After more than half a month passed slowly, Wu Lai's mood had completely calmed down. In addition to showing that the enemy's infiltration into Assyria was far more complicated than he had imagined, Lini's death also meant that he had lost a strong supporter.

But if he had a choice, Wu Lai would rather not have the support of the Monte family, and he also hoped that Lini could live and spend his old age in peace, but this could only be a fantasy...

Two days later, Wu Lai convened a civilian assembly. Unlike previous civilian assemblies, this time all the officials of Salt Marsh Town attended the meeting.

"First of all, I have to thank the Civilian Assembly for its efforts in maintaining the stability of Salt Marsh Town. It is because of your diligence and hard work that the first batch of housing allocation in Salt Marsh Town can be successfully completed." After Wu Lai finished speaking, he smiled and led the applause. His thanks were not just empty courtesy, but came from the heart.

If the members of the Common People's Assembly had not assisted the municipal staff in working with the townspeople, the distribution of the first batch of 85 houses would never have been so smooth - in Woolley's plan, there would no longer be any private houses in Salt Marsh Town. In other words, within the scope of Salt Marsh Town, all townspeople's houses would be allocated by the town, and they would pay annual maintenance fees. The townspeople had no say over where, how and how long they lived.

As a result, even though they did not need to pay for building a house, and even though they could get paid for participating in the construction, most of the townspeople were unable to get around this problem.

Fortunately, 120 members of the Civilian Assembly acted as voluntary tour guides. After Wu Lai held a mobilization meeting for them, these people consciously divided into groups, divided the areas, discussed their arguments, and then one or two people were responsible for one household. In less than two days, all the problems were resolved.

What worked was the three questions they asked when they went to persuade us:

"You chose us. Since you chose us, shouldn't you support our work and make us look good in the eyes of Master Wu Lai? This will make it easier for us to do things for you in the future?"

"Lord Wu Lai built so many houses. If he doesn't give them to you, who else can he give them to?"

"Without Lord Wu Lai and his men risking their lives to fight against the bandits who have attacked us several times in a row, are you sure you can protect yourselves?"

The questions were thrown in no particular order, but even if the listeners couldn't figure them out at the time, they would figure them out after thinking about them afterwards.

Yes, we chose the people ourselves and we cannot sabotage them.

Yes, with so many houses, how could they be driven out after living in them? That's right, if Lord Wu Lai hadn't been so desperate, if bandits had come in and chopped everything up, it would have been like what happened to someone's family the year before last, with the entire family dead.

"As for housing, the second batch of allocations will begin in four months. I hope everyone will work harder by then so that the townspeople whose turn it is can move in with peace of mind, and those whose turn it is not can wait patiently. The town's idea is to achieve full occupancy before the end of the year, so don't complain about the hard work when the time comes." When Wu Lai finished speaking with a smile, everyone smiled knowingly.

Compared with the officials in the official residence, the members of the Common People's Assembly prefer Wu Lai to hold meetings, because Wu Lai may slam the table and curse at people in the official residence meetings, but in the Common People's Assembly, he is always gentle and smiling.

"Recently, many people have privately asked the staff of various departments what the buildings in the third district are used for? Why are they built so big?" Wu Lai continued, "This is why I called everyone here."

"Among the buildings in the third district, I plan to use the largest three-story stone building to open a school." As soon as Wu Lai said this, there was a whisper from the audience, because in everyone's impression, there was only one kind of place called a school in Assyria, and that was the gladiator school.

Could it be that... Lord Wulai was planning to train gladiators and then have them compete to make money for the town? When everyone couldn't help but think so, only Guru smiled and said nothing, calm and composed.

Because he had known that Wu Lai would do this.

"Now, the construction of the town is in full swing, and the town's infrastructure is also changing with each passing day. The temple has been completed, the streets are wider, the houses are neater, and the flower beds and grasses on the streets are lush. In the next few years, there will be a steady stream of vendors coming here to do business, and we will also have a group of new vendors who will sell specialties and open taverns and hotels..."

"The framework has been built. As long as we persevere and make unremitting efforts, these goals can be achieved in the shortest time. For example, the taverns and hotels we opened earlier are doing very good business now. Why? Because now in addition to the merchants coming and going, there are also people who come to the temple to worship the god Amon and pay homage to the "Bowler Shield Warrior". Saltmarsh Town is three days away from Longvington. After they get here, they need food, drink, shelter, and entertainment. Who will provide them with it? Naturally, it is our townspeople..."

