Dragon City stood in the San Soliel Mountain Range. From a distance, the entire city appeared to be made from pure white jade, and it emitted a solemn and holy aura under the sunlight. As one came to its foot, the view of the peak would bring even more shock.
Outside the city, the meadow stretched far and wide. Farmers were working hard in harvesting crops in the fields. They sweated like rain, but their faces were full of happy smiles as they busily shouted. Even the children were happily laughing, painting a peaceful scene.
Louie and the elf queen thus came to the outside of the city. The two walked side by side without any attendants or maids. Only they were watching the scene of busy farming citizens.
The elf queen was dressed in a gown like a celestial maiden. With her gentle steps, the frills and ribbons on her dress floated in mid-air. Her snow-white feet would touch the rich fertile soil, yet no dirt could stain her body. She seemed to walk on clouds.
Louie withdrew his gaze from the queen’s legs and pointed at the land, “The river there, which I call the Dragon River, flows down from San Soliel Mountain Range and serves as an abundant water source for the city. Its waters are sweet and clear. It runs down towards the southern coast and into the sea.”
Louie and the queen stopped by the rover. It was a hundred meters wide and extremely deep. Although the edges of the river were clear enough for one to make out the stones underneath, the center was so deep that this was impossible.
There were countless moats on two sides of the river, splitting it into several streams. These channels flowed straight into the farmlands, and dumpers would scoop up the water and irrigate the farmland.
“What’s that?”
The queen noticed these strange devices and asked.
“Those are dumpers used to irrigate the farmland. When I first invented it, I only planned to use it to irrigate my garden, but I then thought that it may be better to use it on the farmlands. It seems that my people were thoroughly convinced of my words and have already used these dumpers in their fields.
Louie smiled and explained to the queen.
In the European Middle Ages, agricultural irrigation technology was introduced from Arabia in the late Middle Ages. The overall civilization of San Soliel, on the other hand, was closer to the early Middle Ages. With no agricultural irrigation, Louie decided to invent something for it since the technical knowledge of making something for farm irrigation was not high.
“So, you can also do this without spells. Your wisdom is truly amazing.”
The queen’s eyes flashed. She gazed at the irrigated farmland and the tool that could save countless hours of manpower. As a queen who understood the livelihood of the people, she was easily able to calculate the benefits.
“Compared to the convenience brought by magic, these things are not much.”
“You degrade yourself too much to the point that you aren’t dragon-like. For these ordinary farmers, these dumpers are more attractive than any spell.
The elf queen complimented Louie as they both approached the farmland.
The busy farmers saw the two people, but when facing two people who seemed like nobles and wore flashy clothes, they did not dare come over. They even felt fear and pressure under the two’s gaze, causing them to stop joking around and work silently.
Only a few citizens of Dragon City had seen Louie in his humanoid form. If he had appeared in dragon form, he would have been easily recognized by the people.
“Our arrival has frightened them.”
The queen calmly pointed out reality.
“Both of our clothes make us look like nobles of the city. It’s only natural that they would be afraid. There is always a gap in classes that could never be eliminated, nor do I have any intention of eliminating it. If people were all equal, then would there still be a difference between Gods and mortals?”
Louie smiled.
“Although they were afraid, their smiles were filled with happiness. I can feel that these farmers are inwardly happy.”
The queen closed her eyes to feel the farmers’ joy.
“This was also an expected thing because I bestowed the land to them.”
“You bestowed the land to them?”
Louie’s words shocked the elf queen. This was completely different from any of the class systems in the world.
“The king assigned lords to territories, and the lords had knights under them with their estate and land. The knights would tell the farmers who were their subordinates to cultivate the land. However, these farmers had no rights and did not own anything. They would grow crops in surplus, but only a small part belonged to them. The vast majority of them would have to offer what they grew to the knights.”
“After these knights take their share, they would have to turn the crops to their lords. The lords would then do the same and offer them to the royal family. The food is grown by farmers, but they get the least while the lords and kings get the most.”
“The land near Dragon City is reasonably fertile. If all of this land was used, it would be enough to supply all the city’s residents. But why was it that when I became the lord of the city, I found out that the city’s residents could only eat black bread and couldn’t even eat their fill?”
That’s the problem with the current system. In the past, this land belonged to the Theocracy. Any food grown in these lands would belong to them so the farmers were unwilling to work hard. Moreover, no matter how many crops they grew or how great the quality was, they would only receive a set amount which could barely feed them and their families.”
Louie pointed at the fertile lands and then pointed at the hard-working farmers. Even under the wind and sun, they seemed to be bursting with life and a passion to do their work. Then he continued, “But now, things are different. I have given them the land while taxing them a small amount. Then I allowed them to decide how they wanted to use the rest of the harvest.”
“These farmers could sell their excess harvest for coins. They could even turn the coarse wheat into refined wheat and feed the byproduct to raise their livestock. They could even sell their livestock once they have grown.”
“With money, they would be able to buy new clothes. This would motivate tailors into making new clothes to sell. When tailors want to find new materials to make clothes with, merchants would be motivated to find these things for them. When there is material need, more business opportunities would open up and give everyone the greatest enthusiasm to create more wealth. Domestic demand is one of the most important things for the territory, for a country! Only with domestic demand will money circulate and thereby create more wealth.”
“What use is there in having so much gold and silver? They are nothing but general equivalents. They do not create wealth by themselves. The real way to create wealth, you see, is actually in the hands of the people!”
Louie paused for a moment.
This was because he noticed that a new branch of his divine authority had been lit up. He now possessed the divine authority of earth.
This made Louie imagine the power of Neltharion, the Earth Warder.
As it turned out, the so-called earth did not specifically refer to the thick ground below his feet. Farming, cultivation, cultural development, and many others were actually a part of ‘earth’. They could even be called the most important parts.
‘The most important believers of the so-called God of Earth are actually the farmers. They will pray to the wind and rain, and pray to the God of the Earth to send down miracles, for their harvest to be abundant and fruitful.’
Louie reached an understanding.
This was the same as how Gods went through the process of obtaining their divine authorities. It was different from him borrowing the power of faith and divine power to light up divine authorities. This was a true reliance on his own comprehension.
Now, except for ‘time’ and ‘life’, Louie possessed three divine authorities: ‘dream’, ‘magic’, and ‘earth’.