Cut off my army's food supplies? I'll open a portal between the two worlds and max out my

Several days have passed since the naive Princess Ariels signed the contract.

In fact, not long after Ariel left Tongcheng, a large number of people poured into Tongcheng from the White Elephant Kingdom.

Many people witnessed this scene, and the scouts in Anxi Town were naturally aware of it as well.

It was clearly the people sent by the King of White Elephant Kingdom to limit his daughter's mischief... they were just a little slow, probably because they didn't expect their princess to be so capable.

Jiang Tian shook his head and said, "There's been no movement from Tongcheng these past two days."

Upon hearing this answer, Li Wen felt somewhat disappointed. He had hoped to use the connection with this innocent princess to open up the Western Regions.

Just as Li Wen thought he had to prepare a second set of trade plans for the Western Regions, someone knocked on the door.

"Reporting to the general, there is a messenger from Tongcheng outside the town requesting an audience."

"Oh? Please let them in."

A group of formally dressed envoys from Tongcheng arrived at the guesthouse, leading their horses.

Li Wen also arrived ahead of time.

The envoys sent by Tongcheng this time numbered seven. Judging from their attire, they should be officials from the White Elephant Kingdom.

"Your Highness, the General of the Great Zhou..."

The lead envoy spoke to Li Wen with formal etiquette, but was interrupted by Li Wen.

"There is no Great Zhou general here. I am merely the general of Anxi Town. Please remember, Great Zhou is Great Zhou, and Anxi Town is Anxi Town."

Li Wen emphasized this point.

He also disliked the possibility of the Western Regions forces linking Anxi Town and the Great Zhou Dynasty together, as this would only bring greater trouble to Anxi Town.

The leading envoy looked at his companion, and seeing that his companion nodded, a bright smile appeared on his face: "Your Highness, General Anxi, we are here to conduct trade negotiations with you according to the orders of your princess. This is the document we brought."

The envoy sent by the White Elephant Kingdom was actually there to verify one thing: he wanted to know if Anxi Town still had any connection with the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Since Li Wen could utter such "treasonous" words in public, it means that this Anxi army was indeed abandoned by the Great Zhou Dynasty, just as the legends say.

Having obtained this useful information, they prepared to continue the cooperation agreed upon by the princess.

The person who came to deal with Ariel in person this time was the prime minister of the White Elephant Kingdom. He and the king were childhood friends and he had watched Ariel grow up. In his eyes, Ariel was like a daughter.

He was only worried that Ariels would be taken advantage of; once that risk was eliminated, the subsequent trade could naturally continue.

Especially after seeing the soap, he not only approved of the cooperation between Tongcheng and Anxi Town, but also strongly supported it.

Although the old prime minister did not believe that Ariels was capable of earning a year's worth of taxes from the White Elephant Kingdom within three months, he also did not want to see the most beautiful pearl of the White Elephant Kingdom marry into the northern desert.

Moreover, this marriage alliance is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

However, given the current dire situation of the White Elephant Kingdom, they had no choice whatsoever.

These envoys were all subordinates of the prime minister, and they were well-versed in commerce and various regulations.

Therefore, they are not as clueless as Ariel when negotiating; on the contrary, they are very professional.

After reading the document, Li Wen was somewhat surprised. He found that the document did not indicate any intention to back down, but there were some questions regarding the final profit sharing.

Negotiations then began between the two sides.

The Tongcheng delegation raised many questions about the cooperation between the two sides. Faced with these questions, Li Wen was not only not angry, but happy, because this attitude also showed that the other party really wanted to make this happen.

Faced with the questions from the Tongcheng envoys, Li Wen explained in detail the cooperation system built on modern business thinking.

The Tongcheng delegation was astonished when they heard Li Wen's idea!

The legend of Li Wen's brilliant military strategy had already filled them with awe, but they never expected that his insights into system management would be so impressive as well!

In this way, Li Wen answered the questions raised in the document one by one, and convinced the Tongcheng delegation.

However, on the last point, Li Wen shook his head and said, "If it weren't for the fact that Your Highness Princess Fang is honest, I wouldn't have offered such a high profit-sharing offer."

The delegation found Li Wen's words unbelievable, but dared not be too offensive due to his authority: "Your Highness, please forgive my bluntness, but Tongcheng's geographical location as the gateway to the Western Regions is undeniably advantageous. Coupled with the Princess's influence, it will greatly facilitate your goods' entry into the Western Regions in the future. I believe Your Highness would not deny this?"

The delegation highlighted their unique advantages.

Li Wen smiled and nodded: "That's precisely why I'm cooperating with your princess. Otherwise... why wouldn't I open my own trade route? You've probably already witnessed the effects of soap, haven't you? You don't think soap has no market in the Western Regions, do you?"

