The Empress’s Gigolo

Ren Baqian sat in the garden pondering for a long time. It was as if he was recalling his lost youth and the many beautiful sunsets that had gone past.

“You aren’t in a good mood because you didn’t out-talk them?” The empress, who rarely showed concern for him, spoke in a gentle tone. Usually, Ren Baqian would have taken advantage of this situation. However, he was preoccupied with problems and did not take notice of it.

“I’m not in a bad mood.” Ren Baqian tried to collect himself and sat up straight before continuing, “Actually, they were right in some ways when they suggested the idea of letting those captives work without pay because giving them freedom should be enough.”

“Oh,” the empress uttered. Then, she continued to look at him as though she was trying to find out what he was really thinking.

Was he giving up this quickly? If that was the case, she would be disappointed.

Whether it was right or wrong, one must persevere on their own path. When the result was out, one would know whether it was bitter or sweet.

It was just like when she chose Ren Baqian as her husband. Even if those events didn’t take place, she wouldn’t have easily conceded.

According to the words on Earth, she would follow the road she had chosen to the end even if she had to kneel down.

“However, they missed out on one factor.” Ren Baqian emphasized. “After working for eight years, the captives will become experts in building construction and road repair. In the coming decades, Dayao will need a huge number of various types of craftsmen. It will be especially hard to quickly find craftsmen who are skilled in cement construction.

Letting these people go would be a pity. If they aren’t given hope, they won’t put their hearts into their work—they will lack initiative and may even become walking corpses. Regardless, we can’t do this forever because the Yun Nation will become a part of Dayao after being conquered, so their people will become the subjects of Your Majesty. The blind use of force isn’t a good choice. To control such a big area with different races, it’s more appropriate to rule with benevolence than to be a tyrant.

If, as previously discussed, they become commoners after eight years, they certainly won’t stay. Even if they have nowhere to go, they will choose to go back to their hometowns, and their stay in the captive camps will become the worst memories of their lives.

I suggest paying them wages and treating them as craftsmen rather than using them as forced labor. Don’t let them harbor too much resentment, let them feel gratitude for Your Majesty’s kindness so that they view their work as a form of livelihood. By the time they earn their freedom, some of them may change their minds and decide to stay. As for those who decide to leave and have nothing else to do, they may opt to go back to this profession and will not feel as hostile.”

“Oh.” The empress nodded thoughtfully.

“There’s one more point—the number of captives Dayao needs isn’t only 100,000, but a few hundred thousand or even a million. If so many people were to go back at the same time, it will have a big impact on the Yun Nation regions that have just settled down. If these people, who have nothing, go back to their hometowns and find no prospects there, some of them will take risks, which will not be conducive to law and order. A few years after settling down, the Yun Nation would erupt into chaos again. Therefore, if you can get these people to stay, not only can you acquire a big pool of workers, but you can also distribute them and decrease the disruption.”

“Oh!” The empress continued to look thoughtful while nodding.

What Ren Baqian had mentioned was something she hadn’t considered before. After all, it was very easy to raid an area, but she had no experience in administering a land full of foreigners.

It couldn’t be said that they were totally inexperienced, but the only experience the aboriginals had in this regard was driving all the remnant citizens of the Hao Nation into Tianjing Basin, sealing the exit, and letting them fend for themselves.

“When the time comes, it will not be easy to get them to stay if force was used!” Ren Baqian sighed.

The empress continued to nod thoughtfully.

Although putting a knife to their throat was the easiest way to get things done, the final outcome wasn’t the best.

“I will go back on a trip soon and find a loudspeaker that’s louder than the vocal cords here,” complained Ren Baqian. It would be so loud that it would be unbelievable.

The voices of the court officials weren’t soft; a person’s voice was as loud as the horn of a truck, which was an inborn feature of the aboriginals. Ren Baqian estimated that Tong Zhenye’s voice was about 100 decibels.

However, this didn’t matter because Ren Baqian would get a loudspeaker that could produce 130 decibels, which was about as loud as a plane taking off. It would blow their minds.

The empress looked at Ren Baqian’s fighting spirit and wondered whether she should tell him that the one with the bigger fist was the boss.

She would tell them that the one with the biggest fist was the boss.

That afternoon, Ren Baqian hurried back to Earth.

“The company license is ready, the company has been set up, and the location has been selected. It’s all here. In addition, you suddenly gave me so much work, so will you give me raise?” Shen Feng threw a stack of documents on the table in front of Ren Baqian.

Sitting there watching Ren Baqian study the documents, she noticed that his appearance was getting more and more oppressive and becoming more like those barbarians whose brains were filled with muscles.

Thinking about those rascals made Shen Feng angry. She was stunned by the punch they had hit her with, but what made her most upset was the fact that she had taken the initiative to teach them that finger-guessing game! The end result was a bloody nose and some tears.

Ren Baqian held the plans for the martial arts center in his hand. It had been fast-tracked and should be completed in about one month’s time, which was three months of Earth time.

Ren Baqian had high hopes for this plan, and it was more important than the pharmaceutical factory. In fact, they weren’t comparable at all.

Although martial arts were declining in importance, cultivation methods would be publicized sooner or later, leading the world to undergo tremendous changes and causing the value of top martial arts masters to peak.

Cultivation could direct human evolution and prolong people’s lifespan. For the rich, this was more valuable than material things. Once the cultivation methods were publicized, the perception of the whole world would change. Every top-rated martial artist would be like a “fragrant bun” courted by the rich Plus, the demand for personal trainers would be very high.

With the appearance of many high-level martial artists, ordinary people with guns would have a hard time fighting them, so the rich and powerful would need to recruit high caliber martial artists for the sake of protection.

The time required to develop these high caliber martial artists was long, it couldn’t be achieved overnight, and these experts couldn’t be developed using ordinary means.

If one third or half of the top martial artists were to open their own martial arts centers, the value of this network alone would be incalculable, not to mention the reputation and the potential power.

Although these students were only disciples, it mustn’t be forgotten that they were developed by these centers, regardless of their relationships or status. Ren Baqian possessed the secret manuals for Earth Wheel and Spirit Wheel cultivation. Therefore, he controlled the next step required for advancement. No matter what, they couldn’t abandon their relationship with the martial arts centers.