After entering the official manor, Zhang Tie took a seat in a parlor on the lakeside of the official manor. Under Zhang Tie's instruction, those people who followed him in were taken to a club by Liu Xing and the other bodyguards to settle down temporarily. After chatting with Liu Xing for a short while, Zhang Tie learned about what happened here after he left the official manor these days. After that, Zhang Tie had Liu Xing bring those people here to talk with him in batches.
These days, the invitation cards for visiting the official manor could almost be put in a wicker basket. As it was a courtesy, Liu Xing and the other people didn't know what Zhang Tie was thinking about; therefore, they just accepted the invitation cards and waited for Zhang Tie to deal with them.
The first one who was brought in by Liu Xing was Lu Yishan, the owner of Threerocks Construction Business Group in Dashang City, Gaoping Prefecture, Yanzhou Province.
After such a short while, although Fire Dragon Hermit was well-known, he was not an unreasonable person. Therefore, Lu Yishan was not as intense as before as he recovered his composure a bit. However, he still looked meticulous in front of Zhang Tie.
"Take a seat!" Zhang Tie casually pointed at a chair in the parlor and let Lu Yishan take a seat when he saw this man who was almost as old as his dad.
"Erm... in front of Hermit... I... I will just stand!" Lu Yishan said carefully.
In Lu Yishan's eyes, Fire Dragon Hermit was almost a provincial governor. In front of such a figure, it was already a great honor for him to meet Fire Dragon Hermit face to face. It was already not easy for a construction business group like Fire Dragon Hermit to be on an equal footing with a castellan, not to mention an earth knight.
"Just take a seat, cut the crap!" Zhang Tie threw a glance at Lu Yishan.
"Yes... yes... yes..." Lu Yishan was startled as he hurriedly sat down on the chair with a small part of his butt on the edge of the chair. At the same time, he put his hands on his legs in a docile look.
"Do you know why I called you in?" Zhang Tie asked Lu Yishan after throwing a glance at him.
After throwing a glance at Zhang Tie, Lu Yishan gritted his teeth as he asked, "Hermit, do you want to build a Class A city in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory to pacify people?"
After hearing Lu Yishan's words, Zhang Tie became faintly stunned as he had not imagined that Lu Yishan called him here because he was going to build a Class A city. Therefore, Zhang Tie replied, "Why do you think that I'm going to build a Class A city in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory?"
"Thanks for your favor, Hermit. Therefore, I put it straightforwardly. If it's abrupt, please forgive me!" Lu Yishan cupped his hands towards Zhang Tie.
"Go ahead. No matter what you say, I will not blame you!" Zhang Tie waved his hand.
"If so, Lu Yishan will be presumptuous..." Lu Yishan recovered his composure before saying, "It's said that Hermit has just come back from the Earth-elements Realm. Given your position and identity, you must have known about the disappearance of Emperor Xuanyuan. This event has been spread over Taixia Country. As it's in the holy war, both inside and outside the country are turbulent. In the holy war, only strong cities and castles could pacify people. As there's not a Class A city in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory yet, Hermit, if you want to establish your supreme prestige in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory, you'd better build a Class A city!"
Lu Yishan's words were out of Zhang Tie's imagination. Zhang Tie had not imagined that the disappearance of Emperor Xuanyuan had been spread over Taixia Country. Even a businessman like Lu Yishan knew about it and was thinking about how to deal with it. This was actually not good for Taixia Country as a whole. It indicated that the turbulence and aftermath caused by the disappearance of Emperor Xuanyuan had just started.
Zhang Tie didn't intend to ask Lu Yishan to build a Class A city; however, Lu Yishan's words reminded him that from the perspective of a knight, having or not having a city was almost the same. However, in the holy war, the existence of a Class A city was of special significance for commoners.
"What's the cost of building a Class A city?"
"The construction cost of a Class A city varies greatly. A basic Class A city which meets all the basic indexes and functions of a Class A city could be built at a cost of about 200-250 million gold coins. However, more advanced Class A cities like those in the nine immortal provinces would be far greater than that of Class A cities in Taixia Country in terms of area, scale, functions and defensive facilities after dozens of years or even hundreds of generations of a clan. The construction cost of such a Class A city would far surpass the standard of over 200 million gold coins. There's no upper limit at all. Additionally, since the news that Emperor Xuanyuan was missing was spread over Taixia Country a few months ago, more and more clans are building Class A cities across Taixia Country. As a result, the price of raw materials such as steel and cement rises. The budget of building a Class A city is over 15% more than that a few months ago …"
Lu Yishan answered in a professional way.
It cost Zhang Tie 90 million gold coins to build Saint Petersburg, which was the most magnificent city across Ice and Snow Wilderness. By contrast, a Class A city in Taixia Country would cost him almost 200 million gold coins. That was the gap between them.
"Now that more and more clans are building Class A cities, has Threerocks Construction Business Group received any business of building Class A cities in Yanzhou Province?"
