Chapter 599 - 365: "Dull" Victory Day (2)

Chapter 599: Chapter 365: "Dull" Victory Day (2)

In response, Zog said that, first, he *was* red, and second, red clearly had a very romantic air about it.

The logistics column moved at a slow pace. After breaking camp in the early morning and marching for five hours, they finally saw the outline of Delong Castle in the late morning.

Outside the city, several thousand prisoners were squatting on the ground.

Only a dozen or so soldiers from the Northern Domain were guarding these prisoners of war, but there were also two anti-aircraft machine guns kept trained on them at all times.

After witnessing the power of those things, the thousands of men didn’t dare try to escape from the custody of just a dozen or so soldiers.

"Have the medical team go and treat the wounded among the prisoners of war. They’ll be on our side one day," Zog instructed.

Treating the wounded was one of the virtues of the nobility, though it was a rule modern nobles rarely followed. They typically only treated wounded prisoners who were of value.

Upon entering the city, Zog immediately spotted Figxin standing in the middle of the main road.

She seemed to be in excellent condition, full of spirit. She didn’t look at all like someone who had just finished a battle. ’Victory truly is the best stimulant.’

Many curious townspeople lined the sides of the road. They wanted to see what kind of person led such an army, and they were desperate to know what would happen to their city next.

"Good morning, my dear ally," Zog greeted her.

"Do you have any food?" Figxin asked immediately. "My Warriors and I are starving."

"Yes, of course. I brought plenty of cooks, with more than enough ingredients and a full set of mobile kitchens."

"A full set of what?"

"Mobile kitchens. Field kitchens that can be set up anytime, anywhere."

"Huh?" Figxin looked baffled, though she thought, ’Studying these strange contraptions is classic Zog.’

"Ah, just you wait and see."

At Zog’s command, a massive kitchen instantly appeared in the square of Delong Castle, complete with all kinds of equipment. It looked like feeding several thousand people would be no problem at all.

Dozens of chefs began working simultaneously, and for a moment, the square was filled with smoke and the sizzle of cooking. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought it was some kind of food festival.

"Uh, so the food you brought is uncooked? You have to make it now?"

"That’s right. After a hard-fought battle, isn’t a hot meal the greatest pleasure?" Zog replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, but... is there anything that’s ready to eat *now*?"

Although Figxin didn’t know how to cook, she could tell that these chefs were preparing the food to restaurant-quality standards.

’They’re even artfully plating that cold dish!’

"Oh, no, we don’t have any of that."

"What kind of army eats like this during a war!"

"Ours does."

Zog’s confident reply left Figxin at a loss for words.

"Hey, what’s the rush? You can’t eat hot tofu if you’re impatient."

"Hot what?"

"Tofu. It’s a specialty from my homeland. You’ll get to try it soon."

Zog was right. The chefs were incredibly efficient, and soon, steaming hot dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful were brought to the table one after another.

On the other side, several large vats of rice and other dishes were lined up for the Warriors to get their food.

Staring at the table laden with food, Figxin swallowed. It really did smell delicious.

"But isn’t providing this kind of food to soldiers on an active campaign... a bit too indulgent?" Figxin said worriedly. "It might lower the Warriors’ will to fight."

She had always been taught that Warriors must be able to endure the most grueling conditions.

"What’s so indulgent about it? A soldier’s job is already the one with the most risk. They deserve to enjoy themselves. Is a hot meal really too much to ask? There’s no need to suffer for the sake of suffering."

Zog said this while nibbling on a small dessert; he wasn’t particularly hungry himself.

But the fact that the mobile kitchen could also produce desserts was what truly astonished Figxin.

"From now on, this setup of cooks and mobile kitchens will be standard issue for the Northern Legion. We’ll guarantee that all our Warriors are fed and fed well. Who knows, maybe some enemy soldiers will surrender just because they want a good meal."

