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Lin Xiuming, after all, was the son of Lin Gaoyuan; having been exposed to political matters, he had some sensitivity in this regard. Of course, he was clear that ‘rid the emperor of evil ministers’ was not as simple as just removing so-called treacherous officials.

His real worry was about what fate would befall their Lin Family if the Imperial Army were to suffer a defeat.

Hearing Lin Xiuming’s words, Lin Gaoyuan spoke sternly, “You are, after all, a commander of the Qilin Army, a general. How can you have such little faith in the imperial military?”

Lin Xiuming said, “I have used the Piercing Cloud Bow and I know its terrifying power. The Piercing Cloud Arrow can easily penetrate the armor of the Heavy Cavalry. By then, the deployment of the Imperial Army’s twenty thousand Heavy Cavalry might not be very effective.”

Lin Gaoyuan said indifferently, “The outcome of a war is not determined solely by the power of the weapons but also by various other factors. The power of the Piercing Cloud Bow is indeed great, but not every soldier is capable of using it. Moreover, His Majesty has been planning for so long, he must have placed his pieces among the aristocratic families in the South. The likely outcome of this war is His Majesty’s victory. You needn’t worry excessively.”

With that, Lin Gaoyuan picked up his pen again and continued to write the letter, speaking as he wrote, “The North Prince has recently written to me. He plans to marry your sister, and your sister has agreed.”

At these words, Lin Xiuming’s heart jolted.

His sworn sister had agreed?

Really?

He remembered when he spoke to her about that matter in the North Country, she had been very resistant, so how could she have suddenly agreed?

While Lin Xiuming was lost in thought, Lin Gaoyuan abruptly added another statement.

“If His Majesty does indeed suffer a defeat, we’ll head directly to the North Country.”

This…

Lin Xiuming was stunned, now understanding why his father wasn’t worrying at all—it seemed he had long considered a way out for the Lin Family.

However…

If the Imperial Army truly suffered defeat, could their Lin Family really escape the Capital City so easily and make their way to the North Country?

Lin Xiuming remained skeptical about that.

…

Meanwhile.

North Country, Hall of Political Affairs.

Li Rui was presenting the current situation of land reclamation in the North Country to the court. The North Country had vast lands but fewer people, with many areas still uncultivated.

Ever since the reforms in the North Country began, there had been continuous encouragement for the citizens to reclaim land. Despite Lu Chen reclaiming all land ownership rights in the North Country, the locals remained enthusiastic about land reclamation.

They were grateful for Lu Chen’s policy of abolishing the agricultural tax; such a policy was simply too progressive for that era. The locals had never before experienced reaping exactly what they sowed.

Although they did not own the land, the thought of being able to cultivate it for many years without paying an agricultural tax motivated them. They knew that after several years of extra planting, the labor they invested in reclamation would be insignificant.

Under the land policy of the North Country, many citizens volunteered to reclaim land, and in addition, many refugees from the three counties ceded by Great Sum settled in the North Country. These landless refugees, eager for stability, also joined the efforts to reclaim land.

After hearing Li Rui’s report, Lu Chen said, “Continue to encourage the citizens to reclaim land and tell them that the North Prince Mansion will distribute high-yield crop seeds regularly for the next three years. They needn’t worry about lacking crops to plant after reclaiming the land.”

Li Rui replied, “Yes, Prince.”

At this time, Lu Chen continued, “Additionally, I plan to incorporate the North Land into the North Country. Starting today, the map of the North Country needs to be revised.”

Upon hearing these words, everyone in the great hall was momentarily stunned.

Annexing the North Land into the North Country?

Although Lu Chen had mentioned this idea before, at that time he had merely been thinking about it and had not taken any concrete action.

The North Land no longer had large tribes like the Sky Wolf King’s, but was made up of smaller tribes, which could easily be driven out of the North Country by a slight show of military force.

At this moment, Xiao Pengthian stood up and asked, “May I know how the Prince plans to deal with the Barbarian Tribe on the grasslands?”

