Above the mage!

Chapter 557 Nation-Building Plan
The establishment of the branch city Ironforge did not delay Sunefair for too long.

Firstly, the so-called establishment of branch cities doesn't actually involve much infrastructure construction.

We should have a long-term vision, but we still have to take things one step at a time.

Ultimately, Phoenix's urban development is still in the planning and implementation stages, with even the expansion of City Hall not expected until next spring.

Therefore, it is unrealistic to impose strict city requirements on Ironforge.

The current urban development is essentially a transformation of identity, rather than a reconstruction of infrastructure.

Apart from the relocation of personnel, a change of rulers, and the removal of Winter's Hammer-related totem symbols from the territory, everything else remained largely unchanged.

Of course, this is temporary.

After Phoenix's city construction is completed, Ironforge will definitely be renovated and expanded in accordance with the city construction requirements.

But that's the case at least for now.

So after Sunefa finalized the plan to establish a branch city with Elsa, received a positive reply from God, and confirmed the name Ironforge, he embarked on his journey back to Phoenix.

However, before leaving, they still took the lead in laying ten Ethernet "network cables" in Ironforge and leaving ten access keys.

This is sufficient to ensure that messages are delivered between the two locations without delay.

Another point is that both of them are decision-makers, and the specific implementation will definitely be left to their subordinates, so they don't need to stay here and worry about it.

As for the choice of the garrison commander for the Ironforge branch city.

This is the core of the city management, directly related to the future stability of Ironforge, and is a major issue.

However, Sunefa quickly finalized the agreement:
The Winterhammer, once one of the three great tribes of the North alongside the True Ice Clan, had three fourth-ring mages.

They are War Mother Yarna, Elder Jolan, and Thorfinn, the chief engineer of the forging workshop.

This is actually a characteristic of the Northern tribes: the mage's level is complementary to their status, and those with high status will inevitably have the highest mage level in the tribe.

The reason is simple: it's because of the Iceborn bloodline and the "True Ice Secret Manual".

Those of high status naturally receive the most ice marrow to enhance their bloodline power, and their mage level is naturally the highest.

War Mother Yarna has already died at the hands of Sunefa, so let's leave that aside for now.

The remaining two are Jolan and Thorfinn.

According to Sunefah's decision, a potentially dangerous individual like Joran, who possesses both strength and prestige, would definitely have to leave Ironforge and be taken to Phoenix to be kept under their noses.

This is to prevent him from being far from the emperor's reach and potentially inciting a rebellion among his people.

But Thorfinn is different. He is the alchemist with the highest skill in forging in Winter's Hammer and a core figure in the original Winter's Hammer forging system. He needs to stay in Ironforge to maintain the operation of the Ironforge forging system.

In other words, there will be a fourth-circle mage in Ironforge who is not part of Phoenix's direct line of service.

In this situation, Phoenix would definitely need to send a fourth-ring mage to keep things under control.

At present, Phoenix only has five fourth-ring mages under its command.

This includes Mother Sunefa, Lanvin who heads the Northern Territory's office in the Blue Flame Islands, Lord Warlord Claude of Valar Bay, Quentin, the head of the Livestock Office, and Aldrin, who does not have a suitable position and is temporarily serving as a "bodyguard" for Phoenix's various projects.

Needless to say, the first four people all held important positions and were simply too busy to take on the additional duties of Ironforge garrison commander.

Therefore, this position naturally fell to Aldrin, who seemed to have the most free time and was indeed the most free.

As for whether he is capable enough, although Eldrin does not currently hold an important position, he is at least strong enough. In addition, he is a veteran of Zhenbing and will absolutely obey orders, so there is no need to worry about loyalty.

As long as you follow instructions, management skills can actually be developed gradually.

Phoenix, City Hall.

"You've had a long journey," Gao De said to Sunefa and Elsa, who had rushed back to Phoenix.

Behind the two women was a burly middle-aged man.

Upon seeing Gao De, the man immediately knelt on one knee, his heavy knee slamming into the stone surface with a dull thud.

He bowed his head heavily, "Qiao Lan greets Your Highness."

It was none other than Joran, the former Grand Elder of Winterhammer.

He went back to Phoenix with Sunefa and was taken by her to see God.

