Chapter 1494: Waiting for the Return

This time, the business plan will be rolled out directly in Lema City and all the surrounding towns; it will no longer start from Huaxia City and then slowly expand, because these places now already have a certain foundation.

However, places like Xiao Town and the Western Development Group are impossible; even introducing the bill system to them requires a few more years of development. The overall development of Huaxia right now is extremely unbalanced.

It is fortunate that those savages were captured early; otherwise, they might have found the concept of a shop even harder to accept. Now, Baifeng wonders what kind of feelings the Kunlun slaves sold to the Tang Dynasty must have had when they saw the cities of the Great Tang.

And then there were the black slaves of the Age of Discovery, who were suddenly trafficked from primitive lands where they hunted with wooden sticks to a land with high-rise buildings and steam engines—the shock to them must have been immense. It is also truly strange; their lands were not barren, and in the vast majority of places, they were not dry at all, but rather had abundant rainfall. Why was it that they could not develop?

It was like that thousands of years ago, and it is still like that now. Apart from possessing a primitive and savage body, there has been no development at all, as if they had been sanctioned by God. It is truly bizarre.

Such a large-scale entry of savages and livestock into the city naturally requires reporting. After Yu received the news, he still went to receive them personally because he wanted to obtain some funding. Hearing about the countless cattle and sheep, as the City Lord of Lema City, he naturally wanted to secure some benefits for his own city.

Yu and Zhang haggled for quite a while, and then he requested some breeding sheep and breeding cattle. Although this was Zhang's original plan, he also needed to trade on favors and could not just give them away so easily.

Yu finally filled out an application and dispatched a team of men to assist Zhang in escorting these savages and livestock to Huaxia City. Currently, the team led by Zhang includes a portion of Lema City Soldiers; they have actually almost never been to Huaxia City, as the opportunities are very rare.

Although the journey is not very far, they have no relatives or friends in Huaxia City, so what would they go there for? There is nowhere to stay, so most people have never been. Now that they can enter Huaxia and have a good look around, it is also a nice thing. They only know that Huaxia City is larger and more prosperous than Lema City, but it should not be too much more formidable than Lema City.

With only the last bit of distance left, they spurred their horses on. Zhang led everyone to the outskirts of Huaxia City. The savages were, as per previous custom, arranged to camp outside the city; they were not qualified to enter Huaxia City.

The only ones allowed to enter Huaxia City were the Tribal Chief, along with a few more obedient and sensible savages who needed to go see the Emperor together to recount the situation of the Wulenge Tribe. Wujian and the herdsmen of the Western Development Group accompanied them.

The Ministry of Revenue reacted quickly, along with the Ministry of Animal Husbandry; the two ministries collaborated and quickly came out to count and verify the number of cattle and sheep, then categorized them according to size and age, using a large number of hands to pull these cattle and sheep into the city. As for what they would be used for, there would certainly be a standard for it in the end.

A long time has passed, and it is basically almost winter. According to the length of the sun's shadow, it is not very far from the Winter Solstice. It can actually be considered winter now, but Huaxia usually uses the Winter Solstice as the standard, not the Beginning of Winter, because only the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice are the two days that can be completely determined by the sun's shadow.

For Huaxia, the Winter Solstice is not just a festival; it also means that from this day on, Huaxia truly enters the winter season. The workload begins to gradually decrease, rest time increases, and everything begins to slow down. Factories stop work, and construction sites stop work. This is from the national level; ordinary people only determine the season by the temperature they feel. Now that the weather is cold, it is winter.

Baifeng is waiting for all the personnel sent out this year to return and report back; only then can he summarize the year's work and decide on next year's work arrangements. Lu is leading the Soldiers on the way back from the Shennong Clan Battlefield. When the last message was received, they had already reached the Xuanyuan Tribe, and now it is almost time for them to return.

Most of the officials stationed at the Suiren Clan are also about to return, especially the Artisans, because the weather is cold and construction can no longer continue. Suiren City has only been outlined in its embryonic form. During this time, they have also accomplished many things, but some officials must remain to carry out the education and official training work for the Suiren Clan.

Then there is the mining and transportation of magnets and alum ore. A portion of the magnets should have already been transported to Suiren City, but the specific quantity is unknown. When they return this year, they must bring some back, because Huaxia City is in urgent need of this material.

As for the alum ore, in addition to mining and transportation, the Ministry of Works also proposed an idea: to mine and refine it on-site. Because, as it currently appears, the difficulty of refining alum is not high, the process is simple, and the density of alum is low; one person can carry back a large amount of alum.

Baifeng's requirement for them is to handle it according to the situation themselves. If they feel the time and weather permit, then try to refine it. If not, then just dig some and hurry back. The demand this winter is not too high; it is mainly for testing and small-batch dyeing. Next year, they can consider going there to build a refining mine specifically for smelting alum.

But Baifeng will not build a new town in such a far place just for alum; the cost would be too great. It is better to focus on mining and smelting. In any case, that place is Huaxia's territory, so there is no fear of it being seized by foreign tribes. If other tribes come, that is just right; Huaxia is short of labor. Let them go and mine and smelt; in any case, Huaxia has the strength.

After the battle with the Shennong Clan this year, they will be able to acquire a lot of the Xuanyuan Tribe's territory again. When the borders are re-demarcated at that time, a large area of territory to the east of the alum mine will also be transferred from the Xuanyuan Tribe's possession to Huaxia's possession, and the existence of the alum mine will be even more hidden and secure.

As for the team led by Zhang, Baifeng thinks they will be the last to return because the distance is far, and there is no detailed intelligence or experience. In the vast northwest, it is difficult to find people. He guesses that Zhang will lead the troops on a wild goose chase for a long time.

Of course, in Baifeng's view, as long as Zhang can successfully resolve the crisis of the Western Development Group and Hun, then this year's mission can be considered a success. He will still reward him according to his merits. If he can complete the revenge and have some gains, then he will reward him greatly.

It is just that he did not expect that in the letter he received, Zhang said they had already completed the mission, and the number of livestock and people captured was countless.