Build High Walls, Stockpile Grain, Delay Enthronement!

Build high walls, store grain, and delay the claim to the throne!

The journey of the First Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire could naturally not be delivered to his hands in a single day like an urgent military dispatch or a simple letter.

If Xue Qinghe and his party were fast, it would take about three days to reach the Great Ming Kingdom; if they were slow, it would take at least a week.

Therefore, no matter how much Xu Nian'an wanted to see Xue Qinghe, it was useless.

He simply left the task of welcoming the First Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire to Xu Fu.

Ordinarily, such matters should have been handled by the Ministry of Rites, but unfortunately, the Great Ming Kingdom currently had no officials other than the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace and the Imperial Guards outside.

Even the Holy Spirit Sect, summoned by Xu Nian'an, held no official titles.

This was because the Holy Spirit Sect was directly under Xu Nian'an and only needed to obey his commands.

Noon.

Calculating the time, Xu Yi and the members of the Holy Spirit Sect should have already crossed the Star Dou Mountain Range and reached the territory of the Star Shine Duchy by now, right?

Xu Nian'an had not expected that Li Xingyao would actually dare to establish a kingdom and betray the Starry Sky Kingdom.

Li Xingyao was originally a Great General of the Starry Sky Kingdom, guarding the border near the Star Luo Empire with one hundred thousand elite troops and one hundred thousand militia.

He never expected that this fellow would eventually defect. Xu Nian'an even suspected that the assassination of the previous king had something to do with them.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? That region had just lost contact, the late king was assassinated while inspecting the territory, and shortly after the assassination, a new duchy was immediately established.

The intent could not have been more obvious.

[Ding, conquer all territory of the Gulei Kingdom (Completed), recover lost territory (Completed)... Become the third empire of the Douluo Continent (Incomplete!)]

Hearing the cold notification sound that suddenly rang in his mind, the chopsticks in Xu Nian'an's hand stiffened.

Recover lost territory (Completed).

That meant the other half of his territory in the Star Luo Empire had already been reclaimed.

Was it Xu Yi? Was it the Dragon Guard? Was it that fast?

Xu Nian'an was somewhat stunned. How much time had even passed?

One day, including travel and sieges—good heavens.

However, why hadn't the system's main quest been completed yet?

"System, system, I have followed your requirements and conquered the entire Gulei Kingdom, and didn't you say the lost territory was recovered? Why haven't I become the third empire of the Douluo Continent?"

As soon as Xu Nian'an finished speaking, the cold system notification rang in his mind once again.

[Ding, an empire... is not self-proclaimed. The strength currently displayed by the host is not enough to be recognized by the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.]

Hearing this, Xu Nian'an narrowed his eyes.

It seemed that becoming an empire and shedding the title of a kingdom could not be achieved in the short term; at the very least, an army of three hundred thousand was not enough.

Now, only one plan remained in Xu Nian'an's mind: to recruit soldiers and buy horses.

May 27th.

The first royal decree of the Great Ming Kingdom was issued.

[A good man should hold a spear to defend his homeland and take up the pen to serve as a local official...]

Recruiting soldiers and opening the imperial examinations—Xu Nian'an needed people now.

He also ordered special treatment for public officials, such as free medical care and generous salaries... On the other side, he began spending money to establish academies.

Whether it was a Spirit Master Academy or an introductory school for knowledge, he established them all.

In the afternoon, an urgent military report was delivered to Xu Nian'an.

In the letter, Xu Yi described how he had taken the Star Shine Duchy and recovered the lost territory.

The Holy Spirit Envoy led a night raid on the command headquarters; in the darkness, the Dragon Guard displayed invincible combat power, sweeping away everything in their path.

They recovered the lost territory and captured seventy thousand elite troops along with over one hundred thousand militia.

However, it was disappointing that Li Xingyao, with the assistance of the Galloping Wolf Kingdom, had escaped the layers of encirclement that night.

Damn it, this put him in a more passive position.

One had to realize that this half of the territory was in the direction of the Star Luo Empire, effectively bordering it directly.

Besides the Galloping Wolf Kingdom, the Star Luo Empire could also launch an attack on that territory at any time.

