Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 259 Population Census and Identity Registration

At the refugee shelter in shanties outside the eastern city wall of the Pioneer Territory, thousands of plague refugees from the southern border lined up to undergo a very special identity registration for entry into the city, under the guidance of defense soldiers and police officers.

As one of the first refugees from the wasteland to be taken in by the lord, the deputy general manager of the city hall, Orange Pi, naturally knew clearly that these hard-earned labor force was an extremely important asset. In order to cure their diseases and bring them back to the northern territory, the lord spent a lot of money and manpower, and even sent those powerful soldiers of the northern army to the south of the mountains, risking the risk of invading other noble territories at will, and finally brought them back safely.

In the past month, the military subsidies for more than a thousand territory soldiers on missions, the overtime pay of the territory medical hospital, the maintenance and repair costs of the war beasts and alchemical camels that transported refugees, and the fuel consumption of magic vehicles such as magic vehicles were so painful that people couldn't sleep at night after the statistical list came out.

Not to mention the free distribution of food, medicine, and warm clothes for the nearly 5,000 refugees in the huts on the city walls during this period, as well as the large salaries paid for recruiting them to participate in the construction of new residential areas in the territory.

If it weren't for the fact that it was near the harvest season and the territory had harvested several times more grain than in previous years, and hadn't received a generous export revenue from plague potion at the beginning of the month, the city hall's monthly financial statements would probably have shown a deficit.

After all, although the gold and silver banknotes circulating in the territory are printed, they are used to purchase imported materials from abroad, but they actually require payment of real gold and silver. The two essentially need to correspond to each other, and gold and silver coins serve as the foundation of the territory's economic system.

After the refugees were brought back, in order to prevent the recurrence of the epidemic from spreading to the territory, the lord decided to temporarily build a temporary shelter outside the city to allow them to isolate and adapt for a period of time. After the new houses are completed, they will move into the city in batches.

The tedious and massive statistical task of registering refugees entering the city naturally fell on the shoulders of the City Hall—or, to be more precise, on Orange Peel, who was in charge of the territory's population management.

Almost all of his dozens of officials and trainee apprentices were dispatched to direct the Construction Department to set up wooden sheds and grilles at the gate of the eastern section of the city wall to classify and count the identity information of the refugees who were about to enter the city and enter it into the files.

There are five registration and inspection channels in total. At the end of each grille channel, a simple wooden shed is set up, where several city hall officials responsible for registration and issuance of identity documents are stationed.

"Name...age...where is your hometown?"

"What was your previous occupation? I mean, what did you do in the past? Farming or craftsmanship?"

"Are you alone or do you have a family? How many people are there in your family? Do you have any family members left in your hometown?"

The registration officer methodically repeated his questions, while soldiers outside the shed shouted from loudspeakers, "Identity registration is required to enter the city. No one is allowed to conceal or deceive the registration officer. If any false information is verified, you will be immediately deported or sentenced to forced labor in the mines..."

"I'm... a gardener." A middle-aged man with graying hair walked cautiously to the registration desk. "I can't do anything except tending to flowers and plants. Does the lord need someone like me? Please don't send me back to the southern border. My family all died in the plague..."

The refugees who were queuing up to register and waiting to enter the city were whispering to each other. It seemed that the lord of the wasteland preferred farmers who were engaged in planting and craftsmen who could make weapons for him. Any refugee who reported these two professions was given priority to be taken away from the registration point and sent directly into the city.

"Gardener?" The young city hall official looked up, stunned. In the ID box beside him, stacks of blank ID cards, still unsigned, were stacked in various compartments. Over a dozen occupations were listed, including farmer, blacksmith, carpenter, stonemason, miner, weaver, physician, and coachman, but gardener was the only one missing. After all, this was a job reserved for the estates and gardens of noble lords, a rare sight in the northern wilderness.

Orange Peel, who was patrolling the area, immediately noticed something was wrong and came over to ask, "What's your name? Can you read?"

The middle-aged man paused, rubbing his hands awkwardly, and said, "Your Excellency... My name is Neil. I can read... but not very well."

Orange Peel nodded and pulled out a blank ID card with no occupation marked on it. "Just being able to read is enough. Come... hold out your hand."

He quickly used a repeatedly disinfected metal probe to take a drop of blood and smeared it on the blank ID card. The middle-aged man was surprised to find that the palm-sized piece of paper immediately emitted a faint white light.

Orange Peel handed the ID card to the man and instructed the soldier standing by, "He's a special professional who can read. Send him to Lord Egno's territory hospital. He might get a job at the potion plantation."

"Okay, next one..."

Several young apprentices following behind Chengpi couldn't help but whisper, "Teacher, what if they make up an identity and sneak into the city to cheat for jobs and housing benefits?"

Orange Peel chuckled, took out an ID card with his name on it from his pocket, and waved it in his hand.

"Each of you has replaced this ID card with a new one. You should be aware that it not only records your name, age, and occupation, but will also include your place of residence and ID number later. Furthermore, it will only have a special glowing effect when held in your hand..."

Even if someone deceives the staff when registering to enter the city and really enters the city with an ID card and gets a stable job, he will soon be exposed because he has no actual work experience. At that time, the police officers from the police department will immediately rush into his home and arrest him based on the address on his ID card.

"At that time, these people will be sent directly to the mining area to serve three to five years of hard labor according to the laws of the territory. This kind of free labor, without even being paid, the mine manager will be so eager to get more of them that he'll probably wake up laughing in his dreams..."

Moreover, in the future, whether you are buying a house, receiving work salary, or enjoying holiday benefits, you will need an ID card as proof. It is impossible to impersonate or forge it easily. Even if you go out at night and wander around the streets doing nothing, you may be subject to a patrolling police inspection at any time. If you cannot produce a luminous ID to prove your identity on the spot, you will be immediately handcuffed with metal shackles and taken away.

Orange Peel couldn't help but sigh softly to the apprentices he was personally teaching, "The invention and application of this ID card has provided incredible convenience and benefits to our work at City Hall... Believe me, you will definitely feel it deeply in your future work!"

(End of this chapter)