Chapter 1 Worthwhile Efforts

The cheers surging through the vast tribal trade caravan convinced Ye Tao that his efforts, including those that had antagonized so many inexplicable people in the court, were worthwhile. The tribes, too, fully demonstrated how they treated good friends and brothers. Amidst the caravan laden with good things were numerous tribal representatives, all influential figures, who generously gifted Ye Tao piles of valuable goods. The most extravagant of these was a pure gold Buddha statue weighing over four hundred jin (approximately 440 pounds), its origin unknown. Ye Tao, destined for a prolonged period of mobile office work, had no choice but to send it back to Zheng Garden for safekeeping. A more practical gift was a hundred elite cavalry guards composed of tribal warriors and ten carefully selected, top-quality steeds.

The addition of the hundred tribal warriors abruptly increased Ye Tao's entourage to over a thousand. Though the grasslands possessed iron ore, even high-quality, rich iron ore, the tribes lacked advanced smelting technology, making it difficult to equip even these warriors with proper weaponry. Ye Tao simply had the hundred tribal warriors discard their original weapons for scrap and, at his own expense, re-equipped them. They received the new-style cavalry swords, ergonomically designed and previously exclusive to the Blood Kirin Army, carefully designed sets of horse tack, the light cavalry armor of the Blood Kirin Army's scout battalion, intricately crafted and highly effective composite bows, and specialized bleeding arrows, gradually spreading from the Blood Kirin Army to other elite units. They also received uniform-style water skins, ration packs, mess kits, and personal belongings. Only the uniforms, which could not be the same style as the Blood Kirin Army, and had to be redesigned and produced, were not yet standardized. This special guard was completely transformed. While the tribal warriors were not particularly fond of the lance favored by the Blood Kirin cavalry, most of them requested double the number of arrows and a pair of sabers. These requests made Ye Tao realize that these fellows didn't control their horses during combat and that a single cavalry sword was simply not enough. He also readily agreed to their request for two water skins, one to hold wine.

The excellent equipment, especially the sturdy and durable horse tack, the highly accurate composite bows, and the extremely stable arrows, excited the tribal warriors for days. In their eyes, most of the equipment was of heirloom quality. This superior weaponry significantly improved the fighting capabilities of the hundred tribal guards. Subsequently, Bafulo, the centurion leading the hundred men, began to emulate the Blood Kirin Army, instilling stricter tactical discipline in the tribal guards, while Bi Xiaoqing, Ye Tao's head of security, began to add more challenging elements to the guard's training. Ye Tao's guard was primarily composed of Blood Kirin Army and Imperial Guard soldiers, and the significant gap in horsemanship and archery was something they, who included everything within the scope of competition, could not ignore.

Ye Tao didn't know much about horses but knew that the ten horses he had received as gifts were far too extravagant to be used for pulling carts. He didn't dare challenge the large, glossy black horse, instead opting to build rapport by personally feeding and grooming the horse every day. However, it was the pair of snow-white foals that pleased Ye Tao more. The foals were so beautiful, their eyes full of curiosity. Ye Tao would take these two foals for a run every day, treating them more as pets than as steeds. Taking the horses out for exercise as a pleasant change after a day of heavy mental exertion made Ye Tao's life seem quite healthy.

"My lord, we will reach Thunder Cliff tomorrow. Will the Road and Bridge Department base its operations around Thunder Cliff from now on?" Bi Xiaoqing asked.

At that moment, Ye Tao was lying on a large patch of tall grass. The two foals, led by the big black horse, were frolicking around. The fellow named "Night Star" was truly unique. When he had had enough exercise, he would lead the two white horses back to Ye Tao, sincerely staring at him or nudging him with his nose, as if to say, "It's about time to go back for dinner." Night Star actually understood its mission as a mount and didn't strongly reject Ye Tao, its indulgent owner, but it remained somewhat reserved. As expected, Night Star ran over again at that moment and nudged Ye Tao, who was squinting his eyes, comfortably drifting towards sleep.

Ye Tao stood up, affectionately stroking the three beautiful horses, and casually answered Bi Xiaoqing's question: "Only Thunder Cliff is more or less in the center of Yun Province, making it convenient to manage the long main road running north and south, and also to quickly gather information. But none of these are major issues. Once we get to Thunder Cliff, I will stay there for at least two months without leaving. During these two months, how about having the brothers do some running around? I want a more detailed map of Yun Province."

Bi Xiaoqing asked, puzzled, "Don't we already have maps?"

"Not just military maps. I want this map to mark the products of Yun Province, where there are minerals, where there are medicinal herbs, where is suitable for planting... things like that. Also, along the main road from Dong Family Settlement to Benlang Plains, where is suitable for building relay stations? These need to be planned. It's impossible for me to run from south to north repeatedly. You know, the things His Majesty has assigned me are not easy to deal with," Ye Tao said with a wry smile.

