Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 876

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 876
In any case.
I told the panicked Sang Ui-won to handle his own recovery.
I continued with my thoughts.
My work here was far from finished.
Even after surviving infancy, many still died during adolescence—another pressing problem.
‘The reason this era maintains its population is ultimately because even though many die, just as many are born.’
Especially with agriculture as the foundation, every single family member held critical importance.
Farming could never be done alone.
That’s why despite Baek Rin’s considerable development, people still maintained large extended families.
“So, there is a problem.”
“A problem?”
My eyes widened.
“Yes, a problem… You’re so fixated on saving lives that you can’t see anything else. But I am Uiguk Baek, am I not? So I anticipated this problem.”
“I humbly await your instruction, Master.”
“You fool. You should figure this out yourself, shouldn’t you? Since it’s a problem you created.”
My master Jegalling chuckled and tapped my head lightly with his fan.
At his expression—as if I were nothing but a troublemaker—I felt a bit stung.
I was reminded of the past when I’d even caused him to scrape away his memorial tablet.
Then I thought for a moment.
What could the problem be… what could it…
Then it suddenly came to me.
My master’s words about being fixated on saving lives.
“Could it be… a food shortage?”
“Correct.”
My master seemed satisfied.
“The population of Gangso Province could increase five to tenfold within just ten years at this rate. So a food crisis will arrive soon.”
With that, Jegalling handed me documents.
Food production quantities, consumption amounts, and import volumes as well.
“Ah… I see.”
The documents my master gave me clearly stated exactly that.
“Indeed. Of course, you’ve made considerable preparations in the past.”
I’d reorganized irrigation systems and introduced new fertilizer techniques.
I’d restructured the divisions of fields and paddies and built modern waterways.
I’d helped even poor households farm by lending oxen and horses, and encouraged direct land reclamation through a land-leasing concept.
“Still… it seems insufficient.”
My expression grew troubled as I examined the documents.
“According to the census we just conducted, that’s the case.”
My master tapped the table with his fan and spoke.
“Hope, hasn’t it been quite some time since you became my disciple?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you know how much the population of Gangso Province has increased during this time?”
Jin Cheon-hee answered immediately.
“Baek Rin County has many migrants, so the statistics aren’t entirely accurate, but looking at Gangso Province as a whole, I believe the population has increased by approximately four times.”
“Yes. And this time, we’ve captured all the migrant statistics as well.”
The documents my Master pushed toward me showed figures reaching five times the original number.
It wasn’t comparable to the Industrial Revolution of old or modern urban density, but by the standards of this era, the growth was substantial.
“The pace is faster than expected?”
“Far too rapid. Considering both the migrants and natural population increase… a food shortage is guaranteed within five years.”
“Gasp…?!”
I had underestimated population growth.
“You’ve only managed small territories until now. Since this is your first time operating a county this large, it would have been difficult to predict that far ahead.”
“…Ah, yes. It was good that we conducted such a thorough census this time.”
“Indeed. Good living conditions mean migrants find it easy to settle. More people are arriving in Baek Rin County than we anticipated, and simultaneously, the death rate has dropped just as much. So the population can only increase.”
“I see.”
Jegalling’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Hope. The commoners are more desperate than you realize. Even if it’s just about survival, they abandon everything and come here because of that single issue of making a living.”
“Will even more come in the future?”
“Yes. As long as you oversee Baek Rin County, the numbers will only increase, never decrease.”
“…I need to prepare from now on.”
Jin Cheon-hee immediately grasped the situation and moved to the next step.
Jegalling smiled faintly to himself.
‘As expected, when given a task, he works harder than anyone else.’
As long as this fellow oversees it, the population of Baek Rin County will inevitably continue to grow.
Of course, Baek Rin County isn’t some paradise from imagination, but people can drink clean water, and the guards don’t beat them demanding bribes.
Few understood how significant that truly was.
“Now then, bring me a countermeasure plan.”
“Yes, sir!”
Predict early, prepare at the right time.
Life was no different.
There was nothing better than that.
‘If problems arise, it’ll be too late.’
* * *
Jin Cheon-hee returned to his office and stared blankly at the map.
‘Looking at it again, Baek Rin County really does have an excellent location.’
Currently, Baek Rin County borders Hong Taek Lake.
Any region bordering Hong Taek Lake naturally has water, making it ideal for farming.
‘But not all of this area is densely populated.’
Of course, there are developed cities, but many places aren’t.
And among them, there are unpopulated areas in the gaps between villages.
I pulled out white chalk and drew a circle around the area near Baek Rin’s garrison and Hong Taek-ho.
It was an undeveloped region with no small villages.
The reason was simple.
The Black Dao Cultivators had poisoned the well, and all the villagers were said to have been completely annihilated.
It was done by assassins trying to capture a White Sect Leader at the time.
The Minor Sect Leader died from the poison along with the commoners. Those who survived had to scatter to other places.
It was inevitable.
The state didn’t purify the water for them.
And commoners couldn’t possibly possess water purification techniques.
Since wells were often connected to each other, all the water in that entire area became dangerous.
