70: Restoring people's livelihood

For Gu Chang, the external threats had been largely eliminated. The Great Barbarian King's army suffered heavy losses under his command, and a large number of barbarian soldiers were already terrified. Even if the remaining Lesser Great Barbarian Kings still wanted to march south, not many would obey their orders.

The two rebel kings to the north and west were now too preoccupied to care for themselves, fearing that Gu Chang would find an excuse to attack them, and dared not make a move against him.

With external threats resolved, the key issue became internal unrest.

Due to years of continuous warfare, the territory originally under the Xuan King's command was severely depleted of Origin Qi, with vast tracts of farmland lying fallow, villages and towns abandoned, commerce languishing, and banditry rampant.

The soldiers, generals, virtuous officials, and strategists under Gu Chang's command swiftly occupied the major cities and immediately began to restore the people's livelihoods and reorganize order according to their prior plans.

First, Gu Chang did not need so many Auxiliary Army troops.

These Auxiliary Army troops were mostly young, strong laborers from various households. After they were forcibly conscripted, their families lost their main support, and it was naturally impossible to restore the people's livelihoods relying solely on orphans, widows, the elderly, and children.

These individuals, apart from performing miscellaneous tasks on the battlefield, could only be used as cannon fodder, which was an extremely exaggerated waste of resources.

Therefore, not long after Gu Chang took control of the Xuan King's army, he released them in batches, allowing them to return home.

Moreover, as these people returned home, they also carried the military pay distributed by Gu Chang, which could improve their lives and stimulate the economy.

Secondly, for the elite soldiers under the Xuan King, Gu Chang adopted a method of breaking them up and reorganizing them for reintegration.

Mainly using Gu Chang's Shenwu Troop as the backbone, each person was responsible for managing ten of the Xuan King's original elite soldiers. This not only strengthened Gu Chang's control over the elite soldiers but also expanded his military strength.

In this way, the Shenwu Troop' strength instantly expanded tenfold, reaching a total of 60,000. Including the surrendered captains and generals, Gu Chang's Advanced combat power also rapidly increased.

However, the entire process was not particularly smooth, as no one was willing to easily give up their power.

But with Gu Chang's return after killing the Great Barbarian King and repelling the entire barbarian army in one fell swoop, the terrifying prestige he carried immediately overwhelmed all dissent.

This made the restructuring of the elite soldiers smoother. However, this force was not used by Gu Chang in combat but was stationed in various cities, allowing them to suppress order in different regions.

Their main tasks included clearing out bandits, cracking down on unruly hooligans, protecting trade routes, and stabilizing production.

Although it was somewhat overkill, there was no doubt that this approach was highly effective. In just over a month, the Xuan King's former territory rapidly transformed.

Wastelands were re-cultivated, abandoned villages and towns were rebuilt, the safety of traveling merchants greatly increased, and every city was gradually regaining vitality.

"Currently, the seven prefectures are largely under our control. Due to the return of a large number of Auxiliary Army troops to their homes, the people's gratitude towards the Martial King has reached its Peak. With the elite soldiers stationed and maintaining order, the livelihoods of the people in various regions have basically returned to normal."

"Next, it will only take three years—no, only two years—for these seven prefectures to fully recover!"

Inside the former Mu King's Mansion, Gu Chang sat steadily on a high platform, with Suan Tianji, Li Ergou, Zhao Changkong, and others gathered below.

During this period, almost everyone except Gu Chang was incredibly busy, as it was not an easy task to clean up the mess left by the Xuan King.

Fortunately, after this period of handling, these seven prefectures finally showed signs of improvement.

"You have done well. Continue to execute according to the original plan. If there are no urgent matters, do not disturb me!"

Gu Chang was somewhat satisfied with this outcome, but it was not worth his energy to manage these affairs.

"Yes! Your subordinates understand!"

Regarding Gu Chang's personality, his subordinates like Suan Tianji were both delighted and frustrated.

They were delighted that Gu Chang trusted them enough to delegate power, allowing them to implement drastic reforms and realize their ambitions and ideals.

They were frustrated that Gu Chang seemed uninterested in any of these matters. The only things that truly piqued his interest were powerful martial arts, novel exotic treasures, or formidable enemies.

"Your Majesty, I have one more matter to report."

After the important matters were mostly discussed, Gu Chang heard Zhao Changkong speak to him again.

"Hmm, speak."

Gu Chang nodded, signaling him to continue. Although he wasn't interested in these matters, he still needed to listen when necessary.

