Chris was scribbling notes and drawing on a large map, keeping himself incredibly busy.
It was late April, and spring sowing was almost over. Thanks to the efforts of the newly recruited Agriculture Bureau civil servants at every level and the players, planting on the King's Plain had gone fairly smoothly, without any major mishaps.
As for the rest of Bagnia... well, Chris could only say he had done his best. Wherever he actually had control, he had sent Agriculture Bureau technicians and players to organize land distribution, supply free seeds, and hand out relief grain.
The places beyond his control would have to fend for themselves. Chris would take care of them eventually, but only after he had built roads out to them.
Once spring sowing was over, road construction would come next.
If you wanted to get rich, build roads first. That saying never went out of date.
Clear, accessible roads also helped the government maintain control over local areas. Without roads, there was no control to speak of.
The greatest problem facing Chris's regime in Bagnia was the dreadful transportation network in this mountainous country. Even its best road, the Ancient Passage, was, in his eyes, worse than the country roads villagers in twenty-first-century China had pooled their own money to build.
After spring sowing, Chris's next step was infrastructure construction. He wanted to improve the roads connecting Bagnia's three major cities, then lay railways... Hmm, maybe I should lay the railways first. Trains are better for transport than roads.
But would railways alone be... forget it. I'll build both roads and railways.
At that thought, Chris drew a cross on the map, then tossed it aside. He planned to hold a bidding session the next day, open only to players, and leave road construction, surveying, and