Chapter 775 – The Four Killings, The Layout (Part 5)
Feng Jin was not someone you could easily dismiss. He said, “Preparing a year in advance is a rather clichéd excuse…”
Wei Ci chuckled in silence, casually throwing out, “I also want a non-cliché reason; just haven’t found one yet, huh?”
Feng Jin was nearly toppled by his irritation—this man was audacious enough to admit it!
Wei Ci’s mouth was as tightly sealed as a gourd with a sawed-off spout; no useful information could be extracted from him.
Feng Jin gritted his teeth internally, resolutely deciding that if Wei Ci refused to speak, he would just have to guess.
Alas, Feng Jin hailed from a prominent family; he was accustomed to traveling by carriage, flanked by Book Boys, and while his knowledge was broad, his hands-on experience was lacking. After pondering for quite a while, he still couldn’t deduce the true intention behind their discussion, eventually settling on discreetly asking Qi Guanrang.
Qi Guanrang, born on the outskirts of Dongqing, had a father from the northern tribes and was far more familiar with the northern borders than Feng Jin.
Feng Jin seized a suitable moment to stop Qi Guanrang and casually mentioned it during a conversation.
Qi Guanrang pondered for a moment before his pupils dilated sharply, quickly grabbing Feng Jin’s arm.
“Did you say the Lord instructed Zixiao to arrange for a merchant convoy to the northern borders to acquire sheepskins and rabbit skins?”
As he asked, Qi Guanrang’s complexion turned a shade darker.
Feng Jin was startled by Qi Guanrang’s reaction but quickly composed himself and countered, “Does Wen Zheng know the Lord’s intention?”
Qi Guanrang let out a bitter laugh, his aura deflating as a touch of resignation appeared on his face.
He replied hoarsely, “I’ve guessed a little, but I don’t know if it’s accurate.”
Seeing Qi Guanrang’s reaction, Feng Jin understood that this matter was not simple. He glanced around; although the area was empty, he still cautiously invited Qi Guanrang to his home for a detailed discussion. If this involved the entire strategy of Wanzhou regarding the northern borders, it couldn’t be casually talked about.
“Wen Zheng, let’s not rush to discuss. How about we sit at my place and talk in more detail?”
Qi Guanrang had anticipated Feng Jin’s cautious behavior; he always maintained a level head—even in the presence of just the two of them.
Once at Feng Jin’s residence, they headed to the study, dismissing the servants.
With the coast finally clear, Feng Jin earnestly asked, “What exactly have you guessed?”
Qi Guanrang often stayed with his fan; whenever faced with significant matters or felt tense, he had a habit of fanning himself.
Even in the chilly weather, him fanning felt even cooler somehow.
Instead of answering Feng Jin directly, he recounted an old story.
Qi Guanrang said, “Being from a border area, the nearby common people often make a living herding sheep and cattle. One family raised nearly a hundred sheep, considered a prominent household in the village, and they liked to graze them at the foot of the mountain. Huaiyu, guess what happened next?”
Feng Jin visualized that scene; with over a hundred sheep in a small area… surely, food would become scarce?
“They ran out of grass?”
Qi Guanrang waved his fan energetically, shooing away the warmth from nearby; Feng Jin secretly scooted closer to the charcoal basin.
“Not only ran out of grass, those sheep were so hungry they dug out the roots!” After saying this, Qi Guanrang’s face flushed red, clearly agitated. He added, “Ancient books say—’A cunning rabbit has three burrows’, indicating they only escape death. This shows rabbits not only graze but also prefer burrowing, hiding in their holes during the day and foraging at night. Digging burrows, avoiding predators…”
After hearing this, Feng Jin subtly sensed something was amiss.
Yet, at the moment, he couldn’t quite grasp why Qi Guanrang’s reaction was so intense.
Trying to think along the lines of something unfavorable to the northern borders, combined with Qi Guanrang’s words, a flash of insight struck Feng Jin, and everything suddenly made sense!
“Could it be— the Lord and Zixiao are planning to target the grasslands of the northern borders?”
Feng Jin was astonished for quite a while, nearly unable to close his mouth.
The threat from the northern tribes had lingered for ages; since the Sixteen Kingdoms turmoil and even before that, these tribes had cast envious eyes on the central plains.
Their lands were unsuitable for farming, frequently sending cavalry raiding the borders, committing atrocities.
Why did the ancestors of the Qiangwu rise to power?
To put it nicely, the Qiangwu clan were brave warriors, fierce and ferocious; to put it harshly, they were merely a bunch of beasts in human skin! Not only did they raid and pillage, but they also abducted numerous women from the central plains, keeping young girls captive, not only using them for food but also as mobile fertility machines, forcing these innocent maidens to bear children, thus expanding their population.
In the mid-stages of the Sixteen Kingdoms chaos, the Qiangwu only numbered around two hundred thousand, yet by the end of the turmoil, they had expanded to over three million!
From two hundred thousand to three million, upon reading those harrowing historical documents, he could only imagine countless faces of suffering women.
Yet, despite the loathsome nature of the northern tribes, they had been trained to ride since childhood and were remarkably skilled in mounted combat; if they were outmatched, they would simply flee.
After the establishment of the Great Xia, numerous campaigns were launched against the northern tribes, attempting to stop them from raiding during certain seasons, but the results were dismal.
Even now, they still had no effective means to counter the northern tribes.
Fighting them in battle had proven futile, and blocking them yielded little success; after all, it was impossible to station large armies there indefinitely.
Countless sages had fretted over the northern borders, yet no one had considered directly targeting their grazing lands.
Feng Jin’s heart raced, and evident joy spread across his face.
Seeing this, Qi Guanrang waved his fan several times at Feng Jin, trying to cool him down and bring him back to reality.
“You’re celebrating too early!” Qi Guanrang said firmly, dousing Feng Jin’s excitement.
Feng Jin was puzzled, “Why do you say that?”
Qi Guanrang sighed, if this method were truly that effective, why then would he be here playing the harbinger of doom?
He had long wished he could revel in the joy of discovering a solution.
“You don’t understand… if the Lord truly uses this method to strike at the northern borders, he might indeed obliterate the entire region, but it would also be a mutual devastation.” Qi Guanrang paused, uncertain how to articulate further since the Feng Jin before him was a true central plains person.
Feng Jin frowned, “You mean it would be a mutual devastation?”
“Exactly,” Qi Guanrang sighed again. “Even if this strategy genuinely brings down the north, there’s no goodwill left for the Lord. While the northern tribes are indeed loathsome, still, the truly evil ones are a minority. What will happen to the innocent common folk if the whole grassland is destroyed?”
Limited by the era’s context, Qi Guanrang had no concept of grassland degradation or desertification; his assumptions were merely vague guesses.
Yet even those guesses allowed him to foresee the storms that such a plan would unleash upon the northern borders.
Feng Jin, a genuine central plains person—”the other races must harbor different hearts”—while Qi Guanrang was of mixed northern and central plains heritage.
Having lived his life by the border, he felt a deep-seated hatred for the barbarism of the northern tribes yet held sympathy for the misfortunes of the innocent herdsmen at the bottom.
