The Desire to Tread the Bones of Lords and Ministers Along Heaven's Street

"Subsidizing unemployed cultivators' cultivation could only be a stopgap measure."

"If it went on too long, Tushan Immortal City's finances would be unable to bear it. We could only part on good terms and abandon the Northern Plains Economic and Trade Center construction plan."

Jiang Ding watched the green-skirted maidservant's retreating back.

It was not as though there were no solutions. They could invest in infrastructure, waterworks everywhere, orders and investments led by Tushan Immortal City, the construction of spirit veins—these could all absorb some employment.

Unfortunately, the Land of the Three Kingdoms itself was too small a pool.

With only three third-rank spirit veins, it had gathered dozens of Golden Core cultivators and five to six hundred thousand Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement cultivators. It was already overwhelmed, relying entirely on transfusions from outside and the development of processing trade to sustain cultivation and prosperity.

Having lost its greatest source of outside transfusions, no amount of investment from the immortal city's authorities would help. They might as well lie flat.

When the time came, those willing to stay here and endure the harsh cultivation environment could do as they pleased so long as they obeyed the law. Those wishing to return to the Northern Plains would receive partial aid with their passage fare.

That was all there was to it.

"The key lies in the situation in the Northern Plains, the situation on the Black Snow Grassland..."

Jiang Ding thought coolly.

That said, expecting him to personally interfere in the war for the Northern Plains Royal Court was nothing but wishful thinking.

Mere economic losses could never make him violate his principles and throw himself into danger.

"Still, eighteen years from now, the Blazing Sun Spirit Iron will emerge. My annual expenses will soar to one billion low-grade spirit