Chapter 632: Liu Zheng

The two were playing chess.

Not just on the chessboard.

But also in this exchange of questions and answers.

Tiemu Cheng.

A heroic lord of the Grassland.

In the history of the Longyan Dynasty, the stories of the Qiang and the Xiongnu were naturally about them harassing the northern borders of Longyan year after year. Yet, every year they were beaten back. That was because these tribes of the Grassland inherently lacked unity. A disunited Grassland people was not to be feared.

However.

Once a situation of great unification appeared on the Grassland, that would be a devastating blow to the Longyan Dynasty!

Tiemu Cheng was precisely such a heroic lord.

This time, for Xie Tianyao's birthday, he had brought tens of thousands of Grassland Cavalry to the city gates. This way of acting without regard for rules made people furious, yet they had no method to counter it. The individual combat capability of the Grassland Cavalry was truly strong enough to make one despair.

Therefore.

Relatively speaking.

Compared to the remnants of the glorious Tang far away in Nanyang, the sharp sword of the Grassland hanging over the head of the Longyan Dynasty was what caused the most worry.

Xie Tianyao, in order to gamble for one more year of his life, had already prepared himself to die today. Thus, he wanted to test, and also wanted to hear, Liu Zheng's thoughts on the future of the Longyan Dynasty.

This would determine the life or death of Liu Zheng.

At this moment, in the Yangxin Hall, on the surface, there were only Xie Tianyao, Liu Zheng, and Grand Eunuch Zhou.

As for whether there were others hiding in the shadows, one should not even think about it.

Grand Eunuch Zhou was also listening intently.

Everything being discussed here, and everything about to be discussed, would concern the great transformation of Longyan.

Liu Zheng smiled slightly: "Tiemu Cheng, a heroic lord of the Grassland, is indeed a dragon among men, a rare talent not seen in a thousand years. However, the Qiang tribes have, since ancient times, had no concept of building cities, nor any tradition of ancestral temples. Relying solely on military force, one can indeed conquer the world, but one lacks the talent to govern a nation!"

He placed another piece.

On the chessboard, the situation suddenly changed, with strong forces pressing in.

Xie Tianyao frowned slightly.

"If the heroic army of the Grassland wants to swallow the entire Longyan, the cost is immense. First, the supply of grain and fodder is insufficient..."

"What about War-Nourished Warfare?"

Xie Tianyao asked.

Liu Zheng smiled faintly: "That is precisely the most critical issue! The Grassland Cavalry's speed of conquest is the best in the world, but they are prone to shortages of grain and fodder. War-Nourished Warfare is certainly possible, but if the Longyan Grand Canal had not been opened, it would have been much easier for them! However, with the opening of the Grand Canal, the speed of Longyan's troop transport will not necessarily be slower than their grain transport! That is the first point!"

Xie Tianyao's eyes lit up as he listened.

"Second, if Tiemu Cheng's Grassland tribes go on a campaign, what is their goal?"

Xie Tianyao and Grand Eunuch Zhou exchanged a glance.

"They want grain, they want land that can grow grain! Because they are not fed, at least for now, these are their intentions! If you don't believe me, look at the captives outside the city; they will absolutely not take them away! Because captives require the consumption of grain! So, in a few days, they will surely propose conditions to the imperial court, asking us to use grain, fodder, or gold and silver to exchange for the captives! Then..."

He smiled faintly and placed another piece on the chessboard: "Everyone weighs the pros and cons, let alone the Barbarians?"

"Your subject believes that if Tiemu Cheng is truly a heroic lord, he will choose a direction to seek grain! This direction could be Longyan, but it could also be elsewhere!"

Xie Tianyao and Grand Eunuch Zhou could not help but ask in unison: "What place?"

Liu Zheng smiled and pointed to the far northeast of the chessboard: "The land of Liaodong!"

"What?"

At this, Xie Tianyao and Grand Eunuch Zhou both changed color.

The land of Liaodong had always been considered a barren place for Longyan. Ningguta was located in Liaodong; one could say it was a place where even birds wouldn't lay eggs. At this time, Liu Zheng actually said that the land of Liaodong had grain?

Liu Zheng smiled slightly.

Just kidding...

In later generations, the Northeast was a proper granary!

Of course, before becoming a granary, it was known as the "Great Northern Wilderness." It was the home of ice and snow, belonging to the cold-temperate continental monsoon climate zone. The brutal Siberian cold currents lingered here for a long time, so the winter in the Great Northern Wilderness was long, cold, and dry. The annual average temperature decreased from 2.6°C in the south to minus 3.5°C in the north, with extreme minimum temperatures reaching minus 40°C! Indeed, the cold was the primary formidable enemy faced by the pioneers. The Great Northern Wilderness had complex natural terrain.

Historical records state: The Great Northern Wilderness had been a wild land since ancient times. It was overgrown with thorns and bushes, filled with swamps, ravaged by wind and snow, teeming with wild beasts, and sparsely populated. It was cold, remote, wild, and dangerous! The land of Liaodong did not even have a provincial administrative district set up; only border soldiers guarded it. This place became a buffer zone between the Longyan Dynasty and Joseon. No one had ever been willing to develop it.

But others did not know...

Liu Zheng knew!

This was a treasure land! In his previous life, in the fifties, Huaxia carried out large-scale land reclamation in this Great Northern Wilderness and operated farms. They forcibly turned this place from the "Great Northern Wilderness" into the "Great Northern Granary"!

In the end, it became the world's granary where "if you pinch the black soil, oil bubbles out, and if you stick a pair of chopsticks in, they will sprout." It was one of the world's three major black soil belts. The soil was fertile, with organic matter content mostly between 5% and 8%, and in some areas, it was as high as over 10%. It had abundant water resources, with rivers crisscrossing the surface, considerable underground reserves, and sufficient atmospheric precipitation, making it extremely suitable for agricultural development. It had precious mineral resources: coal, iron, copper, gold, and Petroleum were all available; it also had extremely rich wild animal and plant resources. In the mountains and forests, there were tigers, bears, roe deer, and deer; in the swamp areas, there were red-crowned cranes and swans; in the rivers and lakes, there were kaluga, sturgeon, chum salmon, and whitefish, all of which were aquatic delicacies; ginseng, monkey head mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and mushrooms were also rare mountain treasures.

In short!

This was a treasure land! An absolute treasure land!

Liu Zheng had already been considering this matter some time ago. The pressure from Tiemu Cheng's Grassland Cavalry on the Longyan Dynasty was too great! How to divert this pressure at this time? Only the land of Liaodong could do it! It was not only because the land of Liaodong was an undeveloped, fertile land. The most important reason was that the land of Liaodong bordered Joseon! And further on, it was the Japanese nation near Joseon!

This was Liu Zheng's true goal!

To lead the gaze of Tiemu Cheng, this peerless heroic lord, toward the east!

To incite a war with the Wa nation!

Once this vicious scheme was launched, all the pressure currently faced by the Longyan Dynasty would be completely lifted!

Sure enough.

Xie Tianyao's eyes lit up as he listened: "Does Your Excellency mean..."

"Incite a war with the Wa nation!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou also exclaimed.

Liu Zheng laughed heartily and nodded.

Xie Tianyao could not help but tremble all over.

This strategy is too venomous!

However, the prerequisite for all of this is that this land of Liaodong must be usable!

"Is it truly usable?"

Xie Tianyao's eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

Liu Zheng laughed heartily and said: "It is usable!"