Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire
Chapter 449 - 272: Special Economic Zones, Migration Tide_2

Chapter 449: Chapter 272: Special Economic Zones, Migration Tide_2

The merchants who employed the Radiance believers did exploit and oppress them, but it cannot be denied that the supplies they brought greatly improved the circumstances of these refugees.

This allowed them to not have to scrape by daily, gnawing on bread and living in tents made of rags. Instead, they could reside in spacious and bright wooden houses and drink steaming meat porridge.

However, precisely because of this, the Radiant Sect came to Noah.

The Radiant Sect, which had already taken root in the Noah Territory, was accustomed to the lifestyle atmosphere of the residents in this land. When they sent someone to Harbor City to take a look at the living conditions of their compatriots from the other side, few could endure what they saw.

Although Harbor City did not practice slavery, the lives of the Radiance believers were worse than those of slaves. Not only was their hard work compensated only with daily necessities, but their work environment also had no guarantee of safety.

Whether it was disease or injury, the despicable merchants ignored it completely, leaving the poor Radiance believers to handle it themselves.

Because in the eyes of these merchants, Radiance believers were inexhaustible. As soon as the first ship full of refugees docked, there was a continuous influx of refugees landing ashore, with refugee ships sighted on the sea every few days.

No one knew what was happening across the sea that could force a True God believer to flee across the sea.

"Hegeles, the Archbishop of the Radiant Sect, hopes to gain an audience with you to discuss the living and working conditions of the Radiance believers in Harbor City."

"Is there a need to discuss such a trivial matter? No meeting."

Noah refused outright without even thinking.

While the arrival of the Radiance believers did not cause any form of destruction to Noah or the territories under his rule, it did lead some merchants into a frenzy, indirectly generating high taxes for Noah.

However, the intentions of the Divine were already glaringly obvious. Such targeting was advancing gradually, spanning over a century, as the Divine did not intend to see results in the short term.

The immortality of the Divine serves precisely for this purpose. The Undying Divine can plan a grand and open scheme, spanning centuries or millennia, to suppress a specific force.

Having been promoted to an Ancestor Dragon, Noah also touched the brink of the Undying and Unyielding. With the chance to establish himself in the Immortal Domain, he too was interested in sparring with the Divine in this aspect.

If worse comes to worst, he could flip the table. After all, Noah could say he was almost devoid of reliance on faith. Since the Word Spirit·Emperor could not be applied to himself, and the Divine, although not entirely incapable of detaching from faith, certainly found it indispensable.

"So how do you plan to resolve the issue of the labor conditions in Harbor City? Many Paladins have voiced negative opinions and views on this,"

Lu Tixiya reminded Noah.

"Some Paladins have even volunteered to go to Harbor City to set up a court and establish a labor protection office."

"This is indeed a problem. Those guys are too greedy. I will issue a statement and make adjustments to the political policies."

After pondering for a moment, Noah came up with a solution.

Soon, an administrative announcement in the name of the Holy Dragon was spread throughout the Holy Dragon Territory, especially among the merchants, causing a great stir.

Because Noah designated Harbor City and its surrounding three hundred miles as a Special Economic Zone. The local Governor had limited legislative power, able to appropriately apply the Law Code based on local conditions.

Within the Special Economic Zone, labor remuneration need not match that of the Holy Dragon Territory. The given reason was quite justified: the development of the Holy Dragon Territory is the result of a century of accumulation.

While Harbor City was destitute, not even having the basic farmlands for grain supply tilled, it lacked the production foundation to support high-welfare jobs.

Therefore, the Governor was allowed to act according to the circumstances and development of the area to formulate suitable labor protection measures.

In other words, under this administrative decree, the current practice in Harbor City of distributing food rather than money to the laborers was legitimate and legal, not a violation.

However, in the final section of this administrative decree, Noah also added a supplementary note, outlining a development plan that aimed to increase local workers’ labor income to half of the current average salary in the Holy Dragon Territory within ten years and match it in twenty years.

It was this development plan that quelled the unrest of many Paladins in the Noah Territory.

More critically, after this administrative order was issued, Noah released another political edict.

A Customs Bureau was established in Harbor City to strictly control the movement of goods and people between the harbor and the inland Holy Dragon Territory, with multiple requirements set for Radiance believers wishing to travel inland.

First, a requirement for good health, free from contagious and severe diseases; secondly, a clean criminal record in Harbor City and good reputation; and lastly, most importantly, referrals from the Governor Mansion and the factory at which they work.

The purpose of setting these requirements was clear: the Holy Dragon Territory only accepted Radiance believers who exhibited a long-term positive attitude towards work.

As for those who prayed devoutly every day without engaging in production, they could not even pass through the Customs Bureau.

While setting so many requirements might spark discontent and protests, there were indeed many who met the criteria and wished to live in the Holy Dragon Territory.

Harbor City did not establish an information barrier. The conditions of the Holy Dragon Territory would naturally spread among the Radiance believers as one merchant after another arrived to open factories.

Following the establishment of the Special Economic Zone, the believers participating in work no longer contented themselves with the necessities provided by the factories. They also wanted to earn the currency issued by the Holy Dragon and buy the goods they desired with it.

Upon understanding the value of currency, the basic desire as biological beings would drive them to seek more money.

Thus, upon learning that in the Holy Dragon Territory, similar jobs involved not only easier and shorter working hours but also paid at least thirty times, and sometimes outrageously, nearly a hundred times more.

Any believer with the slightest worldly desire could not sit still and would think of countless ways, even exhausting their family’s scant property or borrowing from merchants, to venture to the Holy Dragon Territory.

An immense tide of immigration thus emerged, unaffected by devout believers who, content with poverty, maintained outrage and criticism towards these money-pursuing compatriots, though it had no impact on the growing size of the immigration wave.

Eventually, the newly established Customs Bureau, upon witnessing the increasingly terrifying immigration tide, had to urgently institute new regulations, set daily immigration quotas, and strictly control the recommendation quotas from factories within the Special Economic Zone, demanding that recommendations not be given casually.

"Pursuing fame and profit is indeed the nature of intelligent beings!"

After witnessing the series of changes at the distant harbor firsthand, Noah couldn’t help but laugh proudly in his palace.

He had not rudely intervened in the accommodation of these Radiance believers with administrative orders but instead used the merchants’ ugly nature and the living conditions in the Holy Dragon Territory, which were far superior to those of the Feudal Nobles, to attract the Radiance believers who yearn for a better life to self-differentiate.

Yet, it cannot be denied that those who could withstand material temptation and still uphold their faith were the true believers the Divine needed.

This series of changes also indirectly purified the followers for the Lord of Radiance, but Noah was not worried about this, after all, what is the lifespan of mere mortals?

One generation may be devout followers, but will their children and grandchildren maintain the same devotion to the Lord of Radiance, especially in a deliberately designed environment like the Special Economic Zone?

Compared to a lifetime of devout worship, where the divine glory that may not even be enjoyed after death, the material comforts that could be obtained through hard work while alive seem more tangible.

The choice is evident.