"Your Highness, do you mean you want to completely separate industrial production from the residential areas?"
As expected of Lola, she immediately understood the intention behind the suggestion.
"Yes."
As industry developed, both heavy and light industries would eventually disturb the residents to some extent.
Furthermore, many aspects of production were not suitable for the public to observe.
This was an era of mana; if she were to restart oil and electricity from scratch, it would clearly be a massive detour.
Since most regions in this world followed a technology tree based on mana stones, using them as the energy source to replace oil was the way of the future.
One advantage was that mana elements themselves were not harmful.
There wouldn't be large-scale pollution like there was on the Blue Star.
Just like the steam engine Anton had created.
It didn't need to burn coal.
Using mana stones could generate heat to warm the water tank and turn the engine.
And mana stones themselves were a recyclable clean energy source.
One only needed to hire mages to recharge them for repeated use.
Although mana stones had a finite lifespan and would eventually lose their function after many recharges, they were essentially naturally occurring batteries.
They were completely eco-friendly.
Thinking of this, a thought surfaced in Luo Li's mind.
Currently, mana stones weren't considered a particularly special resource.
Most who needed them were just mages.
But in the future, once technology developed and everything got on track, mana stones... would become a true strategic resource.
'I must keep the mana stone mines in my own hands!'
In an instant, Luo Li's gaze fell on the west of Brilliant City.
Moonfall City to the west and High Ridge City to the northwest.
Both of these major cities were rich in mineral resources, and the largest mana stone mine in the Kingdom of the Moon was near High Ridge City.
The next step, once technology stabilized, was to take control of these two cities.
Otherwise, those nobles would surely use this to make a fortune and be even less willing to give up the mines.
While Luo Li was lost in thought, Lola had her eyes closed, seemingly calculating where to designate a zone.
Soon, she reached a conclusion. She took out a map and placed it before Luo Li.
"Your Highness, I don't think placing it in the west is particularly suitable."
"Why is that?"
Luo Li looked back at Lola with some surprise.
In her mind, placing it in the west would allow Brilliant City to control Refugee City to the east and the industrial zone to the west.
Combined with subsidiary cities like Dragon City, Knight City, and Family City, a massive living area centered around Brilliant City would be established.
"Your Highness, the workers in the industrial zone you want to plan... most of them should be commoners, right?"
Lola's words made Luo Li's brow twitch.
Indeed, the industrial zone would mainly accommodate commoners in the future.
These commoners, to some extent, would likely come from Refugee City.
Since it was technology, automation was a must.
Aside from high-end manufacturing, ordinary people could handle the rest.
All they needed was a fixed machine tool.
Thus, commoners would inevitably become the main labor force.
Seeing her Highness sink into thought, Lola knew her angle was correct and continued.
"If the industrial zone is placed on the west side of Brilliant City, the people from Refugee City in the east will have to cross through Brilliant City to get there. This will not only cause massive traffic issues but also lead to high transportation costs."
Lola paused and pointed at the areas above and below Brilliant City on the map.
"Your Highness, why not arrange the industrial zone in these locations?"
Luo Li followed Lola's finger.
One was to the north of Brilliant City, on the banks of the Moonlight River.
The other was to the south, on a flat plain.
However, the northern location would overlap with Dragon City if built there.
It was immediately ruled out.
Dragon City held all her current trump cards; the dragon cavalry regiment of two thousand skysoar dragons was her greatest reliance.
Setting aside whether building an industrial zone there would disturb the dragons' rest, just having ordinary people constantly watching would cause problems for Dragon City.
It was her strongest army, after all. The configuration and detailed military facilities could not be shown to commoners.
That left the south as the only choice.
Currently, the surroundings of Brilliant City had already been planned out.
Many fields had been requisitioned.
Refugee City to the east, Dragon City to the north, Family City to the west, and Knight City to the southeast.
Establishing so many cities at once would surely consume an enormous amount of labor and resources.
Adding an industrial zone to that, she was almost out of the money she had earned.
"Then let's put it in the south. Let it form a triangle with Brilliant City and Refugee City."
After thinking it over, Luo Li hesitated.
