Supreme Emperor of Mist

"Congratulations on your victory, Milord!"

"Congratulations, Milord." 

The people of the City of Ye gathered around to congratulate Qin Lan for his victorious return. An entire month had eventually passed from the day they departed from this city.

To the people of the county, this was a feat that nobody could repeat. A victory without losing a single soldier was unheard of before. Even the Genius General of Warfare, Peng Likun, might find it difficult to create another miraculous result like Qin Lan.

"Thank you, everyone." Qin Lan cupped his hands together in reply to his people's word. They were following him all the way until he returned to the City Lord's building.

"Huh..." Qin Lan leaned on the top of the chair and relaxed. Although he doesn't seem like doing much on his own, this one-month period outside of the City of Ye was a hectic one. Leading a war was easy, but managing the land aftermath is not.

At the same time, he also got himself entangled in the people's attention. After his victorious achievement, he's sure that the powerhouse from both Wei and Shu will not leave him unchecked.

This may hardly bother him personally, but if they started to get involved in ruling the two counties, the damage they might be causing might be catastrophic.

It was unavoidable because human nature tends to try and control how fast a seed mature. Feeling threatened was mutual because of the clash in their interest. But at the same time, mankind was a gambler as well.

They're willing to gamble all their available chips just for the sake of a victory. But luckily, in this world where strength matters the most, winning the gamble equals subduing and silencing all the others.

And in this matter, the Cloud Plucking Sect is like a pacifist due to their nature. That's because they're focusing on grooming the individuals and not tyrannically subduing other forces.

"Milord," someone came into his room after Qin Lan closed his eyes for an hour of quick rest.

"Ah, you're here. How's the trip over here?" Qin Lan smiled while looking at the familiar face.

It was Wang Xun, the captain of Sun Wu Jian's troops. In this period, he seems to grow a little. His strength is now at the second level of the Bone Reconstruction Layer. In addition to his breakthrough, the king also rewarded Sun Wu Jian's men with some precious martial and cultivation arts.

Although the quality of what they've gotten hardly comparable to what Qin Lan gave to his fellow people, it was still precious, nevertheless.

"This place seems to be interesting. No wonder you're accepting it reluctantly. Anyway, I had a good rest. Tell me what you want me to do here." Wang Xun said. It seems that his arrival here was not decided on a whim by his liege.

He was here for a reason.

"Why are you being so impatient? Itchy to try your strength after breaking through?" Qin Lan chuckled. His hand patted on the Spatial Jade on his waistbelt and took two bottles of wine out. One was given to the captain, and the other was for himself.

I want you to lead a small but agile subjugation army to run around the county I just taken. What do you think?" Qin Lan asked.

"Subjugation Army? Who you want me to subjugate?" Wang Xun poked a hole through the oil paper covering the wine bottle before replying to Qin Lan. The fragrance from the wine only made him getting eager to taste the wine.

"Who? Beast and human. Bandits." Qin Lan answered.

"What? You want me to come here on purpose to subjugate the bandits for you? Are you joking, Chi-Lan Marquis?" Wang Xun pouted after hearing that his job here was to help Qin Lan to get rid of the bandits.

Even the officers with the least experience are capable of accomplishing this task. And right now, Qin Lan actually want one of Sun Wu Jian's trusted subordinate, his colleague to be exact, to work under him instead?

"I'm not joking. I'm sure you will find these bandits interesting..." Qin Lan chuckled.

"Alright, stop beating the bush and tell me the truth. What's the background? If they're too insignificant, I'll throw my helmet at you and return to the Yunshan Province." Wang Xun said.

"They're reported to be the people of the Liaocheng Province Lord. How about that?" Qin Lan gently muttered the few words out.

"Now... This is interesting... The lord's people are pillaging his own land? Doesn't that means he quite a scheming bast*rd?" Wang Xun's eyes changed. News like this is likely a rumor if he heard about it from the tea parlor, inn, and restaurants.

