Infrastructure Throne

The City Lord's Mansion of Pearl City, the meeting hall.

28 palace wrought iron candlestick chandeliers hang quietly on the two-story dome, illuminating the hall as bright as day.Sixteen double-embraced relief stone pillars, divided into two rows like soldiers, stand on both sides of the meeting hall.

Many nobles in the inner city sat in their respective seats, enjoying delicious food, whispering to each other and discussing in succession.

Under their feet was a handmade camel hair carpet with intricate patterns, in front of them was a gold-plated desk, and dozens of attendants stood behind them with bowed heads, walking silently, for fear of attracting the displeasure of these big shots.

Every detail of this luxurious and magnificent hall is showing the strength and wealth of Pearl City to outsiders.

Today, it was supposed to be a dinner for the upper echelon of Pearl City to celebrate the Spring Festival, and to entertain the city lords of Beiji City and Nanji City who came from afar. Unexpectedly, it turned into a meeting of their grievances, and a daily program in which the two young city lords fought openly and secretly. .

Under Lot's signal, a waiter held a wooden tray in both hands and presented the table case of the old city lord.

Under the curious eyes of everyone, the old city lord uncovered the snow-white silk covering it, and a blue and white porcelain wine vessel with a strange shape was contained in it.The elegant blue-white glaze is bright in color, and the tentacles are as smooth as fat, which is extremely delicate.

The wine vessel is divided into two parts, the upper part is the wine glass, a lifelike faucet is carved in the center, the lower part is the cup holder, and the base is as high as a little finger.

"Father." Lott got up from his seat and came to the jade steps, "This is what the servants seized from the seized Yuanliu Ginza. It's called the Justice Cup."

"Pour the wine into it. If it is too full, it will leak to the bottom of the glass, and you will not be able to drink a drop. It is extremely exquisite and gorgeous, which has never been seen before. Even the Blue Sky Merchant Alliance is salivating at this thing. I specially dedicate it To my lord father."

The old city lord laughed, and the attendant stepped forward to pour the wine. As he said, the wine was too full, and it would leak out automatically after a while.

"It really is a treasure." The old city lord stretched out all the wrinkles on his face, holding the wine glass in his hands and playing with it, loving it.

Lott’s treasure offering is not over yet: “Look at the silk on the tray again, it’s like chiffon, the luster and feel are first-class, it’s more than enough to make clothes, but this shop is used to make covers lining."

The nobles looked at each other, the old city lord put down the cup of justice and looked up at him: "What do you want to say?"

Tia frowned.

Lott smiled coldly: "We all know what kind of place Abyssal City used to be—a small rural town that was so poor that it could barely make ends meet by relying on cheap ore. What about now?"

"It's hard to understand why a city like this can produce a rare treasure that even the Blue Sky Merchant Alliance covets, and it's intact in the beast tide. It even killed the witch priest of the orc clan."

"The tens of thousands of starving refugees, not only did not overwhelm them, but they were all resettled. No one starved to death, no one made troubles, and even the city walls were expanded outwards, and the surrounding land was continuously enclosed, and they were almost encircled to Nanji City. went."

"Everyone, don't you think this is too abnormal? When did Yuanliu City become so rich? It's ridiculous!"

Lott's shouts and questions were loud, and the entire conference hall fell silent, and then noisy discussions broke out.

"I have already sent people to infiltrate Abyss City to inquire about their information, and the result really surprised me. All these changes are said to be due to the newly appointed dean of Abyss City last year."

"It is rumored that this person is extremely powerful. It is because of him that he turned the tide during the attack of the beast tide, defeated the beast slaves in one fell swoop, and forced them to flee. He also opened many workshops in the city. All kinds of clever gadgets are related to him."

Lott turned his eyes and fell on the silent elder brother's face: "This priest, who also came to Pearl City to sell weapons and swords, such a guy with ulterior motives, being our neighbor of Pearl City, it is really hard to sleep and eat. Well. Do you think so, my lord brother?"

Tia said indifferently: "We are just a normal transaction."

Lot snorted coldly, and turned to the old city lord again: "Father, we have to guard against such a dangerous person in our Pearl City. The two city lords of Nanji City and Beiji City have already used their difficult situation to warn us gone."

The city lord of Nanji City immediately stood up and cried out to everyone:

"I heard that the man surnamed Shen only charged [-]% of the rent from the farmers, leaving our villages near Nanji City empty. Even if I ordered that the escaped peasants be caught and executed, it would not prevent these untouchables from fleeing to Yuanliu. city!"

"Yuanliu City is digging our roots! If this continues, the fields will be barren, and those untouchables will learn to bargain and ask us to reduce the rent. It's absurd!"