With his twenty thousand Dragon Guards and the nearly twenty thousand surrendered troops captured there, he probably really couldn't defeat the Star Luo Empire.

Xu Nian'an's eyes darted around as he calculated in his mind the best way to resolve the predicament before him.

Should he have the Holy Spirit Sect launch a surprise attack on the Star Luo Empire and control its emperor?

No, the Star Luo Empire was not like Heaven Dou or the other kingdoms.

They had many high-level Spirit Masters, and the royal family might even have a Titled Douluo.

One had to remember that the Clear Sky Sect did not seem to have retired yet.

There was no other way; he could only borrow the tiger's skin—using the prestige of the Heaven Dou Empire to deter the Star Luo Empire from attacking him.

The Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire had just finished a major war not long ago, and both sides were already in a period of cold war.

According to the original story, barring any accidents, a full-scale war between the two empires would not occur for another thirty or forty years.

This was because the Spirit Hall Empire would emerge by that time.

Therefore, Xu Nian'an had to leverage the momentum of the Heaven Dou Empire to prevent the Star Luo Empire from taking direct action against him.

As for the other kingdoms... heh.

Xu Nian'an chuckled. Below the empires and above the kingdoms—this was the current predicament of the Great Ming Kingdom.

So, what he needed to do now was: build high walls, store grain everywhere, and delay claiming the title of Emperor!

"Build high walls, store grain everywhere, and delay fighting the wolves!"

These nine words from Xu Nian'an were delivered to Xu Yi the very next day.

Looking at the words in his hand, then glancing at the two hundred thousand Dragon Guards and the nearly two hundred thousand surrendered soldiers, Xu Yi's eyes darted around.

"Build the walls for me! I have begged the King for your forgiveness; for the sake of us all being subjects of the Great Ming, you are spared from death!"

While the army on Xu Nian'an's side successfully captured the Star Shine Duchy and planted the Sun and Moon Flag, the Star Luo Empire and the Galloping Wolf Kingdom were also making moves on the other side.

One day later.

After seeking cultivation advice from Long Xiaoyao, Xu Nian'an successfully broke through from the peak of level 17 to level 18.

In the afternoon, a carriage from the Heaven Dou Empire arrived at the Great Ming Royal Palace.

"Is this the Great Ming Kingdom?"

Looking at the flourishing scenery, Xue Qinghe felt a bit nervous, unsure of how to face this distant cousin he had never met before.

"According to the letters from my aunt over the past few years, my cousin should be several years younger than me."

"Welcome, Your Highness, First Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire!"

Just then, a soft, effeminate voice suddenly rang out from outside the carriage.

Xue Qinghe slowly lifted the curtain of his carriage and was met by an old eunuch with silver hair combed with meticulous precision.

"Whew, this..."

Uncle Fu smiled.

"Your Highness, you may call me Uncle Fu. If you have any questions over the next few days, you can come to me."

Inside the palace, Xu Nian'an was currently sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Step... step... step.

Just then, the sound of unhurried footsteps suddenly echoed.

Xu Nian'an slowly opened his eyes and saw Long Xiaoyao, whose brows were tightly knitted together.

"According to our intelligence, the Heaven Dou Empire shouldn't have any powerful Spirit Masters, yet for some reason, two Title Douluo have arrived this time."

"My King, you must be careful."

The implication behind Long Xiaoyao's words was clear: he suspected there were assassins among them.

Xu Nian'an raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Two Title Douluo—could they be Qian Renxue's bodyguards from the original story?

Could it be that the current Xue Qinghe is actually Qian Renxue???

At this thought, a smile tugged at the corners of Xu Nian's mouth.

Legend had it that this Qian Renxue was a top-tier beauty on the Douluo Continent.

Now that she was disguised as a man, if he took the opportunity to get a little handsy and take advantage of her, what could she possibly say?

Thank you to "You were born before I was, and I have yet to age while you have grown old" for the 200-coin tip yesterday; I didn't see it until now, thank you.

Thank you to "How could you lot possibly understand the worries of this Emperor" for the two monthly tickets!!!