Everyone knew the matter was urgent, so no one tried to persuade him further. Once they had discussed nearly everything, Chen Cheng dismissed the meeting.
But as everyone was leaving, Chen Cheng called back Zhulu, who had remained in the background the whole time.
"Your Majesty."
Chen Cheng nodded and gestured to a seat.
"Please sit, Master Zhulu."
"Under the current plan, work in the Northern Wasteland will have to slow down. With all your skills lying idle here, Master, I imagine your hands must be itching for something to do."
Chen Cheng spoke with a smile.
He was not saying that at random. Alchemists were called practitioners precisely because they were more driven than ordinary mages who studied potions.
An ordinary mage might be satisfied after achieving something. Practitioners were different. Once they reached a goal, they set themselves an even greater one, then spared no cost to achieve it.
They were all mad scientists of a sort.
As soon as Zhulu heard Chen Cheng's words, he knew Chen Cheng had a task for him.
Zhulu was no fool. Thinking of the newly reclaimed Northern Frontier and its present predicament, he guessed that Chen Cheng wanted him to go there.
"If Your Majesty commands it, I will devote all my strength to the task."
Since Zhulu had already pledged his support, Chen Cheng stopped speaking in circles and laid out his idea.
"The Northern Frontier lies in the Far North. It has always been a bitterly cold land, and the people there rely on caravans from the interior for their daily necessities.
"Now the Northern Frontier is cut off from the outside. Even if its people ration their most basic supplies, they cannot hold out for long.
"So I hope you can lead your disciples to the Northern Frontier