69: The city is developing

The bluestone path had clear water channels on both sides.

It was the time for getting off work and eating, and the workers returned one after another, making the streets lively all of a sudden, with calls of buying and selling rising and falling.

Han Huohuo felt a bit dazed, as if he had returned to the past, and some memories began to linger in his mind.

Here!

Is this my own little town?

Finally, my home looks like a normal town, no longer feeling like a bandits's den.

For the first time, Han Huohuo felt a strange sense of belonging.

I hope this place will become more prosperous in the future, okay?

No one wants their home to be a bandits's den. Even Han Huohuo, the bandits leader, didn't want that. He also wanted to live a normal life and see more prosperous cities.

As long as they could survive, who would want to be a bandits?

He walked past the bustling crowd.

In the distance, a tall and magnificent building could be seen, a fortress built with sturdy bluestone.

Right next to his Main Camp, that place was a restricted area, with Floating Turret and Mechanical Wolves patrolling everywhere.

Faintly, a blue light shot out from the castle, especially at night. It looked very much like Dracula's vampire castle from ancient European legends.

It was eerie, terrifying, and particularly mysterious.

Inside was Han Huohuo's crystal.

The life of the crystal was Han Huohuo's own life. He had to take it very seriously. He didn't understand the principle of the crystal, as if his own fate was tied to the crystal. This feeling often made him panic.

What exactly is this crystal all about?

It seemed there was no malice.

But it was just annoying!

After finishing the meal, when Han Huohuo wanted to pay, the Boss Lady absolutely refused to take the money.

Damn, do you think I'm eating for free?

At least I'm a Lord now, I don't lack this bit of money for food.

Han Huohuo insisted on paying. Finally, unable to argue further, the Boss Lady knelt down with a plop and cried, "Lord, it's a chaotic world now, and it's not easy for everyone to live. You are a great person, you shouldn't spend your energy on such trivial matters. If you can ensure the safety of the city and give everyone a place to live and work in peace, you will be a living Buddha to thousands of families!"

Han Huohuo was speechless. He didn't like kneeling, nor did he like others kneeling to him. He helped the Boss Lady up. Hearing her say all that, he definitely couldn't pay the money.

However, the Boss Lady's words did touch some of his thoughts.

He wasn't Hua Mulan, nor was he Mu Jiu. The nobles of this era didn't really care about the lives of ordinary people, but Han Huohuo, having transmigrated from modern times, was still influenced by some modern thinking.

Mu Jiu had no intention of paying at all.

She covered her mouth and watched Han Huohuo make a fool of himself.

The entire city belonged to Han Huohuo, so why would he need to pay for food? Han Huohuo was the Emperor here.

In the end, the money wasn't given.

Han Huohuo strode out, and Mu Jiu smiled from the side, "If you really want to give them money, you should use it as a reward, and they will accept it. If you give money like this, no one will dare to take it."

Such a simple Lord is rarely seen in this world.

"By the way, was the Boss Lady's belly big just now? Is she pregnant?"

"Yes, I heard it's been three months."

"We have too few children here."

"Yes, the proportion of children among the refugees is very small. Children have low resistance and the mortality rate is too high. Among the more than 500 people we recruited, there are only a dozen children in total."

"It's relatively peaceful here. I believe there will be more and more in the future, and schools should also be established."

"Schools? They are all children of commoners. They usually don't go to school and can't afford to go to school."

"No, I want to establish a public school, free for all children to study."

Mu Jiu looked at Han Huohuo suspiciously, wondering if his brain was broken, "Tch! Everyone is doing well as banditss, are you going to make them study to become top scholars in the future?"

"Who told you that banditss don't need to study? Without studying, you can't become a truly great bandits. Let me tell you, awesome banditss are definitely also educated people!"

Han Huohuo thought to himself, even great rogues like Liu Bang and beggars like Zhu Yuanzhang in history were literate people, essentially still educated.

Mu Jiu couldn't argue with Han Huohuo, so she pouted and stopped talking. Anyway, the whole city was his, and even she was his, so let him do whatever he wanted.

While Tongtian City was developing steadily.

Wanqing City was in complete chaos. People in the City Lord's Mansion died inexplicably on a large scale, and everyone fled. The old City Lord was dead, and a new City Lord had not been appointed for a long time. Li Dingbei simply stopped pretending and directly began military control of Wanqing City. Every night, blood flowed like rivers, and no one knew how many people he killed.

In the end, Li Dingbei unceremoniously and openly beheaded all the royalists in the streets. The charge was that these people were stealing chickens and dogs, and even the excuse was perfunctory. He didn't care at all, and the Great Qian Dynasty didn't even dare to let out a fart.

The delicate balance between the ruler and his officials was completely broken.

All the warlords and vassal kings began to follow suit. The collapse of a dynasty sometimes starts from such a seemingly insignificant matter.

This decadent dynasty had already collapsed in its bones. It only needed an fuse. Even if Han Huohuo and Hua Mulan didn't ignite it, it would eventually be ignited by some other small matter.

The poor Emperor, originally trying to get the blueprints to save his precarious dynasty, ended up accelerating the collapse of the dynasty.

He couldn't just sit back and wait for death.

Wanqing City, the work of the instigator Li Dingbei, was on high alert. No one paid attention to these little banditss in the Ten Thousand Mountains anymore.

Therefore, Tongtian City had a rare period of peace.

The inner city wall was finally built.

With Liu Qiang's efforts, the personnel recruitment finally reached one thousand people.

Various researches in the library were proceeding in an orderly manner. Weaving and smelting were also researched. Weaving was not needed for the time being, but after smelting, the production efficiency of iron ingots was greatly improved.

The third factory, the smelter, also started operation. It could produce more advanced refined steel. To produce refined steel, the earth furnace in the blacksmith shop could not be used; a blast furnace had to be built.

Refined steel combined with leather could produce advanced scale armor and stronger weapons.

Han Huohuo didn't need them, but these were sources of wealth.

Making money was Han Huohuo's greatest pleasure. As long as there were people in the world, money was a good thing.

In a happy mood, Han Huohuo went to the Magician Guild again.

Because all six Tier 1 spells had been researched.

[Are you sure you want to upgrade the Tier 2 Magician Guild? It requires five of each rare resource and 2000 gold coins.]

"Confirm!"

A ray of light rose, and the Magician Guild began to upgrade.

It took several hours to complete the upgrade.

The price was too expensive. This was only a Tier 2 Magician Guild, and it required so many rare resources. Han Huohuo felt heartbroken.

After the Magician Guild was upgraded, he chose to develop Tier 2 magic, which would take seven days.

Han Huohuo copied two Tier 1 spells from inside into his spellbook.

[Steel Skin]: Earth Magic, increases defense by 5 points, duration is the same as knowledge. Earth Magic level can increase the effect and duration.

[Earth Perspective]: Primary Earth Magic, finds nearby resources. Intermediate Earth Magic, finds nearby resources and ordinary minerals. Advanced Earth Magic, finds nearby resources, ordinary minerals, and rare minerals (including underground deposits). Master Earth Magic, can find treasure chests and rare items within range.

Han Huohuo finally learned the Earth Perspective spell. This was actually a search-type map spell, but only at the Advanced Earth Magic level could he truly see through the earth and find underground mineral deposits.

This spell was actually very powerful. At the Master level, he could even find hidden treasure chests nearby.

He was currently only at Intermediate Earth Magic, so he could only pray that the next upgrade would include the Advanced Earth Magic option.