Chapter 1307: Year-End Meeting (Part 4)

"Xiong, this is not your problem. The problem this time lies with me; I did not discuss the distribution of war spoils well with Xuanyuan, which is why this issue occurred.

There were war spoils, but they were taken by the Xuanyuan Tribe. I did not anticipate that the war would be like this in the first year. I estimate that the next two years will likely be similar to this year, and it is impossible to gain any benefits.

Because we cannot strike at the center of the Shennong Clan, nor can we strike at Changyang Mountain, it is naturally impossible to obtain much wealth. With the population scattered, how many people can there be? If they surrender, they will only surrender to Xuanyuan, not to us. Therefore, this is a problem with my policy, and it has nothing to do with you.

Plus, now that we have the addition of the Suiren Clan, population is no longer an issue from now on. We do not need to consider the population of the Shennong Clan. If there is nothing else to plot for, then there is no need for me to participate in this war.

Besides, your achievements in other areas this year were quite good. Our Soldiers have also experienced actual combat and have had very good improvements. Some good commanders have also been trained. Shaoyin is very good; I have read the battle reports and the situations of other Soldiers, all of which show that Shaoyin has great leadership ability. He can be entrusted with more responsibility later.

From the war, we have also tested the combat capabilities of our Soldiers and exercised their courage. This is an effect that cannot be achieved during ordinary training; one must have actual combat to have such good results.

Casualties are necessary in war and cannot be avoided. But now that we have experience, won't we be able to reduce casualties even lower when we encounter larger wars in the future? Therefore, do not feel troubled because of this failure.

Xiong, you are currently the most excellent candidate to lead our Huaxia Ministry of War. If you feel that your pressure is great and you want to resign, aren't you just passing the pressure back to me?

Besides you, who else can I use? For now, you must persist, train those subordinates and commanders for me, and train their abilities. When you have done that, if you then say you want to resign and want to retire, we shall see if it is possible for me to approve it. Right now, it is impossible."

In Baifeng's words, there was not a hint of blame toward Xiong, and from a high level, he brushed aside Xiong's responsibility and even gave him some credit. Hearing this, how could Xiong not be moved? The others also let out a sigh of relief; they felt that they probably would not have been as good as Xiong on that battlefield. With Baifeng explaining it this way, they were able to understand.

And Baifeng also took this opportunity to bring up his bold idea.

"Because of my negotiation failure this time, I will re-negotiate with Xuanyuan next year to strive to obtain sufficient benefits for us. If Xuanyuan is unwilling, then we will give up participating in this war. We are not short of population; we can focus our energy on construction and prepare for greater competition in the future.

Furthermore, starting from next year, I plan to select land, populate it, develop it, and build cities in the lower reaches of our Dahe, near the territory of the Xuanyuan Tribe.

Our Huaxia City is very important, but there is no obstruction in front of our city. Currently, our relationship with the Xuanyuan Tribe is fine, but if the Xuanyuan Tribe and us have a conflict in the future, their Soldiers could directly attack our Huaxia City along the Dahe. This is certainly not acceptable.

Therefore, there must be a city in front to block the enemy. This way, Huaxia City will be safer, and it can also provide help to the forward city.

So, my plan for next year is to ask the Xuanyuan Tribe for territory, exchanging the Shennong Clan territory we conquered for their Xuanyuan Tribe territory. The previous talk of joint development and such is difficult to realize, so we will directly ask for their territory to distance our border from Huaxia City.

This way, even if we participate in the Shennong Clan war next year, the final exchange will be profitable, and it won't be a pure loss like this year. We want the population, we want the Slaves, and now we must also want the land.

Another point is that we can build cities on the border between us and the Suiren Clan's territory, or even inside the Suiren Clan's territory, to control the Suiren Clan to a greater extent and expand our territory as much as possible.

Places we cannot control can serve as buffer zones with the Xuanyuan Tribe's territory. As for the places bordering the Jiuli, we can even use territory to exchange for their products. The Jiuli can obtain territory without lifting a finger, and we can avoid wasting those uncontrollable territories while obtaining maximum benefits.

Once the contact area between the Jiuli and the Xuanyuan Tribe's territory becomes larger, they will eventually fight, and they will definitely fight. By then, we will be able to withdraw and not get involved in any of their wars."

Baifeng felt that bringing this up suddenly was a bit abrupt, but he felt that such major matters should be discussed now. The year-end meeting is not only to summarize the events of this year but also to plan for the future. The next few years must follow this plan.

Everyone was extremely shocked by Baifeng's arrangement, but at the same time, they were also very happy. In fact, everyone had different thoughts in their hearts: they wanted to control the land of the Suiren Clan and wanted to control larger lands, not just the western ones.

Even if the land here currently requires war to seize, it is acceptable. Since the Suiren Clan's territory is being delivered, why not take it? Is it just because it is difficult to control?

Whether it can be controlled does not conflict with whether it is yours. So when Baifeng said he needed to build cities to control more territory, everyone was very happy in their hearts. Moreover, controlling the Suiren Clan's territory and plotting for the Xuanyuan Tribe's territory—such a King is the most heroic King.

They felt that the King was wise and brilliant, so they would never oppose Baifeng's policies and plans, and would not oppose Baifeng giving up the Suiren Clan's territory, because what Baifeng said was very reasonable and could convince them.

Now, such a sudden change happened to suit their wishes. In an instant, they forgot about other things and only remembered this one thing. Everyone began to discuss it heatedly.

Yulong and Changle looked at their father in a daze. No, how could he not tell them about such a major event in advance?