I, the heir of the great Eastern nation

Food is the most important thing for people. We must eat our fill before we can talk about anything else. If we can't eat our fill, everything else is meaningless.

After leaving Liu Zhao, Priest Richie's last words kept echoing in his mind.

People eat for food.

He pondered those five words over and over, finding them increasingly meaningful with each repetition. There was no sacred grandstanding, nor any lofty moral pronouncements.

It simply presents us with the most basic truth: people need to be fed first; everything else comes later.

He studied theology at the Holy Light Church for over a decade and knew the scriptures by heart. But he had to admit that this sentence was more direct and powerful than any other passage he had read in the scriptures.

So, the next evening, he couldn't resist going to see Liu Zhao again.

"Your Highness, I've been thinking about what you said yesterday about 'food is the first necessity of the people' all night long."

Liu Zhao was stuffing a steamed bun into his mouth when he heard this and looked up.

"Thinking about it for so long? What have you come up with?"

"The more I think about it, the more profound it seems." Priest Richie's tone was filled with obvious admiration.

"When people are hungry, they can't really talk about morality and faith. The scriptures say to love all people, but if the people to be loved can't even eat, then love has no meaning."

Liu Zhao finished chewing the steamed bun and took a sip of water.

"That's the point. That's why I've always felt that before we start building moral standards, we need to make sure everyone has something in their bowl. Talking about ideals and beliefs on an empty stomach isn't noble; it's just talking without understanding the situation."

Priest Richie was silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed.

"Your Highness, to be honest, of all the nobles I know, you are the first one who is willing to use your supernatural powers for farming."

He paused, his tone tinged with emotion.

"The Church of Holy Light has healing magic, and the Church of Abundance has growth-promoting magic. These powers can clearly help crops produce more grain and reduce hunger among the common people, but for thousands of years, very few people have actually done this. Your Highness's mind is indeed different from others to be able to combine extraordinary power with increased crop yields."

Your wisdom is truly admirable.

Liu Zhao chuckled and waved his hand.

"You're wrong. I'm not much smarter than other nobles. After all, I really don't understand human relationships and scheming at all."

The reason others didn't think in this direction is simply because they never considered improving the lives of ordinary people.

Priest Richie was taken aback.

"Think about it."

Liu Zhao stood up and looked out the window.

"Do those noble gentlemen eat black bread themselves? No. Do they care how much wheat grows in the fields? No."

Anyway, when it's time to collect taxes, we can just send people to rob them. If they want more grain, we can just keep squeezing it from the common people. It's quick and easy.

There are simpler methods out there, so who's going to waste their time researching ways to increase production?

Priest Richie remained silent.

I wanted to retort that there are kind people among the nobility, such as Princess Avril.

But then he thought of more things: the former Sheriff Will of Blackrock Territory, the villagers under Viscount Kevin's rule who had been drained of their food and were being dragged into cellars to pay off their debts, and the poor villages he had visited that couldn't even afford to repair wooden churches.

He swallowed his rebuttal, knowing that Liu Zhao's words represented the majority.

"Your Highness."

After a long silence, Priest Richie spoke.

"Before I came to Blackrock Ridge, although my teacher recommended me, many of my colleagues in the church advised me not to come because Blackrock Ridge is a poor rural place, and you, as the lord, are so young, you must be a complete novice who knows nothing about governance and development."

"And now?"

"Now I feel..."

Priest Rich looked at him intently.

"You understand governance and development better than most kings on this continent."

Liu Zhao didn't reply, but just smiled and broke off half a steamed bun and handed it to him.

……

Richie was sent to contact the Church of Abundance, but Liu Zhao wasn't going to wait idly. There was a more pressing issue in Blackstone Territory.

Ironware.

The population doubled, land reclamation was in full swing, and construction sites for roads and canals were springing up one after another.

However, there was a shortage of iron for farm tools, hammers, and horseshoes. Even the pickaxes used for repairing irrigation ditches had to be made by blacksmiths on a waiting list.

Jim, the old blacksmith in town, works from morning till night, his furnace never going out, but his output is limited; he can't even make ten hoes a day.