Figxin was indeed hungry. As she devoured her meal, she started to come around to Zog’s way of thinking.

’That’s right. If you can win a battle comfortably, why is it necessary to subject yourself to harsh conditions?’

"Alright, let’s talk. What do you need to build in this city?"

"The Royal City will most likely make one last desperate attempt. Now that our secret weapon has been revealed, they’ll try to devise a countermeasure. As long as they can come up with a theoretically viable plan, they’ll try to attack again."

Figxin knew her brother well. "If our army were already at the gates of the Royal City, they would have no chance of turning the tables. That’s why, before long, the Royal Family’s army will come to attack Delong Castle. We must use this place to build our line of defense."

She stated her needs clearly. "The City Guard Array absolutely must be repaired, and preferably reinforced based on the weaknesses you’ve discovered. Then, those stone statues can be put to use; they should be able to mount some heavy firepower. The city walls also need to be fitted with ample defensive firepower to compensate for our numerical disadvantage. Once that’s done, we need to take control of the other towns on the plain."

Delong Castle was not the only settlement on the plain; there were dozens of smaller towns and villages. However, Delong Castle was the primary military fortress.

After capturing the fortress, the other locations wouldn’t offer much resistance, but they would still need to be secured one by one.

Those areas also have their own nobles, great and small. These people must be gathered together and made to accept their "reformation" with dignity.

If they are unwilling to accept this reformation, then we’ll have to help them be dignified.

The next step will be to connect these towns. Delong Castle cannot remain a military fortress forever; it needs to be developed into a large-scale heavy industrial city. The geographical conditions here are ideal for industrial growth. Transportation is well-developed, with links to the Northern Domain and the Central Plains, as well as a railway running directly from east to west. It wouldn’t have become a military stronghold in the first place if it weren’t a transportation hub.

"I plan to remain stationed here for now," Figxin said.

"And the Northern Domain?"

"I’ll leave it to Gelda."

"What’s the situation with the civilians in the city?"

"Very few casualties, but the people are a bit on edge. It’s understandable, given that a battle just ended. We need to help them repair damaged housing, and we’ll have to impose a curfew for a short period. We should give them some financial compensation. Right, and there were a few accidental deaths and injuries. They need to be compensated too."

Although she was inwardly reluctant, Figxin still chose to provide compensation for the civilians.

"Oh, right. What about the Lord of Delong Castle?"

"According to the prisoners, he stayed in the castle and went down with it. He had some backbone," Figxin said, offering a bit of praise for an opponent who hadn’t caused her too much trouble. "His body will be impossible to find, though. There’s nothing left of the castle but a pile of rubble."

A few days later, Delong Castle had stabilized.

The city’s residents had grown completely accustomed to their new rulers.

For most commoners, there was little emotional attachment to their rulers. As long as the new ones weren’t too terrible, it made little difference who was in charge.

But in the past few days, the combination of Figxin and the Zog Group had truly exceeded their expectations.

The city was being rebuilt at a shocking speed. A road that had been left in disrepair for years was fixed overnight. Massive numbers of jobs were opened to the public, and good work was no longer the "private reserve" of the nobles’ cronies and relatives. There were even amazing free literacy classes. When they had heard Deepwater City had such classes, everyone had thought it was a lie, but now they were experiencing it for themselves.

It wasn’t all good news, however. For example, you weren’t allowed to defecate on the streets anymore, which was a real pain.

It was just taking a dump, what was the big deal? It had been that way for years and had long since become a habit.

Habits are always hard to break, which meant that the most common interaction residents had with the new administrators lately was getting caught defecating in public and having to pay a fine...

Meanwhile, after several main Magic Energy lines had been installed in the city, Zog found Figxin, a camera crew in tow.

"What do you want?" Figxin asked warily. In situations like this, Zog rarely had any "sensible" ideas.

"What do you mean? We’re doing publicity. It’s time to demonstrate the power of journalism."