The Demon Lords

Chapter 520 32 Discuss Later_1

In Shengle City, the largest mansion had belonged to a former general appointed by the Helian family, equivalent to a guerrilla general in Yan State. However, this general had already led the majority of his troops west before the Helian family even prepared to wage war against Yan State. He never returned, and no news was heard from him.

He was presumed dead. After all, the ten-day bloody battle had claimed countless Jin people, and the war front stretched for a thousand miles. Retrieving all the bodies was impossible; no one knew how many corpses had fed the vultures.

A dead man's mansion was considered ominous, but Zheng Fan and the numerous demon kings under his command cared little for such things. In Hutou City, they had lived in freshly haunted houses left by the Hyena Gang.

To be frank, with zombies, vampires, and even a demon child on their side, any place with good feng shui would be wasted on them.

「Inside the recently tidied hall」

Zheng Fan reclined on the cushion of the main seat, his slightly elevated position affording him a commanding view.

Below, six demon kings sat in a circle. No outsiders were present; they even handled tasks like serving tea and refilling cups themselves.

It wasn't that there was no one trustworthy in this world. Rather, the matters to be discussed could be addressed more freely without outsiders.

Zheng Fan rubbed his temples, then picked up the teapot and took a large gulp directly from the spout.

He now had territory. It wasn't large, prosperous, or grand—just an out-of-the-way place. But it was a start. Now, everyone could perform their respective duties. Therefore, this wasn't exactly a celebration, but more like a meeting to "divide the spoils."

What surprised Zheng Fan was the demon kings' apparent restraint. It was as if, after prolonged hunger, they had suddenly become reserved and polite when presented with a grand feast.

After their previous candid discussion, Zheng Fan believed they could be honest with each other on these matters. Last time, he had toasted the demon kings with a cup of tea, and then everyone had leveled up together.

This time, Zheng Fan had no ulterior motives. If he could smoothly and steadily enhance everyone's strength, why wouldn't he?

Furthermore, Zheng Fan had been silently trying to convince himself, repeatedly thinking, 'I trust this one,' 'I'm optimistic about that one,' 'I believe in the other one,' but it seemed to have no effect. There appeared to be an invisible threshold, obstructing his efforts to help the demon kings recover their strength.

The demon kings present had also noticed this. After entering Shengle City, they had waited for a day, but nothing had happened.

According to their last conversation, their lord wouldn't be keeping them in suspense again. So, everyone surmised that the problem might not lie with any individual, but with the circumstances themselves.

Could it be that the recovery of their strength had become disconnected from their lord's advancement? If that were the case, things would get complicated.

But fortunately, they could still wait patiently for a while, as their lord hadn't slept last night.

They had entered the city at night. Clearing the city, establishing a garrison, reorganizing the troops, and cleaning the premises—although their entry had gone smoothly, with both Shengle City's remnants and the Yan Army being very cooperative and efficient, tidying up and getting organized was still a necessary step.

So, tonight, all eyes were on Siniang.

The specific results would be clear by tomorrow morning.

If Siniang's powers "greatly increased" tomorrow, then everyone would strive together. At least they would have a goal and a clear path forward. If even Siniang couldn't... Then they would have to figure out what the problem was.

However, one thing at a time. Regarding the matter of strength enhancement, they could still observe the situation for now. So, what needed to be done tonight still had to be done.

The theme of this meeting was the five-year development plan for Shengle City, with the Blind man presiding.

"Ah Li."

"I'm here." Fanli scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed to be called first.

"First, tell us about your responsibilities."

"I'm the first to speak?" Fanli looked somewhat flattered and touched.

"Yes. Let's get the least useful person out of the way first, and then we can slowly discuss serious matters."

"...…" Fanli.

It was a good thing Fanli had a good temper; otherwise, he would have grabbed the axe beside him and hacked the Blind man to death.

"Ah Li, you are in charge of construction. The city walls need to be widened, the moat re-dug, and new barracks constructed. You're in charge of all of it."

"Okay!"

Fanli's mind was a peculiar thing. Often, it wasn't very sharp, but sometimes he could truly astound you!

Leaving someone like him on a construction site was the safest bet.

After all, he ate the most. If he didn't contribute his labor, who would? He couldn't be allowed to waste food for nothing.

Besides, Fanli was quite skilled in carpentry, different from Xue Three's specialization. Xue Three excelled at making small items, while Fanli was good at larger ones. In the past, in the "comic book" storyline, he even had his own private domain: a palace built from human pillars.

"You have to ensure both quality and quantity, understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. After the city's modifications are complete, you'll set up a blacksmith's forge for weapons."

No one objected to Fanli's assignment; it was thus cheerfully approved.

Next, the Blind man turned to Xue Three and said, "San'er, I want you to personally train a group of scouts and spies. Remember, scouts and spies, not assassins."

