Chapter 68

Logically, it would be somewhat disrespectful for Chen Hai to directly introduce Zhou Jingyuan, who is only at the Tongxuan Realm, to Chen Lie, let alone the low-ranking head of the armory below.

Not to mention the blacksmiths who forge ordinary iron armor; even the great craftsmen who can refine Yellow-grade magical treasures do not have the privilege to see Chen Lie at will.

However, Chen Lie was not the least bit displeased. With a smile, he asked, "Why should I meet this person?"

"I have observed that the noble families and clans all look down upon the forging of ordinary iron armor. In reality, apart from the Wuwei Army camps, the demand for ordinary iron armor within the noble families and clans is a hundred times greater than that for magical treasures. The armory has great potential," Chen Hai said.

Chen Lie looked at Su Yuan and asked, "What do you think?"

In the Zhaoyang Pavilion, Sun Gan would assist Chen Lie in military affairs, while Su Yuan would assist Chen Lie in managing the internal affairs of the mansion.

Su Yuan had previously looked down upon Chen Hai and had only a superficial understanding of the armory in the Medicine Garden, without giving it serious consideration. He had also heard that Chen Hai had had disputes with Chen Qing, Jie Wenzhuo, Lu Hongqian, and others over the armory.

However, after seeing Chen Hai's performance today, Su Yuan knew he could no longer take the armory in the Medicine Garden lightly. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "The demand for ordinary iron armor is indeed significant, but I have not studied it in depth. I still need to seek guidance from Young Lord."

"The armory in Mengyi and Yulong City has only two branches, but after deducting costs, it can still earn six to seven hundred points of sect merit each month," Chen Hai said. "This number may seem small, but I want to use the name of the Zhaoyang Pavilion to expand the armory to over forty large cities in the Hexi region. The population flow and the concentration of noble family and clan descendants in these cities are comparable to Mengyi and Yulong. We can send people to set up armories. Once the armories form a network, Uncle can establish a large-scale armory in the fief. The armor produced can be supplied to the military and even to other prefectures outside the Wuwei Army. This way, Uncle will have more manpower under his command, and the surplus from the armories can help offset the debts of the Zhaoyang Pavilion..."

Chen Hai had studied the noble families and clans in the Hexi region. Although these families had their own properties, they were very conservative in their thinking and lacked innovation and the drive to innovate. Perhaps his greatest advantage was that he was not constrained by this conservative mindset.

"Su Yuan, do you still think I made a mistake in using Hai'er?" Chen Lie asked with a smile, then added with a sigh, "Hai'er was indeed a bit unruly before, but since he entered the Dao Academy, he has been able to reflect on his mistakes and think and act in ways others dare not or look down upon. This is his strength!"

Six to seven hundred points of sect merit per month might not be worth Su Yuan's attention, but if this number could be multiplied by twenty or thirty, to over ten thousand points of sect merit per month, it would be a number Su Yuan could not ignore.

Su Yuan was now responsible for the internal affairs of the mansion. Besides the daily expenses of the Zhaoyang Pavilion, the private subsidies Chen Lie provided to the escort camp and the disciples of the Medicine Garden, as well as the rewards to the subordinates, all came from the internal affairs.

Su Yuan knew that the monthly expenses of the Zhaoyang Pavilion, converted into sect merit, were around ten thousand points.

However, the escort camp and the disciples sent to the Huanglong Abyss Dao Academy would need to expand further. Chen Zhiyi, the head of the Chen family, had sent Jie Quan Ting to the Yulong Camp to strengthen the Chen family's influence in the camp and to limit the expansion of the Zhaoyang Pavilion's power, to avoid threatening Chen Zhiyi's position in the Chen family. As a result, the resources the Zhaoyang Pavilion could directly obtain from the Chen family would drastically decrease...

This increase and decrease would inevitably lead to the Zhaoyang Pavilion's expenses becoming increasingly tight.

Imagine the future when Chen Lie's escort camp expands to a thousand people, with a thousand sets of fine armor, mounts, and hundreds of sets of Yellow-grade middle and lower-grade spirit armor for the middle-ranking officers. This would be a terrifying expense.

For the Zhaoyang Pavilion to continue expanding its power and for Chen Lie to secure his position as the deputy commander of the Yulong Camp, it would be difficult to cut expenses, so they had to find ways to increase income.

Speaking of increasing income, it was the most headache-inducing issue for the Zhaoyang Pavilion.

Although Chen Lie was enfeoffed as the Zhaoyang Pavilion Lord with a thousand households, the actual land tax he could obtain was minimal. Chen Lie was previously a collateral branch of the Chen family, and the properties under his name were limited. Even if he occasionally received rewards from the Grand Protector General's Mansion, it was the main source of income for the internal affairs, but it was not fixed.

Su Yuan, responsible for the internal affairs, knew that a stable income was the most important to cope with any unexpected changes.

Su Yuan also planned to use the name of the Zhaoyang Pavilion to acquire some land in Yulong and recruit displaced people to farm, but the income from this would be limited in the foreseeable future.

If everything developed as Chen Hai said, the armory would indeed be a good business.

Operating the armory would not only bring a considerable and stable income but also allow more people to be organized under the Zhaoyang Pavilion, forming a large core force under Chen Lie's command.

By operating the armory, they could create significant income for the Zhaoyang Pavilion without requiring additional subsidies from the mansion.

