Above the mage

Chapter 301 Public Security Bureau and Ministry of Education

What Gaode said is true.

Phoenix is ​​indeed short of manpower in many areas right now, and the abilities of hunters like Caitlin will certainly be very useful in his plans for Phoenix's next phase of development.

But if they don't genuinely want to stay in Phoenix, Gaudí would rather not use them.

Keeping a capable but wicked person around is like raising a tiger to cause trouble.

Caitlin paused for a moment, thought for a while, and then cautiously asked, "May I ask, what are you planning for us to do in Phoenix?"

"Even if you hadn't asked, I was prepared to tell you," Gao De said with a slight smile.

Who recruits employees without explaining their job responsibilities beforehand?

"The Ministry of Agriculture's operations are on track, and in another month, the first batch of naturally grown Northwest Barley No. 1 will be ready for harvest."

Gao De suddenly realized that Caitlin had just returned to Phoenix and probably didn't understand what Northwest Barley No. 1 was, so he explained, "It's those wheat seedlings planted in the fields outside the city."

The natural growth cycle of Northwest Barley No. 1, from sowing to harvest, is four months.

Ideally, there would be three harvests a year.

"Once the first batch of barley is harvested, the food problem of the Zhenbing tribe will be greatly alleviated, freeing up some manpower and resources to do other things."

Gaode revealed a small part of his plans: "So, I'm going to set up two new departments in the city hall next."

Grant, who had been listening quietly, had his eyes light up the moment he heard this.

To date, the city hall only has this one representative from the Ministry of Agriculture.

However, their Ministry of Agriculture alone has already brought about tremendous changes to the Zhenbing tribe.

Now that Gaode Maps is setting up two new departments, it's clear that another big move is in store.

He subconsciously pricked up his ears, feeling both curious and expectant.

"The first one is the Sheriff's Office," Gao De tapped the table. "Phoenix is ​​the only city in the North. In addition to the 500,000 Icefolk, there are also 200,000 to 300,000 people from other races living there. It's a mixed bag."

"Among these three to three hundred thousand people from other ethnic groups and even other places, there are quite a few with ill intentions."

"Especially after Phoenix's troops marched to the Icefield Temple and the Northwest Barley No. 1 seed was planted, these treacherous individuals were already unable to restrain themselves and had begun to make some small moves."

"Furthermore, as a city of 800,000 people, Phoenix will inevitably expand in the foreseeable future, absorbing other ethnic groups and making its population more complex, which will only lead to more conflicts and even crime."

"There must be a dedicated department responsible for preventing, stopping, and investigating these criminal activities."

Phoenix still does not have a law enforcement team in the strict sense.

All illegal and criminal activities within the city are generally dealt with by hunters dispatched by the Zhenbing tribe after they are discovered. For murderers who have already escaped, a bounty is issued to bring them to justice.

Such a security system was indeed formed because of the situation in Phoenix and has its reasons for existing, but its sluggishness and inefficiency in actual operation are unavoidable.

For evildoers, such a security system is not very effective in deterring them. They can often escape thousands of miles away after committing crimes, and only a few are unlucky enough to be caught and brought to justice.

For the public, such a security situation does not provide much sense of security.

Sunefa was not unaware of this problem.

The problem is that the Zhenbing tribe couldn't even afford to support "professional soldiers" in the past, so where would they get the resources to support a law enforcement force?

The scarcity of resources makes the improvement of the public security system a luxury.

But now, the conditions for establishing a public security system are ripe.

The emergence of Northwest Barley No. 1 greatly alleviated the food pressure on the tribe, freeing the Zhenbing tribe from the heavy labor of obtaining food as before—under the agricultural system, one farmer could feed more than ten people.

Furthermore, it's impossible to wait until things have already gotten worse before taking remedial action.

If you want to expand and grow, you must plan ahead and make all necessary preparations.

"The Sheriff's Department is the department I intend to use to carry out this task. Its main responsibilities are to maintain stability in Phoenix, eliminate threats and hidden dangers, arrest and punish criminals in accordance with the rules, and also handle some common civil disputes."

Gaode does not intend to set up a complex institution similar to the public security, procuratorate and judiciary in its previous life. Not only would it require a large number of people and increase the difficulty of management, but it would also be easy for people to pass the buck, which would be counterproductive.