"The most frightening thing is that I heard that the chief priest was in Yuanliu City. He killed the nobles in the city without mercy. He took away all the property in the family. Those who obey will prosper, and those who rebel will perish!"

"Everyone here has a noble background, and the chief priest was just a blacksmith at the beginning. If Yuanliu City is allowed to continue to be lawless, in the future, will everyone want to watch a humble blacksmith domineering over our heads? ?!"

In the meeting hall, many nobles suddenly exploded!

No matter how many workshops Yuanliu City has opened and how many treasures it has produced, they are at most jealous. As for enclosing people in Nanji City, as long as Yuanliu City does not move to Mingzhu City, they are just watching a joke.

Only the fact that Shen Qingze dared to kill the nobles made everyone instantly feel the same.

"How dare he? Wouldn't the other nobles in Abyss City resist?"

"No matter how powerful he is, he is only one person. Aren't you afraid of causing public outrage and being assassinated?"

"The city lord of Yuanliu City just sits idly by? Could it be that the power has been emptied by the officiant?"

"Everyone!" Lott glanced at everyone's faces one by one, seeing that the time was ripe, he said loudly:

"Father, although the three great empires of the human race had a covenant to jointly resist the orc race and stop fighting each other, the priest of Yuanliu City disregarded morality, massacred nobles wantonly, and deliberately expanded to invade the territory of Nanji City."

"The matter has come to this, I would like to personally lead the army, unite the three major cities, and teach Yuanliu City a lesson. They must obediently hand over the culprit to us for execution, and then give our three major cities a sum of compensation and return the plundered population. He Tiandi. Everyone, what do you think?"

As soon as Lott's words came out, several representatives of Nanji City and Beiji City were overjoyed, and the minds of the nobles in the hall suddenly became lively.

If this is the case, the three major cities can squeeze rich benefits from Yuanliu City. Pearl City looks down on population and land, but is attracted to those workshops that can produce treasures.

Isn't it safe for the three big cities to deal with a small city together?

Only Tia sneered coldly: "Lotte, have you forgotten how the last time you took the initiative to lead the army out of the city to chase the beast slaves, how did you return in defeat?"

Tia's words instantly plunged the noisy hall into an embarrassing silence.

Lott looked at him sharply, his eyes were like lightning, and his face became cold.

Tia turned a blind eye: "If you have forgotten, as a brother, I must remind you that Abyss City repelled the attack of the beast slaves. How can you be sure that you will win?"

The old city lord's eyes circled around the two brothers, thoughtfully.

Lott squinted his eyes, and returned his contemptuous eyes:

"Last time, the information was inaccurate, and I didn't find out the hidden witches among the beast slaves, which made me make a wrong judgment. With the strength of our Pearl City, it is easy to repel the beast slaves, plus Nanji City and Beiji City With all our help, we can take down a mere Yuanliu City, do you need to be suspicious?"

"What's more, all the unbelievable features of Yuanliu City come from this priest. As long as we find a way to lure him away and restrain him, Yuanliu City has just experienced a beast tide, and it is absolutely impossible for Yuanliu City to be able to resist our three major cities." The army is overwhelming!"

Tia wanted to argue a few more words, but the old city lord stopped him, looking impatient: "Okay, let me think about this matter again."

After the dinner was over, Tia and Black Hawk boarded the returning carriage.

Tia's green eyes stared aimlessly at the vast night outside the window, and her brows frowned slightly.

"My lord is still worried about Yuanliu City?" Black Eagle stared at him intently, "Don't worry, Yuanliu City will not be our opponent. I will send someone to cut off the connection with Shen Qingze, so as not to be caught by Luo Special people caught the handle."

Tia shook her head: "I'm not thinking about this, why do you think Lott cares so much about a small country town?"

Hei Ying was stunned for a moment: "Perhaps it was because Shen Qingze offended him a lot during the slave escape. Luo Te is narrow-minded, and he always pays every penny, so he takes revenge."

Tia sighed: "You're thinking too simply. Even if Lott wants to take revenge, he won't go to war because of it. I suspect that he wants to gain military power by sending troops to Yuanliu City."

Hei Ying was startled: "This..."

Tia gently rubbed the center of her brows: "I doubted him last time when he took the initiative to chase down the beast slave. It's just that he made a fuss and didn't succeed. This time, he will repeat the old trick."

"Once he defeats Yuanliu City and combines prestige and military power in one body, is there still a place for you and me in Mingzhu City? What's more, based on my observation of Yuanliu City and Shen Qingze, I'm afraid that this battle will be a battle." The outcome is unpredictable..."

※※※

Yuanliu City.

The arrival of Teng Er, and the bad news that followed, sounded the alarm in the eyes of all the senior officials.

