Louis rushed back to Red Tide City from Mai Lang Territory yesterday, barely getting any sleep.

Last night, he made up for it in Sif's room, and before dawn, he headed straight to the Government Hall.

He arrived at the administrative center, pushed open the heavy office door, and was met by a familiar scent.

Bookshelves lined the entire room, reaching up to the ceiling.

Sheepskin scrolls, household registries, and tax ledgers were neatly arranged, categorized by different colors and numbers, meticulously organized. Policies and blueprints were filed daily, placed where they could be easily accessed, allowing anyone to find the needed information instantly.

Even though he hadn't returned for nearly a month, the office was spotless, obviously cleaned daily by designated personnel.

This was the heart of Red Tide Territory and the future heart of the Northern Territory.

And at the moment Louis sat on that high-backed chair, a phrase came to his mind — Red Tide Territory, your king has returned.

Hanging in front of his seat was a huge map of the North East, occupying almost an entire wall.

The map was densely strewn with wooden pegs, each representing a piece of cultivated land, newly reclaimed fields or mining areas, and rivers.

Red marks were for important storage points, blue for residential areas, and golden flags represented newly established territorial boundaries.

Now it was filled with vibrant flags, which filled Louis with a sense of achievement.

"You're back." Bradley had been waiting for a long time.

The old man was as usual, but his eyebrows and eyes revealed an undeniable weariness.

Louis nodded slightly, "Long time no see, Bradley. You've worked hard."

The old man performed a steward's bow, "Not as hard as you, my lord."

They exchanged a smile at that moment, as if all pleasantries were unnecessary.

They both understood that Red Tide Territory was no longer the small domain it once was, and any decision affected countless lives, so there was no need to spend too much time on pleasantries.

Bradley brought out a stack of neatly organized documents and placed them in front of Louis.

"This is the entire summary of Red Tide Territory during your absence."

Louis looked at the stack of documents, as high as a small mountain, feeling a bit overwhelmed and unsure where to start.

Seeing this, Bradley first pulled out a dossier and placed it in front of Louis, "Let's start with urban development, my lord."

Louis opened the first page, which featured diagrams of city gates and walls.

Bradley introduced from the side, "The east gate and west gate of Red Tide City have been reinforced.

We've replaced them with newly made ironwood wrapped with Cold Iron, and the bolts have been fully updated. Now they can withstand two rounds of bombardment from large Magic Explosion Bullets."

"What about the south gate?"

"Still under construction." Bradley's finger slid across the parchment, "Expected to be completed in half a month. We've prioritized the best Cold Iron Ore, ensuring the reinforcement materials won't fall short."

Louis turned to the next page, unfolding a blueprint of the city's southwest corner.

It was a planning blueprint for the fourth batch of domed community houses in Red Tide City.

The diagram showed rows of alternating deep red and dark gray small domes spreading in a radial pattern, with faint lines marking the positions of geothermal pipelines for the semi-buried foundations.

A small gathering square was marked in the center of each community, adjacent to public wells and storage rooms.

"The fourth batch of Red Tide-style domed community houses is already under construction." The old man spoke with a tone of undisguised gratification, "A total of six hundred units, with three hundred expected to be topped off by early autumn."

Louis glanced at the dossier, raising his eyebrows slightly, "What's the allocation plan?"

"Still prioritizing contributions," Bradley replied calmly, "Regardless of origin and background, it's based solely on one's contribution to Red Tide. Craftsmen, military families, and officials among the old residents will have priority."

"What about the refugees? Where are we going to house so many people?"

"The communal longhouse area we planned in advance is already in use."

Bradley opened another, thicker booklet, revealing a new hand-drawn sketch.

On the paper, clean lines detailed three large strip-like wooden house areas, drawn meticulously like a chessboard pattern.

"The communal longhouse area we planned in advance is under rapid construction, and some parts are already in use."

Bradley explained, "We anticipated the refugee influx before the war, so we reserved land and geothermal well positions. Thus, construction was quick."

He pointed with his fingertip at several ventilation symbol lines marked on the map:

"Each longhouse is made of two-story wood, with stoves and communal kitchens on the lower floor, while the roof embeds simple geothermal ducts, maintaining an indoor temperature of no less than fifteen degrees."

"Each longhouse can accommodate thirty to forty people, equipped with uniform wooden storage cabinets that are fireproof, moisture-proof, and theft-proof. The first batch consisted of six hundred houses, enough to shelter more than twenty thousand people."

Bradley turned to another page, pointing to the detailed markings alongside, "These are the locations for soup distribution points, herbal stations, public wells, and drainage ditches. According to the plan, the three longhouse areas will each form a self-sufficient entity, without interfering with each other."

Louis's eyebrows gradually relaxed, "At least they won't have to sleep in the snow anymore."

He then turned to the next page, which depicted the Mai Lang Territory.

Bradley's eyes flashed with a hint of admiration, "As the grain core of Red Tide, Mai Lang Territory has already begun expanding two new granary clusters, with a total capacity of seventy-five thousand tons of grain."

The drawing on the dossier was slowly unfolded by Louis, depicting the Mai Lang Territory in vivid detail:

The northern side housed the first granary already in use, with thick stone walls and an underground insulation layer illustrated meticulously.

The two blank plots on the southwest marked the locations of two new semi-underground granaries, with symbols for double-sealed valves and ventilation shafts drawn beside the foundations.

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