Chapter Twenty-Eight: Moving Mountains to Create Fields

"My Lord, I, representing Taishazhou, am willing to go and suppress the bandits to help you seize the iron mines."

Upon hearing this, the officials were baffled, unable to fathom what he was planning. Currently, the iron mines of the Southern Frontier were all held by bandits. Although they were called bandits, they were in fact backed by these very separatist forces. These groups would send men disguised as outlaws to lull the outside world into a false sense of security while they secretly built up their own strength. Now that they were offering to give up the mines, the officials had no idea what kind of scheme was afoot.

After the county magistrate finished speaking, several others stepped forward, claiming they would return to consult with their respective prefects about seizing the mines to boost the Southern Frontier's economy.

One magistrate lamented, "My Lord, we are all officials appointed by the Imperial Court; being forced to turn to banditry was truly a last resort."

Another echoed, "Indeed, My Lord. The previous Protector General was greedy for luxury and defected to the Southern Barbarians. We had no choice but to pose as bandits, while in secret, we have always been waiting for the Imperial Court to send someone to take charge of the Southern Frontier."

"Now that we have finally awaited the arrival of a Protector General, and now that we have official positions, who would still want to be a bandit?"

Fang Han was delighted to hear this; it was exactly the effect he wanted. It seemed these men were quite shrewd to have been sent here. He had already guessed that they were using this opportunity to wash away their suspicion of being bandits and then persuade him to expand the city walls. Expanding a city is easy, but tearing it down is difficult. Fang Han understood this well, which is why he had brought it up. Once the city walls were dismantled, they would view him as a lamb to the slaughter. No matter how much he developed, they would not fear him. They might even send their own men to help with the development.

This was something Fang Han had anticipated. Just as Lin Qingwei had said, what they feared was not development, but the power within the city growing too strong. Once the walls were gone, the city would have no defensive perimeter, and even if they had a strong army, they would lack a fallback position, meaning their morale would not soar.

As the magistrates expressed their positions, Fang Han feigned anger. "Hmph! When I asked you to provide troops to suppress the bandits, you had nothing. Now, suddenly, you have the strength to do so? Are you playing me for a fool?"

The men looked at each other in dismay, not expecting Fang Han to still be dwelling on that matter. This only solidified his reputation as a petty man.

Su Zihuan laughed loudly and stepped out, saying, "My Lord, these thieves have ulterior motives. Do not believe their honeyed words."

"Helping to suppress bandits? Who doesn't know that you yourselves are the biggest bandit threat? This is clearly an attempt to use this opportunity to wear down the strength of the capital."

Su Zihuan finally realized it; no wonder he had felt a sense of foreboding earlier. It seemed that mining the ore was not yet feasible. The capital’s forces were not only insufficient but also poorly trained. Without adequate provisions, it was unwise to go to war with the bandits. Otherwise, instead of eliminating the bandits, the capital's military might be depleted first.

"My Lord, it is these very thieves who occupy the mines. They claim to assist you in suppressing bandits, but in reality, they want to exhaust the capital's strength."

After Su Zihuan finished speaking, the other officials suddenly realized the truth and began to advise Fang Han to abandon the plan to mine the ore.

Fang Han pondered for a moment, then raged, "So that’s it! I wondered why you were all acting so kind."

The magistrates cried out in injustice.

"Su Zihuan, stop spouting such slander! We genuinely want to help the Southern Frontier recover."

"As long as the Southern Frontier prospers, why should we worry about not gaining the favor of the Imperial Court?"

"As imperial officials, we also wish to develop vigorously, suppress the Southern Barbarians, and serve the throne."

"General Fang Li could suppress the Great Zhou rebellion; surely the Protector General can suppress the Southern Barbarians. What is your true motive in obstructing us at every turn?" A magistrate pointed at Su Zihuan’s nose and scolded.

Su Zihuan was left speechless; they were indeed standing on the moral high ground.

Fang Han felt disdain when he heard Fang Li mentioned, but he had to feign reluctance. "Good, well said! What is Fang Li anyway? He only knows how to lead troops in battle."

"Exactly, how could Fang Li ever compare to the Protector General?" the magistrates flattered.

Fang Han changed the subject. "The garrison in the Southern Frontier city is insufficient, so let us set aside the matter of suppressing bandits for now. Apart from medicinal herbs, are there any other good ways to develop?"

Just as the magistrates were about to speak, they remembered the gravity of the matter and realized they needed to return to consult their prefects. They decided to stop mentioning it and instead began thinking about how to develop the economy.

What the Southern Frontier lacked most right now was people; they had to find a way to attract a population. It would be best to have men of talent who could further drive the development of the region.

Fang Han saw the magistrates thinking intently and remained silent. He wanted these men to take his ideas back with them. He wanted them to willingly surrender the mines. Only then would he order the expansion of the city. These were secondary; the most important thing was how to develop production.

Currently, the population of the Southern Frontier was insufficient; having land without people was useless. Moreover, with the Great Zhou newly stabilized, the Imperial Court was trying to restore production and had issued a series of decrees to reduce taxes. In such times, it was difficult to attract a population unless they could see tangible benefits.

And tangible benefits were nothing more than land and housing. Housing was not difficult; the Southern Frontier was full of trees, and houses could be built easily. But as for the land, the Southern Frontier was mountainous with little flat ground. Even with terraced fields, they could not compare to the plains. If the population grew in the future, terraced fields would not be enough to sustain development.

At this moment, an official said, "My Lord, I have thought of a good method. It can both develop the city and attract a population."

As soon as he spoke, everyone looked at him.

"My Lord, the Southern Frontier has countless small hills. If we could level these hills to build cities and farmland, firstly, it would secure the Southern Frontier’s food production; secondly, it would attract a population to the region; and thirdly, it would provide bricks and stones for the expansion of the city."

The official finished, then added slowly, "As for the fourth point..."

"What is the fourth point?" Fang Han asked.

The official shook his head. "My Lord, with our current population, this cannot be implemented yet. But I can guarantee it will certainly satisfy you."

Leveling mountains to create fields was indeed feasible. The Southern Frontier did have many small hills that a few hundred men could easily flatten. Leveling these mountains would not only increase the area of farmland but also allow for the construction of roads. "To get rich, first build roads"—this was a universal truth. Once the roads were built, the entire Southern Frontier could be linked together, making it possible to quickly suppress banditry and transport provisions in the future.

"Leveling mountains to create fields—that is acceptable. What is your name?" Fang Han asked.

"My Lord, my name is Zhang He."

"Good, Zhang He. I order you to take charge of this matter. Inspect the small hills within the Southern Frontier and level them all to create fields."

After Fang Han spoke, he looked at the others. "Does anyone else have a good idea?"

At this, another person stepped forward and said, "My Lord, the Southern Frontier has many wild beasts and crisscrossing rivers. We could engage in wild animal husbandry."

"The sons of noble families love to hunt; My Lord, you could open a hunting ground."