"But with the increase in the number of guests, many problems have been exposed, the most important one of which is 'illiteracy'. For a long time, learning to read and write has been the right of citizens. Only the children of commoners who have good relations with citizens' families can have access to writing. This is a common practice, but I feel that such measures restrict and restrict our development. Take our Yanzhan Town as an example. Only when the average literacy level of the townspeople is improved can we have a foundation for improving our ideological quality, production concepts, and production technology levels. Otherwise, no matter how well we build the town, it will be in vain. We make money and people become rich, but our thoughts remain in a state of ignorance. Is this reasonable?" Wu Lai spread his hands and asked.

No one answered his question. Firstly, everyone was listening with great interest, and secondly, Wu Lai's question was not easy to answer.

Fortunately, Wu Lai did not expect anyone to answer. After a pause, he continued, "Some people may say that I am old, and even if I know how to read and count, it is useless. But think about it, you are old, then what about your sons? What about your grandchildren? You may no longer have the opportunity to feel the benefits of learning, so can they not feel it either?"

"I can tell you responsibly that if Salt Marsh Town wants to progress and prosper, it is not only about building roads, houses and temples to attract vendors and tourists, but also about doing everything we can to ensure that the next generation, the next generation and even the next generation of the town can master the knowledge of writing and numbers. Not only must they master them, but they must also be proficient in them. Because only in this way can we ensure that Salt Marsh Town will stand firm and prosper from generation to generation!"

Guru was the first to applaud...

After the applause died down, Wu Lai nodded with a smile: "From everyone's attitude, it can be seen that everyone supports this. Then, regarding the school, there are several tasks that we need to do. The first is publicity, so that the townspeople know the purpose and significance of our school. The second is to collect information. According to my idea, six-year-old children are suitable for going to school, so all townspeople aged six to fifteen must participate in the study. Those who are older must attend a sixty-day night school. Let's get a basic understanding of the situation first, and those of the right age must not be left out. The third thing is that in order to open a school, the treasurer Gulu took a lot of effort to hire twelve teachers in the city of Lunvington, nine of whom are female teachers. These teachers will live in the school. I know that there are many bachelors in the town, so everyone has to help warn them not to target our teachers. Their annual salary is thirty-six gold coins. Whoever dares to harm one of them, in addition to giving him a hundred lashes, I will also make him pay ten times the compensation..."

"Next, let me tell you the second thing. I plan to open a hospital in the two-story building next to the school in the third district." As soon as Wu Lai finished speaking, everyone in the audience except Guru was confused again - if the previous school had a "Gladiator School" to learn from, then the "hospital" in Wu Lai's mouth was definitely a new word.

"Everyone knows that there are doctors who treat diseases. This hospital brings together many doctors who treat diseases to see and treat people..." Wu Lai explained patiently.

…

After the meeting, Guru said as he walked with Wu Lai to the official residence: "Wu Lai, your blueprint has been fully unfolded. How about it? Do you have an idea of ​​everything going smoothly?"

Wu Lai shook his head and said, "The construction of Salt Marsh Town cannot be completed in one generation."

Guru was startled and asked, "Is it like what you said before, that the progress of society and the continuation of civilization require the inheritance and development of many generations?"

"That's what I mean." Wu Lai nodded. "After the death of Teacher Lini, the Supreme Council's Ninth Legion plan was shelved. Although the border is peaceful now, the price of slaves this year has risen to ten times that of five years ago. This is not a good sign."

"Why?" Guru frowned.

"As the price of slaves rises, the profit from the slave trade will be considerable. Driven by profit, citizens and wealthy families will intensify their oppression and exploitation of civilians, because that will make civilians heavily in debt until they voluntarily sell themselves into slavery. But this is not the most serious thing. What worries me most is war. The nature of war will make it possible for a large number of slaves to be created, and there is only one prerequisite, which is to ensure that you are the winner." Woolley replied.

"Then according to what you said, I'm not worried. Assyria's current military strength is more suitable for defense than attack, and the legion leaders are not fools." Gulu said with a smile.

"Of course Assyria will not attack first. What I'm worried about is that if they attack, the price of slaves will rise, and it won't be just Assyria. Compared with our neighboring Hurlit territory, Assyria's city-states are scattered and the number of villages and towns is huge. Once we are raided, it will be difficult to take care of both ends. This is why I don't want to bring the Daishan team here. With them in Seneca, Baishilou will be relatively safe. Even if the city is breached, my people can retreat calmly with their cover." Wu Lai rubbed his face. His wounds had not healed yet. In the past few days, he had to work until midnight every night. Now he was a little tired.

“Are you tired? Go back and have a rest. Everything is going smoothly now. Just relax and leave it to us.” Guru twirled the short beard on his chin and said with a smile.

