Finally, we saw the tall and majestic city wall of the Dark City again. We haven’t seen it for half a year. The main project of the Dark City should be almost completed!
A team of light cavalry escorted us as we entered through the wide city gate and stepped onto the road paved with bluestone slabs.
The flat and straight streets were lined with beautiful and tall trees, followed by two- or three-story buildings. Between the trees and buildings stood cheering Dark City residents. Humans threw flowers to us, and dwarf children danced neatly.
Following their barbarian dance passed down from ancient times, the orcs beat their chests with their fists and howled loudly, and there were also a very small number of vampires who showed their fangs when they smiled...
"Boom-bang!"
The elves flicked their fingers, and each ultra-small gorgeous magic ball flew into the sky above the street and exploded, emitting colorful colors. Some magic balls accidentally missed and passed over our heads and flew beside the winged man flying high.
Exploding, the wingmen, who are playful by nature, pretended to be playful and fell from the sky and then flew up again, causing everyone to burst into good-natured laughter...
They are not welcoming the blessed knights, nor are they welcoming the noble lords, nor are they welcoming the governor-general... They are just welcoming friends.
"Cohen! Fichet!"
"Fichet! Cohen!"
I'm really glad that they are willing to call us by our names. In fact, many foreigners would rather call you Sir than call you by name directly. Calling them by their first names is how they usually call their closest people.
When we stepped onto the steps of the Governor's Palace, an official from the city hall walked to the middle of the street and said loudly: "Dear citizens, Your Highness and the Governor have been tired from a long journey and have a lot of official business to deal with when they return to the palace. Please leave!"
"
The citizens dispersed with laughter. These people, who were usually described in the temple documents as "foolish people who would not give in even if they fought with swords" and "slugs that stank all over and have no sense of shame" were waving to us with smiles.
.
I am very pleased that a provincial governor has achieved such a level. I see citizens of all ethnic groups treating me sincerely as if they were their own relatives... Even though I may have to pay more for them in the future, I have no regrets.
!
I turned around and faced the gate. The soldiers guarding the gate shouted in unison: "Hello, Your Highness! Hello, Governor!"
I nodded to the soldier with a smile, and took bold steps towards the door of the mansion, when someone behind me spoke - very loudly.
"can not be like this!"
My scalp is numb.
"Your Highness, please." Lorenzo, an old bastard, bowed to Fichet and said slowly: "As a senior official, you must respond clearly and competently to the greetings and salutes of your subordinates. Absolutely
Don't do it perfunctorily! This is the basic common sense of etiquette that a noble should have."
Do you know why my scalp is numb? This old bastard has been pointing fingers at me since I started on the road... He is not satisfied with my words, my behavior, and everything about me!
To be honest, I have been mentally prepared for this since Fichet decided to take him in. I also admit that he is indeed a talent, and one that the province is currently lacking. But... this does not mean that I have to endure it.
All of him.
He just told me what to do, and what was annoying was that he never said it clearly to me. Usually when I said or did something he thought was inappropriate, he would very solemnly tell someone around me——
No matter who it is, whoever has the most senior official will pick whoever he is and point out my mistakes unceremoniously... This makes me very embarrassed! Now, even the officers around me look at me with pity in their eyes.
I asked Fichet why that old bastard Lorenzo didn't tell me these things directly. In that case, I would feel much better than now.
Fichet answered me with a smile: "I have already asked for you. The dean said that he has sworn not to say a word to you since the Holy Capital Palace incident. As a noble gentleman, he must abide by his oath...
"
I'm at a loss...
If I don't respond to his words, he will keep saying it over and over again. When no one is around, he will shout to the sky, "God of Light..." and then keep talking...
Even if you want to hit the wall and commit suicide, you won't stop talking until you make changes that satisfy him.
"Hello!" I raised my right hand across my chest and strode into the Governor's Mansion. The lightness in my heart had disappeared, and all I could think about was how to put him in a cage as soon as possible for everyone to watch.
