Chapter 512

Anyway, we're all on the same side, so to prove his point, Cang Lang simply shared the Foreign Affairs Bureau's current intelligence on Blackwater Territory with Ji Ming.

Ji Ming quickly opened it and saw, good grief, the Blackwater Territory has practically turned into a huge construction site.

Not only an arms factory, but also, invested and built by various major civilian forces and even national governments, there are fertilizer plants, iron smelting plants, coking plants, and even massive factories that are labeled as tractor plants but actually produce tanks…… It's purely jumping straight into the heavy-industry era.

But as everyone knows, for local industry to develop quickly, besides the preferential policies and green light from the relevant departments, locational advantage is also very important.

Either be near the raw material source, such as high-quality coal and iron mines, to reduce logistics costs and troubles on the road.

Or have extremely convenient transportation, so any needed material can be obtained quickly, well, and cheaply.

Considering Lady Eleanor's personal particularities and the remoteness of Blackwater Road, the possibility of having the second advantage is almost zero.

So……

After professional prospecting, players were surprised to discover that, aside from the eastern great plain, Blackwater Territory's other three directions are barren mountains and bad waters, difficult to develop.

But precisely because of that, it contains many unmined ore veins of decent quality and wide variety; as long as the roads are built, it definitely has the potential to develop heavy industry.

Although choosing this road makes it foreseeable that Blackwater Territory will truly become "Blackwater Territory," the immense wealth and military power it brings…… is practically a land of royal prosperity!

——So who told Eleanor this development plan full of Huaxia high-school geography compulsory material? The idea is almost too ahead of its time.

Ji Ming was quite curious about this, so after strolling around his own construction site with Cang Lang, he immediately switched back to the Divine Select vest, mounted his heavenly horse, and headed for the castle left by the count.

Though called a castle, in the early days of entrepreneurship everything was naturally kept simple, so this tall building resembling an elderly person shows no signs of repair; only the fresh red flags on the walls prove it still stands.

Ji Ming didn't want to pay tribute to the legendary pilot Zuo Bayang, and being beaten down from the sky by the nervous guards, he didn't loiter in the air but directly controlled his heavenly horse to land on the open space before the castle.

One can only say Blackwater Territory is indeed a good place; although the guards didn't recognize him and all frantically raised their spears, soon someone who knew him arrived.

"……uh uh."

Lao Nv Shi had few old acquaintances left in the Royal Capital, so after meeting with Queen Mei Li Er Wang Hou, she told Ji Ming she was going to visit a friend and left Qixia City alone.

Ji Ming then felt that the awkward old lady, although unwilling to say it outright, probably meant this friend was an archbishop, and indeed it turned out to be so.

However, he was smart enough not to point it out, instead feigning shock.

"Ah ya, teacher, how are you here!! (trembling sound)"

Buluowa patted his shoulder and gave a slight smile.

"Alright, if you keep being sarcastic I'll twist your head off."

With Lao Nv Shi leading the way, entering the castle was naturally unimpeded, and he easily met Eleanor.

One can only say that hard work forges a person; in less than two months, Eleanor now is practically a different person compared to before.

First, the young lady's clothes are no longer as delicate and flashy as before; her reddish-brown long hair has no hair ornaments, and her neck and hands bear no jewelry.

Apart from a light-colored cloth flower blooming on her chest, forcibly displaying the princess's broad-mindedness, from head to toe she wears only a simple long shirt and trousers, with hardly any trace of embroidery.

Her manner of doing things also seems more steady than before; sitting upright at the large square table with a serious demeanor gives the feeling of a college student facing finals, studying for compulsory courses.

But looking at her expression, she's probably doing linear algebra…… and is currently tackling a big problem…… and won't…… well, maybe the earlier parts won't either.

But although she's become steadier, upon seeing Ji Ming she still felt a little excited, immediately setting aside her work and walking over.

"Ji Ming? How did you come here, did you come specially to see me?"

Ji Ming had no intention to lie, so he spoke frankly.

"Lately Qixia City has been too lively, I'm a bit unaccustomed, planning to study domestically during summer break, and just happened to pass by your place, so I came."

As a result, Eleanor acted like those players who love to jump the plot for no reason, as if she only heard the last sentence.

She immediately exclaimed excitedly.

"Great! Please have a seat, I'll have the servants bring some drinks."

Well, perhaps because the castle basically has no that many servants, after saying that she hurriedly left the office.

"Tsk."

