Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 296 The Sun of the North

The morning sun pierced through the clouds and shone on the earth.

As Frostspear City receded into the distance, the carriage slowly emerged from the valley, escorted by layers of knights.

Inside the main carriage, it was warm and quiet.

Emily leaned back on the cushion, her hand gently resting on her lower abdomen, and closed her eyes to relax.

Louis sat beside Emily, his hand gently clasped in hers. He kept his eyes closed and his expression calm, as if he were also resting.

But in reality, his mind never truly calmed down; he was constantly sorting out the gains from this war.

Louis wasn't a narcissistic person, but he had to admit that this battle to support Frostspear had earned him far more than he had expected.

Duke Edmund not only publicly entrusted the future of the North, but also gave him free rein to lead the overall situation at the Reconstruction Conference, whether it was disease prevention or the allocation of provisions.

Moreover, they also gained the Broken Edge Knights.

These were Frostspear City's elite troops, over a thousand knights like an iron torrent, now lined up behind their carriage, treading the earth, protecting him and Emily as they returned to Crimson Tide.

The Duke's promise also included the transfer of over three thousand men from the Cold Iron and Silver Fang regiments.

These knights, together with the knights they already had, made a total of five thousand knights.

Currently, there is only one person in the entire North who possesses this level of military strength.

As for the rewards in the capital, those will have to wait until the political situation stabilizes. Louis believes that with the combined efforts of the Edmund and Calvin families, his reward will certainly not be low.

Of course, in this battle, Louis won not only power, but also an increase in his own strength.

Although the Blazing Vine Garden was an active intrusion, it has been purified and internalized by the Primal Heart.

Physical enhancement, potential unleashed, magical reconstruction...

Most importantly, there are currently no side effects; he has not been entangled by vines, has not lost control, and has not gone mad.

Moreover, Louis has already sensed that these abilities will become stronger as magic power increases.

He still remembered Titus, who fought fourteen extraordinary knights single-handedly on the battlefield. Perhaps one day he could be just as awesome.

But he deserved all of this, after all, he prevented Titus from sweeping across the entire North.
If the barbarians succeed in completely enraging the North and then invade other provinces downstream, without the emperor and three important legions, and with the nobles fighting their own battles, the entire empire may not be able to hold out.

"Rounding it up... I guess I saved the world?"

Of course, Louis only thought this in his mind; it was too childish.

But he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Emily looked up at him, as if she had just noticed something: "Were you laughing just now?"

“…No.” Louis coughed lightly. “It’s just that… there’s still a lot to do. For example, how to use this victory to expand my territory and influence.”

Emily had by now recovered from the grief of saying goodbye and said with interest, "Then tell me about it."

Without hesitation, Louis replied, "While the destruction of the barbarians was an accident within a disaster, it was precisely this crisis that made the North unusually free of enemies."

The remaining barbarians had long since ceased to be a threat, and the savage shadow that had loomed over the North for centuries had come to a dramatic end.

Unless another catastrophe of the scale of the Insectoid Mother Hive strikes, the North will enter a period of true peace.

Moreover, the capital is currently in a power vacuum and has no time to attend to this desolate border region. This is a huge opportunity, if I can seize it…”

Emily leaned on Louis's shoulder, feeling his fingertips rhythmically tapping lightly on the side of her leg, as if he were thinking about something.

She looked up at him; there was a hint of sharpness in his young face.

"So, what are you going to do next?" she asked softly.

Louis paused for a moment, then spread his palms out as if unfolding a map of the future: "I want to build Red Tide Territory into the first true city in the entire North."

Emily was slightly taken aback.

"I plan to reorganize the layout of Red Tide's main city, including the government office, schools, military camps, workshops, and the central market... not one can be missing."

The red tide is just the beginning. As an agricultural center, where wheat cultivation, horse breeding, and cattle raising are all concentrated, Mai Lang Ling will also undergo a major expansion and renewal.

Starforge Territory… well, it's not just about mining. I plan to add alchemy workshops, large furnaces, and metallurgical plants, turning it into the industrial hub of the entire Northern Territory.”

“You mean urban integration?” Emily asked softly.

“That’s right, and the three places can’t just rely on caravans. I also plan to build roads to connect them.” As Louis said this, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and said with a smile, “If you want to get rich, build roads first.”