The overall structure is still close to that of the primitive tribe of Phoenix, and it is not suitable to adopt such a complex system. Otherwise, it will only backfire. Taking too big a step will lead to disaster.

Most importantly, the power of "law" should be kept in one's own hands.

Therefore, a simpler system is actually more suitable for Phoenix's current situation.

A police department, existing as an independent department, directly under his and Sunaifa's jurisdiction, is sufficient.

"If you are willing to stay and pledge your loyalty to me, I would like you to serve as the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau. Of course, the position of director will be vacant for the time being, but if you perform well as deputy director, it is not impossible for you to become the director later."

Gaode Maps presented its terms and conditions, while also drawing a line to illustrate its prospects.

Caitlin is not a member of the True Ice tribe, but rather a guardian of the snowfields who was wiped out by the True Ice tribe.

From this perspective, Caitlin may harbor hatred towards the True Ice Clan.

So even if talent is needed now, and Caitlin is very capable, Gao De would not directly hand over the position of sheriff to her—in other words, she failed the "political vetting" and therefore needs more time to prove her ability and loyalty.

"Deputy Chief of the Sheriff's Department? Me?" Caitlin blinked, her face showing undisguised shock.

Although she didn't fully understand what Gao De said, she could grasp the general idea. Therefore, she understood the power of the Public Security Bureau and the importance of the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau.

And Gaode would actually entrust such power to an outsider like her?

This is truly an incredible thing.

"Yes, it's you. Your abilities are perfect for this position. Why can't it be you?"

Gao De affirmed, "It's not just you. Other hunters who are willing to pledge their allegiance to me will also have positions in the Security Bureau. Of course, their positions will be team members."

"However, besides you, the Public Security Bureau will have another deputy director." Gao De wanted to explain this beforehand.

He had already decided on the candidate:

A former conservative, a staunch supporter of Sunefair, and Elder Lanwen, one of the four fourth-ring Iceborn mages in the Horde.

"What are your thoughts?" Gao De asked.

Caitlin did not answer Gaud's question directly. She stood still and remained silent for a while, but Gaud was not in a hurry and waited quietly for her to make a decision.

Finally, Caitlin took a deep breath, and with a thud, knelt down on one knee in front of Gaode, her hand on her chest and her head slightly lowered.

This is standard etiquette for swearing allegiance to a superior.

"Your Majesty, Queen of the True Ice Tribe, I swear an oath in the name of Caitlin Hernandez," she said in a firm voice, "that as long as you bring food, peace, and prosperity to the North, I will pledge my allegiance to you!"

"So that's how it is," Gao De said, giving Caitlin a deep look.

The Snowfield Guardians' doctrine is to protect the snowfield. Although the Holy Inquisitor Ryan, as the leader of the hunters, has abandoned this doctrine, it does not mean that no one among the Snowfield Guardians adheres to it.

Caitlin, however, seems to still adhere to the doctrine.

The Snowfield Guardian is gone, and she knows she is the one who foretold the prophecy, and has witnessed the miraculous Northwest Barley No. 1. So it is only natural that she sees herself as the savior of the North and Phoenix as the new "Snowfield Guardian".

Gao De stood up and, following the etiquette he had learned at Cyrus Academy, drew his sword, North Wind, and gently patted Caitlin's shoulder with the back of the blade.

"I accept your loyalty."

Then, Gao De reached out his hands and gently helped Caitlin, who was kneeling on one knee, to her feet.

"The police department's office will initially be located in the city hall, but it will definitely be separated from the city hall later."

"As for the composition of the security bureau, my current plan is to first establish a team of fifty members. You should first convey my message to those hunters who have regained their freedom and see how many are willing to stay and pledge their loyalty to me."

I'm currently reading the error-free version! This novel was first published on 6=9+Book_Bar.

"That's the first thing," Gao De continued without stopping, "Besides, there's one more thing I need you to do."

"Please give your orders, Your Majesty." Caitlin had already adapted well to the change in address.

"Your Snowfield Guardians have thirteen branches in the North, used to shelter orphans and train the next generation of members of the sect. I initially kept these thirteen branches in case of food shortages, but now that the conditions are ripe, it is time to deal with these branches."

