landbeastnovel #734 - Rapid City in 1448 (Part 1)
#734 - Rapid City in 1448 (Part 1)
With a scratch, the nib of the pen tore a large hole in the fragile paper.
Looking at the dried ink on the pen, Horne shook his head slightly, seemingly reminded of something.
He looked up at René, who was standing beside him: "René, do you think my methods are too drastic?"
"If the actions you take genuinely strengthen the Holy Union," René replied calmly, "and if this harms the interests of Moliaty and the nobles, it means they themselves are hindering victory. You are not wrong."
"Yes, some things are always unavoidable," Horne understood this principle himself.
It had been three days since returning to Rapid Falls City from Greenleaf City, but Horne was still troubled by the previous argument with Moliaty.
This wasn't a lovers' quarrel, but a genuine internal conflict between the two giants of Thousand River Valley.
In Horne's original plan, Moliaty and her army were an indispensable force.
After all, before the development of the Demon-Eating Fungus vaccine and the popularization of spiral rifles, Horne still needed a large number of melee combat troops.
In Horne's view, the well-trained Mountain Knights were quite excellent melee combat troops. After two months of training in formation and discipline, they were even stronger in melee combat than the Salvation Army.
Moreover, Moliaty had been replacing the Mountain Knights' armor and warhorses over the past year, imitating the King's Guard cavalry and beginning a large-scale cavalry phalanx reform.
The only thing they lacked was the Salvation Army's extremely high morale brought about by revolutionary enthusiasm.
Regarding Moliaty's thoughts, Horne had come to understand some of them after these days of arguing.
Perhaps Moliaty herself didn't realize it, but she indeed regarded Thousand River Valley as her own home. Horne could share power only because he was her father's prospective son-in-law.
Moliaty couldn't accept her father's legacy falling into the hands of others, not even Horne.
Being co-Emperor already didn't satisfy Moliaty; she wanted to fight for a dominant voice over Horne through the Battle of Shattered Stone Plain.
Because Thousand River Valley was still a temporary state for the Holy Union, but it would inevitably be forged into a true nation in the war.
When that time came, whether Thousand River Valley belonged to the Holy Union, or the Holy Union belonged to Thousand River Valley, would be debatable.
Putting down the hard rubber tube pen specially made for him by the dwarves, Horne stood up, stretched, and slowly walked to the window.
Horne was currently located in an old noble tower in the port district of Rapid Falls City.
However, after several wars, the owner of this tower had long been submerged in the flames of war, and it had been transformed into a mansion for visitors to reside in.
Looking out through the quatrefoil window, he could overlook most of the port district.
Horne's fingers unconsciously caressed the stained-glass window frame, and the sparkling waves of the distant canal leaped on the glass like golden threads.
The port district, which was filled with charred wood and broken bricks three years ago, was now swallowing a dazzling torrent of wealth.
Clockwork cranes buzzed, lifting heavy cargo the size of carriages from the decks.
Behind the docks paved with blue brick and stone, twelve red brick warehouses lined the river.
Behind the red brick warehouses, across several low shops and houses, was the rebuilt four-story mortar exchange in a U-shape.
The Rapid Falls City Exchange was the only exchange that combined stocks, bonds, and commodity trading, and it was also one of the locations where the Holy Maiden Bank was stationed.
Brokers wearing fashionable bowler hats, wool vests, and carrying lead-printed contracts and bonds under their arms, shuttled between the Corinthian columns of the exchange like worker ants.
And the queen bee of this group of worker bees was Catherine, the president of the Holy Maiden Bank, the mayor of Rapid Falls City, and the governor of Lower River County.
Her "1448 Port District Vision Plan" had already achieved more than half of its goals, and the remaining part would definitely be completed before the end of the year.
Looking up at the azure sky, Horne temporarily put aside the dark clouds of Moliaty and turned his attention to the white cloud of Rapid Falls City.
"René, prepare, I want to go out for a walk," Horne instructed, "Don't arrange too many people."
"Yes, Your Grace."
The assassination in Sky Maiden City was still vivid in his mind, but René did not dissuade him.
Horne was not afraid at this moment.
Because he knew that in the shadows unseen by others, Solan was constantly shuttling, protecting Horne's safety.
After the situation in Black Snake Bay was basically stable, the transfer and deployment of witches began according to the original plan.
First, Solan of the Shadow Council relinquished his position in the God's Punishment Army and entered the Night Watch system with his men, specifically responsible for the personal safety of Horne and other key political figures.
Secondly, Novia of the Mechanical Soul rushed from Black Snake Bay to Mayor Town and the Holy Mechanical Court, and began to deeply participate in a series of clockwork technology and engineering research and design.
And "Phoenix" Ceromis voluntarily applied to enter the St. Danji Military Academy.
According to Horne's promise, after three years of graduation, she could serve as the commander or deputy commander of a battle group.
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As for Otatila, she seemed to still be persuading local witches and collecting foreign witches to enter the Holy Union.
Of course, before making significant contributions, they would not be awarded the title of "Holy Maiden". Before that, they would only have the title of High-Level Miracle Sister.
Before long, under the protection of three or five military police, Horne and René lowered their hats and walked on the bustling streets of Rapid Falls City.
Because Rapid Falls City was a renovation of an old city, and funds were limited, it was not as orderly as the Holy Mechanical Court.
Therefore, the streets and buildings were still distributed like a spider web, with wide and narrow streets and alleys, coupled with tall and short towers and houses.
A bronze statue was newly erected next to the fountain - it was a standing statue of a merchant holding scales and an abacus, with the inscription "Dedicated to all souls who dare to calculate" on the base.
Standing in front of the fountain, Horne couldn't help but laugh.
If this were in the past, such an anti-feudal bronze statue would have been smashed by the knight masters in minutes.
After losing the suppression of the church and the nobles, these citizens fully liberated their nature, especially after the Holy Doctrine debate in the "Truth" newspaper.
Logically speaking, rural people should prefer the Holy Doctrine faction, but the fact is that although the Holy Doctrine monks mainly attacked rural areas, the real base camps of the Holy Doctrine faction and the Huannuo faction were in urban areas.
Rural areas have become the base camp of the old conservatives.
Walking past the statue, Horne continued forward.
Iron signs hung on the shops along the street. The blacksmith sat at the door with his arms bare, hammering iron blocks. The splashing iron filings even fell on Horne's shoes.
Horne's ears were filled with the shouts of shipowners and brokers, the chants of trackers and boatmen, the hawking of vendors, and the hissing of rubbing cables.
Dockworkers, craftsmen, citizens, and construction workers hurried back and forth on the street. Beggars and pickpockets scattered and fled with the bread in their arms under the expulsion of the night watchmen.
Standing on the curb of the sidewalk, a teenager with a leather case hanging on his chest waved the latest "Megede Commercial Daily" while selling potions and candies.
Porters pushed carts to transport mortar, spices, paper, ink, white sugar, and grain to the canal on the adjacent track.
The most important project in the "1448 Port District Vision Plan" was to build a double-track canal and lock system on the ruins of the Cross District.