Chapter 866: Official Appointment of the Keeper of the Horses

"But the drawback of this first location is that the area is still relatively small. If we're talking about flat land, it's relatively impossible to build a very large city; we could only build a city similar to Lema City. The water source is also unstable, and our ability to control the west would be much worse."

Baifeng nodded: "Hmm, continue, what about the remaining two?"

"This second one is basically a plain. It's enough to build a large city, even larger than our Huaxia City. The surrounding land could be reclaimed as farmland, and the water source is also quite stable. There is a relatively large river; we only need to modify it a bit to be able to use it successfully."

"As for the soil, I see it is also relatively fertile. There aren't too many trees on the land; it's still dominated by shrubs and grass. If we build there, we can take materials from the nearby mountains; that won't be a problem."

"It's about a twenty-two or twenty-three-day journey from Huaxia City. It would be barely manageable for us to govern, but our ability to control the west would be much stronger."

Xiong's finger moved to the very edge: "The last location is here. The water source, the land, everything is excellent, but the problem is that it's in the far west. Our ability to control the west would be absolute; we could even control the surrounding tribes, just like the Jiangshui Tribe back then, because that was the former main territory of the Jiangshui Tribe."

"But I am worried that it is too far from Huaxia, and our management might not reach it. Also, will there be another earthquake there? If there is an earthquake, a city we worked so hard to build would be completely finished. The loss for us would be too great."

Xiong finished speaking, then he pulled his hand back and sat steadily on his chair.

Baifeng kept staring at the map and continued to think. Lu was on the side and couldn't get a word in. Although he had gone to pick people up halfway, he didn't really understand the situation of the whole road, so naturally, he had no say and could only watch.

"I feel there's no need to ask you which place is most suitable. Just now, by your tone, you already have your own idea, right?" Baifeng looked at Xiong with a smile.

Xiong smiled very honestly: "King, my idea is the second one. I think that place is the most secure, but the specific arrangement of where to go is still up to you to decide. Wherever you say, that's where it is; I just need to go and execute it."

Baifeng smiled and waved his hand: "Hey, alright Xiong, your idea is also the most suitable. I think this second location is the most appropriate. It is the so-called Doctrine of the Mean. As for the remaining two locations, when we have the ability in the future, it will be no problem to build cities and towns there too. Let's just handle this one first and complete our development plan for the west."

Baifeng's idea was the same as his own, and Xiong was also very happy, letting out a hehe laugh.

"What about those wild people? Should we let their Tribal Chief come in to see you, meet you, and hear your arrangements? It would also be a way to put them at ease," Xiong said, stating his final thought.

"That's not necessary for now. Let them continue to wait there for a few days. When they get a little anxious, then bring them over. Moreover, if you want them to be willing to open up territory for us there, you have to find ways to appease them and win them over."

"In my opinion, when you have nothing to do, just have people take them into the city to look around. Let them see more of the city so they have enough sense of belonging and pride in Huaxia. Then promise them benefits, making them feel they have a chance to stay in Huaxia City or come back to Huaxia City in the future. That way, they will work for us wholeheartedly."

"In the future, we can arrange some official position for them—the kind that has a big name but no real power, like the City Lord of the New City? Haha, anyway, you guys must first teach them our Huaxia official system and common knowledge of all aspects. Otherwise, if you appoint him as a 'Bi Ma Wen' (Keeper of the Horses), he might try to use it as a Minister."

Lu scratched his head: "Hey, this Bi Ma Wen, didn't you say, King, that it's just keeping a monkey in the Horse Pen to prevent the horses from getting the plague? How come it sounds like an official position?"

Baifeng thought of that monkey wearing a funny official hat and herding horses in the Heavenly River. He felt his memory was almost blurred, but he couldn't help but smile: "Heh, Bi Ma Wen just refers to a useless official position, just for show. It's an official position, yet it's not. If you keep a monkey in the Horse Pen, that monkey can also be appointed to the official position of Bi Ma Wen."

But what Baifeng didn't expect was that Lu said with a strange expression: "King, ever since you mentioned this before, they really went to catch monkeys. Now there are two monkeys kept in that Horse Pen."

Xiong's expression was a bit distorted, while Baifeng laughed out loud without any regard for his image. Honestly, this was the first time he had heard of this. Perhaps his intelligence system felt that such a thing was completely unnecessary to report, and Xiong would try his best to avoid having anything to do with horses; he preferred to use oxen for everything.

As someone who often ran to the Pasture to train horses, Lu could be said to know everything about the Pasture. Because this was what Baifeng had said, even if it felt a bit unreasonable, the people at the Pasture still listened. Anyway, keeping two monkeys was completely pressure-free, so they had long ago asked hunters to catch live monkeys.

After a long wait, they really did catch two monkeys for them. Now they are kept in the Horse Pen. Having been raised from small to big, they are not afraid of people now, nor will they scratch or bite people at will.

Baifeng's playfulness flared up: "Hey, have them wash those two monkeys clean, then get them both an official hat to wear. I'll appoint them to a rankless, grade-less official position, just call it Bi Ma Wen."

This time it was the turn of Xiong and Lu to have ugly expressions. Xiong didn't speak, and Lu stammered: "King, this, it's not very good, is it? People don't even have official positions, and you're appointing a monkey to an official position. This, this, how will everyone look at it? It's like you're scolding people."

Baifeng smiled and waved his hand: "Hey, it's not as grand as you think. A dog that guards the house can be given a name and treated like a person. Giving a monkey a nominal official position is fine. Anyway, you are all playing around, so just make it official for him."

Lu really wanted to persuade him again, but he didn't know how to persuade him. He didn't know if Baifeng's current state was just messing around or if he really meant it.

But in reality, even Baifeng didn't know why he did this. Perhaps, it was just to give his lonely heart a little bit of comfort?