"The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel must explore more channels to uncover talent of all kinds, in order to meet the constant demands of our future development. From now on, court sessions will be held on the fifth and twenty-fifth of every month. All officials above the sixth rank currently in the city must attend. As for those above the fourth rank, since only Wu Tian and Li Gang currently hold those positions, they shall await summons at any time. This is to ensure the development and strengthening of Tieshi City. For this, I, Hua Tianxiong, require the support and assistance of all the ministers here!"
"We shall all obey the decree of the Prince of Shicheng and strive to build Tieshi City well!" the group replied in unison.
By dusk, the grand enthronement ceremony had finally concluded. Although there were no fireworks or firecrackers to celebrate, Hua Tianxiong still held a banquet in the main hall of the Prince's Mansion to celebrate with the many soldiers and officials of Tieshi City. Of course, instructions regarding the confidentiality of the distributed storage bags had already been given to all officials; after all, Tieshi City’s current strength was relatively weak, and everyone understood the principle of not flaunting one's wealth.
After the banquet, Hua Tianxiong kept Wang Yuan of the Ministry of Revenue, Li Gang, and Wu Tian behind. He quietly took out the prepared storage bags and handed them to Wang Yuan.
"Minister Wang Yuan, this is the secret silver my mother left me before she passed. Let it serve as the starting capital for the development of Tieshi City for the time being," he said, handing the storage bag containing the silver to Wang Yuan.
"His Highness's silver comes at the perfect time. The construction projects under the Ministry of Works and the monthly stipends for all ministries have been weighing so heavily on me that I could barely lift my head. We have already suspended stipends for two months. Without this silver, all construction projects under the Ministry of Works would have come to a halt! My goodness, there is so much silver here! This is enough to sustain us until next year. Your Highness, I can finally tell Gongsun Shang to proceed with construction at full capacity. This even covers the cost of repairing the streets and the city walls. Just watch, Your Highness—with these funds, I can guarantee that Gongsun Shang will finish all housing construction and wall reinforcement work by the end of December."
"Very well. You three may go and attend to your duties. First, ensure everyone's stipends are paid out. I will find ways to secure more silver in the future! From here on out, Tieshi City will grow even more prosperous and strong!" Hua Tianxiong said as he looked at the three of them.
Meanwhile, inside the Cining Palace in the capital of the Qin State, Empress Ye Yingwen, clad in magnificent robes, had completely shed her dignified air as the mother of the nation. Like a shrew, she smashed and threw everything within her reach, roaring, "Why hasn't the Grand General arrived yet? Summon him! Quickly! If the Grand General does not arrive, I will have you all killed!"
The palace maids and eunuchs throughout the Cining Palace stood trembling, terrified that a single misstep would cost them their lives. The maids familiar with Empress Ye knew that the current Empress was difficult to serve; one mistake and they would never live to see the next day.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Grand General has arrived at the palace gate!" a eunuch stuttered in a panic, relieved that the Grand General had finally arrived, as everyone feared for their lives.
"Let him in immediately! And all of you, get out! No one is to enter without my decree!" Ye Yingwen roared at the terrified maids and eunuchs standing to the side.
"Why is the Empress in such a rage? Who has offended you so?" Grand General Ye Huan asked, puzzled, as he looked at the wreckage covering the floor and the maids and eunuchs scurrying away.
"That little bastard is still alive! And they are holding some kind of enthronement celebration in these next few days? How did your people handle this? Why is he still alive?" The Empress, already in a state of fury, showed no shred of respect for Grand General Ye. She screamed at him the moment he entered the palace gate.
"What? He is still alive? My men clearly watched him fall off the cliff. How is that possible?" Ye Huan asked, looking at the hysterical Empress, his tone filled with fear and confusion.
"See for yourself. This is the news sent by Ma Yan, the Governor of Bohai Commandery!" Empress Ye Yingwen threw a scroll, used by the Great Qin Empire for official dispatches, toward Ye Huan.
"To the Governor of Bohai Commandery, Ma Yan: I, this Prince, hereby set the twenty-eighth year of Chunyuan, the fifth day of the ninth month, for my enthronement ceremony. My fief is Bohai Commandery, with my seat of office in Tieshi City. The ceremony will be held in Tieshi City; you are welcome to come and pay your respects."
"Bah! He actually thinks highly of himself! He was sent there to die, yet he really takes it seriously. Fief of Bohai Commandery, seat of office in Tieshi City—he really thinks he is the Prince of Shicheng! However, sister, rest assured. Ma Yan is one of our own; he certainly won't go, and he definitely won't let anyone else go either," Ye Huan said, hurriedly trying to appease her.
"This is all because of your doing! You were the one who suggested giving him a title, sending him out of the palace, and granting him Bohai Commandery as a fief. I feel that granting him Tieshi City as a seat was already giving him far too much!" Ye Yingwen accused Ye Huan angrily.
"Sister, how can you blame me for this? Brother did it for your own good. According to the ancestral laws of the Great Qin Empire, a Crown Prince must be granted a fief of at least a province. Father and I faced immense pressure to grant Hua Tianxiong only a commandery. After all, we do not have complete control over the Great Qin Empire yet!"
"Bohai Commandery is the smallest of all the commanderies. It only administers three small places: Tieshi City, Lincang City, and Heze City. Aside from Lincang City, which is somewhat decent, the other two are practically uninhabitable. You know how Tieshi City is; every year between the end of March and early April, a Beast Tide occurs. The people there live in constant fear, never knowing if they will die in the jaws of a Demonic Beast the next day. Isn't that exactly what you wanted?"