"Welcome to Phoenix." God nodded slightly to Jolan and gestured for her to stand up, his attitude quite friendly.

Simply put, Phoenix is ​​desperately short of available players.

The establishment of Ironforge made this problem even more acute.

When it came time to finalize the selection of the Overseer of Ironforge, Goddard discovered that there were no candidates at all.

This feeling of being "strapped for resources" serves as a reminder to Gaode that Phoenix's expansion speed has far exceeded the growth rate of its talent pool.

Despite Phoenix's rapid growth, the shortage of available personnel has remained unresolved, and this gap continues to widen.

Although Gaode has been promoting education for all citizens for a long time.

But education takes time.

Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst; this is a perfect example.

This was only because Gaode managed to recruit Elsa, Catherine, and Quentin from outside sources; otherwise, they would have been even short-handed.

As a fourth-circle mage and the Grand Elder of Winterhammer, Jolan assisted two Warmothers, including Yarna, in managing Winterhammer.

In terms of both strength and ability, he can be considered a rare talent in the North right now.

Although his background was not "pure".

But in Phoenix, there are quite a few people like Joran who come from "impure" backgrounds but hold important positions.

As long as Gao De is of good character, has the ability to meet the requirements, and is willing to contribute to the unification of the North, he is willing to trust him and even give him important responsibilities.

—A very important and undeniable premise here is that Sunefa can take control of the situation.

Even after getting up, Qiao Lan kept her head slightly lowered, avoiding direct eye contact with Gao De, as a sign of respect.

This awe stemmed partly from Sunefa's breathtaking power, after all, he had witnessed Yarna being frozen into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye.

The other half came from the visual impact he had upon arriving in Phoenix: the city's changes had completely overturned his perception of it as a "land of northern tribes." He knew that Phoenix was developing rapidly and its strength was constantly growing.

But only by setting foot in the city himself could Jolan truly appreciate how much Phoenix had changed.

It was so large that it didn't match his memory of it at all.

Putting everything else aside, the street from the entrance to the city hall is flat and wide, with almost no snow accumulation.

Moreover, there was more than one such road; every so often, Qiao Lan could see a straight, intersecting fork in the road.

Is this the road?
Why were the roads built so wide?
Also, isn't the road winding and crooked?

Why are they so neatly arranged, like squares drawn with a pen?
These were all questions lingering in Qiao Lan's mind.

And the neat buildings along the roadside, with their doors and windows of almost the same size and walls of almost the same thickness, look like they were carved from the same mold.

The exterior walls of the houses also have uniform stone plaques with symbols engraved on them, which are said to be door signs made of mathematical symbols promoted by Phoenix.
Phoenix residents, their steps hurried and their faces rosy with energy, walked along the street.
As for the endless wheat fields outside the city, needless to say—this scale of farming was a sight that even Elsa, an outsider, found astonishing.

All of these changes, as Jolan knew perfectly well, began in the two years since God came to Phoenix and ascended to the throne.

In just two years, he managed to transform Phoenix into this!

This astonishment naturally transformed into reverence for Gaode.

In Qiao Lan's view, this was an even more heaven-defying technique than fifth-circle spells or Sunefa's True Ice Arrow.

After a brief exchange, Sunefa dismissed Jolan.

Seeing Gaode's attitude, Qiao Lan, who had been on edge the whole way there, breathed a sigh of relief, bowed respectfully again, and left.

Her steps were lighter than when she came.

“Please have a seat,” Gao De said, gesturing for the two to sit down after Qiao Lan left. “What I’m about to tell you concerns the future of the North.”

Upon hearing this, Sunefa and Elsa exchanged a glance, both seeing a glimmer of hope in each other's eyes.

They vaguely guessed that what Gaode wanted to talk about was the topic they had thought about many times and were waiting for Gaode to formally bring it up.

Once the two were seated, Gao De got straight to the point: "Now that Ironforge is established, Sunefair, the matter you've been concerned about is officially on the agenda."

After saying that, Sunafa's pupils constricted slightly: "You mean?"

"Yes, the founding of the nation!" Gao De nodded emphatically, his tone carrying an undeniable determination:
"Winterhammer has become Ironforge, and we have also begun to impose food sanctions on the Frostwolf Clan. Their food reserves can only last for two more months at most. They will either surrender or we will take them over by force; it's only a matter of time."

