Chapter 1062: All Have a Bright Future

**Chapter 1051: A Bright Future for Everyone**

The Dragon Winding Steppe had not seen such a grand celebration in a very long time.

With the river bandits now a thing of the past, Jade Balance City began dismantling and clearing out the water strongholds in the Longchuan region, restoring peace and clarity to the waterways. Any monsters in the waterway who had previously aided the Xi Qi puppet army were granted amnesty by Jade Balance City if they surrendered voluntarily.

Due to decades of self-imposed isolation and fragmentation, the people of Longchuan remained resistant to official authority, a situation that would require time to resolve. Given Longchuan's vast size and sparse population, Jade Balance City reduced its taxes and levies. They also facilitated two migrations of civilians into the Longchuan wetlands to reclaim land for farming. This initiative aimed to both increase grain production and revenue, while also promoting integration between the region and the outside world, breaking the stubborn, closed environment of Longchuan's villages and towns. Concurrently, the Jade Balance Academy established a branch in Longchuan to educate the local populace.

The soil and water conditions across the entire Mao River Plain were immeasurably superior to those of the barren Dragon Winding Steppe. Jade Balance City further improved the area by digging canals and building embankments, diverting water from the Longchuan River to the plain to enhance hydrology and irrigate farmland. What was once unimaginable was now slowly becoming a reality.

The Dragon Winding Steppe suffered from poor soil fertility, with only the Red Plateau being an exception; however, its resources were only sufficient to sustain Dragon Winding City itself. Other cities on the steppe remained undeveloped due to limitations in water supply and food. Dragon Winding City found it quite challenging to support them, but it was a necessary burden. Ba Ling and Xian You had continuously harassed the Dragon Winding Steppe for years, taking turns attacking various cities. This was a tactic akin to cutting flesh with a dull knife, gradually eroding Dragon Winding City's strength.

But with the Mao River Plain, the situation was now completely transformed. This fertile land would likely become Dragon Winding City's main artery, continuously supplying it with grain, talent, and soldiers, and acquiring external goods and aid through the southern free port. Among other benefits, after the Longchuan trade route became safe and unobstructed, grain prices in Dragon Winding City quickly dropped by a third. Goods flowed abundantly between north and south, leading to booming supply and demand. The original intentions of Zhong Shengguang and General Hong in conquering the State of Xi Qi were finally on the verge of being realized.

Previously, the State of Jintao had assisted Fu Shanlie, always falsely claiming that it was mountain bandits and displaced people who had crossed the border on their own. However, this time, Cai Qiyong captured a Jintao general, providing irrefutable proof. Before the spring floods, Jade Balance City dispatched troops, crossing the Jintao border to the east. Jintao hastily sent forces to confront them but were defeated twice. Seeing the Jade Balance army advancing triumphantly, the Jintao royal court finally panicked. Beijia was too far away to offer immediate help, and Xiluo was preoccupied with its own internal strife and couldn't intervene. Left with no choice, Jintao dispatched envoys to Dragon Winding City to sue for peace.

Dragon Winding City had originally intended to teach the disrespectful small state a good lesson. Having secured a substantial sum in reparations, they seized the opportunity to withdraw. Zhong Shengguang had his own reasons for not taking over Jintao. The Longchuan river bandits were a thing of the past, Beijia's reach towards the Mao River Plain had been severed, and Jintao, after being dealt a blow by Jade Balance City, had become compliant and would not dare to cause trouble again in the short term. With internal and external threats eliminated, the entire Mao River Plain entered a period of peace. Thanks to a geographical environment vastly superior to the Dragon Winding Steppe, this fertile plain could finally devote its full efforts to development and economic growth.

The feedback was swift. By summer and autumn, the Mao River Plain yielded a bountiful harvest. Along both sides of the Longchuan trade route, golden fields, scattered small lakes and ponds, and flocks of thousands of waterfowl were common sights. In the following year, the mortal realm astonishingly experienced seven occurrences of Imperial Nectar!

Another major news item from the Mao River Plain involved the Longchuan Trade Route Guard, playfully dubbed "Road Managers" by merchants, which suddenly uncovered a significant corruption scandal. A large number of high-ranking "Road Managers," including Tao Lin, were internally reported for embezzling road funds and enriching themselves at public expense. After verification, Jade Balance City removed them from their posts, launched investigations, and appointed new Jade Balance officials to take over. Tao Lin attempted to incite his former subordinates to rebel with him, but few responded. Jade Balance City captured him with minimal effort!

Only then did he realize the truth, cursing towards the Dragon Winding Steppe, "He Lingchuan, you discard me after I'm no longer useful!" Unfortunately, it was too late. He was no longer the river bandit leader he once was, merely a rural official collecting road taxes. His subordinates were no longer murderous robbers but low-ranking clerks, identifiable by their waist tags, responsible for facilitating passage.

Everyone had their own position, their own livelihood, and their own superior. Just as He Lingchuan had predicted years ago, all of them would eventually understand that their true superior was no longer a bandit chief, but Jade Balance City itself! Their salaries came from Jade Balance City. Their livelihoods depended on Jade Balance City. They had become integral parts of this vast system, unable to extricate themselves.

The harvest season finally concluded amidst the bustling activity of the Yangshan Archipelago. He Lingchuan and his subordinates, having just taken over the archipelago, were in a frenzy, barely managing to cope with the palm harvest season. Thanks to the Blades Harbor Maritime Affairs Office and Baileiqu City no longer creating difficulties but instead opening their doors wide, the products of the Yangshan Archipelago found a market before winter arrived. Not only did the oil sell well, but the special supply of cave spiders from Pansilk Island also became a hot commodity. Merchants who arrived late were disappointed to miss out on fluorescent spores and aphids.

Fang Canran kept his word, not only introducing the Yangshan Archipelago to three major merchant guilds from Mou State but also to brokers and representatives from many surrounding powers. At its busiest, He Lingchuan had up to five meetings a day, working non-stop from morning till night.

On the day of the Winter Solstice, as He Lingchuan was eating *tangyuan*, Ding Zuodong arrived to give another report. Sales of palm oil from the Yangshan Archipelago far exceeded everyone's expectations, with over eighty percent of the stock sold. After reviewing the ledger and deducting miscellaneous expenses such as labor, equipment, shipping, packaging, distribution, and entertainment, the account still showed a surplus of twenty-three thousand taels of silver. The most significant expense among these was labor. Of course, these costs did not include the price of purchasing the islands.

The Mirror couldn't help but complain, "Only twenty-three thousand?" Thousands of people worked tirelessly, day and night, for two months, only to yield a profit of twenty-three thousand? "Perhaps we should go back to arson and murder!" It's much quicker to make money without capital.

Yet, He Lingchuan and Ding Zuodong were quite satisfied. Ding Zuodong joyfully exclaimed, "The future is promising!"

"This money is a bonus," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "We were scrambling from start to finish, so making any profit at all is excellent. We paid for experience, and we didn't even lose money—that's already beyond expectations!" Although he served as the Grand Commander of Jade Balance City in the Dragon Winding world, he primarily oversaw military affairs, with Wen Daolun managing internal governance. He had no experience in starting and running a business from scratch. The Yangshan Archipelago was his debut, and to have achieved this much, he rated his performance an eight out of ten—no less. What business doesn't typically lose money for the first three months after opening? Moreover, the Yangshan Archipelago had only just begun developing a dozen islands. Due to a shortage of manpower and the pressing agricultural season, initial production was monotonous and unrefined. The tourist business on Suoding Island had also just started. Logically, the output should not have been proportionate to the investment.

(End of chapter)