Chapter 78: The Rebirth of Bloodstone
The Stepstones, Bloodstone
"Caw..."
High in the sky above Bloodstone, a beautiful falcon was using its sharp eyes to look down upon the newly built coastal city.
After Jon's transformation, Bloodstone had completely changed its appearance. The former pirate fortress was just an earth and stone structure situated on a vast coastline.
The only things that could be called buildings were just a few scattered structures. This was also because Bloodstone's geographical location was very unique, somewhat similar to Braavos, which allowed the lucky fellow "Skullcap" Bill to establish a supply point here.
This emerging city, not yet named, had transformed from a pirate fortress into a port city with various complete facilities and installations.
The former pirate fortress, after receiving Jon's investment, had become a castle resembling a Christmas tree.
The rammed earth at the base of the pirate fortress had been covered with stones and flagstones. The modified adhesive was very effective and played a crucial role in the castle's renovation.
The original two-story castle building had now become a five-story structure, and the extended parts of the first floor had been modified to include many murder holes.
If enemies wanted to rely on the ramp to climb up and attack the castle, they would also need to consider potential arrow attacks and rolling stone attacks from above while contemplating their ascent.
The castle's passage still featured special stairs similar to the Mayan pyramids on Blue Star. The previous spiked rolling log mechanism had now been transformed by Jon into a mechanical steel spiked roller.
This spiked roller, attached by two iron chains, could control its descent speed and distance. After deployment, it could also be retracted, allowing it to repeatedly attack enemies attempting to ascend the ramp.
And directly in front of this new castle was the already bustling dock market. Jon's dock city was designed in an "L" shape.
The castle area and the dock market area were separate. A military camp had been built at the castle's exit, serving as a buffer between the city area and the castle area.
This military camp also served as the living quarters and training ground for the Chainbreakers. Jon's management philosophy for soldiers was somewhat similar to Blue Star's "FBI" department.
They adopted a duty system and on-call system for daily training and work. Generally, as long as there were no emergencies, Jon's management of them was quite lenient.
Although Jon also wanted to emulate the military system of the Zhonghua Family from Blue Star for management, the logistical costs would be too high. More importantly, Jon didn't have enough manpower to conduct ideological management for his subordinates.
Every morning, Jon's Chainbreakers warriors would conduct physical training around the city, and that was also when the city was at its liveliest.
"Caw..."
After inspecting the castle, the falcon flew directly to the dock market area, which had expanded by nearly two times its original size.
The current dock area was divided into three sections: raw material supply, finished product supply, and general material supply. These areas had corresponding isolation zones and did not affect each other.
Due to Jon's generous spending here recently, Bloodstone had become known to merchants from surrounding forces. Upon learning that a new power had emerged here, and that it was not pirates,
These merchants, like sharks smelling blood, came to Bloodstone one after another to trade. Of course, there were also spies from other forces mixed in, but the number of people genuinely coming here to rest and trade was also significant.
After the last renovation, the market area had been transformed into a massive building complex resembling the Chinese character "return" (hui, meaning 'return'). The grid-like streets, resembling the character "well" (jing, meaning 'well'), further divided this complex into nine regions.
Facilities for clothing, food, housing, and transportation could all be found here. Most of the veterans and captives who were disabled in previous battles were assigned to this area.
In trade activities, Jon also drew inspiration from some business philosophies on Blue Star, standardizing product specifications and corresponding sales services, which caused a great stir among merchants.
Although Jon didn't have any special commodities here, he was able to guide his subordinates in processing and assembling goods.
Bloodstone's glass, ceramics, dyes, spices, and building adhesives had already made a name for themselves in the vicinity. Of course, these were merely a cover; what Jon truly wanted was to attract all the surrounding merchants.
Merchants pursue profit, and the merchants of the Free Cities are particularly focused on profit. Although the Chainbreakers do not trade with slave traders, Jon is quite fond of general merchants, especially arms dealers.
Although Jon's Bloodstone has no resources, Jon's mind is filled with many modern Blue Star business philosophies.
These goods and small workshops in the market area were established to attract large merchants. Jon used these as bait to draw in a large number of merchants to learn his new ideas.
The productivity level of this world is very low, and most of the Free Cities still practice slavery, which severely restricts productivity.
If Jon wants to rise by leveraging the great tide of slave uprisings, he must foster a group of forces that share his ideals.
Not all merchants in the Free Cities are beneficiaries of the Golden Triangle Trade. The model of slave catchers, slave owners, and plantation owners is a huge obstacle for some merchants who can't get a foothold, and these are the people Jon truly wants to win over.
"Caw..."
After inspecting all the areas, the falcon chirped and flew near the godswood. The godswood had now been transformed by Jon into a garden-like place.
And today, the godswood was very lively, because Jon was holding a barbecue feast here. One rectangular fire pit after another was placed in front of the dining tables by the Chainbreakers' logistics personnel.
Shellfish, fish, shrimp, chicken, beef, pork, and various unidentifiable wild game were grilled into long skewers by the Chainbreakers' chefs. As soon as these skewers were cooked, someone would call the surrounding guests to come and taste them.
On the tables, there were also various wines, beverages, flatbreads, and fruits and vegetables. This novel dining style made many people very happy.
Although this world was still in a backward medieval stage, its spices and plant and animal resources were extremely rich, making it relatively easy for Jon to find some substitutes from Blue Star.
"Lord Jon, allow me to introduce you. This is His Excellency Governor Trang Taip of Myr!"
Amidst Salladhor Saan's slightly excited words, the former pirate leader brought a fat man with golden wavy hair near Jon.
"Hello! Your Excellency Governor Trang Taip, my name is Jon Snow, and it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Seeing Jon extend his hand, the Governor of Myr named Trang Taip also extended his hand to Jon.
"I've long heard that Jon, the White Wolf of the Chainbreakers, is a powerful warrior and merchant. Seeing you today, I know that I haven't come to the wrong place!"
Governor Trang Taip's Common Tongue pronunciation was still a bit inaccurate when he spoke, but Jon could barely understand him. After all, his Common Tongue also carried a strong Northern accent, so neither of them could laugh at the other.
"Lord Jon! I don't really care about things like bloodlines, because I myself am a merchant who started as a slave. My business talent was so high that my former master released me from slavery. Although he treated me very well and even married his daughter to me, I don't like this disgusting system at all."
Governor Trang Taip did not shy away from his past, speaking of it naturally in front of Jon.
"I was also almost a slave, so I deeply understand your experience. That's why I established my own power in the Stepstones, hoping to use this opportunity to overthrow this system that deprives people of their freedom."
Jon didn't know this person very well, so he didn't elaborate on some things.
"So I'm also very curious, what is your purpose in gathering us people with special backgrounds and experiences here?"
After taking a sip of the wine he held, Governor Trang Taip directly asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
Jon, after turning his head to look at the many merchants gathered around, also smiled kindly as he swept his gaze across their faces.
"Actually, my purpose is very simple: to help everyone earn more money, to make everyone stronger, and thereby achieve my goal of changing the Free Cities."
"So how exactly do you plan to change it?"
The question Governor Trang Taip asked was also the question that the surrounding merchants wanted to ask.
"Heh heh, this question is actually very simple. Everyone here is smart, so I'll just be direct."
As Jon spoke, four of his attendants who had been standing behind him walked directly to a display board behind the barbecue grill.
"What I want to tell everyone is a discussion about the relationship between input and output. Only when everyone understands the backwardness of the existence of slaves will you truly understand why I want to change the system of slavery!"
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