Alex stood at the central window, hands clasped behind his back. Below him, Changyi moved with the cautious energy of a city still learning who its new master

was.

Zhuge Liang stood a respectful pace to his right, a stack of reports in one hand and a faint crease between his brows.

"Governor," Zhuge Liang said quietly, “are you certain about sending the soldiers into the fields?"

Alex did not turn.

"Not exactly as you mean it. A strong country is built on steady food first. Trade follows abundance. Content people come after that. Right now our farmlands are fragile because the Yellow River has never been properly tamed. The soldiers we kept will not simply plant rice. They will build dikes, strengthen flood controls, and expand irrigation channels along the river's course. Those works will prevent disasters and make the plains reliable. That is the foundation of real wealth."

He finally glanced at Zhuge Liang. “Our drones and the Gaia network will make the work faster and more precise than anything this land has seen."

Alex knew, Prussia's engineering methods are not difficult to adapt here. Xia is underdeveloped because its people have poured every resource into personal cultivation and forgotten the basic welfare of ordinary citizens.

He will fix that imbalance.

Zhuge Liang was silent for a moment.

"It is a sound long-term plan. Food production will rise. But without a standing army, the other warlords will see weakness. They will test us."

Alex's mouth curved in a small, knowing smile. "Let them test. When they move, we will have the perfect reason to take what they offer. Self-defense is always the cleanest justification."

Zhuge Liang studied the younger man's profile. Bai Xiaochun—the laughing, woman-chasing fool who had stood in the street and shouted that he loved women -was nowhere in this room.

In his place stood a man who thought three moves ahead and was willing to appear harmless while he built something permanent.

Zhuge Liang stroked his beard, his expression thoughtful. "A calculated move. By disbanding most of the army, you demonstrate to the empire that your ambitions are limited. You do not seek the throne, nor do you intend endless war. This will ease the suspicions of the other powers and grant us time to consolidate our strength."

"Yet there is still one major obstacle-manpower. Even if we combine the demobilized soldiers with new volunteers, we lack the numbers needed to execute your plans along the river on the scale you desire."

Alex turned fully from the window. His expression was thoughtful, almost gentle, but his eyes were sharp.

"I have heard that large numbers of people are still joining the Yellow Turban rebels across the empire. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Governor." Zhuge Liang said. "The reasons are well known. Heavy taxes and land concentrated in the hands of the wealthy have turned many peasants into landless tenants or refugees. Natural disasters-floods, droughts, famines, and epidemics—have struck with almost no relief from the court."

"Political corruption runs deep. Dong Zhuo himself dominates the capital through the puppet Emperor Liu Xie, selling offices and squeezing the people dry. Faith in the central government has collapsed in many regions. The rebels offer food, purpose, and the promise of change."

Alex's smile returned, quiet and satisfied. "Then we have our free labor force."

Zhuge Liang's expression didn't change, but there was a glint of understanding in his eyes.

"You don't intend to crush the Yellow Turbans outright," he said quietly. "You want them to come to us. Let them attack, bleed themselves against our defenses... and then take the survivors as slaves to work the river."

Alex nodded.

Zhuge Liang sighed. “Fine. Let's assume it goes exactly as you said. What then?”

Alex turned from the window and crossed to the wide table where maps of Yan and Qing lay unrolled beside stacks of reports.

"While the river works begin, we will not stop there. I want a complete plan for both provinces. Agriculture first. We introduce improved iron plows and teach proper crop rotation."

"We develop better fertilizers from what the land already gives us and introduce higher-yielding seed varieties suited to these soils. At the same time we expand the irrigation canals the soldiers are already building."

"The drones will survey every field and the Gaia network will let us track water flow and soil conditions in real time. A single season of proper water management will do more for these plains than ten years of scattered cultivation."

Zhuge Liang stepped closer to the table, eyes moving across the maps as he listened.

"Transport next,” Alex continued. "We dig new canals where the land allows and repair the old ones. We strengthen the roads that link the major towns and improve the ports along the Yellow River so grain and goods can move quickly to other regions."

"Trade is useless if it cannot reach the people who need it. Reduce internal tariffs between our own cities for the first two years. Let merchants move freely. The short- term loss in revenue will be repaid many times over when markets grow and more people bring their goods here."

He tapped one of the maps near the river.

"Handicrafts, and trade must be encouraged at the same time. Silk production, better iron and bronze tools, pottery-these are things our people already know how to make. We give them organized markets fair weights and measures, and protection from bandits. When the roads and canals are finished, these goods will flow outward and bring wealth back in."

Zhuge Liang nodded slowly. "Lowering taxes at the start will draw migrants and merchants who have suffered under heavier hands elsewhere. But we must be careful not to starve the treasury while we build."

"That is why we invest in the people who collect the taxes,” Alex said. "We train a new group of

themefficient collection and we punish corruption the moment it appears. The Gaia bands will let us see the numbers as they are reported, not as someone wishes them to be. Fair governance is not charity. It is the only way to keep revenue steady without driving the people into rebellion."

officials honest ones. We teach et

He moved to another section of the map, near the hills.

"We also develop what the land gives us. Nearby deposits of iron and salt will be opened under careful oversight. The iron will feed better tools for farmers and, when the time comes, equipment for defense. Nothing is wasted."

Zhuge Liang's voice was quiet but steady. "And defense?"

Alex replied without emotion, "The drones will take care of it. They stay hidden and strike only when needed. We'll keep our defenses weak on purpose — let the rebels think we're vulnerable. Once they attack, we capture them and put them to work."

"We will also push population growth aggressively. Commoners

should marry as many women as

they can support. The rich who keep

only a few wives will be taxed heavily until they take more. Harems wift be encouraged among the

wealthy. And if any wife dares to

object, the law will allow her

husband to discard her with

nothing."

FindNovel.net

Zhuge Liang was quiet for a moment. Then he asked, "How many wives are you expecting?"

Alex met his gaze without hesitation. “A rich man must have at least twenty wives. Even poor men should have no fewer than two or three."

Zhuge Liang's fingers tightened slightly around his fan. He gave a slow, reluctant

nod.

"You are not merely planning to govern a province,” he said at last. “You are planning to reshape an entire generation in one stroke. It is ambitious... and each piece supports the others. If we can hold steady for even three years, no one will be able to ignore what we have built here."

Alex's voice remained calm.

"Three years is too long," he replied. "We will finish everything in one year."

News of the new marriage law swept through the province with terrifying speed. In the cities, men gathered in groups, laughing and toasting to Governor Bai Xiaochun's wisdom, calling him a sage who understood the natural order of the world.

In the villages, some even began offering incense in his honor. Yet behind closed doors, the women seethed. In kitchens, bedrooms, and quiet corners, Bai Xiaochun's name was spat out like poison. To them, he was not a governor — he was a demon who had just legalized their suffering.