Seeing this little girl attending to Ji Ming the whole time without paying any attention to herself, Buluowa's face immediately fell.

Gritting his teeth, he simply raised two fingers and gave Ji Ming a double-barreled shotgun finger strike.

Deafening.

"You, you're a disaster! I will definitely advise these girls to stay away from you in the future!"

Ji Ming: "Ah?"

Feeling utterly wronged, Ji Ming hurried to explain.

"What the heck, with conscience of heaven and earth, I am upright in conduct and proper in sitting; in daily life I conduct myself most decently, alright!"

Having said that, he walked toward the sofa in the corner of the room, while using his own 【Holy One's Judgment】 to aim at Eleanor's desk.

One can only say that although Eleanor has already graduated early and started working, she still retains a bit of the college student's characteristic clarity.

For example, this is her office, after all; clearly outsiders have come, yet important documents are still lying out in the open without any concealment!

So he can clearly see that spread out there, worrying her, is a proposal concerning the knight order's equipment procurement.

Alright, let me see what she's researching…… uh, are the Blackwater Knights equipped with M4A1 or AK-47?

???

Well, truly befitting a magic turret that, with a wave of the staff, must blast at least three shots upon raising a hand.

Ji Ming dares to say that if it weren't for the fact that machine guns are indeed not easy to use on horseback, she would probably have prepared……

Then he saw at the bottom of this proposal, although not fully revealed, at least the title reads: "Research and Development Application for a New Heavy Machine Gun and Field Artillery Based on a Draft-Horse Platform."

Good, good, good, truly worthy of you!

Eleanor still handles things efficiently; she didn't keep them waiting long and returned with a pot of tea.

Fortunately she hasn't completely turned stupid; at least she knows to bring three cups back, otherwise if she only brought two, Lao Nv Shi would probably really get angry.

And after sitting down, Eleanor naturally first asked Ji Ming, the party involved, what exactly happened on Mount Luoshen.

Ji Ming has told this story countless times, so he briefly explained to her the matters concerning the Demon Lord and the Purple Lightning God.

"I see, then that's good, as long as nothing's wrong……"

But as Eleanor was hearing this story from the person herself for the first time, she still let out a long sigh after Ji Ming finished speaking.

"Ah, when we first heard about this, my teacher and I were terrified and prepared to rush back to the Royal Capital to try to save you."

"I never expected your luck to be this good—such a big incident occurred, even Zhen Shen intervened, yet you came back completely unharmed."

"To be honest, Ji Ming has heard similar talk countless times in the Royal Capital already."

"Whether they are great nobles or petty gentlemen, whether they are young ladies or young wives."

"Whether they are acquaintances or strangers, known or unknown."

"After he finishes telling the story of Fallen God Peak, he basically runs through this whole set of boilerplate talk."

"After all, saying pleasant things costs nothing—it's just moving one's lips."

"So these are all just pleasantries; people say them offhand, so you really shouldn't believe them."

"But Ji Ming believed what Eleanor said—after all, he could be considered half her teacher, and he understood what she was thinking."

"So in response, he asked Eleanor what had happened to her over the past two months."

"Who would have thought it would turn out like this—perhaps because there really aren't any peers around her, and indeed a lot has happened in the past two months."

"Oh dear, you have no idea—I felt like I was almost going to die on the road."

"As soon as Eleanor opened her mouth to complain, the floodgates of chatter couldn't be shut."

"Only then did Ji Ming realize that, although Eleanor had set off looking splendid,"

"the king himself saw her off, and Prince Philip (who is indeed a respectable person) saw her off as well, but afterward things were not smooth at all."

"There's nothing to be done—life is long and arduous; if we liken life to a game, Eleanor's choice to strive for and accept the title of "princess" is like playing peacefully on easy mode, then idly switching to nightmare difficulty for no reason."

"Even after suffering a major setback in the Royal Capital, the anti-Changge forces at home and abroad won't let up; they'll only become more frenzied in stopping her from growing stronger."

"Moreover, although they still dare not openly pluck the Sun King's tiger whiskers, they brazenly assassinate a newly appointed princess on her way to take office."

"But in secret, they still have the nerve—and plenty of it—to sabotage and interfere with Eleanor's work."

"Thus, from the moment Eleanor's convoy left the capital region, trouble has been constant all along the way."

"Putting it mildly, the places where they lodged would suddenly lose water, and in the middle of the night some unknown animal would always be making a ruckus nearby."