Emily chuckled: "It's a good thing you said you were building a road, not a wall."

“The walls need to be repaired, not just the city walls.” Louis raised an eyebrow.

“I want more than just three cities. I want more. I want to build port cities along the coast to connect the trade routes between the south and the capital. Between Xingduan and Chichao, I want to build another artisan city to centralize and manage skills and labor.”

“That would require repairing so many cities,” Emily said softly, her tone revealing only reassurance, not worry.

“One day, the Northern Province will become one of the strongest provinces in the Empire,” Louis said, enunciating each word clearly. “I want to show those nobles of the Empire that the desolate frontier they speak of can also have order and a future.”

Emily's heart suddenly raced slightly as she watched him speak eloquently.

Is this man really only twenty-two years old?

What he described was not just a city, not just a territory, but the prototype of a new North.

That was a future she had never imagined.

But the brighter the future, the more solid the foundation it needs.

Emily asked in a low voice, "But... no matter how well you plan, you still need people to do it. What if there aren't enough people?"

Louis's lips curled slightly upon hearing this, as if he had kept this question in his mind for a long time.

He held up one finger: "First, there are the refugees."

The war is over, but there are still many displaced people in the North. I will establish registration offices for returning citizens in each territory. Anyone willing to return, regardless of which territory they come from, will be granted land, cattle, tools, and temporary shelter upon signing a household registration contract.

“Household registration contract?” Emily repeated.

"Yes, once they sign, they are protected by the Red Tide Law and become citizens of the Red Tide. They enjoy reasonable taxes, transparent corvée labor, and opportunities for education and redemption."

"That sounds very appealing."

“It is indeed very attractive, especially compared to the chaos in other territories.” Louis shrugged. “I don’t need to cram hundreds of thousands of people in overnight; I just need a stable growth structure.”

Louis raised his second finger: "Then slaves."

Emily nodded, clearly having thought of it as well, since it was the simplest and most direct method.

Louis continued, “I can purchase them at a low price through the Calvin Chamber of Commerce and use them as labor for infrastructure construction.”

Of course, this is not a lifelong system. I plan to establish a points system for redemption, where participation in labor, service, and meritorious service can all lead to freedom. This is much more transparent than the previous system of releasing a batch of slaves every month.

They will become a new generation of craftsmen, road builders, miners, and porters; they will be the new Red Tide people of the future. Before Emily could respond, Louis raised a third finger: "The remnants of the barbarians."

Emily raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

“Those who are willing to surrender will be relocated to the ‘Border Guard Villages’ established on the border. They will be incorporated into the Red Tide military household system, with a mandatory service period, and will receive training and education,” Louis said calmly.

"In other words, their descendants will also become a shield against the red tide."

"Would they agree?" Emily asked softly.

Louis smiled faintly: "I will give them a reason to agree."

He paused, then added softly, "Using the name of the princess of the Cold Moon Tribe, her personal persuasion to surrender would have tremendous appeal."

Emily nodded thoughtfully, thinking of her closest best friend now.

“Of course, I won’t believe it all.” Louis withdrew his gaze, his eyes turning slightly cold.

"The barbarians may have been defeated, but their bones are not broken. They may succumb to reality, but that doesn't mean they won't retaliate."

The border village will be overseen by knights personally appointed by me, and will be structured in a two-tiered manner. While the barbarians will outwardly manage internal affairs, the real power will be in the hands of the knights.

The military household system also established a system of joint responsibility at each level, ensuring that if one person made a mistake, the entire village would be punished. This was compounded by patrol battalions and regular spot checks. "I will extinguish the flames of betrayal before they ignite."

“Of course,” Louis added softly, tapping his fingers lightly on Emily’s leg, his voice steady, “In addition to being cautious of the barbarians, we must also work on our own internal affairs.”

Emily looked up at him: "You mean...?"

“The Red Tide Laws.” When he said this name, he clearly already had a plan in mind. “I will personally draft a set of basic laws to protect the civil rights and order of the Red Tide Territory.”

Clearly define property rights, farming rights, and personal freedom to ensure that ordinary people can cultivate the land peacefully and relocate freely in the post-war ruins, rather than continuing to live in fear and chaos.

