Chapter 1184: First Volume, Chapter 1184: The Northern Border

First Volume, Chapter 1184: The Northern Border's Fatal Weakness

The Liang Emperor and Chen Zheng both fell into deep thought, especially Chen Zheng, who ran the feasibility of the matter through his mind.

After a moment, Chen Zheng's voice sounded again.

"Lord Qin, you mean these five strongholds are purely commercial partnerships?"

Qin Tianhu didn't hesitate, blurted out: "Exactly!"

"Though Feng'er is a court official and should, in theory, obey imperial command, the operational model of the Northern Border differs vastly from that of the other Zhou Fu of Shedynasty."

"Thus, the Northern Border must operate independently, while also accumulating governance experience for Shedynasty."

"The Central Plains and the Northern Border are a commercial partnership within Shedynasty."

"The Central Plains produces abundant grain; should we seize Nan Jing, grain output will grow even more."

"If the Central Plains and the Northern Border cooperate, each compensating for the other's weaknesses, both regions' people will benefit."

As the leader of the clean-stream loyalists, Chen Zheng had always been wary of Qin Feng, yet on the matter of regional cooperation, even Chen Zheng felt this plan held great promise.

Chen Zheng immediately petitioned the Liang Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the Northern Border's thriving commerce is a universal truth, but due to the great distance and the fact that all regions are still recovering, very few can actually profit from the Northern Border trade routes."

"Though the Central Plains is Shedynasty's strategic core, as long as we firmly control military and political affairs, ceding the people's livelihood management of these five strongholds is not unacceptable."

At this, Chen Zheng suddenly remembered something and turned to Qin Tianhu for clarification.

"The grain produced by these five strongholds..."

Before Chen Zheng could finish, Qin Tianhu smiled and replied: "Every grain produced is Shedynasty's asset."

"Though this grain will be transported to the Northern Border, it will all be purchased at market price."

"And..."

"You all know Feng'er's style—when the time comes, the grain output and all accounts from these five strongholds will be crystal clear."

Though Chen Zheng was wary of Qin Feng, this was purely for political reasons.

Chen Zheng held no personal prejudice against Qin Feng.

Moreover, Qin Feng himself is immensely wealthy—he has no reason to skimp on grain.

Chen Zheng immediately bowed to the Liang Emperor: "Your Majesty, I believe this plan is feasible."

In truth, ever since the Liang Emperor learned Qin Feng had no interest in the Central Plains' military or political affairs, he had already been drawn to this plan.

Pure commercial cooperation, with Qin Feng personally managing these five strongholds, would allow the other strongholds to learn Qin Feng's governance methods by proxy.

Besides, the Northern Border is already Shedynasty territory—even without commercial cooperation, the Liang Emperor must still regularly supply it with grain.

Thus, not only can Qin Feng manage these strongholds on the Emperor's behalf, but the grain produced can also be sold for profit.

For the Liang Emperor, this deal was nothing short of a gift from heaven.

The Liang Emperor no longer hesitated; he waved his hand decisively: "I approve!"

"The management rights of these five strongholds shall be exchanged for Qin Wang's initial payment of Three Ten Thousand Taels; all future grain output shall be sold to the Northern Border at market price."

With even the most cautious Liang Emperor and Chen Zheng in agreement, the remaining ministers naturally raised no objections.

Instantly, the entire Imperial Study echoed with "Your Majesty is wise!"

The Liang Emperor was in high spirits—not only because Qin Feng would fund, staff, and labor to manage these twenty-seven strongholds, allowing the Emperor to reap the benefits without lifting a finger,

but also because the Liang Emperor had now uncovered the Northern Border's fatal weakness.

That weakness was "grain."

The Northern Border is vast but sparsely populated; its sudden population surge has made food rations a major problem.

Currently, though the Northern Border is stockpiling grain, nearly half of its supply comes from outside purchases, not local production.

How easy is it to stockpile enough grain for the entire Northern Border?

Moreover...

Besides the Northern Border, there is also Sangzhou, a burden.

In short, as long as the Liang Emperor holds the Central Plains Granary, he need never worry about the Northern Border's "loyalty."

This mutually beneficial, complementary relationship suddenly made the Liang Emperor's previously "floating" authority feel solid and substantial.

Within days, the news reached the Front Line.

Liu Ming read the Imperial Edict aloud to Qin Feng, then couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Highness, I never expected His Majesty to agree so readily—his trust in you has reached this level."

Qin Feng smiled but said nothing.

Pure trust means nothing; even if the Liang Emperor appeared sincere, he still harbored doubts—Qin Feng knew this well.

Investing in the Central Plains Granary served both commercial and political purposes.

Qin Feng deliberately showed weakness to the Liang Emperor, exposing the Northern Border's vulnerability.

Thus, the Liang Emperor could finally rest easy.

Qin Feng understood better than anyone that serving a sovereign is like serving a tiger; now that Qin Feng's power is great and his relationship with the Liang Emperor is harmonious,

but this war in Nan Jing could drag on indefinitely—who knows when the Northern Border might be dragged in? If both sides suffer heavy losses, Qin Feng could not be certain the Liang Emperor wouldn't suddenly turn on him and seize the Northern Border outright.

Hearts are hidden behind chests; it's always better to guard against betrayal.

But since the Imperial Edict has been issued, the priority now is developing these twenty-seven strongholds.

The next morning, Qin Feng personally traveled to the Rear, Lingzhou.

Land reclamation and garrison construction proceeded nearly simultaneously, but these Tuntian Soldiers were not real masons—their construction was painfully slow and of abysmal quality.

Qin Feng simply waved his hand and ordered engineers from the Northern Border to be dispatched to Lingzhou to assist in building the strongholds.

Additionally, for safety and convenience, the five northernmost strongholds in Lingzhou—one in front, four behind—were all placed under Qin Feng's jurisdiction.

Thus, these twenty-seven strongholds were divided into twenty-two Lingzhou Strongholds and five Northern Border Strongholds.

Qin Feng's five strongholds will be constructed first.

Qin Feng personally participated in designing the blueprint; each stronghold must accommodate at least one thousand people.

Of these one thousand people, one hundred are soldiers garrisoned at the stronghold; the remaining nine hundred all engage in agricultural production.

One hundred may seem too few to handle defense, but in reality, it is more than sufficient.

After all, the strongholds are built to the standard of a military stronghold; as long as the city walls are sufficiently sturdy, no one can easily scale them.

Moreover, these one hundred defenders are meant only to delay.

The true defensive force is the Central Plains Imperial Party.

As the twenty-seven strongholds are successively established, the Central Plains Imperial Party will inevitably station troops near them—first to coordinate defense, second to strengthen control over the strongholds.

Therefore, the large army that will later be garrisoned here is the main defensive force, capable of rapid reinforcement.

Qin Feng's only goal is that each stronghold must withstand siege for at least one year!