229 First Step
Burial, speech, and silence. The people stayed in the newly built Valentine National Cemetery for a full day.
It was not until sunset and a cold wind blew that it gradually dissipated.
Logically speaking, there should have been a grand banquet so that the sad people could gather, support each other, and miss the sacrificed and brave people together.
Of course, the participants of this banquet were only limited to important figures with status, strength, power, or wealth. However, they would also invite some soldiers and commoners who came from poor backgrounds but fought bravely. The masters in gorgeous clothes would smile and look at the helpless and pitiful them as they raised their glasses to greet them and perfectly hide the disdain in their hearts. They would praise and treat them as heroes and put on an act.
It was also because of this that Kang De rejected the suggestion of the banquet.
The reason was also very sufficient—the war had not ended and countless sacrifices had been made. Valentine’s supplies were still insufficient, and today was the day to commemorate the heroes. According to the tradition of Cathay, a banquet should not be ostentatious and extravagant, so please forgive him.
The people who yearned to closer their relationship with Kang De naturally felt that it was a pity, but on the surface, they still had to praise His Highness’ benevolence and pity. In fact, who f*cking cared what the tradition of Cathay was? The key was that this was what Kang De said, so it must be good and right.
From the looks of it, even if Kang De said that the tradition of Cathay was for everyone to dance on the grave together after burial, these masters would probably not hesitate to start shaking their butts.
“I’m so tired… even more tired than fighting a war.”
The evening light filled the sky. The group had already returned to Valentine. Naturally, there were officials from the city hall in charge of cleaning up the National Cemetery. Kang De was naturally happy to slack off, so no one said anything.
After the battle ended, Kang De had almost become the actual supreme ruler of Valentine, but he still lived in the base of the Vidal Chamber of Commerce. This seemed ambiguous and subtle, imperceptibly hinting, so much so that the evaluation of the Vidal family rose out of thin air. No wonder Leona’s eldest brother ran over.
After entering, a butler and servant went forward to welcome him. Kang De asked, “Is Leona not back yet?”
When he left earlier, Kang De called Leona to leave with him under the envious and jealous gazes of the upper-class people and the young ladies. Unexpectedly, she rejected it because she had something to say to her brother.
At that time, the silver-haired girl’s expression was very strange. She casually said a few words and almost forcefully pulled her gigolo brother in the other direction in front of everyone, causing him to only smile apologetically at Kang De. His smile was also a little complicated, and he did not even have the time to say a word.
—What’s going on? You’re still not introducing your brother to me, making it seem like I’ll do something to him. How strange.
When the other party heard this, he bowed respectfully, “Your Highness, Eldest Miss has not returned.”
Kang De raised his eyebrows. “Eh?”
Of course, he was not fast to return with the 200 to 300 cavalry of the mercenary group. Moreover, many people chased after him along the way to say a few words to him. Sometimes, there were also shouts and praises from the commoners. He often had to stop and say a few words. Such a delay and waste of time actually returned earlier than Leona.
Even if she had something to say to her brother, she should have returned by now.
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, Kang De felt someone poking his back.
He turned around and saw Hong San gesturing with his eyes.
Turning around, that butler… seemed to be a little afraid.
Kang De only exclaimed, but it made him feel fear.
This person bent down so much that it was even 90 degrees perpendicular to his thigh. It had simply reached the point of groveling. Although they were also very polite and respected him previously, it was not like now. After a huge battle, he was still the same person, but everything was different.
Kang De sighed, “You don’t have to do this. I wasn’t moody previously, nor did I treat you as ants. The current me is no different from the original me. What will I do to you? If there’s any change, it’s because I’ve grown and recognized pity and righteousness. How can I casually be angry at you? How can people change so quickly in a few days? I haven’t changed, but you’ve changed.”
As soon as he said this, not only were these stewards and servants not grateful, but their expressions changed drastically and they even began to tremble. Kang De could see the other party’s legs trembling.
