The Gu family parents wanted to "promote" their two sons, hoping Gareth and Giles could find good wives among the heavy political affairs and eventually marry into Plumera Kingdom's imperial palace. However, this plan was muddled and disrupted by Prince Yu's constant jokes and distractions.
In this world, where women are rare and men are many, it is not unusual for high-ranking male officials to be married off to female rulers of other countries in political unions.
After marrying into another country, all the man's wealth would go to his wife, but his status and power in his home country would remain unaffected.
The wealth he earns later would still belong to his wife, and being apart for long periods might cause his wife's affection to fade, though in other ways the marriage is not much different from normal ones.
Well... there is also a bigger condition, the two countries involved in the union must remain on good terms, otherwise, the result could be hard to predict.
In short, the Gu parents were probably getting anxious because their two aging sons still hadn't settled down. When they saw their sons finally showing interest in a woman, they grew eager to send them off, even if it meant a cross-country union. Especially since the other party was an empress.
Unfortunately, their plan got disrupted, and it was their own country's emperor who ruined it, the Gu parents were filled with unspoken frustration. In the end, they said nothing more and only kept signaling to their sons, seemingly wanting to find a new approach through them.
Elara stayed two more days in the Imperial Residence. After observing most of the changes in Dahlia Kingdom's Imperial City and discussing the cross-border trade route with Prince Yu, she didn't delay further and set off back to her country with Leif.
On the return journey, when they reached the Sargassum border, she met General Qi, who had led troops and in just two days had pacified Magnolia Kingdom, taken in Zhao Xiang, and reclaimed the half of Sargassum territory that Elara had marked.
Senior General Duanmu, stationed within Sargassum, had already joined General Qi. After hearing that Elara would soon return, he informed General Qi, who then waited with his troops at the Sargassum border.
Once Elara entered Sargassum territory, she saw General Qi and Senior General Duanmu, along with their elite troops.
General Qi had the elite soldiers protect Elara and followed behind her during the return.
On the way, he also reported the situation in Magnolia Kingdom, Zhao Xiang, and Sargassum.
"Your Majesty, the rebels in Magnolia Kingdom have all been dealt with. Zhao Xiang has voluntarily become a province. The original crown prince of Zhao Xiang, Zhao Yu, has stepped down to become a provincial head and is waiting in Plumera City for your orders. As for the half of Sargassum territory you outlined, it has also been recovered. All those who tried to resist have been captured."
As General Qi gave his report, a mechanical voice from the System echoed in Elara's mind.
The territories of Magnolia Kingdom, Zhao Xiang, and the western half of Sargassum were now all part of the Plumera Kingdom. The total land and population of Plumera had once again increased, though not by much compared to its already sizable domain.
Elara nodded, thinking about future trade routes to the east, while quickly continuing her journey with the troops.
The next evening, Elara returned to the capital of Plumera.
Zhaiyun Pavilion already had a base in the capital. After returning, Elara personally escorted Leif to the commercial building of Zhaiyun Pavilion, gave him a palace entry token, and told him to find her anytime if needed. She only left after seeing him nod.
With Prince Yu's coronation complete and Sargassum's affairs settled, the lands needed for the Plumera–Dahlia trade route, Magnolia Kingdom, Zhao Xiang, and Sargassum, had all been annexed into Plumera. For the time being, there were no pressing matters outside the country.
So in the following months, Elara focused mainly on domestic development.
After returning, Elara continued her daily teaching at Plumera Capital Academy, constantly educating the technical officials from various departments in basic knowledge.
These officials had all been selected through the imperial exams. They already had solid foundations and were smarter than average. With Elara's daily teaching, each department steadily progressed.
They could now understand almost all the basic skill manuals Elara gave them. Some exceptionally skilled and fast-learning officials had even begun to understand and absorb the intermediate manuals.
After the technical officials from all the major departments had mostly learned the skills, Elara personally led them to establish Plumera Kingdom's first "glassware factory," first "printing technology factory," first "steelmaking factory," and first "textile factory," among others.
When the first finely crafted glass cup made by human hands was produced, all the officials who witnessed it were amazed and astonished.
In most parts of the world, people were still using earthenware, bronze, or even stone tools. Even in second-tier and above major nations, they had never seen such exquisite items.
But their own country could now directly and artificially control and produce such magnificently beautiful and intricately crafted transparent glassware that seemed like divine artifacts.
For a time, the senior craftsmen chosen by Elara to make the glass were all excited and driven. Everyone gave their all to carefully learn the skills and make more refined and extraordinary sacred glass items.
From then on, "glassware" gradually became another of Plumera Kingdom's precious luxury trade goods.
After the printing factory was completed, the various scrolls and materials that used to require many people to copy by hand saw a great leap forward.
The Ministry of Science and the major academies, which lacked books, exam papers, and templates, now had large quantities printed.
Students who came to study at the academies soon had their own books and documents. No longer did several or even a dozen people have to share a single copy.
The printing factory did not just make learning easier. It also saved the court a lot of labor costs and greatly improved efficiency in printing important official documents.
When the Ministry of Science collected ancient texts, compiled new books, and printed various exam papers, the printing process became extremely useful.
The Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Justice were also relieved from copying and compiling many materials by hand. They just needed to print directly.
On the fifth day after the printing factory was established, Elara invited Mathias from the Ministry of Science and Mr. Gong from the Ministry of Commerce to discuss building a national library in Plumera City.
At the same time, Elara planned to establish something this era had never seen before, a "bookstore." With printing costs greatly reduced, she aimed to create an ancient state-owned bookstore like the modern "XinX Bookstore."
"Hmm, let's call the bookstore 'Xia Zhi'."
According to her plan, the "Xia Zhi" bookstore would become the largest national chain bookstore in Plumera Kingdom in the future.
Anyone within Plumera Kingdom, no matter who they were, could go to the bookstore in major cities during their free time to read and improve themselves.
The bookstore would also include a full commercial chain. Whether someone wanted to buy books, borrow them, or purchase items like brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, the bookstore could take the order and fulfill it.
After settling the bookstore plans with Mathias and Mr. Gong, Elara let them carry it out on their own.
When the "steelmaking factory" successfully produced its first batch of steel, Elara as usual first had steel weapons made for Uno, General Qi, Damon, Francis, and Hector Egbert. Those in Plumera City came directly to the factory to test them. For those outside, the Puppet Soldiers delivered them.
The steelmaking method given by the System was naturally excellent. The quality of the steel produced was extremely high.
The first batch of steel weapons received approval from General Qi, Damon, and the others. Whether in hardness, edge retention, toughness, or impact resistance, steel weapons were far superior to iron ones.