Liu Zhao went to his shop and took a look around. After examining the stove, his brows immediately furrowed.

"Old Jim, could you make this stove any bigger?"

The old blacksmith put the hammer down on the cutting board and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Sir, this is the largest I can manage. Any bigger furnace can't be moved by hand-operated bellows alone. You'll need to find a magician to help. A spell from him will be more effective than any bellows."

Liu Zhao nodded.

He already possessed fire magic, since he was proficient in all attributes, and with the blessing of fire elemental power, the power of fire magic increased exponentially.

But the problem is, as a lord, he can't just sit in the blacksmith's shop every day acting as a human bellows for the furnace.

"And Your Highness."

Old Jim added another sentence.

"I've never even heard of a furnace like the one you mentioned, one that can smelt hundreds of kilograms of iron at once. For such a large job, you need to find someone who really knows their stuff, preferably a dwarf. Those short, stocky guys are much better at forging than any human blacksmith."

After hearing this, Liu Zhao went directly to Christine.

"I've got some work to do. Find me as many blacksmiths as possible, and dwarves would be even better."

Christine glanced at him.

"Dwarven blacksmiths aren't cheap."

Money is not a problem.

Liu Zhao repeated Old Jim's words to her.

"What I lack now is not money, but production capacity! Farm tools, weapons, horseshoes, and building components—if Old Jim were to hammer these things by himself, he could never finish in his next life."

Christine nodded.

"Okay, I'll have the Chamber of Commerce keep an eye out for it."

Less than ten days later, Supervisor Charlie sent the person over.

Roth stood at the entrance of town, staring blankly for several seconds at the group of blacksmiths following behind the caravan.

There were about twenty people in total, carrying hammers and their belongings, forming a long line.

Liu Zhao immediately recognized the figure in the crowd that was clearly shorter than the others.

He had thick arms, a thick brown beard braided into several small braids, and carried a forging hammer on his back that was taller than himself.

The title is Silver-level [Blacksmith].

"Your Highness!"

The dwarf blacksmith strode over, looked up at Liu Zhao, and spoke in a voice as loud as if he were blowing a horn.

"My name is Balin Copperhammer! Supervisor Charlie said you're going to build a furnace bigger than ever before? How big? Bigger than the furnace in the Royal Armory?"

"Much bigger than that."

Liu Zhao squatted down, picked up a twig, and drew a rough sketch on the ground.

"I'm not building just a furnace, I'm building an entire steel plant, a complete industrial chain from ore in to molten iron out, capable of producing hundreds of kilograms of molten iron at a time. Can you handle it?"

Bahrain stared at the sketch on the ground for a long time, his eyes gradually lighting up.

"Several hundred kilograms of molten iron at a time... I've never worked with a furnace that big before, but I learned about the construction principles of large furnaces in Ironforge. If we could increase the furnace's high-temperature resistance by another level... it's theoretically feasible!"

He slapped his thigh, and his beard shook.

"Interesting! I'll take this job! All I do is make little trinkets for those poor lords; my skills are practically ruined!"

Liu Zhao grinned.

He likes people who are passionate about technology.

"Okay, let's talk about salary then. How much did you earn per month there before?"

"Fifty silver coins."

Bahrain puffed out his chest.

"I'm not bragging, but among all the human blacksmiths in the entire Kingdom of Os, you won't find one better than me. A dwarf blacksmith is worth this price."

Old Jim's lips twitched slightly.

He toiled away for a month, knocking until he was dizzy, and only earned ten silver coins. This dwarf master, on the other hand, could earn five times that amount with a single word.

Liu Zhao nodded.

"Okay, you get the job, and there's only one requirement—efficiency is the most important thing."

Money is no problem, I'll double it for you, one gold coin a month, are you in or not?

Bahrain's eyes widened.

"A gold coin?!"

"Yes, one gold coin, plus an extra fifty silver coins for each furnace built."

Liu Zhao held up five fingers.

"Food and lodging are provided, and there are bonuses for good performance."

Bahrain stood there, his beard twitching several times, then he slapped Liu Zhao's hand hard.

"Deal! Your Highness, we dwarves love generous friends like you! Even if it meant building you a furnace to refine lava, I'd do it!"