"Once these two major tribes are taken down, the unification of the North will only be a matter of finishing touches, namely cleaning up and integrating the scattered small tribes and resources in the peripheral areas. These are not difficult problems."

“Since unification is imminent, the basic conditions for establishing a regime are already in place,” Gao De stated methodically.

"The vast land of the North holds countless resources and potential waiting to be developed, but the people of the North are not capable of doing so."

"Therefore, these resources can never be put to use, and the people of the North can only live a life of worrying about food and clothing while guarding their gold and silver mountains. This has made the North a synonym for primitive and backward."

"Ultimately, the problem is that there is no unified force to develop it, and no stable system to operate it."

"Only by establishing a political power can we unite the scattered forces into one and truly put the North on the fast track of development."

Although neither of them knew what a "train" was, they could understand what Gaode meant and nodded in agreement.

“It’s just that the timing wasn’t right before, so I’ve always skipped mentioning the founding of the nation,” Gao De continued.

"The establishment of any regime must be based on 'internal unity'."

“Previously, the northern tribes were numerous and lived their own lives with very different cultures and customs. Moreover, the large tribes often couldn’t even maintain the most basic peace, so how could they talk about establishing a nation?”

"Now, we are about to unify the North. At that time, we can bring all the tribes into the same system, follow the same laws, and enjoy the same benefits. There will be no internal wars or divisions. Such a stable situation is the first cornerstone of the nation."

“But this is only the first step,” Gao De said, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. “To establish a nation, there are three steps to take.”

“The second step should be minting coins and establishing a unified monetary system,” Elsa said softly.

As a princess of a kingdom who had directly participated in the administration of the principality, Elsa was very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of political power.

“Yes.” Gao De nodded emphatically.

What kind of nation are we building if we don't even have a currency?

This is just a joke!
A regime needs economic support to function, and the underlying framework of the economy is currency.

Without currency, taxation, trade, and other economic activities would become meaningless.

This is precisely the reason why the army marched on Winter's Hammer.

"You personally inspected the workshops in Ironforge, and they are fully capable of mass-producing coins, right?" Gao De said.

"That's right, minting coins is not a high-level craft; it's far less difficult than forging extraordinary equipment."

"As long as the temperature is sufficient and the equipment is complete, there's no need for high-level alchemists. As long as the mold is made, ordinary people can perform this process after training," Elsa said.

“There’s no need to worry about resources,” Gao De said, taking out a folded piece of parchment that unfolded to reveal dense markings of mineral veins. “The exploration teams we sent out earlier have already found three gold veins around Phoenix using mineral vein compasses, with astonishing reserves.”
The maps you retrieved from Winter's Hammer also show numerous marked gold, silver, and copper veins.

"In addition to the mineral veins marked on the Snowfield Guardian map, we currently have enough raw materials for our currency."

"More importantly, after taking Winter's Hammer, we essentially gained a massive mining team."

Gao De continued, "The people of Winterhammer are skilled in mining, possessing sophisticated mining techniques, rich experience, and the necessary tools. After they migrate to Phoenix, they can be directly incorporated into mining teams to begin mining operations."

"I've already introduced Flora to Leni."

With Flora's help, the magic element reaction formula for the weak cold resistance potion will be available soon.

Once the Magic Element Reaction Formula is introduced, it will be possible to mass-produce weak cold-resistant potions.

Once the potion can be mass-produced and supplied, miners will be able to withstand the extreme cold while working in the mines, and mining efficiency will increase by at least 30%.

"As for now, we don't need to wait for mining; we can start minting directly."

Gao De then pulled out the Winter's Hammer supplies summary that Sunafa had sent through Canglan: "The Winter's Hammer warehouse itself has a lot of gold and silver ore reserves, which can now be used as raw materials for the first batch of currency."

“Raw materials, workshops, and manpower are all in place,” Gao De said, his tone becoming serious. “What we need to do now is to establish the Phoenix, or rather, the currency system of the North.”

He carefully put away the two parchments, his gaze sweeping over the two men: "Especially the name, symbol, and shape of the currency; these must be decided first."

(End of this chapter)