Lu Chen said indifferently, “On my land, naturally, they are my subjects. After the North Land is incorporated into the North Country, these Barbarian Tribes must all register, and every member of the tribes must obtain a North Country identity card. They can continue their nomadic life on the grasslands of the North Land or give up nomadism and settle down in the South.”

“For those Barbarian Tribes who choose to settle in the South, the North Prince Mansion will allocate some land to them and send people to teach them how to farm.”

As for dealing with the Barbarian Tribes, Lu Chen already had experience: after moving the Sky Wolf King and the North Fre King’s tribes into the North Country, he had sent people to teach them farming.

Moreover, Lu Chen had specially hired people who could speak both Great Sum and the Barbarian languages to teach the Barbarians to speak the language of Great Sum.

In the Barbarian community, the Sky Wolf King’s tribe had initially integrated well with Great Sum, so they assimilated into Great Sum faster than those from the North Fre King’s tribe.

Now the people of the Sky Wolf King’s tribe had become a bond of integration for the Barbarians into the North Country. The captured Barbarian soldiers from before were now thoroughly loyal to Lu Chen, so much so that they would return on their own even if they were released without anyone to watch over them.

Furthermore, many men in Great Sum had married Barbarian widows, and now the integration between the Barbarians and the common folk of the North Country was relatively good.

After listening to Lu Chen’s words, Xiao Pengthian immediately knelt halfway and said, “Thank you, Prince, for your mercy.”

Lu Chen continued, “I will set up a Barbarian Management Bureau specifically to deal with matters related to the Barbarian Tribes.”

“Alright, General Xiao, rise. Let’s leave this matter here. Next, you all should consider how many districts should be created in the North Land after its annexation into the North Country.”

Upon hearing this, the hall erupted into discussions.

The North Land was truly vast; setting aside the extent of it that they were unaware of, even the known area of the North Land would likely surpass Great Sum in size were it to be incorporated into the North Country.

If a feudal state were to exceed the size of its suzerain, it might invite apprehension from the Imperial Court, and the North Prince might even be wrongly accused of rebellion.

As for how many districts the North Country should be divided into, it was not an easy decision; the majority of the North Land were grasslands with few people. If the divisions were made according to Great Sum’s districting, some districts might have no inhabitants at all, making it tricky for the appointed officials to even find a place to reside.

While the officials were fiercely debating in the great hall, a Brocade Guard Commander entered the hall, approaching Lu Chen from a side hall, and whispered, “Prince, Prince Lu Shuyun has rebelled.”

As these words fell, the Brocade Guard Commander handed over the intelligence report to Lu Chen. Lu Chen opened it and read it carefully.

The noise of discussion inside the hall gradually subsided, and the attention of the officials turned to Lu Chen’s face, which showed varying expressions. Generally, the Brocade Guards would only enter the Hall of Political Affairs during a minor court session for significant intelligence, and if it was not of utmost importance, the Brocade Guards would deliver the intelligence directly to Lu Chen’s study.

Therefore, seeing the Brocade Guard Commander enter the Hall of Political Affairs, the officials knew that a significant event must have occurred in Great Sum.

After reading the intelligence in his hands, Lu Chen addressed the officials in the great hall, “I have received news that Prince Lu Shuyun, under the pretense of moving South to combat the epidemic, has conspired with the Aristocratic Families of the South and raised an army in rebellion.”

At these words, the hall fell into absolute silence.

The people had long speculated there would come such a day. They had recently heard frequent news of the Sum Emperor purging the court and planning to dispatch troops to the South, which was obviously forcing Prince Lu Shuyun and the Aristocratic Families of the South into rebellion.

Now Prince Lu Shuyun and the Southern Aristocratic Families had indeed rebelled.

With their rebellion, the opportunity for the North Country had arrived.

At this time, if the North Country were to annex the North Land, the Imperial Court officials would definitely not object. With the main focus being on quelling the rebellion, they would have no capacity to intervene in the affairs of the North Country. This presented a significant opportunity for the development of the North Country.