"Hmm..."
Qin Feng nodded thoughtfully and turned to look at Li Xiuning, who was full of anticipation.
"Xiuning, you mean, let's go big?"
"Exactly!"
Li Xiuning nodded. Although her expression was calm, her words were quite ruthless.
"If we're going to do it, let's do it on a grand scale, synchronize it across all seven counties of Zhuo Commandery."
"We won't send troops there for now. We'll wait until we receive distress calls from those noble families before sending troops to suppress them."
"By then..."
Li Xiuning paused, a confident look flashing across her face.
"If it's about managing You Province, or even managing the Han Dynasty, I naturally have no confidence."
"But merely a Zhuo Commandery!"
"As long as there is the support of the army under the command of the lord, they won't be able to cause any significant trouble."
"Alright!"
As Li Xiuning finished speaking, Qin Feng nodded with a surge of excitement.
He felt he had been too cautious.
It's just a Zhuo Commandery, isn't it?
Just do it!
If he couldn't even handle a small Zhuo Commandery, how could he possibly take over the entire You Province?
With that thought, Qin Feng no longer hesitated and directly summoned the still-apprehensive Zha Linshan.
"Before tomorrow, expand the existing five hundred men to five thousand."
"Ah?"
Upon hearing this, Zha Linshan's legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud.
"My lord, my lord, this... this is truly impossible!"
"If the number of people is too large, some will definitely escape in the chaos!"
"No matter!"
Qin Feng waved his hand, signaling Zha Linshan to get up, and said with a cold smile:
"This is both an opportunity for you and a test. Those who obey will naturally have food and clothing. Those who disobey can be eliminated in the process."
"That's all!"
"Go!"
"I expect to see five thousand men by tomorrow afternoon. If you can't do it, you'll have to deal with the consequences yourself."
With that, Qin Feng didn't bother with the bitter-faced Zha Linshan and simply waved him away.
Just some barbarians.
It wasn't that he didn't kill them all, but rather they were still useful for now.
What was there to care about?
However, Qin Feng fell into a brief hesitation regarding who to assign to supervise them.
The Wuhuan barbarians were primarily cavalry. To blend in with them, one would also need to be cavalry.
But his ten thousand cavalry had already been dispatched.
Should he summon them again?
Or should he transfer two thousand infantry to join the fun?
Anyway,
After the horses captured last time, he did have quite a few warhorses now.
It wouldn't be impossible to use some infantry as cavalry.
"My Lord~!"
Hearing Qin Feng's sudden thought, Li Xiuning shook her head helplessly.
"Deploying defenses for seven counties simultaneously, and guarding against the rebellion of the Yuyang Wuhuan, our existing troop strength is already a bit strained."
"Moreover..."
"If those five thousand prisoners were to defect, two thousand infantry might not be able to hold them off."
"You're right~!"
Qin Feng heard this, rubbed his nose, and abandoned the idea of saving money. He began to search through the warehouse.
"Xiuning, how many troops do you think we should mobilize?"
"The more, the better, of course!"
"En?"
Meeting Qin Feng's confused gaze, Li Xiuning said calmly:
"If you don't show enough strength, others will treat you like a soft persimmon."
"Perhaps after the Yellow Turban Rebellion is quelled, the imperial court will target you next."
"But..."
Qin Feng's hand movements paused, and his tone was filled with worry:
"If we bring so many people at once, are you sure we can feed them?"
"Heh heh..."
Hearing the worry in Qin Feng's tone, Li Xiuning chuckled helplessly:
"If it were a time of peace, let alone a Zhuo Commandery, even the entire You Province would struggle to support over a hundred thousand troops."
"But this is a time of war!"
Saying this, Li Xiuning looked up at Qin Feng, her voice filled with persuasion:
"My Lord, do you know what 'supporting war with war' means?"
"Supporting war with war?"
Qin Feng was taken aback, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and said:
"Xiuning, you mean, send all the troops out to fight?"
"Exactly!"
Li Xiuning nodded, then extended her hand and pointed towards the direction of the grasslands.
"Although those barbarians have no money, they have people, and plenty of cattle, sheep, and horses."
"Cattle and sheep can be eaten, horses can be sold, and even captives can be sold as labor."
"As long as we successfully take down one tribe, it should be enough to cover the army's expenses for several months."
"But you just said..."
Qin Feng scratched his head, confused. "How can we find them in this vast grassland?"
"My Lord~!"
Li Xiuning looked up at Qin Feng and said with a speechless laugh:
"Have you forgotten about those Wuhuan people?"
"It might be difficult for outsiders to find them, but can't their own people find them?"
"..."
Qin Feng slapped his forehead in realization, feeling that he was indeed quite slow.
Indeed!
It would be difficult for outsiders to find them, but the Wuhuan people, being fellow barbarians, would surely be able to find them.
Moreover,
If they could find one, they could find another. There was no such thing as coincidence, because they also needed to communicate!
"My Lord, this is only the first part!"
Seeing that Qin Feng had understood, Li Xiuning smiled and continued to persuade:
"While supporting war with war, we can also completely support war with agriculture."
"Supporting war with agriculture?"
"Yes!"
Li Xiuning nodded affirmatively, indicating that she had not spoken incorrectly.
"Across the eleven commanderies of You Province, divided equally, each commandery has less than ten thousand people, and each county at most a little over a thousand."
"During peacetime, these soldiers can open up wasteland for farming and build bridges and roads."
"And once war breaks out, they put on armor and pick up weapons, becoming the best soldiers."
"..."
Looking at Li Xiuning, who was getting more and more excited, Qin Feng's eyes became somewhat strange.
He strongly suspected that this woman was also a transmigration!
Isn't this the agricultural reclamation army of later generations?
If it were successful, not only could it support itself, but it could also feed back to headquarters!
After all,
The agricultural reclamation corps played a significant role in the development of the western and new Mongolian regions in later generations.
Why hadn't he thought of this at the beginning?
To be surpassed by a woman from ancient times as a transmigration?
It's all the system's fault!
If his system wasn't so amazing, he wouldn't have been unable to figure out such a simple problem.
"???"
The system, which had been slacking off and hadn't spoken much, couldn't imagine it would be dragged into this.
If not for the first rule of the system not to harm the host, it would have wanted to kick Qin Feng away.
"My Lord~!"
Seeing that Qin Feng had been silent, Li Xiuning, whose excitement had subsided, frowned slightly and said with some concern:
"These are all my personal opinions. Please forgive me if there are any mistakes."
"No, absolutely not!"
Qin Feng, who had come back to his senses, smiled and shook his head, looking at Li Xiuning with admiration.
"Xiuning, I am truly fortunate to have your assistance, my lord!"