Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 433 A Miracle in Half a Year

It has been exactly six months since the Red Tide took over the Limestone Province.

The conference room in Black Iron City was very quiet.

The cool light of an early autumn morning shines through the window, cut into a thin line by the thick curtains and falling onto the long black walnut table.

The air was not yet bitterly cold, but carried a slight chill. The fireplace was lit symbolically, so that the people inside did not need to wear coats.

Louis sat at the head of the table, his cloak draped over the back of his chair, a pen in his hand, which he twirled gently between his fingers.

“Lord Louis.” Green entered, carrying a bit of the chill from outside, and holding a thick roll of sheepskin in his arms.

Louis nodded, and without further pleasantries, gestured for Green to begin his report: "Let's get started."

Green placed the sheepskin in the center of the table, pressed it down with both hands, and pulled hard.

The moment the map was laid out, everyone in the room instinctively looked up.

That was no longer the map of the old graystone nobles' territory that I had seen half a year ago.

There were no mottled patches of color, no dense heraldry, and no borders that cut the provinces into fragments.

Only red lines remain on the entire sheepskin, crisscrossing and extending from the governor's mansion to the mining areas, valleys, work sheds, outposts, and villages.

The lines vary in thickness and are densely packed, resembling the blood vessels and nerves of a body.

Louis's fingertips moved slowly along the edge of the map, his gaze lingering on each of the red-lined nodes.

Green stood up straight and reported, "Sir, according to your 'Red Tide System Planning Document,' the transformation of the Gray Rock Province has been completed."

He raised his hand and pointed to the center of the map: "700,000 people, 48 mining areas, and three glaciers have all been connected to the red tide system."

Louis glanced up at him, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment: "Well done."

He then raised his hand, indicating that there was no need to stop, "Continue."

Green coughed and continued, "Six months ago, hundreds of minor barons were running their own thing. How taxes were collected, how mines were mined, and how people were used all depended on their debts and their tempers."

He described the old situation very briefly, as if throwing a rotting corpse out the door: "We have abolished the legislative power of all local nobles. Now, there is only one voice in the limestone, the voice from the center of the red tide."

Green pointed to the three main lines on the map.

“Every instruction issued from the main city can reach the most remote mining villages through the three-level vertical system of deacons, town officials, and village chiefs, without any disagreement or ambiguity, and with a 100% execution rate.”

Louis tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice: "The rules must be clearly written down. Fear can only maintain order, while rules can maintain the system."

“Yes.” Green nodded. “So we posted the regulations at the entrance of every work shed, and even the literacy class taught them to recognize work points and rules first.”

Louis's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this, as if he were satisfied.

Green turned to a new page: "In the past six months, the Inspectorate branch has filed 620 cases in Gray Rock. 850 former officials who were retained have been publicly tried."

"They extorted money, demanded bribes, withheld grain rations, falsified work points, and sold medicines privately. We didn't let any of them go unpunished."

He read the numbers without emotion, as if he were announcing the weight of ore.

"The people finally believed that there was no forgiveness based on mood, nor any privilege based on status."

“Keep a close eye on them.” Louis nodded. “And even if officials from the Red Tide commit crimes, they can’t be let off the hook.”

Green acknowledged, turned to the population register, and continued reporting: "The registered population is 724,000, of which 400,000 are unregistered individuals we dug out from mines, deep mountains, and abandoned villages."

They weren't considered people before, but now they have names, numbers, and work point accounts.

Green paused in turning the page: "In the past six months, we have promoted more than three thousand grassroots officials. Six months ago, they were slaves, refugees, or miners."

He raised his eyes, and his tone finally revealed a hint of excitement that he could hardly contain.

"As long as one is willing to learn, work hard, and read, even a slave can sit in an office. Once this upward mobility channel is opened, it is more effective at winning people's hearts than handing out gold coins."

Louis smiled confidently, as if he had expected this: "Are they crazy?"

“It’s insane,” Green laughed. “The doorstep is being broken down by people signing up for literacy classes every day.”

After a brief silence, someone in the conference room suddenly chuckled softly, and soon the laughter spread around the table as if it had been ignited.

They themselves once sat on the benches in literacy classes, starting from copying the first character and recording the first work points, and gradually progressed to where they are today.

"Regarding supplies," Green steered the conversation back on track, "we replicated Red Tide City's free shelter system. First, register, then provide housing, clothing, and food. The plague and riots were basically contained in their infancy."

