After Hua Kai finished lecturing the disciples, he asked the direct disciples to each write a short story for him within a week. The nominal disciples could give it to the direct disciples to comment on.
The difference between the direct disciples and the nominal disciples was great. The direct disciples represented the legacy of the teacher. It was not excessive for the teacher to pay a great price for them. Therefore, there was the saying that a teacher for a day was a father for life.
The nominal disciples only had the right to listen, and did not have the right to ask questions or be taught alone. Many times, they would ask the direct disciples for advice.
This class was of great significance to all the disciples. It was the first time they had heard that writing could be explained in such detail. As long as they learned the main points of a novel, everyone present could actually learn how to write a novel. One had to know that in the past, only students and above could write a novel.
"Teacher, I have discussed with some of my junior sect brothers. We hope to build a novel school.
Right now, there are more and more novelists in High Willow School. Many students and apprentices want to learn but do not have the means. When the news that you have become a magnate spreads to the central plains, I believe that many novelists will come from far away. "
Cao Zirui was the youngest of Hua Kai's direct disciples, and was only at the great perfection of the mortal realm, but Hua Kai had designated him as the head disciple. Everyone present had to listen to him.
"Yes, all the expenses to build the school will be applied from the finance department of High Willow City. I can be the director of the school in name, but you will have to do all the work," Hua Kai replied.
While the school of Novels was not valued by the prestigious families, they had more people than the school of Confucianism. In the future, there would be more and more school of Novels gathering in High Willow City. Building a school would not only promote the school of Novels, it would also better maintain the order of High Willow City.
Entering the ninth month, Hua Kai checked that the family's cultural value had reached 4618. He was less than four hundred points away from completing the main mission. With the present speed of the Hua family's cultural value increasing, in less than a month, the Hua family would become a fourth-rank prestigious family.
Yesterday, Hua Kai had investigated the more than three hundred prisoners above Energy Realm that had been sent back from Donghu. Most of them were the remnants of the Donghu royal cavalry. What he had not expected was that these Energy Realm, including one in Xiantian Realm, did not have strong hatred for the Hua family. Their loyalty was on righteousness. Hua Kai could not understand this.
Originally, Hua Kai had wanted to just kill them and be done with it, but after seeing this, he decided to give them a chance. Everyone was sent to Hua City to help Xu Hua farm. Within the Spirit Gathering Diagram, they would not be able to do anything.
Riding [Luma], Hua Kai and Wuren Tuya walked on the grassland.
The matters at home were settled. The Azure Dragon Army was completely suppressing the Donghu court, and the Novel Academy was being built. He could go to the grasslands.
Erzhuang sent news from the Ujimqin tribe. This year, the Great Moon Kingdom had invested three hundred and fifty thousand soldiers and four hundred thousand slave soldiers into the Little Moon Kingdom. Even now, they had not completely taken over the Little Moon Kingdom. If the Great Moon Kingdom bled dry in order to take over the Little Moon Kingdom, then even if they won in the end, there would not be much meaning.
Therefore, he planned to go to the grasslands as soon as possible and check on the construction of the North Mountain.
Now that the threat of Donghu was gone, the entire North Mountain was the territory of the Hua family. The North Mountain was an important place for the Hua family that was only less populous than High Willow City. Hua Kai had not really gone to the North Mountain to check.
The [Luma] took just over an hour to reach Leopard Pass. Wuren Tuya rode the [Cloud Piercing Leopard] and followed the [Luma] without any pressure. When they arrived at Leopard Pass, the two saw that the thousands of acres of grassland outside the pass were filled with carriages going back to High Willow City. These were the days when the grassland merchants would return.
After entering Leopard Pass, the two did not stop and headed towards the North Mountain. On the way, Fifth Uncle's carriages were heading towards Leopard Pass from the North Mountain. Because they had heard that Donghu had been defeated by the Hua family, all the merchants were even more casual when traveling outside the pass. Many of them dared to travel with a few carriages and ten people. This caused the area outside Leopard Pass to be very lively.
Hua Kai and Wuren Tuya followed the carriages to the North Mountain. The road here had clearly been repaired. The ten-meter-wide gravel road was very easy for the carriages to travel on.
Just entering the North Mountain, Hua Kai saw a village halfway up the mountain. The Household Servant of the Hua family lived here, a thousand people in total. This was the entrance to the North Mountain.
After passing this military camp, it was very lively. There were rows of houses on both sides of the road, and many shops were in operation. The merchant caravans all stopped here. These were all controlled by the Hua family.
Hua Kai rode his horse for more than ten miles along the main road to the south. He saw a lot of mountain villages here. Around the mountain villages were farmlands. Some caravans were resting and reorganizing in these mountain villages. Hua Kai saw some of the subsidiary family members who knew him and greeted him. He smiled and responded to them one by one.
The Hua family had built three large camps on the North Mountain. While the two sides of the road were bustling, the buildings were very simple. This was to prevent the North Mountain from being attacked and for the Hua family to quickly retreat.
When it came to the village that Hua Jiazhu wanted to develop, Zicheng, the construction here was very good.
Zicheng was the name given by Second Uncle Wah Tzu Chi. It was actually a village built halfway up the mountain. The Hua family had tens of thousands of members and slaves living here. This was Hua Kai's control center on the North Mountain.
