What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

Chapter 221 You Might as Well Follow the Elves

“Political marriage???!!”

"Yes! If you have the identity of queen, then you will have a basis for issuing some decrees, and people will not gossip about me, saying that the monsters in the dungeon are undermining me." Margaret explained quickly.

"Oh? Is it really because of this reason?" Seeing Margaret's slightly flustered look, Fran's eyes showed a sly smile.

Such an expression seemed to have never appeared on Margaret's face before.

Margaret can be shy, which is rare.

"But Margaret, the Holy Roll Empire is yours after all, and you shouldn't have the final say on laws. Besides, if it's a good law, you'll learn to do it even if I don't issue it. I won't promote some bad laws, so this benefit won't be of much help to me."

"Well... there is another benefit to a political marriage!" Margaret said quickly: "The Queen has the right to inherit the throne. I have no children, and I won't have any in the future. If I abdicate, you will be the first in line to the throne! You know what I mean! That is the crown of the Emperor of the Holy Roel Empire."

As she spoke, Margaret took off her crown.

Facing the golden crown, Fran's face was calm.

"You are not even interested in the crown?" Margaret was a little surprised. Throughout history, no matter how heroic you are, few people can remain indifferent to power.

"What use is a crown to me? I probably won't have any offspring! I don't want to rely on bloodline to pass on power." Fran smiled and said, "You said before that the elves are too narrow-minded and that you are just keen on power! In fact, you are just like the two previous emperors, Charles and Franco. What you want is a prosperous empire, a safe country and a happy people.

It was a golden age. If someone else could do the job, you wouldn’t mind handing over the crown.”

"That's right!"

"Then why not think further?" Fran said, "Relying on blood inheritance is an unreliable thing. Emperor Franco made many achievements in civil and military affairs in his life, but his mediocre offspring led to disasters later on! Selecting the virtuous and capable and building a suitable selection system is better than selecting people from among the offspring, or even the older ones to inherit.

, equal inheritance and the like are much more reliable. "

"No emperor?" Margaret fell into deep thought.

Fran said: "I don't have much desire for the throne! I don't need to rely on the status of a queen or even an emperor to issue orders! My prestige comes from what I have done over the years and my various achievements. It doesn't matter whether I have the throne or not. It's even better without the throne. This way I don't have to take the place of those old nobles.

We should not speak for the tribes, let alone bear the responsibility for the mistakes they made."

Christina couldn't help but sigh after hearing this. Sometimes her sister is very smart, but sometimes she is very stupid. Didn't she hear the hidden meaning of Margaret's so-called political marriage? But forget it... let's see how the two of them continue to argue.

Thinking of this, Christina continued to eat melon and watched the two people chatting.

"I understand what you mean! In a sense, our goals are the same!" Margaret said with disappointment and joy.

"Yes! So, you don't need to compromise yourself by marrying a political man."

There is obviously no grievance.

Margaret thought to herself, but still said: "Anyway, I will follow your example and reform the entire Holy Roll Empire. Now the power of the nobles is at its weakest in history. We can seize the opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop. As for the elf's letter..." Margaret was about to

Tear it off.

"Wait a minute!" But at this moment, Fran stopped Margaret.

"What's wrong?"

"I think it's not bad that you agreed to the elf."

"Are you kidding?" Margaret said, "Promise the elf? That's just a sugar-coated bullet! It's a trap! The elf is obviously trying to sow discord between us."

"But this layer of sugar coating is really tempting." Fran said: "Let me think about it, do you want to pretend to surrender to the elves? Reform is very expensive, and someone is willing to help us, so why shouldn't we? And they said they would help you build a new city."

"Are you referring to the elves' suggestion of moving the capital?"

Fran said: "You also know that the Holy Roel Empire also has a coastline on the Calradia continent, close to the Saint Selux Sea. Because the elves monopolized the maritime trade before, there has never been a port on the east coast of the Holy Roel Empire. If you choose a sea city as the capital and let the elves spend money to help build it...

Margaret also brightened up!

In this way, doesn't it mean that we get a port for nothing?

"As for these materials... Fran said: "The people in the eastern part of the Holy Roel Empire have been exploited very badly by the nobles, and the elves have even used this place as their own source of raw materials. Since they have made so much money here, it is time for them to give some of it back and contribute to the local residents."

"As expected of the Lord of Fran! You have so many ways to cheat people!" Margaret said happily.

This sentence should be a compliment to me. Fran's smile was a little unnatural.

"But what should I do with this money? Elves are not fools. I can't openly give this money to you or distribute it directly to civilians."

Fran pondered for a moment, then said, "The eastern region has always been on the outskirts of the empire, and infrastructure is quite lacking. Why not mobilize the civilians in the east to build their own homes, build bridges and roads, reclaim wasteland, and build villages and cities? This way, the money will be spent wisely, everyone will have jobs, and the country will be built! Killing two birds with one stone."

