"Um, greetings, Your Majesty. After careful consideration, I have chosen the South. After all, the North has been developed for so many years, and even with large-scale enfeoffment, it can no longer accommodate a large population."
"The empire is currently facing a severe population crisis. Even if we don't develop it now, the northern vassal states will be filled in a thousand or two years. We'll still have to face this problem then. So, for the sake of the empire, I'd better head south," Lin Yang said with patriotic fervor.
At that moment, he looked like a passionate young man, gesturing excitedly as he spoke. Of course, how many people actually believed him was a matter of opinion.
Seeing this, Emperor Ling said nothing, but instead smiled slightly and looked Lin Yang up and down very seriously.
In fact, from the very beginning until now, all the chosen ones' fiefdoms have been in the north. Only Lin Yang chose the south, which is something everyone should think about.
"Huh, why did it suddenly become awkward? So what if we chose the South?" Su Qing'er asked directly, seeing the utterly surprised crowd.
"That's right. In the north, or rather the northwest, whether it's the Xiongnu, or the Xianbei, Wuhuan, or Qiang people, they have all been defeated and subdued long ago. It can be said that there are no major wars, at most some sporadic small wars."
"Therefore, if the fief is in the north, there are very few factors to consider, and it is much more convenient," Shi A concluded.
Upon hearing this, Cai Yan nodded. In most cases, with the fiefdom in the north, only two points need to be considered.
The first point is the issue of money. After all, whether it's managing territory, training elite troops, or defending one's homeland, money is indispensable.
Moreover, the north is incredibly cold. The further north you go, the colder it gets. But ultimately, it all comes down to money. With money, none of these problems matter.
Secondly, there was the invasion of those alien races. However, those alien races had long been rendered unable to support themselves. Even if there were occasional battles, there was no fatal crisis.
Furthermore, there are numerous examples of northern lords who, lacking experience in governing their territories, can learn from others. Just do what they did. Therefore, establishing a fiefdom in the north or northwest is a quick, low-investment, and high-return endeavor (compared to the south).
Therefore, Lin Yang's choice was quite surprising to everyone. It can be said that, without special reasons, no one would be willing to skip the easy difficulty (developing the North) and directly challenge the hellish difficulty (developing the South).
“Oh, my dear nephew, could you tell me your thoughts? You know, a fiefdom in the north offers many advantages. Development would be much easier. And, if all else fails, you can sell horses and cattle. But the south…” Seeing the slightly awkward silence, Cai Yong stood up and spoke.
To be honest, Cai Yong said this because Lin Yang was Cai Yan's teammate. However, Cai Yong himself was now somewhat unable to understand Lin Yang. After all, the gap between the South and the North was simply too great.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang nodded. The south, or rather, the area south of the Yangtze River, was indeed quite desolate, even barren, compared to the north. Moreover, it was teeming with Yue bandits and various other barbarians.
Moreover, due to its backwardness, the area is teeming with spirits and wild monsters. It truly is a primeval jungle, fraught with danger. Most importantly, there are the climate and diseases.
Due to the climate in the south, ordinary people are easily susceptible to disease for various reasons when they go there. Even if development is forced, it would be counterproductive.
Even in history, the south was not truly developed until after the Jingkang Incident. In order to avoid the fall of the country, the Southern Song Dynasty had no choice but to spare no expense and invest countless human and material resources to truly develop the south.
Therefore, everyone was puzzled by Lin Yang's choice to go south; it didn't make sense. He wasn't desperate; he could have succeeded in the north even with his eyes closed, simply by imitating his predecessors. Why choose the south? Unless there was a greater benefit involved.
"That's right," Lin Yang said with a smile. "My master has solved the key to developing the South, which is the disease problem. At that time, the successful development of the South will be just around the corner."
In reality, the reason ordinary people suddenly fall ill in the south is simply due to poor hygiene and the prevalence of various parasites. The most notorious of these is schistosomiasis. The world is much the same.
