Supreme Emperor of Mist

"Milord, the preparation is ready. We're just waiting for your order right now to depart." the officer speaks after he suppressed his excitement from witnessing Qin Lan's cultivation.

"En. To what extent is the preparation right now? Is there any suspicious action from the Hall of Treasures?" Qin Lan asked. In half a year, he has been working on the surface and behind the scene to create plenty of opportunities in solidifying his position here in Shuiyue County.

At last, the fruit of his labor is matured enough for him to harvest. The effort from this half a year is finally good enough for him to start what he's planning to do.

"Reporting to the Marquis, the Hall of Treasures was still bothered by the fact Da Kui is still locked inside the Royal Capital's Dungeon. From the look of it, even if we're postponing our plan for another year, they might still find it hard to fulfill the order."

"Furthermore, the people in Heishi Town are getting unhappy with their doings. The people seem to notice that allowing the Hall of Treasures to monopoly the jobs and businesses in the town weres not as favorable as they imagined." the officer replied.

"Good. What is the road condition from here to the border, and also to Heishi Town?" Qin Lan asked.

"The road repair was completed a month earlier than expected. Because of Milord's popularity, the people were working day and night just for the sake of creating a result that you'll be proud of them."

"Even the merchants from the Country of Shu and Wei are praising Milord's thoughtfulness in upgrading the roadworks to allow their caravan to travel easily between towns and villages."

"Also, the quality of education in the villages is also getting much better. More teachers are coming from the royal capital to teach in the villages right now. Perhaps by the end of the year, at least a quarter of people living in this Shuiyue County is literate enough to read and write." the officer added.

He looks deeply proud of what was happening here as if it was done through his effort. Although the officer's contribution to making this happening cannot be overlooked, the main force that pushes this forward was still due to Qin Lan's powerful financial support.

Without the help of the Mountain and Sea Sublime Painting, creating this miracle would take more than just a year or two.

"If that the case, send the letter to the Wuyue County. Notify the people from the county that the Shuiyue County's forces will not lay our hand on the people as long they're unarmed. Stop all merchants that travel from the direction of Wuyue to Shuiyue, and strengthen our three borders." Qin Lan ordered.

By the meaning of three borders, it means the entryway between the Xiancheng Province into Shuiyue County, the Weicheng Province into Shuiyue County, and from Wuyue County into here.

It was actually a very sensitive positioning, considering that this Shuiyue County was sandwiched between the three countries. But at the same time, this place is a land that can lay golden eggs, as long there's goose available.

Since Shuiyue County currently belongs under the jurisdiction of the Wu, it was natural that Qin Lan could safely leave his back to the country while facing the Shu and Wei.

But the courage to attack Wuyue County was out of the Shu and Wei County's expectation. At first, the monarchs took it as a joke from an immature Marquis drowned in his pursuit of power. But the lack of response from the King of Wu causes them to realized that something was wrong.

Some men were sent to the Shuiyue County to see what kind of gallbladder has the young Marquis eaten to muster such courage.

And when they noticed the reason behind his action, everything was justified. Due to the Royal Army of Shu is having a restructuring of equipment right now, they couldn't be deployed without sufficient reason.

As for the relationship with Wei, the county seems to be handling the friendship between them well. Without relevant reason, it would be hardly likely for the Country of Wei to attack Shuiyue County without reason.

Furthermore, the scapegoat and rumors Qin Lan has been planting in Wuyue County could show their worth right now. The further the spies try to dig, the more stories about how Wuyue City Lord taking the trading between Shuiyue-Wuyue Route for granted. The high import tariff also led the merchant from the Wu to be at a disadvantageous position.

This contributes to smuggling. Added with the notorious Joyous Unification Salves that have been trading openly in Wuyue County, everything indirectly slanders the reputation of the Wuyue County Lord.

"What a joke!" the Wuyue County Lord was fuming from anger after he looked at all the report and Qin Lan's letter. It was already too late for him to deny what he was doing because he had fallen into Qin Lan's trap.

"Milord, what should we do right now?" the magistrate official hired to handle the Wuyue's Capital is clueless right now. He was not inexperienced, but compared to Qin Lan, he was just too young.

"Send some people to the capital and request for help. Strengthen the borders and get the scouts out there to monitor their movement. Inform me the moment they take action. Let us be on the defensive first." the County Lord said.

"Up till now, he still believes that the military strength of the Wuyue County is much above the poverty-stricken Shuiyue County. That was indeed true, to a point.

Half a year ago, this Shuiyue County was still a piece of land tormented by the aftermath of the war between Wu and Shu. At least half of the male population in this county were involved, and the balance between males and females is quite clear.

Even if a man were to get married to three widows at once, it would still be hard for them to balance the gap. But what the County Lord failed to overlook is instead of repopulating, Qin Lan has chosen another option.

Although the gender gap is more than before, it was not as if there are no more males in this county. There is, but scattered, useless, and afraid. What Qin Lan did was indoctrinate them all over again with his own doctrine. The arrival of Shuiyue Training Camp for the young cadets and Shuiyue Military Academy were to bring them further.

Added with people migrating from rural places around Shuiyue County, this repopulating strategy works like a miracle. Because their position was sandwiched in between three countries, this place is like a pit, where good or bad, trustable or not, trash or treasure, were all ended up falling into this place.

All Qin Lan need to do was keeping the good and educates those that weren't. At the end of the day, all he needs is to give them a reason to live.

Furthermore, he wasn't concerned about their background at all.

As long it was people, then Qin Lan would have a department to fit them in. The notorious people with some reputation can enlist themselves into the smuggler's alliance controlled by Qin Lan in the shadow.

Those with a clean slate can enlist into the academy, training camp, or the Blackjade Mountain to work and contributes from there. As for some with a good reputation and background, they're likely hired straight under Qin Lan's banner.

This was a feat that even if the other three countries knew how it was done, they're incapable of repeating.

On the third day after the letter was sent to Wuyue County, it finally started. 10,000 troops in silver gears marched through the border between Shuiyue and Wuyue openly. Their disciplined movement made the scouts scrambled and hastily delivered the report.

And in response, the Wuyue County immediately sent out 15,000 troops to stop them before they get into the Wuyue County.

"Go and show those cubs what can an adult tiger do! Teach them a lesson to not mess with the Wuyue County!" the lord said as he tossed the command scroll into one of the three commander's hands.

...

...

...

"Senior sister... Looking at the messenger pigeons flying around, I'm sure the battle has started. What do you think?" Yan Yi Lian asked while her hand reaches out to the warm cup of tea on the table.

From her gesture, she seems to know a thing or two about Qin Lan's operation today. But if the Marquis is on the battlefield or not, that's not something she has the liberty of knowing.

"What to think? My husband will win." Zhou Mei smiled and gently sipped the tea from her cup. She was filled with confidence, even after not seeing Qin Lan for more than half a year. If this was known to the outsiders, they might find it funny.

An unmarried maiden had the liberty to see her future Senior Brother-In-Law often, but not the one that kept calling herself his woman.

"Look at that blind confidence you have there... Is there not even a speck of worry in your mind?" Yan Yi Lian asked. To her knowledge, she knew how much has the county changed after Qin Lan's arrival. But it's unavoidable that she had a question about their military strength.

Even if Qin Lan were to possess the wealth of a country, how much can he do to a group of crack soldiers with less than half a year of training?

"That's because you don't know about him."

"As for me, I've been by his side from his first battle until now... Even if I am not by his side physically." Zhou Mei smiled.