In the Hillsbrad Hills, there was a stone castle standing on a hill. This was the temporary palace of the Stormwind Royal Family.
Almost every day, new decorations were brought into the castle, be it rockery, or beautiful marble statues, or replacing the previously terrible floor tiles.
King Laing repeatedly said that the kingdom did not have the financial surplus to pay the stonemasons' wages. The stonemasons expressed their gratitude towards Duque for saving their lives. Since they had nothing to do in the winter after building the blockhouses, they could find some stones to practice with.
However, the stonemasons also expressed that when rebuilding Stormwind City in the future, they still needed to pay the required wages, but only at the cost price.
Laing expressed his agreement.
Looking at the so-called refugee camp that was becoming more and more prosperous, Laing was quite speechless. It was already quite inappropriate to call this a refugee camp.
It was completely the prototype of a new city.
The three-meter-high stone wall could accommodate three people walking side by side, protecting nearly half a million residents. The newly cultivated fields in the distance were all protected by huge wooden fences. Every 300 meters or so, there was a wooden 10-meter-high arrow tower that could monitor all directions of the fields without any blind spots.
There was nothing lacking in the city.
The market, medical, sanitation, fire protection, water supply, city guards, and all the other buildings were arranged in an orderly manner.
In a city that lacked money, there was no such thing as the state taking care of everything. All food and daily necessities had to be exchanged through labor.
About thirty percent of the food harvested in the autumn was handed over to the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Storm Kingdom, except for the portion that was necessary for each family. In return, the Ministry of Civil Affairs would issue a batch of vouchers with a stamp and an equivalent amount of money. These vouchers could be used to exchange for cloth and other daily necessities at the market.
The rest of the work was similar. Whether it was logging or mining, all supplies were collected in proportion, and the workers received vouchers as wages for the rest.
Despite the obvious lack of money, the entire refugee camp was like a self-sufficient independent kingdom, operating extremely well. It was completely unimaginable that half a year ago, this was a group of refugees who had almost given up on life and the future.
One day in December, looking at the black smoke rising from the chimneys in the city, Laing felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart.
On this day, Anduin Lothar returned.
Laing and Andoine gave each other a warm hug.
"Andoine, what's the situation?"
"Sigh, in winter, I, the commander of the Alliance, am a beggar, holding a broken jar and going around begging. I only got a bunch of promises that I don't know if they'll be fulfilled. There's nothing substantial at all. "It was precisely because there was no one else that Andoine could complain so presumptuously.
"A promise is better than no promise at all." Laing asked a servant to bring him a cup of hot wine.
When Andoine first came in, he did not see it clearly. Seeing that the room was already very presentable, Andoine clenched his fists. "Damn it, am I seeing things? Why do I feel like I've returned to Storm Fortress? "
"It does look like it, doesn't it?" Laing shrugged. "I didn't force the stonemasons to make these things. Anyway, it's Duque's favor. "
Andoine combed his hair with his fingers. "Sigh, compared to him, I feel that my diplomatic skills are terrible. Yes, what good news does that kid have? "
"Is a new team of mages from the Storm King Family considered good news? 200 official mages and 500 mage apprentices. Although they've only signed a three-year contract. "
Lothar's eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets. "Is Old Man Antonidas willing to let them go?"
"Duque said that he used a copy of Karazhan's magic book to exchange for them. I don't know anything about magic. Anyway, what he said was true. Since Stormwind had put in so much effort to help collect it, it's definitely worth it to exchange a dungeon for these people. Of course, I agree. "
"Agree! Oh my god, that kid is too impressive. "Lothar patted Laing's shoulder hard.
Ryan had a faint bitter smile on his face.
"Why? You're still not happy? If this goes on, there's hope for us to recover Stormwind! "Lothar said as he gulped down a few mouthfuls of wine.
"Andoine, actually, I've been thinking. If we can recover Stormwind, why don't we give Duque the title of king? "
This topic was a little too heavy, and Lothar could not react for a while.
"Think about it. We all know that Duque is actually not from Stormwind. But how much has he done for us? Without him, perhaps there would only be 10,000 to 20,000 refugees left in Stormwind. I would have died in Stormwind City long ago, either at the hands of Gahrona or with Stormwind City. I know that you'll take good care of William for me. Maybe you'll also become the commander of the Alliance. But how much authority do you have? You don't even have an army under your direct command. Even if you lead the Alliance to defeat the Horde in the future, how many people will help you and William restore the country? "
"But …"
"Look outside, Andoine. Outside the window were five hundred thousand well-fed citizens of the Storm Kingdom, who could safely survive the winter, and one hundred thousand elite soldiers who were full of morale and were willing to die for the kingdom. Before the arrival of winter, perhaps more citizens who had gone to other countries will rush back. This is all possible with Duque's help. Duque's ability is not inferior to any founding ruler in human history. "
At this point, Laing fell silent.
That was the truth. The stability of the Southshore refugee camp had attracted the citizens who had previously left. The soldiers that had been lost in the battle of Southshore had also been quickly replenished. If it weren't for the difficulty of raising soldiers, it would not be impossible to gather all the young and strong people to form an army of 200,000.
Of course, all the young and strong people in the refugee camp had begun to receive military training. There were still plenty of reserve soldiers.
"Thoradin The Great is great, but as the capital of the Arathor Empire, the Torrential Fort declined after a short period of time. The other city-states have become independent kingdoms, such as Rotterdam and the Dalajan. There are still many enemies for humans. If this is an unstoppable trend, why not just let them go? "
"Have you asked Duque?" Andoine suddenly asked.
"No. But you can imagine that Duque also has subordinates, and Duque also has people who support him. When that time comes, it won't be a matter of whether Duque wants to or not. "Laing sighed again." I, who once destroyed a country, have thought through everything now. Anyway, I will go with the flow. After the restoration of the country, Duque can be conferred the title of king if he wants. If he doesn't want to be conferred the title of king, I will give him the treatment of a prince, and I will set up a national policy that will be passed on to William and his future descendants. It will be enough if Stormwind can preserve most of the Elven Forest. "
"Alright, I also agree to it. It depends. "Lothar finally nodded.
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