When Francis, Hector, and Egbert led 200,000 troops north to Beichen Commandery, five days had already passed since Elara granted titles and rewards in court.
With the addition of new talents from the second round of examinations, the once-overwhelmed Plumera Kingdom court finally felt some relief from its lack of officials, though the busyness remained the same. In fact, due to Elara's push for technological upgrades, it was only becoming more hectic.
As many newly appointed officials entered the government, all departments in the Plumera Kingdom were still spinning like tops from the workload.
But with more manpower, the core technical staff from each department, whom Elara had pulled into frequent meetings and training, finally had time to study the knowledge she had taught more thoroughly.
Although such knowledge couldn't be absorbed in just one or two sessions, Elara simply opened a large class at Plumera City University over the past five days, setting aside time daily to teach basic theory to core technical officers from every department. Even non-technical officials squeezed time in to attend.
In short, through Elara's continued promotion of basic knowledge and her explanations of technological reforms, the nation's various departments finally got on the right track for upgrades. With time, these reforms would bear fruitful results.
On the day Francis, Hector, and Egbert departed, Elara finished her morning court and another round of lectures, then received a letter from Prince Yu in return.
The reply had been slightly delayed, and Prince Yu explained the reason in his letter.
After successfully conquering Salvia Kingdom and its three tributaries with Elara and Prince Leland, the Dahlia Kingdom entered the rank of second-tier nations. This brought many new matters to handle internally. The bait Prince Yu had left behind during his northern campaign had successfully lured out rebel forces trying to seize power in his absence.
Upon returning with the victorious army, Prince Yu and Gareth joined forces with Giles, who had been lying in wait inside the country. In a swift operation, they eradicated both open and hidden rebel factions, launching a full-scale internal purge.
This cleansing finally concluded just the day before yesterday, giving him time to write back to Elara.
Now that he had elevated his nation's standing, Prince Yu's role as Crown Prince was about to take a new turn.
He was going to ascend the throne.
In just half a month.
So the letter not only responded to matters Elara had discussed with him earlier, such as the Sargassum issue, but also included an invitation from Prince Yu.
He invited her to attend his enthronement ceremony.
Dahlia Kingdom and Gladiolus Kingdom were currently the two nations with the highest goodwill in Elara's allied diplomatic list. After multiple interactions, Elara found both Prince Yu and Prince Leland to be men of good character, worth building relations with. So whether for diplomacy or personal ties, Elara naturally accepted the invitation.
Besides attending the coronation, she also planned to deal with Sargassum matters along the way.
Regarding Sargassum, Prince Yu surprisingly shared the same opinion as Elara.
In his letter, he clearly expressed his stance. He would not tolerate the Sargassum royal family's secret dealings with Salvia and its allies, nor their schemes against both Plumera and Dahlia. Sargassum would have to pay the price.
Elara intended to install a new emperor and royal family in Sargassum, and Prince Yu had no objections. He fully supported her.
However, when it came to Leif, Prince Yu's tone showed some hesitation — "If Leif knew how far you're going to help him, he'd be overjoyed... Tsk, don't even talk about him. If someone helped clear my path to the throne, I'd be thrilled too."
"Although... sigh, back to the point, with Leif's personality and what he has gone through before, even though Miss Bai truly means well and Leif will surely be happy when he hears it, his happiness is one thing. But judging from his true wishes over the years, he might not really want to sit in that position. This is just my guess based on knowing him and how he usually acts."
"This is only my guess. When Miss Bai goes to Sargassum and speaks to him directly, since it's you personally bringing it up and you're considering things for him, he might change his mind and become willing."
"If he is willing and becomes the new emperor of Sargassum, that would be great for you, me, and for his subordinates in Zhaiyun Pavilion."
"But if he still refuses, then I will keep supporting his decision as a friend."
"Anyway, before the enthronement ceremony is finished, I basically can't leave Prince Yu's place, so I have to count on Miss Bai to take care of the matter with Sargassum and Leif."
"No matter what outcome Miss Bai brings to Sargassum, both I and Prince Yu will accept it fully without objection."
"Also, even though I can't go in person, once Miss Bai reaches Sargassum, I will send Giles to help you."
"Giles has already sent people to Sargassum to gather information and contact Leif. Once Miss Bai arrives in Sargassum, you can act however you see fit."