Chapter 260: A Big Project

Settling these Dwarfs was not an easy task, as there were many things to consider from start to finish. This was not a group of ordinary refugees, but high-quality talent from this world. Besides the fact that they came voluntarily, they were much like the scientists taken by the Allied forces from Nazi Germany after World War II.

Viscount Bolerum, having completed the handover, joined the caravan heading to Kalado on the same day. It was said that His Grace the Duke was eager to hand over his troublesome matters to his Secretary. Of course, the hurried Viscount Bolerum also packed up the mess he left behind and handed it over to George to manage.

No, it could not really be called a mess. In fact, Viscount Bolerum had been very responsible during this time. After all, it would be shameful if his reputation in the Territory was much worse than his son’s. However, having to take over this hot potato without any preparation was, for many people, almost the same as dealing with a mess.

“The most important thing right now is to build enough houses for the Dwarfs to live in! We cannot just throw them out into the wilderness after they arrive. I just do not know when they will reach here, and judging by the current progress, even if we started right now, we might not finish in time!” George sat alone in his study, scribbling on the plan he had drafted.

“During this period, the sale of food supplies brought in about 3,000 Gold Coins as extra income for the Territory’s Vault. Also, the port has been running smoothly recently. After deducting other expenses, the surplus is about 6,000 Gold Coins.” After doing the calculations, George had to reach this conclusion: “Eh! There still seems to be a gap! We will have to dip into the family’s private savings. Sigh! Although the speed of making money is getting faster, the speed of spending is also too fast!”

Before crossing over, someone had said that 10 Yuan has its own way of being spent, and 100 Yuan has its own way. Although Bolerum’s income was top-tier in the Nohan Kingdom, prices were also rising steadily with the economic boom. For example, the price of a half-pound loaf of Black Bread had gone from 2 Copper Coins to 3 Copper Coins.

Although the continuous influx of people caused a sharp increase in the demand for grain, the development of the brewing industry and other food processing industries had also led to a shocking consumption of grain. No wonder Tianchao taxed alcohol heavily in every dynasty, just to prevent massive grain waste and reduce the occurrence of famine.

However, the good weather for several consecutive years meant that the Bolerum Territory had a bumper harvest every year. Plus, George used commercial convenience to constantly buy grain from outside to stabilize prices, which kept the grain prices in the Bolerum Territory at an average level compared to other parts of the Duchy of Nohan.

As the saying goes, having grain in hand means no worry in the heart! A nation is based on its people, and food is the first necessity of the people. Without agriculture, there is no stability; without grain, there is chaos. This is a universal rule. The direct cause of the collapse of every dynasty in history was always related to the common people not being able to afford food. With such lessons from the past, George naturally put extra effort into this area.

However, the rise in labor costs was not something George could easily interfere with. Since merchants were willing to pay high wages to hire Commoners from his Territory, George certainly would not play the villain and cause trouble for them. Thus, the overall increase in labor costs was inevitable.

With the general rise in prices, if the City Hall did not want to spread a bad reputation, increased spending was also inevitable. Furthermore, George’s big projects, such as the military reform, were all spending money like water!

After calculating, borrowing from here and there, and finally solving the initial startup funds, George felt another headache: “Damn it, why do problems always come one after another! I need a vacation too…”

George let out such a wail because he found that there was almost no place left in Poitou City large enough to house and support 1,000 people. As for settling them outside the city, not to mention security issues, he was afraid the Dwarfs would think the Bolerum Territory looked down on them. Given the stubborn nature of Dwarfs, once this idea took root, it would be very hard to change.

Morbihan Port was a mixed bag, and building one or two workshops was not a big problem. But this time, it was not just one or two Dwarfs! To settle their employment properly, a large industrial zone had to be built. Although there were some Dwarfs who ran taverns or dealt in Magic Items and even jewelry, they were definitely the minority. Blacksmiths and Stonemasons were their foundation, and these two industries were the heavy industry of this era. Both had strict restrictions on the environment and other factors.

“So, it seems Poitou City has reached the point where it needs to be expanded. Fortunately, there is no flowing water moat outside the city walls. Otherwise, making such a choice would not have been easy!” Determined, George began his planning. “The workshop area south of the city is suitable for expansion. Also, since most Dwarfs will have their own workshops later, settling them nearby will be convenient. However, the demolition and reconstruction of that section of the wall will require many skilled Stonemasters to supervise. It looks like the Guild will charge us a fortune. Damn it, the budget has to be increased again.”

“Speaking of Stonemasons, are not those Dwarfs the best Stonemasons? And given their character, they would probably want to build their own homes!” George muttered softly, thinking of something. “But doing this would really offend the Vampire-like Stonemason Guilds. Forget it, there is no perfect solution in this world! Since funds are insufficient, we will have to handle this matter specially.”

