Free Web NovelIt was not yet fully light, but the city gate of Silver Ridge Hill was already bustling.
The sound of hooves treading on snow was continuous, and the air was mixed with the cold gleam of metal and the white mist of steam.
Yoen rode on the flank, guiding his horse close to Louis's carriage, and lifted the curtain to greet him, "Boss, you must be bored on this journey north. Luckily, I also received an invitation from Asta, so we can go together."
Louis glanced at him and smiled slightly, "I'm afraid you're just bored in your territory."
"A little, yes." Yoen naturally fell into step with his carriage, half-joking, half-serious, "Everything in Silver Ridge Hill is settled, so why not take this opportunity to see other territories? Besides, the chance to travel with you doesn't come often."
Louis nodded lightly, "Then observe well and learn well."
In truth, Yoen knew perfectly well that he had nothing to do staying in Silver Ridge Hill.
Life was so stable it was almost boring; everything in his territory was managed by the Red Tide Council Hall officials.
Rather than being bored hunting, he might as well follow Louis north to gain some experience.
Moreover, he was now among the top twenty nobles in the North, so his participation in the Northern Reconstruction Conference was indeed legitimate.
With a command from Louis, the entire convoy slowly started moving.
The vanguard knights formed ranks, and the standard bearers held high the banners of Red Tide and Harvey, their flags flapping side by side in the wind and snow.
Yoen rode on the side of the convoy, looking both proud and excited, and turned to shout to the knights beside him, "Now this is a spectacle! Look, is there anyone more imposing than us in the North?"
Behind him followed nearly a hundred officials and knights, all spirited, their armor and lances reflecting dazzling white in the snow.
Louis's convoy left Silver Ridge Hill in the morning mist, advancing grandly northward.
This journey was not just about traveling; it was also a pilgrimage to inspect the spread and success of the Red Tide System in the North.
At each stop, Louis would stay for half a day, inspecting the storage, civil administration, education, and production systems.
Everywhere he went was a reflection of the Red Tide model: clean streets, full granaries, and open schools.
The Red Tide System, like an invisible order, had reshaped the very breath of the North.
Louis paused at each demonstration point, saying little, only observing quietly.
For example, in the former noble territories of Snowpeak County, families who once resisted Red Tide rule had now been fully integrated into the Council Hall system.
When they first joined, they had almost erupted in arguments, complaining that Red Tide was too intrusive, didn't allow people to breathe, and some even cursed at banquets that the Council Hall's ledgers were heavier than the empire's shackles.
But soon they discovered that the precise scheduling of the storage system prevented grain from spoiling in the warehouses, the distribution system ensured workshop profits were paid on time, and the unified ledgers eliminated room for deception and disputes.
Grumbling gradually turned into silence, and after silence came dependence. fгeewebnovёl.com
They knew it was a case of the wool coming from their own sheep; Red Tide took resources from them but repaid them with stability and prosperity.
Though they understood this, no one wished to return to the past.
Their affluent lives made them increasingly lazy; banquets replaced discussions, and dividends replaced power.
These nobles, perpetually tipsy, often sighed, "This isn't rule; it's being conquered by happiness."
The old cities were merged into Red Tide, and Louis re-divided new territories for them. Mines, farms, and workshops all achieved division of labor and cooperation under Red Tide's coordination, no longer fighting over internal conflicts.
The lives of the common people clearly improved, with less famine and stable public order.
When Louis arrived again, the most stubborn nobles almost personally greeted him at the gate.
The banquet was brightly lit, and they eagerly poured him wine, their mouths full of flattery.
Someone half-jokingly said, "If not for you, how could we have such days?"
Louis merely smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping over the compliant faces, "It's good that you know. Don't forget who feeds you."
That calm smile silenced everyone present for a moment.
After a brief silence, a dry laugh echoed through the hall.
The nobles raised their glasses again, their faces once more adorned with fawning smiles, their voices more eager than before.
Because they knew in their hearts that without Red Tide, they had no way to survive.
Without Louis, their wealth and stability would turn to dust in the wind and snow. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Even feeling humiliated, they still smiled subserviently, because this happiness was too warm, making them reluctant to return to the cold old days.
There was also the Winter Dawn Territory, now a vast complex of warehouses covering the snowfields, with steam cranes roaring.
This area was directly managed by the Red Tide Economic Council Hall, becoming a material transfer and standardized storage center, and it was Lady Grant's territory.
She was one of the earliest lords to join the Red Tide System, and when she first took over the territory, she almost collapsed.