"And the place to buy building materials and food will most likely be the Jingxi Chamber of Commerce, right?" Margaret said

"How could that be! We are enemies, you definitely can't look for me!" Fran said, "All the sources must be found in the Chamber of Commerce under Duke Wallenstein. As for where Count Wallenstein came from, that's another matter."

"Don't worry! I will make the accounts look good and ensure that no connection with the Jingxi Chamber of Commerce can be found." Wallenstein said with a smile: "I am good at this, my little Jin... um, anyway, trust me."

Fran and Margaret discussed it and quickly came up with a plan for "win-win cooperation" with the elves.

Although Margaret's original intention (political marriage) was not achieved, it was good to get such a result. At least the two finally put aside their previous grudges and made things clear. From now on, their cooperation will be even closer.

There will be a way later, and then proceed to the next step!

The private banquet ended quickly, and Fran and Christina left the palace in a carriage.

"Here, a towel! You're drunk!" Christina applied the towel to Fran, then said, "Do you really believe in Margaret?"

"Of course I believe it. After all, she showed me such an important letter. Giving up the throne and marrying me will not do her any good! Instead, it will lead to domestic opposition." Fran said.

"From the perspective of interests, Margaret will not gain much from marrying you!" Christina said, "But what about other perspectives? Don't you think about it carefully?"

"You mean she has some conspiracy in secret?" Fran was stunned, then smiled and said: "But even if she has some conspiracy in secret, I am not afraid. We have survived the undead plague! Why should we be afraid of the little tricks of the elves? If they really want to play tricks, let them play! We can just focus on improving our own strength."

"Forget it." Christina didn't want to break the window paper. In the final analysis, their own problems had to be solved by them alone.

"But you, sister... didn't say much at the previous banquet. Don't you trust Margaret?"

"I trust her now." Christina said, "But people change. If she really becomes big and powerful in the East, do you think she will have other ideas? Don't forget that it was not you who defeated her this time, but Arthas's conspiracy. It would be great if you could form a closer alliance with her.

"There is no such thing as an eternal alliance, only eternal interests!" Fran spread her hands and said, "I believe Margaret is not keen on the emperor's power, so as long as the two of us work together to develop the Holy Roel Empire, we will be the most stable alliance. Besides, if you insist that people will change, my sister and I will

Isn't it possible that the alliance between them might deteriorate? Do I still have to be on guard against you, my sister?"

"Well... I mean, you trust me so much. Besides the fact that my interests are aligned with yours, there must be other reasons! If you apply this reason to Margaret, wouldn't it be the same?"

"That's different. You are my sister. We have lived together and grown up together since we were young!" Fran said in confusion, "I can't drag Margaret to the slums and live with her for more than ten years."

"Okay!" Christina saw that Fran was still stubborn, so she said, "Forget it, let's change the subject. I see Catherine is packing her luggage recently. Are you planning to go back to Orila City?"

"No! I plan to go to the Feruman Empire. The first batch of yams has just matured. I want to take this opportunity to go to Minsk and see the progress of the reconstruction there."

"That's going to be a busy time."

"Sister, will you come with me?"

"I won't go with you! I have some things to do in the country."

As the two were talking, the carriage stopped.

"City Lord! Have you been drinking again? Let me help you!" Catherine smelled the alcohol on Fran and immediately helped her down.

Seeing Catherine and other maids helping the stumbling Fran back, Christina smiled with relief.

"Lady Saint, are we going back to the Golden Dome Cathedral?" the coachman asked.

"No, go back to the palace. I have something to tell Margaret."

Since her sister was so stubborn, she could only start with someone else.

I wrote four chapters today. I'm so tired. Please give me a ticket or a razor blade.

Chapter 222: Soul-Guiding Thing

After staying in Vienna for a while, Fran took Catherine and others and rushed to the Feruman Empire, or now it should be called the Feruman Plain.

More than half a year has passed since the end of the war. Under Fran's policy of recuperation, the west bank of the Soul Guiding River is now a peaceful scene.

There was no famine and no banditry.

In this process, the yam that Fran had actively introduced and improved before can be said to have played a great role. The yam takes about three months to mature, and now the second batch has been harvested. This food is large in quantity, filling, and tastes not bad, and it has suddenly become the most popular food among civilians.

When the first promotion of yam planting was launched, most civilians were still in the wait-and-see stage, as they did not want to risk their harvest. If it were not for Fran's guarantee through administrative orders, almost no one would be willing to plant it. When it came to the second planting, the situation was completely reversed.

As grassroots farmers, we can naturally clearly distinguish which crops are good and which are bad.

With the large-scale production of jade potatoes, plus all kinds of food that Fran mobilized from the city of Orila, after this brutal war, there was not a single famine incident on the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River. Each village and town had enough food and could naturally provide relief to the surrounding areas with ease.

If food supply is stable, then the political power will be stable.

There is absolutely no problem with this statement when applied to the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River. At least until now, there has been no major banditry on the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River. People there have no worries about food and clothing, so no one would be willing to become a bandit with a precarious fate.

