"Your Highness, I believe we must plan for the future development of Shicheng. As more and more refugees arrive, our city is expanding, but this growth is haphazard. The mountain basin where Shicheng sits covers only about 40,000 mu, and we have already occupied over 10,000 of that; there is little room for further expansion. The marshland to the west, however, is a different story. As far as I know, this marsh is formed by snowmelt from the surrounding mountains. It stretches to Heze City in the west, Lincang City in the north, Shicheng in the east, and Yancheng County in the south. The marshland can be reclaimed for farmland or city construction. I propose we use our existing labor force to build a city in the heart of this marshland. We could develop outward from there, using the surrounding marsh as a natural barrier against the Beast Tide and as a defensive fortification. We would only need to build a road connecting it to Shicheng. That way, even if the Xiongnu break through the pass, the residents of Shicheng will have a sanctuary and need not fear." Gongsun Shang mustered the courage to voice his opinion.
"Minister Gongsun, your thoughts align perfectly with mine. While the land around Shicheng has been developed, it remains vulnerable to the Beast Tide even after cultivation. A city in the heart of the marsh is a different matter. The marshland spans fifty to sixty kilometers in diameter, covering nearly twenty million mu. Building a city at its center could easily …
Chapter 39