This is an island. A very large island with an area of more than three thousand square kilometres.
The entire island is slightly elongated, just like a leaf. It is more than two hundred miles long from north to south and about seventy to eighty miles wide from east to west.
Its name is Random Stone Island and it belongs to the Gui clan of Linhai City.
But it has never been counted as a high level warrior lord territory. No high level warrior is willing to come to this kind of ghost place.
Because this island produces nothing at all. Here there is nothing except sand and stones. Not to mention growing grain, even most weeds cannot survive.
The entire island has only one colour, that is grey brown, the colour of sand and stones. Otherwise why would it be called Random Stone Island?
This is probably the most barren island, without exception.
In most parts of the entire island, there is almost not a trace of green to be seen. There are not even grass patches or shrubs.
The only bit of green is a large mountain in the centre of the island with trees growing on it. But at this time it has almost been completely exploited. Only the mountaintop still has some green.
The soil layer below the mountainside has already disappeared and completely exposed the bare rock layer.
So although this island belongs to Linhai City, the vast majority of people treat it as if it does not exist. Even when the Gui clan calculates their territory area they similarly do not include this island.
Because it is a barren land that cannot produce even one grain of food.
“This, this is the territory you are ceding?” The family warrior leader Suo Mu said angrily.
Linhai City inner historian Yan Tingyi said, “Correct, is there a problem? The entire island area far exceeds the required two thousand square kilometres. Moreover it does indeed belong to the Gui clan’s Linhai City territory.”
Suo Mu said, “Can this damned place grow even one grain of food? It is full of stones everywhere and full of sand everywhere. Not even one blade of grass can survive.”
“Then that is none of our business.” Yan Tingyi still said politely, “The treaty does not stipulate that it must be how fertile or how much grain it can produce, right? It only states three points. Cede within three days, no smaller than two thousand square kilometres, and belonging to Linhai City’s territory. This Random Stone Island completely meets these three points.”
“Despicable and shameless Gui Xingfu. This is naked fraud.” The family warrior leader Suo Mu said in rage.
Yan Tingyi said, “Then you can only blame your lord for signing the contract in such a hurry. He was so hungry that he chose whatever was available. Do not blame that what he swallowed was not fat meat but only a stone, a stone that can choke a person to death.”
The family warriors still wanted to vent their anger and question further. Solun raised his hand and stopped their meaningless anger. Then he looked towards this middle aged handsome man and said, “How should I address you, sir, in relation to Prime Minister Yan Wuji?”
“Lord Prime Minister is my cousin.” Yan Tingyi said, “Of course I am just an unpromising descendant of the Yan clan.”
The prime minister’s cousin coming to serve as the inner historian for the feudal lord Gui Xingfu almost completely ignored the iron rule that the cabinet and feudal lords must not associate.
Gui Xingfu is really impressive. The wife he married is the sister of the kingdom’s first commander Turing Tuo. The first civil official under him is the prime minister’s cousin. His daughter Gui Qinshao will marry the crown prince’s attendant in the future, one of the kingdom’s highest future commanders.
Compared with his father Solong, Gui Xingfu is much more outstanding in weaving a power network.
But is such a criss crossing power network not too much ignoring the existence of His Majesty the King? This force of theirs is much stronger than imagined.
Yan Tingyi continued, “This is the map of Random Stone Island, the territory contract, and the great seal we temporarily made. Now I officially hand it over to you. Do you accept?”
Everyone looked at Random Stone Island again. What met their eyes was all stones and sand. It was bare everywhere. What use was such a territory? It would be more suitable as a mass grave.
Solun smiled and said, “If it is free then why not take it. Of course I accept.”
Then he officially signed on various contracts and documents and finally received the great seal of Random Stone Island territory.
“Everything has been handed over. It is just waiting to be sent to the royal city for filing.” Yan Tingyi said, “Do you have any other questions?”
Solun said, “Does the entire island really have no citizens at all?”
“There are. Originally there were two thousand people. How many are left now I do not know. They will belong to you in the future.” Yan Tingyi said.
“Where are these people?” Solun said, “In the official records of Linhai City Random Stone Island has no human presence at all.”
Yan Tingyi said, “On the north side of the island. Go around the large mountain in the middle and you will see them. I hope these citizens will give you a surprise at that time.”
“Very good.” Solun said.
Yan Tingyi said, “The handover is completely finished. If there is nothing else I will take my leave first. From now on this territory of more than three thousand square kilometres belongs to you. I hope… you can have fun with it.”
Then Yan Tingyi took his attendants and warriors, more than a hundred people in total, boarded the ships and left Random Stone Island completely clean.
They left Solun and the others on this island where not even a blade of grass grows.