Outside Zicheng were newly cultivated farmlands. There were family patrols patrolling the surroundings. Here, other than defending against wild beasts that might appear in the south, they also had to defend against the wolves that could be seen everywhere in the North Mountain.
Looking from afar, Hua Kai did not plan to enter. He went to Wild Horse Village on the west side of the North Mountain to walk around. This place was smaller than Zicheng, but many of the merchant caravans that had just come from Donghu were resting here. It was just as prosperous as Zicheng.
He rested for a night in Wild Horse Village. The person in charge here was a special Household Servant of the Hua family. The other gave Hua Kai a detailed introduction of the Hua family's present development in the North Mountain.
Right now, there were about three hundred villages in the North Mountain. After the Hua family controlled three large areas, they would meet with the people in charge of the other villages once a month.
When the original residents here had just started, they often caused trouble. Now that the Hua family had defeated Donghu, more and more families of the High Willow Commandery were building their villages here, and the original residents could not cause trouble.
The North Mountain was the most important transit point for the Hua family to trade on the grasslands, and also one of the important directions of the Hua family's future development. The villages were still being built quickly this year, and in the future, they would become the bridgehead for the Hua family to trade on the grasslands.
The next morning, Hua Kai and Wuren Tuya started their journey on the grasslands. They flew quickly the entire way. With the endless supply of physical qi from Hua Kai's [Luma of the Swamp], they arrived at the Erdos Tribe in just two days.
Hua Kai had not notified Xue Chen earlier. When they rode to the outskirts of the Erdos Tribe, the entire tribe was on guard. The Erdos Tribe had been attacked by experts twice this year. When Hua Kai revealed his identity, Chief Tie Fa had already arrived.
"Brother Hua Kai, you are finally here!
This is … sister-in-law!
I heard that the princess of the Ujimqin Tribe is the most beautiful pearl on the grasslands. Seeing you today, it is true. Please come into my tent for a chat. I will have people prepare a banquet! "Chief Tie Fa said happily when he saw Hua Kai.
"How is the Xiongnu situation this year?
I heard that the northern tribes of the Xiongnu Tribe have already attacked the Erdos Tribe several times. How are the tribe's losses? "Hua Kai asked.
"Now, more than 70% of the tribes in the Xiongnu Kingdom have surrendered to the Erdos Tribe. Only five tribes in the north are still holding on. The Erdos Tribe has lost many members of the royal family, but it cannot affect the situation in the Xiongnu Kingdom. Right now, our tribe has 11 Xiantian Realm cultivators. Even if I cannot break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, it will be very difficult for the tribe to unify the Xiongnu Kingdom," Chief Tie Fa said.
Hua Kai and Wuren Tuya arrived at the Erdos Tribe. He chatted with Chief Tie Fa about the Erdos Tribe. In just eight years, the Erdos Tribe had grown from a medium-sized tribe with a population of 50,000 to more than 100,000, 200,000 slaves, and hundreds of affiliated tribes. Their total power was spread across the central and southern parts of the Xiongnu Kingdom. They controlled more than 1.3 million people.
One had to know that the Qi Linzi City only had a population of 400,000, and the area directly under it had a population of 800,000. Including the total population of the six kingdoms and five counties, the Erdos Tribe's power was no less than that of a normal Rank 2 country.
For the past few years, the Erdos Tribe had been supplying the Hua Clan with spirit herbs, rare stones, furs, beast bones, and other materials. The Hua Clan's current development was inseparable from the Erdos Tribe.
After staying in Chief Tie Fa's tent for more than 10 minutes, Hua Kai saw that Xue Chen had also arrived.
"Greetings, Chief!" Xue Chen bowed to Hua Kai.
"Not bad. You've done well in the tribe. Your cultivation has also reached Xiantian Realm Level 7." Hua Kai looked at Xue Chen and praised him.
Xue Chen was now one of the most important retainers of the Hua family. Although the Xue Chen's elder sister was still a maid for Hua Kai's mother, everyone knew that the Xue Family would become one of the most powerful families in the High Willow County in the future. Some families had already begun to contact Xue Pan and Xue Chen. If Hua Kai was willing, Xue Chen could become a Rank 6 aristocratic family at any time.
Xue Chen reminded, "It is my duty to share the Lord's burden. Many people in the Hua family know that the Lord has arrived and want to see the Lord. Is the Lord passing by or would you like to rest here for a while?"
Hua Kai was the Lord, so everyone in the settlement could only be loyal to him. In the past few years, Hua Kai had rarely come to the Erdos Tribe. This was not good for increasing the loyalty of the members and slaves.
"I plan to stay here for a while and then go to the Ujimqin Tribe. After dealing with the Ujimqin Tribe, the two of us will go to the western part of the Dawan Kingdom.
We'll talk about the details tonight! "
When Chief Tie Fa heard Xue Chen call Hua Kai "Lord," his expression changed. He didn't expect Hua Kai to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm so quickly. Now that the Erdos Tribe had a Foundation Establishment Realm ally, they would no longer be in a passive state when facing the tribes in the northern part of the Hun Kingdom.