Infrastructure Throne

In the midsummer afternoon, the sound of cicadas makes people drowsy.

Moon City, the meeting hall of the City Lord's Mansion.

Also hanging on the wall is a topographic map of the Northland, made of thick kraft paper. The length and width are less than five meters. The lines on the map are rough, and only the general trend of mountains, rivers, and surrounding cities with names are marked. , the fineness is better than the maps produced by Shen Qingze's system, and the quality is as good as heaven and earth.

Such a map had already been drawn by Moon City after spending a huge bounty on it for a year, and the level of detail was far higher than the maps of other cities.

At the long table covered with white tablecloths, representatives of nobles from various cities sat down in order according to the size and strength of the cities. As the initiator, Moon City naturally ranked first.

Listening to City Lord Moon chattering about the mutual reduction of tax rates between the cities, and asking the cities to share the manpower and material costs of blocking Beiyuan on the grounds of jointly resisting Beiyuan Kingdom, the nobles of other cities turned off their appetites. ——

Who doesn't know that after Beiyuan was blocked, Moon City has now become the number one supplier in Beidi?If you sell me ten copies, I will only sell you one. The lower tax rate will naturally benefit the other party.

When it's time to take risks, all cities are required to share the cost equally!Shameless!

The members of the alliance looked at me on behalf of you, and I looked at you, all showing bored colors.

The nobles of Moon City have been very comfortable recently.

Since the Alliance of Northern Cities and the two empires of the East and the West reached a tacit agreement to jointly impose a high-pressure blockade on the emerging Beiyuan Kingdom, the products produced by Beiyuan can no longer enter the major cities of the Northland through normal channels on a large scale.

Only some of them flow into the black market, where they are speculated at high prices, and the black market is firmly controlled by the nobles, and all the profits they grab flow into their pockets in the end.

What makes Moon City Lord very excited is that after the snake venom battle in Mingzhu City, the economy and trade have been hit hard. The big businessmen are worried that the snake venom will recur again, and their enthusiasm for doing business in Mingzhu City is no longer what it used to be.

Coupled with the fact that His Majesty Beiyuan forcibly abolished the slave trade for no reason and did not allow the trading of orc slaves, the economic pillar of Mingzhu City was cut in half at once, which made things worse.

If Beiyuan Kingdom had not been blocked, Mingzhu City would be backed by the economically developed Yuanliu City, and sooner or later it would be able to restore its former prosperity. Unfortunately, all of this was cut off by the arrogant Beiyuan King.

Without the two strong competitors of Mingzhu and Yuanliu, Moon City also relied on the title of the initiator of the Zhucheng Alliance to get the support and assistance of the two empires, and it was logical that it rose from the second place in the North to the "No. [-]" in the North.

The nobles of Moon City made a lot of money, and they seemed to be the top of the northern cities. They were proud of themselves, and they became arrogant when they called the nobles of other cities to discuss their affairs.

Regarding this, the other members of the Zhucheng Alliance are slandering in their hearts, but they are not strong enough, and they are not as rich as others, so there is no other way but to rely on their breath.

Except for Moon City, among the members, no one looks down on anyone, and no one submits to anyone. If there is not the powerful enemy of Beiyuan Nation, and the secret support of the two empires, the Zhucheng Alliance may have fallen apart long ago. up.

Although there are various conflicts of interest, in order to maintain the ruling power of the nobles, the cities in the north are still holding their noses and reluctantly sitting on the same boat. The boat capsizes, which is not good for everyone.

Just when everyone was fighting for money and tax rates, their faces were red and their ears were red, and they almost slapped the table and threw chairs, a servant hurriedly sent the latest information about Beiyuan Kingdom——

"... His Majesty the monarch seems to have made a big move. Our spies hidden in Yuanliu City reported that some strange iron boats were launched on the Chiyuan River recently. They looked like rectangular thick iron plates with gray on the stern Thick black smoke, accompanied by loud noises, is constantly coming and going on both sides of the Chiyuan River..."

The nobles looked at each other in blank dismay, more sneers than doubts: "What kind of joke is this? Can iron float on water? Is there still smoke?"

City Lord Moon frowned. The more hostile he was to such a powerful opponent as Beiyuan Nation, the more frightened he was by the unimaginable methods displayed by the other party. This information seemed absurd, but it was a major event that Beiyuan Nation did in the past , Which one is not "ridiculous"?

"Go ahead." City Master Moon knocked on the table, suppressed the messy discussion, and ordered.

"...Those iron boats seem to be carrying a lot of bulky cargo. We spent a lot of time and money to barely get a glimpse of it."

