After winter, the weather turned colder. A few days later, it was the middle of the Month of Slumber. The temperature in Ellington had dropped to 10 degrees Celsius. Other than spending all day at the steel mill, Dicarios now had another job to do. That was to summon the fire elemental to boil water to provide warmth.
But this year, there were many more cities besides Ellington. Tang En had no choice but to assign a few Fire Elementals to each city and use up all his summoning quotas to meet the demand.
Apart from the Irus Empire, there was also the Ryan Empire. New Bul-Kathos was located in the north, and the temperature there had dropped to minus 10 to 20 degrees Celsius. Even though most of their people had thick hair, they still had a large number of children who could not withstand the cold. So, they still had a pressing need for heat.
After opening the water collection system, the Ryan Empire could safely survive this winter. Next year, their population would definitely increase by a lot. In the past, many children with weaker immune systems would freeze to death every winter in the Ryan Empire.
Fortunately, the Fire Elementals did not need to do much. They only needed to stand under the boiler every day. They did not have intelligence and did not have any other hobbies. They only knew how to obey orders and did not need to add fuel. So, it was quite convenient and cheap.
After experiencing the many conveniences of life in New Bul-Kathos built by the Datang Chamber of Commerce, Testero was even more determined to follow Tang En's footsteps and learn from him.
At this moment, in the southern cities such as Ellington and Alinx, it was already snowing. The residents had already seen the weather forecast, so they were not too surprised and went on as usual.
This snow was decided by Tang En and the others. Their goal was nothing more than to add to the atmosphere of winter.
If it was in the past, snow in winter would undoubtedly be a complete disaster. The snow would make it difficult for people to go out, and the cold would affect their outdoor work. Because of the cold, people could not even hunt for extra food. Many people would die every time it snowed.
However, the situation was different now. This year's harvest, coupled with the agricultural tax reduction policy, the income of the residents had greatly increased. Every household had a lot of savings and surplus food, which was more than enough to survive the winter. Therefore, even the civilians in the ordinary small villages were in a relaxed mood to enjoy the snowy scenery.
Unfortunately, while everyone else was relaxing and sitting by the window with a cup of hot tea in their hands, Tang En, who had brought them a happy life, had no choice but to bitterly stay in the study of the palace and listen to the reports of Aurelia and Fiona.
"… Because of the low temperature, the asphalt solidified too fast, which seriously affected the progress of the project. I'm afraid that the main highway in the Ryan Empire, which was supposed to be completed this month, will not be completed until the end of the year."
"You didn't use any insulation measures?"
"We've arranged for sorcerers to help with the construction. We've summoned fire elements to maintain the melting state of the asphalt, but it will soon freeze after it's laid on the ground. After all, the temperature in the Ryan Empire is too low in winter."
"Alright."
Tang En shrugged and said, "Anyway, the project has already entered the final stage. There's no need to rush."
Aurelia smiled and said, "But there are benefits to the cold weather. Perhaps because of the lack of food in the wild, a large number of wild land dragons have begun to look for food to survive the winter. They've caught a lot of them, and the scale of the land dragon farm has expanded a lot. I'm afraid that a lot of land dragon blood will be harvested during the Month of Dawn next year."
"Our investment in the Ryan Empire is finally about to pay off."
Fiona complained, "We've invested hundreds of millions of gold in the Ryan Empire this year."
"This investment is worth it. Once the land dragon blood starts to be produced, we'll be able to steadily produce Oricha Steel. By then, not only will we be able to fulfill the orders of the Dragons, but we'll also have a large amount of Oricha Steel to produce weapons. The long-term returns will be huge."
After that, Tang En gestured for Aurelia to continue with her report.
"Because the central heating system has started to operate recently, Testero has also felt the benefits. Therefore, he proposed the idea of transforming the other cities in the Ryan Empire. However, he doesn't have enough money at the moment. He hopes to sell some of his mine shares in exchange for our transformation project."
"This exchange is meaningless."
Fiona frowned. "He already knows that we have an astral base and don't lack mineral resources at all. Why would he still want to exchange mine shares?"
Tang En nodded. "Agree."
"Your Majesty?"
"Of course we know that the resources in the astral plane are endless. Testero also knows. It's because he knows that he gave up the idea of continuing to hold mine shares."