Looking at the departing fleet everyone felt desolation surge in their hearts.
“Master, what do we do now?” Suo Mu asked with a sad expression, “Do we return to the royal city to find a way or… or go somewhere else?”
Solun said, “Somewhere else? Where else can we go?”
As soon as these words came out everyone present felt extremely sorrowful in their hearts. Yes, they could not return to the royal city and they could not return to Tianshui City either. In the vast world there was no place for them to settle.
“Is the world so vast that there is not even an inch of place for my Suo clan to exist?” A warrior said extremely desolately at once.
Suo Mu’s eyes reddened and he said hoarsely, “Otherwise you take us to the southern border. It is mixed with all kinds of people there. We will definitely fight to the death to seize a place for master to settle.”
“Hahaha…” Solun laughed and said, “Who said we have no place to settle? This Random Stone Island is our place to settle. More than three thousand square kilometres. Is that not enough for us to settle?”
Looking at the island full of random stones all the family warriors thought in their hearts, “On this island not even a blade of grass can grow. If we settle here there is not even grass to eat. Do we eat stones?”
Suo Ningbing suddenly raised her head and asked, “Little brother, is this the territory you schemed so hard to seize from Gui Xingfu?”
“Correct.” Solun said, “I want to rely on this territory to earn one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins within five months and recruit twenty thousand troops.”
As soon as these words came out all the warriors present were alarmed and looked at each other in dismay.
Because they thought of the same answer. Their master had gone mad. After a series of blows he had completely lost his mind.
This Random Stone Island has nothing except stones and sand. Not even one grain of food can grow. Yet master actually said he wants to rely on this barren land to earn one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins within five months. If this is not madness then what is?
Only elder sister Suo Ningbing showed an extremely trusting gaze.
“Let’s go to the north side of the island to receive our first batch of citizens.” Solun said.
Then he directly mounted his horse and galloped towards the north side of the island.
The entire team only had twenty horses in total and dozens of mules. At this time these horses and mules were all carrying grain. Even the one hundred family warriors each carried several hundred jin of grain on their bodies.
A total of more than seventy thousand jin of grain. This was all of Solun’s possessions.
Carrying a mood of despair more than a hundred family warriors shouldered the grain and walked north along the coastline.
After going around the large mountain on the island they finally arrived at the north side of Random Stone Island.
The terrain on the north side of the island was even flatter. There were endless sandy beaches everywhere and finally some weeds could be seen.
These were all saline alkali lands. Only a few kinds of weeds could survive. Grain was completely out of the question.
After walking for more than four hours Solun and the others finally arrived at the only human settlement on Random Stone Island and entered this so called… village.
Then not only Solun but everyone behind him was completely stunned.
This, this is a village? This is completely hell!
These, are these people on the ground? Why do they look worse than ghosts?
The so called village was several hundred short and blackened mud houses scattered on the flat ground by the sea. These houses did not even have thatch, only mud and stones.
In front of every mud stone house there was a large stove made of stones but the large pot on top had already disappeared without a trace.
What made people shudder even more was several hundred pitch black people all lying on the ground motionless. It looked completely like corpses strewn across the field.
Every person was skin and bones. Even when they saw Solun and the others coming they barely moved. Only their rising and falling chests proved they were still alive.
Whether women or children basically none wore clothes. Their whole bodies were pitch black and their faces could not be seen clearly at all. Every person’s gaze was numb and scattered.
A warrior stepped forward to check these people’s breathing and pulse then said to Solun, “Master they are starving. They have not eaten anything for several days and nights.”
These people lying all over the ground on the verge of death? These are his citizens?
Solun saw at a glance that these people were all slaves, invisible slaves. This village was some secret industry of Gui Xingfu using these slaves to earn black hearted gold coins.
Now everything here had been abandoned and these slaves were thrown here to fend for themselves waiting to starve to death alive.
How many people were there in total? Yan Tingyi said two thousand but some had already starved to death. Now only a little over one thousand remained.
This was not citizens left for Solun. This was a huge burden thrown to him by Gui Xingfu.
“Cook porridge and save people.” Solun ordered.
Suo Mu said, “Master we only have fifty thousand jin of grain while there are fully over a thousand people here. If we save them our grain will be finished in less than a month.”
“Cook porridge and save people.” Solun ordered once again.
As for Ye Jingyu and Suo Ningbing they went to the only castle in the centre of the village.
This was called a castle but it was actually just a slightly larger stone house. It had also been abandoned for several days.
The furniture inside the castle was also very simple, mostly made of wood. And there was nothing inside. No grain, no vegetables, even the water vat was empty.
But Suo Ningbing was very excited. No matter how simple this castle was it belonged to her home.