"The barbarians have sent people to surrender. They hope to pledge allegiance to Your Majesty and are willing to serve as Your Majesty's vanguard!"

Zhao Changkong's tone carried a hint of strangeness, but he still announced the news publicly.

"What!?"

"Are these barbarians crazy?"

"If not crazy, then close to it. I heard the slaughter field His Majesty left behind still has barbarians guarding it, treating it as a divine miracle!"

"Hmph! These fellows are not human when they are ruthless, and even less human when they go crazy!"

"..."

The others immediately cried out in surprise upon hearing this, truly unable to comprehend the barbarians' thinking.

Logically speaking, even if they didn't hate Gu Chang, they should be extremely fearful. But they never imagined they would now actively come to pledge allegiance.

Not to mention them, even Gu Chang himself was bewildered, unable to fathom what was going on in the barbarians' minds.

"Tell me in detail what exactly is happening!"

So he decided to listen carefully. Those barbarians didn't seem foolish; they must have their own plans.

"Yes, your subordinate will speak now!"

"Among the barbarians, the strong are always respected. The most powerful individual is the Great Barbarian King, who has the authority to command all tribes!"

"But this generation's Great Barbarian King has already been publicly killed by Your Majesty, and Your Majesty also displayed unprecedented invincibility. These barbarians, who inherently admire strength, have directly regarded Your Majesty as a deity!"

"So, after Your Majesty left, they still chose not to depart, and even developed fervent worship. After all, Your Majesty did not kill them all, so they believe Your Majesty is willing to forgive them, and they are willing to pledge allegiance to Your Majesty to atone for their sins."

Zhao Changkong paused, then roughly described the cause and effect he understood, or rather, the barbarians' peculiar way of thinking.

After listening to his description, Gu Chang felt a wave of speechlessness, while the others didn't know what to say.

"Your Majesty, your prestige is currently soaring, much of which comes from suppressing the barbarians. Now, you absolutely must not be soft-hearted!"

After a while, Suan Tianji suddenly spoke up to remind Gu Chang. Accepting these barbarians now would not bring them much benefit.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"You go back and tell them to immediately withdraw from the Central Plains and return to the grasslands. If they are obedient from now on, I will naturally seek them out. If they dare to cause trouble again, then they will never be forgiven!"

Gu Chang naturally knew what was more important now. What could the barbarians' loyalty bring him?

What could tens of thousands of barbarians who only knew how to fight and kill accomplish?

Not to mention that he now had countless elite soldiers and many great generals under his command, even he himself had no use for these thugs.

Rather than dealing with them and consuming his prestige, it was better to let them retreat obediently, allowing his prestige to rise even higher.

"Yes! Your subordinate obeys!"

Zhao Changkong immediately agreed. This was indeed the best choice. As for what the barbarians would think, it was none of their concern.

"That's all for today. Continue to restore the people's livelihoods, and at the same time, pay attention to the movements of the other two factions."

With that, Gu Chang directly departed. Next, he would resume practicing talismans, studying medicine, and various martial arts.

Even during this period, he had never truly neglected these matters. After all, to him, whether it was the world or the empire, nothing was more important than the skills he possessed.

Two months passed in a flash. On the last day, Gu Chang once again attempted to Breakthrough to a Realm beyond Spirit Refining!

In fact, ever since he reached Spirit Refining Perfection, no one in this world could kill him. Each time the time limit arrived, he basically died from forced Breakthroughs.

"Last time, I tried to forcibly compress the Zhengang Strength within my body, but because I relaxed for a moment at the last critical juncture, the Zhengang Strength in my body completely ran wild, causing me to explode and die."

"This time, perhaps I can try to integrate the Zhengang Strength into every inch of my physique, making my body truly become a Vajra body!"

In the training ground, Gu Chang once again closed his eyes, then began to mobilize the Zhengang Strength within his body, letting them fill every inch of his Meridians, acupoints, and flesh bit by bit.

Gu Chang's originally fair, jade-like skin gradually tightened, then began to turn red, and the color gradually darkened, finally transitioning from deep red to pitch black.

At this point, he was like a high-pressure balloon, with some strange patterns even appearing on his skin.

These patterns resembled scales, or feathers, or even weapons; in short, they looked incredibly bizarre.

"Crack, crack, crack."

Suddenly, Gu Chang's tempered skin unexpectedly ruptured, and large gushes of fresh blood immediately spurted out from the cracks.

"Not good!"

"Crack, crack!"

"Pfft! Bang, bang!"

"Boom!"

However, before Gu Chang could curb this change, his body could no longer withstand it and immediately exploded!