"...Do you really have a way to build all this?" she asked softly.
"Yes." He spoke lightly, but without hesitation, "As long as we don’t make big mistakes, aren’t too greedy, and take it slow, it will certainly succeed."
Emily gazed quietly at him, her eyes mixed with complex emotions: respect, reassurance, affection.
Suddenly, she realized that unknowingly, she had grown accustomed to spending such nights, in such a carriage, watching him draw maps, make plans, while she offered suggestions, took notes, occasionally sought warmth, and sometimes remained silent.
When they came to their senses, the carriage had slowly entered the border of Red Tide Territory.
The morning light pierced through the heavy clouds, and a wisp of smoke rose in the distance, appearing quiet and gentle in the gray-white sky of the Northern Territory.
Louis put away the map and rubbed the corner of his eyes, which were a bit sore: "We’re here."
Emily lifted a corner of the curtain and softly said, "Welcome home, Lord."
"Welcome back," Louis said with a smile, "We still have a lot to do."
Emily leaned against him and gently responded, "Yes, let’s take it slow."
The smoke from the town swayed in the cold wind, and the repaired watchtowers and warehouses had begun to take shape.
Bradley had long been waiting at the door, handing over the latest statistics and several request documents.
Louis glanced through them quickly, then went straight to the main hall to gather his subordinates and start implementing the next phase of adjustments.
The first priority was redrawing the territory borders.
Parts of the planned new territories overlapped with the pre-war fiefs of the Snow Peak Nobility.
But the situation had long changed: after the insect disaster, most of the original territories had been burned, populations displaced, Nobility struggled to protect themselves, let alone guard their borders.
So Louis personally appeared before the dozen surviving Nobility to explain the adjustment plan and generously compensated them with broader, seemingly richer new land parcels.
"Your old territories have been completely destroyed by the Nest, and it’s not easy to restore them," Louis said sincerely.
"But this new land has good water sources, suitable for farming, close to main transportation routes, and future trade routes will pass through. I’m not trying to deprive you, but rather to build a greater order together."
The Nobility, already grateful for the protection by Red Tide during the insect disaster, were now even more thankful for the new land, and faced Louis with tears of gratitude.
Moreover, their Knights were also returned, and Louis did not seize power for personal glory.
He merely established a cooperative defense agreement: in the case of war, the Red Tide will coordinate for unified defense.
"After all, if the defense line breaks, no one can hold it," he said.
Although some Nobility felt uneasy about this, they did not dare to voice it before Louis.
And thus, the system of "using their grain to protect our walls" quietly established itself.
Meanwhile, the resettlement plan for refugees officially launched.
Based on winter’s registered population data, Louis categorized the refugees by region, skills, and physical condition, then led them to each new territory to build new homes.
Farmers were sent to arable regions like the River Valley Plain and Hot Spring Valley to handle spring plowing and the establishment of granaries.
Craftsmen like carpenters, stonemasons, and blacksmiths focused in the "Town Workshop Zone" to begin road construction, house building, and setting up workshops.
Soldiers were placed at border outposts and pre-set forts, tasked with defense duties while also reclaiming wasteland.
Merchants gathered at the two future major towns to participate in the establishment of inns and trading posts.
As for the idle and the weak, they were assigned menial tasks and aid by the town council, along with support funds and communal kitchens.
Under these actions, the population of Red Tide Territory began to spread like a network, connecting dots, lines, planes.
Having completed these, Louis tirelessly embarked on a journey to the River Valley Basin.
That was the "land of granaries" he personally designated, with river-surrounded fertile soil, a geothermal layer that hadn’t completely frozen, and large fields abandoned by insect corpses.
"Spring plowing is about to begin," he whispered as he looked up at the overcast sky from atop his horse, "We need to plant the first seeds before the snow melts."