Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 95 Territory Planning, Military-First Route

The former territory of Xianshuitan, which was the location of the lord's mansion, once had a rather elegant name: Treading on Snow to View Plum Blossoms.

The former lord leveled a huge salt flat in the front yard of the manor and carefully sprinkled several layers of pure white salt frost.

At first glance, it resembles a vast, white snowfield stretching out to the horizon beneath the boundless sky and sea.

Looking at the scattered red plum blossoms in this scene evokes a sense of vastness and beauty.

Long ago, the saltwater beach was under the jurisdiction of Dongguanling in the Emerald Kingdom.

At that time, the Razor Corridor in the north was still in the hands of the Emerald Duchy. From the easternmost point of the duchy, Dongguan Ridge, one could travel directly through this corridor to the Endless Sea, Emerald Bay.

Dongguan Ridge resembles a long arrow, with its fletchings connecting the eastern plains of the Emerald Duchy, and its slightly curved shaft forming a long, slender razor-sharp corridor.

The arrow is the saltwater collar embedded in Emerald Bay.

In 1229, the Razor Corridor was cut off by the Orcish Longtooth Tribe, and from then on, the Emerald Duchy could only transport supplies to the Saltwater Territory through the sandy paths on the edge of the vast desert.

Just seven years later, Dongguanling was captured by the Temple Knights under the command of the Mist Moon Divine Court. The Emerald Duchy lost its eastern plains and had to retreat to the Glazed Mountain. Cloud Mist Territory became the first line of defense in the east.

Well, now that Nanguan Territory has been lost, Yunwu Territory has become the first line of defense in the south, which is a huge responsibility to shoulder.

With the disappearance of Dongguanling, the natural saltwater beach was also completely isolated, and the Emerald Principality lost its only outlet to the sea.

Although the main value of this outlet to the sea was merely the regular trade with sea creatures for some blood-red corals and dazzling pearls, which was disproportionate to the cost of its maintenance, its loss was still a heart-wrenching pain for the principality.

In reality, since the saltwater beach had virtually no value for development or utilization, neither the orcs to the north nor the kingdoms to the south had any intention of crossing the desert to occupy or claim it.

In name only, the Saltwater Beach still belonged to the Emerald Principality, but it had become an exclave.

It flew quite far.

Of course, there is also residual value. After all, it is the position of a lord. Sometimes, a noble family has accumulated enough wealth, but it is just a little bit of help that is needed.

Or perhaps, the title went to the eldest son in the family, and they wanted to give the youngest son some compensation by giving him a legitimate status.

Or perhaps, they've offended some powerful entity they can't afford to offend, and need to use the territorial expansion as a protective period to avoid trouble.

Of course, there are also some passionate knights who genuinely want to achieve great things and protect the human race.

For all these reasons, every few years, pioneering knights from the duchy would come here in an attempt to rebuild the glory of their territory.

However, reality taught them the most profound lesson.

In such a desolate place, without spending a fortune, it's impossible to complete the territory mission targets, and one can only slink back to the duchy in disgrace.

After spending a fortune to develop the territory to a certain extent, the orcs from the north and the bandits from the south will arrive as scheduled, devour the lord, and send him to his death.

The one who held onto this lord title the longest was the previous lord from over forty years ago.

This guy holds the title of lord, but spends most of his time living a carefree life in the duchy.

Only when the population verification period stipulated by the duchy arrived would he personally come to the territory to attract a large number of refugees with generous treatment, completing the duchy's task of counting heads at the critical moment, and ensuring that the territory's "prosperity index" for development passed smoothly.

Then, on that saline-alkali land, the refugees were slaughtered in batches. The "old meat" and "unripe meat" were thrown into the sea, while the tender "child meat" was kept as food.

The territory mission is complete, money and food are saved, and some high-protein supplements are also obtained.

The so-called "viewing plum blossoms in the snow" means admiring the blood-red spots on the ground, which look like blooming red plum blossoms, on that wide expanse of white salt frost.

The former lord was indeed a "refined man".

He was a clever man. When a nobleman he knew in the duchy asked him why he didn't keep all the meat, he proudly declared, "Even the rotten meat of the lowly will attract bandits if too much is left."

"If those barbarians and bandits go through all that trouble to get here, and what they gain isn't even enough to cover their travel expenses, then naturally no one will come!"

"So, you see, I keep other people's spies and agents around on my territory, just to let them know that this godforsaken place isn't worth the effort!"

Using this clever tactic, he managed to remain a lord for three years, and indeed no one paid him any attention. However, such despicable behavior was bound to spread eventually.

The refugees weren't brainless; eventually, no matter what conditions he offered, no one was willing to come.

Left with no other option, the former lord began to allow his troops to plunder.

And that was the end of it. This lord had been around for three years, and the protection period for his territory had long since expired.

The Creek Moon Federation dispatched a force that crossed the desert to launch a surprise attack on Saltwater Territory, throwing the lord into the sea to be buried with his countless innocent people.