The ordinary blacksmiths who had come along listened with wide eyes. Liu Zhao turned his head and made arrangements for them as well.

"How much did you earn in a month before?"

"Your Highness, approximately ten silver coins..."

"I'll double your pay too, twenty silver coins a month, including room and board. Apprentices will get one silver coin a month, with meals provided, and bonuses for good performance."

A group of blacksmiths immediately started rolling up their sleeves.

Bahrain even carried a hammer and walked into town, shouting as he went, "Where's the furnace? Where's the foundation? Take me there quickly! Don't waste time!"

Christine silently made a note: Balin Copperhammer, monthly salary of one gold coin, room and board included, bonus for completion is separate.

Ten ordinary blacksmiths earn a monthly salary of twenty silver coins.

The apprentice is twenty years old, and his monthly salary is one silver coin, which includes meals.

Christine sighed softly.

"This should be the most expensive labor expenditure in the history of Blackrock Territory."

But she didn't object.

Having worked for Liu Zhao for so long, she learned one thing: wherever he was willing to invest big money, the return on investment never went wrong.

Once the blacksmiths arrived, the entire blacksmith district became as bustling as a vegetable market.

Bahrain led a group of people to select the site, draw up blueprints, and move bricks and prepare materials. His voice was so loud that it could be heard from two streets away.

Then soon, Bahrain's loud voice came from the construction site again.

"Your Highness! I've thought about it. You said you want to use fire elemental magic to assist in smelting, and I have no problem with that. I've heard about what you did at the Hero's Altar. Providing a fire for the furnace is a piece of cake for you."

But you certainly can't sit here and cook for us every day, so if you have the means, it would be best to arrange for a few fire mages to come and take turns. Their magic power doesn't need to be too high, just enough to provide a stable output.

Liu Zhao nodded. He was already considering it.

"besides."

Bahrain pointed the hammer at the foundation beneath his feet.

"Such a large furnace needs more than just fire; the furnace walls and foundation must withstand the high temperatures. Ideally, we'd have an earth elemental mage to help reinforce it. Your Highness, do you have one here?"

Liu Zhao's mind raced.

Christine has been learning runes from him for so long that she is no longer proficient in a single element; she can handle both fire and earth elements. However, she has to manage accounts, liaise with the Chamber of Commerce, and oversee the town's administrative operations, so she is still too busy to attend to other matters.

The steel mill needs professional mages who can stay long-term, not part-timers who only come occasionally.

"You're a mage, right? I'll think of something."

Without much thought, Liu Zhao's first thought was of that money-grubbing senior, Berica.

There was nothing he could do; he only knew a handful of people at the magic academy, and those he was barely on friendly terms with were fewer than a handful in total.

With their mentor Cecilia gone to the North and out of contact, the only remaining option is Bericard.

Liu Zhao immediately began writing letters upon his return.

"Senior Berekka, this is Liu Zhao, long time no see..."

After Liu Zhao finished writing the letter, he immediately had someone take it to the nearest merchant caravan and ask them to deliver it to the capital.

Christine asked him a question out of curiosity.

Will she come?

Liu Zhao nodded.

"She will definitely come."

"I think you two haven't known each other for very long, are you that sure? What did you write in your letter?"

Liu Zhao grinned.

"I didn't actually say anything, but I put a gold coin in the letter and left a message. I said that if she could bring me more magicians, I would give her a gold coin as a commission for each one she brought. I would take as many as she brought."

Christine was stunned.

She never expected that Liu Zhao's way of recruiting people would be so simple and unpretentious.

"You're really something."

……

The steel plant construction site changes every day.

Balin and his group of blacksmiths and apprentices worked day and night, and the foundation had been dug to a depth of more than half a person's height. Refractory bricks were being hauled out of the warehouse of the Leilo Chamber of Commerce, truckload after truckload.

Old Jim was too old to exert his physical strength, but his skills were still there. He was pulled by Balin to be in charge of inspecting bricks. The old man complained, but he actually inspected them more carefully than anyone else.

Liu Zhao would occasionally pass by the construction site, glance at the progress from afar, and then leave without lingering.

He is clear about his own position.

