The two weak people were safely sent back to the mansion. Bai Qi planned to go to the city gate, first closing the gate to prevent the Hu people from escaping, then going to Shangwu Hall  to prepare for work.

Ying Yue, having just entered the mansion, suddenly remembered something and asked Jia Xu, “Come to think of it, Wen He didn’t answer the question I asked him earlier.”

Jia Xu paused, then asked, “Are you referring to the Hu people?”

The girl nodded and said, “Yes. Earlier, I asked Wen He what he thought about the task of herding horses because the Hu people didn’t dare to go south, but Wen He didn’t answer directly.”

At that time, Jia Xu had only analyzed the situation but avoided answering the question. Now, Ying Yue thought Wen He might be willing to speak more openly.

Jia Xu smiled and said, “Of course we need to deal with the Hu people, but we can’t kill them all.”

Ying Yue wasn’t surprised by this answer. After all, if Jia Xu had been too quick to say “kill,” he wouldn’t have avoided the topic before.

Ying Yue was confused and said, “But if we don’t eliminate their existence, won’t they always be a major threat to our Central Plains?”

Hearing the little girl say this, Jia Xu smiled, teasing her and said, “I never knew that the lord’s murderous intentions were so strong.”

“I’m not–” Hearing this, Ying Yue immediately opened her beautiful phoenix eyes wide and explained anxiously, “It’s just…”

Then, while the little girl was still speaking incoherently, the handsome young man straightened his expression and said seriously, “The appearance of the Hu people is always sudden and unpredictable. And often, after killing one group, another group will appear soon after.”

In their world, from hundreds of years ago to the Three Kingdoms period when he lived, the Hu people had never disappeared. They were like weeds, which could never be burned out and would grow again with the spring breeze.

“So in Yixu’s opinion, instead of killing the Hu people, it is better to educate them and let them integrate into our tribe. In this way, after several years and generations, there will no longer be foreign Hu people.”

“Of course, what Xu said is only limited to the non-cannibalistic Hu people. Those foreign races that have lost their humanity and eat our people like two-legged sheep are a disaster and must be killed.”

“But… even if the Hu people don’t eat people, they will still invade the Central Plains,” Ying Yue said softly. “And if you want to educate the Hu people, you should spread them out far away, right? Otherwise, the Hu people are brutal and may not be easily educated when they gather together.”

“That’s right.” Jia Xu nodded. “So at the current stage, it is enough to stop killing. There are still many cannibals and barbarians, so it is really not necessary to consider further matters.”

At this point, Jia Xu suddenly remembered that there was a classic building in his world, so he couldn’t help but suggest, “Perhaps, the lord can also consider building fortifications to strengthen the border.”

“Defensive fortifications?” Ying Yue asked.

“That’s right.” Jia Xu continued, “In our world, there is a defensive structure called the Great Wall, which was originally built to resist attacks from nomadic foreign tribes.”

If we talk about the Great Wall, most people probably think that it was built by the First Emperor, but in fact, the earliest prototype was in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the Warring States Period, the three states adjacent to the Hu people on the border, Qin, Zhao, and Yan, also built walls to strengthen national defense, but most of them were built to defend against neighboring countries.

Later, after Qin Shihuang unified the world, he connected the Great Walls built by these countries together.

“The Great Wall…” the little girl whispered the name. “It sounds like a huge project.”

“The entire Great Wall is indeed huge, but if we only repair a part of it, it’s fine. However,” Jia Xu suddenly changed the subject and began to talk about the disadvantages, “Any defensive fortifications require a lot of financial and human resources. Given the lord’s current situation, it’s actually not suitable. To put it another way, the money can be afforded, but manpower is also a problem.”

Today, the population of Beidi County is only ten thousand households. Note that it is civilians, and the five thousand soldiers are naturally included in this number.

Even if the entire Beidi County population is added together, there are only tens of thousands, and among them, there are many elderly people, women, and children, who cannot be considered as part of the labor force.

Seeing the little girl nodding in understanding, Jia Xu continued, “Besides this, the Hu people actually have another purpose now.”

Ying Yue tilted her head and asked in confusion, “What?”

“The Hu people regard saddled horses as their home and are good at herding horses. The horses they raise are excellent. There is indeed a big gap between the war horses raised in the Central Plains and those raised on the grasslands.” Therefore, the cannibalistic Hu people should be dealt with immediately, but those who do not eat people… can be kept for a while.

If nothing unexpected happens in the future, they should make some deals with this part of the Hu people – these are all cheap labor, how can they justify themselves if they don’t keep them for a few more years to exploit them?

Since they were already at a disadvantageous position at the border, they naturally had to find ways to force themselves to gain some advantages. As long as the military strength level could keep up, the disadvantages could not be turned into advantages.

Although Bai Qi has no intention of staying now, there is still nearly a year left.

The situation can change in a moment, so why make a final conclusion about the future too early?

…Anyway, he chose to believe the little girl in front of him.

“Ah, I think I understand!” After hearing what Jia Xu said, Ying Yue suddenly clenched her right fist and tapped her left palm, saying, “Wen He means that we should develop our own strength while killing the cannibalistic barbarians, and at the same time keep those barbarians who don’t eat people. When we need them one day, we can do what the barbarians did to us today and rob their war horses to enrich our reserve resources!”

The girl, who was born into a merchant family, said this without thinking there was anything wrong with what she said.

Then the girl’s eyes sparkled and she praised Jia Xu, “As expected, it’s Wen He! I knew Wen He must be very smart!”

No, I didn’t. My lord, please don’t talk nonsense.

Hearing that the little girl’s journey to become a bandit leader had ended before it had even officially begun, Jia Xu, who didn’t know where she had learned this bandit logic from, and who didn’t think there was anything wrong with him at all, quickly denied it three times in his mind.

Then he immediately began to secretly select Zhao Kuo and Huo Qubing, two young men who were not very old and had a bit of a spoiled character, and prepared to choose a lucky goose to take the blame.

But Jia Xu soon discovered that the little girl’s “surprises” for him were not over yet.

Because after walking a few more steps, he suddenly saw Ying Yue stop, and the little girl’s pretty face showed a hint of thought.

After a while, the beautiful girl asked the scholar in blue robes in front of her: “I suddenly remembered that if there is a shortage of manpower to repair the fortifications…”

Ying Yue raised her eyes, looked at Jia Xu, and asked aloud the idea that had just flashed through her mind, “Wen He, can we capture the Hu people to repair it?”

Jia Xu:?

Jia Xu slowly typed a question mark.

Even someone as clever as Jia Xu was shocked by Ying Yue’s question.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, “How did you come up with this idea?”

“That’s right,” the little girl replied, her thoughts clear and well-reasoned. “We have a saying in the Central Plains that we take from the people and use it for the people. So, I thought, in building the Great Wall, maybe we can take from the barbarians and use it for the barbarians?”