Chapter 1124: Past Prosperity

Wang Wei laughed heartily: "The Flash Gold Plains are famous, and everyone thinks our Julu Kingdom is very poor."

His pride was evident.

The land that is now Bo Kingdom was known as Julu Kingdom more than 160 years ago.

Of course, to this day, only the name Julu Port remains, and its territory has shrunk by a third.

Men Ban looked around, asking, "And in reality?"

"We used to be poor; my family couldn't afford meat even once in half a year. But these past few years have been more comfortable, year by year."

As they walked off the pier, two figures, one large and one small, emerged from the crowd ahead.

The smaller one rushed towards Wang Wei, shouting, "Daddy, Daddy!"

It was a five- or six-year-old girl with twin buns, charging like a small cannonball, knocking Wang Wei back two steps.

The girl was quite sturdy; Wang Wei found it a bit difficult to pick her up.

Accompanying her was a boy of about fifteen, whose features bore some resemblance to Wang Wei's.

He, too, looked delighted upon seeing Wang Wei.

"Asheng, come!" Wang Wei waved him over. "This is Mr. He and his team, good friends I met on the ship."

Wang Wei then introduced to He Lingchuan, "These are my two children. The older one is Asheng, Wang Gesheng, and the younger one is Xuanxuan."

Both children were polite, greeting He Lingchuan and the others.

"Come stay at my house! You'll need somewhere to settle down," Wang Wei invited them again.

He Lingchuan found it hard to refuse such warm hospitality and agreed.

They made their way through streets and alleys towards the Wang family's home.

Along the way, they saw a full range of businesses: restaurants, eateries, inns, and guesthouses. General stores were abundant throughout the port, and the two markets were well-stocked, indicating a thriving supply and demand.

He Lingchuan and the others felt that the market was vibrant, full of life and activity.

Coincidentally, some streets here were in the same locations as in later generations, and He Lingchuan took some effort to recognize them. The bustling tea house at the street corner, frequented by many, would later become a dilapidated warehouse where only sea breeze and rats were regular visitors.

This sense of time interweaving was particularly poignant.

The Wang family's home was in the eastern part of the port, only about six or seven hundred paces from the pier.

Wang Wei's private school was quite large. Besides two classrooms, one large and one small, it had seven or eight guest rooms, clearly indicating that he also housed boarding students. However, it was farming season, so the rooms were empty and could be tidied up, furnished, and temporarily converted into guest quarters.

He Lingchuan's group of ten occupied four rooms.

After drifting at sea for seventy or eighty days, everyone noticed the sour smell on their clothes; no wonder Axuan kept her distance. So, the next step was to bathe, scrub off grime, change clothes, shave, and clean themselves up.

Wang Wei was also very considerate; he called several foot massage therapists from a nearby bathhouse to give everyone a good back massage, knead their muscles, and relax their joints.

When the guards emerged from their rooms, they felt as if they had come back to life, their bodies even feeling several pounds lighter—

Years of accumulated grime had been scrubbed away.

Dinner was already laid out on the table: seven or eight dishes for ten people, including fish and meat, all simple home cooking.

What exotic delicacies hadn't He Lingchuan eaten? Yet, a dish of shredded radish and potato pancakes on the table truly impressed him.

Thousands of people could make this dish, but each person's version tasted unique. Wang Wei's family's radish pancakes had a vegetarian filling; besides eggs, there was no meat visible, yet the taste was excellent.

The other teammates, recognizing good food, quickly emptied the mountain-like pile of radish pancakes. Wang Wei promptly called the cook to fry another batch.

Wang Wei smiled as he introduced, "These are white radishes grown by my students; they're very flavorful."

He Lingchuan recalled that Shu Min Academy and Yuheng Institute also had large vegetable plots called "academic fields," where students took practical labor classes. The fruits and vegetables they grew were collected by the schools, cooked, and served as student lunches.

Men Ban tore off a large, glistening piece of braised pork belly and put it into a steamed bun, saying, "Teacher Wang, you're a born businessman. Why open a private school instead of going into business?"

"Opening a private school is stable," Wang Wei replied. "For every student I enroll, the Julu Port authorities subsidize me a bit of money. If I enroll more students, it at least covers the basic living expenses for my family."

With a family to support, he needed to secure a baseline income first before thinking about how to earn more.

Hu Min asked, surprised, "Do you have subsidies here too?"

"Yes," Wang Wei confirmed. "Our country was established not long ago, and its foundation is unstable. That's why they need literate people like me to teach and educate, to enlighten the populace. Otherwise, if the people of a nation are illiterate, when will talented individuals emerge?"

Everyone exchanged glances, feeling surprised.

As the saying goes, it takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate people. Education is a systemic undertaking that requires significant investment and yields slow results. Rulers would not put in such effort or spend such money unless they planned for the long term.

On the Flash Gold Plains, the rise and fall of nations were common, yet a small kingdom showed such foresight?

He Lingchuan remarked, "It's rare to find such a good monarch; the people of Julu are fortunate."

He had been on the same ship as Wang Wei for a long time and had learned much about Julu Kingdom's past from him.

Julu Kingdom's territory was larger than the later Bo Kingdom. It was established only seven years ago, and its monarch, whose surname was Ran, was still under forty, making him vigorous and capable.