The brothers and officials behind him were cautious and returned the salute to the guards at the door one by one before daring to enter.
Because we had never entered the Governor's Mansion, the vampire tribesman Kenan, Weisha's brother, the construction director of the Dark City, accompanied us and gave us a detailed introduction.
The recently completed Governor's Palace has a very simple style, smooth and natural lines, without any unnecessary decoration. After entering the gate, there is a small square, with the three-story former parliament building facing the gate. This is where officials from various departments of the city hall handle government affairs.
In this place, for various reasons, their deputies work in the city hall separated by a wall. There are many passages connecting the Governor's Palace and the city hall.
With the Governor's Palace and the City Hall as the center, they are quite tightly guarded by both open and hidden sentries.
Thirty meters behind the former council building is the small council building, which is where the governor handles government affairs. Although it is smaller than the previous one, it is by far the tallest building in the Dark City, with a total of six floors. According to Kennan,
Standing on the top floor you can have a panoramic view of the whole city.
Further behind is a large garden. The garden and the wall divide the entire Governor's Palace into two parts, the front and rear. The building behind is of course where I live.
As soon as I walked through the garden, I saw three dignified beauties standing in front of the backyard waiting for me. The one with outstanding grace was Philly Rona; the one on the left was Kelly Lorna, who was extremely gorgeous; and the one on the right was as tender as water.
Of course, one of them is Winsley!
"Dear." I chuckled and stretched out my hands to them: "I'm back..."
"Oh? You still know how to come back?" Feilin glanced at me with a smile and asked me in a low voice: "My Lord Governor, do you know which direction the gate of our Governor's Mansion faces?"
"Uh..." I couldn't answer, I really didn't pay attention!
"It's facing the south." Wen Sili pursed her lips and smiled: "Look at you, you are still so careless."
"Yes!" I chuckled: "Facing south!"
"Humph! If it wasn't sister Wensley who told you, would you know?" Kelly's eyes bulged and she became even cuter: "Were you having too much fun outside? You forgot about us all!"
"No! Absolutely not!" I pointed to the sky and put my hand on my chest and said to my wives: "I also brought you a very special gift, which cannot be bought in the market in the entire mainland!"
"Okay, okay." Fishette quickly caught up behind him: "I prove that Cohen has been working hard these days and has never done anything to regret everyone..."
"Yes!" I quickly answered: "Let's go in..."
Seeing the three wives smiling and turning around, suddenly there was another loud roar from behind!
"can not be like this!"
My scalp was numb again, and my fists made a "clucking" sound.
"Ha, ha ha..." Even Fichet was very embarrassed this time: "I, let me introduce to you, this old gentleman is the new dean of the Dark Province Academy - Mr. Lorenzo, and the person next to him is
His wife and children."
"Lorenzo?" My wives were stunned, but Kelly responded quickly and immediately asked suspiciously: "Is that the old gangster from the Holy Capital College...the old dean?"
This is no wonder Kelly, because when we were together, we always called Lorenzo "old bastard". Fortunately, Kelly was still very quick-thinking and didn't say the word "old bastard", otherwise the atmosphere would have been even more awkward.
.
"Hello, ladies!" Lorenzo stepped forward and saluted my three ladies. The solemnity of the salute made me feel sad: "I am Lorenzo from the Holy Capital College, and I am here under the order of His Highness the Prince.
We have established a new college in the Dark Province, and there will be many places where we need to trouble the three ladies in the future!"
"Really..." Even Feilin, who is very independent, was caught off guard by this situation: "Then..."
"Three distinguished ladies! I think." Lorenzo coughed dryly and took action: "The first thing a senior official should do when he returns to the territory is to handle government affairs instead of reuniting with his family first. This is what an imperial official should do
Basic dutiful ethics. What do the three ladies think?"
"Yes, but..."
"Three ladies, please come back!" Lorenzo, the bastard, continued: "Putting public affairs before private matters is a matter of course."
