No one had doubts whether or not these rules could be enforced. The third one, especially, struck everyone in their weak spot. Many of these people had flocked to Fort Continent in order to take advantage of Qianye’s simplicity and riches. There was no lack of people who wanted to flee after earning a fortune.

As someone from the Song clan, how could Song Hui not know about these market practices? This rule of associating the guarantor in punishment blocked any loophole that was left behind.

Only the first batch of aristocratic families who had come to Fort Continent and the bigger ones like Kong and Yin had the right to recommend other families. It just so happened that their greatest interest here wasn’t gold but land, and all territory here could only exist attached to Qianye.

Of course, if the family was big enough, they could turn these territories into independent nations. That, however, would be a direct challenge to Qianye’s authority.

With land and territory in the equation, the scope of profits wasn’t just limited to a couple of years. It would take hundreds of years and several generations to reach the apex of prosperity....