bookandnovel Chapter 297 The Perfect Excuse
Chapter 297 The Perfect Excuse
Chapter 301 The Perfect Excuse
The carriage slowly drove into the city.
This is a rather ornate four-wheeled carriage, made of ironwood, with golden lion head bronze ornaments at the four corners.
The interior of the carriage is spacious and comfortable, with soft cushions covered in cashmere and thin gauze curtains hanging on the windows, which provide ventilation and keep out dust.
Richard and Lawrence sat facing each other, with the Countess sitting beside Lawrence.
On the street, the free people saw the golden lion flag in the distance and bowed their heads to make way for the carriage.
Lawrence looked at the street scene outside the window and suddenly sighed: "I didn't think much of it before, but ever since I went to Chiffon City, looking back at my Golden Lion City, it just looks so awkward."
.
He turned to look at Richard, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"Richard, could you give me some ideas on how to renovate Golden Lion City?"
Richard leaned closer to the window, carefully observing the street scene outside. He didn't really understand things like urban redevelopment.
If you're building something from scratch, it's like a blank sheet of paper that you can draw on however you want.
But Golden Lion is an old town with hundreds of years of history. Demolition, renovation, and relocation would affect the whole area, so it's not that simple.
However, based on the experience of Blue Star City, here are a few directional suggestions that can be made.
Golden Lion City is similar to Wolf City. The main street is fairly wide, but the road surface is paved with a mixture of gravel and mud, making it full of potholes.
The houses on both sides were crammed together, their exterior walls covered with soot and grime.
In some alleyways, the second floor of a house is wider than the first floor, with the protruding part almost touching the eaves of the opposite roof.
It made the already narrow alley even darker. When you looked up, you could only see a thin strip of sky overhead.
Pedestrians, livestock, and handcarts were all crammed onto one street, creating a chaotic scene.
Richard looked at it for a moment, then looked away.
"The sewage pipes that I told you before will definitely be installed. Only when this part is done well will the whole town be cleaner."
""
Lawrence gave a wry smile: "That would mean digging up the whole street, and those people at the city hall would probably be complaining endlessly."
"Then let's take it slow, segment by segment," Richard laughed. "If it doesn't work in three years, we'll do it in five; if it doesn't work in five years, we'll do it in ten. It's better than doing nothing, isn't it?"
Lawrence nodded.
Golden Lion City has a history of several hundred years and will certainly have many more centuries to come. No matter how difficult it is, it must be done.
The Countess looked at her husband's serious expression, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said softly, "It's rare to see you so attentive."
Lawrence, without looking up, said, "There are plenty of things I care about, but no one has ever shown me the way before."
Richard was still looking out the window.
"Then there's the functional zoning, just like my chiffon cake. The residential area is the residential area, the artisan area is the artisan area, and the VIP building and the city hall are concentrated in one area."
"In Golden Lion City, residences, workshops, and livestock sheds are almost all mixed together. People can lead donkeys past shops, and if someone defecates on the road, everyone feels disgusted."
"Try to separate humans and livestock. Set up livestock sheds in a certain area, and if necessary, send soldiers to guard them."
Lawrence nodded in approval and said, "I thought of that last time, and I'm currently compiling statistics and making plans."
This is a major undertaking; it cannot be accomplished overnight.
Next, Richard continued to explain according to his understanding, such as how to "color" the entire city.
People like flowers because their vibrant colors can improve their mood.
Planting flowers and trees, or painting the exterior walls with some color—light yellow, off-white, light blue, anything goes—it's much better than a dull gray brick wall.
Next came the issue of hygiene, which we discussed for quite some time. Lawrence remarked, "Richard, thank you so much for your advice; it'll keep me busy for years to come."
Richard smiled, which was taken as an agreement.
The carriage continued on its way, its wheels making rhythmic sounds as they rolled over the stone pavement.
Lawrence changed the subject, which was Richard's main objective.
"Your letter from a few days ago really gave me a hard time. You said you wanted to finalize things at the banquet, and you even specified that it had to be in the eastern part of the Eastern Territory, in the land bordering the Demon Spirit Empire."
"There are only a handful of people in the entire Eastern Territory who meet the criteria. I used most of my connections to find out about just one."
As he spoke, he took out a parchment scroll from beside his seat, unfolded it, and glanced at it.
"Look, the Red Sand Territory, that little baron has wanted to move for a long time, but no one has been willing to trade with him."
Richard's eyes lit up. "He's willing to exchange his territory for Cold Mountain Territory?"
Lawrence shook his head and smiled wryly: "What are you thinking? Although Cold Mountain Territory isn't wealthy, it's still a viscountty."
"Half of Red Sand Territory is barren desert, which I consider worthless. It is his good fortune to be able to exchange it for Cold Mountain Territory."
He paused, a hint of inquiry creeping into his gaze as he looked at Richard: "But honestly, I really don't understand why you didn't keep Cold Mountain Territory?"
"If we just grant it to a trustworthy knight, this generation of Chiffon can control two towns. Why insist on exchanging it for some godforsaken enclave, especially in the eastern part of the country!"
He spoke sincerely, not with doubt, but out of genuine regret for Richard. The Countess looked at Richard with the same question in her eyes.
Under the restriction of one clan and one city, once everyone obtains a mature territory, they will try their best to consume the resources of the new city.
For example, all the crops produced were required to be returned as tribute, while the newly appointed lords were merely puppets.
These puppet territories will only seek independence when the feudal lords weaken in the future.
I heard that of the more than twenty territories that Benlang previously granted out, half of them were puppet territories.
Richard had already prepared an answer to this question: "Lord Lawrence, what do you think is the basis for optimizing my farming techniques?"
Lawrence was taken aback.
Richard smiled slightly and said, "It relies on experiments, on a large number of comparative experiments under different climates, different soils, and different water source conditions."
He looked out the window, the gray and black street scene slowly receding.
"We both know what the North is like, but the East is different. It's hot and dry there, with vast deserts."
"I'm curious whether my fertilizer formula will still work in such an extreme environment, completely opposite to that of the North, and what adjustments need to be made."
He turned his head and looked at Lawrence.
"Cold Mountain Territory is a good place, but all it can give me is a ready-made town, while the enclave in the Eastern Territory can give me a completely new testing ground."
"As for why it has to border the Demon Spirit Empire, it's because the Eastern Territory has been quite unstable recently. If any unrest occurs, I can retreat to the Demon Spirit Empire nearby and concentrate on my experiments."
The carriage was quiet for a moment.
Lawrence stared blankly at Richard, then suddenly shook his head, gave a wry smile, and said, "Compared to you, my vision is still too limited."
The Countess also sighed softly, her eyes full of admiration as she looked at Richard: "His Excellency's magnanimity and foresight are truly admirable."
Richard waved his hand and laughed, "Madam, you flatter me. I'm just more interested in farming."
Lawrence laughed and said, "Leave this to me. I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly."
Richard nodded: "Thank you for your trouble."
"There's no need to be so polite between friends," Lawrence smiled, returning Richard's earlier words.
The carriage traveled through the main street, around a large square, and the outline of the Golden Lion Castle gradually came into view.
Finally, it slowly drove into the castle gate and came to a stop in front of the steps.
The attendant opened the car door, and Lawrence got out first, turning around to help his wife, with Richard following closely behind.
On the steps, the eyes of several nobles all fell on Richard; the legendary Viscount Chiffon had finally arrived.