Gao De picked up his cup, took a sip of water, glanced at Caitlin's unconsciously raised eyebrows, and then continued, "I plan to recruit everyone from these thirteen chapters, from instructors to orphans, into Phoenix."

"However, these thirteen branches are scattered across the snowfield in all directions, and they are all quite far from Phoenix. The journey is long and dangerous, so we need to send someone to bring the children over. To avoid conflict, this task will be entrusted to you."

"The instructors, in particular, are very important for another department I'm preparing to build."

Caitlin then realized that what Gao De had said earlier was "to set up two new departments".

"My king, what is the other department?" she couldn't help but ask.

"The Ministry of Education," Gao De smiled, "I will be in charge of this department."

"Ministry of Education?" Caitlin and Grant asked the same question.

"It's the department responsible for cultural training. Actually, it shouldn't just be cultural training, but given the current conditions, we'll be teaching more other knowledge later on," Gao De explained briefly.

"Cultural training." Grant paused, clearly having never considered this before. "Does it mean literacy?"

"For now."

"But [Language Proficiency] is a spell that Iceborn mages awaken on their own!" Grant asked, looking shocked.

So, what is the significance of cultural training?

Gao De shook his head. "Deputy Minister Grant, you misunderstood. The cultural training I was referring to is for everyone."

"You mean, you want to teach non-Icelandic people to read and write?" Deputy Minister Grant looked shocked. "Their daily work involves manual labor, so literacy is useless to them and a waste of time."

"In any world, in any era, universal education is absolutely the most effective means of promoting the development of civilization; this is historical experience," Gao De said casually, then stopped abruptly.

He wasn't prepared to explain too much to Grant, firstly because, given Grant's current understanding of the world, even if he explained, Grant wouldn't be able to comprehend it.

The facts will tell him everything.

Secondly, given Gao De's social status, he doesn't need many reasons to make decisions.

"The current shortage is of teachers and teaching materials. Once these problems are solved, I will implement compulsory education in Phoenix. The goal is to ensure that everyone has basic literacy skills. The instructors in the Snowfield Guardians branch will be the first teachers in Phoenix."

After seeing Grant and Caitlin off, God stood up, stretched, and left City Hall, ending his workday.

Given the current situation in Phoenix, although there are not many available staff, there are actually even fewer things to deal with.

Upon returning home, Gao De first began his daily practice of the "Green Wood Longevity Sutra".

After receiving the feedback from Yugathira and breaking through the bottleneck to reach 150 in mental strength, his cultivation efficiency improved slightly.

Over the past two months, with the assistance of the fourth-tier spiritual land, Gao De not only condensed his 22nd drop of liquid mana, but his 23rd drop of liquid mana is also nearing completion.

This progress, anywhere, would be considered the work of a mage genius.

After two hours of meditation.

Gao De took out three bottles of Ice Fiend that he had prepared, and then summoned the ice crystal fragment hidden in his ear, which was called the Ice Blade but was actually the Ice Needle.

【Frozen Blade+】still retains the ability to increase spell damage by improving the quality of ice crystal shards.

He had been so busy planting trees and farming that he hadn't had time to study the specific details of the Frozen Blade.

Now that he has a bit more free time, Gao De took some time today to learn how to enhance the Frozen Blade.

"I only have two bottles of Tier 2 Ice Fiend, not enough to strengthen it, but I don't have many opportunities to use it now, so I'm not in a hurry."

As Gao De muttered to himself, he went over the enhancement method in his mind again.

Then, he opened the bottle containing the ice crystals.

In an instant, a blue current of air suddenly surged up, but it remained condensed and did not dissipate.

The air current carried an astonishing chill and a sharp, piercing sensation.

If Gao De hadn't possessed a mid-level Ice Protection Body, he would have inevitably suffered frostbite without adequate preparation.

"It's truly amazing that a first-tier ice aura can be so effective."

Gao De sighed, then placed the ice needle on the upward-flowing icy energy, closed his eyes, and probed with his mental energy to perform some kind of operation.

A moment later, strands of blue light were drawn out from the icy aura and drifted into the ice needles like willow catkins.

As the blue light threads continued to integrate, the magical power contained within the ice needles began to slowly increase.

(End of this chapter)