His Majesty is plotting a rebellion? Quickly, summon the Imperial Advisor!

Xu Bing inquired about the projects such as Qingmeng Restaurant, Rice Shop, Reclamation Area, and Bathing Area one by one. If there was any need for coordination and cooperation, he would clarify it with the people in charge in advance.

The Qingmeng Restaurant is developing in both high-end luxury and convenience, while the rice shop's main task is to drive the rice market. However, the two aspects of land reclamation and bathing are not Xu Bing's strengths, so he did not provide much guidance.

I only listened to Lao Xuehai and Bai Lu report on the work progress and subsequent arrangements.

Everything is going smoothly at the bathing site. Bai Lu has a clever plan and is currently working on building a water storage spring, as well as water inlet and outlet channels, etc.

As for the land reclamation project, Lao Xuehai counted the number of refugees, which now exceeds 12,000. He implemented a system of dividing the land into zones and groups for reclamation.

Ten acres of land have now been cleared for Xu Bing's use.

Today is February 10th. According to the usual pattern of spring and winter in Daxi City, there is still about a month or so left.

The land reclamation project will only begin to take effect after winter ends. Xu Bing is not in a hurry at all. He has enough grain reserves now and can take care of the refugees.

……

Upon receiving the news of the victory, Xu Bing led two hundred cooks on a night march of over seventy li to Kailie Mountain. Gong Zhonghou then organized the troops, devised a strategy, and finally led them up the mountain to suppress the bandits.

Two hundred soldiers, clad in fine armor, swiftly and decisively wiped out the mountain bandits.

According to statistics, the bandits numbered fifty-eight, and their hideout contained fifteen cattle, seventeen sheep, five horses, and fifty-one bushels of grain.

In addition, there are about ten sets each of broadswords, swords, and bows and arrows.

This small bandit hideout was a self-contained system. With such equipment and food reserves, how could the surrounding people be a match for them?

In this small battle, the Fire-Cooking Army won a great victory with zero deaths, but one person was injured. He slipped and fell, scraping his knee and bleeding a little.

The battle report was simple and clear, and Xu Bing picked up his pen to write down the next steps.

First, return all the rice seized from the bandits to Hongyu Village, Tukeng Village, and Bai Niao Village. Then, cut off the bandits' heads and hand them over to the village chiefs of the three villages, telling them that the banditry in the three villages has been eliminated.

Secondly, he stated his purpose and asked the villagers of the three villages if they were willing to submit to the command of his national advisor, Xu Bing.

He also offered benefits, saying that if one were to join Xu Bing's team, one would have no worries about food and clothing in the future, but one would have to obey orders and participate in daily labor.

He would give back exactly what he was paid for. As the Grand Preceptor, he had no reason to oppress the people for his own pleasure. Therefore, everything he said was true.

If you do not believe or agree, we will never force you. Gong Zhonghou and his two hundred fire-cooking soldiers will withdraw immediately.

In addition, there were rules and regulations to follow. It took half an incense stick's time to write the letter, wrap it in a bamboo tube about the width of a finger, and then send it over with a large black crow.

At the speed of a crow, it would arrive in less than 45 minutes. Xu Bing looked out the window and watched the crow fly away, which also foreshadowed that Xu Bing's hand had officially begun to extend into Da Xi City.

As the saying goes, a hidden dragon emerges from the abyss.

The initial basic framework has been almost completed, and Xu Bing's influence is gradually expanding, with the pace of development...

It spread like wildfire throughout the entire Daehee.

By then, when everyone came to their senses, they would find that he had become incredibly powerful.

Xu Bing took out a geographical map of the vicinity of Da Xi City from his desk. Da Xi City was located in the center of Da Xi, slightly to the west.

There are three large cities in the surrounding area, one facing west, one facing south, and one facing north...

Xu Bing's original intention was to think about stretching his hand to the south.

Since there was already Kailishan, they temporarily changed their strategy and expanded westward.

Rao Hongcheng, Chunshui River, Kailie Mountain...

This geographical location actually has great potential.

"Perhaps... I could take some time to visit Rao Hongcheng," Xu Bing murmured to himself.

Half an hour later, Marquis Gongzhong sent a reply, saying that the people of the three villages were extremely grateful to His Majesty the Grand Preceptor and agreed to his request, and from then on they would be under his command.

Even more extreme, some wanted to erect a statue for Xu Bing, but it should be noted that the three villages were located in remote areas and had been plagued by bandits for most of their lives.

They had long hated the bandits to the bone, but dared not resist. Two hundred fire-cooking soldiers killed all the bandits and cut off their heads.

That alone is already a great favor.

Xu Bing replied that there was no need to erect a statue; energy and money should be spent wisely. Xu Bing then gave the order, indicating that everything on that side had been taken care of.

Gong Zhonghou led one hundred fire-cooking soldiers back to Tan Village, while the remaining one hundred fire-cooking soldiers stayed behind at San Village to set up residences and camps.

He specifically instructed them to maintain good relations with the local villagers and never to bully the weak, otherwise they would be severely punished!

As for what followed, he would handle it personally.

……

After finishing his business over seventy miles away, Xu Bing stretched and lay down on the grand master's chair.

When communicating with Yu'e through mental focus, he mostly asked about common knowledge in cultivation, such as the use of primordial essence and purple energy.

Yu'e, being knowledgeable and experienced, answered all the questions one by one. The primordial essence was found only in the rare and precious primordial flower, making it extremely rare.

This energy possesses the power to enhance, with countless wonderful effects and uses; even a single wisp is priceless.

Unfortunately, this energy is difficult to sell, and it will dissipate into the air soon after it is formed.

There are so many things that can be enhanced; when applied to the hands, they can lift a cauldron; when applied to spells, their power increases dramatically.

When applied to magical artifacts in the later stages, it interacts with the essence of creation within the artifacts, resulting in various miraculous effects.

It can even be used for fundamental Dharma practice.

Besides its enhancement function, it has another wonderful use that makes it highly sought after: "materials".

It is a precious material for building the Longevity Bridge, and even for constructing government offices and casting platforms.

The structure and materials of a bridge determine its stability, specifications, and so on.

Primordial essence and purple energy are both excellent bridging materials.

Qi cultivators seize the creations of heaven and earth, gather the essence of heaven and earth, and the bridges they build are naturally of all kinds.

Yu'e once knew someone who had a great opportunity in the beginning to collect moonlight and sunlight to build a bridge of sunlight and moonlight.

As the bridge was completed, the sun and moon reappeared in the sky, which was astonishing. The quality of the bridge can be described as exceptional.

Yu'e added that the powerful figure originally intended to build the "Chuyang Zihong Bridge," using sunlight and purple energy as raw materials to construct a bridge to immortality.

Later, it was discovered that his body had two energies converging, so he changed his mind, dissipated all the purple energy, and instead used the moonlight to build a bridge of sunlight and moonlight.

When asked what bridge Yu'e was,

She transformed into a wisp of white mist, floating before Xu Bing, her voice soft and melodious, "The Lotus Bridge of Time!"

There is no fixed formula for the bridges built by Qi cultivators; they mostly build them based on what they have and how they want to build them.

Yu'e told Xu Bing that she had established a connection with the Creation Lotus and gained immense benefits from it. Therefore, the Bridge of Immortality she built was closely related to it.