Chapter 371 New City! (Two in one! Please subscribe!)
The Valens Plain, located west of the Eider River, has always been the richest land in the eastern part of the empire.
Until half a year ago, the arrival of the Odin people brought devastation to the refugees living on this land. Soon after, the Idar soldiers who came from heaven took this vast plain into their possession.
but……
Since becoming the territory of the Principality of Idar, this fertile land has not attracted much attention from Bruno.
Because the Valens Plain is extremely fertile, but crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes, which are now widely planted in the Principality of Idar, are not very picky about the land. It doesn't matter whether it is paddy fields or dry land, just bury them.
Even if it is only taken care of a few times throughout the year, the harvest will only be less, and the yield will still be much higher than growing crops such as wheat.
In addition, there are not many mineral deposits on the Valens Plain, and it belongs to the current border area of the Principality of Idar. Therefore, this land, which was originally highly valued by the nobles, has been marginalized in the Principality of Idar.
Bruno naturally devoted most of his energy to the industrialization of magic and making money to create wonders.
As for the many matters concerning the Valens Plain and the northern part of the Principality of Idar, Bruno threw them all onto old Ford's shoulders.
There’s nothing we can do, those who are capable should do more work!
Compared to others, old Ford, who came from a butler background, has grown into a steady and sophisticated official during this period of time.
He knew clearly what the Principality of Idar needed today, and he also understood what Bruno hoped the Valens Plain would become in the future.
so……
During this half year, the two sides of the Aide River have presented completely different appearances.
To the east of the Eider River, as the influence of Idar Territory continued to radiate northward, not only did Sorenburg, which was adjacent to Idar Territory, become more prosperous than before, but even the Dale Hills to the east of the Eider River also underwent tremendous changes.
The Cologne industrial zone that sprang up in the northeast of Dale Hill and the construction of a large number of stone circles have caused magical industrialization to develop at an unexpected speed in this land.
Moreover, the Port of Cologne is the port closest to the Port of Hobbs in terms of straight-line distance. The unique geographical advantage has enabled the first large-scale textile factory of the Principality of Idar to take root in this land.
However, the Valens Plain west of the Eider River has not been greatly affected by magical industrialization.
In the Plains of Valence, old Ford completely copied the management model of production teams and workers' communities.
The fields that originally belonged only to the nobles were distributed to every citizen willing to engage in agricultural production.
In addition, the civil servants of the Principality of Idar also distributed a large number of new agricultural tools to the people living on this land, greatly improving their farming efficiency.
after all……
Compared to promoting the development of magic industrialization, maintaining stability and resettling refugees are the most important tasks of officials on the Valens Plain.
However, even though social production on the Valens Plain is still dominated by agricultural production, under the governance of old Ford, it presents a completely different situation from other inland cities.
As a border city of the Principality of Idar, although the city of Valens has not yet been covered by magic transmission lines, the people living in this land have become much more relaxed than before.
The civil servants of the Principality of Idar never impose heavy taxes on the people, nor do they demand money from the people based on their own moods and preferences.
The people who felt this most clearly were the merchants living in the city of Valence.
During the more than half a year since becoming Idar citizens, the civil servants of the Principality of Idar and the soldiers of the Idar Army have almost destroyed the already extremely fragile outlook on life and values of the local people!
Whether it was buying daily necessities or eating and drinking after work, the Idar soldiers actually gave money! Giving money! For the vendors, this was simply... incredible! You know, if it were in the past, they would not only have to serve the soldiers who came to eat well, but also take the initiative to offer a considerable amount of protection money before the soldiers left.
Because if I don't do this, I will inevitably be targeted by the patrol team in the future.
Being harassed by all kinds of difficulties is no big deal. If it is more serious... you may even risk your life!
So at the beginning, the Idar soldiers' initiative to pay the bill almost frightened the small vendors to death!
Not only did the soldiers not ask for money, but they also offered to pay him. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed to mean that he was about to face a disaster! But when the Idar soldiers arrived, everything changed completely.
Of course, the Idar people would also collect money from these shops, but both the method of collecting money and the people responsible for collecting the money had completely changed.
The Idar soldiers, who have strict military discipline, will never blackmail or extort the people living on this land.
Under the rule of the Principality of Idar, not only did the people responsible for collecting money become Idar civil servants who were specifically responsible for tax matters, but even the taxes to be paid were clearly stipulated in legal provisions.
We will not charge you a single penny less, but we will also never charge you a penny more.
Of course, the changes that have taken place in the city of Valence are not just reflected in the tax level.
After Bruno's repeated instructions, old Ford, who was accustomed to the clean and sanitary urban environment, also set the creation of the "Civilized City of Idar" as an important goal during his management of Valence.
You know, unlike other cities in the Principality of Idar, the city of Valens, located on the west bank of the Eider River, serves as a bridgehead for the Principality of Idar to overlook the inland of the empire, but it will also face those refugees displaced by the war.
Even though Bruno stationed a large number of Idar soldiers in the city of Valence and erected numerous tall barbed wire fences along the long border, he hoped that the refugees could pass through customs and enter the land of the Principality of Idar one by one.
However, this simple interception method will ultimately have a lot of omissions.
Even though there are patrols composed of Idar soldiers every day, patrolling the border and the plains and checking identities, they still occasionally find the bodies of refugees lying on the roadside.
These refugees who had rushed into the Principality of Idar without going through customs inspection had no idea of the Principality of Idar's policy towards refugees, nor did they know where to find food for the refugees or the direction of the town.
so……
Even though they arrived on the land of the Principality of Idar, they still lost their lives.
It was for this reason that Old Ford paid special attention to the sanitary conditions in Valens!
