A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 382 It's Bart's turn!

What is a special zone? It's a place within the kingdom with a unique geographical advantage, circled around it. Best wishes!

Rorschach stated that his tinkering with the factory was merely a hobby in his spare time from studying magic, and that accidentally becoming Byrne's strongest was purely accidental. "Your Majesty, please believe me, noble titles are to me like storm clouds."

Rorschach left quietly, just as quietly as he came, having a luncheon and leaving behind a new plan.

King Albert Ludwig stroked his beard, gazing at the palace gates where Rorschach had left, and asked, "Master, what do you think?"

It wasn't a fortune teller who emerged, but Feuerbach: "A commercial special zone? Interesting."

"Isn't it just a commercial city-state? Wasn't that how it was in the southern countries of the continent in the past? A group of businessmen would get together, redeem the city from the lord, and become tyrants themselves." The king was both satisfied and dissatisfied with Luo Xia's plan. In any case, it was a real pity that this young and wealthy mage hadn't fallen into the trap.

"It's different. Very different." Feuerbach's eyes gleamed with golden light as if he had seen some new magic: "Legally speaking, it is not even as independent as a border Count, but it enjoys a high degree of autonomy in commerce and production."

The Grand Master immediately grasped the key point: "Your Majesty, if a farmer had always planted barley in previous years, and now he hears that the wheat harvest is better, what would he do?"

Albert immediately offered a solution: "Set aside a small plot of land for the first year and see how it grows. If it really does well, then we can switch to planting it all over again. You mean..."

"Indeed, if he succeeds, the city hall can follow suit and promote the practice; if not, it can be revoked. Compared to establishing nobles and abolishing titles, it is clearly more flexible and acceptable for you to issue decrees and revoke them according to law."

Master Feuerbach's analysis appealed to the King. Indeed, Rorschach's plan did not divide the kingdom's legal structure, which was superior to carving out noble territories. As for not spreading the burden of military buildup, hopefully, as the young mage predicted, tax revenue growth in the special regions is a promising prospect!

The Special Administrative Region will exchange resettlement of refugees for limited autonomy: forming a committee to enact its own laws in the commercial sector.

"Master, what do you think of the Empire's current military strength? They have already captured Condi, and Valois is teetering on the brink of collapse."

Feuerbach scoffed, "Please wait patiently for a turning point. There's one point the Church of Order and the Magic Guild agree on—we will not allow an empire to unify the continent of Ferroron to exist!"

"That would be best."

Bart was also troubled by the problem of refugees. The last time Rorschach met him was when he was on troop rotation with the army.

But things quickly deteriorated.

He had been lazily watching the orphanage distribute porridge to the refugees, but now the fields on the outskirts of the city, which were not being cultivated, were being used as temporary shelters for these people who had trekked from Valois.

The winter sun was warm, and there was the aroma of cooked grains, as well as the sound of hundreds of refugees swallowing their saliva.

Suddenly, a smelly shoe came crashing down from the city wall, nearly hitting the pot of grain porridge. Bart jumped in surprise, quickly changing the shoe's trajectory to prevent the porridge from being contaminated.

"Hey!" Bart used [Mage's Hand] to pull "Little Grenadier" down from the wall; he was a little kid from the city.

"Put me down!" he struggled, but Bart held him down. Bart scolded the soldiers, "What kind of guard are you doing at the city gate?!"

The guard was indifferent: "Sir, why bother arguing with a child? He's a city kid, unlike those brats over there who'll grope your pockets."

"Over there" obviously refers to the refugees. The guards spoke loudly, and those receiving porridge dared not speak out in anger.

Slowly, residents near the city gate gathered around, and a robust woman, her face contorted with rage, shouted: "What did you do to my child?!"

Barth wanted to remain patient; he maintained a good reputation among the residents of Würzburg and didn't want to "ruin" that image in this small border town. He first showed his identification, using his status to intimidate the elderly woman, and then tried to communicate with the young man: "Why are you doing this?"

"My dad said those people are eating for free! They're consuming our grain for nothing, while we have to pay even more money to support them this winter! It means I won't get any candy this winter."

"They're not freeloaders; they just lost their homes because of the war. If you and others don't support our army, you'll lose your houses and land like them, and end up only having a bowl of thin porridge to drink every day."

Whether the child understood or not, he stopped making a fuss. Just when Bart thought the matter was about to be resolved, someone from the crowd of townspeople said, "If they were really hungry, wouldn't they eat stinky shoes if there were any in the pot? Why give them such good food?"

Another commotion ensued, and the guards had to fire shots into the air to quell it.

There were many similar distressing moments, with rumors frequently circulating among the refugees that Byrne would turn them into slaves. Such rumors caused panic, leading to frequent escapes and even foolish attempts to attack the soldiers who were supposed to be monitoring and protecting them.

That night, another guard woke Bart from his bed to report: "Sir, there's been a riot by displaced people; they've seized a patrolman's gun!"

"Are you all idiots? You think you can get away with this by starving people!" Bart cursed as he got out of bed, quickly locking onto the rioters trying to enter the grove in his Dark Vision, and then silently dealing with the fool in the dark as possible.

"Damn it, what are they doing up there? These people are a menace. Send them all to the neighboring country, and then we'll build a long wall on the border to stop all these troublemakers." Bart and the border guards were caught in the middle, suffering from both the refugees and the local residents, all because of the order from above to "properly settle them."

Proper my foot! The homes of the person who gave the order should be filled with refugees.

"Sir, please don't get agitated. How can we possibly build a wall to completely block off such a long border?"

"You haven't seen my brother. He has several giant golems under his command; they can be built very quickly."

Just when Barthes was exhausted and on the verge of giving up, he finally received letters from Würzburg and Munich.

The first document was a joint letter from the palace and the city hall. He glanced at it hastily, his anger rising: "What special zone? Hmm. Autonomous status? Let's get my father involved." Upon seeing the phrase "resettling refugees and participating in land reclamation," he finally let out a long roar: "Great! Our days of being humiliated and subservient are over!"

Upon further inspection: "The escort and organization of the refugees will be the responsibility of the original military unit."

Bart felt an urge to tear the document to shreds.

However, a letter from Würzburg changed his mind. The writer was his wife:

To my beloved:

(The mushy remarks have been omitted)

"Do you know about the new royal decree? I was overjoyed when I saw it."

"I have heard stories of my ancestors since I was a child: they led knights and a group of exiles and criminals to seize land from the hooves of barbarian horses and cultivate fertile fields, which is how we have the kingdom we have today."

"If you still cherish the aspirations you confessed to me, then think of my ancestors! Whether your followers are refugees or lost souls from afar, become a leader they can entrust their safety to. Those you have saved will be loyal to you; the new home you create for them will be your most solid foundation."

Bart put away the letter and shook his head: "Amelia, I want to be a member of parliament, not the king."

Despite this, he remained energized and began organizing the refugees to move towards their new home.

(End of this chapter)