In the original owner's memories, in order to resist the invasion of the Black Lotus Prince, the heroes of the Han Dynasty began their resistance from the north, step by step. Later, when they were no longer able to defeat the invaders, they fled to the south and used the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to continue their resistance.
After countless people died from the epidemic, the legendary physicians Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing finally solved these problems by working together. In fact, the solution was quite simple: maintain good personal hygiene and drink plenty of hot water.
Maintaining good lifestyle habits can naturally solve the problem of illness, which is the biggest obstacle to the development of the South. It sounds simple, but who could have imagined it in ancient times?
After all, even those chosen ones only gradually came to understand this principle after experiencing many aspects of the modern world.
"What?"
"Is what you say true, my dear nephew?"
"Really?"
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Chapter Thirteen: The Unfavored Duke of Wu
"Heh heh, a young man with no experience is unreliable. I think this guy just got lucky. After spreading the teachings, he's become arrogant and overconfident. Do you think the disease problems in the south are so easy to solve?" Yuan Shu said gloatingly. As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at Yuan Shao.
To be honest, he was in a very bad mood at this moment. The reason for his bad mood was even simpler. To put it bluntly, it was still about Yuan Shao. Therefore, his words were quite harsh. On the surface, he was talking about Lin Yang, but in reality, he was still mocking Yuan Shao.
"Exactly, exactly. Back then, there were plenty of ambitious warlords who wanted to develop the south. But what happened? Who succeeded?" The lackey beside him quickly chimed in. After all, as the young master of the Yuan family, it was perfectly normal for him to have a few lackeys following him around.
"Heh heh, he's still young after all," someone said sarcastically to Yuan Shao.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's face turned ashen, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, yet he seemed oblivious to it.
You see, these people who spoke were once his close friends and drinking buddies, but now they were all saying such things, clearly indicating that they didn't have high hopes for his journey to the northern fiefdom. Although Yuan Shao had been mentally prepared for this, he still felt somewhat saddened when the time came.
"What are you saying? Maybe Lin Yang will succeed? How do you know he'll definitely fail?" Cao Cao said, somewhat unsure of himself. After all, even he himself wasn't optimistic about Lin Yang's future.
Immediately, a cacophony of voices arose. Some said Lin Yang was incredibly audacious, others praised his youthful exuberance, while still others were pessimistic, believing he was overestimating himself. Of course, everyone spoke with their heads down; they certainly wouldn't admit it openly.
"Well, I don't know if it's true or not, so I plan to go to the south to test it out. If it works, I'll submit all the experiences to the imperial court and then spread them widely. If it doesn't work, I can still summarize the lessons learned," Lin Yang said.
The effect was certainly there. After all, both the original owner's memories and the various materials he had reviewed in the 21st century indicated that solving the problem of diseases in the South was not difficult.
However, it's best to keep a low profile until you succeed. Besides, in the South, the world is vast, and you're the most important person there. There are no restrictions on what you do. Whether it's for secrecy or whatever, it's all quite good.
What could Cai Yong say in response? Lin Yang's attitude was already so clear, there was nothing more to say. He could only sit down, clearly not optimistic about Lin Yang's journey to the southern fiefdom.
"What are you mortals babbling about here? What's wrong with the South? When Feipeng arrives in the South, we gods will take care of it. No matter how bad it is, it's still better than the North."
“Even if he can’t make it in society and can’t become a duke, we’ll just give him a blessed land. We’ll ensure that his descendants can inherit it.” After hearing the whispers among the crowd, the Goddess of Wushan said loudly.
After all, Wushan, where she lived, was considered part of the south. This immediately left many heads of powerful families speechless.
That's right, just like the Goddess of Wushan said. Even if Lin Yang fails to develop his fiefdom, his future is still limitless thanks to his status as the Ancestor of the Divine Path. As long as he doesn't do anything reckless, becoming a sixth-tier expert is still very possible.
"Haha, the South it is then. In that case, let's bestow upon my nephew the title of..." Emperor Ling said with a smile.
...