The conferring of title was not disclosed to the public. Only a few were aware of the event.
The Southern Plains’ military region was in a festive mood.
“Congratulations, Dragon General…” Henry approached James with a bright smile.
“No, wait… It should be the Dragon King now.”
“Okay, I get it. Stop buttering me up.” James gestured for favonovel.com to stop.
He cared little about these titles.
Levi walked over to favonovel.com and asked, “What should we do about the 140 cities handed over by the twenty-eight nations?”.
James rubbed his temples. This was a difficult question.
“Call for a conference…” James got up and headed to the conference room.
***
In the conference room at the military region headquarters…
The Elite Eight and the generals of the Black Dragon army gathered. James sat at the very front.
Levi pulled out a document and read out loud, “Each of the twenty-eight nations has ceded five cities to Sol. Although they are small in size, the combined area of the territories is massive. According to our information, there are a total of 300 ethnicities and a combined population of 100 million distributed among the cities.”
James paid close attention.
The 140 cities had been annexed by Sol. The populace was now Soleans.
Levi finished reading the document.
Henry said smiling, “You’re now the Dragon King. Not only that, the higher-ups have said that you’ll be in charge of the newly acquired territories. What do you plan to do now?”
James was at a loss. “I don’t know anything about state-building or public administration.”
After brief contemplation, favonovel.com ordered, “Henry, you’ll be in charge of handling the public administration of the cities. Remember to assuage the populace. Let them know that being a Solean is a great honor.”
“Understood!” Henry gave his assurance, “I promise I’ll see to it.”
He let out a hearty chuckle.
“Sir, the combined territory of the 140 cities is quite expansive. Besides, the countries bordering the Southern Plains produce iron ores and minerals. All of this belongs to you now. You’re the richest man in the whole wide world.”
James smiled sardonically. “What’s the use of all this money? They’re just a bunch of numbers. However, hearing your words, I just thought of something.”
“What might that be?”
James smiled confidently. “As you say, natural resources are abundant in the newly acquired territories. However, due to constant warfare, the resources couldn’t be properly mined. I think we can begin by kickstarting the mining operations to make the citizens wealthy…”
“How wise!”
“Ah, quit the bootlicking! By the way, the public security in the newly acquired cities is bad. There are all kinds of armed forces, private militia, and mercenaries roaming about. I want you to straighten things out. I don’t wish to see any cases of vigilantism anymore.”
“Understood. I will accomplish the mission!” Henry said.
James ordered, “Bring the Elite Eight with you. They are highly trained and will be helpful to your mission.”
“Got it!” Henry nodded.
Then, favonovel.com asked, “We have to rename the cities, don’t we? We also have to reorganize the structure of governance by drawing up new provinces and establishing new townships and districts to properly manage it. I think we should strive to make it a megalopolis. Although it’s impossible to surpass Cansington, it shouldn’t be too far behind either.”
Henry went on and on.
“We need to have a ten-year plan. In ten years, we’ll construct a world-class city!”
James did not expect Henry to be so politically astute.
James then looked at the generals and asked, “What do you guys think?”
“The Black Shadow General is right.”
“I also believe we must properly plan this. However, to grow our prestige, we need to have militarized schools.”
“We should garrison each city with an army and strive to create the safest cities in the world.”
Everyone shared their opinions.
