The storm over kingship (IV)

Hidden Dragon Commandery, Hidden Dragon City.

Hidden Dragon City was actually only a medium-sized city now. Among the cities of the Wuhuan Faction, it barely ranked at all, yet it was the faction's capital and home base, because eighty to ninety percent of its supplies came from the area around it. This was, of course, thanks to Qi Ji, the Flower Immortal.

By standard measurements, a medium-sized city had walls ten zhang high and a population of a hundred thousand. Hidden Dragon City, however, now had walls nearly fifty zhang high and a population of over a million, almost half again as many as an ordinary large city. Of course, nearly half of its inhabitants were transients and could not be counted toward its classification.

Ever since King Wuhuan decided to found a kingdom, establish a dynasty, and proclaim himself king, the entire city had mobilized. Patrols increased dozens of times over, while public order, popular support, the environment, and greenery all improved enormously. Even the local thugs and thieves vanished without a trace; no one dared stir up trouble at a time like this. With Qi Ji's abilities, the entire city resembled a sea of flowers, exquisitely beautiful, clean, and peaceful. This was the advantage of having a small territory and a large army. In a true royal capital, it would have been difficult to achieve.

Of course, everything had its pros and cons. Beyond the improved environment, there was overcrowding—extreme overcrowding. The city could accommodate a million people at most, yet its normal population already exceeded that, and virtually every inn and lodging house was full. Upon hearing that King Wuhuan would soon proclaim an independent kingship, countless people flocked in. The population exceeded two million on the first day, three and a half million on the second,