The Golden Throne

Chapter 24 - Vacate Your Homes

"How is this extravagant? The circle draws mana from the air, so it doesn't require more mana injection from a mage. I will be using a lot of them, so that this place will be self-sufficient when I go to school."

Lucas looked around the town, with Liu Feng guiding him. He was shocked at how much Liu Feng was planning.

"Are you sure you can do all this? Having a few properly constructed buildings is better than ten that will fall in a month.", Lucas warned Liu Feng, but it seemed like Liu Feng knew what he was doing. Sir Nicholas was out in the open, showing the villagers how the work was done, thoroughly captivating the villagers, as a noble never did work.

The next week was a combination of loud noises and hard work, and everything went according to schedule. Liu Feng then ordered all the villagers to gather in the new town's square which had the newly constructed buildings on one side, and nothing on the other. The buildings looked magnificent, the roads were new and clean, and it seemed like this wasn't Dilheim at all. Sir Nicholas came on to the stage, which now had a podium and spoke what he had previously rehearsed with the villagers.

"People of Dilheim. Look to your left. You will see the fruits of your labor. Don't they look magnificent! You must be wondering, as you have built them as homes, who lives there. I have decided to be gracious, and give them to every citizen who will give up their current home. It is my intention to have the citizens of Dilheim live here, at the heart of the city, with each other, rather than in the wild. The handover will start immediately. Those without any land to their name will have to sign a contract to work for me for a year with a fixed income of one copper a month, with food provided. All the land owners on my right, and all the others on the left. Only one person per family is allowed."

Sir Nicholas started distributing the houses. They had built three story apartments, and because there were only a hundred people in the village. By the end of the day, all the villagers had taken up an apartment in exchange for their land. Of course, who would refuse a good house, constant water support, and a good neighbourhood in exchange for a deserted land? The satisfaction of the villagers was rising, and many of them had sent letters to their relatives in the weekly caravan that passed by the town.

Liu Feng looked upon the town, and was now satisfied a bit. He already had the right side of the town segregated, and he was now waiting on news about white stone in the river. He intended to make cement so that he could make a more permanent settlement, but it seemed that it would take more than a while.

He called for Sir Nicholas and gave him more plans for the left side of the town, which was the more temporary town, and asked him to send letters to merchants that this town was open for business. Dilheim was located conveniently in the border of four kingdoms, and was next to the new Magic academy, so Liu Feng had ordered massive hotels and inns to be built, to facilitate an influx of tourism and people. He also ensured that there were houses for people to rent, a new concept that Liu Feng introduced in Dilheim.

Sir Nicholas was thoroughly impressed but he was worried about a few problems. " Your Highness, how will we pay for all of this? The salaries already cost us about half a silver a month, and this is not sustainable. We need to increase the taxes, right?"

"Patience, Sir Nicholas.. Once the hotels are open for business, you will see a steady income."