Chapter 97

While Gu Chensha was cultivating in his own castle, organizing his fiefdom, and busily dealing with various matters, news of his fiefdom also reached all sides.

In the wilderness, thousands of miles away from his tribe, there was a large tribe that had been conquered. At this time, it was also undergoing large-scale construction, with countless craftsmen and slaves working enthusiastically. Tall buildings were rising from the ground, and merchants and adventurers were coming and going in a steady stream. Martial artists carrying swords and knives were buying and selling goods in the tribal market.

The market here was very prosperous, with all kinds of treasures from the wilderness available, but it was orderly, and no one dared to rob or cause trouble here.

Because outside the market, on wooden stakes, there were rows of corpses, all of whom had been executed on the spot for killing, robbing, and committing evil deeds here.

This was Lou Baoyue's territory.

In the center of the territory, a mansion was being built, square and covering a thousand acres, but it was ten times smaller than Gu Chensha's mansion. Moreover, it was still under construction, with countless slaves transporting various materials.

However, Lou Baoyue was not there but was directing from a wooden house on a nearby mountaintop.

After conquering a tribe, she did not advance further this month but instead stationed her forces and occupied this fiefdom. This was the plan of all the princes. They knew it was impossible to wipe out all the barbarian tribes in one go. They had to first stabilize their foundations, attract experts, and mobilize the people, gradually advancing to consolidate their power.

Moreover, the conquered tribes became the princes' fiefdoms, and the princes could not abandon them.

This was a fiefdom, a vast territory under their control. Although it was in the wilderness, the land was vast, and the mountains and forests were full of treasures. If they could occupy it, it would be extremely profitable.

"Lady, Si Xiang, Mei Xiang, and Xue Xiang have reported that after the Nineteenth Prince obtained the fiefdom conquered by Long Yuyun and Yu Hanlu, he received some treasure and invited the Heavenly Craft Academy to act, even using the Great Heavenly Craft Ghost God. In just three days, he built a mansion and the entire fiefdom, and is now repairing roads, which are expected to be completed within the month, connecting the interior to his mansion," Yu Xiang reported.

"This is strange," Lou Baoyue was very shocked. "The Heavenly Craft Academy can only mobilize the Great Heavenly Craft Ghost God with the ability of a few hidden supreme figures, who are already at the Immortal Artisan level. No one except the Emperor can invite them. Moreover, mobilizing the Great Heavenly Craft Ghost God requires a significant loss of one's own essence and blood. What benefits did he offer to make even those old fossils move? The people of the Heavenly Craft Academy only act if they can make a huge profit; they never do anything for free."

"Lady, from this, it seems that the Nineteenth Prince is catching up. So far, no prince has completely built their fiefdom, let alone constructed roads," Yu Xiang was somewhat worried. "Our fiefdom's construction is still very slow, mainly because the main roads are not connected, and many materials cannot be transported in, delaying the construction period. Moreover, it has also blocked many adventurers and caravans from the interior, making it difficult to sell the goods we obtained from the conquered tribes."

"There's no other way; we can only do it slowly, pulling all the barbarian slaves to build roads, open mountains, and build bridges," Lou Baoyue frowned. "It seems I need to have a good talk with the people of the Heavenly Craft Academy. I can't afford the cost of building the mansion, but the roads must be completed as soon as possible. To make those old guys mobilize the Great Heavenly Craft Ghost God, money won't do; we need treasures that can make them move. Although I have such treasures, I won't give them away just for this."

"Lady, should we continue construction? Not launch any more military campaigns?" Yu Xiang asked.

"Of course, this is already my fiefdom, a foundation for generations. I will send more disciples of the Lou family here to train," Lou Baoyue sighed. "But in recent years, the young disciples of our family have been living in luxury in the capital, who would be willing to come to the wilderness and endure hardship?"

"Actually, the maternal clans of the other princes also have this problem. I heard that the Seventh Prince sent many young disciples of the Legalist School to his fiefdom, offering money and benefits, but very few were willing to go, saying it was dangerous, and the barbarians might counterattack at any time, and the environment is harsh," Yu Xiang said. "On the contrary, many young men from wealthy families and local gentry are eager to come."

"The vast wilderness, without an end, is a national policy. Those who are brave and proactive will be favored by heaven, and many families that are usually unremarkable will rise, while the thousand-year-old noble families will gradually decline," Lou Baoyue stood up. "Tell my father to send the young disciples of our Lou family, along with the idlers and those who are neither scholarly nor martial from the old home, to be sent here. I will train them. If there are outstanding disciples, I will focus on cultivating them."

"Yes," Yu Xiang nodded quickly, then added, "The world has been peaceful for a long time, and people have become frivolous, losing their spirit of progress. The Emperor may have seen this and thus launched a fierce attack on the barbarians, using the princes as leaders and luring the people with benefits to awaken their courage. This is a major national policy and a good opportunity for the Lou family to rise. In fact, the number of idle young men in any noble family is much greater than the number of talented young men. If Lady is worried about these idle young men, can we get more Tiger Wolf Pills from the Nineteenth Prince?"