Having figured everything out, George began to arrange and deploy according to this plan. The massive amount of materials prepared for the war happened to be used for this city renovation. Because of the Dark Elves’ invasion of the Surface, the Kingdom of Lucia had no time to worry about the west in the short term. Even two months later, Dark Elves were still wreaking havoc throughout their country.

To be honest, this situation was partly related to the two major missions of the Duchy of Nohan. Because of the high bounty for exploring the Underground, a large number of Adventurers came to the Duchy of Nohan. This put the Adventurer recruitment work of the Kingdom of Lucia in an awkward situation.

It was hard for them to recruit enough cannon fodder to handle search missions. You see, the number of Adventurers in any area is always limited. When more people go to a specific area to carry out missions, fewer are left elsewhere. Do not look at how Adventurers seem easy to summon and dismiss in normal times. But when it comes to major operations, it is a case of the quick getting it and the slow getting nothing.

While the Kingdom of Lucia was still troubled by the Dark Elves coming and going like the wind inside their country, they did not know how the Kingdom of Coruz, which was most threatened, was doing. However, the Duchy of Nohan was always preparing for a possible war.

Because foreign war is always the best way to divert domestic contradictions. As long as the Kingdom of Lucia drove those Black Skin back underground, who knew if those madmen would not take a desperate risk next.

During these days of hard internal training, the 1,200 Dwarfs and about 300 Gnomes finally arrived at the Bolerum Territory. This time, George was so busy he was on all fours, because he had always thought these immigrants would arrive in batches. Fortunately, the two barracks inside and outside the city were built large enough to avoid any embarrassment.

However, they were very satisfied with George’s decision to let them build their own housing. According to the Soul-Smithing Priest leading the group, this was the greatest respect for them. Because when facing a new environment and new needs, they would systematically use existing tools and techniques to cope. And the houses most suitable for Dwarfs could only be built by Dwarfs.

As expected of the Stone Race, the construction speed of 50 Dwarf craftsmen even exceeded that of 100 Human craftsmen. Among the 1,200 Dwarfs who arrived, although only 200 were professional Stonemasons, another 600 had skills that reached the level of Human craftsmen.

In fact, the most important thing in construction is the Stonemaster. Usually, such residential buildings do not require their direct hands-on work. Their most common job is to supervise and plan castle construction projects. Generally, they have no fixed residence and go to where high-end talent is needed. Below them, every Stonemason was skilled and could cut rock into any shape. The lowest class among Stonemasons was the rough stonemason, who would cut stone into preliminary shapes and prepare for the tedious work of the Stonemasons.

Under the action of such an excellent engineering team, the demolition of the city wall was completed in just over 20 days. The subsequent house construction was even faster. In about 15 days, the stone houses were already taking shape. Afterward, the Dwarfs did not choose to do detailed repairs on their houses but instead started the construction of the new city wall.

On the construction site where the autumn tiger raged, dust flew everywhere. The Dwarfs’ craftsmanship was a bit like the former East Germany before crossing over—having the Germans’ meticulous attention to detail in craftsmanship, as well as the Soviets’ simple, practical, and durable overall design. Within the rough and bulky appearance, there was also fine work and clever thinking.

George, who came to the construction site, asked the person in charge strangely: “Mr. Kazmuk, why is everyone starting to rebuild the city wall so early? The housing is not finished yet?”

“By Moradin, even on the Surface, is it not very unsafe without a city wall? For us, the most important Temple is now completed. The remaining house work can be done slowly. And the current houses are not completely uninhabitable.” The Dwarf construction commander, who only reached George’s chest, stroked his beard and said, “It is really troublesome to get stone on the Surface. Otherwise, such a project would have been completed long ago in the Underground.”

At that time, cold sweat was still dripping from George’s back. He complained in his heart: ‘Just to keep up with your pace, not to mention the original inventory in the Territory; if those guys at the Quarry work overtime, there will probably be a major death toll.’

Of course, the big construction was not only in the Bolerum Territory. The biggest project was the Broken Halberd Fortress outside the Underdark. However, with the joint efforts of thousands of Dwarfs and a large number of laborers, it was finally completed before the autumn harvest.

The Broken Halberd Fortress was divided into two parts. The eastern part was called the Inner City, serving as the personal area for high-ranking officers and also as the last line of defense of the fortress. The western part of the fortress served as the public area for soldiers and service personnel inside the castle, usually called the Outer City. At the same time, to make it convenient for those Adventurers, many buildings were congested here, such as Taverns, Inns, Banks, and so on.