He pointed to the south of the map: "The Black Valley Basin. Relying on glacial water power and geothermal technology transferred from headquarters, we built the first phase of the greenhouse area."

Although it's still not enough to feed everyone well, there's enough potato and mushroom stew. Deaths from starvation and freezing have disappeared from the statistics.

Louis let out a soft breath, his gaze still fixed on the map: "Progress is in line with expectations."

Green said, "This is the adults' plan..."

The conversation had barely begun when it unconsciously veered towards praise.

Louis raised his hand to interrupt him: "Alright. Stop flattering me."

After those words were spoken, the meeting room fell silent for a moment, then someone couldn't help but chuckle.

The interruption made Green feel a little more relaxed, and he smiled, but he still couldn't completely stop himself.

“You may not like to hear this, but I have to say it.” He closed the booklet, as if he had simply repackaged his words.

"What shocks me most is the human heart. In the past, they were forced to shout 'Long live Duke Raymond!' Now they shout 'Long live Lord Louis!' because they know that life is truly moving forward."

They no longer consider themselves Gray Rock People; they call themselves Red Tide People.

The people in the room exchanged glances; some smiled, while others let out a soft sigh.

Louis's gaze fell back on the map crisscrossed with red lines.

Once people start actively placing themselves in this network, they will no longer be willing to return to the shadow of the old aristocracy.

Green closed the population register and picked up an even thicker document, the edges of which were worn from repeated reading.

"Now let's talk about the supplies we've harvested." His tone had noticeably changed. "The daily output of various minerals has increased tenfold compared to before we took over."

It wasn't that the number of ore veins suddenly increased, but rather that the mines were operating around the clock for the first time. The hydraulic forging plant on the glacier ran day and night; the raw ore was no longer inefficiently piled up in open areas, but was directly pressed, cut, and forged into standardized steel ingots.

Green paused, as if to make sure everyone present could keep up with the change, before continuing.

"This is the first time that limestone has the concept of standardized parts, which can be integrated into the red tide industrial system as a whole, rather than being a source of scattered raw materials."

He pointed to several sections of the glacier on the map: "In addition, according to your information, we have also discovered the associated mineral frost-patterned copper in the deep riverbed of the glacier."

This metal has excellent ductility and is far more resistant to temperature changes than ordinary copper. The Craftsmen's Office has confirmed that it is ideally suited for critical components of steam engines and the core structure of urban heating pipes.

Green turned another page: "The Mining Department also unearthed high-density iron ore in abandoned deep shafts. Valentine calls it Abyssal Black Iron." This ore is three times denser than ordinary iron and naturally possesses anti-magic properties. It is extremely difficult to forge, but once formed, it becomes an extremely reliable military material.

"It's currently only in the trial production stage," Green reported truthfully, "but it has already attracted attention."

Louis nodded: "These two are classified as strategic materials."

Green continued: "The agricultural data isn't impressive, but it's stable."

We've repeatedly verified that limestone is unsuitable for growing wheat. Therefore, instead of forcibly replicating the Northern model, we directly acknowledged its incompatibility and shifted towards alternative solutions.

He tapped the west side of the map.

“Deep in the red soil slope, the embers of a symbiotic plant were discovered.”

It grows by absorbing volcanic ash and trace amounts of fire elements. It cannot be used as a staple food, but it is highly valuable in the field of knight training.

The refined potion can nourish the blood and qi of apprentice knights, significantly increasing their success rate in breaking through to the formal rank. An application to expand the training area has already been submitted.

Louis nodded: "Maximize it."

Green nodded and turned to the next page: "As for food supplies, we still rely on the Glowing Mushroom. Director Mick completed an improved version of its cultivation in the limestone, which is high in protein, highly adaptable, and can be stably produced in mines, greenhouses, and humid environments."

It can't solve the problem of wealth, but it can solve hunger. For the limestone now, that's enough.

In terms of biological breeding, the local rock-scaled pigs have been domesticated.

This wild animal has thick, tough skin and is resistant to cold and disease. Its meat is firm, and its skin is almost as strong as lightweight armor material.

From raising livestock and slaughtering to processing, everything could be completed within the province, marking the first time a complete agricultural-industrial closed loop had been formed in Limestone.

Green paused for a moment, then naturally steered the conversation forward.

"Next, all the remaining old knights and wandering mercenaries of Grayrock have been gathered, totaling eight hundred people."

