Chapter 433: Jingwei's Ambition
On the Jianshan plank road, the Xianbei knights returning north walked slowly, leading their horses.

Budugen rode on a docile old horse, with a servant leading the horse in front.

He looked up at the mountain road that had been excavated for more than a month and felt his scalp tingling.

The new plank road did not follow the old road, but was re-excavated on the basis of the old road and raised its height.

With construction going on at multiple locations simultaneously, the blacksmith shops controlled by the Yizhou government no longer produced swords, armor or other utensils, but instead focused on producing various tools for opening mountains.

As the old horse under him turned the mountain path along the plank road, Budugen saw that the rock wall of the mountain was being burned on the opposite bend. Except for a small number of corvées and soldiers who were setting the fire, everyone else was hiding in a secluded place to rest.

There are more than 200 people here alone.

There is also a crane arm extending outward from the plank road, drawing buckets of water from the mountain stream below.

Near almost every construction site, there are several huge piles of firewood and wooden barrels for storing water built on site.

In the valleys near the plank road, suitable places for camping, suspended wooden houses and wooden buildings have been built.

However, Shuzhong and Hanzhong could easily supply the construction site for about 100,000 people.

Shuzhong and Hanzhong each have natural defenses. Even with such abundant reserves of food, fodder and manpower, they surrendered easily, which made Bu Dugen very depressed.

Then I looked into the distance and saw that the lush forests and grass on the cliffs in winter were now sprouting a layer of new green.

This made him yearn for the distant Jiaozhou and Nanzhong, places where the four seasons are like spring...For the Xianbei people, even the legendary paradise is not like spring all year round.

An area with spring all year round is a paradise for them.

The cattle and horses have plenty of wild grass to eat, so there is no need to cut grass, and both people and animals can have enough to eat.

As he thought about it, Budugen gradually calmed down. Fortunately, he could return home.

Behind the Xianbei people was the Xiongnu army.

Liu Bao had a blank expression on his face. He had lost interest in either the plank road or the prosperity of Chengdu. He didn't even want to take a closer look or think about it.

At this moment, I just want to return to the tribe safely. The conference in the first month of this year is very important.

Last year, the Xianbei and other Hu tribes in the Shuofang and Hexi regions were almost completely wiped out; although the fertile local pastures were used to settle thousands or hundreds of households.

But Budugen also surrendered on behalf of the Xianbei, which meant that the buffer zone between the Xiongnu and Shuofang could be fully utilized; and the Xianbei population was also declining rapidly, so the Xiongnu could graze their horses in the Wuyuan and Yunzhong areas.

As for the plan of moving westward, which could not be told to anyone, Liu Bao planned to wait a few more years.

First, let the Hehuang Qiang tribes that migrated westwards test the situation in the Western Regions. News will be sent back in two or three years. If the Qiang tribes can dominate the Western Regions, then we can do the same.

However, the tactics of the Western Qiang were already advanced, and during the conquest of the Western Regions, they integrated local tactics, and must have also made improvements to adapt to the local climate and terrain.

Therefore, it was necessary to guide and force Budugen to move westward. The Xianbei's tactics were very close to those of the Xiongnu.

If Budugen could gain a foothold by migrating westwards, the Xiongnu, who were more numerous and had received more training from the Han army, would definitely be able to swallow up the Xianbei and Qiang people!
He used the states in the Western Regions, the Xianbei, and the Qiang as slaves and let these slaves charge in the front. In five or ten years, he would surely be able to invade the prosperous Qin.

The Han Dynasty had been in such chaos for four hundred years, so the words of those Qin merchants who settled in Shuzhong are very credible.

There is no reason why the Qin Dynasty could remain prosperous forever. How could the Qin Dynasty, which is now in decline, be his opponent?
Besides, there were also Western Xiongnu and Northern Xiongnu who migrated westwards and survived in the Western Regions, and these people suffered invasions from the Qiang and Xianbei peoples.

When I appeared with the main force of the Huns, why would they reject me?
Liu Bao looked into the distance and felt that the world was within his heart and within the range of his whip.

The only thing to be cautious about is that this time we must run far away and not be caught by the Han army again.

The Xianbei and Xiongnu people monitored each other and moved northward together along the plank road.

After them came the Yizhou provincial government officials who came to inspect the progress of various construction sites.

Wang Fu was preparing to go up the mountain at a crane arm on Jianshan Mountain. Because of his noble status, he wore a safety harness while riding in the hanging basket.

The safety ropes were tied to Wang Fu's legs, shoulders and torso in a way that made him feel a little ashamed, and the rope was tied to his back. The hanging basket was made of rattan and could be used to lift manpower, firewood or water.

