Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

“Thank you, Lord. I think you haven’t understood my meaning yet, nor have you grasped the situation of my iron mine!”

In His Majesty's view, our Huo family, under the protection of the Great Xia Empire, can boldly continue mining and expanding the Huo family's business.

Given time, our Huo family may be able to revive its former glory!

But the Lord is unaware that our ancestors established the "Three No's" precept: no stationing troops, no aggression, and no exorbitant taxes.

This was because our ancestors had already realized the danger of possessing a treasure that could bring trouble.

Back then, our ancestors were quite powerful, but they were still threatened and exploited by various forces. They seemed very glamorous at the time, but in reality, they were just laborers for others.

The vast majority of the profits will be divided up by those forces, leaving very little for oneself.

But our Huo family is ultimately a small family, weak and powerless to resist.

Therefore, when the situation inside the mine was still unknown to outsiders, our ancestors made a decision early on to gradually reduce the amount of minerals mined and the quality of the ore, bypassing the high-quality deposits and leaving them underground without mining them, thus creating the illusion of resource depletion.

While I, Huo, understand His Majesty's magnanimity and good intentions, it's hard to guarantee that other powerful forces won't be envious. Even if His Majesty intends to protect our Huo family, there will ultimately be times when his power is insufficient, which will inevitably add unnecessary trouble to the empire.

"Old Huo, I understand what you mean. It's rare to find someone with such thoughtfulness! On behalf of the people of Great Xia, I thank you!"

After Huo Chengde finished speaking, Su Yangyan said to him with emotion.

Then he explained to Mo Yuming:

"My lord may not know, but the Huo family's mine was a renowned iron mine a hundred years ago. The iron ore produced by the Huo family was a rare and precious black iron concentrate."

Swords and blades forged from Huo family ore are generally better than those made from ore from other families.

Using the same recipe, the quality of the swords and blades produced will be one level higher than others.

Therefore, at that time, the iron ore mined by the Huo family was basically monopolized by the noble families, and it was very difficult for ordinary people to see Huo family iron ore.

However, in recent decades, the Huo family's ore production has been decreasing and the quality has been deteriorating, which is why they have gradually faded from the world's view.

The secret Old Man Huo revealed was actually his intention to use the Empire's name to massively mine the Huo family's mines, using their high-quality iron ore to forge weapons and add a decisive weapon to our Great Xia Empire!

"I, Mo Yuming, am truly grateful for Lord Huo's consideration for my Great Xia Empire!"

Su Qing, you should immediately organize the Prime Minister's delegation to discuss the mining and the establishment of an arsenal. I suggest that the mining should be mainly decided by the Huo family. After deducting all expenses, based on the actual value of the minerals, 50% of the profits should be converted into currency and distributed to the Huo family. The arsenal should also be built in a nearby location.

The same applies to the ranches you donated.

While we are contributing to the community, the Empire also needs to protect the private interests of every citizen.

"Thank you, Lord!"

Su Yangyan and Huo Chengde thanked him in unison.

"Although Huo Qing has read our basic law, he has not participated in the process of making the law before, so his understanding of it is limited."

Therefore, Su Qing needs to arrange for people to assist Huo Qing properly. Since Huo Qing holds the position of Grand Justice, he needs to be even more familiar with the new laws.

Now that the national affairs are settled and the Basic Law has been promulgated, the detailed rules and regulations that govern people's lives have not yet been compiled.

The original legal system had many flaws and injustices. After taking office, Huo Qing quickly established a judicial government in accordance with the Basic Law and intensified efforts to promote the new policies.

Let's improve the administrative structure of our Great Xia Empire as soon as possible.

After the establishment of the new local government agencies, some of the original civilian officials can be retained, but it is necessary to investigate whether they have committed any wrongdoing.

Whether or not they have done anything to oppress the people, anyone who has committed crimes or offenses shall not be retained and their crimes shall be investigated.

If there is a shortage of personnel, an invigilation team can be dispatched, and candidates can be recruited from the general public.

From now on, all newly appointed officials, regardless of rank, in our Great Xia Empire will be required to participate in the national examination, and will be selected based on their performance.