“Lord… Lord… I’m sorry… I… I…”
This butler was not the old butler beside Leona, but he could be considered a middle-level employee of the Vidal family. He did things neatly and was very generous with people. His words and actions made people feel like they were bathing in a spring breeze. He was both confident and self-restraint. Clearly, he had learned and experienced for a long time, so he was valued by Leona… However, now, the other party was stammering, and his tone was filled with fear and uneasiness.
Kang De slowly exhaled and rolled his eyes silently.
If not for the other party bowing deeply and not being able to see Kang De’s face, he would probably be frightened to death when he saw this eye roll…
Seeing this, Hong San said, “There’s no need to be afraid, no need to be reserved. His Highness doesn’t have the intention to criticize you, let alone be angry. His anger will only be directed at evil and injustice, not at you who work seriously. Every mission of yours is very appropriate and blameless…”
After comforting him, the other party retreated gratefully.
After they walked away, Kang De sighed, “Why do I feel that everything I say now is wrong?”
“The fault is not yours, but theirs. They don’t understand now.”
Hong San smiled, “Your Highness, in the past, Hong San was kneeling, but when did these people really stand up? Now, they don’t know the scenery above, so sometimes, we have to bend down and talk to them, then teach and encourage them until they stand up too.”
“The road is long, how far, and how difficult,” Kang De said. “Everything I’ve seen, heard, and thought about today is from the bottom of my heart. Looking at those thousands of ignorant people, I know that this path is difficult. This is only a city of commoners and nobles, let alone the entire country and the entire world.”
Hong San smiled and said, “However, you still made such a speech. It’s peerless and breathtaking.”
Kang De shrugged, “It’s only a speech… Most of the people present today will go back and sleep at night. Tomorrow, they’ll forget most of what I said. After all, the speech was passionate, but it only lasted for a moment. Daily life is boring. Day after day is extremely long.”
Hong San shook his head and said, “No, Your Highness, there’s no need to be so pessimistic. Today’s speech is only the planting of a seed. Of course, most people won’t become persistent, brave, and confident people because of today’s speech. Just like how a seed won’t grow on its own when buried in the sand, we can continuously water and fertilize it and carefully care for it. Even an insignificant seed will grow one day.”
Kang De’s expression changed slightly. “What’s the details?”
“It’s nothing more than urging, spurring, rewarding, promoting, and creating an atmosphere.”
Hong San said calmly, “In the end, most of the difficult problems in the world are because we don’t have enough money. We only manage Valentine, but we have the contributions of the nobles and rich businessmen in the entire province. The support of the Goethe officials, even the support of foreign factions, and even the ransom of the Twilight Dynasty… are more than enough.”
He counted with his fingers and said, “The war has ended, but there’s a lot of follow-up work. The city has been destroyed, the farmland has been destroyed, and the remains of the battlefield… We need people everywhere.”
“We’ll use your reputation to absorb refugees and recruit them to work. We’ll even choose strong and brave people to join the army. We’ll give them more rewards, care, and value them. We’ll make them grateful, proud, and happy. We’ll make them a collective, eat, live, and entertain together.”
“We’ll teach them the principle of self-confidence from time to time and let them listen to Your Highness’ speech and teach them the principle of being human… There are only three main points.”
“Firstly, form a sense of belonging. Secondly, shape the overall positive atmosphere. Thirdly, build a sense of honor.”
Kang De was stunned.
Then, he subconsciously asked, “It consumes a lot of energy like this. Moreover, the work dealt with after the war will be completed one day. The money is not endless, but there will be more and more people. What should we do then?”
Hong San laughed, “Your Highness is confused. As the saying goes, make the most of one’s talent. The small matters I’m talking about are my mission. The big matters you’re talking about are naturally your mission.”
“…”
Kang De reacted and laughed.
—Ever since I pounded those two lumps of peanut butter, I’ve become slightly stupid.
D*mn, would an industrial society that had just begun be worried about having too many people?
Hong San glanced at Kang De and exclaimed, “From the looks of it, Your Highness, could it be that you already have thoughts?”
Kang De nodded. “I have an idea, but I have to analyze the exact situation. Fortunately, there are a lot of things to do. I can think about it step by step.”
Hong San asked curiously, “Then has Your Highness thought of the first step?”