"Those goods are all painted with black paint, black iron bumps, composed of many iron wheels, mechanical iron arms, and thick chains. There is a wooden cabin on it, and the windows are opened. People can sit in the cabin. , there is also a "chimney" that is neither high nor low behind the house, which looks bulky and has a strange and complicated shape..."

Hearing that people could sit inside these steels, the faces of the nobles changed slightly: "What is this for? Is it a weapon for siege? Is Beiyuan Kingdom officially declaring war on us?"

The shadow of war suddenly fell, and everyone's faces were extremely ugly. Only City Master Moon coughed heavily: "What are you panicking about? Behind us are the Mansi Allies and the Great Xia Kingdom. If the Beiyuan Kingdom wants to declare war openly, it means declaring war on the two empires. They will be the ones who will die!"

The nobles were temporarily appeased by these words, barely maintaining their dignity, and the meeting hall became more and more quiet, only the voice of the attendant reading the information echoed:

"According to the path of these iron cargo ships, they will go south along the tributary of the Chiyuan River, and their destination is likely to be Moon City..."

As soon as these words came out, City Master Moon's face suddenly turned pale, and his voice visibly trembled: "Check! Find out what they want to do!"

The attendant hurriedly dug out the remaining information and read them one by one:

"...In addition to this flat iron ship, traces of other types of iron ships have also been found on the Chiyuan River. Their shape is similar to that of a high-mast wooden sailing ship, with a larger body and more cabins."

"There are windows on both sides of the ship's side, but no oars are inserted into the bottom of the water. There are constantly rotating blades at the tail. The most important thing is that there are a lot of orcs in addition to humans!"

With a buzz, the entire conference hall was almost overturned by screams!

The frequent plundering and even large-scale animal swarms of the orcs to the north had long cast a deep shadow of fear in the cities of the north. Hearing the news that a large number of orcs were going south, the nobles subconsciously wanted to escape.

But the only Pearl City in the North that can protect them has become the territory of Beiyuan Kingdom, who can protect them?

"Damn Shen Qingze, as a human race, he actually joins forces with the orcs in the Grand Canyon! What does he want to do? Allow the beast slaves to invade us?"

"I heard that Beiyuan Kingdom carved out a large territory on the edge of the Grand Canyon, absorbed many small and medium tribes, and made them slaves to Beiyuan. Is it true?"

"Then why did the King of Beiyuan ban slavery? Can he digest and feed so many slaves by himself?"

"In any case, it's terrible that Beiyuan can send beast slaves south! We should immediately send a warning to the two empires and let them send troops to destroy Beiyuan!"

Just when the nobles were filled with righteous indignation to cover up their anxiety, the Lord of the Moon City said calmly: "Don't panic, we still have time to prepare, it will take at least a month for them to come by water..."

Before the words fell, the servant said with a mournful face: "Reporting to Lord City Master, those iron boats travel extremely fast, and they never stop at night. Our information was sent many days ago. At this time, I am afraid that Beiyuan's iron boats are about to die. Arrived at our Moon City!"

City Lord Moon's eyes darkened, and his face was livid: "Why didn't you say it earlier!"

※※※

Moon City is built near the water, and the city gate wharf runs through a river from north to south. It is a tributary of the Chiyuan River.

When they learned that Beiyuan's "steel" fleet was about to approach Moon City, the defenders in the city seemed to be approaching a big enemy. Archers were on standby day and night on the top of the city, and the whole city was in panic all day long.

The other nobles of the Zhucheng Alliance made excuses to flee, but it was better to come early than coincidentally.

The next day, a fleet of steel ships flying the black gold flag of Beiyuan appeared far above the Moon River. The towering flags fluttered in the wind, as if mocking the fake "blockade" of the Zhucheng Alliance.

The scorching sun scorched the city wall and the river surface, and every soldier and officer on the city head looked at the steel steam ship approaching with trepidation.

Compared with that huge figure, the sailboats with masts on the river are like three-year-old children, trembling in the turbulent waves, as if they are about to be smashed to pieces at any time.

The boatmen hired by the nobles were forced to explain why steel can float on the water and can also be used to build boats. The craftsmen faltered and mumbled. They had dealt with boats for half their lives, and they had never heard of iron boats. This is the case!

The long steel fleet braved the wind and waves, carrying a large number of steel machinery, craftsmen and orcs, swaggering past the gate of Moon City. The latter closed the city gate tightly, and soldiers densely packed the city wall, and the atmosphere did not dare to take a breath.

Occasionally, an archer who was too nervous couldn't help but let go of the bowstring. The sporadic arrows rushed towards the fleet in a parabolic trajectory, scratched the black iron ship's side a few times, and then fell weakly into the river. The soldiers on the top of the city became more and more desperate!

