Isolated town in northern border region

Xiao Lie stayed in a guest room in the backyard of the Bingzhou government office for more than a month, and Jiang Min also brought a delegation from the northern frontier.

While seemingly quiet and peacefully recuperating, the entire Chu Kingdom was undergoing earth-shattering changes.

Qingzhou.

Xiao Xiong squatted on the site of the former royal horse farm, with four letters sent by Xiao Lie from Bingzhou tucked in his arms.

One letter contained a method for breeding warhorses, another a sketch of a business layout, another a method for pig farming, and the third a personal letter from Xiao Lie.

Xiao Xiong barely slept during that period.

The horse farm was to use the invincible warhorses of the Northern Barbarians and the extremely stamina-rich packhorses of the Western Shu to breed new warhorses. He personally took charge of everything from selecting horses to preparing feed.

While reorganizing the horse farm, he also built a textile factory and a glass factory according to the blueprints.

He built several blast furnaces on the riverbank in the style of the steel plant in northern Xinjiang, and used local materials to dig sand from the riverbank to fire glass.

When the first batch of glassware came out of the kiln, he held the bowl above his head and examined it against the light. Its bluish-white, translucent texture looked like a frozen river in the sunlight.

He grinned.

"The prince is truly a divine being!"

"The sand by this river can actually be smelted to produce such a treasure!"

After admiring it for a while, he quickly put down the bowl, had it packed in a wooden box, and sent to Yongzhou that very night.

Xiao Xiong was completely stunned by the establishment of the pig farm.

When he first received the letter, Xiao Xiong wrote to Bingzhou to ask if Xiao Lie had made a mistake.

After all, pigs were called "shi" in ancient times, and their meat was smelly and tasteless.

Xiao Lie replied.

"If you castrate it, it won't smell fishy."

Xiao Xiong was skeptical, so he grabbed a few pigs to try. A month later, when the first batch of castrated pigs was ready for market, he tasted one himself and his eyes lit up.

"Goodness, this is just as good as cows and sheep!"

"And he's so fat he's practically dripping with oil!"

The pig farm began to expand, lard was transported to the soap factory, pig bristles were made into brushes, and the wastewater from the pig farm was treated and flowed into the adjacent fishpond, where the fish grew faster than those in the wild river.

At first, the people of Qingzhou found these things strange, but later they discovered that Xiao Xiong was paying several times more for hiring workers than for long-term laborers, so they spontaneously went to work at the horse farm and factory.

Glassware and soaps were transported from Qingzhou to Yongzhou, and then resold from Yongzhou by various prominent families.

Wang Shoucheng had never seen such exquisite objects before, and he insisted on keeping the first batch of goods as collectibles, not selling a single piece!

"Your Highness's methods are truly ingenious!"

"This glass is crystal clear, like the colorful clouds at sunset; it's truly a treasure!"

This move by Qingzhou not only gave the people of Qingzhou another way out, but also inadvertently opened up a trade route from the northern frontier to Qingzhou and western Shu!

The entire Qingzhou was changing rapidly, with commerce becoming increasingly prosperous, and every household revered Xiao Lie as a living bodhisattva.

Luo Daniu was stationed in Yongzhou, and he only did two things.

The first thing is to ensure that the glass and soap produced in Qingzhou are delivered to the Yongzhou aristocratic families on time;

The second thing is to ensure that the people of Yongzhou do not suffer losses in transactions.

He copied Xiao Lie's reply to him and posted it at the gate of Yongzhou City.

"Anyone who bullies the people is going against me!"

"Anyone who opposes me, Luo Daniu will deal with!"

Those words were written crookedly, but the effect was surprisingly good.

The market in Yongzhou City became much more orderly, and even the young masters from prominent families had to keep their tails between their legs when they heard the name Luo Daniu.

In Bingzhou, Shen Chongyuan took over the new army's arsenal.

He led his men to re-explore the earth's veins and discovered that several mineral veins were buried in the mountains of Bingzhou. Although the grade was not high, it was more than enough for the smelting technology of the northern frontier.

He began to use the methods of the northern frontier to transform the forging furnaces and production lines of the arsenal. When the first batch of steel knives produced in Bingzhou were delivered to Xiao Lie, he took them and flicked the blades, producing a clear and resonant sound.

Bingzhou thus became the second largest heavy industrial base outside of the northern frontier.

Zhou Xun was the one who made the least noise but had the greatest impact. He didn't go to any of the prefectures; he simply collected the progress reports from each prefecture one by one and then added a stroke or drew a section on the map of the Northern Frontier.

The railway is extending southward from northern Xinjiang, and the paving of the cement road surface is happening faster than he expected.

His desk was piled with Xiao Lie's letters, and occasionally a hastily drawn map would be tucked inside, marking the route of the next section of the railway.

After Zhou Xun finished reading the map, he would fold it up and put it in his sleeve, then continue leading his men to pave the road.

Gradually, cement roads were no longer unique to the northern frontier; they began to appear in Qingzhou, Yongzhou, and Bingzhou, followed by railways.

Once the railway is fully operational, it means that Xiao Lie will have complete control over the three prefectures of Qing, Yong, and Bing!

In addition, officials in Kyoto and other prefectures and counties began to contact each other proactively, and every word they uttered was a declaration of loyalty.

The price was that Xiao Lie's carrier pigeons became more and more frequent. He would sit in his study, open each reply, and after reading it, he would not only frown but also carefully choose his words to reply to each one.

When Bisu came in with the medicine bowl, she saw him sitting at his desk, lost in thought.

"Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"

Xiao Lie did not turn around.

"Judging by the time, I should set off once the railway is completed."

He paused, then asked again.

"The railway to Qingzhou has already started being laid. When it reaches Yongzhou, I'll have Zhou Xun bring you some dried fruit."

Bisu shook her head.

"Your Highness, my meager cravings are none of your concern!"

Xiao Lie nodded seriously.

"You'll have to worry about that!"

"If we don't take precautions, we're afraid someone might have a mental breakdown and insist on jumping into a fire!"

"Do you think I'm so easy to kill? Can't you even wish me well?"

He opened the window and looked at the continuous mountain ridges to the north. The night breeze brought a slight chill. Then he looked down at the letter written by the Chu Emperor on the table. Xu De had already taken the formula for the Heart Source Inducing Medicine to prepare the medicine. He estimated that he would be able to get the first batch of antidote in a few days.

He felt relieved and turned to go back into the house. Just then, he heard footsteps outside the courtyard gate, followed by Luo Daniu's hoarse voice.

"Your Highness! My father is here!"

"My father insisted on seeing you, and I couldn't refuse, so I had no choice but to come here."

Xiao Lie paused, then turned and walked towards the door.

Luo Daniu stood at the gate of the courtyard, followed by a middle-aged man.

The man was dressed in old cloth clothes, was thin, and had skin tanned dark brown by the sun. His back was slightly hunched, like an old tree that had been blown by the wind for many years.

Xiao Lie saw his eyes at a glance.

Those eyes were quiet, like a still pool of water, completely different from the bright and straightforward eyes of his son, Luo Daniu.

The man stopped in front of Xiao Lie and introduced himself before Luo Daniu could speak.

"This humble commoner, Tieshan, pays his respects to Your Highness, the King of the Northern Frontier."

Xiao Lie looked at his face, etched with the marks of time, and remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Should I address you as Commander Iron, or...?"

Tieshan raised his head.

"Your Highness, please feel free to do as you please."

"I met Your Highness when I accompanied the late Emperor on his campaign."

"His Highness was still young then, sitting on the late Emperor's lap."

He paused.

"This humble general thought he would never see His Highness again in this lifetime."