Chapter 464: Bai Yulong Takes the Helm

The Four-Xia Tribe did not get the result he wanted in Huaxia, but fortunately, Huaxia accepted all the Sulfur they brought, which meant they did not make the trip in vain; with this grain, the probability of surviving this Winter was at least a little higher.

Huaxia did not hide the fact that Baifeng was not in the tribe, but they would not tell someone like the Four-Xia Tribe what Baifeng went to do; regarding the Four-Xia Tribe's proposal, they only said they would consider it after Baifeng returned, and whether it succeeded or not, Huaxia would naturally go to the territory of the Jiangben Tribe to see for themselves.

Currently, the Four-Xia Tribe is occupying that land of Sulfur, but now, everyone believes that it belongs to the Jiangben Tribe, and the Tribal Chief of the Jiangben Tribe is their Huaxia's consort, which means that the Sulfur land is Huaxia's territory.

Chinv still has feelings for that land, and if that land could be taken back, she would definitely support it strongly, but unfortunately, she does not have the power to participate in war, and the same goes for Sui; they have almost no influence on politics and military affairs, mainly because their understanding and abilities are insufficient, though Chinv is slightly better, while Sui is just a virtuous wife and good mother.

Huaxia very decisively sent the Four-Xia Tribe's people away from Huaxia, but before letting them leave, they pointed out a more suitable path for them, which was to follow this Great River downstream and then find the tributary in the direction of the Jiangben Tribe; this way, they could avoid crossing the land territory of the Suiren clan, which would be safer, and the people of Huaxia did not want the Suiren clan to control the Sulfur land again, otherwise it would be very unfavorable for Huaxia's future development.

Huaxia needs a large amount of Sulfur because their Gunpowder is not powerful enough, so they must have a large amount of Gunpowder to produce Bombs with sufficient power; engineering and war require a huge amount of Gunpowder, and Huaxia trades for Sulfur with the Suiren clan every year, but their stock is not much.

Although Huaxia has not had any major wars and it seems they use little Explosive, in reality, they use the most in various engineering projects, otherwise Huaxia would not have become strapped for resources during wars and would have long since achieved fire coverage; in the end, it is because the raw materials are too scarce, and the production of Saltpeter is also not high, as it is basically all extracted from Earth Saltpeter.

What limits Huaxia's Gunpowder production is, first, the limited supply of Sulfur raw materials, as they do not have their own Sulfur Mine, and second, the Saltpeter Mine; that is, Huaxia previously chose its location on saline-alkali land, which allowed them to obtain a fair amount of Earth Saltpeter, but to truly produce Saltpeter on a large scale, finding a Saltpeter Mine is a matter that must be solved in the future.

Moreover, if they had a Saltpeter Mine, not only would they be able to produce Gunpowder, but Baifeng would also be able to make ice in the Summer to provide coolness for the Citizens of Huaxia, which would greatly improve people's sense of happiness.

Baifeng only remembers that there is a Saltpeter Mine somewhere in the northwest, but he does not know the specific location; after all, the terrain and landscape are too different from later generations, and it is not even certain if that place is still a Saltpeter Mine now, and Baifeng has searched for so many years without finding it.

Now an opportunity to completely control the Sulfur production area is right before their eyes, and the people of Huaxia are unwilling to give it up, but unfortunately, the Suiren clan stands in the middle, and they have no way to govern an exclave; what they can do is to cultivate the Four-Xia Tribe's new tribe to serve Huaxia exclusively and oppose the Suiren clan.

The Four-Xia Tribe and the others felt that the ice surface was difficult to walk on and thought Huaxia was teasing them, but after Huaxia demonstrated the Sledge to them, the Four-Xia Tribe was completely convinced.

However, Huaxia did not give them their own Sledge, but only gave them the opportunity to make them themselves; the Four-Xia Tribe's people bundled up some simple Sledges with bamboo and wood, found that the effect was okay, and then happily set off from the ice surface with the grain they had exchanged.

After sending these people away, Bai Yulong immediately convened an emergency meeting to discuss the split of the Suiren clan; everyone unanimously agreed that this was a good opportunity for a counterattack, and although Baifeng had previously said that a triangular power structure was the most stable, the Suiren clan had already disintegrated on its own, and they could not wait without taking any action, otherwise, it would only benefit the Xuanyuan Tribe.

With Baifeng away, Bai Yulong is the highest decision-maker, and such a big matter makes him inevitably feel a bit anxious; fortunately, people from all departments did not urge or pressure him, as they all understood that this was the future King of Huaxia, who just needed to grow, but even so, he was already much stronger than them, so there was no need for them to say much, just let the King make the decision himself.

Yu is a little older than Bai Yulong and can be considered to have grown up under Baifeng's care; deep down, he still regards Baifeng as a father, and as for his former mother, it no longer has much to do with him; initially, he had fantasized that power would be handed to him, but ever since Bai Yulong showed his ability, Yu gave up on that idea.

Seeing Bai Yulong so hesitant now, he stepped forward to steady his confidence: "Your Highness, the current situation is truly a rare opportunity. The King does not know how long it will be before he returns, perhaps not for several months, and by then we will no longer be able to determine what the Suiren clan is like. Now is the best moment, we should not delay; acting a day earlier can yield greater benefits. Moreover, you are currently the acting King overseeing the state, possessing power as high as the King's, so do not be afraid, give the order. If it succeeds, Huaxia benefits; if you find the situation is not right, withdraw immediately, and there will be no loss."

Bai Yulong is now just like Baifeng, pacing back and forth on the ground when thinking; after hearing Yu's persuasion, he took a few deep breaths to steel himself, and with a flushed face, he loudly gave the order: "Now, I order the Ministry of War to immediately send people to the border to scout and investigate whether the news is true, and prepare five... ten thousand soldiers and garrison troops to be ready at any time. Once the news is confirmed, set off for the Suiren clan immediately. The Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of Medicine are to assist with all their might!"

All the officials of the departments were very excited; the order had finally been given. They all knelt on one knee and shouted: "This Subject accepts the order!"

Subsequently, Bai Yulong had the people of the Shangshu Department start drafting the order on paper, and after writing the orders for all departments, he reviewed them himself; once he was sure there were no problems, he took out the "Crown Prince Seal" that Baifeng had carved long ago but had never used, and with slightly trembling hands, he stamped it on the document. This was his first time independently handling such major state and military affairs, so it was impossible not to be nervous; after all, no matter how talented he was, he was still just a youth.

He did not dare to use the King Seal because Baifeng was not yet dead, and the throne had not been passed to him; that was something only Baifeng could use, and Bai Yulong saw this very clearly. Now, his Crown Prince Seal was enough.

The orders were handed to all departments, and then Bai Yulong took out the Military Tally and handed it to Xiong, telling him to organize the troops now and arrange for the team to set off.