The original family-based organizational structures were all abolished, and the units were uniformly reorganized and incorporated into the Red Tide mixed formation. The political commissar system was simultaneously deployed, with tactics, discipline, and ideology being implemented together.

There were quite a few conflicts in the first two months, with some refusing to follow orders and others forming secret societies.

Louis asked, "And now?"

Green answered steadily: "Now they know who the sword is for, and where they will be sent if they disobey."

Finally, there's the issue of talent; the first batch of night school graduates have already been deployed to village and town levels.

They may not be literate, but they can calculate work points, keep accounts, and fill out forms; the basic operations cannot function without them. These people are more loyal than knights.

Another unexpected benefit was the return of skills. Craftsmen such as blacksmiths, stonemasons, and herbalists, who were originally buried in the countryside, were uniformly rated and awarded by the Craftsmen's Bureau and reintegrated into the system.

Some people improved the turbine drive shaft, increasing efficiency by 20%, while others improved the structure of the miner's lamp, reducing the accident rate by half.

We gave them medals and houses, and as a result, artisans throughout the province began to voluntarily submit improvement proposals.

At the end of the report, Louis wrote a bright red "Excellent".

Then he closed the almost flawless "Reconstruction Report of Limestone Province".

When he put the parchment back on the table, there was no deliberate pause or symbolic ritual; he simply put it down naturally, as if he had completed a confirmation.

He got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the conference room, where the Black Iron City was visible.

The streets were clean, the transport tracks were straight, and the rhythmic sound of the steam engine came through the thick windows—not harsh, but steady.

Louis concluded, "You did more than just save the limestone. You proved one thing: the red tide regime can take root outside the North."

No one in the meeting room responded; it wasn't a question that needed a reply.

Louis turned around, his gaze sweeping across both sides of the long table: "Gentlemen, I should head back now."

When those words were spoken, there was no commotion in the room as expected.

“The North is the brain and heart of the Red Tide,” Louis continued. “There are even more complex games waiting for me there.”

His gaze lingered on Green for a moment before shifting to the others: "And Grayrock, now a giant who has learned to walk. It no longer needs me to hold its hand all the time."

The atmosphere changed at that moment, filled with a joy at being recognized by Louis.

Louis walked back to the head of the long table, placed his hands on the tabletop, and leaned forward slightly.

At that moment, the air in the conference room noticeably tightened.

"I have two things to say before I leave. First, the old aristocracy will not give up. If they lose in a direct confrontation, they will definitely try other methods. They will offer money, establish connections, and propose marriage alliances."

Louis's tone was flat, yet carried an unmistakable coldness.

"Tell the Inspection Department to open their eyes wide. The Red Tide is not afraid of steel knives, but it is afraid of soft knives."

"Anyone who dares to accept a single gold coin from an old nobleman will be sent to mine coal in Black Valley for the rest of their life, no matter who they are or how great their achievements are."

“Secondly, I’m leaving.” Louis looked at Green. “You are the highest-ranking officer here.”

But remember, it's not you, Green, who governs the limestone, it's the Red Tide Code. Don't let personal likes and dislikes replace the law. The system is an iron cage, but also a protective shield.

He straightened up and lowered his voice even further: "Seven hundred thousand people can lift you up or tear you apart. The only thing that can keep them from running rampant is the system."

Green nodded nervously, indicating that he understood.

Louis straightened up, walked over to Green, and took out a seal from his pocket.

The seal is small, with a smooth edge, and is engraved with a sun pattern of red tide.

“Green. The food, drink, and daily needs of 700,000 people, and the 48 mining areas, are all now in your hands.”

He placed the seal into Green's hand.

Green was the first to stand up, followed by Mike, Mick, Cyril, Valentine...

The chairs retreated simultaneously, the sound as synchronized as a rehearsal.

Green held the seal in both hands, his eyes reddening, but he did not waver in the slightest.

"My lord, please rest assured as you head north. We will guard this southern gateway to Gray Rock. Whether it is the imperial army or the temptations of corruption, as long as the flag of the Red Tide still flies, Gray Rock Province will never change its color."

Everyone bowed, and Louis looked at them without saying much. He put on his coat, turned around, and pushed open the door.

The cold wind of early autumn blew into the room, lifting a corner of the map on the table before quickly falling back down.

The massive machinery of the Limestone Province no longer needed his intervention and continued to operate according to its established course.

(End of this chapter)