After hearing Zhang Tie's question, Lu Yishan looked a bit embarrassed at once. "Hermit … erm … Hermit might not know that in Taixia Country, all the clans that could build Class A cities are real major clans. The Class A cities that these major clans build would involve many secrets of their clans, such as the layout of secret tunnels and mechanisms in the cities. As these secrets are a bit sensitive, they would easily be exposed to the public. Therefore, these major clans would only entrust their own construction business groups to build Class A cities instead of other construction business groups. Our Threerocks Construction Business Group mainly undertakes the engineering and construction tasks of the government of Taixia Country. At this moment, Threerocks Construction Business Group has some small projects; however, we haven't received any business of building Class A cities …" Zhang Tie understood it.
Zhang Tie understood it. At this critical moment, of course, the authorities of all the provinces and prefectures in Taixia Country would not build Class A cities on a large scale. They might have to postpone the existing construction plans for the time being. Because the news that Emperor Xuanyuan was missing had spread over the country, the commoners had started to be nervous. If the authorities built Class A cities on a large scale at this moment, it would aggravate the tense atmosphere in Taixia Country. If someone made use of it, they might cause some trouble.
Touching his bald head, Zhang Tie said, "I want to build a Class A city; however, I want to build the headquarters of Iron-Dragon Sect first! Otherwise, it's not proper for a sect to have no foothold. "
After hearing Zhang Tie's words, Lu Yishan became enlightened at once as he almost wanted to slap his own face. In his position, he only considered the importance of Class A cities; however, he had not imagined that Iron-Dragon Sect was even more important than Class A cities for Fire Dragon Hermit. Perhaps, Zhang Tie's confession was too obvious in the eyes of Fire Dragon Hermit.
Lu Yishan revealed a bashful smile as he twisted his body restlessly and asked carefully, "Hermit, where do you want to build the headquarters of Iron-Dragon Sect?"
"These days, this Hermit has observed Xuantian Eighteen Mountain Peaks in Yangui Mountain Range. The scenery is marvelous and magnificent. This Hermit wants to build Iron-Dragon Sect based on Xuantian Eighteen Mountain Peaks …"
Standing in Xuantian City and looking at Yangui Mountain Range in the distance, Zhang Tie could see the outline of Xuantian Eighteen Mountain Peaks in Yangui Mountain Range. Therefore, Xuantian City got its name.
These days, Zhang Tie was also thinking about it. 'Among the major sects in Taixia Country, besides Gold and Power Law, all the other sects are located in famous mountains, great rivers or remote islands. Some are even in top secret places. If I want to build Iron-Dragon Sect, I have to rely on famous mountains and great rivers. Yangui Mountain Range has a good layout. Therefore, Zhang Tie determined to build Iron-Dragon Sect in Yangui Mountain Range.' To be honest, Xuantian Eighteen Mountain Peaks was a marvelous place in Yangui Mountain Range. Being in the core of Zhang Tie's territory, it was suitable for Iron-Dragon Sect.
"Ahh, Hermit, you want to build Iron-Dragon Sect based on Xuantian Eighteen Mountain Peaks?" Lu Yishan was a bit shocked.
"Yes!" Zhang Tie nodded.
"Hermit, how large do you want to build?"
Lu Yishan's words made Zhang Tie's heart pound. When he recalled the discussion in Class A cities just now, a bizarre whim occurred to Zhang Tie's mind. After recalling the topography around Xuantian Eighteen Mountain Peaks that he saw in the air, Zhang Tie burst out into laughter at once.
"Hahahaha, what you said just now reminded me. I'm thinking, no matter what, why not make it a bit larger this time? How about combining the base of Iron-Dragon Sect with a Class A city in Yangui Mountain Range? According to the local conditions, we could build an unprecedented base of Iron-Dragon Sect and a Class A city in Yangui Mountain Range. In the future, the population that the base of Iron-Dragon Sect could accommodate would be as large as that of a basic Class A city. Of course, we could do it step by step …"
Lu Yishan was shocked at first. Closely after that, his heart raced. As for Threerocks Construction Business Group, it was both a tough challenge and a great opportunity.
"Hermit … Hermit, do you want me to do this project?" Lu Yishan forcefully swallowed his saliva as he asked carefully. He still couldn't believe that Zhang Tie dared entrust such a "major project" to him only after chatting with him for a short while. If it was in another place and time, Threerocks Construction Business Group would have to exert a lot of efforts to get such a project.
"Nonsense, why did I call you in if not you?" Zhang Tie glared at Lu Yishan once again as he said generously, "It's up to you. Don't waste time. Go do it first. How much money do you need and how much money do you need to make? I will pay you one copper coin less. If you do it well, I will reward you …"
Lu Yishan suddenly sprung up from his chair as he bowed deeply towards Zhang Tie. At the same time, he choked with sobs as he had an impulse to die for his bosom friend, "Lu Clan in Dashang City will live up to Hermit's trust even at the cost of our lives …" (To be continued)
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