Mythical Three Kingdoms

The barbarians surviving in temperatures around minus forty to fifty degrees, with their muscular build and simple, brutal minds, are the barbarians among barbarians, lacking even a written language.

Even during their westward advance, these tribes attacked Yuan Tan under the leadership of the Chukchi people.

Although Yuan Tan was defeated in the Central Plains, his strength was not something these barbarians could contend with, and naturally, they were beaten into submission by Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan was very interested in these thick-armed barbarians who rushed towards his thigh; their individual combat power was very fierce, and most of them possessed Inner Qi.

It should be mentioned that without Inner Qi, surviving the winter in such places with temperatures of minus forty to fifty degrees is unlikely; even if they survive one winter, the next might not be survived. In short, Yuan Tan took these barbarians in.

Then, during his westward advance, Yuan Tan conquered and recruited as he went, taking along all the barbarians he encountered. By the time he encountered the Samoyed tribe, he had already amassed nearly a hundred thousand people.

Essentially, after the Northern Huns advanced eastward and Yuan Tan moved westward, the North, whether defined as the Hu People by the Han Dynasty or as Ancient Siberian People by later generations of Russia, was completely cleared of significant tribes; the entire North of the Han Dynasty, up to the Arctic Ocean, had no tribes of scale left.

As for the Samoyed tribe, reputed to be the world’s strongest ethnic group, they did not escape Yuan Tan’s clutches. Using Yuan Tan’s words, "I lead you to create a new era," whether the tribes believed it or not, Yuan Tan certainly did.

In Yuan Tan’s eyes, these people were excellent soldiers. Although they did not understand battle formations, Yuan Tan believed that their outstanding individual qualities made them a solid foundation for him. Moreover, these people had no blood feud with the Han Dynasty, making them easy for him to control with his abilities.

Yuan Tan took this group westward, and as for these barbarians, after being conquered by Yuan Tan, they pledged their loyalty. In some cases, the more primitive the tribe, the more readily they acknowledge the orders of the strong, so naturally, these barbarians gladly accepted Yuan Tan’s recruitment.

As for those unfortunate ones who died along the way, unfortunately, the dead have no right to speak. In short, Yuan Tan’s formidable martial force made the stronger barbarians further north collectively call him ’father.’

"Zheng Nan, should we now head towards Onion Ridge as per Chen Zichuan’s message, or go north of Onion Ridge to defeat the barbarians there and avoid dealing with Li Jue and his crowd?" After fiercely confronting the Samoyed tribe and making them understand true strength, their entire race requested to join under the rule of the Yuan Clan.

Yuan Tan was near the area known in later times as Yekaterinburg. At that time, it was a small city built by the Samoyed tribe, but Yuan Tan had already conquered it, and the leaders of the various Samoyed tribe’s factions had all submitted to him.

This resulted in Yuan Tan unexpectedly acquiring nearly thirty thousand troops and close to two hundred thousand robust civilians. Backed by the Ural Mountains, with a nearby river, the land was fertile, and resources were incredibly abundant.

To speak of it, a place that could serve as the industrial base and farm during the Soviet era in later times would obviously not lack these conditions; fertile land, rich resources, and although transportation might be slightly inconvenient, there are rivers and ferries. Build a road, and it’s perfect!

When Yuan Tan headed north, he had no plans to return, so he brought everything essential with him. Even though the Yuan Family of Hebei had suffered, the foundation Yuan Shao left was still there, and since Yuan Shao hadn’t been incompetent in this life, many people voluntarily followed Yuan Tan when he left.

So, things like craftsmen and Taoist priests weren’t actually lacking. Thus, after defeating the Samoyed tribe and reaching their Wang City, even someone like Xuu You, who knew a little about Feng Shui and physiognomy, recognized this place as the ’Land of the Rising King’!

Simply put, occupying this place and not losing it, one could just sit and end up producing a king, and as long as one’s mind isn’t defective, the king produced would not be weaker than those of the Seven Warring States.

In reality, saying this place is the ’Land of the Rising King’ is quite accurate. It has protection, water veins, no lack of resources, nor a lack of arable land. The Samoyed tribe, who haven’t even developed farming skills, managed to gather close to a hundred thousand people here.

With Sheni Pei’s perspective, alongside the quickly gathered data by Taoist priests on geomancy, Feng Shui, etc., building a giant city here comparable to Chang’an, Luoyang, or Ye City with a capacity for half a million people wouldn’t be a problem. Expanding a little, adding a few Prefecture Cities on the outskirts, and teaching this group of barbarians how to farm, this place could stably support five million people.

In later times, this place would become the fourth-largest city in Russia, a transportation hub and industrial base. Though the annual average temperature is a bit low, it’s not really a problem. Yuan Tan, being a Northerner, could easily adapt to this temperate continental climate. After all, it’s not a subarctic climate. As long as it remains a temperate climate, Yuan Tan has no issue. When winter chills, they would just not go out.

Thus, when reaching this place, clearly moving a few hundred more miles south would reach Onion Ridge, yet Yuan Tan hesitated. Why sit with people like Li Jue? This place seems fine. Besides, Chen Zichuan also mentioned that the fiefdoms conquered outside could be used for oneself.

So, after toppling the Samoyed tribe’s lair, Yuan Tan didn’t want to leave. Though Sheni Pei and others remembered Chen Xi’s order to unite with Li Jue’s forces, after staying here, neither Sheni Pei nor the others really wanted to move.

This place had mountains, water, protection, fields, resources, basically comparable to a Land of Dragon Rising like Guanzhong. Moving over to sit with Li Jue and letting this place get taken by barbarians? Insane thinking.

Thus, Yuan Tan cautiously asked Xun Shen for guidance. Xun Shen sighed and gave a clear answer: occupy this place as the base of the Yuan Family, and then expand outwards as per Chen Zichuan’s instructions. This place, over ten thousand miles from the Central Plains, falls within the lands Chen Zichuan and the Yuan Family agreed could be taken freely.

This is also the benefit of having wise ministers. Li Jue, Guo Si, and others still haven’t grasped the advantage of establishing a home base, while Yuan Tan, from the start, planned to build a giant city here capable of housing half a million people according to the standards of the Central Plains homeland, and intended to expand outward from there.

Since Xun Shen implied it this way and clearly articulated the issue, establishing a home base here isn’t a problem; the problem would be whether Chen Xi would care if the Yuan Family worked hard enough.

If they labored diligently according to Chen Xi’s then-plan, based on Xun Shen’s understanding of Chen Xi, it was likely the situation would pass.

After all, granting fiefs sooner or later was inevitable, so the Yuan Family taking the cake ahead of time wasn’t really an issue, as long as the work done was substantial and excellent.

Knowing Chen Xi’s temperament, he certainly wouldn’t mind the Yuan Family taking the cake first. That guy focuses solely on the big picture, and tasks seen as life-threatening by other aristocratic families could be dismissed with a wave of Chen Xi’s hand. In short, being a king of a realm is fine; just make sure to complete my assigned tasks well!