It had been a very, very long time since the Panlong Wasteland had held such a grand celebration.
With the water bandits now a thing of the past, Yuheng City set to work tearing down and clearing out the water strongholds across the Longchuan territory, restoring peace and clarity to the waterways.
Any monsters within the waters who had aided the Xiji puppet troops were granted a clean slate by Yuheng City, provided they surrendered of their own accord.
Due to decades of regional isolation and fragmentation, the people of Longchuan remained wary and resistant toward the authorities, something that would require time to gradually overcome.
In view of Longchuan's vast expanse and sparse population, Yuheng City reduced taxes and corvée, twice relocating commoners into the Longchuan wetlands to clear wildland for farming. This was done partly to boost grain output and revenue, and partly to foster integration between locals and outsiders, breaking down the stubborn, insular nature of Longchuan's villages and towns.
At the same time, the Yuheng Academy opened a branch in Longchuan to hold classes and educate the populace.
The soil and water throughout the Maohe Plain were countless times richer than those of the barren Panlong Wasteland. Yuheng City dug canals and built dikes, channeling the waters of Longchuan into the plains to improve hydrology and irrigate the farmland.
In the past, such things had been unthinkable; now, they were gradually becoming reality.
The soil fertility across the Panlong Wasteland was meager, with the sole exception of the Chipa Plateau, yet its yields were only enough to sustain Panlong City alone. Constrained by limited water and grain, the wasteland's other cities had remained underdeveloped.
Carrying them had always been a grueling burden for Panlong City, yet it had no choice.
Baling and the Xianyou Kingdom had preyed upon the Panlong Wasteland for years, taking turns attacking each city in an effort to slice away with a dull blade and bleed Panlong City's strength dry.
With the Maohe Plain, however, the situation was fundamentally changed.
This fertile expanse stood to become Panlong City's main artery, pumping a steady stream of grain, talent, and soldiers into its fold while securing outside supplies and aid through the southern free port.
If nothing else, once the Longchuan trade route was cleared and secure, grain prices in Panlong City quickly dropped by a third, goods from north and south flowed in abundance, and supply and demand flourished.
The vision Zhong Shengguang and General Red had held when they conquered the Xiji Kingdom was finally coming to fruition.
Previously, when the Jintao Kingdom assisted Fu Shanlie, it had persistently claimed that bandits and vagrants were crossing the border on their own. But this time, Cai Qiyong had captured a Jintao general, leaving them no room for denial.
Before the spring floods, Yuheng City mobilized its troops and pushed east across Jintao's border. Jintao hastily sent forces to meet them, suffering defeat twice.
Seeing the Yuheng Army advancing with triumphant momentum, panic spread through the entire royal court of Jintao. Distant water could not quench immediate thirst: Beijia was too far away to help, while Xiluo was bogged down in internal turmoil and could not care less about them. Left with no other choice, Jintao dispatched envoys to Panlong City to sue for peace.
Panlong City's intention all along had simply been to teach this irreverent little country a proper lesson. Having extracted a hefty indemnity, it gladly quit while ahead.
Zhong Shengguang's decision not to conquer Jintao was guided by his own considerations.
With the Longchuan water bandits relegated to history, Beijia's reach into the Maohe Plain had been severed. Jintao, thoroughly cowed by Yuheng City, now behaved itself and would not dare cause trouble again anytime soon.
With both internal troubles and external threats eliminated, the entirety of the Maohe Plain entered an era of peace. Blessed with geographical advantages vastly superior to the Panlong Wasteland, this rich plain could finally focus all its energy on development and economic growth.
The returns came swiftly.
By summer and autumn, the Maohe Plain yielded a bumper harvest of grain.
Flanking both sides of the Longchuan trade route, one could frequently see golden fields, scattered little lakes and ponds, and flocks of wild ducks numbering in the thousands.
Over the course of the following year, the mortal realm was graced by seven showers of Emperor's Flowing Dew!
