Chapter 336 Dutata City
The city of Dutata is the largest and most populous city among the three southern territories of the Rhine Kingdom (including Innadri), with a permanent population hundreds of thousands more than that of Bugatti, a major industrial city in the Territory of Odysseus.
Despite its large area and large population, Dutata City does not have a very good reputation, which can even be said to be quite bad... Even merchant ships passing through the Barcelo River would not choose to stop in Dutata City unless necessary.
The reason is simple, the public security in Dutta City is too bad.
The Rhine capital's current affairs magazines and biweekly weekly newspapers have repeatedly satirized the city as the "capital of crime" and the "den of evil" to criticize Lord Adler's poor governance; when Rhine cultural figures write legendary novels about urban crime, they are particularly keen to use the city of Dutata as the stage for their stories.
And any outsider who comes into contact with this city in person will not feel that the outside world's description of this city is exaggerated in the slightest - the actual Duta City is far worse than the rumors.
When the Darcy family's carriage drove onto the territory road and the towering city on the horizon was visible to the naked eye... the first thing that came into view was the slums that could be described as endless.
The slum area outside the west gate of Innadri, which covered an area of about one kilometer, was as small as a kitten compared to a tiger compared to the slums outside Duta.
The south, east and part of the west of the entire Duta city are occupied by endless low-rise bungalows, straw huts and wooden houses, interspersed with two-story or two-and-a-half-story self-built houses with brick and wood structures.
Many houses share walls, crowded together, huddled together for warmth, and the alleys between the houses are like cracks that extend deep into the space, so deep that you can't see the end.
What's worse is that since there is no vast plain outside the city of Duthata, many slum houses have to spread to the mountains outside the city, spreading across the hillsides, tops and valleys. At first glance, it looks like the slums are tightly hugging most of the urban area of Duthata, desperately struggling to fight the city to death.
The Darcy family's carriage drove through the slums for more than half an hour before entering the city from the South Gate...
When the carriage passed by, brave people in the markets on both sides of the road waved to the driver, pointed to the ragged, skinny young men and women squatting on the roadside, and shouted loudly: "Dear gentlemen, do you need any help? The good guys and girls here can do anything!"
The coachman naturally did not respond. The Darcy family guards and bodyguards who rode on horses followed the carriage closely, constantly using whips to scare and disperse the refugees who tried to surround them and beg.
Zhao Zhenzhen, who was sitting in the car, frowned.
Zhao Zhenzhen had a rough idea of the situation in Duta City and was mentally prepared before coming here... After all, there are similar slums on Earth, and the slums in places like Rio and Mumbai can also shock the Chinese people.
But being mentally prepared and seeing it with your own eyes are two different things. Zhao Zhenzhen still felt upset when she saw the Duthata slum, where the residents were similar to those in Rio but the environment was much worse than those in Rio.
Rio's slums at least have traces of modern civilization. They have electricity, decent building conditions, and are similar to the towns and villages in China in the 1980s. They have internal community autonomy and garbage collection centers. The houses in some areas are no worse than those of Rio citizens.
But this slum before my eyes... doesn't give me any impression of civilization, or hope.
Through the carriage window, Zhao Zhenzhen could see many women with cheap makeup on their faces standing under the low eaves in the alleys near the roadside, looking in the direction of the carriage.
There were also many naked children playing and climbing up and down in the deeper alleys.
In some courtyards surrounded by wooden boards, women and middle-aged and elderly men were busy weaving straw mats, bamboo baskets and the like. That seemed to be the job that some slum residents relied on for their livelihood.
Further away, near the banks of the Barceló River, you can vaguely see clothes drying on the roofs of large bungalows and people walking back and forth. It seems to be a very large laundry site with a chaotic ecology...
Zhao Zhenzhen withdrew her gaze and took a long breath.
"The challenge is much more difficult than building the city of Inna, right?" Yang Qiu said to Zhao Zhenzhen with a smile.
Zhao Zhenzhen really wanted to ask this guy how he could still laugh... Thinking of his experience, she changed her words to: "Have you ever seen a place worse than this?"
Yang Qiu glanced outside and said calmly, "I guess so."
