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Chapter 961 Shortage of Supplies Urgently Needs to Be Resolved
After taking office in Lihuozhou, Zhou Nanwang found the situation to be more complex and the workload more numerous than expected.

Although he had drawn resources and manpower from Beijing to gradually build a large staff before taking office, he found that he needed to use people and spend money everywhere when he arrived in the local area, and there was no place where he was not in dire need of funds.

Lihuozhou is located at a strategic point, guarding against the ten demons of the southeast to the north and bordering the frontier to the south.

Therefore, this vast land not only needs to provide logistical support for the Hundred Factions Alliance, but also needs to interact with the Southern Frontier.

The army of tens of thousands they brought was like grains of sand scattered into a vast ocean—a drop in the ocean.

As a result, Zhou You was also entrusted with an important task, becoming Zhou Nanwang's 'advisor' in charge of material allocation.

In the early stages of starting a business, there are too many things to worry about, so Zhou You devoted some of his energy to helping build a brand new channel for Lihuozhou.

First of all, although Lihuo Prefecture is not an area ravaged by the Ten Demons of the Southeast, it is close to the battlefield and it is common for it to be affected.

Countless mines, medicinal herb fields, and workshops scattered throughout the region were destroyed.

The population loss is severe because the demon race eats people, directly treating ordinary people as prey and livestock to plunder and kill.

When Zhou Nanwang received the rough summary of the situation, he almost fainted. Most of the prefecture was in ruins, and the fields were almost completely abandoned.

In the area near the southern border, the demons were hesitant to act rashly, fearing to provoke Lord Shen, so things remained relatively peaceful.

His top priority upon taking office was to clean up the ruins, restart production, and continuously provide resources to the front lines.

The moment the great gentleman won his victory, orders to urge the distribution of rewards arrived.

"One million tons of various medicines, eight thousand pieces of divine weapons, and a massive amount of other supplies!"

Whenever the topic of the supplies demanded by the other party came up, the veins in Zhou Nanwang's forehead throbbed violently, as if he wanted to jump into the sky.

It would be better to lead your men into battle; at least then you wouldn't have to worry about these things.

Given the situation in Lihuozhou, even squeezing every last drop of blood wouldn't be enough to gather this many supplies, and angering the Great Gentleman would have serious consequences.

As the 'housekeeper,' Zhou You also experienced the difficulties of managing a household; this was the price of governing a state.

Once upon a time, he was part of the Zhou clan's western branch in the capital, where resources were abundant, and he could easily reward his personal guards with astronomical sums.

Back then, the concept of 'lacking money' didn't even exist.
But when a great gentleman wins a battle, the rewards alone amount to an astonishing sum.

This is a truly astronomical figure; the total volume of secret medicines and potent drugs is measured in millions of tons.

He estimated that even if he sold the entire Zhou family's western branch, he still wouldn't be able to raise 30% of the supplies.

How to do?
To describe Zhou You's wealth as a drop in the ocean is an understatement; it's more like the tiny atomic particles on the tip of a feather.

Even if you win, it costs this much; if you lose, the compensation will be another huge expense, which is heartbreaking.

Fighting the demon race is a thankless and exhausting task. The enemy is too destructive, leaving barren lands in their wake and destroying all sustainable resources.

Therefore, the martial artists are at a disadvantage as the fight goes on, even if they win...

"Hmm, this time the Great Gentleman has won, even killing two of the Ten Demons of the Southeast. What have you gained?"

Two of the ten demons of the southeast have been killed, and there must be many more other demons who died. Surely there must be some spoils of war.
"The aged bones and long beards are excellent materials for forging divine weapons. The corpses of the two great demons were also divided up to encourage the trusted advisors who followed the Great Lord."

"As for the rest of the demon race..."

The person explaining the situation to Zhou You was Zhu Ruoxuan, a personal guard. This outstanding member of the Northern Xuan Zhu clan was Zhou You's only great talent and was entrusted with important responsibilities at crucial moments.

Zhu Ruoxuan was born in Beixuanzhu and had experience in matters at the state level. He was more aware of the stakes than other guards.

The information he gathered was that the demon race were a bunch of poor devils, and even if they won, they would at most gain a mountain of corpses and nothing else.

Although corpses can strengthen divine weapons, their use is limited and the consumption is small, so they offer negligible compensation for the losses suffered by martial artists. "The Great Gentleman has recently built a new corpse-piling ground on the border of the state to store the slain demon corpses!"

"The martial artists can take what they need, but there's still plenty left!"

Zhou You pondered for a moment, thinking, "This is such a waste! Even if we can't eat demons, we should still try to extract their value."

If this continues with only outflows and no inflows, even the Fire State can't sustain itself, and sooner or later it will bleed too much to continue.

Zhou Nanwang's first appointment ended in failure, failing to live up to the lord's expectations and hindering his future development.

For both public and private reasons, Zhou You had to help him stand up for himself.

"Come on, come with me to see it."

"where to?"

"State border, a mass grave."

Zhou You led a group of personal guards on his journey, which initially attracted attention, but he stopped when he reached the state border.

The stench-filled corpse-strewn field was deserted for miles around, not even a single carrion-eating bird or insect could be seen.

He arrived at just the right time, running into a group of people under the command of the Great Gentleman, who were also bringing fresh demon corpses.

With a whoosh, like a landfill, the corpses poured out like a stream, colliding and piling up into small mountains.

Looking around, the undulating hills and peaks on this land are actually made up of all sorts of demon corpses.

What a magnificent scene!
I've heard that the soil a thousand meters underground has been soaked in the blood of the demon race, and nothing will grow there even after ten thousand years.

Zhou You noticed that some of the demon corpses were missing parts, some had been skinned, some had their eyes gouged out, and some had their bones removed.

A voice came from beside him, "Compared to the fallen warriors who died without a complete corpse and turned into dung, these beasts are getting off easy."

The person in charge of transporting the demon corpse was actually a... half-blood witch, Mu Sigui.

When Mu Sigui saw Zhou You, he was stunned. He reacted quickly and didn't tactlessly call out Zhou You's name first.

A companion beside him reminded him, "This is Zhou Daqian, the adopted son of the newly appointed governor Zhou Zongshi and the heir of the western branch of the Zhou clan of Dijing."

Countless thoughts raced through Mu Sigui's mind. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Greetings, Prince Zhou!"

He was also a smart man; he knew that certain things were sensitive, and that seeing through things but not pointing them out was the way to protect himself.

Zhu Ruoxuan also introduced in a low voice, "This person came from the north, abandoned darkness and turned to light, and is now one of the great lord's capable generals."

When Mu Sigui was with the Wu tribe, he was already an outstanding individual. Later, he followed Wu Luoye in his defection.

He did not follow Wu Luoye, but returned to his ancestral homeland, located somewhere in the east.

Because of his mixed-race identity, he suffered a lot of cold looks and rejection. When he arrived in his hometown, he found that the homeland he had dreamed of was not peaceful at all, but had long been ravaged by the demon race.

After several twists and turns, Mu Sigui joined the Hundred Schools Alliance and later gained the appreciation of the Great Gentleman, becoming one of the Great Gentleman's personal guards.

When they met again, the former hunter had become a master of martial arts.

Of course, the gap between him and Zhou You widened further, and their statuses were also worlds apart.

When Mu Sigui learned that Zhou You had come to see the corpse-piling site, he told him about the demon race.

(End of this chapter)