Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1755 The Cycle of Development

Zhou Xu received Yarvit's message in the first month after autumn.

In the letter, Yarvit clearly stated that she had already visited that desert area and that there was indeed a vast area of ​​restrictions that could distort even the perception of a martial artist at the Transcendent Realm.

This largely confirms Zhou Xu's previous speculation.

That was the sandstorm from before, which was most likely caused by this restriction.

The barrier contains a defense mechanism; if any outsider enters the barrier's area, the defense mechanism will be activated, and a sandstorm will then occur.

In terms of perception, a mage of the same level is definitely far superior to a martial artist.

But this is enough to show that the level of this restriction is not low.

Running into that restricted area would definitely be unwise.

As things stand, if the other side doesn't intend to expand outwards, then the best-case scenario is for everyone to remain separate and not interfere with each other.

Out of caution, Jarvet undoubtedly needs to remain in charge there.

Meanwhile, the snake-man has been missing for so long, which basically confirms that he did indeed die in that restriction.

Zhou Xu did not rule out the possibility that some of the criminals might have slipped through the net at that time.

Even earlier, when their main force raided various oasis strongholds, the snake people who were attacked scattered and fled, and it is very likely that many snake people fled to other places at that time.

But as mentioned earlier, they have already occupied all the oasis resources in this desert area.

Even if you had run away back then, what difference would it have made?

In the end, he would simply die silently in the desert.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the snake people have other undiscovered strongholds elsewhere.

But it's unlikely.

Over the past few months, they haven't been idle either, having explored all the areas around each oasis outpost that could be scouted.

The snake people may be more adapted to the desert environment than the humans, but the troops of the Great Zhou are well-equipped and their warhorses are certainly more efficient at moving.

They found nothing within their maximum exploration range, so given the snake people's mobility, they probably couldn't reach it either.

With this conclusion reached, it can be basically confirmed that Peter, who went missing in the previous battle, was killed.

There's no idea where to send the relevant messages, since he's all alone and has no family.

It was eventually handed over to Geerte, who was originally his subordinate.

As a member of the Royal Mage Order, Gilter, along with the other members of the order, is stationed at the border of Saint Laurent.

The hot desert environment has a much higher concentration of fire element compared to other regions, which is beneficial for his magical cultivation.

He had actually received the news as soon as Peter disappeared and had prepared himself mentally.

After several months, my emotions had long since calmed down, and now that I've received the results, I only feel a slight sadness.

Being a military officer is not a safe job. On the battlefield, it is not uncommon for someone to be killed by a stray bullet at any time while charging into battle.

Because Peter had no family and no body, the emperor posthumously honored him as a general of valor and erected a monument in his honor in the desert where the battle took place.

Overall, this is already quite generous.

Although posthumous honors are meaningless once someone is dead, Zhou Xu at least made a statement, allowing Peter to die as a hero who sacrificed himself for his country, which is much more dignified. Otherwise, to put it another way, even if he was attacked by the snake people and faced the snake king, fighting the snake king would still be within your scope of duty.

I didn't ask you to fight someone at the Transcendent Realm. Both sides are at the Vajra Realm. If you can't win, that's fine. Just keep each other in check and don't lose.

But Peter not only failed to complete the mission, he also got himself killed.

Isn't military generalship itself a form of survival of the fittest?
If Zhou Xu doesn't show any mercy, Peter will be seen as a disgraceful general in the history of their Great Zhou, a man of incompetence who failed his mission and lost his life.

Just like Pan Feng, the peerless general in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, who was inferior in skill and was killed by Hua Xiong with a single blow during a duel.

Not only did he become a background character for Hua Xiong and Guan Yu, but in later generations, he became a source of amusement and jokes, truly reaching the point where he was about to turn in his grave.

Throughout the following winter, the internal development of the Great Zhou Dynasty stabilized, and the year passed peacefully, ushering in the spring of the new year.

For the past six months, the increased work efficiency brought about by the increase in labor force has not been fully realized because the newly recruited labor force has not yet been properly assigned.

By early spring this year, the labor force for various engineering projects had been basically secured, and their value finally began to be demonstrated.

Thanks to the efforts of the Great Zhou Dynasty over the years, coupled with the large influx of labor in recent years, the development and construction of the southern region has finally taken shape.

Excluding the South China Sea fortress, five cities were successively established.

This number of cities is undoubtedly too small for the southern region.

It's important to know that the New South District comprises more than five cities, and the southern region is actually larger than the combined area of ​​the New South District and the New North District!
But in reality, the situations on both sides are completely different.

The cities in the New South District and New North District were basically built during the era of cold weapons.

In that era, people's mobility was very low.

If the distance between cities is too far, and it takes several months to travel from one city to the next, then those who are traveling will probably die on the way.

But things are different now. They have steam trains, and in the southern region, two railways run through the entire area, resulting in a leap in the efficiency of travel between cities.

The significant improvement in mobility efficiency means that cities no longer need to be arranged as densely as they were in the past, and can be more dispersed.

Today, these five cities are located at five important points in the southern region.

If we want to further develop the economy, we can simply expand outwards from these five cities.

Whether it's building a new city or expanding an existing one, it's fine.

A well-planned layout in the early stages, and the space freed up in advance for expansion, can provide a great deal of convenience for subsequent development!

In contrast, the New South District and New North District were once well-developed areas within the Great Zhou Dynasty, but now, with the changing times, they are becoming backward areas.

The Saint Laurent region and the Barton Islands face the same problem, not to mention the newly incorporated Rakshasa region.

In the next two or three decades, or even longer, the southern region will develop better, because it is newly built and embodies the country's latest technology.

However, if we extend the timeframe further, and wait another ten or twenty years until the southern region is fully developed, even with technological breakthroughs, it's impossible for them to rebuild the southern region again immediately. This is unrealistic from all perspectives.

Their attention will be prioritized for other less developed regions, and the more underdeveloped regions will see the latest technological advancements.

Then the situation will start to reverse, it's like a cycle.

To some extent, this can also be understood as the inevitable rise and fall of a dynasty.

(End of this chapter)