Isolated town in northern border region

Early morning in Cangnan City.

Xiao Lie sat in the study of the government office, with a thick stack of account books piled up in front of him.

Bisu stood beside him, holding a cup of hot tea, but her eyes were fixed on the dense numbers on the table, her mouth agape.

"Your Highness...this...this is last month's commercial tax?"

Xiao Lie flipped through the account books and finally laughed with satisfaction.

"Yes. Since the establishment of the Cangzhou Chamber of Commerce, the trade order has been fully implemented, and the commercial tax revenue has quadrupled compared to last month."

He pointed to a line of numbers in the ledger, his voice full of pride.

"The major trading houses like Yongchang and Guangyuan alone paid nearly 20,000 taels of silver last month!"

"And those small vendors, all added up, also amount to seven or eight thousand taels."

"And all of it was tax refunded in grain!"

"This much grain is enough to last until the autumn harvest."

Bisu counted on her fingers for a while, then her eyes widened even more.

"So that means...we can now collect nearly 30,000 taels of tax per month?"

"more than."

Xiao Lie turned to the next page.

"Don't forget about the loss from the tax payment in grain."

"The merchants will stop at nothing to get those small discounts."

"If it were all converted into silver, it would be much more."

Xiao Lie stood up, walked to the window, and took a deep breath.

He had witnessed every change in Cangnan City.

Three months ago, this place was a ruin, and the people were like walking corpses.

Today, shops line the streets, and caravans come and go in an endless stream.

It successfully transformed from a war-torn wasteland into the most bustling prefecture in the northern border of the Great Chu.

After doing so much and coming up with so many ideas, it's finally paying off!

Suddenly, I felt a sense of joy, like that of a nurturing relationship.

On the northern front of Cangzhou, outside the fortress defense perimeter, a newly cleared area was bustling with activity.

This is the border market that Xiao Lie ordered to be opened half a month ago.

For the past two weeks, Xiao Lie has been arguing with the Northern Barbarian delegation every day, rejecting all the numerous conditions they have put forward.

However, in order to prolong the conflict, Xiao Lie tried to offer the Northern Barbarians some incentives after rejecting their conditions.

This is how the border trade came about.

The market rules are simple: merchants from the Great Chu can sell daily necessities such as cloth, tea, and iron pots that are not available on the grasslands; tribes from the Northern Barbarians can sell horses, cattle, sheep, and furs.

Both parties traded freely, and the Cangzhou government did not interfere with prices, but taxes were levied on every transaction.

When the news spread, the various tribes of the Northern Barbarians were in an uproar, but in the end, some still couldn't resist sending caravans.

The first to arrive was a small tribe called the White Eagles.

They brought two hundred warhorses, which they exchanged for one hundred cartloads of tea and thirty iron pots.

Xiao Lie personally took a stroll through the market, and his eyes lit up with envy at the sight of those plump and strong warhorses.

"What a fine horse! What a fine horse!"

"If this were fully armored, it would be my Ironclad Cavalry!"

"General Xiao, quickly send your Canglang cavalry to fetch your horse!"

Xiao Xiong stroked the horse's mane, grinning from ear to ear.

"Alright! My humble general's Wolf Riders have always had the biggest headache of losing horses."

"Now that we have a trade market, as long as we have enough silver, we can have as many warhorses as we want!"

After the White Wolf tribe, more than a dozen other tribes sent caravans to the area.

In just half a month, the Cangzhou government seized more than 3,000 warhorses, more than 5,000 cattle, and tens of thousands of sheep.

All the warhorses were given to Xiao Xiong to arm the Canglang Cavalry.

Some of the cattle and sheep were distributed to the people, while the rest remained in the military camp.

Xiao Lie ordered that each recruit in the new camp receive an extra half-pound of mutton and a bowl of goat's milk daily.

The soldiers ate with gusto, their mouths greasy, and trained with great enthusiasm.

However, Cangzhou's prosperous days did not last long, as the Northern Barbarian Khan Temur could no longer sit still.

With the opening of the trade market, Cangzhou's strength has visibly increased.

Warhorses, cattle, sheep, grain, and ironware poured into Cangzhou in an endless stream.

Meanwhile, the various tribes of the Northern Barbarians, in order to obtain supplies, were secretly providing aid to the enemy behind the backs of their Khan.

He had to come up with another solution.

Half a month later, the envoy from the Northern Barbarians came to Cangnan City again.

"Your Highness Prince Ning, in half a month, the Great Khan will lead the various tribes of the grasslands to hold the 'Tengri Conference' on the northern border of Cangzhou."

"A special envoy has been dispatched to extend this invitation; we hope Your Highness, Prince Ning, will not refuse."

This time, the envoy's attitude was quite tough. Although he verbally extended an invitation, his eyes revealed undisguised provocation.

Xiao Lie raised an eyebrow.

"The Tengger Desert Grand Meeting?"

"That was a grand event on my grasslands!"

"Horse riding, archery, wrestling—the bravest warriors from each tribe will compete under the witness of the Eternal Heaven."

"Oh...right, now that the Canglang tribe has submitted to the prince, they are no longer qualified to participate in my grassland festival."

The envoy's gaze was fixed on Xiao Lie.

"The Great Khan said that His Highness Prince Ning is of noble status and cannot participate in the Tengri Assembly without a prize."

"Your Highness may send someone to compete with my grassland warriors, best of three out of five."

