"A full set," their eyes lit up and their voices trembled with excitement as they bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Elara looked at the two kneeling men and continued, "I won't move the Northern Frontier troops under your command for now, but its name must be changed. From now on, there will no longer be a 'Northern Frontier Army.' All units will follow the military rules set by my army department and fall under its unified management. What do you think?"
She watched their faces closely after finishing her words.
The Northern Frontier Army had only just met her and been brought back with her, so she had to proceed gradually.
Still, they needed to slowly integrate into her army and become part of the Plumera Kingdom's main forces, rather than existing separately under the name 'Northern Frontier Army.'
Senior General Duanmu and General He showed no objection to her final request and nodded as they bowed again. "Your Majesty is right. The Northern Frontier Army has always belonged to the kingdom's forces and should naturally be placed under unified management."
They had already heard the same from the prince before. They were always soldiers of the Plumera Kingdom first.
Elara saw no trace of dissatisfaction on their faces, so she said no more.
Since Commander Shu was already in the palace and the Northern Frontier Army had been brought back to her capital, under the eyes of many generals, Elara had no fear that they would fail to adapt.
After rewarding the military, Elara turned to Mr. Gong, who stood quietly with his eyes lowered.
"Mr. Gong, you traveled far with me and saw various developed foreign trade systems. Comparing those to our current state, do you have any ideas to help improve and advance our kingdom's trade and commerce?"
Mr. Gong stepped forward and bowed. "Your Majesty, during our return to Plumera City, I spent half a month organizing a report. It outlines the main issues in our commerce, suggests measures for improvement, and combines domestic conditions with foreign trade models to develop a commercial growth plan."
Elara raised her eyebrows. "Let me see it."
Mr. Gong carefully took out a thick stack of densely written papers from his chest.
Fortunately, paper was available now. Otherwise, with such a large volume of content, he might have needed a cart to carry it.
Elara received the documents from a palace attendant and skimmed the nearly ten-thousand-word plan rapidly.
Business had always been her strong suit. Still, even she had to admit that Mr. Gong's plan was excellently crafted.
He was indeed a highly intelligent and flexible talent with great potential in commerce.
Elara was pleased as she finished reading and quickly circled a few areas for further improvement with a brush. She then had the palace attendant return the documents to him.
"Mr. Gong, you did an excellent job. This plan is well written. Aside from the few areas I marked, which you can review again, if the rest is ready, then begin implementation as soon as possible."
Mr. Gong was about to respond when Elara looked at him with a smile and added, "You followed me across nations, recorded trade and valuable goods, and wrote this development plan. You've earned credit. You're currently a third-rank official in the commerce department. I now promote you to Chief Supervisor of Commerce, full third rank, temporarily overseeing all trade rules and development for our kingdom."
"If you can let me see your 'business development plan' successfully implemented in Plumera Kingdom as soon as possible and help our economy and trade grow significantly, then I will promote you to a higher position. What do you say?"
Since the destruction of his entire clan after being betrayed by someone he trusted, Mr. Gong still needed an official position for his future revenge, but he no longer valued it as much.
Compared to titles, he cared more about the fact that Elara trusted his ability and approved of his plan.
After carefully placing the proposal back into his chest pocket, he bowed deeply to Elara and said seriously, "Yes, I will not fail Your Majesty's expectations. I will make it happen soon."
Elara nodded and continued to promote and reward those from other departments who deserved it.
"Mr. Zhiron, you both have worked diligently in the Ministry of Revenue for three months, and the personnel files you helped compile for the officials of our country have greatly satisfied me."
"This time, you also made great contributions to the assignment of officials to the newly formed cities in the Northern Frontier. I now promote you both — Mr. Zhiron, from Assistant Minister of Fourth Rank to Assistant Minister of Third Rank, and Mr. Zhiron, from Fifth Rank to Fourth Rank in the Ministry of Revenue."
"Everyone who worked overtime with you these past three months will also be rewarded and promoted according to the new law. Many people in Plumera Kingdom are still not included in the official records. You must continue to work hard and not slack off."
"Yes! We obey! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Elara then spent nearly another full hour rewarding the deserving personnel across all departments.
When she finally finished assigning all the civil and military officials and was ready to end the long court session after three months away, she suddenly saw Kristof, the head of the Ministry of Justice, step forward with arms raised, holding out a written confession.
He spoke loudly, "Your Majesty, during your three-month absence, nearly all of our officials worked hard day and night. The development in major cities across the country has been going well. But there are always a few rotten ones who try to ruin the great order you have worked so hard to build."
"According to the Ministry of Justice's investigation, Hu Chen, governor of Lupine County in the central-western region, protected Li He, the city chief of Xunding City under Lupine, while they both stole over ten thousand silver coins, food, and supplies meant for disaster relief."
"They secretly sold the supplies to foreign smugglers. The total amount of silver they stole has exceeded seventy thousand, causing riots and complaints among the people. We even heard that refugees have formed rebel forces and are preparing for an uprising."