Chapter 38 The Princess and Mingdu College
After reviewing all the memorials, Xu Tianran walked out of the City Lord's Mansion and took a rest.
Being immersed in various development decision-making plans and using the brain intensively would make even someone like Xu Tianran, who had been an emperor once, feel tired.
He occasionally had the thought that if he could find a few helpers, it would save him a lot of trouble.
But this requires caution.
Xu Tianran dismissed most of his followers, leaving only Shadow Douluo Xuechen to follow him secretly. He strolled alone on the broad bluestone streets of Lancang City, letting his mind wander to whatever he saw and thought.
Lancang City is a typical central city. It is not surrounded by the sea, but the climate is not dry. A branch of the Fenghe River, Lancang, which runs through the entire Sun and Moon Empire, passes through here.
With the help of Fenghe River water transportation, the economy of Lancang City is neither too high nor too low. It is considered to be one of the best medium-sized cities, but there is still a gap between it and large cities. The annual tax revenue is about 6 million gold soul coins.
In the Sun-Moon Empire, only cities with tax revenues exceeding 10 million gold soul coins can be called big cities. Mingdu's tax revenue is as high as 300 million per year.
But there are many places to spend money.
Economic issues are development issues...
The most important thing at the moment is to develop armaments, but it cannot affect the economy too much. It's a difficult situation.
Xu Tianran sighed, wondering why he started thinking about government affairs again.
Walking out of the city, I saw a small hill, or you could call it a hill.
Xu Tianran thought about it, then went up the stairs and climbed slowly.
The mountain is not high, only about a hundred meters, and it was easy to climb up.
After reaching the top of the mountain, the scenery in front of me suddenly changed. It seemed that the low hill blocked the view of the city.
Sometimes, this medium-sized valley can block the entire city.
As expected, some scenery can only be seen by climbing high.
Even so, this height is nothing.
The air here is much fresher than that below the city, so-called "turbid air descends and clear air rises" is probably what it means.
…
After returning to Lancang City, the attentive city lord presented many beauties to the emperor.
Xu Tianran was a little impatient, but in order to avoid causing discussion in the court and the public, he randomly picked two dragon girls and planned to take them back to the palace to serve as maids.
This kind of dragon girl is a half-human, half-beast creature.
According to the city lord, the child was brought out from a gathering of soul beasts and was born to a human woman who was abducted. Like the so-called wolf boy and fox girl, he is not considered to be of the same race.
After all, although countries hate each other, they are still the same ethnic group; only the soul beasts are equivalent to two completely different ethnic groups.
Xu Tianran was still somewhat ambiguous about his attitude towards soul beasts.
But if one were to deal with soul beasts, evil soul masters, and traditional soul masters at the same time, even with the size of the Sun-Moon Empire, it would be tantamount to seeking death.
…
The center of Mingdu, the imperial palace.
After her elder brother ascended the throne, Xu Tianzhen was officially promoted to the eldest princess.
In the eyes of other children from wealthy families, she didn't look like a princess at all, but more like a wild girl. However, only Xu Tianzhen herself knew that she was not stupid.
Being carefree is just a protective color.
No matter how close you are to someone, you still need to behave in a way that avoids suspicion.
Her martial spirit is the rare sun. If it were anyone else, she would be a candidate for the crown prince position.
Precisely because she is a woman, she needs to express some attitudes and her determination never to participate in politics.
But if she doesn't get involved in politics, she can still shine in other fields. After all, such a good talent should not be wasted.
So she didn't want to go to the Royal Academy, but chose Mingdu Academy instead.
At this time, she was standing with the Mingdu Soul Mentor Academy's regular team. She refused the position of captain of the reserve team and chose a regular position farther back.
How can the frequency of the reserve team's games be as high as that of the starting team?
Of course, I would choose to compete head-on with other outstanding students from the mainland!
Her brother doesn't have the sun martial spirit, so she wants to let the glory of the sun shine on the entire continent again!
Although Xu Tianzhen is the person with the lowest cultivation level in the regular team, his authority is higher than that of the team leader Ji Yun. He stood and chatted with the team leader Yun Qingge, waiting for the summons from His Majesty the Sun Emperor.
At this time, a group of people were standing in front of the spacious square of the West Pavilion Imperial Study, a side hall of the Taiji Palace.
The Sun-Moon Empire's palace covers a vast area of over nine thousand acres. The height of the side hall in front of us reaches a terrifying fifty meters. The high pillars and large roof give people a sense of grandeur and solemnity, making people feel restrained and awed involuntarily.
Xu Tianzhen had been here many times and didn't feel much, but the other regular team members and even the dean Yun Qingge, who seldom came, were a little nervous.
Fortunately, after waiting for a while, a female official came out of the imperial study. She was the head steward of the imperial study and invited them in. His Majesty the Emperor had returned.
The Sun and Moon Palace abandoned the profession of eunuchs, and the daily service in the palace was done by female officials and palace maids with some training.
Because they often come into contact with nobles in the palace, the female officials here have great power, especially the manager of the imperial study. Although they have a low rank, they have great influence, and even the governor of a province has to bow to them.
Xu Tianzhen held his chest high and walked into the West Pavilion with his dean and classmates. After turning around the vast wall of books, he saw his brother sitting on the third step in the main hall of the imperial study.
Xu Tianran raised his head from the pile of heavy memorials, his gaze first falling on his sister, and finally looking at the Dean of Mingdu College, who had the highest cultivation level present.
This person is unexpectedly young.
Judging from Xu Tianran's sharp eyes, her age should not be more than fifty years old.
A ninth-level soul engineer who is less than fifty years old is quite extraordinary.
A row of eight people below stood still, headed by Dean Yun Qingge and Princess Xu Tianzhen. They divided into two lines, bowed and saluted the Emperor above, and shouted "Long live the Emperor".
Yun Qingge, the dean of Mingdu College, pulled out a roster with corresponding photos from his waist and respectfully presented it: "In compliance with Your Majesty's order, I have selected seven players for the Xingluo Competition and have come to see you."
She knew in her heart that Mingdu Academy naturally did not have the same treatment as the Royal Academy, but being personally received by the emperor and being able to enter the palace to make her presence known before the competition was a great honor for Princess Xu Tianzhen.
She is qualified to meet the emperor due to her reputation as the chief soul instructor of the Navy Equipment Department, but this group of people have lagged behind the students of the Royal Academy from the beginning, and if they want to have a brighter future, they need some special care.
Xu Tianran's eyes fell on the dean, who could be called a beautiful soul mentor. She had an intellectual and elegant temperament, and a calm and orderly demeanor.
"Please stand up. Dean Yun has been commended for training four twenty-year-old Soul Kings under the dazzling glory of the Royal Academy."
"I have decided to allocate an additional five million gold soul coins to your hospital each year."
"Besides that, what other support does Dean Yun need? Feel free to tell us."
Yun Qingge looked up in great surprise. She didn't expect the emperor to be so straightforward and frank.
A sense of excitement suddenly surged in my heart.
This opportunity must be seized.