Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Well, I get it. Emotions are only temporary, and there will always be people who are unhappy about policy reform. But eventually, they will compromise!”
Wang Lun spoke in a calm manner, as if he had reached the point where he could see through worldly affairs.
“But if the merchants leave Yale City, things will go bad, my lord.”
Bran spoke his mind.
Wang Lun replied, “Merchants are important, but it isn’t necessary to have them around in order for a city to prosper. Besides, the city owner isn’t a merchant either.
“You know? I’ve been to a country that is people-oriented. They gave far more to the commoners than I’ve ever practiced, and they also reformed commerce right from the start.”
“Are you curious about the end result?”
Bran nodded and said, “Of course, my lord.”
Wang Lun took a sip of the remaining tea, allowing its bitterness to exude in his mouth. “They became prosperous and ended up surpassing other countries. Can you imagine living in peace and prosperity?”
“Of course!” Bran answered.
Wang Lun leaned against the back of his chair. “Do you think I didn’t make the effort to learn about the predecessors of Yale City?”
In an instant, Bran quickly blinked his eyelids and lowered his head slightly.
“The poor tend to remember only the ones who offered them the most help. Do you know which groups of people are the most motivated right now?”
Bran answered naturally: “The commoners and lower-class people.”
Wang Lun replied, “Yes, they are now our main force.
“As for the merchants, the city can still function normally as long as the number of merchants are kept within a certain range. Besides, not every merchant will give up the opportunity to make money. Yale City is the only place where they are exempt from taxation.”
Wang Lun showed a look of confidence, so much so that Bran couldn’t refute his words.
“All right, bring me along to inspect their work!”
Wang Lun stood up and stretched himself.
Bran was in charge of the city’s miscellaneous affairs such as construction and agriculture.
Within the city, Bran was considered somewhat reputable, which was why his orders were quickly implemented without delay.
“My lord.”
“My lord.”
As soon as Wang Lun arrived at one of the construction sites, the workers stopped their work and greeted him one after another.
Wang Lun nodded and looked around the place. Everything had just begun.
“Welcome, my lord.”
A strong, bearded man approached Wang Lun and bowed.
“Are you in charge of this site?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Wang Lun continued. “How’s everything?”
The bearded man said, “Everything is running well, though I can’t find any fault as we’ve just started the construction.”
“Can you show me the designs?”
Wang Lun asked.
“Oh, of course, my lord.”
The bearded man looked towards one of the workers at the side, and the latter handed over a piece of parchment. The bearded man passed the parchment to Wang Lun.
Wang Lun took over the parchment and scrutinized it.
“My lord, you sure know everything!”
The bearded man complimented.
Wang Lun lifted the parchment to the face of the bearded man and said, “The house can be built flat without these unnecessary materials. In order to occupy a small area so that we have more space, building one layer will be sufficient. The rest of the materials can be built on top of that one layer instead.”
The bearded man intently listened, nodding repeatedly.
“Got it. Even though this isn’t in style for the masses, as long as it is proposed by you, my lord, we will abide by it.”
“Are there any carpenters among you guys?”
Wang Lun asked.
The bearded man rolled up the parchment and slotted it into his tattered apron.
“Yes. Do you need something built, my lord?”
Wang Lun instructed, “Gather them to build the bunk beds.”
“And of course, build me something from this drawing as well.”
Wang Lun said, retrieving a drawn parchment from his pocket.
“My God, what is this?”
Bran leaned in closer to look at the drawing and cried out in surprise.
Wang Lun smiled and explained, “This is a waterwheel, a tool that automates irrigation. I noticed a huge river outside Yale City when I first arrived.”
“Remember when I told you to gather some people to dig ditches?”
Wang Lun said to Bran.
Bran nodded and replied, “Of course I remember.”
Wang Lun continued, “The waterwheel will be able to divert the water from the river to the ditch and then to our fields.”
The people around them cheered when they heard his words, as if the baron in front of them were sent by the gods. The things that he handed them were all unprecedented.
After giving out instructions, Wang Lun, led by Bran, headed to the reclaimed wasteland and aqueducts.
Most of the wasteland had been reclaimed, and the aqueducts were completed with high efficiency.
Everything had gone smoothly, and nothing went wrong.
But shortly after, bad news spread throughout Yale City.
“Hallmark, the soldiers you trained should now be able to handle combat, right?”
Wang Lun sat in the exclusive seat of the city lord, and in front of him stood Hallmark and Bran.
Just today, someone delivered a letter to the city hall—a challenge letter, to be precise.
The name of the person who wrote the letter wasn’t shown, and from the letter one knew that it came from a gang of bandits.
They threatened to invade Yale City and that the city lord had better hand over his treasures, otherwise his life would be in danger.
Although Wang Lun had a shotgun in his possession, the other party was a gang of bandits, after all, so he would have to shoot them one by one, even if they were standing still.
If he didn’t come up with countermeasures, who knew what terrible means the outlaws would resort to.
Hallmark placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, saying, “My lord, the soldiers are ready to fight at any time.”
As a matter of fact, Hallmark was experienced in fighting against bandits and confident of the soldiers he had trained.
Wang Lun said, “Good. The bandits will arrive in Yale City tomorrow so go and get prepared.”
“Yes, my lord!” Hallmark turned around and left.
“Wait!”
“What’s wrong, my lord?” Hallmark stood on the spot.
Wang Lun added, “Make all the soldiers use the weapons I gave them!”
Even though Wang Lun wasn’t too willing to reveal his advanced weapons yet, he didn’t have a better countermeasure to handle the crisis at that moment.
Hallmark nodded and quickly left the city hall.
“Is there anything I can do for you, my lord?”
Bran volunteered.
Wang Lun said, “I will make you responsible for calming down our people because by now, the news has probably spread throughout the whole city. If anything goes wrong at this juncture, everything will be done for!”
Wang Lun knew very well what would happen if his people were afraid.
But even Bran’s psychological counseling of the people in the streets didn’t have much effect.
None of them believed that Yale City would survive tomorrow’s catastrophe, for they too had fled to the present Yale City after the destruction of their previous cities.
Back then, their cities were many times stronger than Yale City.