The territory's soil was barren, unable to grow staple crops; it had neither mineral veins nor trade routes. Both her feudal lord and her husband's family had abandoned her.
She sought an audience with Louis after the Snowpeak County meeting.
That night, she said, "I truly have no other options. I want to join the Red Tide System."
Louis replied, "So what you can't handle alone, we will."
Afterward, Red Tide's craftsmen and Council Hall officials conducted an on-site inspection and discovered rare mineral salt underground.
Red Tide sent people to build roads and warehouses, and in just one year, this barren land became a production site for winter salt stone.
The local specialty, winter salt stone, established a long-term supply agreement with Red Tide's alchemy workshops. The workshops recycled finished products and then distributed them throughout the North or sold them to the South.
Louis's intervention became a turning point in her destiny.
She, relying on Red Tide's dividends, turned her fortunes around, becoming the richest widow in the North.
Her ex-husband's family tried to approach her again but were kicked away by her.
Now she lives a stable life with her children, gratefully and reverently calling Louis the true benefactor of the North.
Lady Grant stood outside the warehouse, her eyes shining as she saw Louis.
Her voice held an undisguised excitement: "If not for you, my children and I would have starved to death on that frozen land.
It was Red Tide that allowed us to live."
Louis listened, then nodded slightly, "I accept your gratitude. Remember to continue reporting warehouse shipments on time; Red Tide will not disappoint those it has helped."
Not only these demonstration points, but the entire economic chain in the Southeast of the North, centered around Red Tide, had completely taken shape.
All of this was not accidental, but the result of a complete economic plan Louis implemented within the Red Tide System.
Through the Council Hall, he established an inter-territorial division of labor system and trade agreements, uniformly planning resource and labor distribution to avoid internal duplication and conflict, ensuring that every bit of labor and output could be precisely directed to the most needed areas.
Red Tide formulated production plans and quotas for each area based on local conditions, dividing functions according to geographical and resource advantages:
Some were responsible for raw material extraction, some focused on farming and animal husbandry, and others engaged in smelting and processing.
All nobles and common people were integrated into the system; production results were repaid proportionally, and needs were met through material vouchers allocated by the Red Tide Council Hall or settled with unified gold coins.
This system brought unprecedented benefits.
Trade circulation became more efficient, and internal competition was completely eliminated.
Material distribution was stable; grain and iron prices no longer fluctuated.
Red Tide's allocation mechanism created a closed loop of resources within the North, where the prosperity of any one area fed back into the whole.
At the same time, the funds, technology, and transportation network provided by Red Tide helped various regions rebuild quickly, shortening the post-disaster recovery period.
In just two years, the economy of the Southeast of the North began to operate independently, forming a complementary and mutually beneficial "Red Tide economic zone," astonishing all nobles who adhered to the old imperial system with its efficiency.
The northern mining areas were responsible for raw material supply, the eastern plains for food and livestock products, the southern workshops for manufacturing and processing, and Red Tide Main City for command and distribution.
All accounts were centrally monitored by the Council Hall, and reports were uploaded to the Red Tide Main City database.
The unified economic system, complementary resources, and eliminated competition formed a unique "Red Tide economic zone."
The lives of the nobles also changed dramatically as a result; their wealth doubled, but they lost their independence. Yet they enjoyed it, because everything was smooth and income was stable.
At ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) banquets, the nobles laughed and self-deprecatingly said, "We are no longer lords, but shareholders of Red Tide."
Thus, Louis's observations and experiences along the way converged into a grand picture:
The economy was centrally managed by the Council Hall, eliminating internal competition.
Education was popularized, allowing literacy and order to take root together.
Military and government were separated, with the knights obeying the Council Hall's directives.
Resources were shared, and trade used vouchers and tokens instead of gold coins.
A surveillance system permeated every town and village, ensuring that rules were not broken.
The North became an organic whole.
Wealth concentrated in circulation; Red Tide became the central heart, and other territories became organs connected by blood vessels.
Of course, whoever left Red Tide would immediately wither.
Every corner of the Southeast of the North was rewritten by the Red Tide System.
Mining areas were no longer abandoned due to private noble feuds, and farmlands were no longer barren due to excessive taxes.
Teachers taught children to read and write in schools, telling them "Red Tide Stories."
Villagers would instinctively salute upon seeing the red tide banner, for they knew that the warm hearths, the rations in the granaries, and their literate children were all gifts from Louis.
Red Tide was no longer just a name, but the very system that protected them.
Thus, wherever Louis's convoy went, the streets spontaneously lined up to welcome them.