The three wives looked at me helplessly, said goodbye to everyone, and turned around to leave. Feline even dragged Lorenzo's wife away with her... Oh my god! No one will take me in later, and I will get lost in my own home!
Helpless, helpless...
A group of us boarded the small meeting building and began to deal with the government affairs that had accumulated since we left. Officials from various ministries and departments rushed back and forth, piling a large number of official documents that required my personal decision-making onto my desk.
Even though my dark province has only been established recently, there are a lot of things going on. In the six months since we left, a large number of landless and moneyless refugees have either moved in in groups or scattered from all over the empire.
, the population of all ethnic groups is constantly rising. According to the latest statistics, the total population of the province is close to three million, which is much faster than the empire's originally expected population migration rate.
Speaking of which, my luck is really good. If I hadn't started building dozens of surrounding small towns in the early stages of the construction of Dark City, so many people would have squeezed a big hole into Dark City without doing anything!
Now, my city hall has entered into normal operation. All ministries and departments work together, with dozens of towns evenly distributed in the dark province as fulcrums, and many small and large villages have been established around them to resettle refugees. To put it bluntly,
The survivability of these refugees is really extraordinary. As long as you give them a piece of land and enough food to survive before food production, without much help... If you look again after three or five days, a small hut has appeared, and a family has appeared.
People happily work hard on their own land.
Because of the relationship between tradition and custom, I issued an order to divide several major alien settlements into separate areas, and no more refugees will be allowed to enter, so as to fundamentally avoid large-scale conflicts such as fighting for land and water.
This type of conflict is very common among refugees and is generally not difficult to resolve, but when mixed with ethnic fighting, it becomes difficult to control.
"Sir Governor, no matter how large the population is, everyone must have food to eat." An official came to me and reported: "But from now until the spring plowing in the new year, and until the second harvest in late summer, our people can
Self-sufficient. The previous harvest could not satisfy everyone's stomach due to the impact of too many people... What should we do?"
Fichet frowned and grasped the crux of the problem: "How long can we sustain it before we figure out a way?"
"The grain reserves we issued can last for more than half a month. Save some for a month." The official immediately reported a series of figures: "They were all shipped from the Dark Moon and the Holy City last time. In addition, we also ask the residents to
They try their best to find food by themselves... However, the residents don't have many choices. Those who can hunt have almost killed the animals to extinction. In addition, there are also those who dig wild vegetables, and they have dug holes everywhere in the fields..."
"Fishing and hunting should be moderate... we can't kill them all! Let's do this! You first divide the area that needs assistance into two." Rubbing my poor head desperately, I wanted to come up with a better plan: "Zone the area near the Dark Moon border."
One piece is divided into another piece near Wanpu. Immediately make a list and repair the road, waiting for my order!"
"yes!"
"Go down! Don't worry." I tapped the table with my fingers: "I will transfer food from Dark Moon right away. In addition, Wanpu merchants also have a large amount of food in stock, which should be enough."
"That's great! Thank you Governor!"
Not in the mood to pay attention to him, I waved my hand and told him to get lost.
"Report to the Governor!" It was another official's turn to come over: "I have a problem."
"Speak!" I nodded to him, no matter what the problem was, just give me all the damn questions!
"It's like this." It seemed that the official had been preparing for a long time and spoke in a very orderly manner: "You know, we have built too many villages. We can't find the manpower to manage these villages at the moment. At present, even the villages
The mayors are voluntarily elected by the residents. We are very worried that if this continues, it will be difficult for the city hall to effectively manage them, and we cannot rule out the possibility of enemies taking advantage of this opportunity to infiltrate the management agency on a large scale."
"What's the response from City Hall?" Fischette asked.
"It can be said that we are currently at a loss. Although we are at the village chief level, we cannot be careless. They are the most basic management level in the province." The official who reported the report spread his hands and said: "The first batch of students in the school must at least learn a few things.
