Herald of Steel



As winter rolled into summer and the first harvests began to come in, Alexander was in his office with the council members, reading and listening to the latest reports.

The man had shed the heavy leather jackets and fur coats for a light, simple blue tunic, and linen pants while the usual roaring fireplace was nowhere to be seen, and the usually closed windows were thrown wide open to let in the cool summer breeze in.

But even all this ventilation seemed to be not enough to fight the blistering heat of mid-may, as evidenced by a few beads of sweat that could be seen tickling down Alexander's cheeks,

Perhaps it was because of this there was a cool, ice-cold faluda placed in front of him, to help him take the heat off.

And as Alexander occasionally sipped the milky, creamy, drink sweetened with sugar and topped with fruits, the other council members were busy informing him of the progress of the ongoing restorations, the extent of completion of the infrastructure projects that were planned, and lastly how the spring planting went.

"The Tibians did not cause too much damage to the fields, my lord. So much of the planted crops are unharmed."

"The harvests are well. We have gotten a similar amount of crops as last year."

Menicus was the first one to start, giving Alexander the good news with a smile.

"Mmmm, good. Our granaries were running low." And hearing so Alexander was relieved.

Though the report was expected as he had seen the volume of produce reaped, the official confirmation still pleased him.

"Yes, and because my lord had lent extra manpower, we managed to plant additional lands.

So next fall we can expect a bigger harvest," Menicus further added, making Alexander further content.

With the spring harvest and the promised shipments of grain from Pasha Farzah, Alexander was confident he would be able to easily tide over to the next fall.

As Menicus finished his report, the reports about the reconstruction efforts started to come in.

"The iron foundry and the brick-making kilns are almost ready to start again my lord," Harun and Krishok each first pronounced.

Given they had prior experience in constructing these buildings, the time taken to build them a second time was much lower.

"Mmmm, good," Alexander gently hummed, "And the workers? Have they been hired?" he asked.

It had to be remembered that almost all of the foundry workers were killed in the prior attack hence the new recruitment.

"Yes! The few experienced men left have been made their supervisors to guide them," Harun quickly added, while Alexander approved with a silent nod.

Alexander then moved on to asking about the progress of the other projects, such as the reconstruction of the workshops, which he temporarily put Cambyses in charge of, until he could find a new caretaker, while her position as the head of the city guards was for the moment given to Bartholomew, making him the acting police commissioner.

The reports from here were all positive, as the rebuilding efforts were swift and on track.

The destroyed shops were rebuilt, the destroyed equipment remade, and the production of the unique products restarted.

"The workers are already back and working. Although given that they have lost a lot of experienced men, it is said that it will take a bit of time for them to get back to speed." Cambyses reported.

The girl was wearing a half-sleeved green gown with gold embroidery, the attire being voluminous enough that it hid her bodily curves, including the baby bump she had developed.

Yes, it seemed Alexander's hard work of plowing the fields and constantly watering it at night all throughout January had paid off.

Cambyses was officially pregnant.

Although the news was kept a secret for now.

Cambyses, being around 4 months pregnant was still able to work the non-labor intensive administrative jobs without a problem, and so was able to expertly deliver a detailed report of the ongoing renovations of the workshops.

With the only hitch Alexander faced about her report was how Gajopk had at last been unable to wake up, issuing the demise of the glassmaker.

This caused Alexander to sigh a bit in regret, both because of the loss of a great talent, and also because he would now have to choose a brand new head he could trust for the glass-making plant.

But Gajokp was dead and he could not do anything to bring him back.

So he issued the decree for the next best thing,

"Assure his wife and children that they will be given the plot of land they were promised. As well as a monthly stipend of 200 ropals."

Gajopk had been promised a plot of land if he worked for him for 10 years, but given he was dead, it was very natural to think the widow and the children would be thrown out as the man was unable to fulfill the contract.

Just giving them the monthly stipend was already generous enough in many's eyes, but seeing Alexander also give the promised land just like that moved many.

"My lord is generous," The council members cheered.

But this was not only Alexander's way of compensating the widow for dragging her husband all the way from Adhan and getting him killed.

It was also a type of propaganda technique,

And this intention was quickly revealed when Alexander turned to Cambyses to instruct, "Remember to tell all the workers that this is my way of compensating them."

"That I, Alexander always appreciate talent."

"And as long as they work loyally for me, they and their families will always be taken well care of."

With this said, he ordered the same thing for the family of the paper maker Azizak.

The current reporting regarding the reconstruction efforts came to an end as such, and Alexander at last began to inquire about the most important topic, the various infrastructure projects he had going on.

And the very first one among them was the western wall, the one he commissioned to be built literally days after Perseus left.

"We are still continuing to build it, my lord. But it will take some time. A few years probably." Hearing the inquiry, the person in charge, Uzak replied, and when he saw Alexander scowl at the answer as if to ask, 'Why will it take so long?', the stonemason quickly explained,

"The wall's dimensions are breathtaking my lord. Extending from the north wall, it goes all around the cement plant, the mines, and the foundry, covering several large hills and finally ends at the sandy beaches of the Mad Sea."

"Just building a wall of that size would be a mammoth undertaking, never mind in addition to it, there are also the thick forests we have to clear and the uneven grounds that we have to flatten."

"If we were using the old method, I would have said it will require several decades if not a lifetime to complete."

Uzak very animatedly waved his palms open, gesturing at the breadth of the project, before continuing,

"And even with the new, cement method we have, it is still a daunting task. Especially because we have a shortage of everything."

"Shortage of men to cut trees, dig the ground and build the walls, shortage of bricks and stones to make the wall with, and most importantly shortage of cement to bind them."

He very eloquently showed all the difficulties he was encountering, and finished by promising,

"I will be able to finish it much faster if I was given everything I needed. Then I could complete it by next summer!"

"...." And hearing so Alexander did not immediately answer.

But flattened his lips instead.

First of all, he was not impressed by the somewhat exaggeration of the wall's size.

'Who are you kidding? I know how big the wall is! You're saying it like I'm asking you to make the Great Wall of China,' Alexander internally rolled his eyes.

But he did not outright scold Uzak because the problems he claimed to be facing were indeed true.

They might not be as acute as he was making them out to be, but they did exist.

And it seemed that Uzak was simply over-reporting a bit of this to his superior, a tactic anyone and everyone used, with even Alexander being guilty in his previous life.

Plus Alexander's priority about the wall seemed to have declined over the few months.

Immediately after Perseus's attack, he was in a sort of panic mood and had hastily ordered the building of the wall to plug that weak point.

But as the danger had passed and he was calmed enough to rethink, he found that building the wall was not an absolute necessity.

The vulnerability that this gap posed that already been exploited and repelled, meaning there was no immediate threat to it.

ραndαsnοvεl.cοm Alexander had already been made aware of the hidden danger, and Perseus was unlikely to be able to exploit this flaw again.

In fact, Alexander was of half the mind to keep with side open as a kind of bait to tempt the enemy into taking this route.

Because then he could use his far more maneuverable legionaries to destroy the usually rigid phalanxes which was used by all.

But that was only a fleeting thought, as there was no guarantee the enemy would not learn from his and develop their own infantry formations.

In a battle between two legionary formations who knew the winner would be?

Alexander would have to be foolish to gamble with his city like that.

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