"If Your Highness loses, the prices of your country's goods in the trade market must be reduced by 50%."

The envoy was extremely pleased with himself and didn't even mention what would happen if Xiao Lie won.

In their view, the Northern Barbarians could never lose in events like archery and wrestling.

Xiao Lie leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

"What if I refuse?"

The envoy smiled, but there was a hint of coldness in his smile.

"That's simple. Warriors of the grasslands won't negotiate with cowards."

"If Your Highness doesn't even dare to attend the grand assembly, then we Northern Barbarians will have no choice but to greet Your Highness with our scimitars."

His meaning was clear: if Cangzhou showed the slightest weakness, the Northern Barbarians would not hesitate to march south.

Xiao Lie remained silent for a long time.

"Go back and tell Timur..."

"I, the King, will certainly attend the Tengri Gathering."

After the envoy left, the government office was in an uproar.

Xiao Xiong was the first to jump out.

"Young Master! How can you agree to exclude my Canglang Tribe from participating?"

"The Tengri Tournament, with its horseback riding, archery, and wrestling, is entirely the specialty of the Northern Barbarians!"

"In our Cangzhou, apart from the warriors of my Canglang tribe, no one can compare to the Northern Barbarians!"

Chen Hu also joined in the persuasion.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"There are some skilled riders and archers in the Great Chu army, but they are still a step behind the Tartars who grew up on horseback in the north."

Bisu was so anxious that she kept stamping her feet.

Xiao Lie raised his hand, silencing everyone.

"You really think Timur wants to compete with me?"

Everyone was stunned.

"The outcome of the match is completely irrelevant."

Xiao Lie stood up and looked around at everyone.

"They grew up on horseback? Skilled in battle?"

"Whatever, just beat him until he can sing and dance!"

He turned around and looked at Xiao Xiong.

"General Xiao, you come from the grasslands, so you must be familiar with this competition. You can decide who will participate."

"Don't be too picky, just don't embarrass yourself too much."

Xiao Xiong bowed and accepted the order.

"Here you go!"

Chen Hu asked cautiously.

"Your Highness, is that all?"

Xiao Lie knew what Chen Hu was worried about. Excluding the Canglang Cavalry, his newly recruited soldiers who had just put down their hoes were no match for the Northern Barbarians.

You should know that just three months ago, they were just a group of refugees who had fled to Cangzhou. They were all emaciated and some couldn't even stand up!

Just as Xiao Lie was about to speak, Qian Wanli rushed over.

His face was very grim. He closed the door as soon as he entered and said in a low voice.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened."

Xiao Lie looked at him.

"explain."

"My informants have discovered that those merchants from the capital, along with those fur traders, have suddenly started meeting up in the last few days!"

"They're in cahoots, meeting secretly at night. Last night, my men intercepted a secret letter..."

He handed a letter to Xiao Lie.

Xiao Lie unfolded the letter and glanced at it.

The letter contained only a few lines.

"At this grand gathering, we will know the true strength of Cangzhou. If the Khan leads his army south, we can coordinate an attack from within and without, and Cangzhou will surely fall!"

Xiao Lie's pupils suddenly contracted.

Qian Wanli's voice was trembling.

"Your Highness, this is the day they've been waiting for."

"If we make a mistake at this grand meeting and the Northern barbarians discover the true strength of Cangzhou..."

"Cangzhou! It is in grave danger!"

Inside the government office, there was a deathly silence.

Xiao Lie sat in the chair, looking at the letter, and remained silent for a long time.

He was not surprised by the secret letter.

The so-called Tengri Assembly was actually just like a military exercise in later times—a show of force.

Timur wanted to test whether Cangzhou still had the strength to fight.

If Xiao Lie cannot produce enough power to deter the Northern Barbarians, Temur will once again lead various tribes to bully the weak.

Those spies hidden throughout Cangzhou will inevitably create chaos and support the Northern Barbarians' attack.

With coordinated attacks from within and without, Cangzhou will surely fall.

Xiao Lie took a deep breath.

"Chen Hu".

Chen Hu strode forward.

"Your subordinate is here!"

"For the next two weeks, I will personally train the new recruits. You go and gather all the blacksmiths in Cangzhou to forge three thousand suits of armor!"

Chen Hu was taken aback upon hearing this.

"Your Highness! That's iron armor! We can't gather three thousand sets in half a month!"

"Then let's use the old nail polish!"

"Why not inlay iron plates onto cloth armor?"

Xiao Lie stood up.

"I have only one request: three thousand sets of brand-new-looking armor must be available within half a month!"

Xiao Lie gazed northward and murmured softly.

"Want to see the true strength of my Cangzhou?"

"I'll scare you to death!"

For the next two weeks, Xiao Lie devoted all his energy to the formation training in the recruit camp.

There were 1,200 people, divided into six square formations, with 200 people in each formation.

Swordsmen and shieldmen were in front, spearmen in the middle, and archers and crossbowmen in the rear.

The steps must be synchronized, the breathing must be synchronized, the knife-raising movements must be synchronized, and the spear-poke angles must be synchronized.

Xiao Lie stood on the high platform, holding a red flag and directing the troops.

If once isn't enough, try twice...

If twice isn't enough, try ten times...

Ten times isn't enough, try a hundred times...

After half a month, Xiao Lie had become at least three shades darker, completely losing the noble young master appearance he had when he first arrived in the Northern Frontier.