The seizure of Yuanliu Ginza is only the first step in the exploration of Mingzhu City, and it will never stop there.

Both Shen Qingze and Yan Zui are confident in defeating the greed and conspiracy of Pearl City, as long as they dare to attack, they will definitely beat them to tears.

But as Lott said, Yuanliu City has just recovered from the beast tide disaster and is in a period of recuperation and rapid development. At this time, if the three major cities join forces to attack, no matter who wins, Yuanliu City will be dragged down Move slowly.

This is something Shen Qingze cannot tolerate.

A group of people sat in a carriage and drove from the mulberry garden in the southern suburb of the city to the shipyard in the north of the city along the main road.

With the expansion of Yuanliu City, the regional division of the inner city and the outer city has gradually become clear. The primary industries and handicraft clusters in the eastern suburbs, as well as nearby villages, have all been included in the outer city.

Shen Qingze's main city system has lit up various infrastructures, including urban underground drainage projects, prisons, garbage disposal stations, and even libraries, and road traffic has also been re-planned.

With the city lord's mansion as the center, the newly planned Yuanliu City built two ring-shaped roads on the basis of the cross-shaped avenues running from east to west and north to south. The entire main road is radial and radiates the whole city.

The main road is divided into two symmetrical sides with white paint. It is mandatory for all pedestrians and horses and horses to keep to the right, and a special person will be assigned to handle the intersection. Anyone who goes against the road will be fined from five copper coins to fifty copper coins.

At first, the public also couldn't understand, and there were some who refused to pay the fine, so Shen Qingze had no choice but to put on a show, deliberately made a mistake, and handed over fifty copper coins to the police on duty in public, and when people saw that the officiant was fined, this Only then obediently carried out the orders of the City Lord's Mansion.

Several people sat in the carriage, looking at the rows of shops outside the window, the clean and tidy streets, the orderly flow of people, and the newly built red brick and black tile row buildings in the distance. I don’t know when, Yuanliu The city has been completely renewed.

The tents in the outskirts of the refugee camp have been dismantled one by one. Most of the refugees who have been strictly screened have found jobs in the city and settled down. A small number of idlers have been directly expelled. There are no idlers here.

Everyone in the city, no matter what position they are in, is trying to do their own things well and enrich their daily lives.

If there are people who have been wandering away all year round, they will not recognize it when they return to their hometown at this time. This vibrant big city is a small earth city in the past.

Teng Er was the one who was away all the year round. He lay his hands on the window of the carriage and stared straight at his eyes. Even though he was used to the luxury and hustle and bustle in Pearl City, when he came back here, he was still full of novelty and surprises.

The outer city of Mingzhu City is full of ragged beggars, poor people and thieves, and the back streets and alleys are full of stench. In the inner city, there are often carriages blocking each other in the middle of the road, and no one is willing to give in.

But Yuanliu City is completely different. Since there are more jobs than labor, not even a beggar can be seen on the street. Workshops, fields, mining areas, and markets are full of people working everywhere.

After the assets of the old-school aristocrats were confiscated, they were used for various constructions, and finally flowed back into the pockets of the people at the bottom. Although the gap between the rich and the poor still exists, it has been greatly weakened.

On the way back, Teng Er was full of worries, and at this moment, he finally dissipated. He straightened his chest and his eyes sparkled. This is his hometown. He believes that in the near future, it will become the place that the whole Northland yearns for. Golden Country.

※※※

"This is the shipyard?"

Teng Er originally thought that the big changes in the city were enough to surprise him, but he didn't expect that more exciting things were yet to come.

The shipyard is located in the north of the city, backed by the Chiyuan River, not far from the pier.Here is a concave bay, the water in the harbor is deep and the wind is flat, suitable for building docks.

With the blueprint given by Shen Qingze, Els, the goblin orc, has devoted himself to shipbuilding in the past six months, and has officially launched several single and double sailboats in succession. The largest is a tall sailboat, which can accommodate Hundred sailors, for long-distance freight.

In the dock, there are transport workers shirtless, pushing wooden four-wheeled carts, and continuously transporting the packed wooden containers to the cabin, waiting for the voyage.

Teng Er's eyes widened: "Master Officiant, we already have our own fleet? Did you expect that Pearl City would attack our shops in advance?"

At that time, the sun was shining, Shen Qingze raised one hand to block the light, squinted his eyes and looked at the ship from a distance: "Since Tia sent two grain ships and sailors, I started to prepare."

"The Chiyuan River has a huge and complicated water system network. Along this river and through its tributaries, it is completely enough for us to expand our trade network, and it is not a big deal to abandon Pearl City."

"I can't predict the future, it's just a habit of planning for a rainy day."