262: Chapter 262 Establishment of the Mighty Bull Company

"You've worked hard!"

Zhao Fusu said, looking at Lu Jia.

"It is not hard at all to work for my lord."

Lu Jia said with a smile, "Now our water sources are all protected, and we regularly patrol around them to prevent livestock from entering and discharging waste into the water."

Zhao Fusu nodded slightly.

He saw that the water source was far from the Great Qin garrison point, and the soldiers fetching water had to ride their horses for a long distance.

Zhao Fusu said, "It seems we need to implement tap water."

The water collection for the garrison at Qinglan Grassland was much more difficult than for the Yangshan garrison; Zhao Fusu decided to set up tap water here first.

"Tap water?"

"What is that?"

Both Tian Ju and Lu Jia looked at Zhao Fusu curiously.

"It's using steel pipes to draw water from the source to our garrison point."

"We can build water towers on high ground in the camp, and then transport the water through pipes to each camp."

"When we need water, we just have to turn on the faucet, and the water will come out on its own."

"My lord, brilliant!"

Lu Jia's eyes were full of excitement.

"This way, fetching water will become so easy!"

"Mhm."

Zhao Fusu said, "Once the pipes are manufactured, I will arrange for a train to bring them over."

"Alright."

Lu Jia nodded.

"Spring has arrived!"

Zhao Fusu said suddenly.

Lu Jia's eyelids twitched as he said, "My lord, are you planning to drive the Xiongnu Royal Court out of the Southern Desert?"

"Yes."

Zhao Fusu said, "We are going to cultivate the Hetao Plain. To have a sufficient strategic buffer zone, we must drive the Xiongnu Royal Court out of the Southern Desert."

"How does my lord plan to conduct the campaign?"

Lu Jia inquired.

Zhao Fusu said, "You will deploy troops from Qinglan Grassland, and I will deploy from Yangshan Pass. Together, we will drive the Xiongnu Royal Court out of the Southern Desert."

"Understood!"

Lu Jia cupped his hands and replied.

Yinshan Mountain

Xiongnu Chanyu Court

Modun's mood had been poor lately.

His scouts detected movements from the Qin Army; the Great Wall Legion had crossed Yangshan Mountain and was starting to pounce towards Yinshan Mountain.

People had also come from the direction of Qinglan Grassland.

The Qin Army was going to drive him out of the Southern Desert!

Modun clenched his fists; the Qin Army was pushing things too far!

Where there's life, there's hope. After successive defeats at the hands of Great Qin, Modun also feared the firearms in Great Qin's possession.

Until a way to counter Great Qin's firearms was found, it was unwise to go head-to-head with them.

Modun knew very well that fighting Great Qin would only lead to further losses.

By then, morale would crumble, and the Xiongnu Royal Court would cease to exist.

Modun led his cavalry and began migrating toward the Northern Desert.

Upon learning of the Xiongnu Royal Court's movements, Zhao Fusu did not pursue them.

He took the opportunity to lead his army and take over the Yinshan Grassland and the entire Southern Desert.

Next, he planned to put up barbed wire fences along the border of the Southern Desert and build beacon towers at intervals to facilitate military communication.

He would also station a certain number of border guards and conduct regular patrols.

The Xiongnu Royal Court went to the Northern Desert, but not all tribes followed them.

Zhao Fusu instructed Lu Jia to gather all the Xiongnu Tribes remaining on the grasslands, ideally winning them over.

Lu Jia said, "Rest assured, my lord. Subduing them will be simple."

He was right; on the grasslands, people follow whoever is strongest.

For the tribes in the Southern Desert, Great Qin was able to drive out the Royal Court and was more powerful than them, so they naturally followed Great Qin.

"Good."

Zhao Fusu handed the task of integrating the remaining Xiongnu Tribes in the Southern Desert to Lu Jia.

After taking the entire Southern Desert, Great Qin's territory increased from the original 3.4 million square kilometers to 4.58 million square kilometers.

According to Zhao Fusu's original plan, he would defeat the main force of the Xiongnu Royal Court, conquer both the Southern and Northern Deserts, and push the Royal Court into the Western Regions.

Modun withdrew from the Yinshan Grassland and fled to the Northern Desert.

The Northern Desert was vast, covering 2.7 million square kilometers.

Launching an expedition into the Northern Desert would put too much pressure on logistics.

The Southern Desert had many Gobi deserts and sandy deserts, and the Northern Desert had an even higher proportion of them.

The agricultural value of that place was too low, though there were quite a few mineral deposits underground.

But they were buried deep and required certain technology to extract.

Therefore, Zhao Fusu adjusted his strategy.

The economic value of the Western Regions was much greater than that of the Northern Desert, especially the Kingdom of Loulan.

Chromite, the raw material needed for purple dye, was distributed here!

With Chromite, he could mass-produce purple dye through chemical means and make a fortune.

Potassium Mine can be made into Potash Fertilizer.

Vast amounts of Potassium Mine were distributed within the Kingdom of Loulan.

This was something Zhao Fusu had to compete for.

After all, Potash Fertilizer can improve the stress resistance of crops, enhance their resistance to pests and diseases, and improve the quality and yield of the harvest.

Not only that, there were Salt Lakes in the Kingdom of Loulan, with salt reserves that could support a global population of 60 billion for nearly a thousand years!

With such a treasure trove, anyone who didn't seize it would be a complete fool.

If he wanted to take the Kingdom of Loulan, he had to build extensive railways.

First, the railway had to be built to Longxi Commandery, the westernmost part of Great Qin's territory.

Then, through the railway, war supplies could be continuously transported to Longxi Commandery to take over the thousand-kilometer Hexi Corridor.

Only after taking the Hexi Corridor, establishing commanderies there, and moving in a large number of immigrants would there be a springboard for conquering the Western Regions.

Once a railway was also built in the Hexi Corridor, grain and armaments could be transported from Xianyang all the way west to the Western Regions.

At that time, it would be the moment to conquer the Western Regions.

However, that was still far off.

First, the Southern Desert had to be integrated.

He first needed to build a railway through the entire Southern Desert.

By establishing garrison points around the railway, if a rebellion occurred in the Southern Desert, troops could be quickly assembled and sent to the site of the rebellion via the railway to suppress it.

This great railway through the Southern Desert would be used to transport troops and supplies during wartime and raw materials like wool and milk during peacetime.

Zhao Fusu would use economic means to deeply bind the Southern Desert to Great Qin.

When the herdsmen of the Xiongnu Tribes in the Southern Desert earned money and their lives improved, they would feel a greater sense of attachment to Great Qin.

When the lives of the Xiongnu Tribes in the Southern Desert far surpassed those in the Northern Desert, it would even attract the Northern Desert tribes to come to the Southern Desert.

The barbed wire fences on the border between the Southern and Northern Deserts couldn't be fully built all at once.

The gradually closing barbed wire fences were also pressuring the Northern Desert Xiongnu Tribes.

If you don't come over quickly, once I close the fences, you'll miss your chance!

To make the herdsmen of the Southern Desert Xiongnu Tribes wealthy, the GDP of the Southern Desert had to be increased.

Zhao Fusu decided to establish the Mengniu Company in the Southern Desert, specializing in milk production.

"Half a kilogram of milk a day makes a Great Qin person strong!"

Once this slogan was shouted, if other Great Qin people became strong from drinking milk and you didn't, or didn't let your children drink it, then wouldn't your children be shorter and weaker than others'?

Once this anxiety was created, there would be no worry about selling milk.