Chapter 97: 98. The Return Journey

The next morning, Luoning, accompanied by Maiken and led by Zhuweite, arrived at the Huitu Tribe, which was now renamed Huitu Village.

It was truly the strongest of the Three-Party Alliance; as the frontline facing the enemy, the fact that Huitu Village had a larger population was merely a superficial observation.

The proportion of light laborers here was extremely high, while the elderly population over fifty was extremely low; it was unclear whether they had all died or had been relocated to Qingzhu Village and Ziguo Village.

For Luoning, the more young and able-bodied people here, the better, as they could manage Huitu Village well without him needing to transfer people from Shanlin Town.

Besides the population, Huitu Village also had many defensive fortifications built.

Especially the place where Sileiyin lived; it was truly somewhat similar to a noble's castle. Although the area was a bit small, it had outer fences made of wood, as well as sturdy towers and fortresses built from mud and stone.

If not for the intelligence and strategy provided by Jennie to lure Sileiyin and the others out to fight, it would indeed have taken some effort to capture this place.

After arriving at Huitu Village, under Ruidar's arrangements, Luoning and the others had lunch together.

Once the matters here were concluded, he would return to Shanlin Town, and the housing in Huitu Village would be left for Ruidar to manage.

In fact, it was not just the defense; any matter here could be handed over to him.

In Luoning's heart, someone who possessed Sun-level aptitude and was unlikely to betray him was worth cultivating well.

Letting Ruidar learn some experience in Huitu Village now meant that when the territory expanded in the future, he could fully serve as a "Frontier Official."

In fact, it was not just Ruidar; Aierlong and Maiken could also serve in this role.

By employing these three, Luoning did not have to worry at all that after they grew powerful, they would start to drift away from Wushan Castle like Aosen.

Of course, Luoning was only handing over the management of Huitu Village to Ruidar, not granting it as a fief.

In the future, when he became a Viscount or an Earl, whether he would need to grant fiefs and titles to his followers was still a question worth pondering.

To be honest, compared to feudal enfeoffment, he preferred centralized power.

In the afternoon, under Ruidar's prior arrangement, Luoning met with all the residents of Huitu Village in his capacity as a noble and their master, letting this group of people know who they needed to pledge their loyalty to.

At the same time, having had the experience in Shanlin Town, Qingzhu Village, and Ziguo Village, Luoning could now naturally speak a series of inflammatory words to these new subjects, which could not only calm the anxiety and unease in their hearts but also inspire some people's expectations and yearnings for the future.

In fact, the thoughts of this group of people were not complicated; once the master was changed, as long as they were not sold, not killed, and had food to eat, everything else was easy to handle.

As for whether they would work actively or slack off later, that was a matter for another day.

"My Lord, this is where the gray earth comes from."

After meeting with the residents, Luoning, led by Ruidar, arrived at the northeast side of the village.

"I have conducted a simple survey. Starting from this hill and extending a few miles to the north, if you dig just four or five meters deep into the ground, you can see this kind of soil block, which is the Kaolin you mentioned."

In his spare time over the past two days in Huitu Village, Ruidar had conducted a simple survey, considering Luoning's interest in the gray earth.

Although digging four or five meters deep was a bit difficult for an ordinary person, he was able to do it by using his Battle Qi and long sword.

"In other words, this soil mine extends for at least a few miles."

Luoning gazed at the hill; although it didn't sound large, it hadn't been fully surveyed after all, and there were still many uncertain factors.

But regardless, the current magnitude of Kaolin was enough for Luoning's initial development.

"Find time later to survey it properly and see exactly what the length, width, and height of this soil mine are," he instructed.

"Yes, my Lord."

Ruidar had learned from Zhuweite how much the Lord valued the Kaolin, but they were all curious about what exactly this soil was used for, as they didn't know.

"My Lord, how do you intend to use this soil? Are you planning to make pottery?"

Luoning smiled mysteriously, "If it were only used to make pottery, that would be too much of a waste. Just wait and see, Commander; its value is beyond your imagination."

