Chapter 47 : Chapter 47
Chapter 47. Foundations of the Twin Cities
With Sebastian’s efficient assistance, affairs in the Black Territory Valley temporarily settled into a stable rhythm.
Seeing that the core matters had been properly arranged, Eli did not delay any further.
He assembled a unit of fifty elite soldiers and brought several wagons loaded with grain and tools transferred from Black Territory’s stores.
Under Aila’s reluctant gaze, he left the Black Territory, still under construction, and set out for Lucerne City.
After two days of travel, the outline of Lucerne City’s walls, built from grayish-brown stone blocks, appeared in the distance.
The black raven banners flying above the battlements were clearly visible.
When the convoy passed through the city gate, which still bore the scars of the siege, Eli immediately noticed that the atmosphere inside the city was completely different from when he had last departed.
Although many ruined walls and broken structures damaged by war were still being repaired, there were already quite a few people on the streets.
Most of them were still sallow and emaciated, their expressions carrying the numb caution of survivors, but at least the city was no longer shrouded in utter lifelessness.
A few small vendors had set up at the street corners, timidly hawking homegrown vegetables or crude bamboo wares they had woven themselves.
The patrols of soldiers were orderly as well.
A faint but genuine vitality was struggling back to life within this battered city.
Brandon and Buck had done well, Eli thought.
To bring a city that had been occupied by rebels for months, and had only just changed hands, into basic stability in such a short time was no easy feat.
The convoy headed straight for the lord’s residence in the center of the city.
This had once been the den from which Grumm issued his orders. Now, however, it stood stern and orderly.
The guards had been replaced by the most elite Black Territory soldiers under Bol’s command, their eyes sharp and their discipline impeccable.
Brandon, having received notice of Eli’s arrival, hurried out to greet him.
This old veteran seemed to have aged even more since Eli had last seen him in the Black Territory. His graying hair had turned nearly all white.
Heavy bags hung beneath his eyes, and his face was lined with channels of exhaustion.
Clearly, governing a city riddled with wounds was even more taxing than fighting a war.
“My lord!”
Brandon struck his right fist to his chest in a standard military salute.
His voice was hoarse, but still forceful.
“You’ve worked hard, Brandon.”
Eli stepped forward and caught the veteran by the arm, genuinely feeling the weight of his fatigue.
Then he untied an unremarkable little leather waterskin from his belt and pressed it into Brandon’s hand.
The waterskin was not large, and it felt slightly cool to the touch.
Brandon froze for a moment, lowering his head to look at the plain little thing in his hand, his eyes full of puzzlement.
Eli merely winked at him.
“Good stuff. Drink it sparingly. It’ll clear your head and do your body good.”
He did not mention the Moonlight Spring directly, but Brandon had followed Eli for a long time.
He knew very well that his lord was never a man who spoke without reason, much less someone who would joke at a time like this.
So he quietly put the waterskin away with great care and did not ask a single question.
He only said in a deep voice, “Thank you, my lord!”
After entering the somewhat empty but already cleaned council hall of the lord’s residence, Eli took his seat at the head.
Brandon stood below and began reporting on the governance of the past few days, his voice steady and methodical.
“My lord, in accordance with your orders, Captain Buck and I made restoring order and stabilizing the people our first priority.”
“First, we completely dismissed all officials and tax collectors appointed during Grumm’s time. Most of them were Grumm’s diehard loyalists or accomplices, and their crimes were notorious. The people hated them bitterly.”
“Second, we carried out preliminary interrogations and confiscated the property of those corrupt officials.
Most of them had blood on their hands, or owed blood debts.
All the gold, silver, grain, cloth, and other supplies seized from their households have been fully registered and recorded.
Part of it has been placed in the treasury, while most of the remainder has been distributed, in your name, household by household, to the surviving commoners in the city.
The results were obvious. The panic and resistance within the city have greatly eased.”
Brandon paused, then drew a parchment roster from his robe.
“Third, during the distribution of supplies and the patrol inspections, I made observations in secret and also spoke with some elderly townsfolk who held influence in the city.
I have tentatively selected several people with decent reputations among the populace and real practical ability to serve as acting city administrators.
Here is the list, along with the areas they are responsible for:
Harlan, formerly an old bookkeeper in the city, is familiar with local conditions and is temporarily in charge of issuing administrative orders and overseeing storehouse income and expenditure;
Aunt Martha, who holds considerable prestige among the women, is responsible for organizing the women and children to clear rubble and mend clothing;
Old blacksmith Josen is responsible for organizing manpower to repair tools and forge urgently needed farm equipment;
As for the captain of the security force, that post is being temporarily filled by Hawke, a veteran we brought with us...”
Eli took the roster and gave it a quick glance.
Brandon’s choices were practical. They were all locals with real experience and standing among the common people.
He nodded in satisfaction.
“You’ve done very well, Brandon.
Winning the people’s hearts and restoring production—those are the true foundations.”
