Chapter 187 - 152 Xuanyuan Yunqi 2
Mu Changtian said, “Yes, Prince, after leaving the North Prince Mansion, I immediately ordered the soldiers to lift some of the restrictions on forest areas.”
As his words fell, Mu Changtian stepped back, and at this time, Li Rui also returned to his original position.
Lu Chen scanned the audience and asked, “Does anyone else have matters to report?”
Mu Changtian stepped forward again and said, “Prince, we have now recruited fifty thousand new soldiers for the army, and together with the original soldiers of North City and the Black Cavalry, we now have a total of one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers. Should we continue to recruit more?” Hearing Mu Changtian’s question about soldiers, Lu Chen pondered for a moment and then said, “There’s no need for now, North City can’t support too many soldiers.”
The soldiers in North City were essentially farmer-soldiers, and strictly speaking, those recruited by Mu Changtian could hardly be considered a regular army. They merely trained occasionally and would return to their farm work during the planting season, possessing very weak combat capabilities.
Lu Chen’s plan was to professionalize the soldiers of North City in the future, turning them into career soldiers, just like the current Black Cavalry, who were fully supported by the North Prince Mansion.
However, the financial pressure of supporting tens of thousands of professional soldiers was immense for both North City and the North Prince Mansion, and it was not feasible at the moment.
In the end, it all came down to the issues of money and food.
After hearing Lu Chen’s words, Mu Changtian said, “This servant understands.”
Then Mu Changtian returned to the position where he had previously stood. After Mu Changtian stepped back, Xuanyuan Chen came forward and said, “Prince, the craftsmen you requested have arrived in Yan County. When I came to the North Prince Mansion this morning, those craftsmen were already waiting at the city gate to meet you.”
Hearing this, Lu Chen’s eyes lit up, “So soon?”
Lu Chen was surprised; he had thought that these craftsmen would need at least a month or two to arrive in Yan County, but they had traveled from Great Yu City in just over half a month. Now, he could start preparing for a large- scale production of gunpowder and Red Tassel Spears.
Perhaps he could even prepare a big surprise for the North Fre King when he led his army to North City.
With this in mind, Lu Chen continued to Xuanyuan Chen, “After the morning meeting ends, I will accompany you to meet them.”
Having discussed the matter of the craftsmen, they went on to discuss other topics related to the development of North City, such as the promotion of potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as issues related to taxation.
But throughout the meeting, Lu Chen never mentioned the topic of official dismissals.
Lu Chen had long wanted to deal with the officials in North City, but he faced a significant practical issue-dismissing the current officials would essentially leave him with no one he could use, which was a dilemma for him.
Although he despised the corrupt officials of North City, without them, who would do the work? His policies might not even be able to be conveyed down the chain of command, so Lu Chen could only endure the situation for the time being.
After the morning meeting concluded, Lu Chen followed Xuanyuan Chen to the city gate.
At this time, the area outside the northern gate of Yan County was filled with common people, who were curious about the identity of these individuals carrying large and small packages and pushing big and small carts.
Someone let slip the phrase “The Prince has arrived,” causing the common people to clear a path.
Soon, Lu Chen arrived on horseback in front of the Great Yu City craftsmen. In front of the caravan stood two young men in their twenties or thirties, robust and strong, with their muscularity straining against their fur clothing and standing about one meter ninety tall.
Lu Chen then identified these two men’s profiles.
[Name: Mo Fei]
(Status: Current leader of North Prince Mansion’s craftsmen, formerly a Great Yu City craftsman, who immediately led two thousand craftsmen to Yan County upon learning that the North Prince needed craftsmen.]
[Strength: Fifth Rank]
[Loyalty: too]
[Name: Mo Xing]
[Status: Current North Prince Mansion craftsman, younger brother of Mo Fei, and a former Great Yu City craftsman; followed his elder brother Mo Fei to Yan County to serve the North Prince.]
[Strength: Fifth Rank]
[Loyalty: too]
Seeing the profiles of the two men, Lu Chen was taken aback-is their surname Mo?
Could it be that this world truly has a Mohist school?
After some time getting to know Great Yu City, Lu Chen found that many of the city’s concepts were very similar to those of the Mohists, and now the appearance of two individuals with the surname Mo made him even more suspicious.
However, whether they were Mohists was irrelevant. The most important thing was that these craftsmen were one hundred percent loyal to the North Prince Mansion, which reduced the risk of information leaks when they were asked to manufacture weapons.