Kang De smiled, “Even an outsider like me knows without thinking. The first thing I have to do is expand the food production and organize education.”
Improving breeding, opening up farmland, improving tools, and innovating ideas.
At the same time, he promoted education, organized schools, and shared knowledge.
In this way, when food production increased drastically and liberated a large number of agricultural people, and at the same time, popular education produced a group of skilled people, industrialization could take the healthy and stable first step… Of course, this was only the first step.
As for the future… he would think about it in the future.
Kang De thought worriedly and optimistically.
No matter how smart Hong San was, he could not think of what Kang De was worried about. However, he trusted Kang De 100%. Although this saying of “expanding food production and organizing education” sounded very grand and empty, since Kang De had said so, there must be a way and it could be done—that was what he thought.
Therefore, he bowed happily and said, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“No… you’re the one who’s troubled,” Kang De said. “It’s been hard on you these past few days. You’ve been busy every day coordinating the plan. You have to meet guests for me and deal with those boring guys for me…”
“It’s not hard. Instead, I feel fulfilled and regretful for my previous wasted time… Not to mention those muddle-headed days, if I had learned more and worked harder under Master back then, I could have helped Your Highness even more now. I’m really ashamed.” Hong San sighed, “I only hate that I didn’t meet you earlier.”
The speaker did not mean it, but the listener understood something.
Kang De’s expression changed slightly as he said, “I asked about your sect earlier… Now that you’ve turned over a new leaf and learned to be a human, your master will be gratified and happy, right? Don’t you plan to return to your sect?”
Hong San thought for a moment and asked, “Does Your Highness want to recruit people from my sect?”
“…”
Kang De rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me sound so utilitarian, okay?”
Hong San chuckled. Compared to before, his wretched, fawning, and humble temperament and words had already been swept away. He had become confident, steady, and generous, but he would occasionally be mischievous.
However, when he thought of his master and sect, a complicated expression appeared on his face. There was nostalgia, sigh, and timidity similar to homecoming.
“I have to send a letter to Master…”
He slowly said, “We have to let him know about this and know that I’ve already learned my lesson. Moreover, since I’m loyal to Your Highness, it’s my duty to find talents for you.”
“However, Your Highness, I suggest otherwise. Now that you’re the center of attention in the world, I’m also basking in a lot of light when I stay by your side. My words and actions are paid attention to by many people. If the letter is not secret and is investigated by someone with ill intentions, I’m afraid it will bring many troubles to my master… Therefore, I have to be careful.”
He sighed again, “I should go back personally, but this matter is not over, so I can’t leave… No matter what, I have to wait until the war is over, at least temporarily.”
Speaking of this, Kang De’s smile disappeared.
On the fifth day, the elves’ envoy had yet to appear… There was not even a middleman to deliver the message.
He said, “So what are the elves thinking? Should we fight to the end? Or is there a conspiracy?”
Hong San said, “Perhaps we haven’t discussed a result. I asked a few mayors today. The information shows that the attacks of the elves have slowed down in the past few days. The generals of the expeditionary army are also very afraid that their army will be destroyed by the meteor shower falling from the sky in an instant… They’re all waiting for the orders of the capital.”
Kang De frowned and said nothing.
Suddenly, a hand pressed on his shoulder.
Kang De looked up and discovered that Hong San was looking at him. He said seriously, “Your Highness, do you still remember what I said earlier? The funeral has already ended. After optimizing your new strength and increasing the strategic deterrence power, you can rest well. Don’t worry about what hasn’t happened yet. The elves should be worried.”
Kang De was stunned for a moment, then slowly nodded.
He was indeed a little tired.
Just as he was about to say something, he saw Hong San reveal a subtle evil smile.
“After all, Your Highness, you can only take advantage of these few days to rest. In a few days, there will be many things you should worry about. Apart from the battle between the elves, I’m afraid there’s also news of Princess Tina.”
Kang De’s expression slowly changed.
“Princess Tina, Miss Leona, and that Crimson Queen… Your Highness, take care. In this matter, I can’t help at all.”
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