But many people doubt the safety of the hanging basket, so these people use special climbing ladders when going to the construction site.

This soft ladder is fixed at a high place and laid down along the mountain wall, like a centipede clinging to the rock wall.

In order to ensure Wang Fu's safety, Wang Fu was the only one in the hanging basket this time.

Soon Wang Fu was hoisted into the construction site. He stepped down from the basket and several officials came up to remove the safety noose for him.

Wang Fu raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face, and saw a dozen people gathered in front of him to discuss something.

He was about to step forward, but the clerk beside him became alert, suddenly reached out and grabbed Wang Fu, carefully pointed to a tall, strong and burly man beside him, and whispered: "Tai Shi Wen Gong."

Wang Fu's mind suddenly became clear. Looking more carefully, he saw a figure wearing a felt hat tilted on the side, who looked very wise and majestic.

He immediately restrained his expression and led the clerks who were accompanying him forward.

There, Black Bear was holding a ruler horizontally and gesturing at the construction site on the opposite hill. He said to the captain in charge of this place, "The iron chain is not a problem. There is good iron in Shu. If Shu can't make it, we can transfer people from Hancheng to Shu."

A Taoist priest from Hanzhong said, "Sir, Hanzhong can also forge fine iron."

"I know Hanzhong can make them, but the chains I need are not made of tens of thousands of pounds of iron."

Black Bear gestured to the construction site on the opposite side of the mountain wall: "It's about forty steps. One iron chain must be fifty steps long. To connect the two places, at least nine chains are needed. This is not an ordinary iron chain, at least this thick."

When the Taoist saw the thickness of the iron chain that Black Bear was demonstrating, he immediately said, "Sir, the iron chain bridge still needs constant maintenance. In my opinion, it is more appropriate to dig through the mountain wall so that the problem can be solved once and for all. As for the lack of manpower, there are many poor and evil young men in Shu who can be placed here to work and earn a living. The dangerous fortifications can be handed over to the prisoners in Shu. If all the prisoners are used up, we can also break through the mountains and cut down temples to capture tens of thousands of prisoners."

It is such a waste to use such good quality iron to forge iron chains.

Swords and armor forged from an iron chain are enough to arm an entire battalion of soldiers.

Based on the previous achievements of the Tianshi Dao, this Taoist priest is full of confidence in the future to go deep into Nanzhong to destroy mountains and temples.

The current situation in Shu is very clear to the Tianshi Dao. Shu is not worthy of the emperor's trust for the time being. Only they who are firmly tied to the Ba people are the reliable candidates for the emperor to control and check Shu.

The black bear remained silent after hearing this. Sometimes, the crude and stupid methods, besides wasting time, can actually save special materials.

If we only spend time, manpower, money and food, and as long as we don't change our original intention, the new Shu Road will definitely be built.

As the weather gets warmer and the workers become more skilled, the speed of excavation and construction will only get faster and faster.

While he was thinking, Wang Fu stepped forward and saluted: "Yizhou official Wang Fu wants to see the Grand Marshal."

Black Bear turned around and saw Wang Fu, who was five or six steps away. He just nodded and said to the Taoist priests and centurions in Hanzhong, "Then dig according to the original plan."

"Here."

Several leaders saluted, and Black Bear waved his hand to signal them to leave before he went to see Wang Fu and asked immediately, "Do the people in Shu have the determination to build a new plank road?"

"The great Sima is so kind and virtuous that the men and women of Shu cannot repay him, so we should do our best!"

Wang Fu gritted his teeth and said: "If it can't be done in ten years, then one generation will do it; if it can't be done in one generation, then three generations will do it! The ambition of Yugong and the perseverance of Jingwei filling the sea are also found in Shu!"

"I hope you can keep your word."

When the black bear saw the water splashing against the rocks, he stepped back and said to Wang Fu with a smile, "Speaking of Jingwei filling the sea, do you know which sea they were filling?"

Wang Fu was suspicious and bowed respectfully: "I beg you to give me some advice, Grand Marshal."

"Yugong moved the mountains near Taihang Mountain; the sea filled by Jingwei is now the Nine Lakes of Fenshui in Taiyuan. This place was a sea in ancient times, and the water formed many large lakes and ponds that are connected to Fenshui River. They are called the Nine Lakes because of their large number."

Black Bear smiled at Wang Fu and said, "The reason why I remember it so clearly is that we had a decisive battle with the Xiongnu at this swamp. There were three to five thousand Xiongnu and rebels who froze to death when the ice collapsed and sank into it."

(End of this chapter)