executed. Before he obtained that Official Seal, the power he possessed was false.

Just like the tenant farmers; before they changed their household registration status and registered the land belonging to their own names, they could not actually be considered thorough Huaxia people; they were just doing the same work as Huaxia people.

Now, looking at the quiet She Shan, Ma's heart felt a bit numb. His dream, it seemed, was about to be shattered. After this year, he feared he would completely leave the center of power, and nothing would be his turn anymore.

"Forget about it. If there is no smoke, so be it. We didn't hold the gathering at She Shan last year either; we moved locations. You aren't unaware of that. Let's continue moving forward, keep advancing, and talk once we arrive at the place."

Ju was also here for the first time, and he still had to consult Ma's opinion on most matters. Although the temperature had risen a little after the snow, after all, there was this precedent, so everyone was still quite anxious in their hearts, thinking that a second snow might fall at any time. Originally, it was also about to enter Winter.

The leaves in the forest had already turned completely yellow; of course, there were also red ones and brown ones, with various colors intertwined. In the past, he was used to seeing it and wouldn't feel anything, but now that he was out and looking at the scenery in the distance, Ju also had to exclaim, how beautiful.

The aesthetic education that Baifeng promoted in Huaxia was not in vain; everyone now also possessed a certain level of aesthetic ability. This was still a very successful change.

Ma asked again with some worry: "Regimental Commander Ju, do you think General Yishang has already safely arrived at the Western Development Group?"

Ju shook his head: "According to the time, even if they had sped up their journey, they still wouldn't have arrived. If they traveled at a normal speed, it would still take several more days."

As for the General, sigh, now we can only see how the General's luck is. If the General can persist and hold on, then once he arrives at the Western Development Group, there shouldn't be any problems. If the General cannot hold on...

Then it will be very difficult for us to give an account when we go back, especially for us. I fear the Golden Autumn Gathering will have no harvest, and the General will be gone as well."

Ju let out a long sigh: "The future is pitch black."

"The letter was sent out long ago, wouldn't someone go to receive it?"

The letter Ma spoke of was the carrier pigeon. When they split into two groups, they released the carrier pigeon for the first time because the matter was of great importance and had to be sent.

And it was also stamped with Yishang's seal, so that they could tell the people in Huaxia that this decision was made by Yishang himself, not a decision they made themselves. Even if Yishang died halfway, their responsibility would be much smaller; after all, it was confirmed that Yishang died of illness.

"It is impossible for anyone to receive it. Huaxia City is so far from here, and it is so far from the Western Development Group; it is simply too late."

"Besides, the pigeons will not stay at the Western Development Group, and the Western Development Group does not have the power to intercept the carrier pigeons, nor the power to open and read the letters."

Uh, even if Changle Prince were there, it wouldn't work. This is the rule, a set-in-stone rule. Doing this is just to tell the King how far we have come and what we have encountered."

Ju whispered another sentence: "The main thing is this issue of responsibility. As long as the letter is delivered, our responsibility can be much smaller. Do you understand now?"

Ma nodded thoughtfully, indicating that he also understood.

"Alright, let's hurry up, speed up, and get to that gathering location you mentioned. Let's see if there are any tribes there. If there are no tribes there, then we will announce that the mission has failed, and we will just go back directly. Returning early means peace of mind early; staying here might lead to more snow."

But Ma felt whether this would cause problems. After all, empty words have no proof; how could they say they had arrived at the place?

Ju pointed at the trees and said: "Oh, just carve characters on the trees. Say that we arrived at the Golden Autumn Gathering, but there was no one there, and then we withdrew."

"Just carve our names on it. As long as the tree isn't chopped down, it's fine. Carve a few more trees, or carve it on stones; next year, there will naturally be people to verify it."