Of course, only when we are well fed and clothed can we discuss follow-up construction and imagine the future.

In contrast, the civilians on the east bank of the Soul-Guiding River did not have such a good life. The elves were able to transport a large amount of food, clothing and other supplies from their homeland to help the victims, but other countries...

There is famine everywhere in the Mad Sand Empire itself, the people in the North believe in survival of the fittest, the Lombardy Federation is too small, and as for commercial countries like Venice, they only think about making money. Relief? What is that? Demand without money is not a demand.

As a result, the east bank of the Soul-Guiding River was filled with starving people and thieves abounded.

This was the norm in feudal times. After war, there was disease, and after disease, there was famine. After the population dropped significantly, the pressure on agriculture was relatively reduced, and then the area would slowly recuperate and recover after several generations.

Those empires were also well prepared. When most of the natives died, they would distribute land to the nobles, re-establish order, and finally resume production. Although it sounds cruel, since everyone did it, no one would blame anyone else, and there was no ideological or moral burden.

What they didn't expect was that a completely unreasonable Fran appeared.

With the help of the super productivity of Orila City, the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River actually broke this historical law. There was no famine, no plague, no disaster, and there was even a rare prosperity around Minsk, which formed a sharp contrast with the east bank of the Soul-Guiding River.

And the contrast is getting stronger and stronger!

As a result, a large number of people from the east bank of the Soul-Guiding River, along with their elderly, women and children, moved to the west bank of the river.

In the feudal era, population was the most important resource! As a result, now a large number of people are flowing towards the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River every day.

The massive population loss made the nobles of various forces panic. How could we let a little girl like Fran take advantage of the land we had worked so hard to conquer? But they couldn't think of any good ideas, so they could only use the most brutal method - setting up checkpoints to prevent people from going to the west coast.

However, although they set up checkpoints to prevent people from leaving, they did not provide them with supplies and food to survive in the area. Isn't this the same as locking them up in hell and leaving them to fend for themselves?

The desperate people instantly turned into angry warriors. They either attacked the nobles' manors in groups and hanged them, or joined the local bandits. This also caused the size of the major bandit groups to surge. Some border bandit groups even crossed the border to break into the suzerain country, burn, kill, and loot, and then bring the supplies back to help the people.

people.

Eventually, these forces were forced to open the border and allow the victims to cross the Soul-Guiding River to the west bank.

And at this moment, Fran was in need of manpower on the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River.

Previously, Fran had drawn up a detailed work-for-relief construction plan for Margaret. This plan was not just something Fran came up with on a whim. In fact, it had already been implemented on the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River.

The entire west bank of the Soul-Guiding River, radiating outward with the two cities of Minsk and Gondolin as the centers, is full of large-scale construction. From a distance, they look like two super construction sites.

At the same time, Fran is going to do something big on the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River.

Laying the railroad!!

Long before the war, she had already told the institute about her ideas and design direction for the railway! This saved the institute the trouble of trial and error.

But even so, there is still a big gap from idea to implementation.

This idea is undoubtedly good, but the road inside the city of Orilla is too rugged, and building a railway is too difficult. The land around Vienna also has owners. Building a railway of more than ten kilometers is likely to pass through several nobles. Just expropriating land and obtaining the right of way is a troublesome matter.

Therefore, the train was only briefly tested in the backyard of the institute and was left idle for the rest of the time.

But the situation is different now, especially on the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River.

Strictly speaking, all the land on the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River belongs to Fran, which means she can do whatever she wants with it. No one will care even if she bombs the land into pockmarks. Moreover, the Feruman Plain is a vast fertile land, which is a perfect section for building a railway.

With the triple guarantee of manpower, material resources and technology, the first railway was soon opened to traffic. It connected the two cities of Minsk and Gundolin, and the journey that was originally calculated in days was now calculated in hours.

Of course, this first railway is just a technical verification, with more symbolic significance than practical significance.

After building this railway, the Construction Corps quickly explored and summarized a production process and also trained a large number of engineers.

Fran knew that the construction of railways was a long process, and that more railways would be built on her own territory in the future, or even on the territory of other forces.

It is obviously impossible to place all such tasks on the shoulders of the Construction Corps.

Finally, Fran established a new Chamber of Commerce - Vienna Railway Construction Bureau, referred to as Vienna Railway Bureau, which also has several branches to undertake railway projects in different regions. The Holy Roll Empire project belongs to Branch No. 1, and the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River belongs to Branch No. 2.

In this way, the logo of European Railways II can be displayed on the railway construction site with good reason! There will be no management chaos.

Of course, the current focus of railway construction is mainly on the west bank of the Yinhun River.

After the successful trial operation of the first railway, Fran immediately ordered the European Railway Authority to launch more railway projects.

Chapter 223 The Great Railway Age

Although the mainland of Orila City is still just a small underground world, in terms of various enclaves, the territory actually controlled by Fran can be said to be very large.