Chapter 649-Honorary Knight
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
The next morning, the alliance squadron set out to return to Somalia.
At Berbera Port, the returning warriors were warmly welcomed.
“Welcome back our heroes!”
The warriors walked on the wide streets as crazy cheers broke out from the sides of the streets.
Occasionally, there would be innocent children that rushed up with fresh flowers, beautiful girls that warmly hugged them, and brutish men giving them a thumbs up; the entire port was in a celebratory atmosphere.
“When our country is betrayed, valiant people will step out, they are the true heroes!” Facing betrayal, putting up heroes could quickly remove this pain from their hearts.
Under the light of the campfires, this night at Berbera Port was just as boisterous as during the day.
To welcome the heroes, the various inns and restaurants announced that the returning soldiers would all be given free meals. Once again, the mood was pushed to a whole new peak.
Of course, the ones who truly received the attention were the Somalia players. The voyage squadron led by Ouyang Shuo did not even disembark, leaving the honor to them.
6th month, 17th day, the alliance army base.
After getting drunk for the night, all the players started dealing with matters when they woke up. The pirate hunting mission had ended, so they all left, either returning to the imperial city or their territory.
Before this, they still had to do one thing, which was to seek rewards for the voyage squadron. “Lianzhou Lord, you are the true heroes. When we go back to the imperial city, we will seek reward from the regime.”
“Thank you!” Ouyang Shuo cupped his fists in thanks.
This was the reward that Shanhai City deserved; naturally, Ouyang Shuo did not need to act courteous. Furthermore, the courtesy of the Chinese was something that the foreign players would not be used to; they preferred a straightforward interaction.
“Lianzhou Lord, you are our friend!”
Before leaving, they all gave Ouyang Shuo an embrace.
Ouyang Shuo smiled, accepting them one by one. If everything went smoothly, there would be many chances for Shanhai City to work with Somalia. Gaining their friendship was naturally the best thing.
A strong dragon would not be able to suppress a local snake.
As they left, Ouyang Shuo remained in the port, waiting for good news.
In ancient times, to receive rewards, apart from contributions, one needed to do their part and take some actions from their end. Ouyang Shuo naturally did not think that just waiting here would get him rewards.
Earlier, before the alliance army had set out to sea, the officers of the Honglu Temple had carried boxes of jewelry to the imperial city of Mogadishu. Their goal was to befriend the nobles in the imperial city to build relationships for Shanhai City.
In this aspect, the Honglu Temple were true experts.
In just a few days, along with a large amount of money opening a path, it was enough to let the heavyweights in the imperial city learn of a Lord known as Qiyue Wuyi.
As the say, take someone’s money, help solve their problem.
The officials who had gained some benefits naturally would put in some good words during the meeting with the king about rewarding Ouyang Shuo.
Those who accepted the biggest rewards would even name what Shanhai City needed.
With that, Ouyang Shuo would be able to truly reach his goal.
……
6th month, 18th day, the reward from the imperial city was announced.
“Imperial decree, Shanhai City Lord, the commander of the voyage squadron, forever friend of Somalia, player Lianzhou Lord Qiyue Wuyi, helped the navy of the country to crush the three pirate organizations in the Gulf of Aden. He foiled the schemes of Farrah and saved the navy from the brink of defeat.
Helping out righteously means that he has brotherhood. Seeing and breaking the scheme displays his intelligence. Fighting a strong opponent shows his courage. Pitying the old and weak reveals his humanity. Be it in all qualities, the Lianzhou Lord stands out.
Such a talent is a role model for the entire nation.
“I award the Lianzhou Lord with the title of Honorary Knight, awarding him the rank of 1st class baron. He will receive the same treatment as other barons of the land. He will be called the Courageous Baron. He will be granted a one hundred square kilometer piece of land north of Berbera Port.”
The moment the rewards were given out, even the players of Somalia felt that it was weird.
Awarding him the title of Honorary Knight and giving him land, these rewards were simply too huge a reward.
“Thank you, your majesty!”
Ouyang Shuo smiled and bowed.
“Congratulations baron!” The secretary smiled; his eyes could not be seen.
Ouyang Shuo felt a little conflicted; the rest was good, only the title was a little weird. It seemed like the secretary had put in a lot of effort; they had found a copy of the Confucian Analects, finding the description regarding brotherhood and righteousness.
The title of Courageous Baron originated from there.
“Thank you for your work!”
Ouyang Shuo smiled, casually handing over a large agate stone.
When the secretary saw his actions, he took it and the smile on his face grew even wider; even his eyebrows smiled.
….
After sending away the secretary, Ouyang Shuo immediately sent out a recruitment notice at Berbera Port.
“From today onwards, for three days, Shanhai City will be recruiting all kinds of artisans and city building personnel. The construction site will provide food and housing with a minimum of two gold per month. The rank of the artisan will decide the level of treatment.”
The moment the news went out, the port was thrown into an uproar.
In Somalia, an intermediate artisan could only earn one gold at most in a month, and they would need to deal with their own meals and housing. In comparison, the treatment that Shanhai City gave was more than double.
In just one morning, 500 people signed up.
Apart from artisans, Ouyang Shuo also hired a bunch of coolies; similarly, they were given food and housing and a salary of one gold. The harbor had an abundance of coolies, so the notice naturally attracted a lot of people.
In just a day, Shanhai City had attracted two thousand coolies.
Apart from that would be the crazy acquisition. Grain, vegetables, meat, linen, and other items to do with living and housing, including building materials, were bought.
As the orders were simply too huge, Ouyang Shuo had pretty much wiped out all the resources in Berbera Port. Such a crazy act could not be described as simply rich.
