"A king?"
The word lingered in Xu Yi's mind for less than a second before he cast it far away.
Xu Yi knew perfectly well that he had no talent for politics. Making him a king would hardly be a good thing.
Even before Grand Duke Wellen, people had privately suggested that, since the Xinfei Merchant Guild now effectively controlled most of the Black Rice Wasteland and vast territories within the Stantin Duchy, he could establish an independent kingdom and become its king. Xu Yi had always ignored the suggestion.
First, he had no interest in becoming a king.
Second, given the Xinfei Merchant Guild's current strength, establishing a country would be inappropriate. It lacked the strength in various areas needed to sustain one.
And so, from beginning to end, Xu Yi had run the Xinfei Merchant Guild as an ordinary merchant guild.
Its only difference from other merchant guilds probably lay in its military magic machinery.
In truth, however, what Xu Yi himself valued most had always been civilian magic machinery.
After discussing matters with Angklu and Grand Duke Wellen, they established the overarching policy of maintaining stability in the Stantin Duchy, allowing its people to live and work in peace, and developing the duchy steadily. Xu Yi then handed the relevant plans to Angklu and Grand Duke Wellen, leaving them to work out how to cooperate, while he drove his magic locomotive out of the Stantin Duchy.
Passing through the Black Rice Wasteland, Xu Yi made his customary inspection of Black Rice City. Once he confirmed that everything was developing steadily along the intended course, he headed to the northern border between the Black Rice Wasteland and the Sark Kingdom.
After several months of intensive construction, the defensive works in the northern Black Rice Wasteland had begun to