"The scale of Refugee City is about half the size of Brilliant City. Using such a name for such a large subsidiary city is indeed a bit unpleasant. Lola, pick some better names for me. Refugee City needs a name of its own."
Refugee City was originally intended as a temporary settlement, but as time passed, she had temporarily taken control of the northeast.
According to her plan, the northeast region produced minerals and grain with distinct seasons, making it very suitable for development.
In the future, the northeast would be completely designated as a military zone.
The natural barrier of the Holy Mountains completely separated the northeast from other regions.
Such a unique geographical advantage would surely make it an excellent secret location.
The reason she hadn't let the people from the northeast return there was precisely because of this.
The northeast had become her personal territory.
The population remaining in the northeast would become the residents of that area in the future.
If she let them go back, they would surely want to reclaim the land that originally belonged to them.
In that case, the entire northeast would slip from her grasp again.
It was better to just designate an area for them near Brilliant City and let them become people of Brilliant City directly.
This way, the northeast would be entirely under her control.
Later, once the people in Refugee City had settled down, they would have no reason to go back for those lands.
In short, it was impossible for them to leave. The land had been abandoned by them, so it was now unclaimed.
And the territory of the Kingdom of the Moon already belonged to Luo Li.
Naturally, unclaimed land would logically return to the state!
At the same time, this massive population gave Luo Li an opportunity for development.
Most of the million people in Brilliant City were farmers or in the service industry, existing solely to serve the upper class.
It wasn't realistic to change this status quo quickly.
It was better to just start fresh.
Use the changes in Refugee City to stimulate the original, stagnant way of life.
As long as the industrial zone had enough output, it could attract commoners to work there on their own without Luo Li needing to actively change anything.
Moreover, Seaview City was still in a state of neglect and depopulation.
At least two to three hundred thousand of these million people would be transferred to Seaview City.
Currently, the Kingdom of the Moon had not yet developed industry, so labor relied solely on people.
Such a population had to be kept within reach to use their labor anytime, anywhere.
"Then let's arrange it in the south. Designate an industrial zone about one-third the size of Brilliant City."
Lola pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, scanned the map, and nodded slightly.
"I understand. However, Your Highness, there is one more thing to report."
"What is it?"
"Over sixty percent of the national treasury's funds have already been budgeted. It won't be possible for Your Highness to build any more cities for the time being. Please be aware."
Luo Li was stunned. She instinctively looked back at Lola and saw her grim expression.
Was she complaining that Luo Li was spending money too fast?
Luo Li blinked.
It's all gone? There was so much money; how could it be gone so quickly?
"There's... no surplus?"
Lola's face remained calm as she pushed her glasses.
"Don't forget, Your Highness, you still have to pay His Majesty the Dragon King one hundred million gold coins for the purchasing rights of the skysoar dragons."
Hiss!
She almost forgot that.
She still owed the Dragon King a lot of money; if she kept spending like this, she would be in the red.
But without such large-scale capital investment, it would probably take years for the currently stagnant Brilliant City to flourish again.
As they say, delays bring trouble. Who knew when the demons might suddenly invade again?
Even if the Demon Island Strait had a ten-year limit with the tide receding only once every decade, the demons already possessed the ability to cross the sea.
The sealing power of the Demon Island Strait had, in fact, been significantly reduced.
"About the Dragon King... I'll think of something. For now, just use the money as planned."
Just thinking about it gave Luo Li a headache.
In her past life, she wasn't good at saving or making money, but now she had a strict housekeeper at home who could at least remind her.
Besides, as the saying goes, if you try to run before you can walk, you might trip.
Although she wanted Brilliant City to regain its glory immediately, it would take time.
Just building these few cities would take at least two or three years.
With so much money, so many people, and so many places to build, she had to prioritize.
Luo Li frowned.
It seemed she would need another detailed plan later.
Doing things mindlessly as they came would only lead to chaotic consequences.
Also, the construction of these cities required someone to oversee them.
Putting other cities aside, this industrial zone was definitely the top priority.
So, who should be put in charge of this?
Luo Li's gaze turned toward Anton, who was sitting in the corner looking dejected.
Perhaps... this person could be used.
But he still needed to be tested.
Rate on N.U.