"Stop twisting your hair. You look especially old when you do that." Wu Lai stretched slowly. "I can't sleep at night if I rest during the day. Let's go and check out El's dance hall. I didn't have time to ask about the group of singers and dancers who were trained by her for so long. Let's go and check them out and see if they are as charming as she said they are."

"The dance hall is open?" Guru was stunned. He was so busy these past two days that he hadn't even met El.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Just as Wu Lai and the other man were walking towards the dance hall with great interest, Monadil stood with his hands behind his back on a river somewhere in the Armenian city-state area of ​​the Assyrian Valley. His eyes fell on a raft that was slowly paddling towards the other side. There were two people on the raft, both wrapped in black clothes, with their heads and faces hidden in their caps. One was paddling at the stern of the raft, while the other was sitting still.

"Boss, there are patrol soldiers coming." One of Monadil's men ran over and said.

Monadil ignored him until the raft reached the other side and the two people on the raft jumped ashore. Then he turned around and said, "That's where the Holy Envoy and I landed. It's been nearly twenty years since we left our hometown. Eleven years ago, the quasi-saint and her quasi-guard general also landed in Assyria from here. Now that they have returned, my mission is complete. Since it's completed, why should I be afraid of the patrol soldiers?"

"But, boss..." The subordinate hesitated to speak.

"Don't say any more. You have a family in Assyria, so I understand that you cherish your life, but my life is not my own. It is used to serve the Tianjuan Territory and the Saint." Monadil smiled slightly, and the bronze sword in his hand suddenly came out of its sheath. "The Saint Envoy can die bravely, so can I. Moreover, I want to show the Saint-to-be what a warrior of the Tianjuan Palace should be like. You, run for your life."

"Boss." A hint of surprise flashed across the subordinate's eyes, but he did not leave immediately.

"Hurry up, it will be too late when the patrol arrives soon." Monadil waved his hand and urged.

"Thank you, boss. Please take care of yourself." The subordinate bowed and turned around happily. However, before he could take a step, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He was immediately horrified, and just as he barely turned his body, he saw a ray of light rushing towards him.

"Plop" - the head fell to the ground, and blood splattered on Monadil's face. At the same time, the footsteps of the patrol soldiers chasing were getting closer.

Monadil turned around and looked at the other side again, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Long live God!" He suddenly raised his arm and sword, the sound shaking the valley.

When the voice reached the ears of the two men in black who were about to rush into the dense forest, the latter's body suddenly trembled, and a crystal tear slid down his face.

"Uncle Mona..." she called softly...

In Salt Marsh Town, Wu Lai and Gulu walked neither hurried nor slow. A group of children appeared behind them, following them with laughter. It was somewhat similar to the scene when the two first entered the town, but this time, in addition to smiles, the children's faces were full of pride, because they knew who they were following.

During this period of time, there were suddenly more restrictions on children in the town. For example, they were not allowed to damage the flowers and branches in the flower beds, roll on the grass, or go to the temple to play hide-and-seek. If it were somewhere else, some children might turn a deaf ear to it, but not in Salt Marsh Town, because the children knew that it took a lot of effort for Lord Wu Lai to get these flowers and plants, and they could only look at them but not touch them. If everyone did this, the flowers could bloom longer and the grass would be more lush.

However, there is no rule that prohibits following Lord Wu Lai, so this situation has occurred in Salt Marsh Town. No matter whether Wu Lai is riding or walking, as long as there are children, they will definitely follow him happily, because in their minds, Wu Lai is a god-like figure. Think about it, who dares to ride alone to meet hundreds of bandits? Think about it again, who can beat the bandits again and again? Of course, only their Lord Wu Lai can do it.

El's dance hall was a special favor of Wu Lai. Not only was its location the best in the fourth district, which was designated as a commercial area, but it also had the largest floor space - it could accommodate three hundred people at the same time, drinking, eating meat and watching dance performances.

However, no one was dissatisfied with Wu Lai's "special care", because El was not only Wu Lai's close friend, but also the poor women in the town who she arranged to make a living in the dance hall. You know, in the Assyrian territory, there is a world of difference in status between singing girls and prostitutes.

Before they got closer, Wu Lai and Guru saw a large group of people gathered at the door of the dance hall, and there was noise coming from the crowd. In addition, they seemed to hear crying sounds.

"Wu Lai, is someone causing trouble?" Guru frowned.

"Just make a fuss, wait and see how I deal with him." Wu Lai snorted, flicked his sleeves, and walked over quickly. Since the street cleaning operation began, the townspeople have become accustomed to hiding from others when they quarrel with each other. It's strange now. Someone actually dared to violate the "Salt Marsh Town Civility Ordinance" in the street?