The Rhine Kingdom had been generally peaceful for more than two hundred years.
The Middle-earth nation... has been struggling in war for more than four hundred years.
But Middle-earth is too close to Kenya and Asia, and that is not a place where Yang Qiu can intervene at the moment.
Zhao Zhenzhen heard the heaviness in his tone and fell silent.
On Earth...it's actually not much better than this world.
On Earth, man-made disasters have not stopped to this day.
Yang has an enemy that is difficult to defeat. That ferocious enemy is still staring at him fiercely, forcing him to be restrained and cautious and not to make any mistakes. The same is true for the Chinese country, isn't it?
"Let's do the things at hand first." Zhao Zhenzhen put away her impetuous thoughts and silently calculated the number of people that Yin Nadeli could spare.
The population of Adler Territory is similar to that of Innadri, at over two million.
More than a hundred years ago, most areas of Nadeli were active areas for bandits and robbers, and the level of development was generally low. Even agriculture and water conservancy had to be built from scratch.
Adler Territory, which has been developed for hundreds of years, is much better than Innadri in this respect. Agriculture is well developed in the central, eastern and northern parts. In theory, there is no big problem in ensuring local food self-sufficiency.
But this theory is just a theory after all. In fact, Adler Territory, like Innader Territory, is the origin of grain outflow - nearly 30% of the grain of the King of the Rhine is supplied by Adler Territory.
What's worse is that due to the high degree of land development and relatively advanced agriculture, the local nobles in Adler do not need a large number of serfs and slave laborers like the Innader Territory. This results in a large number of poor people not being able to even become serfs who can survive, and can only stay around the city and struggle to survive with great difficulty.
Apart from anything else, the hundreds of thousands of poor people outside Dutta City are unlikely to have a high ability to resist risks. As long as Dutta City stops operating for more than three days and a large number of poor people cannot rely on the tertiary industry to get food, they will starve to death.
Attacking Dutata City and taking over Adler Territory was not a big deal in Zhao Zhenzhen's mind. The real big problem was how to quickly manage and resettle the civilians in the slums after taking over Dutata City and prevent any chaos.
While Zhao Zhenzhen was racking her brains to figure out how to relocate, the carriage with the noble family crest successfully entered the city.
The situation inside the city was slightly better than that in the slums outside the city walls. At least the streets were cleaner, and the houses on both sides were mostly brick and stone structures, with fewer wooden buildings. It didn't have the fire hazards that would make people like Zhao Zhenzhen so worried at first sight like in the slums.
"The letter my aunt sent back two years ago was addressed to Apartment 189, Liujiao Lane, South City." China Dashi resisted the urge to look at the street view outside while trying to demonstrate her usefulness. "The driver I brought with me this time has been to Dutata City before, and he knows the way."
Yang Qiu nodded slightly, and spoke gently to Qina, who hadn't realized she was getting nervous again, "Do you still remember what kind of person your cousin is?"
China thought about it and said, "Cousin Coulson is a bit shy, but he is a very courageous person. When he and his aunt came to Innadeli that year, my cousin threw my pen into the pond. Cousin Coulson immediately jumped in to help me pick up the pen and even had a fight with my cousin."
"It seems that your cousin has good character." Yang Qiu smiled and gave a positive response to Qina who needed encouragement and recognition, "Tell me more about him."
"Okay, Mr. Yang." Qina was greatly encouraged and excitedly talked more about her cousin and aunt.
For Yang Qiu, it doesn’t really matter what kind of person Qina’s cousin is.
Yang Qiu doesn't care about the character of his puppets. Just like he once said to Hal's gang of grumpy old brothers, he doesn't care who is loyal and who is not... No matter how much bad water they are holding in their stomachs or whether they have a rebellious mind, Yang Qiu doesn't care; as long as they don't have too big intellectual defects and know how to do things within the scope he has defined, they are qualified henchmen.
If you can be as good as Rex, then we should invest some resources and train you; if not, then do some work within your ability and take on some responsibilities that even primary and secondary school students can afford - like the former thieves like Anthony the tailor and Manan the butcher. Even if they can't accomplish big things, they can still be NPC tools and take care of a few female workers.