Su Yuan did not believe that the idea of the armory was originally Chen Hai's, but whoever came up with the idea of expanding the armory to over forty cities, Chen Hai's ability to use such a person was something Su Yuan had to acknowledge. He thought, "It seems we were too biased against Chen Hai before."

Su Yuan, deeply trusted by Chen Lie, held a high position in the mansion and did not need to flatter Chen Hai, but when Chen Lie asked him with a smile, he sincerely agreed, admitting that he had underestimated Chen Hai.

Chen Hai called in the master blacksmith in charge of the armory in Yulong City, and Su Yuan and Uncle Chen Lie personally asked about the details of the armory's operations.

Chen Hai handed over the armory for two reasons: first, he enjoyed the protection of Uncle Chen Lie and the Zhaoyang Pavilion and had the obligation to contribute to the development of the Zhaoyang Pavilion's power; second, with his current resources and manpower, it was impossible to expand the armory to over forty cities in a short time.

Opening dozens of armories in the Hexi region and operating them in a chain would be suppressed by the local noble families and clans without the support of a powerful backer.

Moreover, without the name of the Zhaoyang Pavilion, how could Chen Hai attract over a hundred Tongxuan Realm blacksmiths to loyally join him, given his poor reputation and low cultivation?

Now, by directly handing over the armory to Su Yuan and operating it under the name of the Zhaoyang Pavilion, many things would fall into place, and many resources were already available.

Chen Lie had nearly thirty Lingxi Realm subordinates, three or five of whom were skilled in forging and refining.

Chen Hai needed three or five Lingxi Realm master blacksmiths to oversee the unified armory. Without the name and full support of Chen Lie and the Zhaoyang Pavilion, why would these highly sought-after master blacksmiths join a person with a poor reputation and only at the lower Tongxuan Realm?

After asking the master blacksmith about the armory's operations and rewarding him with a few pills, Chen Hai discussed with Chen Lie and Su Yuan the need to send a skilled blacksmith from the Zhaoyang Pavilion to the Huanglong Abyss Dao Academy to serve as the head of the Armory Department.

The Armory Department could supply some armor initially, and the armory would need a large number of skilled blacksmiths, which could be cultivated through the Dao Academy.

Using the name of Chen Lie and the Zhaoyang Pavilion to arrange a head-level figure in the Huanglong Abyss Dao Academy would not be too conspicuous.

After discussing various matters, Chen Lie dismissed everyone and kept Chen Hai to talk privately.

"You have opened four spirit veins. What are your plans for your cultivation next?"

In this world where the strong are respected, Chen Lie, in his prime, was likely to achieve the Dao Pill in the near future and could provide a strong backing for Chen Hai. However, if Chen Hai wanted to inherit the title of Zhaoyang Pavilion Lord, his cultivation could not lag too far behind.

Chen Hai pondered and said, "I was hesitant before, as opening the Linghai Secret Palace with only four spirit veins would greatly limit my future cultivation. However, after entering Yulong City, I have made up my mind."

"Oh, why is that?" Chen Lie asked.

"A major battle may be imminent. With my low cultivation, I can hardly contribute to Uncle's army, and it would be a waste of Wu Meng's combat strength to protect me, rather than using him to his full potential," Chen Hai said.

"Ha ha, how did you see that a major battle is imminent?"

Chen Lie laughed, then waved his hand and said, "The Grand Protector General's Mansion has not yet made the final decision. Let's not discuss it casually. The noble families, especially the county lords, rarely open the Linghai Secret Palace with only four spirit veins. Your cultivation in the Upper Seven Peaks will indeed face some obstacles. However, the most important thing in cultivating the Ancestral Aperture and opening the Mind Sea to enter the Mingqiao Realm is the comprehension and cultivation of Dao Intent. Therefore, opening the Linghai Secret Palace now has both advantages and disadvantages. Since you have made up your mind, I will not dissuade you..."

Subsequently, Chen Lie taught Chen Hai the Qingyuan Sword Technique.

In the Chen family, collateral branch disciples and core subordinates were not allowed to learn the Qingyuan Sword Technique until they reached a certain level of cultivation. Now that Chen Hai was officially listed as a core member of the Chen family, he was no longer subject to these restrictions.

Before opening the Linghai Secret Palace, Chen Hai could not control a spirit sword with abundant true essence to kill enemies, but now, cultivating the Qingyuan Sword Technique and comprehending sword intent would greatly benefit his cultivation.

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The Zhaoyang Pavilion covered a hundred acres and had over thirty courtyards.

Chen Hai enjoyed the same treatment as Chen Zhang and Chen Qing, each having a relatively independent garden.

Chen Hai's garden was located at the western end of the mansion, with many bamboo plants transplanted from various places, named Guanzhu Garden. A hot spring was also diverted into the garden, making it feel like spring even in the coldest winter.

Su Yuan had already arranged several diligent maids and housewives to serve in the garden.

Regardless of how Su Yuan felt about Chen Hai before, he did not neglect these details. After all, Chen Hai was a core member close to Chen Lie, and there was no need to curry favor with Chen Zhang or to be hostile to Chen Hai.

Wu Meng and Ge Tong, as Chen Hai's core subordinates, were also arranged to stay in this garden once they settled in Yulong. Zhou Jun, with his special status, would be given a separate independent courtyard.

Returning to Guanzhu Garden, it was already dawn, and Chen Hai took out the Nine Flame Soaring Dragon Seal...