Chapter 77: A True King Acts in Accordance with the Will of the People

Standing atop the mound, Chen Mu raised his voice and shouted, “Soldiers! Ahead of us lies the settlement of the Donghu!”
“Not long ago, the Donghu invaded the lands of our Great Xia! They seized our cities!”
“They slaughtered our people! They humiliated our women!”
“Soldiers! What should we do?”
The soldiers roared in unison:
“Avenge the blood debt!”
“Kill them all!”
Chen Mu nodded and cried out again, “Now! The time for vengeance has come!”
“Charge!”
With that, Chen Mu spurred his horse forward, leading the charge toward the Donghu settlement.
Ten thousand soldiers of Great Xia followed close behind.
Chen Mu’s orders were absolute: any Donghu encountered was to be killed on sight.
This was not out of cruelty, but as retribution—an eye for an eye, blood for blood.
It was the Donghu who first massacred the people of Great Xia. The nation’s choice to retaliate in kind was beyond reproach.
Chen Mu saw no need for mercy—for this was no private vendetta, but a national hatred, the pain of the people and the country. It was not Chen Mu who sought revenge, but the will of Great Xia, to which he could only submit.
Had he shown leniency to the enemy, it would have been cruelty to his own people, cruelty to his soldiers. Were that the case, his men would lose faith in him, and his people would no longer love him.
In that moment, Chen Mu experienced a vague revelation.
A true ruler should not suppress the people, but follow their will, representing their voice.
Only then could he truly secure his throne.
Such thoughts flickered momentarily through his mind; now, his eyes were fixed only on the distant Donghu settlement.
Soon, Chen Mu led his army into the heart of the Donghu camp, meeting no resistance.
Perhaps the Donghu chieftain’s remaining forces had not returned, or perhaps he had not had time to evacuate his people. In any case, the vengeance of Great Xia began.
The Donghu camp was a sprawl of tents.
Chen Mu led five thousand cavalry into the camp, cutting down all they encountered. They slashed open tents with their sabers and trampled over them.
The infantry searched behind them, leaving not a single Donghu alive.

The screams of the Donghu fanned the flames of the Great Xia warriors’ fury. Not until the entire settlement was razed to the ground did their anger begin to subside.
Yet their wrath was not extinguished. When they reached the next Donghu settlement, it would blaze forth anew.
Chen Mu led his ten thousand strong army, overrunning three Donghu settlements in succession, slaughtering over fifty thousand Donghu.
Still, not a single Donghu army appeared.
It seemed the enemy was truly afraid, unwilling to confront Chen Mu again.
Seeing that they had now penetrated deep into the grasslands and that supplies were becoming scarce, Chen Mu decided it was time to withdraw.
But he had no intention of leaving empty-handed.
Leading his army, he struck at two more Donghu settlements, carrying off all the young men and women—nearly fifty thousand in total.
Chen Mu’s plan was to dispatch settlers, seize the black soil, and establish new cities.
The Donghu men would serve as slaves, building houses and roads; the women would be given as rewards to the settlers and garrison, fostering integration between peoples.
This was not a whim, but a strategy borrowed from the annals of history. History had shown this method to be effective, and Chen Mu adopted it without hesitation.
Besides, this black soil was a land of plenty. In his previous life, this region was known as the Northern Granary, producing a quarter to a third of the nation’s grain.
If this land were developed, by the following year, Great Xia would never have to worry about provisions again.
As for a Donghu resurgence, there was little to fear.
Their army had been all but annihilated, their young men slaughtered by the tens of thousands, and with these captives taken, the Donghu would not recover for ten years.
And ten years hence, who could say how advanced Great Xia’s technology might be? Even Chen Mu could not imagine it.
Chen Mu joined forces with another contingent, then escorted the slaves back to the Eastern Plains.
There, Chen Mu issued an edict: calling on the people of Great Xia to settle and cultivate the Northern Wilderness.
The court provided initial funds, dispatched escorting troops, and allowed settlers to receive Donghu slaves. If they wished, they could even choose a Donghu woman as a wife or concubine.
Last year, disaster had struck the Eastern Plains, leaving countless families broken. When word spread that the Crown Prince himself had issued such an order, those willing to respond were countless.
Chen Mu oversaw the local officials to ensure the job was done well, leaving five thousand cavalry stationed on the black soil.
This great migration marked another epoch-making undertaking.
Under Chen Mu’s guidance, the advance into the Northeast came thousands of years ahead of its time.
And the Great Xia Dynasty gained its seventh great region—the Northeast.
Now Great Xia possessed the Central Plains, Northern Hills, Southern Borders, Western Mountains, Eastern Plains, Eastern Yue, and the Northeast—seven vast regions. Its territory now nearly matched the China that Chen Mu had once known.
Though the snowy mountains and high plateau remained beyond reach with current technology, Great Xia also had three vassal states: Xiongnu, Persia, and the Southern Barbarians. Its power was already formidable.

However, with this expansion, the cost of building royal roads would rise dramatically, and Chen Mu had to find ways to increase revenue.
He could either extract wealth from the great clans or once again use war to feed war, by waging campaigns against neighboring states.
The former would be somewhat easier, but there was no need to rush; Chen Mu could consider it carefully upon his return.
A month later, Chen Mu led his victorious army home.
Long before they reached the capital, the roads were already lined with cheering citizens.
Though the army marched slowly, word traveled quickly. The people already knew that the Crown Prince had led an expedition and brought back a new region for Great Xia.
Every time the Crown Prince went to war, he returned with new specialties, making life richer and happier for the people. They had long awaited his return.
This campaign, too, brought treasures.
The three gems of the Northeast: ginseng, sable pelts, and velvet antler.
Sadly, these were luxuries beyond the reach of ordinary folk.
No matter; once the settlers finished developing the Northern Granary, the people of Great Xia would enjoy high-quality, affordable Northeast rice.
Easier to digest than the millet they currently ate, it would bring more balanced nutrition.
Chen Mu’s journey was filled with joy and celebration. In a few more miles, he would see the welcoming party led by Chen Xingtian.
Just then, a woman suddenly dashed out from the roadside and knelt before him.
“Your Highness, I beg you to grant justice to your humble subject!”
The soldiers at the front were immediately alert, surrounding the woman. Chen Mu waved them aside.
He did not ride forward, but asked from where he sat, “What grievance do you have?”
The woman wept, “My name is Liu Ying, daughter of a merchant. Because my father offended the county tax official, he was falsely accused and imprisoned.”
“The county office tried to force a confession through torture. My father refused, and in the end, died in prison.”
“The other merchants bullied us, and my mother wasted away in grief. Now I am alone in this world, with nowhere else to turn. I had no choice but to stop Your Highness and plead my case…”