The victory in the southern campaign, along with the influx of massive resources and people, brought the empire's national strength to a whole new peak.

Amidst the revelry of this grand feast, the "graduation" trials that Lin Feng had meticulously prepared for his sons officially began.

He divided the newly conquered "Southern Province" into dozens of regions, and then, like granting fiefdoms, assigned these regions as "testing grounds" to his princes who were already ten years old or about to come of age.

“You will represent me and go to your respective fiefdoms to govern for a period of three years.”

At an internal royal meeting, Lin Feng announced his decision to his dozen or so spirited sons, each with a different look in their eyes.

"I will not read your reports, nor will I listen to your explanations. I only care about one result—three years from now, whose fiefdom will generate the highest value for the empire, whose rule will be the most stable, and whose methods will satisfy me the most? That person will get the highest score in this game of succession."

“Value includes, but is not limited to: the amount of minerals extracted, the harvest of food, the total amount of taxes paid, and... the quantity and quality of ‘labor’ and ‘female resources’ contributed.”

"Remember, you are not going there to be benevolent lords, you are going there to be overseers and ranchers of the empire! Your people are the property of the empire! Your mission is to use every means to squeeze the value of this property to the extreme!"

Lin Feng's words were like thunderclaps, exploding in the hearts of every prince.

They knew that what appeared to be a test of "governance" was actually a competition to see who was more ruthless, more merciless, and more adept at "exploitation."

This is their "graduation exam." A good score will bring them one step closer to that supreme throne.

If you don't do well on the exam, you might be completely eliminated and become just a footnote in the history of the empire.

The eldest prince, Lin Tianyou, was assigned to the most fertile plains region of the Red River Delta. This area was densely populated and agriculturally developed, but it was also the place where resistance was most intense.

The second prince, Lin Tianwu, was assigned to the "Blackwater Islands," the most chaotic part of the "Hundred Islands Alliance," comprised of hundreds of pirate islands. The people there were fierce and unruly, with no order whatsoever, and bloody feuds taking place daily.

The third prince, Lin Tianxin, was assigned to the most inconspicuous and barren land—the "Baiyue Mountains," located in the western mountainous region of the "Red River Kingdom." There, the mountains were high and the forests dense, transportation was inconvenient, mineral resources were scarce, and some of the most primitive and isolated mountain tribes lived.

This enfeoffment was filled with Lin Feng's malice and scheming.

He gave the most lucrative, and also the most difficult, task to the eldest prince, who was on whom the civil service placed high hopes.

He gave the most chaotic place, the place most suitable for using force, to the second prince, who was supported by the military.

The most neglected third prince was thrown into a barren land with almost no "value".

The other princes were also assigned to different areas based on their individual characteristics.

A competition between princes, wagered on the blood, tears, and lives of millions of slaves, has officially begun.

...

Inside the temporary governor's mansion of the eldest prince, Lin Tianyou, in the "Red River Province".

Lin Tianyou, only fourteen years old, had already shed his childishness. He was dressed in a tailor-made black robe embroidered with golden dragon patterns, and sat upright in the main seat.

Below him was a large advisory group carefully selected for him by Imperial Noble Consort Xihuang, Su Qinghe, consisting of dozens of the empire's top political officials, economists, and legal experts.

“Your Highness, based on our survey of this area, although it is prosperous, the people’s hearts are not with us. Those ‘Red River’ remnants appear compliant, but secretly still believe in their fallen king. If we forcibly implement repressive policies, it may incite a popular uprising and affect production,” an elderly minister with white hair said respectfully.

After listening, Lin Tianyou's youthful face revealed a deep thoughtfulness that was incongruous with his age.

He didn't answer immediately, but instead flipped through the reports in his hands.

After a long silence, he spoke slowly, his voice clear and firm: "I understand the concerns of you gentlemen. What Father Emperor wants is value. Therefore, we cannot rely solely on the whip."

"Your Highness is wise!" the members of the advisory group echoed.

“However,” Lin Tianyou’s tone shifted, his eyes sharpening, “a one-sided appeasement is not what Father Emperor wants to see. Therefore, my strategy is—divide and conquer, and offer incentives.”

He stood up, walked to the huge map, and pointed to the densely packed villages on it.

"First, implement the 'Good Citizen Certificate' system. Families that actively report or expose remnants of the previous dynasty and cooperate with imperial policies can obtain a 'Good Citizen Certificate'. Families with this certificate will have their tax rate halved, and their children will be eligible to enter the 'Enlightenment Schools' run by the empire. Those without this certificate will be of 'low social status', with their tax rate doubled, and they will never be able to change their status."

