Chapter 367: The First Step of Building a City

When Pei Luo stepped out of the cabin, he didn't smell the expected rotten smell of wood. The trestle beside the ship was obviously newly built. The original old pier was more than doubled in size, and there was no creaking sound when he stepped on it. It's a reassuring sound of thumping—obviously, the joints between the planks are very strong, and the materials are quite thick.

After walking down the pier, several guards in uniform came over immediately. The leader looked at the family crest hanging on the mast of Lionheart, "Excuse me, are you... Lord Hermon of the Honeysuckle family?"

"Yes," Pei Luo nodded, and such an inquiry made him very useful, "I am Pei Luo Hermon, and I am here at the invitation of His Highness."

"Master Iron Ax has already told us, please follow me," the guard gestured.

"Walking?" He was slightly taken aback.

"Yes, the stables have been demolished," the other party smiled embarrassedly, "Don't worry, the roads in the town are easy to walk."

Pei Luo quickly understood what the guards meant by "easy to go".

The dark street is flat and spacious, the snow on it has been swept away, not even much water can be seen - the road surface seems to be made of many black stones, with small gaps in the middle, passing After soaking in water, it looks smooth and translucent. And what surprised him was that there was more than one such road. Every hundred steps or so, you could see a straight and criss-crossing fork, which was as regular as a square drawn with a pen. After walking for half an hour, I didn't see a muddy place.

Pei Luo was surprised to find that the town no longer corresponded to what he remembered.

"My lord, is this really... Border Town?" Seth looked around with his eyes wide open, "Didn't it mean that this place is just a temporary residence set up for mining?"

"It was true in the past," the guard continued with a smile, "but since His Highness came down, everything has changed. For example, the roads in the town were built half a year ago. During that time, thousands of People are busy, and one can be built in almost a month."

Pedro noticed that there was an undisguised pride in his tone, as if he was proud of being a member of the town.

But... this is too incredible! On both sides of the street were evenly spaced trees, and he could imagine the scene when the lush leaves shaded the scorching sun in summer; then the houses—the low mud houses and the dilapidated wooden hotels were gone, There are sharp-edged brick houses all around, each with two to three floors, almost identical in style, obviously built by the same group of masons.

How could he transform a barren town into this in one year!

Surprised and puzzled, Pei Luo followed the guards into the castle area, and the guide was replaced by a knight in armor, while all his attendants were left outside the wall.

It wasn't until he stepped into the lord's castle that Pei Luo found the feeling he had a year ago.

There doesn't seem to be much change here. Compared with the fortress of the Duke of Fortress, the prince's castle is obviously much smaller.

The knight pushed open the door of the living room and made a gesture of invitation. He soon saw the prince sitting on the main seat.

His Royal Highness Roland Wimbledon.

"Welcome to Border Town," Roland said with a smile, "Mr. Ambassador. "

It seemed that His Highness hadn't changed much, and Pei Luo was inexplicably relieved. He raised his hand to touch his chest, and saluted respectfully, "The Honeysuckle family salutes you, Your Highness."

"Sit down," the other party nodded, "I called you here because of a very important event. This matter concerns the future of the entire western region, including Longsong Fortress naturally."

"Please tell me."

"I plan to build a city here. The city range extends from Misty Forest in the west to Fortress Longsong in the east, covering half of the western territory. At that time, the fortress will exist as a stronghold to the east of the new city, and it will also be the first place to face the church army. A line of defense, not an independent city like now." Roland stated methodically, "In this vast territory, the same law must be enforced, and they must accept the management of the New City City Hall. No nobles can intervene in the city The affairs of the five families in the Western Region are no exception."

Pei Luo only felt a sudden shock in his heart! A year ago, he also had this idea - let Duke Ryan move the line of defense against evil beasts to Border Town, and at the same time use the land between the two places. But unexpectedly, the prince adopted this method a year later, and the method was more thorough than he imagined. Turn Longsong Fortress into a part of a city? Just by imagining it, you can understand how amazing the scale of this city will be!

He subconsciously wanted to raise doubts, but swallowed the words just as they reached his lips - since His Highness told himself this matter, he has undoubtedly made a decision, and now no one can stop him from carrying out this plan.

Pei Luo never thought of resisting the prince at all... The fiasco of the Duke of Lane gave him too strong an impression. He even felt that the gray-haired man could not be defeated, at least... he could not be defeated by himself. Then the only thing you can do is to seek your own interests in this huge change.

"You said that the Five Great Families cannot intervene in the affairs of the city, so how can Honeysuckle work for you?"

The prince was silent for a while, until Pei Luo felt a little uneasy, he chuckled, "You really surprised me, Mr. Ambassador, whether it was the proposal to redeem the fortress to me before, or the positive attitude shown now , are wise decisions rarely seen in nobles.”

After sighing, he restrained his smile and said seriously, "As long as the Honeysuckle family is willing to accept my governance, you can continue to assist me in managing the Changge area."

"Whether it's me or my father, I have always obeyed your will—"

"I'm not talking about an individual, but a territory." Roland interrupted, "From now on, the nobles who accept my protection will only have the ownership of the territory, but not the right to govern the territory—whether it's laws, law enforcement, or other policies. The decree issued by the city hall shall prevail."

"This..." Pei Luo hesitated.

"The territory can be inherited from generation to generation. Just like the title, your family can also operate farmland, workshops or other businesses. These industries, together with the land, belong to the honeysuckle family and will not be violated by others-this is also my The blessing of the promise. Except for the right to govern, the land you own has not changed in any way, and even under the stimulation of the new policy, it will develop more prosperously." The prince continued, "Of course, you can also choose to return to your own land. Then I will be a feudal nobleman in the traditional sense. But when I complete the expansion of the new city and expand outward, the occupied area no longer belongs to its original owner.”

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