After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

Cui Zhengyu had been fighting with Yang Zaixing recently and had long wanted to go to the battlefield. Now that he had received Chen Futu's order, he was immediately excited.

"Remember, while consolidating territory, you must also secretly investigate the location of Taiping Warehouse. I suspect that Taiping Warehouse may be somewhere in Beixing Mountain. If you find the grain transport teams of the three major grain merchants, seize them all."

"Hehe, this subordinate obeys!"

Cui Zhengyu left Longcheng after obtaining the royal decree.

It's inconvenient for the King of Northern Frontier to commit robbery, so it's perfectly reasonable for the "rebel king" to take action. With Cui Zhengyu and Chu Jiang blocking the secret route for grain to leave Northern Frontier, the three major grain merchants have no chance to succeed.

As the days went by, towns and villages sprang up around Longcheng, and the lives of the people improved more and more. Compared with the peace in the northern frontier, the war in the Central Plains was like the difference between heaven and hell.

Chen Futu planned to put the private school on the agenda in the middle of the year, and then send students from the academy to serve as teachers to hone their skills before they could take on positions such as county magistrate.

This is only a temporary measure. We will resume the imperial examination system once we have a sufficient pool of talent.

Time flies, and it's already the end of the month.

Because of Diao Chan's reputation as a fairy in the mortal world, many scholars gathered in Longcheng.

Chen Futu instructed Wang Ting to coordinate with the painted boat to prepare a grand literary gathering. It is said that several beauties on the list of outstanding talents have come to Longcheng. In addition, many people from the martial arts world have brought their families to settle in Longcheng to avoid trouble.

Chen Futu made proper arrangements for these people, giving them generous military benefits, but he did not force them to join the army.

Most notably, people from the Cui family came.

It was the family behind Cui Zhengyu; the patriarch himself came, and the whole family was in a grand procession that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The relocation of the Cui family has attracted many onlookers.

Chen Futu personally received Old Master Cui.

The old man was quite generous, giving away two million taels of silver as gifts, along with various precious fabrics, tea, and fine wine.

Chen Futu accepted the entire family and settled them in Pingkangfang.

Business matters are now handled by Yan Qing and the Ministry of Commerce, so Chen Futu specifically instructed Yan Qing to take good care of the Cui family. This family is a golden goose; if Cui Zhengyu hadn't been captured, the Cui family would never have abandoned their businesses in the Central Plains and migrated as a clan.

"Your Majesty is benevolent; the development of the Northern Frontier is now far better than that of the Central Plains."

The old patriarch of the Cui family traveled north from Daqian and witnessed too much bloodshed and cruelty along the way. People were fleeing, starving, and mutilated corpses were often seen scattered by the roadside. Some desperate people even chased after the caravan. If the Cui family hadn't had enough guards, they probably wouldn't know how they died.

In the present-day Great Qian Dynasty, apart from the areas under the rule of the vassal kings and their strongholds, the land is rife with war, and thieves and bandits are everywhere.

In fact, Chen Futu had been paying attention to the situation in Daqian recently. According to Yu Qian, some people were even being sold to the northern frontier in secret. However, the buying and selling of people was strictly prohibited in the northern frontier, so this business was being carried out in secret.

Chen Futu didn't bother to interfere. Ordinary people wouldn't travel such a long distance to Longcheng. Coming here was a way to survive. If the master abused or beat someone to death, it would be a criminal offense. Di Renjie had already perfected the relevant laws in the name of the Censorate.

A group of young men and women were out in the most luxurious restaurant in Longcheng.

This group of people, dressed in fine clothes, were all descendants of prominent families from various places. They had long heard of the name of the King of the Northern Frontier and had always wanted to come and see the Northern Frontier. Now that the Fairy of the Mortal World had descended upon Dragon City and was going to hold a grand literary gathering, they came to join in the fun.

"Longcheng is far more prosperous and wealthy than the capital, which is truly breathtaking."

"Yes, Miss Su, everyone says that the King of Northern Frontier is cruel and ruthless. Now it seems that the rumors have been very harmful."

They talked and walked through the streets, then went to Baiyujing.

Baiyujing is a pavilion located between the royal court and the painted boats. It was built with funds from the Qingyi (a court official) and is extremely luxurious.

Qingyi was aloof and proud. After hearing Chen Futu recite the line "The Jade Capital in the heavens, with twelve towers and five cities," she became interested. This place was also very much in line with her identity as the royal tutor of the Northern Frontier.

Chen Futu didn't know where she got the money from, but she mobilized a large number of people to build it, and she was extremely generous.

The common people could profit from it, so Chen Futu tacitly approved her building of the wonder.

Not long after Baiyujing was completed, Chen Futu became a regular visitor, often taking Diaochan to enjoy the scenery. Li Xiuning also occasionally brought Consort Ge, Yan Qing, and Mo Lan to visit as well.

As for Qingyi, she was devoted to swordsmanship and was just one step away from breaking through, so she didn't show up often. Chen Futu, on the other hand, got the job right away.

The literary gathering will be held at Baiyujing.

Besides this wonder, the Heavenly Mystery Tower was finally completed, and Tianjizi couldn't wait to move in.

The Heavenly Mystery Tower held a special position, which is why it was placed above the royal court, a fact tacitly approved by Chen Futu.

"Is this Baiyujing? It's so extravagant..."

The young talents were utterly amazed by the magnificent buildings, for while the Great Qian Dynasty was engaged in a fierce battle, the Northern Frontier was actually carrying out a massive construction project!

The young woman surnamed Su, wearing a white veiled hat, surveyed the surroundings with her beautiful eyes and softly exclaimed, "I've heard that the Northern Frontier King is vigorously developing development zones. This Jade Capital was probably built as a side project, so it's not a waste."

"But I don't know if I will have the honor of meeting Your Majesty at this literary gathering."

"Yes, he was a ruthless man. Since leaving the capital, he had fought countless battles, large and small, and had defeated the barbarians of the Great Qian Dynasty, the North, and the West. He was truly a great ruler."

The women, who rarely come to the northern frontier, all wanted to see the supreme ruler with their own eyes.

Moreover, it is obvious to anyone with discerning eyes that, given the current state of affairs, the King of the Northern Frontier is very likely to become the next emperor.

If I can make an appearance before the King at this literary gathering, I might become the new empire's queen.

This is also the main reason why many aristocratic families are willing to spend a lot of money and risk encountering bandits to send their outstanding daughters to the Northern Frontier to participate in the literary gathering.

As for those talented young men, they also had a purpose in coming to the Northern Frontier, because there were rumors that the King of the Northern Frontier planned to publicly select a husband for the princess.

The princess is the eldest princess of the empire; marrying her is like rising to the top in one fell swoop.

On the Jade Palace, Chen Futu looked down upon the magnificent human world, raised his wine cup, and felt a surge of heroic spirit: "I swallow the sun and moon with wine in my cup, and idly use poetry to describe the universe."

"Brother, you have excellent writing skills."

Suddenly, a chorus of praise came from beside him. Chen Futu glanced sideways and saw a group of talented young men who had arrived at some unknown time.

Chen Futu smiled and said, "Are you all here to attend this literary gathering as well?"

The group laughed and said, "Of course, and this Jade Palace is truly breathtaking."

“It’s nothing special, nothing to be surprised about.”

Chen Futu invited everyone to sit down, and then a maid brought wine and pastries. The group introduced themselves, each with a more impressive background than the last.

The woman surnamed Su was ranked second on the Phoenix List. Her name was Su Yun. She was from Yuchuan and came from a scholarly family. She had been well-versed in private school since childhood and was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was known as the Goddess of Yuchuan.