“`
“Taxation is one-tenth. If any merchant caravan dares not to pay, Mr. Chen, you can directly notify the army to detain them,” Oliver Sheng said.
Without taxes, where would the money come from?
He had painstakingly conquered Zhangye and built the straight roads for what purpose?
It was all for developing commerce and then collecting taxes.
“That’s a given!” Finn Chen replied without hesitation.
With Oliver Sheng backing him, he didn’t need to show courtesy to any aristocratic families or high-ranking officials.
Soon, a black disk called honeycomb coal appeared in River West City, along with a stove that could burn it.
A family could burn four or five pieces a day to get through the cold.
And ten pieces of honeycomb coal cost only one copper coin.
Such a cheap and practical heating method was quickly accepted by the common people.
Every household bought stoves and started burning honeycomb coal.
This heating method shocked many merchants, who then sold it throughout the Northern Frontier.
Not only that, but it also spread to the inland states and counties.
This heating method greatly reduced the demand for firewood and was cheaper than firewood.
The rising demand increased coal mining and honeycomb coal production.
Finn Chen began recruiting a large number of common people to work, providing many with jobs and income.
The entire Northern Frontier, covered in snow, saw every household enjoying a warm winter thanks to the stoves and coal.
At the same time, a large amount of wealth flowed into River West City.
In the seven or eight states of the Northern Frontier, three to four million households used stoves and honeycomb coal, consuming money every day.
Not only did Oliver Sheng earn a fortune, but the merchants selling coal balls also made a lot of money.
Even in snowy weather, the merchants’ enthusiasm was undeterred, and caravans continuously transported goods.
In River West, even in heavy snow, one could see an endless stream of caravans.
“Nowadays, River West is getting more and more bustling,” someone couldn’t help but sigh.
Once, this River West frontier was backward, poor, and war-torn.
Now, River West was peaceful and stable, with the powerful River West Army stationed there, deterring the Foreign Tribe from moving south.
Gradually, it began to show signs of prosperity.
The flourishing commerce easily drove economic development, and the common people’s income also increased.
As December arrived, the entire Great Wei entered winter!
Snowflakes fell in many places.
Luo Capital, adorned in silver, looked like an ice and snow world.
In Zhenghe Hall, Empress Hazel Han was reviewing memorials, with a stove beside her, and Jade Han was brewing wine.
“Your Majesty, the Green Ant wine is ready!” Jade Han brought the brewed wine to Hazel Han.
Although her Great Grandmaster cultivation made her impervious to the cold, Hazel Han still wanted to experience the stove and honeycomb coal invented by Oliver Sheng.
“This stove is indeed good. The whole room is warm. I heard these black coal balls are not expensive. Oliver has truly done something for the common people. This winter, they don’t have to worry about freezing to death,” Hazel Han said, taking a sip of the Green Ant wine.
“Your Majesty, General Sheng is truly a blessing for Great Wei. With him, the Barbarian will not dare to invade our borders for a hundred years, and the Huns won’t easily move south. His invention of the coal stove allows the common people to have good heating,” Jade Han nodded.
Her eyes sparkled with admiration for Oliver Sheng.
“You girl, you get so excited when talking about General Sheng. Are you lovesick?” Hazel Han teased.
“I wouldn’t dare, Your Majesty. General Sheng’s status is so high,” Jade Han quickly said, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
Oliver Sheng, a pinnacle expert in the Martial Saint Realm, held a noble status as Shengwu King, one of the most esteemed in Great Wei.
She was just a maid. How could she be worthy of Oliver Sheng?
She could only think about it in the dead of night. After all, what girl doesn’t have romantic thoughts?
…
Outside River West City, the army did not stop training because of the heavy snow.
In the barracks, the soldiers’ training shouts were deafening.
The newly built straight roads had dedicated personnel clearing the snow to ensure the caravans could pass.
Many caravans braved the snow to head to the Western Regions.
The first batch of pioneers who ventured to the Western Regions had already made a fortune, deeply motivating other merchants.
In the barracks, Oliver Sheng gathered with his subordinate generals Wesley Hu, Xiao Chuyi, Felix Wu, Sawyer Shangguan, and Lin Jiang, watching their soldiers train.
The soldiers were robust and full of vitality.
Looking around, they were all martial artists!
In the past two months, with the aid of a large amount of beast meat and pills, the strength of Oliver Sheng’s soldiers had been continuously increasing.
Ordinary soldiers were all martial artists, and in such large numbers, no other army in Great Wei, except the Demon Suppression Army, could compare.
His seven elite troops, seventy thousand soldiers, were all martial artists. What a terrifying number.
“General, we have lived up to expectations and trained these wolf cubs into martial artists,” Wesley Hu said with a smile.
Oliver Sheng nodded and smiled, “Not bad, you haven’t wasted the pills I made.”
He had made so many pills and bought beast meat from the Demon Suppression Pass. With so many resources poured in, if these soldiers couldn’t become martial artists, he would have to replace them.
Now, his elite soldiers were martial artists, martial masters as tribuni, postnatal martial artists as colonels, and only those in the prenatal realm could be colonels.
With the supply of pills and breakthrough pills, the number of postnatal and prenatal martial artists in the army was also increasing.
Owen Hai, Hunter Tang, and other long-time followers had all advanced to the prenatal realm.
Wesley Hu, Felix Wu, Xiao Chuyi, and Sawyer Shangguan had all reached the late prenatal realm and were close to achieving prenatal great perfection.
With abundant resources and the Flood Dragon Devouring Technique, they could even produce grandmasters.
“Train hard and don’t slack off. Next spring, I will launch a northern expedition against the Huns,” Oliver Sheng said.
“A northern expedition against the Huns?” Wesley Hu and the others’ eyes lit up.
“General, we will definitely advance to the early-stage grandmaster realm before spring,” the generals said resolutely.
There were still three months until spring.
With the abundant resources and pills provided by Oliver Sheng, they vowed to advance to the grandmaster realm even if it cost them their lives.
In the last northern expedition against the Huns, they reached the Huns’ royal city but did not capture it.
This time, they were determined to capture the Huns’ royal city and make their names immortal.
For this honor, they would risk their lives to advance their cultivation.
“Good, I look forward to your good news,” Oliver Sheng said with satisfaction.
The strength of his subordinate generals was relatively weak because he had grown too fast, and they couldn’t keep up.
“Don’t worry, General. Even if I have to go without food and drink, I will advance to the grandmaster realm in three months,” Sawyer Shangguan said.
“If you don’t eat or drink, you won’t reach the grandmaster realm, haha!” Felix Wu laughed.
Their Flood Dragon Devouring Technique required them to eat well and enough.
Chi Tiansheng, who ate voraciously, had already caught up with them in cultivation, reaching the late prenatal realm. His vitality was so strong that even mid-stage grandmasters might not compare.
“Then I’ll eat as much as I can,” Sawyer Shangguan laughed.
Among the generals, the most pained was Xiao Chuyi. She truly trained desperately, and with her talent, she barely kept up with Wesley Hu and the others who practiced the Flood Dragon Devouring Technique.
Sometimes she wondered if she should give up her family’s cultivation method and switch to the Flood Dragon Devouring Technique.
“`
Leave a Reply