The imaginary landing strike did not come, and Beiyuan Kingdom's fleet turned a blind eye to Moon City, and sailed along the river without any intention of slowing down and stopping the ship.

The officers of Moon City looked at each other in blank dismay, completely ignorant of what kind of medicine was sold in Beiyuan Country's gourd.

Soon, new information was presented to the long table in the council hall of the City Lord's Mansion—the fleet docked in a wasteland by Moon Lake!

There are no cities nearby, only some scattered small villages, and further south is a plain from high to low, all of which are uninhabited, and more than a hundred kilometers to the south, you will reach the famous inland lake in the middle of the mainland—Pearl Lake.

The nobles of Moon City became more and more puzzled. There was clearly no road ahead. Could it be that the steel fleet of Beiyuan Kingdom could be amphibious and drive on land as a carriage?

After a week of surveying and selecting the excavation route, the craftsmen, engineers, and orcs in the neutral zone started work one after another. The iron and steel machinery was transported one by one to the edge of Moon Lake.

With the roar of dozens of steam excavators resounding across the lake, the excavation work in full swing officially kicked off!

In addition to the briquettes transported from Abyss City, charcoal can be burned from nearby wilderness forests. The craftsmen skillfully manipulated the shovel of the steam excavator, and with the help of the mechanical arm and the pulley, they easily dug up the soil. .

You only need to push the mechanical lever slightly, and the hard and huge steel shovel of the excavator can shovel out the results of ten workers working for an hour in just a few strokes. There are three shifts day and night, and the machinery is non-stop. Start, at least nearly one kilometer can be excavated a day.

The shortest distance between Pearl Lake and Moon Lake is as long as [-] kilometers. Theoretically, it only takes three to four months to complete the initial breakthrough. Counting the transportation of materials and widening the river, the project can be completed in no more than half a year.

Technical work such as prospecting, site selection, and excavation are all done by craftsmen and engineers, and all other transportation and physical chores and safety guarantees are handed over to the orcs recruited from the neutral zone.

Most of these orc tribes were small and medium-sized tribes who suffered oppression in the Grand Canyon and struggled to survive. They were greedy for the life of working in the neutral zone and getting enough to eat, so they wanted to migrate to the neutral zone.

Although Shen Qingze abolished slavery, in the orc neutral zone on the other side of the Chiyuan River, the tribe wanted to enjoy Beiyuan Kingdom's protection, so they could only work as cheap wage earners for His Majesty the Beiyuan Kingdom.

Apart from the defeated Teng Snake, Silver Lion, and Flying Luan, the first tribe that successfully migrated without being defeated in battle was the goblin orcs.

With their outstanding racial talent, and the two young patriarch brothers who are high-ranking officials in Yuanliu City, the goblin orcs have successfully lifted out of poverty in the neutral zone and become the wealthiest class among them.

※※※

Upon receiving the news that Beiyuan Kingdom's menacing fleet was actually digging a canal by the Moon Lake, the expressions on the faces of the nobles of Moon City can be described as wonderful.

Originally thought that Beiyuan Nation was going to take Moon City and officially declare war, but it was just a false alarm. The nobles who survived the catastrophe toasted at the dinner in the city lord's mansion, laughing loudly at Beiyuan Nation's cowardice and stupidity.

"That monarch must be a real lunatic! Can you imagine? Those wolf-like beast slaves are now digging ditches in the mud by the lake!"

"They said they were going to dig all the way to Pearl Lake!"

"They also said that they want to build a steel bridge across the Chiyuan River, so that the neutral zone of the beast slaves on the other side can be completely connected with Beiyuan territory!"

A nobleman opened his arms, and his exaggerated body language made everyone laugh: "Beiyuan Kingdom has a lunatic monarch and a group of lunatic citizens. I think they will all become craftsmen in the future."

City Lord Moon sat on the high throne, watching this group of mobs laughing coldly at Beiyuan Kingdom's crazy actions.

After a while, he said in a deep voice, "What if they really dig through it? Since they can launch a big steel ship, why can't they build a steel bridge on the Chiyuan River?"

Everyone's laughter stopped abruptly, and they looked at him in bewilderment.

City Lord Moon closed his eyes wearily: "At that time, we will face something truly terrifying..."

The nobles asked dryly: "My lord, do you want to...?"

City Lord Moon said viciously: "We can't let the other party easily divert the river under our noses!"

"Their fleet is guarded by beast slaves." The nobles were a little frightened: "Are you planning to go out of the city to attack those beastmen?"

"Of course not!" City Master Moon said sadly, "Whether it's human or animal slaves, eat and drink, and cut off their food supply! They will naturally retreat!"