"Second, establish 'meritorious lands.' Take the land of those executed rebels and make it public, then reward it to the 'good citizens' who serve the empire most actively. Let them become landlords and oppress their own compatriots. We want the 'Red River people' to fight against the 'Red River people.'"

"Third, promote the 'imperial lifestyle.' Import large quantities of cheap and novel goods from the empire itself. Soap, candy, cloth, radios... Let their young people become addicted to the material civilization of the empire, and let them take pride in wearing imperial clothes and speaking the imperial language. Culturally, castrate their roots."

"The carrot and the stick. Divide and corrupt. I want the people of this land to tear each other apart over a single bone we've left behind. That way, they'll have no strength left to resist us."

After Lin Tianyou finished speaking, the entire governor's mansion fell into a deathly silence.

All the members of the advisory group looked at the fourteen-year-old prince with the eyes of someone looking at a monster.

His methods were more sophisticated and vicious than those of the old foxes who had been navigating the officialdom for decades.

They seemed to have already foreseen that in the future, the entire "Red River Plain" would be transformed into a massive battlefield of human conflict under the Crown Prince's "benevolent rule."

The "value" of the empire will be continuously extracted from their mutual infighting.

...

On the deck of the "Tyrant," the flagship of the Second Prince Lin Tianwu, in the "Blackwater Islands."

Thirteen-year-old Lin Tianwu was shirtless, his bronze skin covered with scars.

He held a specially made chainsaw axe that was taller than himself, and under his feet stood the corpse of a pirate captain that he had just cleaved in two.

Blood stained the deck red.

Surrounding him were hundreds of equally fierce-looking special forces soldiers from the military and private soldiers sent by the Murong family.

"Your Highness is mighty!"

The soldiers erupted in a thunderous cheer.

Lin Tianwu hoisted the giant axe onto his shoulder, wiped the blood from his face, and roared like a wild beast at the trembling, captured pirates below:

"Listen up, you bunch of trash!"

"From this day forward, I, Lin Tianwu, am the sole king of these 'Blackwater Islands'!"

"I don't care which gang you were from or which evil god you worshipped! Now, you only have two choices!"

"Either become my dog! Go and tear apart the other disobedient dogs! Take their territory, their ships, their women! We'll split everything we take 70/30, I get 70%, you get 30%!"

"Either you die like him!" Lin Tianwu kicked the corpse at his feet into the sea, feeding it to the sharks. "Now, die!"

His governance style was extremely simple and brutal—that is, to use violence to control violence and to nurture bandits to enhance his own power.

He had no intention of establishing any order on this chaotic archipelago.

What he wants to do is become the chaos itself.

He personally led his most elite troops to challenge all the renowned pirate kings of the archipelago in the bloodiest way.

Once they've won them over, they'll recruit them into their own "Royal Pirate Crew."

Those who disagree, we will kill them all, rob them all, and burn them all.

In just a few months, Lin Tianwu unified the "Blackwater Islands" with blood and fire.

He brought all the pirates under his command.

Then, he led this massive "pirate fleet" and began a frenzied plundering of the surrounding shipping lanes.

Whether it was a merchant ship of the empire or a smuggling ship of other civilizations, as long as they passed through the "Blackwater Islands," they had to pay a hefty "protection fee."

Those who resist will be killed, along with their boats.

Lin Tianwu's methods terrified the advisory group sent by Murong Yan.

“Your Highness, while this may allow you to amass wealth quickly, it is... a blatant disruption of the Empire’s trade order, which may incur the displeasure of His Majesty and other departments,” an advisor cautiously advised.

Lin Tianwu cleaved a nearby mast in two with a single axe stroke.

“Dissatisfied?” he sneered. “What Father Emperor wants is results! Value! Every year, I can contribute ten times more gold and rare metals to him than my brothers! Why should he be dissatisfied?”

"As for order? Hmph, I am order! On this sea, my word is the only law!"

...

Inside the tent of the Third Prince Lin Tianxin in the "Baiyue Mountains".

Compared to the extremely luxurious governor's mansion and flagship of his two elder brothers, Lin Tianxin's "temporary palace" appeared exceptionally simple.

He did not bring any advisory group, only a personal guard of one hundred retired veterans arranged for him by Queen Su Wanqing.