Exposed corpses could breed plague, and a dirty and poor sanitary environment could also lead to the spread of the disease. Under Bruno's influence, this view had long become a consensus throughout the Principality of Idar.
Therefore, old Ford divided the city of Valence into countless communities, and established a complete grassroots administrative management system in each community.
And that's not all. In order to motivate grassroots civil servants, old Ford, under Bruno's guidance, took the lead in introducing the first "health evaluation" system of the Principality of Idar in the city of Valence.
Each community in the city of Valence undergoes a random hygiene assessment every month, with a dedicated person responsible for checking the hygiene conditions of each community.
Including but not limited to various garbage, human and livestock excrement, and stinking ditches formed near the depressions...
On the premise that the basic scores are the same, every time a similar error or problem is found, points will be deducted from the community, and after statistics and sorting, a monthly evaluation list will be drawn up.
The communities that rank at the top will be praised, and when they have achieved a certain number of top rankings, the communities with outstanding performance may even receive the "Spiritual Civilization Award" approved by Duke Bruno of Idar at the end of the year! If you win the "Spiritual Civilization Award", it is not just an honor. All staff of the winning community can even receive bonus incentives! Since the communities that rank at the top can be commended and rewarded, the communities that rank at the bottom will naturally be questioned.
Every time a community ranks last in the sanitation evaluation, it will receive a good beating from old Ford. If it repeatedly ranks low, the name of the community will even be published in the "Reference News" issued internally by civil servants, and "show off" in front of all Idar civil servants.
It is also under the supervision of the "Health Evaluation" system that each community in Valence pays special attention to the sanitation conditions in the city.
Some communities even hired a number of elderly men and women who were too old to work in the fields at the price of a copper coin a day to wander around the community all day and search for garbage on the streets. This was considered creating jobs and improving people's lives.
As for the phenomenon of internal circulation among communities, old Ford naturally welcomes it.
after all……
The harder the civil servants work, the cleaner and tidier the city of Valens will look like, and the smaller the possibility of an epidemic will be.
It was also with the assistance of various communities and the orderly governance of old Ford that the lives of civilians, which had been shattered by the impact of the war, gradually returned to an unprecedentedly orderly state.
But at this moment, in the Valence Government Hall temporarily built in the center of Valence City, old Ford frowned slightly.
indeed,
The people living on this land live and work in peace and contentment, have enough food and warm clothing, and both their living environment and living standards are many times better than before.
But as the political official who now manages the Valens Plains, old Ford has long been aware of the dark side hidden beneath this prosperous scene.
The Principality of Idar took over this vast territory and countless homeless refugees, but at the same time, it also took over the "pests" living on this land.
The invasion of the Odin people turned all the people living on this land into homeless wanderers.
Among them are farmers who have made a living by farming for generations, vendors who hawk their wares along the road, serfs who once served the nobles, but at the same time there are also ruffians hiding in the streets and alleys, and thieves and bandits who rob and loot.
Just like when a sandstorm comes, whether it is a ferocious wolf or a weak sheep, they have to hide in the same shelter, waiting for the disaster to go away.
As the Odin people retreated like a tide, the Idar people took over the land, and the "insects" hiding in the dark corners began to gradually surface.
A year ago, Bruno took advantage of the census to catch all the thugs active in the city of Idar.
But compared to the former Idar Territory, the Valens Plain not only has a larger land area, but also has a larger population.
So…old Ford has been waiting.
He was waiting for those gangsters who could not bear the loneliness to surface, waiting for the criminal network hidden behind the scenes to be uncovered by the agents of the Idar CIA, and even waiting for the Idar Public Security Bureau to compile a detailed list of suspects.
Because according to Old Ford's investigation, the evil forces hidden in the Valens Plain are not just collecting protection fees! Under the protection of the former nobles, there is a huge human trafficking network hidden in the Valens Plain!
They would kidnap civilians who had been living in peace and contentment, brand them with slave marks, and use caravans to sell these innocent civilians to the inland of the empire to become serfs under the nobles.
Although such criminal networks are small potatoes compared to those in the western part of the empire.
But the Principality of Idar under the rule of the Stuart family will never condone the rise of human trafficking! The reason why Old Ford has been patient for so long is that he wants to uproot this criminal network hidden in the Principality of Idar and completely eliminate this cancer left on this land!
"Regarding those hooligans active in the corners of the city... When will the joint investigation between the CIA and the Public Security Bureau produce a list?!"
Flipping through the reports submitted by his men, old Ford's voice sounded a little depressed.
Two months!
In the two months since Idar's citizen ID cards became more common, 27 civilians have disappeared without a trace! Seven civilians have died!
If it weren't for the need to get rid of these insects hiding in the corners once and for all, Old Ford would have mobilized Idar soldiers to kill all those rats.
As a time traveler, Bruno absolutely cannot tolerate the crime of human trafficking occurring in his territory.
Therefore, in order to support Old Ford's operation, Bruno not only dispatched the most capable Idar police officers, but also ordered the Idar Central Intelligence Agency and the Idar Public Security Bureau to form a joint investigation team. Under the leadership of Old Ford, they dug deep into this evil criminal organization! If it were a normal day, the Idar agent standing by would probably feel extremely nervous.
But this time...
The Idar agent looked directly into Old Ford's eyes and said affirmatively:
"Reporting to Lord Ford, we have already grasped the clear and conclusive chain of interests and have found out the slave trading group headed by 'Black Rat' Sarada. We are just waiting for your order to uproot these people!"
On the 90th anniversary of the "September 18th Incident", we must not forget the national humiliation and let the alarm bell continue to ring.
(End of this chapter)
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