At this moment, Mo Fei and Mo Xing both approached Lu Chen and then respectfully greeted him, “Commoner Mo Fei, commoner Mo Xing, we pay our respects to the Prince!”
The other craftsmen also followed suit, greeting in unison, “We pay our respects to the Prince!!!”
“Long live the Prince, long live, long live!!!”
Lu Chen nodded, then with a smile said, “Alright, rise.”
Just then, Lu Chen’s gaze was suddenly drawn to a figure in the distance.
There had been too many people earlier for him to notice, but as the craftsmen all bowed their heads, Lu Chen abruptly saw, on a white horse not far away, a woman dressed in black and red armor.
The woman had her hair tied back in a high ponytail, wore a red cloak, and held a Red Tassel Spear in her hands. She was very beautiful, with delicate features and an air of heroism between her brows, presenting a striking and spirited appearance.
This…
Lu Chen felt very puzzled.
He didn’t recall ever seeing this woman among the Black Cavalry before, did he?
Moreover, there weren’t any white horses among the Black Cavalry, and most importantly, there were no women.
Noticing the color of the horse, Lu Chen quickly discovered another detail: the horses ridden by the soldiers behind the woman were also white and not the black horses of the Black Cavalry.
Out of curiosity, Lu Chen immediately used the system to identify the woman’s information.
[Name: Xuanyuan Yunqi]
[Identity: Daughter of the Xuanyuan Family Head of Great Yu City, 23 years old, sister of Xuanyuan Chen, at the Master Realm. Hearing that Yan County needed craftsmen, she led three thousand light cavalry to escort the craftsmen to Yan County. Her feelings towards the North Prince are somewhat peculiar.]
[Rating: 98]
[Loyalty: too]
[Favorability: 50]
Seeing Xuanyuan Yunqi’s information, Lu Chen was again stunned.
9- 98 rating???
Indeed, Xuanyuan Yunqi was very beautiful, but her beauty was distinctive, unlike the beauty of any women Lu Chen had seen before.
Not only was she so beautiful, but she was also a Grandmaster.
This…
The system had never mentioned summoning a third Grandmaster.
Could it be that Xuanyuan Yunqi was a reward given to him by the system?
After all, the system considered the fifty thousand citizens of Great Yu City as a summoning reward, so Xuanyuan Yunqi should also be counted in, right?
Lu Chen wasn’t quite sure.
After all, this surprise was too sudden.
He could never have imagined that there was a female Grandmaster with a rating of 98 in Great Yu City.
Of course, there was something else that surprised Lu Chen.
That was the three thousand white horses of the light cavalry.
The system had never mentioned these three thousand light cavalry; it had merely counted these cavalrymen as ordinary citizens of Great Yu City.
Lu Chen had always thought the Black Cavalry represented all the combat- capable soldiers in Great Yu City. He had no idea Great Yu City also had three thousand light cavalry.
From the beginning, he knew Great Yu City had great potential for war but had not expected its strength to be so substantial.
At this moment, Lu Chen was curious as to why Xuanyuan Yunqi and the three thousand light cavalry she led did not come closer?
While he was thinking this, he sawXuanyuan Yunqi with her three thousand light cavalrymen leaving directly.
Lu Chen frowned.
A female Grandmaster with a rating of 98 just showed up in front of him, took a glance, and then ran off like that?
Could he really let her get away?
Lu Chen quickly turned his head to Xuanyuan Chen and said, “General Xuanyuan, who is that woman in the black and red armor who left with her soldiers without paying her respects to me first?”
Hearing this, Xuanyuan Chen immediately replied, “Prince, that woman is my younger sister; she is Great Yu City’s city defense general, and those three thousand cavalrymen are the city’s defense force. They were here to deliver the craftsmen to North City.”
“Now that they have delivered the people, they must hurry back to Great Yu City to avoid any chance of a Barbarian Tribe attack. As for why my sister did not pay her respects…”
At this point, Xuanyuan Chen hesitated for a moment before he bit the bullet and continued, “On behalf of my little sister, I apologize to the prince. My sister has been pampered since childhood and lacks courtesy; I hope the prince can forgive her.”
“The next time my sister comes to Yan County, I will make sure she kowtows in apology to the prince.”
Hearing Xuanyuan Chen’s words, Lu Chen was taken aback for a moment.
Lacks courtesy?
Is it really just a lack of courtesy?