Chapter 118. The New Territory of Silver Island. ...
"Understood!"
The sailors who had followed Huang Dong scattered to investigate. Some carried knives, some harpoons, and others used whatever was available, such as wooden sticks.
Soon, one of the former construction team members who stayed behind was astonished to discover that... they were fine even without weapons.
This village—though called a village, it actually consisted of only a dozen or so indigenous families—who were exceptionally poor and weak, pale and thin, chattering incoherently, unable to offer even a token resistance. Aside from traces of fishing nets and cooking over fires, there were few other signs of daily life in the village; these indigenous people didn't even know how to farm.
"Give them the pickles, bean sprouts, and rice," Huang Dong instructed, still amazed.
The men jumped back into the water and returned to the boat. This time, they could row their small boat across openly.
The small boat was loaded with heavy wooden barrels: one barrel of flour, one barrel of pickles, one barrel of dried soybeans, one barrel of fresh water, and several large basins of bean sprouts. These were some of the supplies the sailors had prepared for their voyage at sea.
A good beating followed by a sweet treat... that's more than enough.
The brothers Li Shui and Li Wudu worked together seamlessly, one kneading the dough and the other boiling the water. The men then took their bows and went hunting in the forest.
Once the aroma of Granny Ma's pickled vegetable soup and the sizzling sound of dripping oil from roasted rabbit meat filled the village, the natives swallowed hard, their eyes glued to the food: "...!"
"Come on, eat, one at a time." Salt Cloth scolded them to keep order, then stuffed bowls of rice into their hands, making sure the impatient natives wouldn't fight or scramble for it, before sitting back down by the fire to catch his breath and continuing to watch.
Fragrant flatbreads and flavorful pickles, juicy roasted meat, crisp bean sprouts, and a hearty bowl of rice and beans. If you're still not full, there's also pickle soup.
Such a meal was common for the sailors, and was even somewhat rough and simple, but the natives ate it ravenously, like starving ghosts reincarnated. Some ate while crying, while others knelt down and said something. The scene was very chaotic.
"I can't imagine what kind of life they used to live..." Yanbu sighed.
He grew up in Lingnan and had a life of hunger and insecurity since childhood. But when he was checking around just now, he saw that the homes of the locals were empty except for salted fish and seafood hanging outside the houses and wild vegetables drying in the sun.
Every household does this, without any meat. Even the wealthiest family only has an extra pot of wild mushrooms.
—This is even worse than the lives of people from Lingnan!
While they were cooking over a fire, Huang Dong was busy leading several skillful women and men to make flags.
Wild vegetable roots gathered locally were crushed and ground into green pigment, which Huang Dong, the most skilled painter, personally painted onto the cloth that Prince Rui had brought. Finally, the cloth was tied to a flagpole carved by others, erected high, and reinforced at the base with mud and stones.
Once this was done, Huang Dong gathered most of the sailors in front of the flag: "Come here, all of you."
He cleared his throat and carefully unfolded the warrant he kept close to his body: "Prince Rui has ordered—"
Upon seeing this, everyone knelt down with a clatter, bowing their heads reverently and awaiting orders.
Just as Huang Dong was about to read, he saw the natives who had been eating frantically with their heads down staring at the flag and their actions. One by one, they stood up and obediently knelt behind the sailors, their expressions extremely devout and fanatical.
"..." Huang Dong's expression shifted slightly.
Is it even possible to understand what they are doing?
There must be a larger concept of power on this island.
Huang Dong stopped thinking about it; these things were already part of his plan. He unfolded the book and read aloud:
"One day, I dreamt of a divine being who bestowed upon me a bountiful and beautiful land, named Silver Island Prefecture, and sent people to secure its borders. I hope you will govern it well, quell disasters and restore order, to soothe my heart!"
'What's the meaning? '
Li Shui was sweating profusely with anxiety. He wanted to ask someone else, but he didn't dare to speak up in such a serious and solemn situation.
Many people shared his doubts, or rather, apart from Huang Dong and his servant and two craftsmen, no one could understand the order that Huang Dong had polished for His Highness.
"Ahem... Next, I'll explain His Highness's intentions to everyone." Huang Dong, without changing his expression, put away the warrant and began to speak in plain language.
He knew from the beginning that reading the order aloud was like talking to a deaf person; he couldn't leave it unexplained. But he still insisted on reading the original text aloud—it was the proper protocol for His Highness! Even if he was the only one who could understand it, he had to read it aloud.
"...Our Prince Rui was born with extraordinary abilities; he can communicate with the heavens in his dreams! One day he dreamed of this island, which is a special fiefdom bestowed upon him by the heavens because they saw that the prince was suffering! That's why they sent us here to govern it. Whether it's becoming an official, a minister, or being granted a title or rank, it's all up to us!"
The crowd below stirred at Huang Dong's words, their blood boiling with excitement, yet they were at a loss for words, unsure of what to say.
"Your Highness is mighty! This humble subject obeys!" The craftsman who had come along was the most knowledgeable, shouting with a beaming face. Seeing this, the other sailors joined in the shout:
"—Your Highness Prince Rui is mighty! This humble subject obeys!"
When they shouted it for the third time, some of the locals imitated them, chanting strange syllables and mimicking half of the phrase: "...Lord Ruwan is mighty!"
Huang Dong calmed down and gazed into the distance.
The most important task is now complete; all that's left is to wait for the scouts to return.
About an hour later—it was late at night, and Huang Dong was getting anxious when the people who had gone out finally returned.
The leader of the spies was named Li Fuqing.