Bards sang the "Ode to Red Tide," children shouted "Long live Red Tide," and women threw garlands before the knights' horses.
The young members of The Red Tide Knights were filled with fervor, surrounded by the adoration of the people.
Kosa and Gray were embraced by the crowd, truly feeling the glory of being Red Tide Knights.
Yoen rode alongside Louis's carriage, looking at the banners and sea of people along the way, his heart filled with pride. This convoy was his boss's prestige, and also the future of the North.
Outside the carriage was an ocean of drums, shouts, and falling flowers, but inside, there was only the faint sound of a pen scratching.
Louis sat in the carriage, his fingers lightly tapping on a ledger, his gaze scanning the circulation ratio of Red Tide vouchers and material statistics tables.
He calmly looked at these data, listening to the clamor outside, as if calculating his next move.
Bradley quietly explained what the various data beside him represented.
After listening, Louis merely said faintly, "Very good, the Red Tide cycle is taking shape."
Bradley was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice again, "Are you really going to implement this system throughout the entire North?"
Louis turned and looked at him, "It's only a matter of time."
Bradley looked at the distant snowfield, his expression complex.
His mind flashed with the eager faces he had seen along the way, the songs under the red tide banner.
What this young lord was building was not just power, but an inescapable order.
"This will be a more thorough rule than Duke Edmund's," Bradley said softly, with a hint of awe in his voice, "Not by swords, nor by family prestige, but by a system that makes everyone dependent on you."
Louis merely smiled faintly, "You exaggerate."
After leaving the core area of the Southeast of the North, the carriage wheel tracks changed from smooth snowy paths to rutted muddy-ice roads.
The wind grew colder, and the wheels crunched over frozen ruts, making dull cracking sounds.
The last Red Tide outpost stood on the hillside, its banner flapping in the wind.
The knight guarding the tower saluted rigidly until the convoy disappeared into the depths of the snow mist.
Louis looked out through the carriage window, the red of that banner gradually fading in the gray-white.
He silently drew a line in his heart: "Here is the edge of Red Tide."
Further north, the towns visibly deteriorated.
Outposts were unmanned, flagpoles were askew, and the tax collectors of the old nobility again wore their leather clothes, shouting for taxes at street corners.
The villagers by the roadside, upon seeing the Red Tide convoy, showed fear and hesitation in their eyes, unsure if they were to be conscripted again.
Yoen pulled back his cloak, observing the dusty people, his brow slightly furrowed: "It's like waking from a dream and returning to a nightmare."
Louis's gaze remained calm: "This is the reality of the North."
Before entering the further northern territories, several small lords along the way had already received news.
Seeing the red tide banner and the orderly ranks from afar, they were first fearful, hastily tidying their attire, and bowing in the cold wind to greet them. Of course, the grandeur of the procession made their hearts tremble.
When they heard that the person arriving was Louis himself, their expressions instantly changed.
Fawning smiles and complimentary words all surged onto their faces.
After all, in the North today, who did not know that Louis was the lord of the new order?
If he were to bestow even a little surplus grain, it would be enough for their families to live for several generations.
Louis merely nodded faintly, ordered some grain bags to be given, and dismissed them.
He couldn't save everyone, nor was there a need to.
Entering the villages and towns further north, the air was filled with the smell of dry grass, rotting wood, and ash.
The streets were broken, snow and mud mixed into icy slush, houses were dilapidated, and faded ancient god runes were pasted on wooden walls.
Children in the Red Tide influence zone would actively salute and recite civil regulations in unison, while here, children ran barefoot, thin as shadows, chasing each other.
Elders gathered around bonfires, whispering prayers, chanting old evil god curses that had long been forbidden.
Only ashes remained in the hearths inside the houses; mothers held their children for warmth, their eyes vacant.
Some were also boiling soup with rotten grain and tree bark, the air mixed with the smell of scorching and despair.
In the distance, a baby's cry echoed, thin and prolonged, as if tearing through the cold wind.
Bradley, beside the carriage, flipped through his notebook, his pen hovering in mid-air. Looking at these scenes, his voice was so low it was almost swallowed by the wind: "This is what a place without a system looks like."
Kosa and Gray rode side by side in the convoy, looking at this desolate land, a sense of indescribable oppression rising in their hearts.
They were accustomed to the bright and orderly Red Tide, and everything before them now felt like another world, making them uncomfortable.
Yoen spurred his horse closer to the carriage, his voice low: "Boss, the borders of paradise are still too narrow."
Louis did not respond, only looked up into the distance: "Then let Red Tide spread further."