Given time, the poison would dilute and things would return to normal, but the commoners had no way of knowing when that would be.
Those who left never returned a second time.
The location was good enough that they could have brought their families, but they didn’t.
I rummaged through old records and read through them quickly.
‘I see. There have already been several more bloodbaths at this location.’
It happened sometimes.
Places where the Righteous Faction and Heterodox Faction frequently fought for some reason.
There weren’t any particularly famous scenic spots nearby, and the population wasn’t densely packed, yet they kept fighting.
People assumed it was because of bad feng shui.
But the village was already exhausted, and the poisoning incident became the final breaking point, causing everyone to leave.
‘There could be more places like this.’
I diligently searched for empty land.
Even if not bloodbaths like the one just mentioned, there were instances where Mountain Bandits descended and massacred villagers.
Sometimes epidemics simply swept through and villages disappeared.
There was even a history of the Righteous Faction discovering traces of the Demonic Cult and completely slaughtering all the villagers.
From the Righteous Faction’s perspective, they were confident.
They believed the entire village had been taken over by the Demonic Cult.
Even though that was impossible.
But wasn’t it always easier and more convenient to cut away the entire rotten section with a blade rather than interrogate them one by one?
It was quite a long time ago.
Before this body was even born.
‘Madness.’
They say there are no empty places in this vast Gangho, but if there are empty places, it’s because there’s a reason for it.
By the way, due to that person’s policy of official non-interference, the officials turned a blind eye.
A typical Gangho.
Empty land was essentially the graveyard of villages.
‘There are quite a lot of places without records too.’
It meant the officials in power at the time hadn’t even properly investigated and had covered it up.
‘If that’s the case, how would successors even know what happened?’
That continued to accumulate, leading to the present state.
‘Ah, so that’s why Gold & Silver hated missing data so much.’
I found managing just Baek Rin troublesome, yet they were overseeing the entire Hwa Empire.
No wonder they’d be frustrated when there’s nothing to see no matter where they look.
‘I understand now. So that’s why they were happy every time I sent reports?’
I tend to send relatively detailed reports.
Actually, “relatively” was too modest a word—I sent them with embarrassing levels of detail.
I quantified everything and sent it all organized point by point.
Since they seemed to enjoy it so much, I’d wondered why, but it seemed other officials didn’t do this.
‘Maybe that’s why they send inspectors so frequently.’
They say this Emperor sends more inspectors than any ruler in history.
Conversely, it meant that even without such diligent effort, even if commoners occasionally disappeared village by village, the nation still managed to function somehow.
‘It’s not like a powerful foreign force like the Suksin Tribe suddenly appeared out of nowhere. With adequate diplomacy, this is a land overflowing with resources and population….’
As long as the Kang Ho cultivators didn’t wage something like a civil war, it seemed the nation kept running through the special ability granted by Boggi’s bloodline.
‘Besides, even Kang Ho cultivators would eventually reach mutual destruction before that special ability, so they prioritize unifying the martial world rather than dancing with swords for a coup d’état.’
That wasn’t all.
Even if Boggi’s descendants each proclaimed themselves Emperor and tried to tear the empire into the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Imperial Eight Families wouldn’t allow it.
For their own interests, they would never tolerate an age of warring states.
‘Now there are only seven of the Imperial Families.’
If Gold & Silver had to ascend the throne, ascending in this era was perhaps a tragedy in itself.
If they had been Emperor in the previous generation or the one before, they could have governed far more comfortably.
‘Ascending the throne in the final age.’
They probably never realized it.
Tap, tap, tap….
I drummed my fingers on the table, lost in thought.
‘To Kang Ho cultivators, commoners are ultimately like ants. They can turn an entire village into a sea of fire in an instant, crushing it like an ant under a thumb.’
Of course, if it becomes too severe, the authorities can no longer cover it up and must dispatch troops.
But if they scatter and hide in the mountains on their own, there’s no solution.
‘Even if I rebuild the village anew. Another blood massacre could occur.’
Kang Ho is Kang Ho.
That won’t change.
Still, I wanted to prevent people from dying without reason, at least within my reach.
I copied that map in my mind and laid it out before me.
Following the mountain markings, mountains, rivers, and lakes connected in three dimensions.
With the aid of Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, it transformed into a model as if drawn by a modern 3D printer.
“First priority is large-scale farmland. In this era, agriculture is ultimately the foundation of everything.”
That was the purpose of development.
“We should demolish the old structures and rebuild from scratch. Let’s lay sewage systems from the ground up this time. We should get rid of the wells.”
Now, if they wanted to poison the water supply, they’d have to do civil engineering work too.
Or they could try a one-on-one duel against the water supply garrison soldiers.
‘If that happens, they’re not Heterodox Faction—they’re budding Demon Cult.’
The small Jin Cheon-hees within my mind began calculating in perfect unison.
Thanks to them, my calculations proceeded at an astonishingly rapid pace.
Precise architectural blueprints materialized in my mind’s eye.
A technique bordering on the miraculous.
‘Shall I push further from here?’
Let me evolve to the next level.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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