Tang En smiled. "Testero also knows about my mission. He should know that my ultimate goal is to unify the Prandal Empire. However, as the king of the Ryan Empire, he can't just say something like 'I'll merge the Ryan Empire with the Irus Empire'."
Aurelia nodded. "That's true. A king has his own responsibilities. If he does that, he'll only be called a traitor by the people who don't know anything."
Fiona suddenly understood. "I understand. That's why he wants to use shares in exchange. He'll lose the ownership of the mine, but we'll pay for the transformation project. The people will also enjoy the benefits and benefits. This way, they won't say anything."
"This should only be the beginning."
Tang En smiled until his eyes narrowed. "If nothing unexpected happens, Testero will gradually transfer the resources of the Ryan Empire. Without resources, the so-called territory will become empty words. Slowly, the orcs of the Ryan Empire will find that their country has been completely infiltrated by the Datang Chamber of Commerce. They can't leave us."
"At that time, even if the Ryan Empire still retains its sovereignty in name, it'll be no different from a territory of the Irus Empire."
After saying that, Tang En didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I didn't expect that when I casually arranged for Testero to learn a bit of economics from Tina, it would develop to this extent."
Aurelia and Fiona both laughed. "If that's the case, when the Ryan Empire surrenders in the future, Tina will be rewarded greatly."
"Of course. Although Tina was just a little unlucky maid back then, under my guidance, she's already able to take charge."
Seeing Tang En's proud expression, Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Your guidance?"
Tang En immediately felt helpless. "Don't always think the wrong way. I'm a very serious person …"
Aurelia, who had personally experienced Tang En's binding and whipping skills, rolled her eyes. "Touch your conscience. Don't you feel guilty when you say that?"
"He obviously doesn't."
Fiona pursed her lips. "If I didn't accidentally see Tina coming out of his room, I probably wouldn't know that Testero had already harmed her."
"Ahem, let's get down to business."
"Okay, the proposal from the Ryan Empire is urgent. Xiao Ai was also invited to be a lobbyist two days ago. Maybe Testero also knows that if the heating renovation is completed a day earlier, fewer people will die in the Ryan Empire this winter, so I've decided to send a construction team over tomorrow to rush the work."
Fiona thought for a moment and said, "Considering that there are still more than 20 days until the coldest month of winter, if we gather our manpower during this period, we should be able to send heating to some of the cities. As for the villages, we can't do anything … We can only suggest to Testero that the Ryan Empire be urbanized as soon as possible."
"Anyway, the heating renovation isn't difficult. Let's find a way to start it as soon as possible."
Not only was Testero distressed about the people dying in winter, but Tang En was even more distressed. There were only so many people in Prandal now. Tens of thousands of people would die in one winter. Who could bear such an inexplicable loss?
"Then it's settled."
Aurelia nodded, took out another book and said, "There's also the construction of the aviation towers. So far, the aviation towers in the major cities of the empire have been completed, including the ancillary buildings. In addition, the transportation routes connecting the aviation towers have been laid and can be used at any time. At present, many chambers of commerce have taken the initiative to move into the aviation towers …"
Tang En was stunned. "Do they know what they're doing? Are they in such a hurry to move in? "
"Even if they don't know, they can guess most of it."
Fiona spread her hands. "Since the establishment of the Datang Chamber of Commerce, those who have followed us have never suffered a loss. Those people have learned to be smart and know how to seize the opportunity. No matter what kind of business it is, they'll do it first. "
"That's it." Aurelia had a very strange expression on her face. "Let's not talk about those taverns and specialty shops. Even some chambers of commerce from the processing industry have come to join in the fun. If they really rent the space in the aviation tower and find out that it's going to be an aviation hub in the future, what kind of expression will they have?"
Moving the shops of the processing industry to the airport … Just thinking about it was a beautiful scene.
Tang En thought for a moment and said, "Although the birth of the artificial soul quantum computer has greatly increased the efficiency of engineering calculations, and civilian airships can be taken off the production line in large numbers soon, the training of the personnel is not done yet. I estimate that the air passenger routes can only be put into use at the beginning or middle of next year at the earliest. Isn't it too early for them to move in now?"
"Why are you so considerate of them?"
Fiona rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we're not selling the shops. Let them rent if they want to. If they lose money, they can go home and cry. The business world is like a battlefield. Can we take care of them every day like raising children?"
"So," Tang En smiled bitterly. "I'm afraid that they won't be able to survive and go bankrupt …"
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