Quick Transmigration: When Can I Just Lay Down and Wait to Die?

Chapter 350 "The Legend of Zhen Huan" - 4th Uncle 10

Although he didn't understand why the fourth prince was so hostile to the country, it didn't stop the fourteenth prince from doing as he was told.

He took out the map that his fourth uncle had given him before he set off. It marked the locations of all the mineral deposits in the country. He had no idea how much effort his fourth brother had put into creating this map.

After he came out, the fourteenth prince realized how big the world was. On a globe, this small island nation was only two fingers' width away from the Qing Dynasty.

But when he came by boat, he realized how far that two-finger width actually was. Thinking about all the places outside the Qing Dynasty on the globe, the fourteenth prince now had only one thought: the world is so big, he wanted to see it!

If we could turn all those places into Qing territory, how awesome would that be! At this moment, he was filled with heroic ambition, but he knew that he would need the support of his fourth brother to make this happen.

After conquering the small island nation, he realized how difficult it was to govern a country. If it weren't for the fact that his ship had many officials arranged by his fourth brother, he wouldn't have been able to handle the situation with these prisoners.

Looking at the small island nation, the fourteenth prince knew there were still many things to deal with. But at this moment, he was more eager to share his thoughts with his fourth brother.

So he arranged the affairs on the island, leaving the relevant ministers with 30,000 soldiers to guard the small island nation, and then took a few trusted officials and sailed back to the Qing Dynasty.

Besides some prisoners from the small island nation, the ship was also loaded with a whole ship full of gold and silver treasures, all of which had been looted from the island nation. These were only a small part of the precious treasures; the wealth of a country certainly could not be transported away in a short period of time.

Throughout the journey, he pondered how to explain his grand plan to "conquer the world" to his fourth brother.

Upon returning to the capital, the Fourteenth Prince went straight to the palace to meet the Fourth Prince. After exchanging greetings, he reported to his Fourth Brother in detail about the conquest of the small island nation, and then mustered his courage to express his desire to continue expanding outwards and bring more territories into the Qing Dynasty's territory.

After hearing this, the Fourth Master remained silent for a moment, then a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes, and he slowly said, "It is good that you have such ambition. However, this matter should not be rushed and should be considered carefully."

Upon hearing this, the fourteenth brother was overjoyed, knowing that his idea had been approved by his fourth brother. Now, he just had to wait to work with his fourth brother to plan this grand scheme.

Warfare is acceptable, but it cannot be sustained. Otherwise, even if victories are achieved continuously, the nation's population will not be able to withstand the damage caused by war. Wartime recuperation and rest are of paramount importance.

He summoned all the brothers, including the eighth, ninth, and tenth brothers, and held a "family meeting" where the fourteenth brother explained the results of the trip to the small island nation.

The question now is: who should be sent to govern this small island nation? How can we increase the population of the Qing Dynasty, develop new weapons and warships, and prepare for the next expedition?

All of you brothers here are ambitious men. The reason you're working obediently under Fourth Brother is because you're forced by circumstances. If you had the chance to go out and govern a country, even a barbarian one, that would still be a country!

The meeting room immediately became lively as the brothers began to volunteer. The Ninth Brother was the first to stand up, patting his chest and declaring, "Fourth Brother, I think Eighth Brother is the perfect person to govern that small island nation! Eighth Brother will definitely make it a shining pearl of the Qing Dynasty!"

This guy is a true die-hard "Eighth Brother Party" member; the first person he thought of at this moment was actually his beloved myna bird.

The other brothers also spoke up, saying that this wasn't a rebellion, so what was there to be afraid of? Even though everyone knew in their hearts what the final outcome would be if they went out to govern the country.

The Fourth Master sat at the head of the table, his brow slightly furrowed, quietly observing the crowd. At this moment, the Fourteenth Master stepped forward and said, "Fourth Brother, I believe that to govern this small island nation, we need to select someone who understands both military and political affairs. Moreover, we must consider how to truly win the hearts and minds of the island nation's people."

The fourth uncle nodded, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "The fourteenth brother is right. You all need to write a governance plan and submit it to me. Whoever writes the best one, I will send him/her."

Far from the Qing Dynasty, besides the civil officials you brought with you, you only have the troops stationed on the island. If things go wrong, you could very well be attacked by those small island nations. So you must plan carefully.

However, we don't need to consider the matter of winning over the people of the small island nation, as the fourteenth prince mentioned. That race is not good; their greed and ruthlessness are ingrained in their bones. We don't have the time to tame them.

Instead of constantly guarding against their betrayal, let them all go to work. As for the women, they can be arranged to be concubines of the garrison soldiers to bear children, but the children cannot be entrusted to them for upbringing.

In the future, the permanent population of the small island nation can be transferred from the Qing Dynasty through immigration. However, the more pressing matter is to discuss how to increase the population and develop weapons and warships.

After hearing this, everyone turned the conversation to these issues, offering their own opinions and suggestions, such as "encouraging widows to remarry," "banning women from binding their feet," and "selecting talented people from neighboring countries who are close to the Qing Dynasty for immigration," and so on.

Taking this opportunity, the fourth uncle brought up the dangers of consanguineous marriage and the dangers of getting married and having children too early.

Everyone looked surprised after hearing Fourth Uncle's account of the dangers of consanguineous marriage and premature childbirth. Eighth Brother spoke first, asking, "Is what Fourth Brother said true?"

"These are things I've heard from some Western missionaries. We need to investigate the specifics. If it's true, then our Qing Dynasty will have to establish a rule to prohibit marriage between close relatives and also raise the marriage age," the Fourth Prince said solemnly. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Then, the topic returned to the development of weapons and warships. The fourteenth brother suggested, "Fourth brother, I saw some firearms in small island nations that are somewhat different from those of our Great Qing. I imagine other Western countries also have many different firearms and shipbuilding technologies."

"We can send people to learn from them, or we can capture some craftsmen from their countries and have them help us improve our weapons." The Fourth Uncle's eyes lit up. "This plan is feasible, but it must be considered in light of the actual situation of our Great Qing Dynasty. We also need to train our own firearms personnel."

The meeting lasted until late at night, with everyone sharing their opinions and offering many practical suggestions. Although everyone was tired, they were all in high spirits.

Finally, the Fourth Prince concluded: "Governing the small island nation and developing the strength of the Qing Dynasty are both urgent matters. After you return, please compile the plans and suggestions as soon as possible. I will arrange the follow-up matters according to the actual situation."

After the meeting, the brothers went their separate ways, all busy with the future of the Qing Dynasty. The Fourth Master also knew that this was just the beginning, and there were many more challenges ahead for them to face.