It takes a year and a half before they can be used. Even the few reserve officials trained by each agency themselves will only have basic management capabilities after half a year..."
"I know, be quiet!" I stood up and walked back and forth in the room: "Let me think about it."
"Record the order." I nodded to the recorder beside me. The recorder immediately put the quill dipped in ink on the paper and looked up at me.
"The chief executives of all towns and villages in the Dark Province are directly appointed by Governor Cohen Keda. The city hall does not recognize any privately elected managers and institutions, and any dark resident has the right to refuse their deployment. This is
Such persons and institutions can only temporarily assume a coordination role without the right to issue any orders, and must stop all activities immediately after the formal officials arrive! Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished by deportation or even death! This order
, Governor of the Dark Province, Korn Keda!”
When I issued the order word by word, Fischette stood next to the recorder and revised my words sentence by sentence. My original meaning was not changed, but the grammar was changed to be both rigorous and formal yet easy to understand.
I took a look at his revised order and was very satisfied.
"Distribute it immediately, but it can only be posted in towns, not villages!" I turned around and told the officials in charge: "In this case, no matter who these village chief-level guys are, they can help us take care of it for a while.
The time... When the time comes, I will disown them all! I will remove them all and their cronies, move them to another place, and will not be able to hold office for three generations! Come with me and do this... Bah!"
"This..." An official hesitated to speak.
"It doesn't matter." I smiled at him and said, "You are not this kind of person. If you have any questions, just ask."
"Yes, Lord Governor." He said: "What you are doing...isn't it a bit unfair? They help us manage the residents and ask for nothing. It's okay to remove them for various reasons. Why do they need to move to another place?"
Where else could it be so excessive?"
"I'm glad you are willing to use your brain, but just as you think, there are only two types of people who want to be officials at this time. One type is people who really don't ask for anything and want to help everyone, and the other type is of course
They are the enemies we are worried about." I smiled happily: "The former kind of people... I thank them, but they don't ask for anything, neither money nor official positions. There is nothing wrong with me treating them this way.
.The second type of people! Once discovered, they will be killed without mercy; for those who are not discovered, this is enough to treat them leniently. Do you understand?"
"Ming...understood!"
"Then do you know how to be an official?" After handling the last government affairs, I was very relaxed and didn't mind making a little joke in front of my subordinates.
"I don't understand!" He looked confused, and all the officials were confused. They thought that such a complicated matter as being an official could be explained in just one or two sentences.
"I tell you, no matter how old an official is, he is still a human being, and his brain cannot be smarter than yours. In fact, there are many officials who are not as smart as you, and their vision is not as broad as yours. But that is not the point." I stood up.
Come and put the clothes I just took off back on: "What matters is the way he does things! Some people do the same thing and cause complaints, while others just do it without leaking. This is the point!"
"Is there more?" An official grabbed me in desperation. As soon as I looked at him, he immediately let go: "I'm sorry, Mr. Governor!"
"There's more! That's..." I suddenly remembered what I taught the priest to deceive in the temple bathroom: "There's also extreme loyalty, benevolence, dedication and morality!"
After saying that, I took Fichet downstairs and walked to the backyard.
Based on intuition, and of course the guidance of the maids, Fichet and I came to the small living room in the backyard.
"Wait a minute!" Fichet grabbed me: "I almost forgot that your ladies seem to be discussing issues with Dean Lorenzo."
"How do you know?" I asked him: "Why is that old bastard missing? Are they trying to kill him?"
"What a beautiful idea you have! It was Kelly who called the dean away while we were dealing with government affairs. You didn't notice."
Fichet lowered his voice: "What should we do? Maybe they are signing an important agreement with the dean to deal with you..."
"Let's go take a look." I was frightened: "Sneak close and don't make a sound!"
Fichet and I knelt down, slowly sneaked to a window in the small living room and squatted down, listening to the conversations of several people inside... (To be continued)