The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

In Black Iron City, now renamed Black Iron City, many people are waiting for the arrival of the legendary steel behemoth – the Magic Train.

Jim Evans, who was already the mayor, personally waited at the so-called "station".

Very few people in the gray-collar area have actually seen the Magic Train's trial run, so many citizens of Black Iron City gathered early on the platform, waiting with curiosity and a touch of unease for the legendary "steel behemoth".

The merchants who flocked to Black Iron City, in particular, began to fight each other for a good spot on the platform, and there were even vendors who specialized in helping people occupy platform spots.

Suddenly, a long, drawn-out whistle sounded from afar, and the previously noisy crowd immediately fell silent, all turning to look at the end of the tracks.

This was the first time the people of Black Iron City had heard the rumbling sound of train wheels rubbing against the rails. The sound was deep and powerful, as if even the earth was trembling slightly.

"I'm coming!"

A child on a wealthy businessman's shoulder pointed excitedly in the direction the sound came from, and as the sound grew closer, the outline of the magic train gradually became clearer.

A colossal steel behemoth, emitting the faint glow of runic arrays in operation, dragged carriages along the tracks toward the station.

Both the steel behemoth at the head and the carriages are covered with a thick layer of armor. Combined with the predominantly black color scheme, it seems that even the air around this steel behemoth carries a sense of heaviness, just like a mobile fortress.

People held their breath, watching the steel behemoth slowly pull into the platform. The wheels screeched against the rails, and as the fluorescent glow from the front of the train faded, the steel behemoth finally came to a stop.

Jim had already established a safe distance, but when they actually saw this steel behemoth, quite a few people still took a small step back in fear.

Even a fully armed knight would be crushed to pieces under the wheels of such a thing.

However, as Lind led Lena off the already-parked train and waved to the surrounding crowd, he did so.

This fear immediately turned into the most enthusiastic cheers, after all, this was a power developed by the Governor's wife and under the control of the Governor.

Newspaper boys hawked their wares along the street, selling the latest newspapers featuring the Magic Train.

Merchants spread the word, and many looked at the steel behemoth with eager eyes. It was clear that this steel behemoth was not for civilian use. The steel plates that served as defensive measures could be removed and used to transport more cargo.

The merchants can't even imagine how much they can earn from this trip.

Countless reporters used magical scrolls to record this moment, and some professionals even came specifically to use photographic magic to provide the newspaper with commemorative photos.

The train, which was being researched under Lena's leadership, was originally intended to be named after her by Linde, but Lena blushed and strongly resisted, so the train was eventually named the North Wind.

Linde did not choose the cities in the old western North for the first stop of the magic train, but instead chose Black Iron City, because Black Iron City is not only an important military and transportation hub now, but also a former commercial city with a large number of merchants and extremely fast information exchange.

After exchanging a few polite words, Linde and Rena were escorted away by guards. On the carriage to the city hall, Linde asked Jim, who was sitting in front of him, "Any unusual activity by the nobles in the city?"

"No, these nobles are quite obedient now, but recently they've been asking around about whether they can donate money to the railway."

Jim is now the king of the kings, but he still gets a little nervous when facing Lind.

Moreover, Jim couldn't tell whether these nobles wanted to invest or buy indulgences.

"We can ask them to donate some money for the railways that will be built in the future, but we need to investigate the family background of the nobles who donate. They must not have any criminal records within the last five generations."

In other words, even something as simple as donating money requires a background check, although the standards are not strict.

As the war progressed and Linde's control strengthened, development was no longer as constrained as before. Linde no longer needed to worry about those merchant nobles making underhanded moves when donating money, and could now extend more goodwill to them.

But this so-called goodwill is nothing more than granting a right to cooperate at the cost of complete integration into the system built by Linde.

Jim nodded, pulled out a document, and said...

"This is your upcoming schedule."

Jim handed over the neatly formatted table; these days, such concise and clear tables are an essential quality for a qualified official.

Lin Deguang felt a headache coming on after just one look. Although he had greatly reduced unnecessary social engagements, there were still many people in Black Iron City that he needed to meet.

The matter of the magic train has kept Lind busy for quite some time.

At the city hall, Lind met Sean, who had been waiting for him.

"Sister, brother-in-law!"

Sean came forward to greet him warmly. The once-refined young master Sean now looked somewhat travel-worn.

Sean, who was away from the gray-collar area for a long time due to work, was very angry and worried when he heard the rumors about Lena. He rushed back to Black Iron City, but when he saw that the two of them were still the same as before, Sean felt relieved.

However, after catching up for a short while, Linde asked, "How is the railway plan to connect the front lines going?"

“I’ve inspected all the sites and planned everything out. Brother-in-law, as long as the materials are in place, we can start construction.”

After Sean left Black Iron City, Lind assigned him to oversee the future railway planning of the North, especially the military railway planning that would extend to the front lines.

Now that many places in the North have been destroyed, it is easy to plan ahead. Moreover, it can be used and built at the same time. The paved sections can be used to transport construction materials, workers, and magic stones needed to build stations and supply depots.

In some places, it is not necessary to lay down universal obelisks. Simplified obelisks specifically designed to power the magic train can be used. Moreover, there are special carriages on the train that carry containers of primary color sand.

Along the way, there was a large surplus of labor due to the end of the war, which could be put to good use. Once these workers finished building the railway, they became a valuable source of soldiers and could be sent directly to the front lines.

Of course, these workers are not usually needed, but after the railway was built, they were indeed good candidates to become engineers.

Afterwards, Lind and Sean had a family dinner while looking at the reports.

Although the two men were still talking about work while eating, Lena joined the discussion when she saw her brother whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and together they started calculating the budget expenses by looking at the reports.

"Could we go around to Oaktown and use the local oak to make railway sleepers?"

“Sister is right. Oak Town has been exploited and is now in ruins. We can take advantage of this railway to make Oak Town prosperous again.”

But Sean pointed to the map and said, "Actually, I've also considered this issue, but since this railway is currently for military use, efficiency must be the priority, so I haven't been able to make up my mind."

After all, military applications prioritize efficiency.

Linde studied the map and encouraged, "The materials transported from the capital are too slow. If the sleeper materials are directly supplied by Oak Town, the capital can prioritize the transport of other materials. In this way, this extra short distance is still worthwhile, and it can be considered as indirectly speeding up the transportation of other materials."

Sean didn't show any emotion because his boss changed the plan at the last minute. Instead, he nodded and said, "I understand, brother-in-law. If similar situations occur on subsequent sections of the road, I will continue to compile and report them."

It must be said that Sean's work ability is indeed very strong. Such a long railway line was not built by the United Kingdom in the past when Little Britain almost lost Northern Ireland. The war might have ended before the railway even left Black Iron City, but the budget had already increased several times.

Sean had already considered developing towns along the railway track as well.