"You are right," Lou Baoyue praised. "I wonder if Gu Chensha still has Tiger Wolf Pills? Some of our Lou family's young men are infuriating, spending their days eating, drinking, and playing, sleeping in brothels, and even bullying the innocent. No matter how we teach them, it's useless. We can't beat them too hard, and we can't kill them. If we could give them Tiger Wolf Pills to instill the nature of tigers and wolves, it would completely change them."

"I will have Si Xiang investigate," ...

"What? The Nineteenth Prince has already built his fiefdom and invited the Heavenly Craft Academy to act." In another tribe, the Tenth Prince, Gu Zhensha, was also greatly surprised.

His fiefdom was also under intense construction, but apart from barbarian slaves and his own people, few adventurers and caravans came, making it much less lively compared to Lou Baoyue's fiefdom.

"What's going on? Why haven't the merchant groups come to settle?" He asked the people around him.

"Your Highness, Lei Tong is demanding bribes at the border, saying that those who want to do business in your fiefdom must please him, or they won't be allowed to come. The merchant groups are unwilling," the servant beside him said cautiously.

"Lei Tong, that fool, at a time like this, he's still trying to make money!" Gu Zhensha was almost furious. "I'll tear him apart. He's used to bullying people in the Lei family, but he's disrupting my plans."

"Your Highness, calm down. Lei Tong is the youngest and most beloved son of the clan leader. This time, he was sent to assist you with the clan leader's and the Empress's approval. Last time, you caused dissatisfaction within the clan over the Lei Dragon Staff. If you beat Lei Tong again, the clan leader will lose face, and the Empress will have a hard time facing the clan. The Empress specifically instructed us to advise you not to quarrel with the clan, as you will need their support for future endeavors," the servant quickly knelt down to persuade him.

Gu Zhensha's anger was even harder to control, and he cursed, "These clan members, living in luxury, not helping when it counts, and even hindering me. When I become powerful, I will definitely reorganize the clan. The old clan leader is too lenient; I will depose him and support those who listen to me."

"The Prince's cultivation has been steadily advancing. A few days ago, in a battle with a barbarian general, you finally broke through to the Third Transformation of the Dao, achieving a body of copper skin and iron bones. From now on, you will be invulnerable to blades and swords and can move freely in the wilderness. This is a great joy," the servant knew how to calm his anger.

"Hmph! For my mother's sake, I won't hold it against Lei Tong. You go and contact those merchant groups, telling them that if they settle and do business here, I will provide free land, food, and accommodation, and send troops to protect them along the way," Gu Zhensha ordered.

Far away by the sea, far from the wilderness, countless ships sailed from the canals into the ocean, carrying various goods to be sold in many overseas countries. At the same time, many ships also brought goods from overseas into the interior. The customs duties collected each year flowed into the national treasury, and the fleet of the Great Yong Dynasty was the strongest in history, with its firepower making any pirates or bandits a death sentence.

The highest commander of the Great Yong Dynasty's navy and customs was the First Prince, Gu Hengsha.

He was the eldest son of the Heavenly Talisman Emperor.

His mansion was by the sea, with estates connected to each other, stretching as far as the eye could see.

At this moment, in the core of the mansion, outside a dark hall, a person knelt to report.

"First Prince, Long Yuyun has brought all the people from Dragon Sword Island to join the Nineteenth Prince, and Yu Hanlu is also stationed in his fiefdom, seemingly reaching an agreement..." The person knelt outside the door, unable to see the inside, only feeling darkness and emptiness, as if the hall was a dark abyss.

"Bring all the recent intelligence, I want to review it carefully," a cold, emotionless voice came from the depths of the dark hall.

"Yes!" The person signaled to those behind him, and immediately, several large boxes of intelligence were brought in.

Suddenly, an invisible current swept out, and the several large boxes of intelligence were all sucked into the depths of the dark hall, disappearing. After a long time, the voice came again, "The Seventh Prince has finally cultivated the Jade Body? I thought he would never break through. Everyone says he is the most cultivated among us princes, but I have long surpassed him, just not wanting to expose myself, deliberately spreading rumors of low cultivation."

The servant kneeling outside did not dare to answer, his face expressionless, a loyal servant.

"As for that waste, the Nineteenth Prince, he must have a high-level mentor behind him, otherwise, how could he have treasures to invite the old guys of the Heavenly Craft Academy to use the Great Heavenly Craft Ghost God?" the voice in the darkness said. "You go and send a message to Long Yuyun, telling her to bring her people and kneel before me immediately, or I will kill her brother and drain his blood."

"Yes!" the loyal servant said.

"Also, kill Yu Hanlu. Since she wants to join that waste, she will have no way out. Additionally, have the heir take my place and conquer a barbarian tribe as my fiefdom. The wilderness is a strategic location in the future and cannot be ignored."

"Yes!"

The dark hall fell silent again, like an eternal black hole, swallowing everything. Even the servants of the mansion dared not step in, and those who mistakenly entered were immediately turned into dry corpses and thrown out, as if there was a terrifying blood-sucking king inside.

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