Scouts and spies would be widely used in future wars, and this was Xue Three's forte.

The reason for specifically instructing not to train them as assassins was, firstly, that it would be too time-consuming and resource-intensive. Secondly, at least for now, there would be few opportunities to use them.

If an assassin was truly needed, they could just use Xue Three himself.

"How many men will I get?" Xue Three asked immediately.

He was different from Fanli. For Fanli's tasks, mobilizing civilian laborers was enough. Currently, the demon kings weren't lacking in wealth; with money on hand, civil engineering projects weren't difficult to undertake.

Xue Three, however, knew that his personnel would undoubtedly come from the army.

"How many do you need?"

Xue Three raised his hand and said, "Five hundred."

A Ming, standing nearby, chuckled. "Are you trying to form the Huaxia Dragon Group or something?"

"None of your business!"

At this point, the Blind man turned to Zheng Fan, signaling him to make the decision.

When the demon kings discussed matters, they had to give Zheng Fan some sense of presence. Otherwise, if their lord fell asleep, it would be too disrespectful, wouldn't it?

This is why leaders are often asked to read speeches that even elementary school students could recite.

However, in this case, it wasn't just about giving their lord a sense of presence. Zheng Fan, after all, had been on campaign for a long time, experienced numerous battles, and had spent time with both Li Fusheng and Tian Wujing.

To put it unkindly, even a pig, nurtured with such experience, would have learned to grunt a few of the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

"San'er, one hundred. Just one hundred," Zheng Fan said.

"But, my lord, I…"

"From the Barbarian corps, the Jin corps, the Yan corps, the Tufa tribe's forces, or even from those thousand Jingnan troops—pick anyone you like and enlist them. All in all, counting regular troops, puppet troops, and auxiliary forces, we're approaching five thousand. You choose, pick whomever you want.

"As for the future, once our foundation is more solid, you can expand then. Make the meal according to the size of the pot. Let's start with this for now."

"Yes, my lord is wise," Xue Three conceded.

Zheng Fan looked at the Blind man, tapped his finger on the low table, and said, "Continue."

The Blind man nodded and said, "A Ming, your task is to establish a few more small workshops to produce items like soap and perfume. This business was previously handed over to the Sixth Prince. However, now that his industries have been turned over to the state treasury, we don't need to worry about patent deals anymore. We'll just go ahead and make them."

A Ming asked, "Won't the Imperial Court hold it against us?"

"The heavens are high and the emperor is far away. Besides, after Yan State conquered half of Jin State, its territory expanded too quickly. The garrisons have to source some of their own supplies and funds locally. As long as the Yan Emperor himself doesn't reprimand us, even if the Ministry of Revenue wants to complain, Lord Jingnan will cover for us."

"Alright." A Ming agreed.

"A Cheng, you'll be responsible for leading the troops."

Liang Cheng nodded.

Right now, the troops were a motley crew. The original force of over a thousand men had suddenly swelled to five thousand, like an overinflated balloon. If they weren't properly sorted and organized, serious problems would arise.

However, entrusting this to Liang Cheng shouldn't be a problem.

Zheng Fan had always felt that the main reason Liang Cheng seemed less capable than Lord Jingnan was their different scopes of operation and foundations. If they were on equal footing, it was hard to say who would truly win or lose.

"As for me," the Blind man continued, "I'll take those dozens of people from the Wen Family. We'll start by registering the population, beginning with those within Shengle City, then the surrounding areas, and finally, we'll move on to the wild people settlements in the Skybreak Mountain range."

This was a huge task, essentially like creating a census for everyone.

"Siniang, you'll be in charge of finances and provisions."

"Okay." Siniang accepted the task.

"My lord, the arrangements have been made. Please provide your guidance," the Blind man concluded.

All seven demon kings, excluding Mo Wan, who wasn't suited for such tasks, were assigned their respective duties.

"Alright, let's proceed like this for now. But I have one requirement: a bathing pool must first be built in the rear courtyard."

He'd been wanting to soak in a bath for a very long time.

"That's only natural," the Blind man readily agreed.

"Good, let's do that. Oh, by the way, I've advanced to the Seventh Rank. I'm not hiding it from you. As for why your strengths haven't improved, I don't know."

This was a very open and honest admission.

The Blind man smiled and said, "My lord, there's no hurry for this. You should rest first. We can discuss it another day."

The other demon kings, excluding Siniang, all echoed in unison, "My lord, rest first. We can talk about it later."

"Heh, now I'm really curious," Zheng Fan said. "You all used to be more impatient than anyone. Why has everyone suddenly turned so... restrained?"

The Blind man responded, "My lord, some matters are more urgent than others. We should proceed step by step. We were too hasty in the past. Your subordinates feel that you should rest first and consolidate your cultivation realm. It's getting late, my lord. Let's discuss this another day."