Apart from the military and the National Security Bureau, other officials are not required to undergo tests on their Xuan Gong cultivation level.

In my Great Xia Empire, regardless of one's level of cultivation or background, no one is above or below the level of their profound martial arts.

All citizens of my empire are equal before the law; there is no distinction of rank or status! No one is above the law!

Although our nation was established in accordance with the will of the people, and we have tens of thousands of soldiers and many celestial elders to support us, Wangxiang Town and Luoxia City have always been the hereditary territories of the two of you.

In addition, the deterrent effect of the great defeat of the Marquis's 100,000-strong army is still there, which can buy us some time.

So the situation is relatively stable for the time being, giving us a chance to catch our breath.

However, we are located in a remote and desolate area with a sparse population and scarce resources. If we cannot become strong as soon as possible, we will inevitably be swallowed up by the surrounding powers.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to implement the new policies as soon as possible so that all the people of Daxia can live and work in peace and contentment.

At the same time, we will intensify reforms, create a favorable development environment, strengthen various trade exchanges, attract merchants to trade, and encourage talented individuals to settle in our Great Xia!

To establish academies of both martial arts and literature, providing more talent for the future of the Great Xia Empire.

"We will certainly do our utmost to share the burdens of our lord and serve the country!"

"At the beginning of the newly established Great Xia Empire, everything was in need of rebuilding."

This is a great opportunity for everyone to showcase their talents and ambitions. I hope everyone can unite as one, achieve great things, and leave a lasting mark on history!

……

After settling everything down, Mo Yuming finally had a rare moment of leisure.

Although he is busy handling various affairs every day, Mo Yuming has now developed a habit:

Every day at dawn, he would get up on time to practice the basic techniques of the Spirit Absorption Technique for an hour.

The first level of the Spirit Absorption Technique mainly focuses on body refinement, regulating internal energy, and strengthening the meridians to withstand stronger spiritual energy impacts.

Only strong and resilient meridians can withstand the powerful spiritual energy impact of the enemy in actual combat and absorb more of the enemy's spiritual energy.

The gathering of profound spiritual energy within Mo Yuming's body is different from others. The vast majority of it is not obtained through his own hard work, but rather forcibly instilled by those Heavenly Rank elders.

They haven't been tested in real combat.

This is very different from how Old Man Ren forcibly absorbs the enemy's spiritual power through actual combat.

Therefore, although his current cultivation level is far superior to that of the most talented among his peers, he knows that he obtained it through opportunism and trickery. His foundation is not solid, which will do him more harm than good in the future. The higher his cultivation level becomes, the more obvious the drawbacks will be.

Therefore, what he needs now is not to rush to improve his cultivation level, but to do the opposite and start practicing the most basic breathing techniques from scratch to strengthen his basic skills.

After finishing his training early that morning, with plenty of time to spare and nothing urgent to attend to, Mo Yuming decided to quietly leave the mansion alone and head to the bustling main street.

Because Mo Yuming rarely appears in public and always wears a mask at major conferences, very few outsiders know him.

Therefore, he walked alone on the street without attracting anyone's attention.

However, due to his successful cultivation of profound arts, Mo Yuming's physical development was excellent. At the age of fourteen or fifteen, his physique was already similar to that of an ordinary young man.

Her slender figure and unique temperament unintentionally attracted the attention of many young girls as she walked down the street.

Every now and then, a string of silvery laughter and a continuous stream of flirtatious glances would reach my ears.

Mo Yuming had been in Shangyuan City for some time now, but apart from a quick look around with Su Yangyan the first time, he hadn't really explored the streets of Shangyuan City.

Wandering aimlessly through the streets alone, Mo Yuming felt incredibly relaxed, as if he had returned to his past life, exploring a small town in Jiangnan during his free time from work.

Amidst the bustling crowd, he browsed through the shops one by one, admiring the goods inside, taking in everything from those that interested him to those that didn't. He responded with a polite smile to the shopkeepers' enthusiastic invitations, and then quietly walked past.