Ruidar only felt that this young Lord before him hid endless knowledge in his mind; it seemed this use of Kaolin was yet another field he didn't know about.

"Since this kind of soil is very important, we should protect it. So, should we stop farming the wheat fields nearby?"

Luoning thought for a moment, "Stop within a mile of this side. If it doesn't involve the soil mine, the farmland can still be used."

"In addition, arrange for a few people to pack more bags of Kaolin; I want to take them back to Shanlin Town for research."

Luoning knew the general path for making porcelain, but there were still many problems between "knowing" and actually producing it that he needed to try and solve.

Once he cleared the path, he would establish a porcelain manufacturing base here and build a Jingdezhen of this other world.

"After I go back, the matters here will be left to you."

Luoning instructed: "In a while, I will arrange for people to come and promote new farming techniques; you should cooperate then. Also, you can follow the example and set up a Construction Squad, a Logging Squad, and a Manure Collection Squad here."

As he spoke, he pointed over here, "You can first build a batch of better-quality houses near the Kaolin mine; we will have use for them later."

Luoning informed Ruidar of the things that needed to be done in Huitu Village next, telling him to arrange for people to follow the methods of Shanlin Town; the efficiency could be lower, but the foundation had to be there.

Additionally, Huitu Village had three carpenters and two masons; Luoning left one of each and took the rest back to Shanlin Town.

The carpenters would be assigned to the Ironwood Workshop and the production of the plow bodies for the Curved Plows, while the masons would be taken back to Shanlin Town specifically to build houses. In any case, Shanlin Town was connected to the outside world geographically, so prioritizing its development was beyond doubt.

It was just a pity that although his territory had three thousand people, the number of craftsmen was still very small; he could only demand that these existing craftsmen bring up more newcomers.

For the next three days, Luoning stayed in Huitu Village; on one hand, to inspect the environment around the tribe, and on the other, to walk around and see more, which could also stabilize the people's hearts.

Besides that, he also spent a day going to the southeast of the village to observe the Heiling Tribe from a distance.

As a place that the Baron of Sain Territory had his eyes on, the Heiling Tribe was much more rigorous than the Three-Party Alliance. Before Luoning even reached their perimeter, he discovered that several watchtowers were set up at intervals along the way, likely to guard against surprise attacks from the Three-Party Alliance.

With such defenses, and the fact that they surely had stronger fortifications built inside than Huitu Village, it was very wise for Luoning to choose to temporarily suspend the attack without the support of sufficient intelligence.

He had now accumulated over two hundred points of Energy Essence; after he became a Level 4 Transcendent, he could add points for Ruidar and Maiken, allowing their strength to be further improved after they advanced to Bronze level.

By then, attacking the Heiling Tribe would be much less difficult, and losses would be reduced.

On October 2nd, Luoning, having finished his inspection of Huitu Village, began his return journey.

This time, after returning to Shanlin Town, besides resting and digesting the fruits of the battle, Luoning also needed to make a trip to Wushan Castle.

A month had passed since his father, Earl Wiggins, was injured; one would think that things over at Wushan Castle should be relatively much calmer.

In any case, in the eyes of outsiders, Luoning was always Wiggins's son; he could make up some excuses for visiting a month late, but dragging it out any longer would be too excessive.

Luoning had no intention of severing ties with the other party.

Although Wushan Castle was on the verge of collapse, it hadn't collapsed yet, and there were still many benefits to relying on the mansion.

Moreover, Luoning had the blood of the Wushan Family flowing in his veins; no matter what he did, he could not draw a line between himself and Wushan Castle. If Wushan Castle were to truly fall, it would likely be of no benefit to him.

Therefore, after settling things down a little upon returning this time, Luoning prepared to set off for Wushan Castle.

Of course, visiting Weijinsi was only one of his purposes; he could take this opportunity to see if he could secure more resources for Shanlin Town.

Money, craftsmen, labor, and so on—he needed them all.

Thanks to Qinghe Sanren for the tip, thank you, sir~

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(End of this chapter)