Exiled to the Frontier, He Became the Empire’s Most Powerful Lord - Chapter 25

The prince is everything to Hong Jiuming, and he will do anything to kill anyone who is detrimental to the prince.

“It’s alright! I just took the opportunity to see if there are any people in this Python City who still want to kill me!”

“Now that the Azure Dragon Gang is gone, be careful of what happens in Funing City!”

Zhou Lingfeng said calmly.

Besides the three major families, Python City also has some other powerful families! And they are not barbarians.

They were all branches of the Zhou people’s powerful clans in Mangcheng, and there must have been several members of the princes’ faction among them.

Presumably, these families received some instructions before Zhou Lingfeng took up his post, with ulterior motives!

Unexpectedly, in just a few days, Zhou Lingfeng subdued the three major families and wiped out the Green Dragon Gang ahead of schedule, gaining prestige.

Now, the entire city of Mangcheng is united, forging a cohesion that is unlike anything seen in this era.

In particular, the establishment of the cabinet and the six departments, with each department having its own responsibilities, deterred others from making any rash moves.

Zhou Lingfeng’s plans for the future have already begun to unfold, and now is the best time to expose those with ulterior motives.

“Your Highness, tens of thousands of people voluntarily left the city today to cut down trees! I have taken it upon myself to decide that these people will have priority in land distribution! I beg Your Highness to forgive me!”

Yang Wufeng suddenly arrived and immediately knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness.

“Heh, what’s wrong with acting expediently in an emergency!”

Zhou Lingfeng was overjoyed! After all, the fact that these people were able to spontaneously leave the city to assist the Barbarian King’s army was enough to show that his orders had begun to take effect in Python City.

Hong Jiuming helped Yang Wufeng up, and the latter calmly said, “After the Azure Dragon Gang established its prestige, I have completed the control of the Barbarian King’s army, and the three major families have also cooperated very well! All of this is within Your Highness’s expectations!”

“Very good! Make preparations, we may expand our army to 50,000 at any time!”

Zhou Lingfeng said without hesitation.

An army of more than 10,000 is indeed a bit small, but if it can reach the number of 50,000, it will be quite considerable.

Of course, his priority right now is to ensure food supplies.

Yang Wufeng’s face lit up with excitement!

As the commander-in-chief of a large army, the more soldiers he has under his command, the bigger the stage he can showcase his talents!

“Furthermore, you will also be given the authority of a Chief Cabinet Secretary!”

Zhou Lingfeng still couldn’t shake off the worry, and gave further instructions.

“Your Highness has treated me with the respect due to a national hero; I will repay you with my life!”

Yang Wufeng knelt down again with a thud.

Zhou Lingfeng not only entrusted him with the General Political Department, but also gave him the position of Chief Secretary!

This is a prime ministership; even in the hundred years since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there has never been a powerful figure who simultaneously holds both civil and military positions.

Zhou Lingfeng’s principle is to trust those he employs and not to employ those he doesn’t trust!

In Python City, Yang Wufeng’s position is second only to the prince, making him virtually second only to the emperor!

Of course, they are still inferior to Hong Jiuming and Mo Li!

Because when these two appeared, they directly represented the will of the Barbarian King.

Soon, the Civil Affairs Department and the Military Affairs Department cooperated and dispatched dozens of minor officials to the city each time they went outside the city. As long as the people who participated in the logging outside the city, they could get priority to claim wasteland.

This immediately sparked the enthusiasm of the entire city to participate!

Every household that needs male offspring will inevitably send them out.

Zhou Lingfeng was very satisfied with this; this is where the enthusiasm of the whole people lies!

To his even greater surprise, by the afternoon, forty to fifty thousand barbarians had come from all over the barbarian mountains, all carrying tools.

“My lord, may we barbarians claim this wasteland?”

A burly, nine-foot-tall barbarian man approached a minor official and asked humbly.

Every barbarian was an extremely robust man, but their faces were weathered and worn from the hardships of life.

However, they are quite honest by nature, so they rarely resort to violence.

After all, the fear and wealth of the Great Zhou Dynasty remained an unbroken threshold.

“His Highness the Barbarian King said that everyone inside and outside Python City is his subject. Although you live on Barbarian Mountain, you are still his subjects, so of course you can! If you join the deforestation now, you can also get priority access to wasteland!”

The junior officials had all received training before arriving, so they naturally knew what to say.

The barbarian king increased their monthly allowance as a bonus.

However, the rules he set were also very strict. If a complaint was filed and verified, then that secure job would be gone.

“Okay, let’s go clear the jungle right away!”

The barbarian man excitedly led his people to join in.

“The number of people who have gone out of the city to cut down trees exceeds one hundred thousand!”

“This is the first time I’ve realized there are so many people in Barbarian City!”

Zhou Lingfeng was somewhat surprised and immediately asked Hong Jiuming to bring food over. He cooked some white porridge for lunch and dinner so that everyone could barely have enough to eat.

Normally, those who come to cut down trees are people from the lower classes.

They had previously been unable to find work and often went hungry.

In addition, Hong Jiuming could also handle some unexpected events there, since tens of thousands of barbarians gathered together would make people somewhat uneasy.

Not to mention him, even Lei Xingmie and the others were getting anxious at this time, and they all sent their clansmen out of the city to guard against any eventuality.

However, they underestimated the fervent desire of the common people and barbarians for the wasteland!

At this point, who would have any other thoughts? If the jungle in front of them were cleared up a little more, everyone might be able to get a larger share of the wasteland.

“It’s time to study how to update the refining technology. If everyone uses the right tools, the efficiency will definitely increase several times over!”

Zhou Lingfeng also had an idea at this moment.

During this time, he also investigated some of the minerals in the area.

He discovered a special type of metallic steel that was even tougher than modern alloys.

If he can use modern technology to refine these substances, he can create stronger and better tools and weapons.

Time flew by, and it wasn’t until noon on New Year’s Eve that Zhou Lingfeng ordered a work stoppage!

A survey revealed that the amount of reclaimed wasteland reached hundreds of thousands of acres.

These terraced fields, with the uppermost and lowermost layers reaching hundreds of meters high, are all equipped with sufficiently wide roads to prevent any accidents.

This number is undoubtedly astonishing!

However, Zhou Lingfeng was not surprised!

These wastelands were naturally formed, but were blocked by dense forests and trees, and the thick miasma made them uncultivable.

The barbarian king’s army, the common people, and the barbarians all happily returned home with the notes in hand!

The barbarians, in particular, carefully took out precious oil paper, wrapped the strips, and tucked them into their pockets.

“Your Highness, the printing of the lottery tickets and all the rules have been finalized! The Civil Affairs Department has assigned a hundred clerks, and sales can begin at any time!”

Autumn returned looking somewhat haggard and reported this.

She’s been working almost day and night at the lottery center these past few days, and her team is growing larger and larger.

“Not bad, not bad, they can even handle printing technology.”

Zhou Lingfeng nodded in satisfaction.

“Your Highness, I’ve heard that you’ve taken in many women from brothels.”

“Do you only like married women… young women?”

Qiu Tian naturally heard some things from Hong Jiuming and was very curious.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and the prince will personally go to see those people.

In her heart, the prince was good in every way, except for some disgraceful past events.

After all, everyone from Shengjing knows that the Crown Prince was demoted to Mangcheng because he drugged his sister-in-law!

“What married women or young wives?”

Zhou Lingfeng was clearly caught off guard!

“No…it’s nothing! I’ve already sent out the announcement as you instructed. Lottery tickets will be sold starting tomorrow! The deadline is 7 PM!”

Autumn awkwardly changed the subject!