Volume 1: The Rise of Elanhill Chapter 0002 Sprout
"Hehe..." Chris forced out an ugly smile to hide his shock: It seems that his understanding of common sense is of no use in this world.
If there really are dragons in this world, then there must be other strange things, such as other monsters, magic, and races other than humans.
In this case, it is hard to say whether the golden finger in his mind is as powerful as he imagined.
At this moment, Chris had to face the cruel reality and turned his eyes away from the exquisite mural of slaying a dragon: "There are dragons in the Alante Empire?"
"That's not the case." Wageron answered, "The Alante Empire and the surrounding kingdoms and many noble castles are all 'mortal' countries. There is no magic atmosphere and no magical creatures here."
"Because there is no magical aura, it is not suitable for magicians to live and practice. Those powerful magic empires look down on this place and can only let us manage it on behalf of them, pay taxes, and rule us indirectly." Deans added: "The Alante Empire is a powerful mortal empire nearby."
"Of course, even the weakest magic empire can easily defeat a mortal country. They have dragon knights and magicians... We are no match for them at all." As if it was planned, Strid was the third to speak and introduced: "Your grandfather was the one who made merit in a battle against a wild dragon invasion and was named the lord of Seris City."
"Okay." Chris shrugged his shoulders, resigned to his fate. Now he could only plan slowly and carefully test the development.
There is some good news: since dragons can be killed by mortals, it seems that they can be dealt with. If Chris really makes an anti-aircraft gun, it is estimated that slaying a dragon will not be a difficult task.
"As the city lord, how many soldiers do I have? How many properties do I own? How much power do I have... Please tell me about it in detail." Looking at the steak in front of him, Chris now had even less appetite, so he quickly got into work mode.
His three subordinates were quite capable and soon made Chris aware of all the assets in his hands.
As a lord, Ailanhill Chris has a strong cavalry team of 300 people and a staff of about 1,000 city defense guards.
The city of Seris is located on a major transportation route and has many small workshops. Agricultural production is also quite good, with an annual income of about 1,000 gold coins.
No matter from which angle you look at it, Seris was a good place before the tax hike. Unfortunately, now that Chris has just arrived, the good times are over.
"Why are our taxes being raised? Do you know this?" Chris thought for a moment and asked Deans.
Deans smiled bitterly and answered, "Sir, the Alante Empire also has to pay taxes to the powerful magic empire further west. As for why the price is raised, whether it should be raised or not depends on the mood of those magicians."
This is a typical act of shifting contradictions. The Alante Empire is similar to a comprador. It throws all the taxes it has to pay to the surrounding small countries and lords, so that it can reduce its own pressure and even gain some benefits.
"Do we have any special products?" Chris, who had no good ideas for saving money, turned to open source.
If you can find more ways to make money, paying the heavy tax of 1,000 gold coins will not be a problem.
"We have a very special metal called pyroxene. This kind of iron is very hard and light, and is a good material for making weapons." Strid replied, "In addition, we also have a woodworking workshop where we can produce some furniture. The quality is good and it is very popular among the nobles."
"Another major tax item is tolls, which bring in a surplus of about 100 gold coins a year. But changing tolls is risky. If our tolls are high, there will be fewer merchants and travelers passing by, and revenue will not increase significantly," Deans added.
Chris nodded, more or less understanding the current situation. There weren't many problems to be solved, at least not in his opinion.
"It seems that we can only think of a way to deal with these specialties first. Increasing production capacity may be a good idea." Chris made up his mind and spoke to the retainers in front of him.
"We have limited craftsmen, and both carpenters and carpentry apprentices are already working very hard." Strid seemed to be the person in charge of this matter. He began to explain: "It's the same with the pyroxene mine. If we force more civilians to work, it will affect farming, dissatisfaction will spread, and the free people in the territory will migrate away."
"Who says that increasing production capacity requires more people?" Chris once again put on a confident smile - in this regard, he has more solutions than the people in front of him, because in another world, a car production line does not require a few workers.
The knowledge in his mind may not be able to be used in things like slaying dragons and fighting for hegemony for the time being, but it can definitely be a piece of cake to improve some productivity and make the work of carpenters easier.
