King
Chapter 668 - 668 4 Dardiel City Development Plan_2

668: Chapter 4, Dardiel City Development Plan_2 668: Chapter 4, Dardiel City Development Plan_2 Many things cannot be obtained through mere desire.

The Frank people did not develop their Tyrannosaurus Army overnight, but through selective breeding after conducting multiple hybridizations.

Although the ranks of the sub-dragons were not high, most of them were low-level Magic Beasts of the second and third order.

Only a few outstanding Tyrannosaurus could become mid-level Magic Beasts, who were also major weapons on the battlefield.

(Note: Magic Beasts have nine levels, corresponding to nine levels of humans.

Levels one to three are low-level Magic Beasts, levels four to six are mid-level Magic Beasts, and levels seven to nine are high-level Magic Beasts.)

“Your Majesty, this year’s budget has been determined.

Military expenses have already exceeded our budgeted amount.

Prior to this, you had approved Earl Hudson’s proposition to strengthen the unit construction of Magic Crossbows and Crystal Cannons.

The Ministry of Finance couldn’t even cover the expenses of this part.

The construction of the Magic Beast Legion cannot be completed overnight, it might be better to temporarily shelve this project,” Marquis Delgado said with a bitter face.

After the war, while everyone was celebrating victory, the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Finance were worried.

The heavy financial pressure left the Kingdom’s finances breathless.

Unfortunately, Caesar III was an ambitious monarch, and such a monarch usually has an abundant desire to make a difference.

Before, when Hudson proposed strengthening Magic Crossbow and Crystal Cannon units, Caesar III felt it was necessary.

Now, the Military Department proposed building a Magical Beast Legion, and he thought it was a good idea.

These were just military matters.

In other fields, when Caesar III came across a good suggestion, he wanted to act on it.

However, any endeavor requires spending money.

Ironically, what the Alpha Kingdom lacks the most now is money.

As a result, Marquis Delgado, who also served as the Minister of Finance, had no choice but to continuously interrupt the king’s plans.

Caesar III wanted to say something, but seeing Marquis Delgado’s bald head, he didn’t know where to start.

After a moment of silence, Caesar III sighed helplessly and said, “For now, let’s select quality female beasts for a small-scale breeding trial.

As long as we control the scale well, it shouldn’t cost too much.

Once the finances are improved, we will carry out large-scale breeding.

This is a long-term project.

The Military Department should give it proper attention.

Considering that major nobles within the country will likely follow suit, when necessary, we could collaborate with them to reduce the cost of breeding.”

Caesar III made this decision reluctantly.

He wished he could monopolize this process, yet the breeding dragon isn’t under his control.

Dragons are inherently lustful, with a peculiar aesthetic.

As long as we bring a batch of female beasts during their mating season, breeding would be a piece of cake.

However, for this plan to proceed smoothly, the cooperation of Hudson, the Dragon Knight, is indispensable.

It would be reckless to send female beasts without understanding the dragon’s temperament and their specific mating time.

If sent at the wrong time, it would be nothing more than delivering food to the Dragon.

After all, for most of the time, Dragons maintain a certain aesthetic standard.

The only ones they fancy are beauties from the Dragon Race.

It’s only during their mating season that their aesthetic standard becomes erratic.

Almost every female beast, in their eyes, would instantaneously transform into beautiful girls.

…

In the Mountain Domain, Hudson was busy arranging for people to take over the scattered lands.

With a sudden surge of scattered domains, the pressure on land administration was undoubtedly immense.

Fortunately, having settled in for several years, Hudson managed to accumulate a base of experienced personnel, who could barely takeover and maintain normal operation in all lands.

Small towns were easy to rule.

Previous nobles died without heirs, leaving only servants and serfs, who did not have the guts to cause trouble.

Traditional agricultural production could continue to run smoothly, as long as those who were sent do not mess things up.

What was challenging was city management.

Besides being militarily intimidating, a certain level of management skills was necessary.

Those with rich management experience were valuable everywhere.

Hudson initially wanted to keep some of the officials, but was shocked to find that everyone had fled when he took over.

Whether they had been poached or had absconded with the money, Hudson had no time to investigate.