The policies implemented by the Julu monarch were effective. After years of recuperation and recovery, Julu Kingdom now enjoyed stable governance and harmonious relations, with its economy revitalized and the nation thriving.

Not only Wang Wei, but He Lingchuan had also chatted with several other sea travelers on the ship, and all praised Julu Kingdom for its recovering trade and awakening livelihoods in recent years, calling it a rare peaceful place on the Flash Gold Plains.

Upon disembarking today, He Lingchuan observed from Julu Port that the Julu monarch had indeed managed the country well, a microcosm of its overall prosperity.

Life had purpose, common people had hope, and merchants were willing to conduct business here.

With He Lingchuan's current experience, he knew well that governing a country was not easy. It wasn't simply a matter of issuing a few decrees for light taxes and rest for the people to lead them to prosperity.

Which monarch wouldn't want their country to be rich and powerful, to thrive? Some could achieve it, like the Julu monarch; others simply couldn't, like the later King Bo.

Even the best methods must be adapted to the environment and cannot be rigidly applied.

At the very least, the people of Julu enjoyed a rare peace during this period.

After a while, Wang Gesheng, Wang Wei's eldest son, returned, carrying both meat and vegetables.

He Lingchuan saw him effortlessly carrying three lamb legs, weighing at least twenty jin, not to mention other fruits and vegetables, and knew that the young man possessed cultivation.

He asked the young man, "Care for a drink?"

Wang Gesheng, inheriting his father's straightforward nature, readily said, "Sure!"

So He Lingchuan filled a cup and tossed it to him.

He used a remarkably skillful technique; the cup flew slowly towards Wang Gesheng as if pushed by an unseen hand. The latter reached out and caught it without spilling a single drop of liquor.

His gaze towards He Lingchuan immediately showed a hint of surprise, then he tilted his head back and drained the cup.

He Lingchuan pointed to the seat next to Wang Wei. "Come sit."

His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.

Wang Gesheng had never met him before, but he walked over involuntarily, only feeling strange at the table, wondering why he was so obedient.

However, Wang Wei immediately pulled his son to sit down.

He Lingchuan poured him another cup. "Are you in the Julu Port Guard?"

"Yes," he replied.

Wang Wei beamed with pride. "He was selected last spring. There were about twenty young men then, and the guard only chose two. Asheng was one of them."

"Working for a salary is good," Hu Min said, gesturing to everyone. "We all work for a living."

Everyone laughed.

Working under Commander He, wasn't that precisely working for a salary?

"Is this an army?" the young man asked curiously. "Where did you come from?"

"The Panlong Wasteland to the west, have you heard of it?"

Wang Gesheng honestly shook his head, having never heard of it.

He Lingchuan didn't mind; it was indeed too far from the Panlong Wasteland to the Flash Gold Plains. "Then have you heard of the Beijia Kingdom?"

"Yes, I've heard of it. It's very powerful, very rich, and very formidable."

"The Panlong Wasteland is west of Beijia," He Lingchuan smiled. "We traveled across vast oceans to the Flash Gold Plains to find something. Have you heard of White Fur Peak?"

If not for hearing that Wang Gesheng worked in the Port City Guard, He Lingchuan wouldn't have stayed at Wang Wei's house.

He was there to gather information.

The letter Shao Jian wrote to Zhong Shengguang used a code, which translated to:

Lantern Grass grows on White Fur Peak, currently bear demon territory.

The Wang father and son exchanged glances. Wang Gesheng asked, "The White Bear King's lair?"

"It seems you both know about it."

"White Fur Peak was named after the White Bear King," Wang Wei began. "We don't know where it came from, but it claimed the mountain as its territory about twenty years ago and made its den on White Fur Peak. The mountain originally had many good resources; nearby people would go in to hunt wild game and gather mushrooms and vegetables. But ever since it appeared, White Fur Peak became off-limits to humans. Oh, and it seems there are about forty bears in its den."

"Father, what you know is ancient history; the numbers are far higher now," Wang Gesheng immediately corrected. "The White Bear King's lair has over eighty white bears, more than three thousand wolves, and also foxes, badgers, leopards, and so on. It has also subjugated a portion of the bird demons."

"That's a formidable great demon now," He Lingchuan said, feeling the number was astonishing. "It has claimed the mountain as its territory and has many subordinates."

What constitutes a formidable great demon? Madam Zhu Er was one.

In the past, she resided in the Panlong Wasteland, with a multitude of offspring under her command. Even General Nanke, leading his army into her territory, perished at her hands.

A great demon capable of threatening local authorities was considered formidable.

However, Madam Zhu Er's force was composed almost entirely of her own offspring, with hardly any other demons.

This White Bear King, however, commanded multiple demon species.

Great demons, even among themselves, have different temperaments.

Wang Wei exclaimed, "My goodness, there are that many already? These white bears and wolf packs often come down the mountain to prey on people."

Men Ban immediately said, "Over eighty bears, three thousand wolves? That's quite a large number. White Fur Peak probably can't feed so many big eaters."

Carnivores typically have their own foraging territories because food is limited. With the bear demon gathering a large number of subordinates to guard its lair, White Fur Peak would find it difficult to sustain so many fierce beasts.

Therefore, it became inevitable that they would descend the mountain to forage.

What prey was abundant and easy to hunt down the mountain? Humans, of course.

Hu Min interjected, "Over all these years, haven't the authorities tried to clear out the bear demons?"