Just from his name, you can tell he's not from Lingnan. He's a descendant of a disgraced official who was exiled. By his generation, he was eligible to take the imperial examinations again, and Li Fuqing's greatest wish was to rise above his circumstances once more. However, his family was wiped out last year by a devastating hurricane, leaving them destitute and nearly dying of illness and starvation. How could they possibly have any hope of taking the imperial examinations?
After a while, the person was rescued and taken to a seaside village. It was like a windfall; he suddenly became Prince Rui's subordinate!
He was the most knowledgeable and driven among the sailors, and he seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to climb the ranks.
Li Fuqing, carrying a bow and arrows on his back, with two birds tied to the rope, and his pockets bulging with what looked like wild fruits or chestnuts, stood before Huang Dong with five or six scouts and reported: "Sir, we climbed to the top of the mountain and checked it out. This should be the only village in the vicinity. There are no lights anywhere else, and no trace of anyone passing by or making their way out."
The rest can only be discussed during the day, as it is too dark at night and visibility is limited, making it impossible to investigate many things.
"Understood. Continue the investigation tomorrow, including communicating with this group. We must find the mineral vein His Highness desires." Huang Dong carefully beckoned a man over and asked him to tell the group of people who had gone out to investigate what had just happened.
Next... we await His Highness's reply.
...
Qi Chengming, who had just woken up in the morning, stared blankly at the canopy above him and hissed.
He felt as if he were sealed by the blanket; his hands, feet, and everything else were so heavy and unresponsive that moving was extremely difficult. Especially his fingers—
Qi Chengming looked down and found that his hands and feet were completely wrapped in silk.
he:"?"
He's turned into a bandaged man? A mummy?
What shocked Qi Chengming even more than this was that he had his wounds bandaged and treated without any memory of it while he was asleep. The feeling was strange; Qi Chengming didn't know how to describe it, and was even a little frightened.
—Even after he came to ancient times and became a prince, he still did most things himself. It was already the limit for him to accept help from palace maids and eunuchs to comb his hair and wash up. He did all the more private things like bathing, using the toilet, and working in his study by himself.
He instinctively feels awkward when others take the initiative to get too close to him.
And now there's another problem...
Qi Chengming realized with alarm that he seemed unable to do anything.
"Xiao Dezi!" he called out irritably, beckoning him inside.
Xiao Dezi responded and came over. He pushed open the door with concern and asked a series of questions: "Your Highness? Is there anything else that's bothering you? You were asleep last night, and Gan Tang only treated your sores. She couldn't massage your legs to relieve the discomfort."
"It's alright, give me a massage later." Qi Chengming offered his hands, eagerly saying, "I just went to work, I'm not seriously injured, take these off."
"Yes." Xiao Dezi obediently did as he was told. He went out and borrowed a small pair of gold scissors from a palace maid in the corridor.
Qi Chengming pondered as he waited for his personal eunuch to handle the matter.
He roughly guessed what had happened.
Picking out sores means picking out blisters, right?
They bandaged him up at night to prevent the medicine from getting onto the bed while he was asleep, or from rubbing his wound against something. Now that he's awake and his body's healing abilities have mostly kicked in, there's no need for that anymore.
But then again...
Qi Chengming moved his fingers, his expression somewhat strange.
He carefully examined the condition of his hands and feet. The areas where blisters had been were no longer painful, which might explain why he hadn't noticed them yesterday.
Qi Chengming silently opened the infrastructure system and took a look.
Health dropped by 0.1.
"...?" Are you serious?
In other words, regardless of any pain or symptoms he shows on the outside, his internal organs are actually undamaged; the damage is determined by the amount of blood lost. Even if he leaves the blisters unattended, he'll be fine. Given his recovery ability, he'll be fully healed in three to five days.
Why are his muscles so sore? Is it like before, where he gets out of breath after running or exercising for a while, and this kind of simple fatigue doesn't count towards his health bar?
Qi Chengming was completely baffled, so he could only write it down as always.
"Alright, Your Highness." Xiao Dezi carried a tray to clean up the mess and began to call for people to wash up.
Qi Chengming then shifted the focus: "I want to eat Mao Xue Wang for lunch today. Have Eunuch Zhang make it. You can use the spices listed on the hot pot seasoning sticks. I want rice, not millet or multigrain rice."
He's alright, but Bai Xuan will probably cry and cuddle in his wife's arms as soon as he gets back. We won't be having Bai Xuan for today's Maoxuewang with rice!
"Okay," Xiao Dezi readily agreed and carefully wrote it down.
He can now distinguish that the millet rice His Highness mentioned refers to millet rice, while regular rice is rice. He wonders if His Highness has been eating whatever is available in the palace and has developed a fondness for single-grain rice.
Qi Chengming then noticed that the map in the infrastructure system was flashing—
On a very distant island, a light shone, and the words "[Silver Island Prefecture]" were already marked on it.
Qi Chengming: "...!!"
The plan succeeded!!!
He designated the island overseas with silver mines as part of his fiefdom, naming it Silver Island as it should be. It was a prefecture under his control, similar to Liuzhou Prefecture and Wuling Prefecture.
Qi Chengming didn't look at anything else; he first checked off the colorful, overlapping map, leaving only the mineral deposits. Instantly, a huge shadow blinded him.
The silver mine location is in hand!
Moreover, judging by appearances, this place is not far from a gathering place of about a hundred people on the beach of Silver Island.
Qi Chengming was overjoyed, feeling reassured—it seemed Mr. Huang and the others would soon bring good news!
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Author's Note: Although the name isn't very good, I'm terrible at coming up with names, cough cough, that's it! Now it's time to mine—
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