Emily leaned forward to look, listening as he narrated with a nearly storytelling tone, one by one.

"The first area is the River Valley Basin."

His pen traced the meandering main river on the map: "One main river, two tributaries, once the waterways are connected, the Red Tide Territory can be linked. The land can be farmed, fish can be caught in the river, and there's a salt crystal mine and spiritual soil layers. We can try some magic energy facilities there."

"How many people are you planning to settle in this area?" Emily asked.

"Fifty thousand." He answered decisively, "Three towns, including the main one, plus twenty to thirty villages, focusing on grain first, fish second, mining along the river, and setting up workshops along the fields."

Emily raised an eyebrow: "Do you plan on growing the entire Northern Territory Southeast's food supply yourself?"

"It's not a plan; it's a must."

She chuckled softly: "Alright, what about the next area?"

"The southern foothills forest belt," he circled another area, "The forest is a temperate coniferous forest, cattle and horses can be grazed, and timber can be harvested. Deeper in, there might be precious minerals like gray glow crystals and qi vein stones..."

He pointed at the edge: "These two towns will serve as the woodworking and forging centers, adopting some military commune systems. The blacksmith village, military preparation workshops, and livestock farms can all develop gradually."

"Population?"

"Thirty thousand, one town with five to ten villages, they must endure hardships, be productive..."

Emily nodded, then looked at the third circle: "What about this northern mining area?"

"Northern hill mining veins." Louis's tone grew more serious, "Currently estimated to house only ten thousand, with flint marrow oil and qi vein stones, and possibly deeper Magic Marrow Veins, but it's dangerous, with frequent anomalies."

He glanced at her: "So we must choose experienced miners and Bloodline Knights to explore, establishing fortress-like villages and towns, and gradually venture deeper.

Two towns, eight mining villages. Small villages for a few hundred people each, with an Agricultural Official or village chief. The town will have militia, granaries, and trading posts. The main town will house the administrative hub and garrison outpost."

Speaking, he traced three circles over the map: "Three areas with different rhythms but sharing a Red Tide core."

Emily looked down at those three circled lines, suddenly somewhat dazed.

As if through this coarse, yellowed sheepskin map, she could vaguely see the future Red Tide land:

Towns and settlements rooting and expanding amidst the wind and snow, with oxen slowly trodding on field ridges, the sound of hammering in blacksmith shops never ceasing, fires from border furnaces illuminating the mining paths, herds roaming under the forest, and smoke rising at river mouths.

It's orderly wheat fields and mining paths, newly established camps and towns, it's the future.

She sipped a bit of hot tea and asked, "How will these territories be managed?"

"Right." He gently placed a small stone over a spot on the chart, as if anchoring a foundation stone for the future, "I'll 'symbolically' grant land to those knights who've made military contributions but only give management rights, not actual power."

He looked up, glimpsing at her, lips curled into a barely perceptible smile: "I'll nominally appoint you as the Manor Master, sounds prestigious. But the granaries, mining veins, smelting workshops, and tax system will all be overseen by civil servants appointed by me."

Emily blinked: "Won't the knights be dissatisfied?"

"They're not foolish," Louis said calmly, "I'll provide them dividends, enough to live a noble life, and give them command over troop movements, sufficient for them to maintain face and prestige.

But if anyone genuinely treats their fief as private property or a cash cow, the civil servants will report directly, and I'll revoke their authority immediately."

At this point, he drew several radial lines on the map with his pen: "Thus, each point falls at the intersection of grain routes, mining paths, or river inlets, forming a large net.

Defense, administration, and transportation combined. The initial villages and towns are these points, the lines are the postal routes, the core is the Red Tide Territory."

"So the Red Tide Territory is like the heart?" Emily asked.

"Yes." He nodded, "It pumps the blood to the limbs."

Having said this, he looked at the interwoven and extended axes on the map, his gaze steady like an undercurrent beneath a water surface.

But Emily was captivated.

Louis wasn't as flamboyant as those gilded nobles of the Imperial Capital nor as innately commanding as her father, but rather possessed a kind of tranquil leadership.

He didn't command yet gave reassurance. Lacking a high position, yet naturally formed the center.

She sighed softly, her gaze still fixed on his long, slender fingers.

"That's what I like about you..." she silently thought to herself, "...never arrogant nor impatient, always like a true lord."

As Louis's pen traversed the map, the lines on the map gradually filled in, and the entire North East map was divided into clear layers and logical networks.

Emily leaned over gently, her teacup cooled in hand, her gaze landing on the map: "These two regions have about the same population density, but you arrange for a town in one and leave the other empty, is it because of the terrain?"

"The former has a water source; the latter adjacent to marshes with unstable foundations." Louis casually wrote down a few survey keywords in the paper corner, his tone consistently calm, "Wait until there are enough technicians, then consider expanding, no rush."

"So can such places also serve as reserve grain lands?" she probed.

"Yes," he glanced at her, nodding, "You're suitable for this."

"Which one?"

"Providing suggestions, being an advisor."

She was momentarily speechless, her ear tips slightly red but sat up straight: "I'm not just a decoration. I've also studied governance in Frost Halberd City."

"I know." Louis's tone remained calm, but carried a hint of teasing.

Emily didn't immediately respond, silently observing as he continued to plan, gradually envisioning a brand-new outline of the Northern Territory in her mind.

And there Louis sat at the center of the map, where the pen pointed, there lay the future frontier of prosperity.

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