When the merchants saw his actions, they directly agreed to ship the resources for free to the land.
With that, both sides were naturally delighted.
The next day, the recruitment notice had spread like a virus to the nearby territories. Ouyang Shuo accepted all the newcomers, giving the impression that he owned an abundance of gold.
Thousands of artisans, carriages filled with resources were like a stream, gathering in Berbera Port.
The image of the Lianzhou Lord in the country was one that the people trusted, and they were not worried that he would go back on his words. Many merchants did not even ask and just brought the resources on the list.
Such a huge act even astounded the imperial city.
When they received the news, the imperial city was naturally in an uproar. Advanced and even master artisans spent one gold and just teleported over to Berbera Port, willingly spending the money.
Even the leaders amongst the players could not help but visit and seek cooperation opportunities.
Ouyang Shuo naturally welcomed all of them. Be it work occupation players in the guilds or resources from the territories, they were all things that Shanhai City desperately needed.
Both sides instantly clicked and started the first close cooperation.
Buy! Buy! Buy!
No matter how huge the amount, the Lianzhou Lord did not hesitate and just ate it up.
The entire Somalia was shocked by the seemingly infinite richness of the Lianzhou Lord. Those who did not know might even have thought that he was trying to buy the entire Somalia.
Three days, just three days.
Ouyang Shuo splashed out a full 200 thousand, buying various building materials. At the same time, 10 thousand craftsmen and artisans, 15 work occupation players, including 4 thousand coolies, were recruited.
Such a huge team would cost 100 thousand in salary for just one month.
After being recruited, they sat on boats and were sent by batches to the land. At the same time, the resources were also sent over by merchant ships.
The ships coming to and fro from Berbera Port and the land were unceasing, continuing even at night.
The small land immediately became the hotspot of the entire country.
Funnily, the owner had not even stepped onto his land.
6th month, 21st day, the voyage squadron finally started their journey to the land.
Along with them were the three thousand old, weak, women, and children from Sky Wolf Island. The other players did not want to take these people in.
Apart from a few with unique tastes, who chose the pretty girls as slaves, the remaining were left to Shanhai City. Ouyang Shuo thought about it and decided to just bring them along.
With that, they could be considered the first batch of residents.
A few days of working together had let them realize that the mercy and humanity of the Lianzhou Lord had allowed them to climb out from the jaws of death.
As a result, they were extremely grateful to him.
This was also why Ouyang Shuo was willing to accept them. Furthermore, with both the black Snake Guards and the Shanhai Guards, even if people tried something funny, they would not be able to do anything.
……
On the side of Berbera Port, Ouyang Shuo left a few officials and a navy unit to monitor the transportation of resources and materials; this also included the purchasing and recruitment matters.
Somalia had the longest shoreline in Africa. After the game map extended by 10 times, the north of Somalia, apart from Berbera Port, had other bays that were suitable for the construction of ports.
Ouyang Shuo’s land was one of them.
Taking up 100 square kilometers, his territory was the size of a grade 3 village. It fit the land restriction given to a 1st class baron.
At the very least, in terms of land area, the country was not stingy at all.
The location was similarly great.
It was a plains valley surrounded by three mountains sides. North of the valley was a natural bay.
The specialty of the land was similar to Lianzhou Basin, only smaller by a few thousand times. That was because Lianzhou Basin took up 240 thousand square kilometers.
Such a basin was actually rather common in the game. Any small mountain valley, after being expanded 10 times, could become a narrow basin.
Based on normal territory building planning, such a land could at most become a grade 3 village and would not have any further development prospects.
The country rewarding him with this was both meaningful and practical.
The problem was that Ouyang Shuo’s foresight and strategic planning were different from normal people. The voyage squadron had given up so much, so how would he just take such a small village?
To build an important point in his voyaging journey was an unshakable goal to him.
Hence, he could only break usual rules.
Normal territories, the city would only take up less than 1% or an even smaller amount. Most of the land would be used to farm crops, develop husbandry, and foster the five industries.
Such an arrangement was quite normal.
Firstly, the city could not be expanded limitlessly. Not to mention it would use up a lot of resources, city management would pose a huge problem. Even a titan like Shanhai City took up a small rice grain sized piece of land in Lianzhou Basin.
Secondly, the four basic necessities: clothing, food, housing, and transport; the first two needed the support of industries like farming, husbandry, and fishing. If not, if the people in the territory could only starve to death, what territory building would exist?
Ouyang Shuo’s method was special. He designed the land into a huge city covering 100 square kilometers. Hence, a wall would be erected on the border of the territory.
Outside the city, there was not a single piece of land left for industries like fishing and farming.
Such a plan seemed crazy, but it seemed rather logical at the same time.
Firstly, the land was not big, so the first problem did not exist. As for the problem about food and clothing, Ouyang Shuo planned to purchase these items from the outside.
The entire land was a capital of trading.
Commerce and long-distance trading would be the soul of the territory. As long as they had money, other resources would be bought from Somalia. This meant that after long term trading started, they could purchase items from neighboring countries.
The prerequisite would be enough money, enough trading capital, or enough tax. If not, relying on Ouyang Shuo’s funds was not a long-term solution.
Towards this matter, Ouyang Shuo was extremely confident.
The profits from long distance trading was enough to drive everyone crazy.
After reaching the land, the first thing that Ouyang Shuo did was to name the city under construction. In the end, Ouyang Shuo chose the name Friendship City.
Friendship City represented the friendship between Shanhai City and Somalia, pushing peace between European States and Shanhai City.
The port outside of the city would be named the Brave Port.