They all ended up at the same destination, despite their different paths.

Lord Chen Mo was deeply moved upon hearing this story.

Having finished expressing his feelings, it's now Lord Chen Mo's turn to face this problem.

The city lord's mansion in front of him was already dilapidated, with only a few charred pillars and collapsed beams remaining. Given its unsavory history, Chen Mo believed that the city lord's mansion should be relocated and rebuilt.

However, before the new city lord's mansion is built, he still has to complete a brief inauguration ceremony in front of this dilapidated building.

The advance scouts notified the remaining representatives of the people in the land, instructing them to welcome the lord into office.

Those who can still survive on this land are all "sand people" in the traditional sense.

For generations, they have made a living in the desert, and their main source of income is to trap sand beetles in the desert, and after simple domestication, sell them to surrounding forces.

This is a job that most people can't do, and they can't endure the hardship of living in the wind and sand. Moreover, when traveling to and from the desert, these people are often needed to guide them and find water. Therefore, this is one of the few groups that survived in the previous leader's territory.

A dozen or so people from the sand tribes came this time, bringing two large sand beetles as a congratulatory gift for the lord.

According to the trembling, middle-aged leader, the total population of all the Sand People is now just over three hundred.

Due to the difficulty of movement in this desert, we cannot all gather to pay our respects to the lord. We can only ask for your forgiveness, lord.

Incidentally, the sand chieftain also presented a tax receipt from the previous lord.
When the servant presented it, good heavens! The previous lord had been gone for over forty years, but the poll tax levied on the territory had already been collected for fifty years from now.

Those kneeling here are the taxpayers of the principality for a century!
Looking into the other person's bright, darting eyes, Chen Mo knew perfectly well that they were afraid he, their lord, would do it again.

Chen Mo naturally had no interest in exploiting these poor people. He offered a few words of comfort, instructed Helan to calculate the price of the large beetle sent by the sand people, and also gave them a few bags of grain as a return gift for today's congratulations.

After a hurried end to the inauguration process, the tent was opened, and the first meeting on territory development of the Han Hai Territory was held.

At the meeting, the territory members who are now loyal to the Han Hai Territory offered their suggestions and advice.

After listening to everyone's suggestions, without a doubt, the advice from Butler Helan, a professional manager, was the most reliable.

This capable middle-aged man, who has gradually embraced his new role, succinctly offered three well-thought-out suggestions.

"First, maintain friendly relations between the North and the South."

"Two hundred kilometers to the north, beyond Qishan Mountain, lies the territory of the Longtooth Beastmen. Although, in normal circumstances, the Beastmen would not cross the desert to attack such a barren land as Hanhai, we must guard against some petty villains from hostile forces stirring up trouble in the middle."

“We can send an envoy with some gifts to visit and explain the situation to avoid misunderstandings.”

"The Xiyue Federation to the south is restricted by the Treaty on the Protection of Territories of the Expansion Knights. As long as we don't provoke them, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"However, considering that we might need to import supplies or even borrow people from there in the future, it's better to make some arrangements in advance, just in case."

Chen Mo calmly took a sip of tea, displaying the typical mindset of a local petit-bourgeois...

"Second, we must be targeted." "The territory development tasks of the Han Hai Territory are threefold. The first year's target is population, which means that within the one-year protection period, we must gather at least three thousand citizens."

To be honest, this requirement is really very, very low. It was only because of the actions of the Plum Blossom Lord, who "cut down trees for future generations to suffer in the sun," that such lenient conditions were secured for Chen Mo, who came later.

Helan offered a flexible solution: "Before the assessment period, pay a deposit to the Southern Federation and borrow a few thousand people. This will solve the problem!"

"third……"

Chen Mo couldn't listen anymore and raised his hand to interrupt Helan.

To be fair, Helan's suggestion was the most reliable and optimal solution among all the suggestions.

If the premise is simply to obtain the status of a lord, it's hard to find a better solution than his suggestion.

However, the direction was wrong, and the more they went, the further they strayed from the right path.

Chen Mo coughed lightly, attracting everyone's attention. Then, following the advice given by Dong Xia's family, he slowly turned his head, looked around, and made eye contact with everyone for two seconds.

Some looked doubtful, some were fearful, some had furrowed brows, and some had shifty eyes...

The only one with clear, unwavering eyes, though ultimately meaningless, was the simple-minded ox.

Chen Mo cleared his throat: "Before this, everyone here had their own ideas and plans, so I didn't talk much about the development of the territory with you."

"However, over this period of time, I have seen that everyone's feelings for the territory have deepened day by day. Many people... well, including the orcs, have also come to realize that they share the same fate as our Vast Ocean Territory. So, I'm going to tell you all the inside story here."

"As the lord of the Vast Ocean Territory, my goal from beginning to end has been to make the Vast Ocean Territory a true territory for human expansion!"