At this moment, he was sitting at a small folding table, reading a thick book about "local plant illustrations" by the light of an energy lamp.

His personal guard captain, a one-eyed man known as "Old Scar," walked in.

“Your Highness, we’ve been here for three months now. Every day, besides reading, we just wander around in this godforsaken mountain. We haven’t created any of the ‘value’ His Majesty wants. If this continues, you’ll be at the bottom of His Majesty’s evaluation.” Old Scar said anxiously.

Lin Tianxin put down her book, looked up, and gave a calm smile: "Uncle Scar, don't worry. There are many kinds of value. Minerals have value, food has value. But sometimes, 'people' themselves are the greatest value."

"Humans?" Old Scar asked, puzzled. "The people living here are a bunch of savages who eat raw meat and drink blood. They can't even speak the Imperial language. What value could they have? They wouldn't even be worth selling as slaves. They're too skinny."

“They are savages, but they are not fools.” Lin Tianxin stood up, walked to the tent entrance, lifted the curtain, and looked at the dark green, cloud-shrouded mountains in the distance.

“Over the past three months, I have traveled to every mountain here and visited thirty-seven tribes. I have discovered that although they are poor, they have something that we do not have.”

"What is that?"

“Faith. And the wisdom of survival that is integrated with these mountains and forests,” Lin Tianxin said.

"They worship the mountain god and believe that all things have spirits. They are familiar with every plant and tree here, and know which plants can cure diseases and which poisonous insects can kill. They can move swiftly through the dense forests where even our most elite scouts are helpless."

Old Scar still didn't understand: "But... what's the use of this?"

“It’s incredibly useful.” A glint of wisdom flashed in Lin Tianxin’s eyes.

“Uncle Scar, take a team of men to the ‘Red River Plain’ and use the money I gave you to buy a batch of the cheapest grain, salt, and cloth.”

"Then, we will visit those tribes. We will not talk to them about the laws of the empire, nor will we ask them for taxes. We will only be their friends."

“We traded food and salt for their trust. We asked their witch doctors to teach us about the herbs here. We asked their bravest hunters to teach our soldiers how to survive in the jungle.”

"What I want to do is not to exploit them, but to win them over."

Old Scar nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite. Although he didn't know what the young prince was up to, he chose to believe him unconditionally.

In the following months, the third prince, Lin Tianxin, became the most popular person in the "Baiyue Mountains".

Unlike other imperial rulers, he was not aloof and superior.

He wore the same coarse cloth clothes as the mountain people, ate the wild game they roasted, and even learned their difficult dialect.

The grain and salt he brought solved the food problem for many tribes. He used the medicines brought by the empire to cure the diseases of many mountain people.

Gradually, the mountain people stopped seeing him as a conqueror and instead regarded him as "an envoy sent by the mountain god".

They began to proactively pass on to him all the secrets about the jungle that had been passed down through generations in their tribe.

How to make the strongest rope from vines.

How to build the most concealed outpost using bamboo.

How to distinguish the enemy's tracks from hundreds of scents.

Some tribal shamans even showed him how to use the poisonous miasma and insects in the mountains to create the most deadly weapons.

Lin Tianxin, like a dried-up sponge, frantically absorbed this "primitive wisdom" that was despised by the mainstream technology of the empire.

He didn't mine a single ore, nor did he hand over a single grain of food.

But silently, he forged the prototype of a most terrifying army, unique in the entire empire.

An army of jungle kings, capable of turning the vast rainforests of Southeast Asia into their home ground.

At this moment, Lin Feng was sitting in the Nine Heavens Moon-Embracing Palace, watching his sons submit their first "quarterly report".

The eldest prince's tax revenue and grain production steadily increased, but the conflict between "good citizens" and "lowly citizens" also began to emerge.

The second prince handed over an astonishing amount of gold and spoils of war, but the Imperial Censorate also received a mountain of impeachment memorials accusing him of "disrupting trade."

The Third Prince's data is all zero. There is only one accompanying report, hundreds of pages long, on "The Folk Customs and Herbal Medicine of the Baiyue Mountain Tribes".

Lin Feng looked at the Third Prince's report and remained silent for a long time.

For the first time, a hint of admiration and... wariness flashed in his all-seeing golden eyes, a hint he himself was unaware of.

He knew that of all his sons, the one most like him was neither the scheming eldest nor the violent second.

Instead, it was the third brother who knew how to wait the longest and plan in the most inconspicuous way.

This "graduation trial" is getting more and more interesting.