Reclaiming all territories was by no means an easy task.
From Clay, Chen Yu learned that Fengqi City had seventy-two sub-cities scattered across the seven thousand *li* north-south expanse.
Some of these city lords were meritorious officials who had served the old Prince in battle.
Some were distant relatives from collateral branches.
And some were ambitious individuals who had been recognized and promoted by the old Prince.
These sub-city lords would undoubtedly have heard news of the internal strife within Fengqi City. The fact that no troops were dispatched to suppress them gave some indication of their intentions, though this was not absolute.
No one could guarantee that dispatching troops to suppress them would not be seized as an opportunity to take over their cities.
Conversely, not dispatching troops did not mean they were not loyal to the main city.
Among these seventy-two sub-city lords, there were certainly those loyal to the main city, and potentially virtuous officials. To dismiss them all at once would be unfair to the loyal and virtuous.
According to Yabo, Chen Yu could reclaim the cities by force.
But how would reclamation proceed?
How would the hearts of the people within the cities be managed? If he reclaimed a city that was under tyrannical rule and heavy taxation, he might be able to resolve it through significant benefits and tax policies.
But if the city lord was a virtuous official, what would Chen Yu do?
Would he still offer great benefits?
Doing so would shake the hearts of some of the city's populace, but would it not create opportunities for those with ulterior motives, leaving the city in a state of perpetual crisis, easily overthrown? Chen Yu did not want such a situation to arise.
Reclaiming sub-cities was inevitable, but it needed to be done with strategy.
Furthermore, his current situation was not yet at the stage of reclaiming sub-cities. Fengqi City had not been thoroughly stabilized, so the matter of sub-cities could be postponed.
Seeing that Chen Yu did not support a forceful conquest, Yabo did not press the issue of the sub-cities.
Half an hour later,
Chen Yu and Yabo arrived at a wilderness overgrown with dense jungle.
"City Lord, as per your instructions..."
Yabo raised his hand and pointed to an area that had been independently demarcated.
"You've done a rather good job," Chen Yu nodded slightly, looking at the off-road training ground in the distance. "This is precisely the effect I wanted."
Chen Yu intended to build an elite army, but he had limited expertise in troop training.
He relayed the troop training methods he had seen online, based on his general impressions, to Yabo, instructing him to replicate them in Fengqi City.
Compared to training outside, the training methods within the cave would undoubtedly be more arduous.
The difficulty of various obstacles had been increased.
Chen Yu was not entirely sure of the specific results, but at least for now, he was quite satisfied with Yabo's work.
"From now on, this area will be designated as the military district, used for troop encampment and daily training," Chen Yu gestured towards the area before them. "City construction seems to be handled by your second brother, so tell him to cordon off this area directly."
"No problem, City Lord. I do have something I'd like to mention."
"Speak."
"Given the current situation in our city, the recruitment conditions are rather harsh. We have a large number of refugees, and they may not be willing to join the military."
"Let's not discuss this for now, we'll return to the city first."
By the time Chen Yu and his party returned to the city, night had already fallen.
The citizens, tired from a day's work, wore smiles on their faces, carrying sacks of grain or bundles of meat, returning joyfully to the temporary residences provided by the City Lord's Mansion.
Many citizens were also gathered in front of shops, purchasing daily necessities.
The shops were provided by the City Lord's Mansion.
The aim was to meet the consumption needs of the city's residents in the short term. As the city developed in the future and the citizens' wallets became fuller, various choices would naturally emerge: they could continue to work for the City Lord's Mansion, or they could use the capital earned in the city to open small shops within the city.
At that time, the small shops currently provided by the City Lord's Mansion could be phased out.
Chen Yu was not abandoning this business. The consumption points provided by the City Lord's Mansion were bound to exist. The consumption area managed by the City Lord's Mansion was intended to set a benchmark and ensure the quality of goods. Chen Yu could not guarantee that small shops run by citizens would not cut corners in pursuit of profit.
He aimed to provide citizens with more choices.
"Wow, it looks like the living standards of our city's residents have improved significantly," Chen Yu said as he walked through the city, paying little attention to the citizens shopping. All of this was within his expectations.
With sufficient copper coins in their pockets, everyone wanted to improve their lives.
What he hadn't expected was that some people were indulging in purchasing exquisite roasted meat, with a 300g piece costing a full thirty copper coins.
Wheat was only five copper coins per jin, and meat was only fifteen copper coins.
"There's no helping it, it's just too fragrant." Yabo, standing beside Chen Yu, said with a wry smile, "City Lord, I suspect you did this on purpose."
"Ah?!"
"The exquisite roasted meat that you had the City Lord's Mansion introduce is simply too fragrant. As soon as one enters this temporary commercial district, no one can escape the aroma of the roasted meat. It stirs up the craving in everyone's stomachs, making them want to buy a piece to try. Even I couldn't resist eating it several times." Yabo licked his lips, the deliciousness of the exquisite roasted meat involuntarily coming to mind, causing him to swallow.
"Doesn't it taste good?"
"Honestly, the taste is absolutely superb, truly worth the price of thirty copper coins." Yabo nodded emphatically, then sighed again, "The problem is that thirty copper coins is indeed a bit high. Although the wages in our city are not low, many citizens only earn thirty copper coins a day. Yet, your roasted meat is made so deliciously that many citizens pool their money to buy a piece to share, hoping to satisfy their cravings... well, after eating it, they just can't put it down."
Hearing this, Chen Yu couldn't help but grin sheepishly.
He hadn't really thought that far ahead.
The provision of exquisite roasted meat was purely a practice in Free Towns. While there was indeed an intention to recoup some capital, he hadn't expected the effect to be so good.
Nevertheless, Chen Yu had no intention of removing the exquisite roasted meat.
Purchasing the roasted meat was a personal choice of the citizens, and having it available better facilitated capital recovery. Otherwise, if Chen Yu had to continuously disburse funds, even possessing a mountain of gold wouldn't be enough.
The citizens were satisfied with eating the exquisite roasted meat, and he was satisfied with the capital recovery.
"If you like it, please support it more, it also contributes to the finances of the City Lord's Mansion." Chen Yu said with a smile, then suddenly frowned. "Yabo, the exquisite roasted meat has a very high public demand in our city, correct?"
"There is nothing with a higher public demand than the exquisite roasted meat."
"When we returned to the city just now, you seemed to mention that recruiting soldiers in our city is actually quite difficult." Chen Yu glanced sideways, and Yabo nodded in agreement. "Most of our city's residents are refugees. It has only been half a month since you truly took charge of this city. Although everyone appears to have smiles on their faces now, they likely haven't emerged from the shadow of being refugees. Based on my understanding of refugees, people who have become refugees are very resistant to war."
Chen Yu nodded slightly as he listened to Yabo's analysis.
He could understand.
Those who have truly experienced war know how cruel it is and must have an extreme aversion to it. They might indeed not participate in the recruitment in the city.
"What do you think about using exquisite roasted meat for recruitment?"
For a moment, Yabo froze, his neck craned, his head filled with question marks.
???
Roasted meat for recruitment, unheard of!