In Yang Qiu's opinion, China, a girl who doesn't need the instructions from the national team and can understand the intentions of the city hall by learning on her own, is very useful... and has training value. In case Coulson is really a hopeless case, it would be no trouble to push China to take his place.
As they were chatting, the carriage turned into a street lined with red brick houses.
Entering this street that was only wide enough for two carriages to run side by side, China's expression became obviously confused.
This street obviously doesn't look like a place where good people live. The first floors of the houses on both sides don't even have windows - such buildings are very common in areas with poor public security.
Not to mention that the houses here have no yards or aisles in front of the doors, and the front doors face directly onto the street. Some houses have signs of repair on the second and third floor windows - there is no way to park a carriage in front of the door, and there is no money to replace the entire piece of glass. Obviously, the people living here are not financially well-off.
As China looked out of the car window anxiously, a man with a tool bag slung over his shoulder turned around from the other end of the alley.
The man saw the carriage driving into the alley and subconsciously moved to the side of the road to make way, just in time to bump into China who was sticking her head out of the carriage.
"Cousin Coulson?!" China exclaimed in surprise.
"...Qina?" The man carrying the tool bag called out in surprise and nervousness.
There was no parking available at Liujiao Alley, so the driver drove the carriage to a nearby hotel to rent a parking space. At this time, Qina, along with her two guards, a maid, a housekeeper (Yang Qiu), and a bodyguard (Zhao Zhenzhen), formally visited her aunt's house.
A three-story red brick apartment building with a total of six rooms was the only property of China's aunt...When China saw her aunt who had married far away early in her life, she was wearing an apron and a headscarf, cleaning the stairs in the apartment building.
In the windowless living room , China looked at her aunt's graying hair, her roughened hands, and her cousin Coulson, whose tanned skin looked like an ordinary worker. She said uncomfortably, "How did it come to this? Aunt, why didn't you tell Grandpa about your situation in more detail?"
China's aunt and cousin both looked a little embarrassed, one tried to hide her hands awkwardly, and the other lowered her head and remained silent.
After hesitating for a while, Mrs. O'Neill, who looked like an ordinary citizen woman, reluctantly said, "We are actually... not too sad, China. Compared with ordinary families, our situation is acceptable."
"It's no use, China." Coulson interrupted his mother and said dejectedly, "When my mother and I went to Inadre a few years ago, we actually told my grandfather about our situation... My grandfather just said a few words and sent my mother and me away. When my mother and I came out of my grandfather's room, we heard him asking someone to change the carpet at the entrance."
Qina's expression suddenly froze.
In the style of old Viscount Darcy...Grandpa can really do such a thing.
Marrying off a useless daughter and not even being able to keep her property was as unlucky for old Viscount Darcy as making a losing business.
Grandpa has so many sons and daughters, I can’t feel enough love for them all.
"I once heard my father say that the inheritance that my uncle left to you and my cousin Coulson should include a farm and a house in the inner city of Duta." Qina said with all her might, "Who owns these properties now? Is it Viscount O'Neill ?"
Mrs. O'Neill said nothing, while cousin Coulson shook his head with a wry smile, saying, "I've read in the newspaper, China. After the vampire incident, you became a female viscount. That's amazing... You want to help us get our property back, right? My mother and I appreciate your kindness."
"Cousin Coulson, don't you want to take back the things that originally belonged to you and your aunt?" Qina said in astonishment.
"You can't get it back." Coulson said dejectedly, "Viscount O'Neill, my good uncle is not the kind of person who would leave others with something to blame... Do you know how many times the house in the inner city has changed hands? Even now, the apparent ownership is not in my uncle's hands, but belongs to a Tachia businessman, who seems to have nothing to do with my good uncle."
"Not to mention the farm. My mother tried her best to keep it. After all, it was where my father grew up. But my good uncle used some tricks to let the lord's steward come forward to ask about the farm's resale price." Coulson became more and more desperate. "Now the farm is nominally owned by the lord's steward, and it is an estate purchased for his retirement... Tell me, how can we get it back?"
Yang Qiu, who was standing behind Qina and acting as the housekeeper, had his eyes light up immediately...
