Iron Dynasty

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The Commerce Hall was packed with people coming and going—it felt just like a New Year festival.

Hearing Pang Yukun’s congratulations, Xiao Ming couldn’t help but smile wryly. Only after taking charge did he truly realize how expensive it was to run a household—or in his case, a domain.

Now that he was a prince ruling a territory, he fully understood one thing: if the people were to live good lives, if the soldiers and officials were to get their salaries on time, if ships and cannons were to be built, and materials purchased—then almost everything came down to one thing: silver.

Without money, officials wouldn’t do their jobs, soldiers wouldn’t fight, and craftsmen would slack off. From a ruler’s point of view, things like loyalty to the emperor or peace under heaven were noble ideas, but for the average person, it all boiled down to filling their stomachs.

Only now did Xiao Ming realize that money in your pocket is what lets you survive tough times. If he had only focused on building up his army without developing industry or making money, then when the barbarians came to attack Qingzhou, he would’ve had no public support, no cannons, and only a ragtag group of poorly armed conscripts ready to run at the first sign of trouble. By then, he might’ve already been six feet under.

That’s why, in his heart, he never once loosened his grip on trade and commerce. With money came resources. And only with both could he afford to build a real army.

“That kind of congratulations is a bit expensive,” Xiao Ming replied with a smile.

Pang Yukun chuckled softly, then said seriously, “Your Highness, it’s all for attracting merchants to settle in Qingzhou and improve the city. We’re planning to pave all of Qingzhou with cement roads. That’s no small project. Without money, it’s impossible.”

Coming from the modern world, Xiao Ming naturally had a longer-term view. His urban planning for Qingzhou had started early—he didn’t wait for things to fall apart before trying to fix them.

As the saying goes, “If you want to get rich, build roads first.” Every time it rained, Qingzhou’s muddy streets left both merchants and locals miserable.

And for Xiao Ming, it was even worse. So he had decided—it was time to launch his first municipal engineering project since arriving in this era: build paved roads and beautify the city.