Before leaving after the trial, Todd made a request to the priests and knights he knew, asking them to help spread a "recruitment notice".
The content is easy to understand, and it doesn't contain any grand theories about "serving the Father." It can be summarized as follows: Muxi Harbor is rich in resources and has beautiful scenery. We are now recruiting talent from all walks of life, with no restrictions on profession or age. Farmers who come to cultivate the land will be allocated a plot; merchants who come to set up stalls will be exempt from some commercial taxes; soldiers who come to join the army will receive weapons and military pay. Within the preaching area of the Muxi Harbor Church, everyone will be exempt from three years of tithes.
Within just half a month of the notice being posted, people came to "apply" for the job.
At first, only farmers from nearby villages arrived. They asked for shelter, not land. Their fathers had once settled and fished near the coastline, but pirate raids forced them to abandon their nets and take up farming. Now, they had returned to the sea, carrying their woven nets, some even with horse-drawn carts loaded with their long-unused fishing boats. They hoped Father Todd could guarantee their safety, and in return, they were willing to donate half of their catch to the church.
Next to arrive was a group of craftsmen and apprentices with their families. Among them were grateful people whom Todd had saved through his "exorcism ritual," old acquaintances like Aiden Colm, and others who had moved there with their families simply because they had heard of Father Todd's generosity and magnanimity.
The last group to join surprised Todd. They were his "acquaintances" from Hudgens, fewer than twenty in number, mostly bachelors with only a few families who had come to join him. Some of them he had seen on Waiheke Island, some at the cathedral entrance, and others, though unfamiliar, acted with complete familiarity.
In addition, Todd, Karin, Hudgens, Edgar, and Jerry moved out of the monastery and into Twilight Harbor, where all the items from the alchemy lab were also moved there.
Over the next month or so, with the concerted efforts of these fewer than one hundred people, Muxi Harbor underwent a dramatic transformation.
Churches, houses, docks, and workshops were built one after another in the residential area, and a small seaside village mainly engaged in fishing and metallurgy gradually took shape.
As news of Todd's "miracle" during the Inquisition spread, more and more people read the "proclamation." The second wave of immigrants gradually arrived in this paradise on the western coast. Farmers who had lost their land, monks who admired the miracle, vendors who saw business opportunities, and artisans who valued the produce of the coast—people from all walks of life gathered around the "Holy Son." The population gradually increased from less than a hundred initially to nearly three hundred.
Todd hadn't forgotten his promise to the church. As the development of Twilight Harbor gradually progressed, the second and third batches of crystal relics "transported from the Northern Islands" were packed into wooden crates and, as promised, transported to the St. Co Cathedral in Silver Ring City. Moreover, during the transport of the relics, he did something that drew attention throughout the entire kingdom. He fulfilled his initial promise, giving a batch of high-quality crystal relics to the people he had promised to bestow upon—the priests, knights, and families of the fallen in the visiting delegation.
This act earned him unanimous praise from the royal family, nobles, church, and commoners of Silver Ring City. Everyone lauded him as a saint of his word, which indirectly led to the third wave of immigrants to Duskwood Harbor. The population of Duskwood Harbor quickly exceeded six hundred, officially upgrading it from a village to a small town.
The livelihood industries in Muxi Harbor present a diversified trend in a "pyramid" shape, including agricultural properties, animal husbandry, fishery, aquaculture, handicrafts, metallurgy, processing, and services.
However, the management hierarchy here exhibits a "flattened" structure. The highest leader of Muxi Town is naturally Todd, who holds both divine and administrative power. Below him, unlike other towns and cities, there are no deputies, no tax collectors, no courts, and no sheriffs.
Some might wonder if this management model would lead to chaos in the entire village or town.
That's not actually the case.
Industry affairs are managed and arranged by the leaders of each industry. Only when there is overlap in functions or conflict of interest will they go to the church for judgment.
Tax revenue in the town relies entirely on the voluntary payment of residents. Furthermore, the town enjoys a three-year exemption from tithes, and Todd, through a crystal relic, secured from the Silver Ring Kingdom a temporary exemption from poll tax, partial exemption from industry tax, and commercial tax. This makes the tax burden in Twilight Town extremely light, and the pressure of taxation negligible for the residents. Out of gratitude for Father Todd's kindness, people view paying taxes more as a personal "tribute" to him.
The town's security situation is even stranger. The immigrants come from different villages, different places, and even speak different languages. Logically, friction and disputes should occur frequently. But in reality, conflicts and disputes between neighbors are rare, and criminal cases are even rarer. If there are any unsolvable problems, respected members of the community will spontaneously form mediation and arbitration committees to resolve them themselves. As for those who are truly "troublemakers," the residents of Muxi Town most often say: "Do you want to taste the Eye of God?"
Finally, let's talk about the military strength of Twilight Town. Todd knew his shortcomings. When he transmigrated to this other world, he didn't bring an encyclopedia, an invincible system, or a jack-of-all-trades. He was merely a researcher who knew a little more about biochemistry than the average person. He was fine for conducting biological and chemical experiments, but putting him in charge of military preparation and training was like the blind men and the elephant.
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