At the same time, in the Snowfield Province of the Protos Empire, thousands of miles away from Gedalia, the royal capital of the Aetheran Kingdom, it was also a bright afternoon.

The city walls, weathered by the years, still stood tall, steeped in the profound history of Kinston City. A group of people were slowly proceeding along the path on the city walls.

At the very center of the front of the group, a man in a suit had his hands clasped behind his back. The sunlight shone on him, plating his figure with a layer of golden light.

His mind was preoccupied, and he often gazed into the distance, walking steadily and powerfully, as if feeling the pulse of the earth.

A group of city-state lords followed him on his left and right. Although some of them were also figures of authority in their own territories, at this moment, in front of the governor, they all became extremely respectful.

"High-quality development is the primary task in the comprehensive construction of our Snowfield Province."

Lan Qi was conducting intensive local inspections and research, making a series of important deployments.

The surrounding subordinates nodded respectfully, their gazes always fixed on Lan Qi's shoulder or back, ready to accept his inquiries or instructions at any moment.

Sometimes, they would lower their heads slightly in self-reflection, or avoid eye contact with their leader.

As early as two hours before noon, the governor had already held a brief meeting with these lords in the city hall of Kinston City. In the meeting room, Lan Qi listened in detail to the work reports and gave a series of valuable suggestions.

He first affirmed the work of the Snowfield Province in the past year, saying that it was the result of everyone's hard work. Then, he deeply elaborated on the strategic position of the Snowfield Province in the Protos Empire and the responsibilities it bore.

He pointed out that the geographical location of the Snowfield Province determined that it had great potential in ecological protection and tourism development. Therefore, the development plan must adhere to the principles of security and stability, and ecological priority. While resolutely suppressing the Ghost Party, it was necessary to ensure that the local ecological environment was not damaged and to maintain sustainable development.

Lan Qi emphasized that the future development of the Snowfield Province must be based on local resources and characteristics. It should actively guide capital and technology investment into corresponding infrastructure construction. At the same time, he also required that the departments at all levels in the Snowfield Province strengthen cooperation with the city-states, learn from advanced experiences, and strive to improve local operational efficiency and management level.

He finally said that he believed that with the joint efforts of all the people of the Snowfield Province, the Snowfield Province would surely become a region with both ecological beauty and economic vitality, making due contributions to the development of the Protos Empire.

Although the governor's attitude was always serious,

every well-considered and insightful opinion made the local lords deeply aware of their problems and made positive assurances.

Now, after the meeting, several lords were still accompanying Lan Qi, walking on the city walls of Kinston City,

discussing the details of the work with him.

"...I don't plan to stay in the Snowfield Province for too long. I will leave after arranging the work plan. The next time we meet should be in the imperial capital, Hellrom."

Lan Qi planned to stay in the Snowfield Province for at most another day or two. Next, he would continue to the Northern Border Province, which was a much longer journey.

If the magical energy rail train had not been restored and severe weather was not taken into account, it might take several days to get from the Snowfield Province to the Northern Border Province.

Lan Qi needed to make sure he could return to the imperial capital, Hellrom, before mid-April.

At that time, in late April, there would be the long-awaited bishop election.

The lords and nobles around him all had the qualifications to attend the Upper House, and they possessed a vote with significant weight.

It also won a lot of votes for Sigrid. She was quite happy now, saying that the goodwill that Sid had deducted before had been added back to Lan Qi. She wanted him to continue his efforts to make Sid a happy girl.

Of course, if Lan Qi was elected to the Lower House, he would also have a vote, and the weight of the Lower House's vote would be relatively higher.

The Lower House of the Protos Empire had an advantage in the division of powers, possessing the right to initiate many bills. The Upper House, composed of nobles, only had a one-month extension right and was only responsible to the Lower House.

The lords followed closely behind Lan Qi like attendants. When they heard that he would be leaving soon, the lords exchanged worried glances.

Finally, they hesitantly raised their most pressing concern.

"Governor McCarthy, what should we do about the Ghost Party after you leave?"

If Governor Locke McCarthy himself was there to direct them to suppress the Ghost Party at any time, they would of course feel very relieved.

But if the governor left, even if the governor had drawn up an outline for them before leaving, they did not know whether they could coordinate and implement it well, or whether they could respond to the Ghost Party in a timely and effective manner.

When it came to actual implementation, everyone might try to play games for their own benefit, ultimately choosing the implementation plan that maximized their own interests, thereby abandoning the optimal solution for the group's interests.

"Dealing with criminals in the Snow Region is an urgent issue, yet it has been delayed for so long. I personally think the root cause lies in the fact that you have not reached an agreement on the input and output."

Lan Qi stopped and exhaled a breath of mist, saying.

He had not made the strategic plan public in the conference room before, and he was indeed prepared to explain it to several leaders at this moment.

"..."

The other lords followed suit and stopped, somewhat embarrassed.

Being pointed out the root problem so bluntly left them speechless.

"Of course, I don't mean to blame you... I just think that exercising justice should never be a negative return."

Lan Qi straightened his back, his eyes scanning the snowy field in front of him with vicissitudes. His deep voice echoed in the cold air,

"Change your thinking. Don't you all think the cost is too high now? Then we have to increase the benefits and drive everyone to do good."

"But... how can we increase the benefits of arresting the Ghost Party?"

One of the city-state lords stepped forward with confusion and asked.

This was undoubtedly the most troublesome thing for them.

Suppressing bandits required a lot of actual financial and human resources, and the merits gained were insignificant. The biggest problem among the lords before was in the funding and effort.

But now, the governor was telling them that there was a way to increase the benefits of suppressing bandits?

If it was truly feasible, it might directly solve their predicament in essence.

"Issue an official letter."

Lan Qi turned his head indifferently and instructed.

"An official letter?"

Lan Qi nodded and continued:

"From now on, all prisoners in the Snowfield Province's city-state prisons, under proper supervision, will go to work in the world outside the high walls, engaging in various public undertakings. They will learn the value of honest labor, and at the same time, they will provide services to the community and contribute to the vast number of taxpayers."

"?!"

When the other lords heard this, they were all stunned.

Although the Protos Empire had demon slaves, even converting criminals into slaves required complicated registration, review, and certification procedures, and the cost of contracts and restriction magic was quite high.

However, the regulations did not prohibit the use of prisoners in prisons for "rented labor work."

Moreover, the definition of this "work" was quite vague.

With the vast amount of material resources in this vast Snowfield Province, as long as there was enough cold-resistant labor, money would roll in like a flood!

This wasn't arresting criminals, it was simply trafficking them!

(End of chapter)