But when it comes from Qin Lan, the weight of this information was ten times heavier than it should.

"Anyway, what are you aiming for? I suppose you won't allow me to attack any of your neighboring counties without a valid reason, correct? Don't tell me you want me to be your guard and patrol around your territories?"

"I'll tell you first... I ain't going to do that." Wang Xun stated his requirement first. In his opinion, patrolling Wuyue County's territory is indeed not a preferable job. It was no secret that the former county's lord wasn't doing very well in how he's handling the county.

Added with prioritizing the project to the wealthier family clans in the City of Yue make it worst. The budget that was supposed to be contributed to the people ended up going into the pocket of the rich and fattening up these pigs further.

And in return, Wuyue County was just a third-rated county, even amongst the few in this Liaocheng Province. The county's income comes from farming and mining, but these two were less notable.

It was similar to how the current Heishi Town works. Although it looked like the people in Heishi Town were doing well in the mining industry, their income was just a third of the Hall of Treasures yearly profit.

The reason behind this disparity comes from the origin of the product and the skill required.

For mining and farming, even a child could do it, as long they're given a pickaxe or a hoe. But processing the raw materials is what hike up the price. Such a concept might seem cruel, but it was how the world works.

If a plant is left alone in the wild, it might yield less to no benefit to all parties, except growing further in longevity. At the end of the day, all it was worth is either to be eaten by the Yao Beast.

This is why the profession of a farmer exists. Their existence was like a matchmaker between the plants. Complimenting one another, farmer contributes to keeping them going as long as they could, while in return, they're providing crops to mankind.

But it wasn't enough to just yield the crops. Too much of something is brings no benefit, and too little is worst. Hence, professions appeared.

To a spiritual herb, having a human farmer tending them is a blessing, and having an alchemist refining them was their nirvana. It was mutual cooperation between them.

And it seems that what Qin Lan was looking to do is to leech off from this mutual cooperation.

"It's up to you to fool around, but I'm afraid you will not have time to do that. All you need to do is keep the border open. Let the bandits come, but leave no one out."

"As for the attraction, I naturally have something to bring these wasps into our territories..." Qin Lan grinned. This was the most sinister expression that ever appeared on his face.

...

...

...

A month later. Two months have passed after Qin Lan took control of Wuyue County.

And it seems that the county was doing well, even without having him to be personally here to maintain the public order. Although the place was swarming with soldiers to keep the peaceful sight, it was still due to Qin Lan's effort in making this a better place for the people.

Using a commonly practiced commodity pricing, Zhang Qin Feng forcefully enforced the right to subsidize the price of grain, meat, and wine. In return for this subsidy he gave to the people, they'll have to follow some of his arrangements, such as planned farming, mining, and foresting.

Once everyone had a job, they naturally won't have a need to cause trouble. There's troublemaker here and there, but these people are were given three chances. Once they blew away all the leniency Qin Lan gave them, they'll be taken to the Smuggling Alliance secretly to let them enjoy their life there.

As for Wang Xun, he was seen dissatisfied as he sat beside the window overlooking the border.

It's already one month from the day he came. But until now, he hasn't even pulled his sword from the sheath once.

"Captain, we have a messenger pigeon that came from the lord's representative. Would you like to take a look?" a veteran guard in silver gear said. In his hand was a roll of paper, folded into a size of a pill.

== == == == ==

Delivery to Hanyue County. Ten carriages, each carriage is expected to carry goods exceed 10,000 Bone Foundation Pills. Expect the bandit to take action tonight.

== == == == ==

The letter without a name stated only the crucial part of the information. But to Wang Xun, this was not a problem at all.

"Captain?" the veteran guard was puzzled by Wang Xun's changes in his mood. He looked excited out of a sudden.

"Get a thousand soldiers and get ready to move. Tell the guards to strengthen the border and report to me if there are any suspicious individuals." Wang Xun said.