Regardless, they had left him with a mess.

Both Dardiel City and Snow Moon City were currently in complete chaos.

On the surface, it was a takeover, but in reality, it felt more like a military occupation.

Looking at the streets stained with blood, Hudson was filled with rage.

It was absurd that some thugs dared to wreak havoc on their territory.

There was no mercy offered, everyone involved in the city’s affairs were either executed on the spot for rebellion or turned into a lifelong “miner” without receiving a single copper coin in wages.

Revisiting his old haunt, Hudson suddenly had a sense of history repeating itself while looking at Dardiel City post-suppression.

He didn’t know if this important town in the southern part of the province was cursed, as it had been plagued by disasters in recent years.

First, it was massacred during the Skeleton Society’s rebellion, barely recovering some of its vitality before the unfortunate Prefectural Governor West ran away.

The remaining administrators could initially maintain stability, but the instability in the city quickly surfaced after a prolonged absence of military deterrence.

As it wasn’t his territory before, Hudson naturally did not meddle.

Now that it had become his domain, he couldn’t let things slide.

Upon taking action, it was almost a river of blood.

This demonstrated how miserable the lives of the people in Dardiel City really were.

After repeated hassles, it was predicted that almost all the original inhabitants who once lived in Dardiel City had now become extinct.

“Luke, if Dardiel City was handed over to you to manage, what would you do next?”

Hudson asked with feigned concern.

Seemingly a test, it was in fact the start of an adjustment to the domain’s management layer.

Theoretically speaking, the promotion from being in charge of uncultivated land to becoming the manager of a city was indeed a step up.

However, land cultivation was the core strategy of the Count’s territory.

No matter how critical or geographically favorable Dardiel City was, it couldn’t change the fact that it was far from the administrative center.

Hudson had considered relocating the administrative center.

Unfortunately, the count’s territory was too scattered.

Whether relocating to Dardiel City or to Snow Moon City, he would be surrounded by others’ territories.

Moving the seat of government from a safe rear to the front line bordering various forces would be a foolish act, unless he wasn’t of sound mind.

As for the issue of the domain being remote and inaccessible, impeding economic development, it pales in comparison to strategic security.

Even if he were to move, he would only do so after the marshland was developed, relocating to the center of the marsh plain.

However, according to traditional practices on the Continent of Aslante, the likelihood of the Manor House staying put is much higher than relocating.

Possessing the “highest mountain” in the Southeastern Province and being surrounded by “mountains”, it was undoubtedly a strategically dangerous location!

At least compared to the flat Southeastern Province, the Manor House location in Hudson’s territory was undeniably a natural fortress.

“Earl, I haven’t really thought about this issue.

But with Dardiel city’s excellent geographical position, as long as social order is restored, there would be no worry about its development.

The biggest problem at present is confidence.

Continuous upheavals have caused people to lose faith in Dardiel City, with those living in the city wishing to run yet having nowhere to go.

To restore the city’s economy, the best choice would be to restore the confidence of the residents and shopkeepers and then move some more people over, that’s pretty much it.

If changes need to be seen quickly, it’s better to move the Manor House here.

Relying on your reputation, sir, people will quickly regain their confidence.”

Listening to what Luke had to say, Hudson rolled his eyes in secret.

This was no spur-of-the-moment thought, it’s clearly a rehearsed proposition.

If it were an impromptu task, it would already be incredibly difficult to clarify his thought process.

A genius who could come up with a complete strategy in one glance may exist in this world, but the Luke standing in front of him was definitely not one.

If he had such abilities, he would be acclaimed wherever he went and would not have ended up enlisting the then not particularly significant Hudson.

But being prepared in advance is understandable.

Walking alongside him all the way, Hudson had expressed his intention to “rely on” him more than once, which meant he had some idea of what was coming.

“Moving the Manor House is impossible, but your other suggestions are quite sensible.

I’m leaving Dardiel City to you from now on.

You know me, I don’t care about the process, only the final result.

I’m giving you a time limit of three years.

I want to see a flourishing Dardiel City capable of generating massive tax revenues.

This is the requirement I’m putting forth for you!”

…