"I can draw some parts. If our blacksmith can make them, the rest of the work will be easy." He stood up from the table and said eagerly, "When I was unconscious, I heard the instructions from God! God pointed out the way for me. Under God's blessing, Seris will become the most glorious city in the world!"
After saying that, he took the lead and walked out. Wagron followed him quickly with some uneasiness, as if he was afraid that the slightly crazy Chris would lose his mind and commit suicide again.
"Alas... If God really favors this land, why would he make it a magic-forbidden area and let us suffer here?" Deans sighed dejectedly as he looked at Chris's back as he walked away.
"Yes, we are all mortals abandoned by God... I have known this clearly since I was two years old." Strid also sighed.
"Do you think... the master is really okay?" Having said that, Deans asked Strid beside him with some guilt.
Strid did not answer his colleague, but shook his head worriedly to make his attitude clear.
Chris did not hear his subordinates talking about him. He walked through the corridor and came to the door of his office under the guidance of Wagron. There were two guards standing at the door. It was obvious that the rules in the castle had not been disrupted during his coma.
The other party clenched his fist and put it on his chest to salute Chris, and Chris pushed the door and walked into his room. The furnishings inside were more luxurious than Chris had imagined. It seemed that the owner of this place knew how to live well.
The room full of books makes this place look very charming, and the huge glass window behind lets in more sunlight, making this place much brighter than the interior of the castle.
"I'll make some things for myself here, just come find me for dinner." Chris pushed Gvalon out and closed the door.
Soon, he dug out some design drawings from the Industrial Revolution period in his mind and began to write and draw on the drawings with a quill pen.
The drawings from before and after the Industrial Revolution were not very sophisticated, so Chris had to add explanations so that others could understand the parts.
As the sun set, the light grew dim. Wagron knocked on Chris's door, which made the lord realize the passage of time and temporarily stop drawing.
"Have someone bring enough candles here. I'll need them at night. Also, find a few more candlesticks. One won't be enough." Chris stretched and looked at the setting sun, then gave a series of instructions to the waiter who followed Wagron in.
After the waiter left the study, Chris rolled up a thick stack of blueprints on the table and handed them to Wagron: "Wagron! Go to the workshop in person, find the craftsmen, and ask them to make these parts! Make them as quickly as possible. Once they are done, I will reward you!"
Wageron took the blueprint and immediately nodded and agreed: "Sir, I will go right away! We have the best craftsmen, and they can make the best armor!"
Chris nodded and let Wagron leave. Then he had a quick dinner and locked himself in the study again. He stayed up until the candles ran out, then returned to the bedroom to rest.
The next day, it was almost noon and Chris hadn't opened his eyes yet. He had just fallen asleep in the middle of the night and was ready to have a romantic relationship with his quilt.
Unfortunately, just when he was being intimate with the quilt, someone suddenly reported something outside the door, forcing him to give up the romance and return to his mundane life.
Chris, who had not had a good rest, stretched himself lazily, yawned, and said, "Come in! What's the matter?"
General Wageron walked into Chris's bedroom, holding the long sword at his waist, and reported: "The blacksmiths have made all the parts you requested."
"So soon? That's great!" Chris suddenly lost all his sleepiness. He jumped off the bed, scratching his hair, and started putting on his clothes.
He has black hair, which the waiter said was a foreign feature passed down from the ancestors of the Ailan Hill family. Chris likes his well-proportioned figure and handsome face. He looked in the mirror last night and found that his face was impeccably handsome.
What made Chris a little unhappy was that the noble clothing in this world was very complicated. He felt very annoyed when he was getting dressed, and had to ask the waiter to help him. After finally being able to go out, his face looked better.
Compared with the clearly defined professional processing bases of later generations, the factory craftsmen here still work together in a chaotic manner.
Next to the blacksmith shop is the carpentry workshop, separated by a canal for fire prevention. Everywhere is busy, and the sound of sawing wood can be heard one after another in the carpentry workshop.
The craftsmen who had just received the blueprints last night didn't know what the things they made were used for, but they still worked hard to make the parts they were responsible for. After all, this was an order from the lord, and it was said that it could be used to deduct taxes or even get rewards.
"Okay! Now let's witness the miracle of industrial civilization together!" Chris moved his shoulders and neck, rubbed his wrists, and walked to the pile of parts.
