Don't Mess with That Dragon-Chapter 682 - 70: Food

In fact, what the vast urban poor populace didn't know was that the free distribution of grain they were grateful for was virtually worthless trash to the Blue Dragon Kingdom.

It was something that even the lower-level Beastmen of the Blue Dragon Kingdom wouldn't eat.

After the Blue Dragon Kingdom regime moved into the city, they thoroughly confiscated and purged the evil noble lords and their families, clearing out the inheritance left after the bombardment.

Among these, there was a considerable amount of grain.

The grain confiscated from the hands of the great noble lords was still decent in quality and could serve as military supplies.

However, the large quantities of expired, moldy, and substandard grain seized from certain grain merchants, food meant to be sold to numerous civilians, were of no use once they reached the hands of the Blue Dragon Kingdom Government.

These large batches of moldy, expired wheat seized from the merchants were used to make black bread mixed with a significant amount of wood chips, which might be coveted by the vast urban poor, but for the Blue Dragon Kingdom, it was a burden in their hands.

Thus, after a brief discussion,

the grassroots officials of the Blue Dragon Kingdom who took over governance decided to open the granaries and distribute the food, consuming all these inferior foods while conveniently winning over the public sentiment.

And looking at the subsequent effects, it was quite successful.

After the granaries were opened and food was distributed, the multitude of poor who received food hailed the regime, and because of these negligible costs, the regions under their governance quickly aligned their loyalty.

It's worth noting that in this medieval world, looking back over millennia, such events have never occurred.

Even if there was surplus grain,

those great noble lords would prefer to bury it in the ground rather than give it to those filthy, foul-smelling peasants.

The actions of the Blue Dragon Kingdom immediately put to ease those who were initially uneasy or resistant to their rule, instantly winning them over with approval and support.

It was on this foundation of public sentiment that the Blue Dragon Kingdom's grassroots administrative system rapidly began organizing and integrating the urban residents, effectively conscripting the vast urban population into a wartime system.

Through the arrangements of the wartime system, the government officials deployed by the Blue Dragon Kingdom took full control of the city's power, and the collective repair labor ensured that every urban resident could earn enough food to fill their stomachs through labor.

Although the free distribution of grain lasted for three days, much of the inferior grain was still unused, and more than half of it remained in storage.

But the free distribution of grain was halted after three days.

Because three days was the most effective duration.

A shorter time wouldn't maximize the alignment of public sentiment.

A longer time would likely lead to a habitual dependency among the city's residents. Once these vast civilians became accustomed to free food distribution, canceling it after the inferior grain ran out would instead attract resentment. The grassroots officials of the Blue Dragon Kingdom, well-trained in governance, naturally understood the importance of the saying "A reward of grains causes gratitude, but a reward of rice causes resentment."

Three days was the optimal timeframe, giving enough time to ferment the authority of the Kingdom's mechanism without fostering dependency among the city's residents past ten days to half a month of distribution.

However, this left over half of the inferior grain still in the hands of the Blue Dragon regime.

But this wasn't a major issue,

The remaining inferior grain could either be mixed with the food supported by the rear of the Blue Dragon Kingdom as a reward for the wartime infrastructure reconstruction of the city or sent to the vast countryside to conduct a massive peasant liberation movement powered by these large quantities of grain.

None of this, however, concerned the vast urban poor.

With the implementation of the wartime system, the vast urban residents were collectively organized for brief training, and much like the inherent traditions of the Blue Dragon Kingdom, through militarized organizational forms and this simplified military training-style approach, they were united.

Little York was similarly integrated into the collective.

Even though he appeared small and couldn't bear the heavy labor tasks, only doing what he could within his means, the Blue Dragon Kingdom officials weren't genuinely oppressing labor forces like Little York and the weak or elderly. They merely provided them with tasks to do, and the food as compensation was never lacking.

With the Blue Dragon Kingdom's unified wartime construction system, Little York managed to eat to his fill for several consecutive days.

Not black bread.

But big bowls of white kudzu root cooked with meat paste and some bean oil.

Previously, in Little York's understanding, black bread was a delicious food, and as for the legendary white bread that only Upper East District noblemen dined upon, it was considered the most exquisite delicacy.

However, after tasting the white, steaming kudzu root provided at the construction site, Little York's views were overturned.

He never thought there could be something so delicious in this world.

Before each meal, the fierce instructor would gather them and praise the greatness of His Majesty Austin's Holy Light. At first, Little York would just echo hollow praises with the group, more interested in the aroma of the anticipated food than in praising the great His Majesty Austin.

But now,

Little York sincerely held the utmost reverence and admiration for the great His Majesty Austin, whose benevolent radiance shone on them like the Holy Light of the sun.

Under the control of numerous grassroots administrative personnel dispatched by the Blue Dragon Kingdom, the cities cleared of the great noble lords were rapidly rebuilt, quickly integrating under the Blue Dragon Kingdom's rule.

At the same time, some private capital within the Blue Dragon Kingdom also participated in the post-war reconstruction process, surveying market size and hoping to establish new factories and open emerging markets in these areas in the future.

Through the efforts of all parties, cities were swiftly being reconstructed and planned.

During this period, the Blue Dragon Kingdom also did not neglect the vast rural areas, where retired professional soldiers and officers led militia teams, using the reconstructed and assimilated cities as a base for expeditions, eradicating those vile and oppressive nobles entrenched in the countryside, suppressing those who resisted, and sparing the few with a conscience after stripping them of land ownership.

A mass liberation of rural peasants was unfolding as the Blue Dragon Kingdom's organized regime delved deeper into these areas.

Compared to the numerous urban workers, handicraft assistants, and other poor folks gathered in cities, these rural peasants, oppressed by noble masters, lived even more miserably.