Bi Xiaoqing asked curiously, "Can't many things be directly reported by the local officials? Although... it doesn't seem to be within your current authority, my lord, it wouldn't hurt to have General Xu help out. Is it really necessary to have the guards running around?"

Ye Tao chuckled and said, "For the time being, we are just collecting this information, to be used when General Xu has time to develop the local economy. For various reasons, the imperial court still wants Yun Province to maintain its current situation for the short term, without sending a large number of officials. The local officials everywhere are still the original ones. If we let them report, I doubt they could report anything useful. When you arrive in a new place, you often see things that catch your eye and seem strange and interesting. But the local officials in Yun Province are almost all locals. No matter how strange we find things, they are tired of seeing them. I only need an impressionistic understanding, not in-depth research. I don't have the power or the ability to do in-depth research right now. However, these impressionistic visits can serve as the basis for maintaining and repairing roads, as well as the layout of relay stations. It can be considered quite important work. In two or three months, I estimate... well, probably half a year to maintain and renovate the existing main road. Doing this at the same time would be perfect."

Bi Xiaoqing didn't fully understand Ye Tao's ideas, but he nodded and said, "Then I'll go talk to the brothers later. However, sending out two hundred people should be enough, right? It's safer to keep more people around you, my lord."

Ye Tao waved his hand and said, "Aren't you bored doing nothing? If I were running around, it would make sense to be careful about safety, but if we are stationed at Thunder Cliff, and daily security becomes a problem, then that would be too... too unreasonable, right? Besides, Bafulo said he wanted to strengthen the training of the tribal guards. If he stays with me, and you keep a hundred people, that should be enough. All the other manpower, send them all out when the time comes... You set a standard, this counts as a business trip, and there's a set amount for daily expenses. Anything over that is their own responsibility. Just don't have too much fun."

Bi Xiaoqing seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "My lord, aren't you planning to bring your family to Yun Province as well?"

Ye Tao nodded and said, "At least Qiuyan and Sophie will come. There's no need for Father to come; there are a lot of things going on at the workshop. Fourth Brother said he also wants to come to Yun Province, so he can see if it's possible to build a smaller workshop here. What's wrong?"

Bi Xiaoqing said with a smile, "Miss Sophie is fine, but when Miss Dai comes, she will definitely want to run around, painting and things like that. The guards around Miss Dai should be enough in the vicinity of Danyang, but Yun Province is still considered to be in the aftermath of the war and is still a bit chaotic. You wouldn't want anything to happen to Miss Dai, would you? Technician Qian is also a key figure with unique skills in the Ye Family Workshop. He will definitely be able to display his talents in Yun Province, but it's hard to say whether there are any lurking enemies in Yun Province now. Although the Dai family has cleaned things up, that kind of emergency trick played before a battle isn't very reliable."

Ye Tao naturally knew that Bi Xiaoqing wouldn't disobey his orders, but his most important task was to protect the safety of himself and his family. Ye Tao sighed and said, "Investigation is also very important. I even wanted to send that batch of trainees to do this."

Bi Xiaoqing's eyes darted around, and he said, "My lord, how about this? Send half of the guard out. Also, draw a batch from that group of trainees. Their identities and professions are more diverse, making it easier for them to deal with the local people than the guards. Isn't there a course on dealing with people? According to you, my lord, just treat it as an internship."

Ye Tao thought about it and realized it made sense, so he nodded in agreement. Since leaving Dong Family Settlement and entering Yun Province, their journey had always been slow, because there were too many people coming to visit Ye Tao. There were old friends from the Blood Kirin Army, people from the Dai family, people from the tribes, officers from the East Peace Army who had entered Yun Province earlier than Ye Tao, and officials who were gradually taking over local affairs in Yun Province, liaison officers sent by General Xu Jingtian, and many local people in Yun Province, such as big merchants and ranchers. And these people had become the first lesson in Ye Tao's training for those "trainees": the best research samples for understanding a person's personality through details. And the delay in the journey these days was definitely worth it.

As they were walking towards the campsite, discussing and enriching Ye Tao's plan to collect information about Yun Province, which was not a sudden idea, a series of hoofbeats rang out. A soldier guarding the road ahead rode over on horseback and reported, "My lord, the Blood Kirin Army officers remaining behind have come to welcome you. They should arrive at the camp in about a quarter of an hour."

Ye Tao smiled. Old friends were coming. It seemed that tonight would be lively again. "Let's go, back to camp. Except for the soldiers on duty, call everyone else back."