"Let me make one thing clear: I have no objection to how we communicate or how we build good relations diplomatically, but the core objective for the territory at this stage can be summed up in two words: military first!"

"We need to build a sufficiently strong defense!"

"It's not that people won't come because our territory is too bad or too poor, but that we want to make it so that they can't conquer it, can't break through it, and will be battered and bruised, so they won't dare to come!"

"I'll pay double to any mercenary groups willing to come and garrison here. If you can recruit any warriors, I'll support your whole family if you do all the work! And if you're willing to join the territory as a professional soldier, I'll provide you with money, armor, and official status!"

"In short, this is the Vast Ocean Territory, and also the Thorn Territory. Whether you're an orc or anyone else, if you want to use force, get out of here. If you can talk things out, then follow my rules!"

The leaders present couldn't help but gasp.

Chen Mo tapped his fingers heavily on the table a few times, finalizing the overall tone.

"Establish a military-first policy for the Han Hai Territory, prioritizing military strength and military work above all else. Only by surviving can we consider other things."

The five-year, ten-year, and fifteen-year roadmap that Chen Mo was given at home was expressed even more bluntly as: protect your own safety at all costs!

"Only after we've accomplished the first step can we even begin to consider the second and third steps!"

"After completing the basic military construction, we can start recruiting refugees. I know it will be very difficult because of the territory's reputation, but that's okay. If we expand the scope of our propaganda, perhaps some people who can't survive will give it a try!"

"Herran!"

The butler jumped to his feet.

"I remember you said that there are many human slaves among the orcs that you can buy?"

"Yes...but..."

Heran immediately stopped himself from saying what he was about to say.

His previous opposition to lords buying slaves was based on the idea that they would just sit and leave.

Slaves are bought, but they still need to be fed. There is no arable land in the Han Hai Territory, meaning the slaves produce nothing. Therefore, keeping slaves is a very unprofitable endeavor.

It's definitely more cost-effective to rent someone temporarily.

However, since the lord is staying here, the question of whether it's worthwhile or not no longer applies.

Helan didn't know just how powerful the lord's "money power" was, but with the annual salary the lord paid him, supporting 1,800 slaves shouldn't be a problem at all.

Swallowing back the words he was about to say, Helan raised his voice slightly: "The orc slaves are numerous and cheap, but they are generally weak and easily die during long migrations. We need to arrange a lot of manpower to take care of and support them."

"Also, please instruct me, Lord, on what to do after the refugees and slaves arrive so that I can prepare in advance."

Chen Mo nodded; this was starting to look like a local official.

"Well, regarding civil affairs, there are a few things to do in the territory."

"First, clear the way!"

"First, build the framework of the central city of the territory, and then build the roads inside and outside the city around this central city."

"The road will lead east to the sea, connecting to the future docks; south and north, connecting to military outposts; and we'll plan the road to the west for now. Once our territory is strong enough, we'll have a main road that runs across the desert!"

Helan's lips were pale: "Your Excellency... Your Lordship, city planning... I... I haven't studied it! This is a job that only master craftsmen of duchies and kingdoms can do, I'm afraid we can't afford to hire them..."

"You don't need to worry about that. I'll have someone make the plan. Please have a seat!"

Helan had just sat down, deep in thought, when Lord Chen's next words jolted him back to reality.

"Second, Kaitian!"

"In the future, all areas outside our city that can be irrigated should be developed into farmland. Don't be afraid of wasting manpower; expand the area as much as possible."

Helan: "My lord, this is saline land... the water... the water is also salty, crops can't grow here."

"This is none of your concern!" Chen Mo didn't intend to explain the issue in detail for the time being: "We're doing this as a work relief program, so that the people who come here have work to do, and if they can work, they can earn food to eat. It's that simple!"

"As for whether or not crops can be planted in the fields, what to plant, and how to plant them, that's my business. They just need to work and get their meals. Is there a problem?"

"Yes, sir."

Finally, Chen Mo turned his gaze to the mage Tang Si, who was sitting to the side watching the commotion.

"Third, improve your personal strength as a lord as soon as possible."

"I feel that I'm not far from breaking through to the next minor rank. I would appreciate your help, Master. If you can improve my mental strength as soon as possible, all the troubles in our territory will no longer be troubles!"

"Of course, your sea fishing plan will come to fruition even sooner, Master!"

Without making a sound, Chen Mo gently flicked his hand to turn off the teleprompter behind the documents and seals on the desk. He let out a long breath and tugged at his sweat-soaked back.

After the territory development meeting, all the subordinates were still a little dazed.

The group stumbled out of the temporary tent, looking at each other, wanting to say something but unsure where to begin.

Meanwhile, the esteemed Lord of the Vast Ocean has begun yet another meditation session.

　Two more long chapters to go... The author is working hard.

　　Yes, the update frequency is not high, but I will try my best to keep the chapters going. Please don't worry about it.

　　I recommend a short track story written by a Bilibili UP I often follow. If you like this type of story, you can check it out.

(End of this chapter)