Chapter 1498: Letting You Enjoy Life Here and Forget About Shu

Because this herdsman had no team to accompany him back, he could only be left in Huaxia. Besides studying, he would naturally be training those savages, teaching them some basic rules, and telling them how to work; in any case, the goal was to first get them capable of working.

By next spring, he would be able to return to the Western Development Group with a team, and by then, his status would have been completely renewed; he would no longer be just an ordinary herdsman.

The officials responsible for constructing Suiren City also returned to Huaxia in a group, and they brought along a large batch of laborers from the Suiren tribe. They were here to carry Magnetite for Huaxia City. A great deal of ore had already been transported over from the Magnetite Mine one after another, but now that the weather was turning cold, mining at the Magnetite Mine had to be temporarily suspended.

These Suiren laborers were all coming to Huaxia City for the first time, or rather, entering a city for the first time. Some of them had seen Huaxia City from afar before, but had never been able to enter. Now, everyone was very well-behaved and unanimously stopped mentioning that matter, as if it had never happened.

Besides carrying ore back and forth, these laborers also needed to carry grain back, because for the entire year, most of the Suiren tribe's grain had been supported by Huaxia, so they hadn't saved much. They had almost exhausted all their strength on building Suiren City, and they didn't have much grain in storage. If Huaxia City didn't support them, how many more people would starve to death this Winter?

Now they were all people of Huaxia, subjects of Baifeng, and Baifeng naturally could not watch such things happen. Fortunately, there had been a great Harvest this year, the National Treasury was full, and the Residents were storing large quantities of the grain they had harvested into the Gold Bank, so Huaxia's grain supply was very sufficient.

In addition, after Lema City submitted its grain requirements according to the plan and received approval, it kept the portion of grain it needed and handed over all other grain—produced through state-owned land and obtained from land taxes—to Huaxia City. If Huaxia City hadn't built enough Grain Storehouses, there would have been no place left to store it long ago.

Regarding the Suiren tribe's request, Baifeng naturally agreed readily and allocated a certain amount of grain to them, but their number of people was not large, so they could not carry all the grain needed for the Winter back at once.

Baifeng would certainly not support the Suiren tribe completely and unconditionally; the Suiren tribe had such a large population, after all, and they needed to have output in a short period of time to repay Huaxia.

The Magnetite Mine discovered this year could be considered a major repayment. With the Magnetite they brought back this time, it was entirely possible to exchange for the grain they needed; Baifeng's business deal was not a loss at all.

However, he had to utilize these people to the maximum extent. Therefore, Baifeng requested that Baoxi return to Huaxia City to study as soon as possible. Winter was a leisurely time, and these main Leaders of theirs had to study well in Huaxia City. Not only Baoxi, but also the other main leading members of the Suiren tribe, including Huangpin, all had to come over to study.

After they left, the Suiren tribe would naturally be taken over by Huaxia officials. In any case, there was nothing to do in the Winter. If the weather was good, they would be organized to build roads, repair roads in the surrounding areas, and chop down large trees that were in the way. In any case, they could not be allowed to be too idle.

Huaxia gave them so much grain, and now they were living barely passably in every place, at least not afraid of freezing to death, but if they stayed motionless for the whole Winter, that would definitely not do; it would be a waste of grain.

Furthermore, after people like Baoxi, who had the greatest influence on the Suiren tribe, left, it would be even easier for Huaxia officials to operate. Whether it was cultivating and planting their own confidants or instilling ideological awareness, it was a very good time to take action, with no one around for an entire Winter.

Baifeng also requested that he bring at least five hundred strong laborers over, because while the Suiren tribe was under Huaxia's management, they also had to have a certain amount of military strength. Baifeng did not think much of their Militia, and their combat equipment was too poor, so they had to study and train in Huaxia to establish an armed force in Suiren City as soon as possible.

However, Baifeng was not that dull or reckless; you brought the people over, but they might not necessarily be able to be taken back. If they were trained, they would stay; Huaxia needed Soldiers. Only those who were unqualified could you take back.

Suiren City needed military strength, but it could not be their own people; it could only be Soldiers from Huaxia City or Lema City, rotating and garrisoning each other. Soldiers selected from Suiren City would naturally go to guard the other two cities; this was for the sake of stability.

Chengqie's studies in Huaxia were very smooth, and his younger brothers and sisters also had good academic results. The current Chengqie was no longer the Chengqie of the past, but a very pure Huaxia person, a Chengqie of Huaxia. The infectious power of Huaxia culture was extremely strong.

This time, Baoxi could even stay in his palace, a place second only to Baifeng's residence, which was very luxurious and grand, enough to show the importance Baifeng placed on him. If he could abandon returning to the Suiren tribe because of this luxurious house, then it would be exactly as Baifeng wished: "Enjoying life here, not thinking of Shu." Let my people completely take over Suiren City.

If Baoxi could still suppress his desires in the face of such a luxurious residence and continue to return to his empty, nothing-to-his-name Suiren City, Baifeng would have to strictly monitor him. In the past, he had ambition and could be considered capable, but his path had gone astray.

Now, with Huaxia's intervention and help, the Suiren tribe had everything they needed. After studying, Baoxi's own abilities were even stronger, and he had more talent under his command. A Leader who could resist the temptation of sugar-coated bullets had to be paid extra attention.

Of course, what Baifeng was most concerned about regarding the Suiren tribe now was still the Magnetite Mine. Magnetite was too important for Huaxia and could rapidly promote Huaxia's development.

Now that there was enough Magnetite, the first step was naturally to crush it, then pick out the Magnetite of suitable size and distribute it to the schools. When the Winter break ended and school started, this would be issued to students as part of their homework.

Every day they had to go collect iron sand; the more they found, the more rewards they would get. When the iron sand was collected, Huaxia would reward the students with grain, and the teachers and schools would also be able to obtain certain benefits from it.

Another way was to open it for collection, letting those with free time search freely. As long as they could find iron sand, the State-run Store would collect it.