Leave professional tasks to professionals; giving unsolicited advice will only create more chaos.

What he cares about more now is people.

Russell and his thirty soldiers had been training for two months. Their formation was neat and their discipline was fine, but they were still far from being able to perform well on a real battlefield.

The last bandit suppression operation gave these young men a lot of experience, but Liu Zhao could see that what they lacked was not courage, but hard skills.

Just then, York came looking for him.

"Your Highness, there is something I need to report to you."

"explain."

"It's about Simon."

York's tone carried an barely suppressed surprise.

"I taught him the Knight's Breathing Technique, originally planning to have him practice for a month to build a foundation. Your Highness, guess how long it took him to master it?"

Liu Zhao glanced at him.

"how long?"

"Less than ten days."

Liu Zhao was overjoyed.

"So fast?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

York took a breath.

"In less than ten days, he's mastered the breathing technique and condensed battle qi. I've never seen such speed before, Your Highness! And the battle qi he condensed is completely different from ordinary qi!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao immediately ordered someone to summon Simon.

When Simon walked into the study, he gave off a completely different vibe than before.

He used to walk timidly, and when standing in front of nobles, he would always subconsciously hunch his shoulders.

He now stood ramrod straight, his eyes gleaming with an irrepressible sharpness.

The title above his head has changed: Black Iron level [Apprentice Knight].

"Your Highness."

"Let me demonstrate."

Simon nodded, took a deep breath, and clenched his right fist.

A crimson battle aura slowly rose from his fist; it wasn't intense, but the color was astonishingly pure.

More importantly, Liu Zhao was all too familiar with the aura emanating from that fighting spirit.

The power of fire.

Although the purity and temperature are not as good, it is obvious that they are from the same source.

Liu Zhao stared at the crimson battle aura for a while, then turned to look at York beside him.

"York, what about you? How have you changed?"

The Knight of York stepped forward, placing his right fist on his chest.

His fighting spirit erupted outwards, the crimson light far more intense than Simon's, and a scorching pressure could be faintly felt.

Title above head: Silver-level [Crimson Flame Knight]

"After Your Highness bestowed this surname upon me, I felt a new power flowing through my body during my cultivation. After merging with my original battle qi, I broke through the bottleneck."

"Is there a big difference compared to your previous petulance?"

"They're not even on the same level."

York's tone was very serious.

"The fighting spirit used to be just fighting spirit, but now it carries Your Highness's fire. I am confident that I can suppress any opponent of the same level within ten rounds."

Liu Zhao leaned back in his chair, his mind racing as he processed the information.

The two men, one the son of a serf and the other a low-ranking noble knight, underwent a complete transformation in their fighting abilities after being granted a surname.

Simon, a boy who previously didn't even know what battle qi was, mastered a breathing technique in ten days and jumped directly into the threshold of the extraordinary realm.

York had been stuck at a bottleneck for who knows how long, but after being granted a surname, he broke through to the Silver level, and even his battle aura attributes changed.

[The protection of the people].

He originally thought this ability was mainly to give his subordinate a legitimate noble status, with some potential for growth, but the actual effect was far more powerful than he had expected.

This thing isn't just bestowing a surname; it's mass-producing combat power with the same origin as him.

"Your Highness?"

York, seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, tentatively called out.

"fine."

Liu Zhao snapped out of his daze, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two of them, unable to suppress the smile in his eyes. "You two, well done."

Simon's eyes reddened, and he knelt down on one knee.

"Your Highness, Simon owes everything he has today to you."

"stand up."

Liu Zhao pulled him up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Your father saved my life back then. From now on, just be true to yourself and stop kneeling all the time."

He sat back down in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table as he began to ponder.

Currently, only York and Simon have received the bestowed surname, and the effect is already so obvious.

What if we expand this scope?

What would be the effect of selecting the best performers from Russell's thirty protégés and bestowing upon them their surnames?

And then there's Christine, who has already advanced to the Silver rank. If she were to receive the protection of the people and combine that with her ongoing research into Chinese characters, would her combat power undergo a qualitative change?

After thinking for a while, the more Liu Zhao thought about it, the more confident he became about the future of himself and Blackstone Territory.