"The Andes Family is willing to serve you!" Concealing the joy in his heart, Andes bowed respectfully and said tremulously, "I can swear to Saint Sis that Thunder City will become the most dazzling diamond on the northeast coast of the Vortex Sea under your rule!"

Looking at the respectfully bowing Andes, Edward nodded with a smile.

"I look forward to this gift."

...

In mid-February, as spring breezes brushed over the land of Thunder County, new green life emerged from beneath the melting snow, streams in the fields surged once again, and the landscape was filled with vitality and renewal.

It was not only the farmers of Thunder County who rejoiced, but also the nobles and citizens living on this land.

For them, this spring was especially different from previous years, as two significant events worthy of making history took place consecutively.

The first event was the Duke of the Campbell Duchy, rarely appearing at the city council meeting, announced in front of everyone a new policy clarifying land ownership and usage rights.

The former was protected by the Holy Light, while the latter was safeguarded by the laws of the Duchy, both being sacred and inviolable.

This was undoubtedly a benevolent policy.

Especially for those citizens who had rented royal land for generations; their property and safety, once based on a longstanding tacit agreement, were now expressly stated in law.

As for the nobles of Thunder County, they had long been corrupted by money, most of them, like Baron Ges, eager to move into the city for a more luxurious and dignified life, only remaining in the countryside due to the traditional feudal obligations and the inability to cash in on their land.

Although the Church officials had much to say about this provision, believing the term sacred should not be used beyond Saint Sis, the clever Duke Edward would not let a group of priests become a stumbling block to his reforms and immediately cited the clauses about royal authority in the "Holy Word Book" to silence them.

The divinely bestowed royal power is sacred, and so are the articles bearing the royal family's wax seal, making them indisputable.

As for the opinions among the nobles of other earldoms, they were divided into two factions.

The Earl of North Stream Valley found this contrary to tradition and was more dissatisfied with the young Duke, while the Earl of South Stream Valley was indifferent, even showing a hint of interest.

The other implication of transferable land ownership is that he could instruct his merchants to purchase land from other lesser nobles.

He was not like those easily bullied citizens, crying over a few pieces of paper after being robbed; he had his own army, and he himself possessed extraordinary power, so no minor noble dared to play tricks on him.

He did not need the royal family to dispense justice for him; he had the ability to establish order himself.

As for the tenant farmers of Thunder County, they mostly did not care.

After all, news was hard to reach them, and the voices they raised were rarely heard.

However, at least the farmers around Thunder City still welcomed Duke Edward's new policies.

Some of them rented royal land, others rented land from nobles and priests, or lands with unclear ownership.

Though a rental, the rent was unfathomable; after a year of work, they ended up with only a few copper coins regardless of the harvest, as all the grain was taken by the Dog Legs of the nobility, leaving just enough for them to eat.

To save money, they mostly relied on utilizing 'waste land' in the fields, cultivating small vegetable gardens or planting fruit trees whenever they saw a chance. These scraps were generally disregarded, and as long as they didn't overdo it, the Dog Legs of the nobles usually didn't bother to calculate.

After all, by the time they figured it out, the vegetables might have already rotted, so they preferred to turn a blind eye.

As for now, good days seem to be coming.

Anyone could buy the land usage rights from the nobles by paying a sum.

Then the harvest would be theirs, and they could negotiate with merchants on prices as they wished.

Edward's new policy unsurprisingly received applause from the entire city council and was welcomed by all citizens.

The other historic event was related to Thunder City's beloved Mr. Colin.

After completing a fundraising of eighty million gold coins, this esteemed gentleman finally made his first grand move—placing an order worth ten million gold coins at the Thunder City Shipyard to purchase steamships for forming an ocean-going trade fleet!

Once this news was published in the "Thunder City Daily," it immediately caused a sensation throughout the city!

That was ten million gold coins!

Converted into copper coins, that would be 100 billion! The tax revenue for Thunder City over several years didn't even reach that amount!

Although residents of Thunder City had become somewhat indifferent to the paper-thin affluence of the upper class lately, it was undeniable that the vast majority still used copper coins, while the nobility typically used Aurum, only resorting to Aus Empire gold coins for large transactions or bank-to-bank dealings.

The power contained in these ten million gold coins surpassed all arcane magic and even rivaled the miracles descended by the Divine themselves.

After all, no magic could create 2000 millionaires and tens of thousands of jobs overnight, yet Mr. Colin's order could.

From the lumber mills to the steel mills, then from the steel mills to the mechanical power plants and the ship design companies in the port area, everyone shared in the dividends brought by this grand feast.

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