The Little Captain was stunned for a moment, then pointed at himself. "Me? Si Shuo Divine Servant, are you saying you want me to manage everyone?"
Si Shuo smiled and nodded. "That’s right, you. I’m sure you can handle the two tasks I mentioned, can’t you?"
"I can!" Little Captain Xuhua nodded emphatically. He had been assigned to supervise the work here. It wasn’t an assignment he wanted, leaving him to watch helplessly as so many Beastmen suffered.
There was very little he could do. No matter how hard he tried, the most he could do was let the miners eat a little more and suffer fewer lashings, but he was powerless to protect their lives.
He watched helplessly as countless Beastmen failed to survive the harsh winter, their bodies blanketing the mountainside, buried beneath the snow...
Those who managed to survive this disaster were all Beastmen who had resorted to eating the corpses, slowly losing their humanity. And these were the very Beastmen who would become the supervising Little Captains the following year, managing a new batch of Beast Slaves.
Those who made it through two years became Mid-Captains, and then full Captains.
Except for the Beast Soldiers dispatched from Beast City, the other veterans were utterly without principles!
Having been oppressed themselves, they turned around and oppressed others with even greater viciousness.
As a Little Captain of the guards, Xuhua possessed high cultivation and formidable strength. He was righteous, kind-hearted, independent, and principled, making him the perfect person to temporarily take charge of these affairs.
Si Shuo didn’t dwell any further on whether he could handle the job and went home with her males.
At night, regardless of where her males were, they were all required to teleport to her side, unless there were special circumstances.
After dinner, the family worked in perfect sync to clear the table, then gathered around it again, forming two or three circles.
Looking at the room full of her males and cubs, Si Shuo found herself in a daze for a moment before a smile touched her lips. ’Except for the boy being raised to be my son-in-law, everyone here is the closest person to me in this world.’
Her heart melted at the thought.
Si Shuo gave a soft cough and looked at Yanyi first. The cubs in the family were all sensible enough to know what could and couldn’t be discussed.
So, she recounted the events of the past two days. "Right now, the Beast King is actually one of Xiao Cheng’s clones in disguise. We didn’t originally plan to kill him, but he started having malicious designs on me and Xiao Cheng, who was disguised as the Bai Xiao Witch Doctor.
Unless we give up these two identities, the Beast King will definitely keep coming after us time and time again...
The situation now is that we’re in a bind. Before you can take over as Beast King, I’m afraid we’ll just have to bite the bullet and keep up the act!"
Yanyi smiled and nodded. "Mother, I understand. I’m still young and lack sufficient experience and strength. This is precisely the time I need to grow.
Besides, I’ve already discussed this with Little Hong. I will only consider fulfilling my destiny and becoming the Beast King after my cultivation reaches Peak Level 18 and I’ve turned twenty.
Until then, I want to travel and see the world with Little Hong and the others."
To others, the title of Beast King represented the pinnacle of power, a life of glory and riches, and the freedom to do as one pleased.
But to Yanyi, it was a shackle and a responsibility! Since he was to take on the role of Beast King, he would not fail the task entrusted to him by the Beast God, and he would become a good Beast King worthy of the Beastmen’s approval.
Furthermore, over the winter, he had learned Beast Text and read a great deal on topics like Emperor’s Strategy, dark psychology, and The Art of War by Sun Tzu. He knew that to become a good Beast King, he first had to understand the plight of his people.
Xiao Cheng chuckled. "Alright then. I’ll bear the burden of standing in for you for a decade or so. The goal is that by the time you become Beast King, we can all retire and travel the world with your Mother."
"Retirement" was a word Si Shuo often mentioned, and it had become the ultimate goal everyone was striving for. In any case, the cubs were feeling the pressure.
Having finished with that topic, Si Shuo moved on to the subject of the mines. "Outside the forest, there aren’t many mines, and the ones that exist are guarded by specific tribes or families.
But on the Yongchang Continent, mines are rich and plentiful. The Eldest Prince and Second Prince alone have a full twelve mines between them."
Ji Liang raised an eyebrow. "All the Princes and Princesses own mines to some extent. The ironic part is that the Beast King has none to his name. As for the mines that are supposed to belong to the Guiping Beast Country, after all the layers of exploitation, less than a tenth of the profits actually make it into the treasury."
Si Shuo pursed her lips in a smile. "That’s simple. We’ll start a strict investigation with the mines. We’ll find out exactly who’s involved, how much they’ve been lining their own pockets, and we’ll make them spit it all back out!
In any case, the Guiping Beast Country is under our control now, so let’s fix all the things we find unacceptable.
Starting with the mine from today, we’ll screen every last one of them. We need to find out which Beast Slaves have actually committed unforgivable crimes and which ones have been framed.
The truly evil Beastmen can be put on the more dangerous tasks. As for the ones who were framed, we’ll have to figure out how to handle their cases..."
They discussed various solutions, but it all boiled down to a few key things: land, fields, food, livelihoods, and Crystal Stones.
Zhi Le and Wei Ce exchanged a glance. "The two of us will start by investigating the farmlands held by the Royal Family and court officials to see if any were seized illegally. For any land that can be returned to its rightful owner, we’ll update the registers and ensure justice is served for the victims.
Any land whose original owners can’t be found will be confiscated by the state. We can then lease out a portion of it and have the Beast Soldiers farm the rest in their downtime."
Si Shuo nodded again and again. "That’s an excellent idea. Re-auditing the land ownership allows us to legitimately reclaim huge tracts of land, which the state can then redistribute.
Moreover, if the Beast Soldier corps becomes too large, we won’t have enough food and Crystal Stones to support them. But if their numbers are too small, we can’t fend off the covetous Beastmen of the Northern Border Country, Jiuzhou Country, and Qiongya Kingdom.
Having the Beast Soldiers engage in labor will not only make them self-sufficient but will also help temper their characters." There were so many benefits!
’Isn’t this just like overthrowing the landlords and redistributing their land? Except here, after overthrowing them, the land is nationalized and then leased out. It’s basically a form of taxation.’
Xu Chi and Gong You also smiled and said, "The two of us can be responsible for training the Beast Soldiers. The Yongchang Continent is rich in resources, and the people’s innate talent is generally quite good, but their practical combat ability is just too poor. It’s a total waste of their natural gifts and advantages.
It’s always right to be prepared for danger, even in times of peace."
Only by increasing a nation’s military strength could they provide the security needed for economic, cultural, and technological development.
"Mhm, that’s right. These Beast Soldiers are used to a pampered lifestyle. Since every Beast Country has its own corps of Beast Soldiers, there must be a reason for their existence, and it’s definitely not just for patrolling the streets.
We must be prepared at every moment, so we won’t be caught in a panic when danger strikes." Si Shuo thought back to her own world.
In other countries, when disaster struck, the first ones to rush to the scene were reporters. But in her country, it was those admirable people in their green uniforms!
Wherever you saw them, the people felt a surge of excitement, a sense of security, complete trust, and immense pride.
Si Shuo knew her abilities were limited. But she still hoped that, within her lifetime, she could bring some measure of order to the chaotic Beast World, creating a place where good outweighed evil and justice triumphed over sin.
At the very least, when Beastmen were desperate with nowhere to turn, there ought to be a place where they could seek justice and find a glimmer of light.
Xiao Cheng pursed his lips in thought. "In that case, I’ll strive to be a proper Beast King. I’ll bring the matters from the court meetings back home for us to discuss. We can work together and handle them one by one..."