Another piece of major news in the Maohe Plain was a sudden, massive corruption scandal within the Longchuan trade route escort team—a group the merchants casually referred to as the "Route Overseers."
A large cohort of senior officers among the Route Overseers, including Tao Lin, was reported from within for embezzling transit funds and lining their pockets at public expense. Yuheng City verified the allegations, stripped them of their posts for investigation, and appointed a new batch of Yuheng officials to take their places.
Tao Lin tried to incite his former subordinates to rebel with him, but barely anyone responded. Yuheng City arrested him without breaking a sweat!
Only then did he wake as if from a dream, hurling curses toward the Panlong Wasteland: "Little bastard He, you killed the donkey the moment it left the grindstone!" Yet it was already too late.
He was no longer the bandit chief of old; he was merely a petty local official collecting road tolls.
His men were no longer cutthroat marauders, but rank-and-file clerks wearing waist tallies, managing border passes and transit checkpoints.
Everyone had their place, and everyone had their livelihood.
Everyone had a superior.
Just as He Lingchuan had told them back then, all of them would eventually realize that their direct master was no longer a bandit chief, but Yuheng City!
Their wages came from Yuheng City.
Their livelihood came from Yuheng City.
They had become part of this colossal system, and they could never pull themselves away again.
The harvest season finally drew to a close amid the bustling frenzy of the Yangshan Archipelago.
Having only recently taken over the islands, He Lingchuan and his subordinates had been scrambling madly, barely managing to navigate the palm harvest season.
Thanks to the Maritime Trade Office of Blade Harbor and Bailie's Qucheng no longer creating obstacles—and instead throwing open every door of convenience—the Yangshan Archipelago's commodities found a thriving market before winter arrived.
Not only did the palm oil sell briskly, but the burrow spider specialties from Pansi Island also became hot commodities. Merchants who arrived late were unable to secure fluorescent spores and aphid sugar, departing in disappointment.
Fang Canran proved a man of his word, not only connecting the Yangshan Archipelago with three major merchant guilds from the Mou Kingdom, but also introducing compradors and representatives from numerous neighboring powers.
At its busiest, He Lingchuan had five meetings a day, running non-stop from dawn to dusk.
On the day of the Winter Solstice, while He Lingchuan was eating sweet rice dumplings, Ding Zuodong came in with another report.
Sales of palm oil from the Yangshan Archipelago had far exceeded expectations, clearing more than eighty percent of their inventory.
When the ledgers were laid out, after deducting all manner of expenditures—labor, equipment, freight, packaging, distribution, and entertainment or grease money—there was still a net profit of twenty-three thousand taels of silver on the books.
Labor had been the costliest expense.
Of course, these costs did not factor in the purchase price of the islands.
The mirror couldn't help chiming in with a scoff: "Only twenty-three thousand?"
Several thousand people bustled around working day and night for two months straight, and the profit was only twenty-three thousand?
"How about we go back to murder and arson?" Zero-capital ventures brought in money so much faster!
Yet He Lingchuan and Ding Zuodong were surprisingly pleased.
Ding Zuodong said with genuine delight, "The future looks bright!"
"This money is essentially a bonus. We were forced into the deep end from start to finish, so turning any profit at all is already great," He Lingchuan said with a chuckle. "We spent money to buy experience and didn't even run at a loss. That already exceeds my expectations!"
Although he held the post of Chief Commander of Yuheng City in the Panlong World, he had overseen military affairs, leaving civil administration largely to Wen Daolun. He had zero experience running a business from scratch.
The Yangshan Archipelago was his debut. To have achieved this much, he gave himself an eight out of ten—not a fraction less.
Who ever opened a new business without expecting to bleed money for the first three months?
Besides, the Yangshan Archipelago had only developed a dozen or so islands so far. With a shortage of hands and a rush to meet the agricultural season, their initial output was rough and limited in variety, while Suoding Island's hospitality business was just getting off the ground. By all rights, their returns shouldn't have matched their investments at all.
Chapter 1045