This island already belonged to the Suo clan so this small castle completely belonged to the Suo clan as well.
Compared with the count mansion in the royal city this small stone castle was不知道 how many times simpler but it was truly her home.
“Jingyu let us find water, clean and tidy up the castle, then boil water for Solun to bathe and cook.” Suo Ningbing said with burning enthusiasm.
Then the two women could not wait to leave the castle carrying water buckets to find water and began to tidy up their home.
At this time on the large open space outside the village the few large pots available were set up and rice was put in to cook porridge.
Before the porridge was cooked the fragrance drifted out. Instantly several hundred to a thousand pitch black people crawled up from the ground and walked out from the pitch black mud houses. Every person held a broken bowl and surrounded the large pots. Their eyes revealed nearly crazy gazes.
They had not eaten for a very very long time. Many people had already starved to death.
Suo Mu and the other family warriors feared causing a riot. Their gazes immediately became fierce and they gripped their sword hilts. If any one person dared to rush up to snatch the porridge they would chop off their heads without hesitation.
But what they worried about did not happen.
These over one thousand people although their gazes were crazy and their whole bodies trembled from hunger almost unable to hold the bowls still stood obediently in place waiting. They even unconsciously lined up.
This was a group of slaves who had been tamed for a long time and no longer knew how to resist. The ugliest sins in this world had once been performed on them.
After the porridge was cooked everyone obediently queued to receive one bowl.
Then this group of people completely ignored the scalding heat and wolfed it down desperately. When they had eaten half they could not bear to eat more and began to lick bit by bit. They did not even let go of one drop of rice soup.
The happy and satisfied gaze when eating food and the gaze when looking at Solun for surviving made people shocked.
Moreover after finishing one bowl of porridge no one came up to ask for more although they were still very hungry.
They carefully put down the bowls and chopsticks then under the lead of a few people over one thousand people neatly knelt down towards Solun just like that prostrating on the ground motionless.
Solun looked at the dense black mass of people kneeling on the ground and said lightly, “I am called Solun, a feudal lord of the kingdom, Count of Tianshui, and City Lord of Tianshui. From today onwards the entire Random Stone Island is my territory.”
The over one thousand people present still prostrated on the ground motionless.
Solun continued, “I know you are all slaves who were captured. You have no freedom, no status, no names, no property and you are completely invisible. Your only mission is to use your lives to earn every dirty gold coin for Gui Xingfu in this secret base.”
Slaves indeed could not see the light because the Furious Wave Kingdom had already legislated to completely abolish slavery. Even the so called serfs were no longer true slaves but only propertyless servant farmers.
Slaves were completely without freedom and even without the right to survive, like livestock. To liberate productive forces the Furious Wave Kingdom issued orders decades ago that no noble or feudal lord may keep slaves otherwise they would be severely punished.
But there were still many nobles and feudal lords secretly using large numbers of slaves to mine and boil salt to earn black hearted gold coins. Because using slaves required no salary. They only needed to provide enough rations for them to survive.
Solun continued, “And now even as slaves you have been abandoned and left to starve to death alive in this barren land.”
The people kneeling on the ground began to cry softly. They had indeed been completely abandoned, thrown onto this Random Stone Island where they could call to heaven without response and call to earth without reply. There was not even grass to eat and they had been hungry for nearly ten days. If Solun had come a few days later the people here would have all died cleanly.
“I do not care what your previous identities were but from now on from this moment you have been rescued.”
“I am your new master and you are my first batch of citizens. I do not dare guarantee to let you live very well but I will let you have food every day, even eat your fill.”
Instantly the people kneeling on the ground began to tremble and began to wail aloud.
“Tonight you can still pity yourselves for one last night. From tomorrow onwards you will work for me and begin to build my territory and my castle.” Solun raised his voice and said, “Tonight you cry for one last night. From tomorrow onwards you will follow me and begin to create a new world. Have you heard?”
“Yes, master!” The over one thousand people present all kowtowed.
Then Solun left dozens of warriors to maintain order and himself walked towards the small castle. Perhaps elder sister Suo Ningbing had already finished cooking.
Suo Mu looked at this group of pitch black slaves then followed and said, “Master, you, you plan to rely on this group of slaves to earn one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins within half a year?”
Solun nodded and said, “Correct. Not only that I also want to build this barren land into an incomparably prosperous miracle city.”
“This, how is this possible?” Suo Mu said, “This ghost place cannot earn even half a gold coin let alone one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins?”
Suo Mu completely could not believe it and could not even imagine it.
“You will know soon.” Solun said, “Tomorrow we will begin the miracle platinum plan. Using this barren land to earn one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins within half a year.”