Li Wen bluntly pointed out their thoughts: the reason these people went to such great lengths was simply to get Anxi Town to concede some benefits.

Li Wen absolutely disagreed with this.

The profits from the soap belong to the Anxi Town collective. Giving away any share of the profits would harm the interests of the Anxi Town residents. Even if they don't cooperate, Li Wen will not make any concessions.

The delegation hadn't expected that Li Wen would discover their little scheme so clearly, and they couldn't argue anymore... so they had no choice but to sign the document as instructed by the Prime Minister.

What they presented were documents between nations; signing them signified that the White Elephant Kingdom acknowledged the existence of Anxi Town.

This is also one of the effects that Li Wen wanted.

From the moment the agreement was signed, Anxi Town truly embarked on its path to rise.

After signing the document, Jiang Tian was responsible for sending the person out of Anxi Town. When he returned, he saw his general writing something at his desk.

After seeing Jiang Tian return, Li Wen called him over:

"Take a look, this is the planning document I wrote for the trade station. Do you see if there's anything that can be improved?"

Li Wen is very clear about his areas of expertise, such as being proficient in logistics and procurement and being quite skilled in cost control.

However, administrative management is not his forte.

Although Jiang Tian holds the title of security captain, he is actually in charge of all the work. The experience he has gained at the grassroots level during this period is certainly constructive.

Therefore, Li Wen took the initiative to adopt Jiang Tian's suggestion.

Upon hearing Li Wen's words, Jiang Tian instinctively replied, "General, you've thought of everything. This kind of thing..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Wen interrupted him impatiently: "There are no outsiders here, what's the use of saying so much flattery? Just say what you think! Stop with this useless talk."

After being scolded by Li Wen, Jiang Tian chuckled and began to read the planning document written by Li Wen.

After reading it, Jiang Tian pondered and said, "General, I think that in addition to separating procurement and acceptance, we should also strengthen the supervision system. For example, we should set up a suggestion box in a remote place so that the brothers in the army can write a letter if they find anything wrong. We should also set up an inspector in the open to prevent any brothers from going astray in this regard."

Li Wen fully agreed with Jiang Tian's suggestion.

"Okay, that's settled. You can arrange the manpower afterwards, but there's one more thing I want to emphasize."

"General, please speak."

"It's difficult to eradicate some human problems, especially corruption. What we need to do is prevent corruption from becoming a systemic problem. Even if someone manages to get away with it, we must ensure that they can't spend their ill-gotten gains."

Li Wen emphasized multi-faceted supervision and management. Anxi Town is in its initial stage, and once it develops, its speed will inevitably take off. These issues must be considered and prevented in advance.

"Yes, General!"

Jiang Tian kept Li Wen's words in mind.

After Jiang Tian left, Li Wen also came outside. He first inspected the construction progress in Anxi Town and found that the workers on each construction site were working enthusiastically.

Even the herdsmen gradually began to adapt to the lifestyle and rules of Anxi Town.

They especially loved listening to the Anxi soldiers tell legendary stories about Li Wen.

In their eyes, the general was always peaceful, always smiling at everyone, and always caring for and treating everyone equally.

Most importantly, after they followed their leader to Anxi Town, they were able to eat their fill every day.

Moreover, they not only ate their fill, but they ate very well.

Sometimes, a very unusual food called lobster appears in the cafeteria.

Many people are curious and ask where the lobster comes from, as they have never seen this kind of shrimp in the river.

The general told them that this was a delicacy from the sea.

The sea? This word is too foreign to the herdsmen in the Gobi Desert.

They had seen vast grasslands, mountains, and deserts, but they had never seen the sea.

"The ocean! I've long heard of it!"

Today's herders have also learned a skill from the Anxi soldiers: gossiping while eating.

They were talking about lobsters today.

"Have you heard? Didn't the general say the sea is far away, beyond the mountains?"

One of them pointed eastward and said.

"Think about what lies beyond those mountains? It's the vast grasslands of the Mongolians! This means the sea is to the north of the Mongolians! Because I've heard before that the Mongolians always like to graze their livestock near the North Sea!"

"I see."

The herders, who had never seen the sea, began to dream about it.

This is also the most obvious change since they joined Anxi Town. They are no longer just the private property of the leader, but live in this world as human beings with dignity.

It is this change that has made them wholeheartedly support Anxi Town and General Li Wen.

They knew very well that if it weren't for General Li Wen, they would still be wandering in the Gobi Desert, and if they were unlucky, they would either become slaves to other leaders or die in meaningless battles.

In the past, when food was scarce, herders would fight tooth and nail for a single bite to eat.

Now Li Wen is going to tell them a lesson.

It is a matter of course for people to have enough to eat.

Today, the members of Anxi Town, whether they are veterans of the Anxi Army or herdsmen who joined later, are all gradually changing their thinking as Li Wen has transformed them.