The stark contrast between the fact that a county was comparable to a country filled Chen Qingwan with immense shame and anger.
She was initially hesitant about killing Lu Yan to vent her hatred.
We should try to recruit him to our side.
But now, the scales in her heart have completely tipped.
She must have Lu Yan, and his immense wealth.
We must acquire his extraordinary talent for governing the region, no matter what method we use!
Qiao'er couldn't help but swallow hard.
Just then, an untimely voice suddenly rang out.
"Lord Lu, your generosity is truly admirable!"
"However, there is one thing I do not understand, and I would like to ask for your guidance, sir."
The speaker was a thin official with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face.
His name was Wang Mazi, and he was the head of the household registration office in Shannan County.
Lu Yan glanced at him and said calmly:
"What instructions does Registrar Wang have?"
Wang Mazi cupped his hands in a sarcastic tone and said:
"My lord, if I may be so bold as to ask, where did you get this more than one million taels of silver?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the square fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Yan.
Clearly, Wang Mazi's question was also on the minds of many people present.
Lu Yan smiled slightly and said calmly:
"Registrar Wang, that's a good question!"
"My money is naturally obtained through legitimate means. For example..."
He paused deliberately, whetting everyone's appetite, before slowly saying:
"Selling perfume, selling soap, selling milk tea, selling cement..."
With each product name he mentioned, Wang Mazi's expression grew increasingly grim.
These products are all new gadgets that Lu Yan created in Shannan County.
Moreover, they all sold extremely well, making a fortune.
As the head of the household registration office, Wang Mazi naturally knew how high the profit margins were for these goods.
He originally thought that Lu Yan would embezzle a portion of the profits and line his own pocket.
But to his utter surprise, Lu Yan used all the profits to reward the soldiers!
This shocked him, made him jealous, and even made him feel a little scared.
Wang Mazi's face looked worse than if he had swallowed a fly.
He originally intended to use the reward for the soldiers as an excuse to accuse Lu Yan of embezzlement.
Who would have thought that this guy would actually give away all the money he earned!
It's like a carefully laid trap, and you just step right into it. The feeling is... well, you get the taste of it!
Lu Yan looked at Wang Mazi's multicolored face and felt secretly pleased.
However, he remained expressionless and continued:
"Besides perfume, soap, milk tea, and cement, there are also mirrors, printing technology... These are all ways for me to make money."
"Oh, right, and that new chili sauce they just released recently, that stuff is ridiculously profitable!"
With each word he uttered, Wang Mazi's face turned greener, as if he had swallowed a live toad.
He knew all these things, and even secretly bought quite a few.
Especially that chili sauce, his wife can eat half a bottle in one meal!
Looking back now, wasn't this just giving money to Lu Yan?
"All the money I've earned has been used for the development and construction of Shannan County,"
"For example, road repairs, bridge construction, school establishment, disaster relief... In short, every penny was spent wisely!"
Wang Mazi was completely dumbfounded. He originally wanted to impeach Lu Yan, but now it seemed as if he was the one who had embezzled and accepted bribes.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that he couldn't say anything.
Seeing that Wang Mazi had been humiliated, Lu Yan ignored him and turned to the soldiers, raising his voice:
"Soldiers, you are all heroes of Shannan County, warriors who defend our homeland!"
"I am rewarding you all today so that you know that I have seen and remembered all your efforts!"
"Next, I will further strengthen the military forces of Shannan County and build a more elite army, so that any enemy who dares to invade our homeland will never return!"
The soldiers were immediately filled with fervor, shouting slogans such as "Defend our homeland! Defend our homeland!" Their voices shook the heavens.
He suddenly realized that he seemed to have messed with someone he shouldn't have...
The commendation ceremony came to a close amidst thunderous cheers from the soldiers.
Lu Yan rubbed his ears, which were still ringing from the shock, and turned back to the county government office.
He still has many things to do; rewarding the soldiers is just the first step.
Next, he wants to take the military strength of Shannan County to the next level.
Ideally, we should be able to build cannons; that would give us a better chance of defeating the barbarians.
The news that Lu Yan was about to wage war against the barbarians spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys.
It even drifted over towering mountains and reached barbarian tribes.
On the barbarian grasslands, inside a huge cowhide military tent, the air was thick with the pungent smells of mutton and sweat.
The barbarian chieftain, Arba, was a tall, strong, burly man with a full beard.
He sat wearily on a large chair covered with a tiger skin, holding a leg of lamb in his hand, nibbling on it bit by bit.
Inside the tent, several tribal leaders were reporting on the battle situation in a cacophony of voices, their tones filled with frustration and anger.
"Chieftain, we have lost thousands of warhorses and nearly ten thousand warriors, yet we still failed to capture that small Shannan County!"
"That Lu Yan is simply a monster!"
One of the leaders beat his chest and stamped his feet, his face full of grief and indignation.
"Yes, chieftain, we couldn't save our captured brothers either,"
"I heard they're living the high life in Shannan County and don't want to come back! This is an absolute disgrace!"
Arba slammed the lamb leg in his hand to the ground, the greasy bone rolling around a few times and getting covered in dust.
"Useless! A bunch of useless people! So many of you can't even take down a small county town. Do we really need the clan leader to personally take action?"
The tent fell silent instantly; everyone lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.
They all knew that when the clan leader got angry, he would show no mercy to even his own family.
"What do we do now? We can't just let this go! Where will that leave the face of our barbarian tribe?"
One of the leaders asked cautiously.
"Let's attach ourselves to the Northern Xiang Kingdom! That way, we can continuously obtain supplies from the Northern Xiang Kingdom, strengthen our power, and one day we'll be able to flatten Shannan County!"
A lean leader suggested, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness.
"Bullshit!" another leader immediately retorted.
"Submit to the Northern Xiang Kingdom? What would that make us? Their dogs? Our barbarian tribe has ruled as kings and hegemons for generations, how could we submit to others?"
"To become king and conqueror? With our current strength? Don't even dream about it!"
The lean leader snorted disdainfully.
"By attaching ourselves to the Northern Xiang Kingdom, at least we can survive! Do you want us all to starve to death on the grasslands?"
The two leaders argued heatedly, and it looked like they were about to come to blows.
Arba waved his hand impatiently.
"Shut up, all of you! What's all the noise about! You're acting like women!"
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