The Duchy had a special supply train to provide food for the fortress, while Adventurers were happy to sell the strange things they brought from the Underdark here, and then use the Gold Coins earned to enjoy wine and feasts. Although this area was short of supplies, thanks to this small but relatively prosperous trading center, the service providers in the fortress, although not rich, were not poor either.

The castle gate was 20 feet high. Two towers, each 30 feet high, stood on both sides of the gate, guarding this main entrance of the castle. In front of the castle gate was a moat 40 feet deep, and the Drawbridge crossing the moat was usually raised in normal times.

The thick city walls exceeded 2.5 meters, but here, Blue Stone or Obsidian could not be used. The outer layer was built with marble bricks, the middle layer was a rubble wall solidified with mortar similar to rammed earth, and the innermost layer was also marble bricks. This structure was also the construction method for most castles in this world, relatively cheap and convenient.

Guards were on duty above the towers and the city gate every day. Visitors had to state their names, professions, and purposes of visit to possibly get entry permission. Besides the two towers on both sides of the city gate, there were another 7 towers surrounding the castle. Among them, 4 were connected to the Inner City of the castle and guarded by soldiers under His Grace the Duke.

Besides providing for the army, there was a separate stable for visitors to temporarily store horses, mules, and other livestock. The daily income of Copper Coins was also better than nothing.

As soon as one stepped through the city gate, they could see the civilian warehouse. Caravans coming for trade would temporarily store their goods here. There was a person in charge of keeping the warehouse keys in the fortress.

The top floor of that 20-foot-high tower was used by guards to guard the Outer City area of the castle. On its first floor, there was a Blacksmith shop. Morger was a skilled Dwarf Blacksmith. From ordinary iron tools to weapons and shields, he was good at everything. As one of the supporters of the Dwarf race, his forging could be called art. There were rumors that if given enough Magic materials, he could even make real Magic Weapons.

The Blacksmith shop was usually right next to the Exchange. Various transactions between the fortress and nearby Adventurers were mostly handled here. Transactions between foreign caravans and the fortress also had to be conducted here. However, here they sold items to Adventurers, but often at prices 10% higher than the normal price.

A row of apartments was along the east city wall. Each small apartment contained one bedroom, one living room, and one storage room. In addition, there were two larger apartments, each containing 3 bedrooms, 2 storage rooms, and one kitchen. These were prepared for guests with certain status. However, they also needed to pay.

The Bank also served as a lending house. The Goddess of Wealth and Commerce was the biggest lender. Anyone could borrow funds of 200 Gold Coins or more from the Church, but had to pay 5% interest per week. At the same time, the borrower had to provide collateral equivalent to 150% of the value of the borrowed funds. To be honest, such a lending method could be said to be a guaranteed win.

There was a huge fountain in the northwest of the fortress. The square surrounding the fountain was a place where people held celebrations. Usually, this was a market for small vendors to buy and sell, a performance stage for wandering poets singing adventure tales, and a good place for Adventurers to sell materials and items obtained from the Underdark or recruit companions.

Near that fountain was a newly built Inn. It had 5 private rooms, each capable of sleeping 4 people, and one large public lounge that could accommodate 12 people. However, most Adventurers still chose to stay overnight outside the city. This was not just a matter of price; more importantly, the space available here was simply too small.

Compared to the narrow traveler’s inn, the Tavern in the fortress was the social center of the entire fortress. However, without direct permission from a superior officer, all soldiers serving in the Inner City were not allowed to enter this Tavern to prevent them from becoming too addicted to drinking. Of course, this rule did not work for the numerous Dwarf warriors in the army. Almost every one of them spent at least some time in the Tavern every week. They talked about everything here.

The Tavern was run by Fidget, and everyone in the castle liked her. Although she was a Gnome, she had the same good cooking skills as a Halfling.

Even more surprisingly, there was a Mage Guild in the city. This guild was led by a Mage named Kildale. They traded Magic Items and Magic materials with the Knights in the castle and Adventurers who came here. However, it was obvious that this was just a branch of a large Mage organization. However, seeing that they paid a large amount of tax, His Grace the Duke agreed to their existence.

The Moradin Temple and the Pelor Temple were the main religious institutions in the fortress. The former was because of the large number of Dwarfs in the army and the need to fulfill relevant agreements signed between the Duchy and the Dwarf race before. The latter often appeared on the front lines of fighting evil invasions, because the Dogma of Pelor, Sun God, was so. Moreover, sunlight was the mortal enemy of Dark Elves. With them around, even if they encountered an attack by Dark Elves, it would be much easier. As for the Church of the Goddess of Wealth, no one could expect a group of profit-prioritizing merchants to go to the battlefield.