He set down the roster.
“Send word and have these administrators summoned. I want to meet them.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Brandon immediately turned and gave orders to the guard at the door.
Before long, the newly appointed administrators of Lucerne City whom Brandon had named
entered the council hall one after another, carrying nervousness and a trace of fear.
When they saw the lord seated at the head—a ruler far younger than they had expected—they dared not show the slightest disrespect.
Each of them unconsciously held their breath and bowed with utmost deference.
“Be seated.”
Eli’s voice broke the silence, calm and touched with a hint of warmth.
“Brandon recommended all of you to me. He believes that you are capable and willing to contribute to the rebuilding of Lucerne City. That pleases me.”
His gaze swept across them.
“Grumm’s era is over.
In the Lucerne City under my rule, under Eli Black’s rule, what I want is stability, order,
and for every law-abiding and diligent person not only to survive, but to live with dignity!”
“I do not care what your status used to be—bookkeeper, blacksmith, woman, soldier, whatever it may have been.
Now, you are the foundation stones of Lucerne City’s reconstruction!
My expectations of you are simple: fulfill the duties of the positions you hold.”
He paused.
“And remember this: my eyes are on this place. Brandon’s eyes are on this place. The army of the Black Territory is watching this place as well. If anyone dares to imitate Grumm’s old subordinates—lining their own pockets and preying upon the innocent...”
He did not finish the sentence, but the invisible killing intent in the air made the hearts of the administrators tense all the same.
The old bookkeeper Harlan shakily rose to his feet. He bowed deeply to Eli, his voice trembling with emotion and even carrying a hint of tears.
“My lord! What you have done— distributing grain, punishing evil officials, appointing common folk like us... we have all seen it with our own eyes! You are nothing like that devil Grumm! You are... you are a benevolent and great lord! We... we will devote ourselves with all our strength. We would never dare betray your trust!”
Martha and Josen hurriedly rose as well, echoing him with plainspoken gratitude and determination.
The veteran Hawke, meanwhile, straightened his chest and pounded it hard with his fist as he said in a deep voice, “Rest easy, my lord. So long as I, Hawke, still draw breath, Lucerne City’s streets will never fall into disorder again.”
“Good.”
A hint of approval appeared on Eli’s face. He raised a hand slightly, signaling for them to sit.
“Resolve alone is not enough. Now, let us discuss what Lucerne City must do next, and the road it must take in the future.”
His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop, producing a steady, rhythmic knock.
“There is one thing all of you must understand clearly.”
Eli withdrew his gaze and looked at those seated before him.
“I now hold two territories.
The Black Territory is the land that forms my foundation. It possesses... important resources, and a new city is being built there.
It is more like a fortress devoted to production and strength.”
“And Lucerne City,” he said, tapping the tabletop with a finger,
“lies farther inland in the Western Frontier and closer to Thorne City.
It already has relatively complete streets and housing, and some of its residents have experience with commercial activity.
Its strength does not lie in mineral resources or military power, but in circulation and connection.”
The administrators all listened in utter silence, absorbing the analysis of this young lord.
“Therefore, Lucerne City’s future focus must be the restoration and flourishing of commerce!”
Eli’s voice rang with absolute certainty.
“The first step is to use the grain and part of the startup funds we have distributed to encourage the city’s residents to resume their former livelihoods.
Those who know how to farm will reclaim the abandoned fields outside the city;
those with a craft must reopen the smithies, carpentry shops, and tailoring shops as quickly as possible;
those with connections can try organizing small merchant caravans to move goods between the Black Territory, Thorne City, and even places farther away.”
“Second, Harlan will take responsibility for drafting a simple, clear set of commercial rules with reasonable taxes as quickly as possible.
People must know that so long as they obey the law, they can make money doing business here without being bled dry layer by layer!
At the same time, Hawke, your security force must maintain order in the marketplace, crack down on merchant bullying and monopolistic abuse, and protect legitimate trade!”
“Third, I will allocate part of our funds to establish an official merchant guild in Lucerne City.
At the initial stage, it will mainly be used to purchase raw materials produced by the Black Territory—ore, timber, furs, and the like.
At the same time, it will also be responsible for purchasing from Thorne City and other places the supplies the Black Territory urgently needs but cannot yet produce in large quantities— grain, cloth, salt, iron, and other essentials.
This trading post will, in the future, become the node that connects the two cities and radiates trade throughout the surrounding lands.”
Eli’s thinking was clear and practical. Every arrangement he laid out struck directly at the key points of Lucerne City’s revival.
The administrators listened with shining eyes, utterly won over by this young lord.
“The two cities will support one another and serve as each other’s strength.
Only in this way can we truly gain a firm foothold on this wasteland.”
The council hall fell utterly silent.
In that moment, the blueprint of the twin cities advancing side by side spread out with perfect clarity before everyone present.
“We will never fail your trust, my lord!”