Feng Jin wasn't someone who could be easily dismissed. He said, "Preparing for a rainy day a year in advance, isn't your reason too perfunctory …"
Wei Ci laughed involuntarily and said lightly, "I also want to find a reason that isn't perfunctory, but I still haven't found one."
Feng Jin was so angry that he almost fell down. This person actually shamelessly admitted it!
Wei Ci's mouth was like a gourd with its mouth sawed off. It was so tight that he couldn't get any useful information out of him.
Feng Jin steeled his heart and thought to himself, If Wei Ci doesn't want to say it, then I won't say it. I'll guess it myself.
However, Feng Jin was born into an aristocratic family. He usually went out in a carriage with a servant accompanying him. His knowledge was broad enough, but his field experience was slightly lacking. He thought for a long time but still couldn't guess the real intention. In the end, he could only quietly ask Qiguan Rang.
Qiguan Rang was born in the border of Dongqing. His father was a barbarian from the northern borderline, so he knew far more about the northern borderline than Feng Jin.
Feng Jin found a suitable time to stop Qiguan Rang and casually mentioned it while chatting.
Qiguan Rang listened and pondered for a while. His pupils suddenly shrank, and he quickly grabbed Feng Jin's arm.
"You said that the lord asked Zixiao to arrange for a caravan to go to the northern borderline to buy sheepskin and rabbit skin?"
When he asked this, Qiguan Rang's face turned a little more livid.
Feng Jin was shocked by Qiguan Rang's action, but he quickly calmed down and asked, "Wen Zheng, do you know the lord's intention?"
Qiguan Rang laughed bitterly. His aura dissipated, and a little helplessness appeared on his face.
He said bitterly, "I have a rough guess, but I don't know if it's accurate."
Seeing Qiguan Rang's reaction, Feng Jin knew that this matter wasn't simple. He looked left and right. Even though there was no one around, he still cautiously invited Qiguan Rang to his house to discuss in detail. If this matter was related to the entire Wanzhou's strategy against the northern borderline, he couldn't just casually talk about it.
"Wen Zheng, don't be in a hurry to say it. Why don't we sit down at my house and discuss this in detail?"
Qiguan Rang wasn't surprised by Feng Jin's actions. This person had always been cautious and self-restrained. Even if there were only the two of them around, Feng Jin wouldn't be careless.
When they arrived at Feng Jin's residence, the two went to the study and dismissed the servants.
After confirming that it was safe, Feng Jin asked solemnly, "What exactly did Wen Zheng guess?"
Qiguan Rang never left his fan. Every time he encountered something important or when he was nervous, he would habitually fan himself.
Now that the weather was still chilly, his fanning made it even colder.
He did not answer Feng Jin's question directly. Instead, he talked about an old matter.
Qiguan Rang said, "Rang was born in the borderlands. The people nearby often make a living by herding sheep and cows. There was a family that raised nearly a hundred sheep. They were considered a big family in the village. This family liked to let their sheep graze at the foot of the mountain. Huaiyu, guess what happened next? "
Feng Jin imagined the scene in his mind. If there were hundreds of sheep grazing in a small area … there wouldn't be enough food, right?
"No more grass to eat?"
Qiguan Rang fanned himself even harder. He blew away all the heat in the vicinity. Feng Jin leaned closer to the charcoal brazier.
"It's not just grass to eat, those goats are so hungry that they've dug out the grass roots!" After saying this, Qiguan Rang's face was a little red. It was obvious that he was angry. Then, he said, "There's an ancient book that says, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. From this, it can be seen that rabbits not only eat grass, but they're also used to living in burrows. They hide in their burrows during the day and look for food at night. They dig holes to prevent the enemy from harming them … "
After hearing this, Feng Jin vaguely felt that something was wrong.
However, he did not understand why Qiguan Rang's reaction was so intense.
If he thought about it in the direction of Northern Borderline and combined it with Qiguan Rang's words, a flash of inspiration flashed through Feng Jin's mind.
"Could it be that the lord and Zixiao want to touch the grasslands of Northern Borderline?"
Feng Jin was shocked for a long time. He almost could not close his mouth.
The barbarians of Northern Borderline had been a hidden danger for a long time. Since the chaos of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the barbarians had been eyeing the Central Plains covetously.
Their land was not suitable for farming. They often gathered together with horse caravans to raid the borders. They burned, killed, and looted.
How did the ancestors of Northern Borderline, the Qiangwu Tribe, become so powerful?
To put it nicely, the Qiangwu tribe was brave and ferocious. To put it bluntly, they were just a group of beasts in human skin! Not only did they burn, kill, and loot, they also kidnapped countless Central Plains women and kept them captive. Not only did they use them as food, but they also used them as mobile reproduction machines. They used these innocent girls as carriers to force them to give birth to children and expand their population.
In the middle of the chaos of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Qiangwu tribe only had a population of 200,000. By the end of the chaos, their population had expanded to more than three million!
From 200,000 to three million. Looking at these shocking historical documents, he could only imagine the faces of countless women in pain.
However, although the barbarians of Northern Borderline were hateful, they knew how to ride horses since they were young. They were very good at fighting on horseback. If they could not win, they would run.
After the Xia Kingdom was founded, they went on several expeditions to Northern Borderline in an attempt to stop them from raiding every season. However, the results were minimal.
Until now, they still had no effective way to deal with Northern Borderline.
They could not defeat them in battle, and stopping them was ineffective. After all, they could not send a large number of troops to be stationed in this place.
Countless sages had worried about Northern Borderline. No one had thought of directly attacking the pasture in Northern Borderline.
Feng Jin's heart was beating wildly, and his face showed obvious joy.
When Qiguan Rang saw this, he fanned Feng Jin several times to wake him up.
"You're celebrating too early!" Qiguan Rang said resolutely, interrupting Feng Jin's joy.
Feng Jin was puzzled. "Why do you say that?"
Qiguan Rang sighed. If this method was really that good, why would he be complaining here?
Just like Feng Jin, he was so happy that he did not know what to do.
"You don't understand … if the lord really used this method to attack Northern Borderline, she might really be able to destroy the entire Northern Borderline. However, it would only be a lose-lose situation." Qiguan Rang paused at this point. He did not know how to continue. After all, Feng Jin was a pure Central Plainsman.
Feng Jin frowned. "You mean a lose-lose situation?"
Qiguan Rang let out a long sigh. "That's right. Even if we can really rely on this method to destroy Northern Borderline, the lord will not be able to gain any benefits. Although Northern Borderline is hateful, the people who do evil are in the minority. If the entire grassland is destroyed, what will happen to the innocent people? "
Limited by the background of the entire era, Qiguan Rang did not know the concept of grassland degradation and desertification. He only vaguely guessed it.
Even if it was just a guess, he could foresee the disaster that would be brought to Northern Borderline after this plan was implemented.
Feng Jin was a pure Central Plainsman. Those who were not of the same race would definitely have different intentions. However, Qiguan Rang was of mixed blood between Northern Borderline and the Central Plains.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
