81: Late Antiquity

In winter, the lake in the park had already frozen over, but beneath the ice, clear water still flowed; the city's canals were the same.

The winters here weren't extremely cold, unable to freeze the water beneath the surface.

Han Huohuo laughed and said, 'As long as it works.' He went over and gave Mu Jiu a gentle hug, asking, 'Sweetie, before this winter ends, can our Main Camp be upgraded to the Late Ancient Era?'

Reaching level ten in the Medieval Era allows promotion to the Late Ancient Era, which would be another qualitative leap for Tongtian City.

Han Huohuo knew that a great war would erupt come spring. Tongtian City, a small city at the very center of this turbulent storm, needed to be as fortified as possible.

'We're probably still a bit short on resources, but we have enough gold coins. If we buy some resources, we can reach the Late Ancient Era by spring.'

'Then go buy some. I'm not good at much else, but I sure know how to do business!'

'Mm, I believe you!'

Mu Jiu looked at Han Huohuo with a giggle. This honest, simple fellow was sometimes quite silly, but he always had some ingenious ideas and was genuinely good at business, especially at keeping accounts.

Tongtian City's development was nearing its peak. Not only was its own collection efficiency astonishing, but it also had thirty-six lords helping it gather resources.

Han Huohuo thought to himself that his civilization wasn't primarily focused on plunder; it should be considered an agrarian civilization.

He wondered how lords in other regions were faring.

However, the Ten Thousand Mountains region was now completely under Han Huohuo's control. Unable to plunder each other, everyone could only follow his lead in this agrarian civilization model of self-collecting resources and independent development.

There was a lot of information and rumors on the forum.

Cold Blade in the Southwest had taken the bandit civilization to its extreme. He not only robbed all the lords but even raided the local government offices. It was said he had become a force that couldn't be ignored.

Cold Blade wasn't actually that far from the Northwest.

Only a single mountain lay between them.

A massive mountain range.

Han Huohuo believed that sooner or later, his agrarian civilization would encounter those bandit civilizations. How then could he prove his path of development was correct?

There was only one way: defeat them!

History is always written by the victors. There's no right or wrong; if you survive and win, your civilization is correct.

If you lose but remain alive, you're Barbarians!

If you're all dead, you're history.

At this moment, Han Huohuo suddenly understood the Barbarian King's sorrow. They were actually the same people as the Great Qian Dynasty, but because they lost, they could only become Barbarians, dwelling in harsh, barren lands where even the most basic living conditions were a major problem.

The Tulip Merchant Group's caravans traveled incessantly between the Barbarians and the Great Qian Dynasty. Tongtian City became the perfect transit station; they even built a super-large warehouse here to temporarily stockpile goods.

Clearly, the Tulip Merchant Group had great confidence in Han Huohuo.

Han Huohuo wasn't arrogant. He knew all too well it wasn't because he was so amazing, but because the Barbarian King was backing him from behind. Of course they trusted him.

This bargain of a brother had really brought him too many conveniences.

And, of course, huge business opportunities!

As winter gradually passed, the ice and snow began to melt.

The city's residents had reached three thousand people, making it a very prosperous small town. Moreover, more and more foreign merchants were arriving, everyone discovering that this place was practically a paradise for commerce.

Every policy Han Huohuo introduced benefited commercial prosperity.

The last heavy snow of winter turned into rain before the snowflakes even touched the ground.

[Are you sure you want to upgrade the Main Camp from the Medieval Era to the Late Ancient Era? Requires 500,000 wood, 250,000 stone, 50,000 iron ingots!]

'Confirm!'

A red light shot into the sky. The Main Camp transformed dramatically, becoming much larger. It became a three-courtyard compound: the outermost part was still the council hall, the middle was the residence, and the back had a huge rear garden, a training ground, storage rooms, and more.

[Please choose your development direction: One, resource production speed increased by 10%. Two, resource plunder quantity increased by 10%.]

Han Huohuo knew this was essentially the dividing line between an agrarian civilization and a bandit civilization.

He hesitated for a moment.

