Advance into the Plateau

"Wise choice."

A faint smile appeared on Rayne's face, and he offered no further comment. Then he suddenly asked, "Moserio, you've been in Osian Province for over thirty years. You should be very familiar with the Thane Plateau, right?"

"Yes, my lord."

Moserio immediately slipped into his professional role.

Although he had no idea why the Duke had suddenly brought up the Thane Plateau, he still replied in detail, "Two-thirds of Osian Province is part of the plateau. There are several Barbarian tribes around Tianchi Lake. They don't consider themselves citizens of the Empire, but they fear the Empire's prestige, so they generally live in peace with us. Barbarians can often be seen in Qingtan City."

"Have you been to the Thane Plateau?" Rayne asked.

Moserio replied, "Many times. I've gone as far as Gragur Mountain in the central region, and I'm very familiar with the entire northeastern part of the plateau."

"Good."

Rayne nodded in satisfaction. "Over the next few years, you'll have two most important tasks as the governor of my territory. First, help me govern the territory and smoothly transition Osian into the duchy. I don't want to see anything discordant happen within my lands."

"Yes." Moserio responded loudly.

"Second, I intend to use the duchy as my starting point and rear base to unify the entire Thane Plateau. Since you're familiar with the plateau, take part in this and offer me advice." Rayne continued.

Moserio's expression turned incredulous. The news had stunned him.

Unify the Thane Plateau?

After hesitating for a moment, he said cautiously, "My lord, forgive my bluntness. Unifying the Thane Plateau is a thankless task. Besides, the plateau is far too vast. Conquering those Barbarian tribes won't be difficult, but ruling them will be. And there's the High Council..."

Rayne waved his hand,