Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 251 New Citizens

For the first time, Harvey led a team of personal guards to the territory's city hall, sat in the independent office where Reiner originally worked, and summoned Haru, the head of the construction department.

Ever since the territory's army went to Jackdaw Town to build a refugee shelter, civilians sent from the south of Jackdaw Ridge have been arriving in the Pioneer Territory every day. In order to prevent these people who have just recovered from the plague from spreading the plague to local residents, Harvey arranged them all in the area outside the eastern city wall, where he temporarily built a dense cluster of huts for these newly joined residents to temporarily live in.

The temporary shantytown area is right next to the city wall and can be fully cared for by the defense forces stationed on the city wall for a long time. There are also soldiers patrolling outside the wall day and night, so there is no need to worry about them being attacked by wild beasts.

However, the number of refugees in this group exceeds 4,000. If the Federation's subsequent measures to control the epidemic are not timely enough, Harvey predicts that the number of refugees pouring into the border will continue to increase, and by then it may exceed 5,000, accounting for half of the local population of the Pioneer Territory.

Simply supplying food and clean drinking water to these refugees was not a big problem. Since last winter, there had been no food crisis in the Frontier Territory, and food supplies were rarely purchased from the southern border through the Dragonstone Chamber of Commerce. At the end of summer, Reiner had even asked Harvey whether to crush the large amount of old wheat accumulated in the storage area and use it as livestock feed, so as to free up new storage space in preparation for this year's autumn harvest.

The most important issue at the moment is actually the housing problem of these new subjects. It is already early autumn, and the north is not as warm and humid as the south. The Divine Ridge Mountains separate the north and cause a huge temperature difference between day and night. The refugees can barely make do in huts, which at least can keep them out of the rain and wind. The sudden drop in temperature can also prevent them from being bitten by mosquitoes and other common infectious diseases.

But winter is coming in two or three months. In the northern wilderness, people can be frozen to death at any time. Staying in a wooden shed is no different from sleeping in the open air. Without thick fur clothes and a continuously burning fireplace for warmth, most people will not be able to survive the long winter in the north.

In other words, Harvey had to preside over the busiest autumn harvest work of the year in an orderly manner in the remaining three months of autumn before winter came, and at the same time, he had to gather people to build sturdy houses that could accommodate at least 5,000 people.

"My lord, we have no shortage of cement. A large amount is piled up in the warehouse and can be used at any time... But, the key is that I don't have anyone under my command!" Construction Minister Haru stood upright in front of Harvey's desk, sucking in his slightly fat belly, and complained with a worried look on his face.

The Ministry of Construction has always been doing some tedious repair work. Only when there is a big project will it post notices to temporarily recruit construction workers. After the project is completed, the wages will be settled on the spot and the staff will be dismissed.

But as the autumn harvest approached, those people who did not have stable jobs on weekdays had already been snatched away by the lucrative short-term wages offered by the Ministry of Agriculture and food processing factories. It was extremely difficult for him to form a construction team of thousands of people at this time.

"That's not my business. My orders are to see your construction team start work on the new residential area I've drawn in a week. Whether you ask the Ministry of Agriculture for people or the Ministry of Industry for them is up to you...at most, you can just give them a higher salary and ask your immediate boss, Leonardo, for a budget."

Haru frowned and his eyes immediately turned red. He muttered a few words under his breath and was about to cry out loud, which made Harvey burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright! I was just kidding! How could there be no one? Aren't those new residents just pulled into the temporary shantytown your ready-made labor force? I heard... most of those who managed to escape to the border are young and strong. Can't you just recruit those dozens of officials? That way, you can immediately find them a three-month job and provide them with a good salary guarantee, laying the foundation for their future foothold in the territory..."

Haru rushed out of the office happily with the new residential area planning drawings in his hand, leaving Harvey alone inside, feeling both amused and helpless.

……

Before he could even take a sip of his tea to relax, Yurio, the territorial police inspector, walked in, dressed in a sleek gray uniform. "Sir, in the refugee shantytowns, there have been several incidents of robbery and brawls in the past two days alone," Yurio reported gravely. "And this afternoon, during the food distribution, some people even openly clashed with the officers maintaining order over issues like queue-jumping and food portion sizes..."

"What? They've only been here for two or three days, and they're already causing all this trouble?" Harvey frowned and said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Compared to the simple and honest nature of the refugees in the wilderness, the people in the southern border are indeed more cunning and calculating.

Even before the local residents and the new refugees are allowed to live together, they have already begun to frequently bully the weak. When they actually move into the territory, who knows how many conflicts will break out.

"The police department must immediately curb this phenomenon. We must not allow them to band together, otherwise it will be even more difficult to deal with! Involve the defense forces and cooperate with you to maintain law and order in the shantytown. Arrest all these thugs who are fighting and causing trouble. Try and punish them in front of the new residents. Whether they are hung up and whipped or handcuffed and paraded through the streets, it doesn't matter. In short, within this month, I want to see the order in the shantytown be exactly the same as in the territory!"

"Understood! Lord, those who stepped forward to lead the riot..."

Harvey glanced at Yurio and said calmly, "Just killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. No need to inform me alone."

……

After finishing the work report, Yurio still stood there without leaving, quietly waiting for Harvey to continue reading the documents.

"Huh? Why are you still here? Do you want to wait for me to get off work and then go to the castle for dinner?" Harvey raised his head and teased.

Yurio then said awkwardly, "Sir, there is one more thing I need your approval and consent for..."

He reached up and unsheathed the metal baton, issued to police officers for routine patrols and arrests, from his waist. He muttered, "My officers are whispering that the weapons issued to the police department aren't very intimidating... They're effective against drunken and disruptive residents in the territory, but against those refugees from the southern border, unless we give them a real good whack on the head, it's better to brandish swords or sharp blades to intimidate them."

When distributing relief food in the shantytown today, those who led the riot completely ignored the iron rods in the hands of the police officers and directly surrounded several police officers by relying on their numbers. If the defense forces on the city wall had not arrived in time and fired a shot that directly broke the leader's knee, the situation on the scene would probably be out of control.

Harvey smiled and said, "Why? You want to replace your standard weapons with swords that are more lethal and deterrent?"

Yurio puffed out his chest and said bluntly, "No, sir, I want to apply for the police department to be uniformly equipped with magic guns!"

(End of this chapter)