Chapter 91: Setting Sail to Build a City

Time flew by, and before long another winter had come.

With winter came a bitter wind that cut not only to the bone, but into the heart as well.

In years past, whenever winter arrived, a number of the old and frail in the Desert Tribe would die, and that was one reason the desert population had never been able to grow.

But this year was different.

Every tribesman now had a city wall to block the cold northern wind. They lacked neither clothes, bedding, nor food, and each household had a little hut to keep warm in. The better-off among them could even build a charcoal brazier for heat, the warm steam from it enough to make a person sweat.

As the bitter season descended, the academy students also went home to spend the winter with their families.

Though only a few months had passed, the progress of their studies was already equivalent to three years in an elementary school of later ages.

Xinying did not lecture with her mouth; she passed her lessons directly into the students' minds. Even children who were not very bright and easily distracted could remember what they heard after only a few repetitions.

Snow whirled through the air, and even the armored guards atop the city wall had taken shelter in the gate tower to escape the cold.

It should have been a season for hibernation, but Lin Shu could not afford to stop.

"Blazing Consort, Shaoshao, thank you for your hard work this month!" Jing Ni was especially excited today.

Yue Shen smiled as well. "Sister, don't be lazy now."

"Hmph! Little Yue, you don't need to worry about me. Still, you had better come back early." Thankfully, there were no major military or political affairs in winter. Otherwise, even Blazing Consort would have been unwilling to do this anymore.

After a brief hesitation, Shaoshao also said, "My king, you only just began to fill out again. You should not stop your treatment either."

"Shaoshao, stay with Blazing Consort and go back together. You two just returned from the west not long ago."

Jing Ni did not want that towering light bulb of Shaoshao following along either.

Once the students began their vacation earlier, Lin Shu had immediately rushed to the western region to help the tribes there build cities.

The west was vast, but its population was only a little over one hundred thousand.

After more than half a year of warfare, Zhu Ba's legion had expanded the empire's territory all the way to the Ob River. Beyond the river, only a few hundred kilometers farther on, lay the Ural Mountains.

The empire was not yet in a position to dispatch officials there, so Zhu Ba could only remain behind to hold the civil and military authority of the west.

The western camp had only thirty thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry, but Lin Shu had left Zhu Ba thirty chariots, ten Black Tigers, and two giant mechs.

With his great wife Jing Ni having spoken, Lin Shu had no choice but to speak as well.

"Blazing Consort, Shaoshao, go back first."

Shaoshao nodded at once.

For months now, she had still not escaped her fate. Fortunately, the king had only embraced her in the purest way, without any excess.

It was not that Lin Shu did not want to do more. Rather, the carriage had only just been upgraded, and his body had only just begun to transform into a spirit-energy form. Besides, Shaoshao had not yet fully matured, and even holding her in his arms made him feel utterly shameless.

Because of the carriage's conditioning, Jing Ni and the others all believed he was only in his twenties, nearing thirty, but he knew very well that he was already a middle-aged man approaching forty.

"All right. Shaoshao, let's go back." Blazing Consort no longer hesitated either. Taking Shaoshao by the hand, she turned and walked back toward the palace gate.

A low roar sounded, and the little carriage surged across the bridge.

To avoid being plotted against by the other members of the royal house, Yan Chun Jun also came to live in the great building outside the royal capital this winter. At that moment, he was lying on a large bed beside a huge pane of glass, looking down from above at the snowstorm sweeping the main avenue.

Winter had arrived, and there were already very few carriages and horses on the main road. Even those that did pass moved slowly.

"Your Lordship, look at that carriage. It's running so fast." A young married woman in thin clothes pointed down below and laughed.

Looking more closely, Yan Chun Jun was stunned.

Two ordinary white horses, an ordinary-sized carriage—how could it possibly move that fast?

"Eh? Could it be a little dragon horse?" The horse head was like a tiger's, with dragon horns. Fortunately, the White Dragon Horse was not three meters tall; otherwise Yan Chun Jun would have thought it was the Northern King's carriage.

As the six hundred thousand women and children from the two states of Yan and Zhao arrived, the empire's total population also drew close to three million. Lin Shu immediately ordered Wu Yang Jing and Le Jian Qiu Ji to lead a combined force of one hundred thousand land and naval troops to attack the Chess Kingdom.

