"The inhabitants of the Twin Islands, roughly 760,000 households, primarily lived on the smaller Bay Island. On this island, many bays existed, and residents often traveled by small boats."
"On the larger Land Island, there lived various types of exotic beasts, totaling more than 3,570,000, with only over a thousand of these beasts being of the ’graded’ variety."
"A seven-kiloter-wide bay separated the two islands. The water was relatively shallow, with the deepest point being only about forty zhang."
"The governnt institutions on Bay Island, in comparison to those inland, had many additional departnts."
"The county governnt added the Cruiser Bureau. The Minister of Agriculture Supervision added the Dragon Horse Guard. The Heavenly Craft Departnt added a mariti vessel maintenance division. The divine temple added the Sea God Temple. The Market Departnt added the Market Shipping Departnt..."
On the tower ship, Ji Zixuan introduced the situation of the Twin Islands to Zhao Xing.
Although Mr. Zhao had served as an official on an island in his previous life, different periods and different places had unique differences. He patiently listened to Ji Zixuan’s introduction.
The Dragon Horse Guard held a high status on the Twin Islands and was not under the supervision of the Minister of Agriculture in Twin County. Instead, the two monitors operated in parallel and were directly managed by the Minister of Agriculture Supervision of Chongming Prefecture.
The Minister of Agriculture Supervision of Bay Island still managed departnts like Ihoko, Jun Shu, Taicang, and Pinghuai.
On Land Island, the Dragon Horse Guard solely managed the raising of exotic beasts.
"The Twin Dragon Horse Guard had both the Left and Right Departnt Directors, with various subordinates under them."
"The Left Deputy was the highest official, while the Right Departnt Director assisted in managing the various subordinates. These subordinates were responsible for matters like Tuquan Palace (residence for exotic beasts), Chenghua Bureau (ceremonial performances of exotic beasts), and Divine Feeding (food preparation for exotic beasts), among other tasks."
To curry favor with Zhao Xing, Ji Zixuan had done her howork, knowing that Zhao Xing had risen from a clerk to directly beco a Military Minister of Agriculture Officer.
He had never dealt with the Literary Minister of Agriculture matters, let alone matters related to the islands.
In Ji Zixuan’s understanding, Mr. Zhao had never been to the seaside and might not even be aware of the departnts under his jurisdiction.
However, as she continued speaking, she discovered that reality differed from her imagination.
"Why haven’t you ntioned the Divine Chosen Departnt?" Zhao Xing asked. The Divine Chosen Departnt was responsible for the selection and training of exotic beasts, and it was the most critical departnt.
This was of utmost importance to him, as he needed it to get promoted. The grand event of the Beast Competition required the approval of the Divine Chosen Departnt to participate.
Without the quota, participating in any event was out of the question.
Ji Zixuan said, "Senior brother may not know, but the Twin Islands had not had a Divine Chosen Departnt for many years."
"Why?"
"Because the Twin Dragon Horse Guard had failed to pass the competition preliminary rounds for sixty-five consecutive years. It had long lost the qualification to compete, and naturally, it was abolished."
Zhao Xing was speechless.
If the Four Seas Competition was an international event,
then the East Sea Competition was a regional qualifier.
The preliminary round was held on the various islands of Zixiao.
Now, they didn’t even have the qualification to participate in the preliminary round.
He calculated that the Twin Islands started to decline about sixty-five years ago. That was right around the end of the last Dragon Court Ancient Land era.
It was also during the reign of Prince Liang of Jiutian Yingyuan Mansion.
"It had been many years since the departnt was abolished. Has no one tried to restore it?" Zhao Xing asked.
"There were," Ji Zixuan answered. "The previous Left Departnt Director worked hard for eight years to regain the qualification to participate in the preliminary rounds."
"And then?"
"Then he failed and was transferred to develop Minghuang Island."
"..."
Zhao Xing was again speechless. Minghuang Island was a desolate place; going there was akin to pioneering wilderness.
The depths of the East Sea had nurous deserted islands and many small pieces of land.
The tribes and kingdoms that lived there were collectively referred to as Japan.
Japan was even more backward than the Southern Desolate, mostly inhabited by uncivilized savages. At least the Southern Barbarians bordered the Great Zhou and learned Great Zhou’s culture.
Going there to pioneer marked a departure from the civilized world. Being an official there was nearly equivalent to exile.
The completeness of governnt functions was uncertain, and even fifth-rank officials were reluctant to go.
The previous supervisor’s transfer to Minghuang Island resembled demotion and exile.
"He worked hard for eight years and ended up with such a result. What exactly did he do?" Zhao Xing asked.
"To restore the Divine Chosen Departnt, he had to cultivate a group of powerful exotic beasts."
"He was overly aggressive. In the first five years, he rely intensified the training of the exotic beasts, which, though harsh, was not entirely reckless. However, in the last three years, he confined the Dragon Horse Guard’s exotic beasts and made them fight to the death like keeping Gu, selecting a group of the strongest beasts."
"As a result, the number of exotic beasts in the Dragon Horse Guard drastically decreased, failing to et the basic supplies for the Daoist Academy, the military, and the royal family. Without obtaining the qualification to participate, he was transferred."
"He also risked everything for his career," Zhao Xing sighed upon hearing this. "No wonder there are only 3 million exotic beasts on the island, with only over a thousand being graded."
Three million exotic beasts seed plenty, but in reality, it was pitifully few.
Large-scale farming households in Bixian County produced tens of thousands of non-graded pigs every year.
In Bixian County, Zhao Xing had arranged for Xia Jing to breed many cattle and sheep a year ago, just to keep Zhao Ruide occupied. His household alone had over ten thousand head of livestock.
The Dragon Horse Guard’s exotic beasts were certainly of higher grade, but their breeding capability should not be on the sa scale.
The previous supervisor’s transfer was deserved; only a thousand or so graded beasts remained, while there were only two to three million non-graded ones.
At this mont, Mr. Zhao had only three words in his mind: What the heck?!
There was no choice but to ask for help from Princess You Ruo.
Originally, he didn’t want to trouble her, but it was impossible to make bricks without straw. With the current foundation of the Twin Islands, it would take ten years to recover their vitality.
If he didn’t seek Princess You Ruo’s help, he would be unable to achieve anything in ten years.
"Master, save !"
Before the tower ship had even landed, Zhao Xing ran into Princess You Ruo’s Yonghua Hall.
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