Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 81: Chapter 35: How Can One Manage a Territory Well

The Dragon-blooded Centaur Chiron commanded the monsters under his charge to push the crowd away from the bulletin board. Under his command, the Centaur Warriors and Kobolds struggled to clear the people within a three-meter radius around Chiron.

These Dragon’s Beloved did not carry any weapons in this primarily human town, only holding long sticks used for maintaining daily order.

Although the artisans brought by these human nobility and merchants continuously smelt iron ore, the main focus of the melting workshops remained on other precious ores, and these iron ores were only smelted incidentally.

Even though the Dragons have begun consciously assigning their Beloveds to human melting workshops to learn casting techniques, they still cannot satisfy all the weapon needs of their Beloved in a short time.

Currently, except for the warriors of the Centaur Tribe, who are naturally excellent cavalry with strong combat abilities, other Dragon’s Beloved still use crude weapons. Even among the Centaur Warriors, not everyone is equipped with ironware.

The long sticks made from special trees in the forest are extremely tough and can compete with sharp swords, but the crowd is not afraid to approach.

Firstly, they have begun to get used to the presence of these Dragon’s Beloved. Not only do these humans need to strictly adhere to the rules set by the Dragons, but the existence of these Beloveds also needs to abide by rules.

Moreover, these monsters are often subjected to stricter constraints than these humans due to their inherently evil nature and some inherent chaos.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Dragons, these lives are all the same and equal, just subjects ruled by the Dragons, differing only in closeness and trustworthiness.

Secondly, the humans gathering around are almost always clever individuals, who eagerly attend whenever new regulations or rules are announced.

These proclamations represent the will of the Dragons and can be considered as some form of governance policy by the Giant Dragon Lord over the lands, where those with sharp senses can easily find ample business opportunities under these new rules.

Sometimes, being a step ahead gives one an edge.

Thus, most of those gathering around are the stewards sent by pioneer nobles and the heads of major mercantile groups, as these individuals have a keen sense for profit.

The Dragon’s Beloved formed a circle around the most powerful warrior of the Centaur Tribe, and only then did the mighty warrior unfold the thick sheepskin notice, but the Centaur Warrior suddenly froze, having forgotten he couldn’t read.

”Damn it, I forgot to bring along that Female Slave of Lord Karon, who always helped me read the announcements before.”

The Centaur Warrior Chiron scratched his head and looked around his subordinates, asking, ”Is there anyone who can read? Step forward, and once you’ve read this announcement, I’ll inform Lord Doss of your credit.”

The monsters surrounding them stared at each other cluelessly; there was no school or place for knowledge dissemination in the Wasteland.

Among these monsters, being able to understand and learn the common language was already considered a rare talent. Expecting them to learn to read and write was unthinkable.

Not every race can have the inheritance and innate knowledge of Dragons.

”Damn it,” Chiron exclaimed angrily with words he learned from humans. ”How can we properly manage the land for Lord Dragon with you pests?”

The frustrated Centaur Warrior supported his front hooves on the ground and kicked with his sturdy hind legs, sending one of his subordinates flying into the crowd, knocking over several spectators.

Chiron scratched his head and suddenly thought of a solution. He patted his own head, feeling proud of his cleverness.

The Centaur pulled out a Gold Coin from the pocket around his waist, considered it inappropriate, then replaced it with a Silver Coin. Before taking it out of the pocket, he hesitated again and finally pulled out a few Copper Coins.

Chiron held several Copper Coins in his large palm and shouted to the onlooking residents, ”Is there anyone among you who can read? As long as you can help me read this announcement, these Copper Coins will be yours.”

”But there can’t be any mistakes, or else I won’t pay,” the Centaur said sternly.

Despite being just a few Copper Coins, the conditions were so simple that many residents raised their hands, signaling they could help, tempted by the lure of money.

Chiron stared for a while and selected an old man with a gap in his front teeth, as he’d heard that the longer these humans lived, the more knowledge they possessed.

”Hey, you, the old man,” Chiron pointed to the chosen human and said.

The old man, realizing he was chosen, grinned, revealing his missing teeth. He was the same elder who had guided Rose and He’Er earlier.

The old man took the thick sheepskin scroll from Chiron’s hand and squinted his eyes to read aloud.

According to the governance methods agreed upon by Blue Dragon Doss and Akzhi, the main points of this proclamation included several aspects.

On one hand, the start of levying appropriate taxes on all goods transactions and circulation, rather than the previous practice of only charging a certain percentage of partnership fees, as well as related market rental taxes.

The Dragon Group no longer needs to concede related interests as they begin governing their territory like a lord.

Of course, to promote the town’s development, for now, the Dragon Group has no plans to levy tariffs.