The Chess Kingdom had only a hundred thousand adult men and could not resist at all.

The twenty thousand naval troops even crossed the sea directly to seize the rear positions, and in only half a month the Chess Kingdom no longer had the strength to resist.

Afterward, the army also swept south to clear out the few scattered savage tribes in the southern part of the peninsula.

This was also the first time the carriage had transformed. Jing Ni had actually had many questions just now, but had not managed to ask them.

"Husband, so this divine carriage can shrink too!"

Yue Shen was even more astonished. That tiny carriage had swallowed three thousand elite cavalry!

Lin Shu nodded, unable to suppress the excitement in his heart.

Level four flying carriage:

Technology: Spirit-Electronic Era

Inner space: ten thousand meters

Living space: two hundred meters, enough to accommodate five thousand people

Detection range: thirty kilometers

Information transmission range: three kilometers

Surveillance, simulation, and live-broadcast range: one kilometer

Holographic projection range: one hundred meters

Field range: two hundred meters

Maximum force per square centimeter: fifty tons

Upper limit for unobstructed absorption of spirit energy: ten thousand units

Energy: automatically draws in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and converts it into spirit electrons

Upgrade: pacify the Nine Provinces and become the acknowledged sovereign of all under heaven; the carriage will then fully merge with the world

No attack below ten thousand units of spirit energy could shake the carriage's defenses. Even a divine being in the early stage of unity with heaven and man would be unable to break through its protection. By this point, Lin Shu truly felt at ease.

"All right, all right, I was wrong to ask." Jing Ni knew she had been in the wrong. She should not have pried into this secret and made her husband fall into thought again.

Lin Shu frowned with a bitter smile. The carriage's secrets still could not be completely revealed.

After having experienced two unforgettable betrayals in his previous life, he no longer dared to lay bare all his secrets to anyone.

"I don't know the origin of this carriage either, so there are many things I cannot explain clearly."

Lin Shu sighed. Even Xinying did not know the carriage's true origin.

As expected, Yue Shen nodded as well. Her astrological divination had not uncovered the slightest trace.

After leaving the royal capital, the carriage drove straight into the sea from a deserted stretch of coast.

It was not a ship, and the seawater was genuine seawater, yet the little dragon horse moved as if running on land.

"Husband, where do we go first?" This was Jing Ni's first time at sea, and in the boundless ocean she could not help but clutch little Yan'er tightly.

Lin Shu raised his hand and pointed, and a three-dimensional map appeared floating in the air.

"We'll go first to Ji Island at the tip of the peninsula. The fleet's long voyage also needs a place to rest."

Jing Ni nodded. "This really is a suitable place for a transfer harbor."

The sea held many legends. Yue Shen gazed quietly at the water and recalled many secrets from the Yin-Yang School.

The main purpose of Lin Shu's journey was to build cities for the Six States. Even though Han, Wei, Qi, and Chu had not yet joined, he intended to construct the cities first.

Bringing his three thousand elite iron cavalry with him, he also meant to subdue the savage tribes around those cities.

Before noon had even passed, the carriage had already arrived among the mountain ranges in the island's interior.

Ji Island was a deserted land. After building the harbor city, Lin Shu would not need to leave anyone behind to guard it.

After three days of rest, the carriage set off once more.

This was also Lin Shu's first time coming to the Eastern Ocean, even including his previous life.

The country of wolves from later ages was now not even as developed as the snowfield tribes, and it had not yet formed any great tribal alliance.

The savages on the four islands did not even know how to plant crops or raise livestock. With the surrounding seas providing abundant fish and meat, the little savages did not need to work very hard to survive.

There was no need to send troops at all. The moment they saw a city rise from the ground, the short savages foraging nearby immediately took them for gods descending from heaven.

The savages, only four and a half feet tall, had already begun to treat the three thousand elite guards, each nearly six feet tall, as heavenly soldiers.

The most dangerous people of later ages were now gentler than sheep and dogs.

On the four islands, Lin Shu had no need to worry about safety. Even the strongest beast could not withstand a single finger from either queen.

He left Xinying to oversee the city construction, and Lin Shu, Jing Ni, Yue Shen, and little Yan'er spent their days as a family of four wandering along the seashore or exploring the mountains.