"At the same time, the standards for reward and punishment should be clearly defined. Whoever makes contributions in the war and whoever contributes to the reconstruction can be promoted and granted land and estates according to their merits. Those who plunder the people, regardless of their background, should be tried and severely punished."

He paused, his eyes sharpening slightly: "This is not only a guarantee of internal order, but also a moral bargaining chip for external expansion."

When we expand our territory in the future, we can proudly say that what we bring is not conquest, but civilization.

“But laws alone may not be understood by the public,” Emily whispered a reminder.

Louis smiled slightly, as if he had already thought it through: "So we are going to make history."

From temple fairs to theaters, from classrooms to storytelling stalls, all propaganda must be consistent. I will ensure that all the people of the North hear one voice.

It was the Red Tide Territory that saved the North, it was Louis who defeated the barbarian king Titus, and it was we who won peace and a future.

I will hire a poet to write "Chronicles of the Barbarians," depicting Titus's madness and the barbarian army's bloodshed in a horrifying way, and portraying the moment I brought hope to the Valley of Bones as a divine miracle.

Then this memory is sealed in children's textbooks, told in old people's fireside stories, and sung in the tavern poems of wandering musicians.

Emily's lips curled into a slight smile. "Are you going to give yourself some kind of title? Savior? Lord of Holy Light?"

Louis chuckled, but his tone remained unusually calm: "The sun of the North, that's what they said, I merely acquiesced."

Emily leaned gently on his shoulder.

“…I knew I hadn’t misjudged you,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “You are one of a kind, Louis.”

The wheels rumbled as they rolled over the snow, and the banners fluttered like waves.

…………

While the lord and his wife sat in the main carriage, planning their grand future for the North.

Dozens of large carriages followed slowly behind their caravan, carrying the families of the Broken Blade Knights. They carried their belongings, pots and pans, and mixed emotions as they headed towards their unknown "new home."

The carriage swayed and creaked slightly as it traveled along the snow-covered, icy road.

"Bang!"

The carriage shuddered as a wheel rolled over gravel, and Mary instinctively hugged her daughter tighter.

She was the wife of Smith, a squad leader in the Broken Edge Knights. She came from a middle-class merchant family in Frosthalberd and was not used to this kind of nomadic life.

Mary was sitting in the corner of the carriage, leaning against a folded blanket and a wooden box.

There were four or five other women around her, some holding children and others sitting on a blanket with elderly people, most of them looking tired.

One of the short-haired women clicked her tongue and said, "I heard that the war there just ended, and the city gates were burned down."

“I also heard it’s barbarian territory…” another older woman whispered in agreement, “Those Red Tide people…aren’t they just wild tribes that came down from the north?”

Mary didn't respond, but simply pulled her cloak tighter and gently pulled her daughter closer to her.

She had heard of the Red Tide Territory, but only of Duke Edmund's daughter, who apparently... married the lord there.

She knew nothing else.

Is this a place where she can entrust her family's future?

Mary recalled the annual spring flower market in Frostspear City, and glanced at the old carriage beside her that had been bumping along with the procession. The wheels were covered in slush and snow, and she even doubted how many more days the carriage could last.

A gust of cold wind blew into the crack, and she shivered.

…………

As evening fell, the last rays of the setting sun dipped behind the mountains.

The team set up camp at the foot of the ridge, with several large pots placed over the campfire, the salty porridge inside bubbling and steaming.

Smith personally delivered the wooden bowl to the wagon accompanying the group, hoping to take the opportunity to see his wife and daughter.

He climbed onto the carriage, and the moment he lifted the tarpaulin, he saw a familiar figure in the corner.

"Hurry up and eat something hot," he said with a smile, handing over the wooden bowl.

Mary took the wooden bowl, her fingers touching the warm surface, but she didn't drink from it immediately.

“Smith…are we really going to take the child to such a faraway place?” Her voice held a deep unease.

Smith paused for a moment, then gently ruffled her hair as usual.

“You’ll understand when we get there,” he said softly.

…………

Night slowly fell, and the snowfield returned to silence.

In the very center of the camp, a carriage was still lit by candlelight, and a young lord sat under the lamplight, sketching out the future territory and cities of the North.

At the end of the procession, in a family carriage, a mother gently patted her child to sleep.

(End of this chapter)