Under the blue sky, the waves of the narrow sea tirelessly crashed against the scaly rocky shore, making a low and eternal rumble. Liu Qian stood on a high cliff facing the sea, and the sea breeze came with a salty and free breath, blowing his dark hair.
He held a precision lens from Mir in his hand, carefully observing the deep-water bay below.
The bay embraces a gentle sandy beach with deep blue-green waters, and in the distance is a sea dotted with reefs, a natural barrier in the southeastern part of the Stonestep Islands.
After observing for a long time, a firm smile quietly climbed onto the corner of his mouth.
Calm footsteps came from behind him.
Jelena was dressed in a military uniform, and the sea breeze seemed to be walking around her, not daring to disturb her meticulous appearance.
There was a hint of unwashed fatigue on her face, but her bright eyes were burning with high morale.
Behind her was a team of soldiers who had just completed their mission, they were also dusty, but their expressions were full, and their eyes were full of belonging and pride in the newly conquered land.
In just half a month, Jelena completed the reception of Telossi's vast territory in the disputed land with amazing efficiency.
The land stretches from the coastline in the west to about 150 kilometers east, encompassing fertile plains, rolling hills, and important coastal towns.
Nobles and wealthy merchant slave owners controlled large estates and lands here, relying on cheap labor purchased from slave traders around the world to grow oats, barley, wheat, peas, and valuable cash crops, especially the golden autumn pear that made Teloxi pear brandy.
When the news of the fall of the main city of Telosi spread, the manor owners who were attached to the old lord made almost no decent resistance, and even the symbolic outpost camp of 200 soldiers stationed at the junction of Telosi with Mir and Reese immediately raised a white flag.
Jelena almost bloodlessly brought the territory of the western part of the disputed land under Liu Qian's control.
Receiving the good news from Jerena, Liu Qian immediately left Teloxi, which was being integrated, and took a boat south to land in this newly conquered land.
At this moment, led by Jerena, they rode out of the bay where they landed and traveled about five kilometers due east to a hillside with a significantly raised terrain.
The landscape here changes sharply.
Underfoot is a limestone hill at a relatively high altitude with a flatter top.
Looking west, there is the gentle bay that has just landed and the vast and sparkling narrow sea beyond, the sea and sky are the same, magnificent and extraordinary.
To the east, a deep valley covered with dense primeval jungle is a river about two hundred feet wide from the distant mountains, flowing like a silver ribbon at the bottom of the valley, and finally turning gracefully at the foot of the hill and emptying into the ocean on the west side.
The hill itself seems to be a natural lookout and watershed between the sea and the jungle.
"My lord, please look there."
Jelena reined her horse and pointed to the highest point of the hill.
There, alone stood a huge oak tree, with a strange and shocking shape.
Liu Qian's eyes were firmly attracted.
The trunk of the oak tree was unusually thick, and it took more than ten people to hug it.
The bark showed a charred black color that had undergone calamity, as if it had been repeatedly struck by ancient thunder countless times.
The crown has long since disappeared, leaving only the remaining branches that are undulating and sharp like spears, as well as tiny new branches and sparse green leaves tenaciously emerging from the scorched gaps.
From a distance, the outline of the entire canopy of the remains resembles a huge twisted crown made of black wood, heavily buckled to the top of the hill.
What is even more shocking is that its huge root system exposed on the surface and coiled with lice is like the bones and claws of countless dragons, taking the nutrients of the earth dead, showing an almost tragic tenacious vitality.
This is the crown tree, thirty years ago, the "Nine Copper Plate Kings" formed a blood alliance here, igniting their ambition to conquer. "
Jelena's voice came.
Liu Qian stared at the immortal "Black Wood Crown", and his heart was full of emotion.
The nine ambitious kings have long turned to the dust of history, but this ancient tree, which symbolizes oaths and ambitions, is still alive tenaciously, witnessing the new conquerors set foot here.
Where should he set the capital of the kingdom?
Telosi seems to be the best choice at the moment.
However, the geographical location of Telosi is too awkward, located in the northeast corner of the Stone Steps Islands, directly bordering the Mir Sea and the Narrow Sea, and has no defensive depth.
Moreover, Telosi is isolated overseas, not on land, and the food supply almost depends on the supply of inland estates, and the disputed land needs to be involved in the sea, which is too risky.
In addition, the main city of Telosi was more of a trading city than a fortress that could be used as a military defense.
Liu Qian's eyes swept over the hills under his feet, looked at the deep-water bay, and then looked around at the surrounding terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
An idea was like a spring bamboo shoot breaking the ground, quickly taking shape in his heart.
He wants to follow the example of Aegon the Conqueror and build a strong fortress on the continent to better rule the disputed lands.
He quickly took out the map of the disputed land that had been captured from the palace of the Maharaja of Telossi.
The fingertips fell on the location that marked the bay.
It is located at the entrance to the bay about 200 kilometers southeast of the main island of Telossi, and to get to the Torture Point in the southeast of the Stonestep Islands, it is necessary to bypass a narrow peninsula and sail a distance of nearly 200 kilometers.
More importantly, to the west of the bay is the Shijie Islands, which are densely covered with reefs and crisscrossed islands.
This naturally formed "island chain labyrinth" is like a loyal defense, firmly guarding the bay.
Any enemy who intends to attack the bay directly from the sea must first cross this trap-ridden water, facing layers of resistance from strongholds across the Stonestep Islands.
On the land side, the east is an impassable jungle valley, and the north and south are the hinterland of the disputed land he firmly controls.
Excellent fort location.
Liu Qian looked at it carefully and was very satisfied.
The bay where this crown tree is located can be described as easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Moreover, there is an abandoned trestle bridge with a population of about forty or fifty households next to the bay four or five kilometers away, which happens to be a place where a large port can be built as a landing point for this future city.
His gaze fell back to the hills and crown trees beneath his feet again, and a grand plan became clear in his mind.
He pointed to the hill on the map and said to Jerena: "This place is very suitable for us as a future castle site, the main building of the castle can be built on this hill, with the hill as the fort mound, build a multi-story curtain wall and tower around the hill, and build a long marble street along the hill, directly to the port, if this port develops into a city in the future, you can also build another wall outside..."
Liu Qian explained his construction plan with great interest.