He still chose resource production.

The inherent nature of the Huaxia people is hard to change; otherwise, why would they be called a farming people?

Main Camp upgrade completed.

[Main Camp]: Level 1, Late Ancient Era building.

[Crystal HP]: 150,000.

[Population Limit]: 10,000 people (including workers and military).

[Income]: 10,000 gold coins daily.

[Traits]: Technology research progress increased by 20%. Technology research resource consumption reduced by 20%. Resource production increased by 10%.

[Construction]: Can construct advanced civilian housing, intermediate market, warehouse, animal pen, advanced fertile fields, brick-and-stone walls, recycling furnace, blacksmith, well, Pikeman barracks, chariot barracks, longbowman barracks, workshop, brick kiln, city gate, Medical Center, library, mage guild.

[Upgrade]: Next level requires 500,000 wood, 250,000 stone, 50,000 iron ingots.

Upgrading from the Medieval Era, the resources required had become astronomical, and the demand for iron ingots was added. Walls could be upgraded again, and the market could also be upgraded.

Han Huohuo first upgraded the market to intermediate level.

Everything else remained the same, but the market transaction tax rate dropped by 5%. Combined with the 5% reduction for merchants from his own faction, the transaction tax in the market was now only 10%.

With the tariff reduction, Han Huohuo believed commerce would usher in another explosive growth period.

He could start doing some resource trading.

Mu Jiu immediately arranged for people to build a brick kiln, the kind that produced sturdy, large blue bricks.

Not for civilian use; military purposes took priority.

Hua Mulan quickly used these blue bricks to upgrade the city walls.

She finished upgrading Yanmen Pass first.

Even if a Cyclops came, smashing through Yanmen Pass probably wouldn't be so easy anymore.

Warm winds blew from the Southeast.

Gradually greening the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The breath of spring passed through Yanmen Pass and began entering the Ten Thousand Mountains. The first to turn green were the grasslands, then the tender buds on the trees.

Mu Jiu was like a child, running on the grass, giggling. She had been restrained for over a decade and never felt this free before. Han Huohuo doted on her, indulging her in everything.

She ran until she was sweating.

Mu Jiu returned to Han Huohuo's side, her smile as beautiful as jade, her cheeks rosy, making Han Huohuo's heart pound. This little girl was just too beautiful.

'We can finally start farming. If we don't plant soon, our food will almost run out.'

Han Huohuo grunted in agreement, finally feeling relieved. Over the winter, the population had multiplied several times. Fortunately, they had seized a lot of food from Nine Dragon Mountain, but it was almost gone.

Both the Great Qian Dynasty and the Barbarian King were preparing for war, sharpening their weapons and feeding their horses. Conflict could erupt at any moment.

Food was getting more and more expensive.

Han Huohuo didn't want to get involved. He just wanted to protect himself, hiding in his small city, avoiding the inevitable flames of war raging outside.

Even if the outside world fought to the apocalypse, this old man was going to start farming.

Mu Jiu had already recruited a Tier-C farming hero named Dong Yong in advance, who was now directing the mechanical workers to start cultivation.

This hero was an agricultural expert, able to increase farming efficiency by 20%. Although only a Tier-C Hero, he was very practical.

Because the irrigation system had been built in advance, spring sowing went very smoothly. Under Dong Yong's command, these mechanical workers toiled diligently without cutting corners.

After inspecting and confirming there were no issues with the farming, Han Huohuo felt at ease.

Food was the most important; food is the paramount need of the people.

After checking the farmland, he went to the orchard, which had also started planting. In this era, both farmland and orchard yields weren't high due to the lack of fertilizer technology. Han Huohuo wasn't some top student; he knew nothing about this industrial stuff. Back in high school, he never scored over 20 in chemistry, so naturally, he couldn't conjure fertilizer out of thin air.

Top students have their way of living; poor students have their own path.

Since he knew he was a poor student, it was simple: for complex technical work, find someone who knows how to do it. No need to micromanage everything personally.

I don't understand technology, but I respect it. I just need to know how to pay.