"Putting it bluntly, large bands of mountain bandits would appear to rob the road, or there would be 1,145,140 old men and women lying on the ground shouting, "She hit me!""

"However, the archbishop has seen plenty of these petty tricks; upon seeing injustice, he just whacks them with his staff and that's the end of it."

"So the boss who deliberately smashed the pipes was handed over to the lord's manor, and the howling hound tied up nearby became breakfast the next day."

"The bandits who had been raving just a second earlier now hated that their parents hadn't given them two more legs; the person was captured at noon, and the sunshine doll was hung up in the afternoon."

"As for those coming to extort…"

"A certain nearly-thousand-year-old old succubus said, "What's up, you're just old people—if you don't leave, I'll say I'm having heart pain!""

"Under the protection of all the archbishops, Eleanor's journey was relatively safe and uneventful, and her convoy smoothly arrived at Blackwater Territory."

"But for Eleanor, this road to taking office could at most be counted as the first level."

"And here comes the Vanguard Tiger right away."

"No sooner had she arrived in Blackwater Territory than the surrounding nobles set up a scheme, claiming to welcome the princess with a feast, but in fact they were just finding ways to slight her."

"One moment they'd talk about how the Changge Marquis is this or that, the next about how the Dream Spring Princess is this or that—basically they'd poke wherever the young girl felt sore, just wanting her to embarrass herself in public."

"As for why this bunch of petty nobles, as insignificant as sesame seeds and mung beans, dare act so arrogantly, it's because although the combined Blackwater Territory isn't small in area, its geographical location is terribly disadvantageous."

"Even aside from the abundance of bad land, it's tucked away in the southeastern corner, bordering the sea, a remote part of the kingdom—truly a faraway place like an otherworldly Ningguta, where the heavens are high and the emperor far away."

"——Heh heh heh, without the protection of your grandparents, can you little girl even overturn the heavens?"

"Anyway, that whatever archbishop left midway due to some business, so everyone hurried to seize the opportunity to boost their performance!"

"Tenisi: "Good, splendid!""

"Who would have thought this was all just the archbishop deliberately fishing? And the old lady clearly set up a straight hook with salty bait, yet still managed to reel in a burst of protection—what a hoot!"

"And under her kindly "advice," everyone's morality naturally rose steadily, and in a flash they all turned into very good people."

"Now their speech lacks any odd tone, their smiles are bright, and even the speed at which they disperse after the meeting has increased considerably."

"As for what comes next, it's simple: when this group of nobles, prompted by others and harboring ulterior motives, were preparing to launch a second wave of attack, Old Changge arrived."

"They provided Eleanor with more startup funds, enabling her to simultaneously build a knightly order and extensively renovate the territory's basic infrastructure, thereby boosting her prestige and governing power."

"And Eleanor also knew how to sacrifice, selling all the gold, silver, jewelry, and expensive garments she had accumulated over the past twenty years, then going all‑in."

"This move brought tears to the eyes of the elders who once followed the Changge Marquis, who exclaimed in unison, "The marquis has virtue! The miss is so wise—we old folks have no regrets in this life!"

"Thus, using commercial means to strangle Blackwater Territory, the plot to make Princess Eleanor go bankrupt quickly was itself thwarted."

"But as everyone knows, the villains' greatest advantage is their ability to act on their words and their inexhaustible resolve; thus, after reflecting on their pain, they immediately combined their existing strengths with the current situation and iterated a new tactic."

"However, just as they were preparing to find various excuses, blow up bridges, block roads, hire brigands, and impose the strictest material embargo on Blackwater Territory, the Pioneers arrived."

……

"Alright, let me guess—do you think the players will use their one‑cubic‑meter backpacks to man‑haul supplies into Blackwater Territory?"

"Ha, too slow, too slow—we're players, after all, and we have our own version of the answer!"

"——Exactly, just buy a few more pack horses, form larger convoys, and boldly ship the goods in!"

"What? You say the road ahead is cut off, the bridge collapsed?"

"How did the logistics crew mess up? Immediately summon the earth‑moving celestial master to come and reattach this leg for me!"

"Anyway, with the combat training camp granting an instant twenty levels, the players' constructions, backed by many mages, can be erected faster than the lords can tear them down."

"What? You say there are bandits blocking the road ahead, evil men obstructing the way?"

"Unacceptable! This is the eastern part of the Hui Guang Kingdom—acting recklessly here means they're no ordinary thugs; we must bring out heavy force!"

"Damn it, watch me send in the tanks and blast every one of them to smithereens!"