The Demon Lords

Chapter 827 182: Calm After the Storm

"Ni'er, this is Snow Fortress, isn't it grand."

The old woman was sitting on the ox cart, holding her daughter-in-law's hand, as she sighed.

The city walls of Shengle had already amazed her, but the walls of Snow Fortress, tsk tsk, were connected with the mountains on both sides. Just looking at them is frightening.

Liu Dahu, who was also sitting on the ox cart, immediately shouted upon hearing this:

"Isn't it true, Grandma? The teacher said that our General Zheng relied on this fortress in the past. Even when tens of thousands of wild people attacked relentlessly for a month, he did not bother to blink an eye."

Children talk without knowing much logic.

Even, he himself didn't know whether he wanted to praise the towering walls of Snow Fortress or to commend the greatness of our General Zheng.

Although Zheng Fan had been granted the title of "Lord Pingye" by His Majesty, the people of Shengle still habitually referred to Zheng Fan as General Zheng.

Firstly, it's out of habit, and secondly, calling him this way shows that they are old-timers, who've long been following Lord Zheng, right?

The old woman sighed upon hearing her grandson's words:

"Indeed, such high walls, how could the wild people climb over them?"

The ox cart was bought by the woman because there were elderly and children in the family, making it unrealistic to purely rely on walking over such a long distance. So, she gritted her teeth and divided part of the silver she had saved from working at the Workshop to buy it.

The driver was a dull man who volunteered to come, saying he also wanted to go to Snow Fortress, so he simply went along without needing to pay for hiring, and he solved his own meals.

But occasionally, when they asked him to join for some dry food, he didn't refuse, yet invariably expressed his gratitude several times before and after.

The people migrated to below Snow Fortress and began to be split up.

Snow Fortress was large, the capacity for the inner city's population was naturally substantial, but it was impossible to move all the people into the city.

Firstly, military families had priority, then large families, and finally, it depended on your contribution.

The so-called contribution meant spending money to buy residential land in the city. Anyway, the land within Snow Fortress belonged to Lord Zheng, and he could sell it as he wished.

Meanwhile, half must be reserved, waiting for Snow Fortress' operation to elevate value before selling.

Those who did not meet the above conditions were settled in the designated areas outside the city.

The empty village, the unoccupied houses, can be moved into after registration, but the area is not likely to be large, somewhat similar to the old Beijing courtyard style, where several families lived in one courtyard.

Another option is for the General's Residence to build houses for you, but you have to pay tax, each year repaying with tax silver or labor, with the term temporarily set at thirty years.

This measure did not provoke any resistance or complaints, everyone could accept it.

After all, it's due to the times. These commoners had originally been subjected to paying tax silver and being compulsorily conscripted for labor, things everyone was accustomed to and conventionally agreed upon.

Moreover, previously you paid taxes and completed labor obligations as a duty, but now they're giving you a house, why wouldn't you appreciate it?

Certainly, there was also a large group lured over by money, those people were also easy to handle. Without money, they were only given land, and to prevent land consolidation, selling farmland was prohibited.

You either live here and farm or retrace your steps back.

Those willing to come this far with the group were ordinary commoners and weren't doing particularly well, leave them without any income after months of going back and forth, simply pushing them to live unsustainably, thus everyone accepted the arrangement by the General's Residence and began registration.

Of course, some obstinate ones still insisted on raising a few issues.

Issues, naturally, would not be resolved, but those raising them were directly shot by patrolling knights nearby.

Then, the issues ceased to exist.

In this regard, the General's Residence acted decisively and did not bother with much nonsense.

Anyways, the weapons were in their hands, and the troops only obeyed them, however much noise they caused, what could it achieve?

The military families indeed moved into Snow Fortress, what is it for? Isn't it for that?

Overall, with immigration proceeding and sufficient preparation beforehand, the planning and setup were thorough, so all the work was progressing smoothly.

"Mrs. Yu, Block A, North Mansion Street, one building."

The army clerk called out the names from the register.

The military families were well accounted for, so arrangements had been made early on. Once they came in, they could directly move in.

But when this position was called out, not only many military families nearby were surprised, but even the naming clerk and a group of guards maintaining order paused for a moment.

North Mansion Street was the street near the northern city wall of Snow Fortress.

The General's Residence, now known as Lord Pingye's Mansion, was there, already undergoing construction.

Block A was the civilian neighborhood closet to Lord Pingye's Mansion, and the one building was virtually adjacent to Lord Pingye's Mansion.

To put it in later terms,

the matter of lighting isn't important, transportation isn't important either, how does it feel to live next to the Forbidden City, being essentially the Forbidden City's neighbor?

The woman referred to as Mrs. Yu paused for a moment. She didn't know her assigned housing location but was puzzled by the naming.

Her maiden name was Wu, her husband's name was Liu, following past customs, she should be called "Mrs. Liu." At the Workshop, due to the adults' habits, the people below followed the naming habit, and she would be referred to as "Little Wu."