Feeling quite relieved, Liu Lingzun dismounted and walked into the council hall, his cheerful expression suggesting that his injustice had been redressed.

"Miss Jin! I chased that beast Huangfu Rong onto the ice! Hahaha, it'll probably take him a while to get out! But don't worry, I didn't lay a finger on him, but judging from how he ran away like that, he probably fell pretty hard!"

Jin Shu could tell he was relieved, and said with a smile, "It's good that you're relieved."

"Miss Jin, what should we do now? The Great Zhou brought a lot of good things this time, perhaps..."

“Well, we won’t rob them, we’ll just pick them up. How many weapons did they lose along the way? And so many horses. In this cold weather, the horses will surely freeze to death if they get lost. Let’s do a good deed and help them bring their horses back.”

The Great Zhou came with the intention of deterrence, and also to demonstrate its powerful national strength.

The new emperor's first battle after taking the throne must be won spectacularly.

Therefore, Huangfu Rong also brought a lot of warhorses and even equipped himself with three cavalry units.

Unfortunately, when their horses stood next to Jin Shu's horses, they were noticeably smaller. When the two horses stood together, the Great Zhou's warhorse looked like a dwarf with short legs and a big belly.

A small horse is naturally afraid of a large horse; if the horse beneath it panics, the rider on its back will naturally become frightened as well.

Thus, the three cavalry units were the first to be defeated, abandoning many horses in their escape.

Jin Shu had already sent people to wait nearby and pick up the scraps.

Regardless, horses are still a valuable commodity in this era. Even if Jin Shu doesn't value them, other countries shouldn't be allowed to benefit from them.

And so, after the war, the biggest beneficiary became Jin Shu.

“Miss Jin, we have now established a country, and it won’t do to be without a national name for so long. Last time I went to negotiate with the two rulers of Qi and Yuan, they asked me for a national name, and I had to make one up on the spot.”

If you really can't think of anything, then how about we just call you Jin (金)?

Big gold.

It sounds auspicious.

Jin Shu shook her head.

“Let’s not call it Jin. That’s not a good name for our country. Let’s change it. We’re establishing our country in the northern frontier, so let’s call it the Northern Kingdom.”

"Isn't this a bit hasty?"

Jin Shu waved her hand and said casually.

Whether or not we can casually look at how future generations evaluate us is not something we can decide.

And so, the name of the country was decided so hastily.

After this battle, Jin Shu clearly felt much more refreshed. The physical bottleneck that she had been unable to break through before was easily overcome one day after the battle. Her luck also improved a lot, as she used to have to be careful not to get cold water stuck in her teeth.

The first batch of foals born at the horse farm turned out to be all black-bodied, white-hoofed Tayun horses, the most widely known and famous horse breed in northern Xinjiang. They are loved by various countries in northern Xinjiang for their high endurance, speed, and intelligence.

When it comes to the finest horses in the world, look to the northern frontier; when it comes to the finest horses in the northern frontier, look to Mongolia; and the Mongolian people's favorite horse is the Cloud-Treading Horse.

This breed of horse is so precious and rare that it makes up 60% of the foals born in this batch.

At first, Jin Shu's eyes were shining brightly as she delivered the baby, and the horse-raising experts who were helping her were shouting excitedly, as if they were even happier than if their own wives had given birth.

But as more and more Cloud-Stepping Horses were born, Jin Shu became used to it. Even the person who couldn't help but shed tears when she first saw a Cloud-Stepping Horse couldn't help but wonder.

"Did we stir up trouble for the Cloud-Stepping Horse? Strange, there isn't a single mixed-color one!"

For the first time, Jin Shu experienced the power of the original owner's "profound blessings".

If it weren't for Huangfu Rong, the original owner of this body would have been born to enjoy a life of luxury, and her life would have been smooth sailing and carefree.

It's a pity that the original owner, who could have lived a good life by choosing anyone on the street with her eyes closed, chose the man she should never have gotten close to.

The male lead is a villainous female supporting character who gets cursed no matter which woman gets close to him.

After all, he is the female lead's exclusive man.

Of course, the original owner's good fortune didn't stop there. Before this batch of snow pony had even opened their eyes, more good news came from the other side.

"Miss Jin! What wonderful news! Seven small kingdoms in the northern frontier have come to pledge their allegiance to us, willingly joining us and submitting to our rule!"

Jin Shu was vaccinating her newborn foal when she heard the news. She didn't show much emotion, but simply gave calm instructions.

"Accelerate the construction of surrounding houses to provide good housing and land for the newly joined people. Also, it is smart of them to join on their own initiative. Send people to deliver 300,000 catties of coal to help them get through this last cold period."

After the seven kingdoms submitted to her, Jin Shu was not a stingy person. She was generous with the benefits she deserved, sending them hundreds of thousands of kilograms of coal and also providing them with food.

These small countries, accustomed to the hardships of frugal living and hunger in the northern frontier, had never seen so many good things before.

He couldn't wait to join the Northern Kingdom, and didn't want to waste a single moment.

News of the seven kingdoms' invasion of the north quickly spread throughout the entire northern frontier.

Some powerful states in the northern border regions naturally disdained such a thing, after all, there was no way to be as carefree and domineering as to bow down to others.

But other small neighboring countries are also tempted.

Since there aren't many people anyway, instead of huddling together and living a miserable life, it's better to go and join a powerful country and live a good life!

Before the weather warmed up, thirteen countries successfully merged into the Northern Kingdom, rapidly transforming the newly established Northern Kingdom into one of the three major powers in the northern frontier, on par with Mongolia and Jin.

As the territory expanded, under the arrangement of his former confidants, the palace belonging to the Northern Kingdom rose from the ground in just two months, becoming the most dazzling and magnificent building on the northern frontier.

Among the refugees taken in by Jin Shu back then were artisan families who had fled the plague from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Due to the resurgence of the plague in the city, these artisan families had no choice but to abandon their hometowns where they had lived for decades and come to the northern border in order to protect themselves.

At that time, the northern frontier avoided these refugees fleeing the epidemic. Initially, even the Right Chancellor did not agree to take in the refugees, since if the epidemic were to spread to the north, it would quickly corrupt the entire country in a short period of time.

But in the end, Jin Shu decided to take in the refugees and accept all who came.

However, the prerequisite was that these refugees had to sign and seal their names before entering the city gates, swearing in the name of their descendants and family members that once they entered the gates of the Northern Kingdom, they would be forever loyal to the Northern Kingdom and would never return to Zhou.

This kind of poison is something most people wouldn't dare to disobey.

After pressing your handprint, there is another procedure to enter the gate: drink a bowl of hot sweet soup, then stay in the temporary living area for seven days. Those who are safe and sound after seven days can enter the northern territory.

Two months have passed, and those who were initially dissatisfied and panicked by Jin Shu's decision have all fallen silent.

Because Jin Shu kept her word.

She said.

"Anyone who enters my northern kingdom will not die easily; I will protect him."