Chapter 1 Since Dongping's entire court of civil and military officials were itching to show off, Tan Xiaopei glanced at the silver in the inner treasury. She felt that she had so much money, and the rate at which she spent it couldn't keep up with the rate at which she earned it. She generously approved the expenses for the inauguration ceremony of Gondor, so Ye Tao really couldn't object. Besides, the many troublesome matters of the inauguration ceremony that everyone was looking forward to were not his responsibility anyway.

First, the Ministry of Rites' heavyweight team moved into Gondor and began preparations in a big way. Ye Tao later learned that this team was always in charge of various large-scale sacrifices and ceremonies. It was led by a Vice Minister, with several Assistant Ministers and many small officials of complex ranks participating. Because Danyang had a constant stream of important ceremonies for a while, this team had become relatively fixed. Now, it had the air of a professional public relations company. The details in all aspects were listed in detailed forms, and Gantt charts were used to standardize the progress of each process.

It was relatively simple to allocate funds from the inner treasury. Yunzhou Bank was under the jurisdiction of the Northern Frontier Pacification Office. Although the Dongping Central Bank was still under construction, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu had previously handled some of the banking business. A draft for 1.5 million silver yuan, issued by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and jointly endorsed by the Kyushu Chamber of Commerce and the Seven Seas Chamber of Commerce, was sent to Ye Tao. After Ye Tao sent a telegram, the Yunzhou Bank's head office, which had just moved into Gondor, immediately issued payment vouchers for 1.5 million silver yuan to the Ministry of Rites' ceremony preparation team. The Ministry of Rites' team only needed to use this to pay for all expenses. Those who received the payment voucher could withdraw funds from any branch of Yunzhou Bank at any time, or transfer it to an account.

Gondor now had two Guards battalions and two Garrison battalions stationed there, plus the guards of Ye Tao, Dai Yun, Tan Weixin, Tan Weishi, and others who had moved over, for a total force of just over 14,000 people. Although Gondor's population was currently less than 100,000, the military-to-civilian ratio was outrageous. But when Tan Xiaopei learned of this news, she shook her head and ordered Ye Tao to ensure that Gondor always had at least 50,000 troops stationed there within two months. This requirement couldn't be said to be abnormal. Gondor's position was too important. In terms of city defense alone, the huge number of crossbow cannons and other technical weapons created a great demand for various arms of service. About 50,000 troops were completely commensurate with the status of a city like Gondor. After all, there were also key locations around Gondor, such as Ningyuan, Thunder Bluff, Tianling Fort, and Ye's Workshop, as well as the nearby Ye Family Fort. It would be appropriate to deploy around 100,000 troops of all levels in Gondor and the surrounding area.

In fact, how could the Pacification Office not know that Gondor's defenses were weak? But Yunzhou was already in the process of expanding its army, and Yunzhou's relatively high military standards meant that training and equipment production required a long cycle. Fortunately, the Northern Grasslands had now submitted, and the areas bordering the Sand Bandits had also stabilized. It was unlikely that there would be any major combat operations in the north. The tribes on the Benlang Plains and the Northern Grassland tribes would each send three battalions, about 10,000 elite cavalry troops, and also select tribal warriors to form two infantry battalions each, formally entering the military establishment of the Northern Frontier Pacification Office. This part of the force had already set off for Gondor, and after the inauguration ceremony of Gondor, they would enter the formal training process, and the Pacification Office would have troops to transfer to Gondor for garrison.

Because the Veteran Farms and Ranches system occupied a large population, but only had two main combat battalions, the heads of various farms and ranches, who always had comrades, superiors, and subordinates in the army, lobbied and finally convinced Ye Tao to give the Veteran Farms system three more battalions. The Veteran Battalions had always had relatively good production plans, and had been rich for years. The Veteran Battalion's establishment was entirely volunteer, without the Pacification Office having to bear military pay and supply expenses, and without having to bear war injury compensation. They only had the right to share spoils of war and war-time rewards during foreign operations. But the Pacification Office didn't have to worry about the Veteran Battalion's forces becoming too powerful. This part of the force was no worse than the main combat battalions in the Northern Frontier in terms of a sense of honor, obedience, training level, and mastery of equipment. Moreover, their equipment was subject to the guidance of the Pacification Office, and their command was entirely at the command of the Pacification Office. This kind of cheap and easy-to-use force reflected the fighting spirit and combativeness of the entire Yunzhou. It was more than suitable to place them in Gondor to protect this gorgeous and important city.

In order to participate in the military parade at the inauguration ceremony, the Veteran Battalion system sent the original two battalions to Gondor, while the newly formed three battalions took over the original duties. When the newly formed troops completed their training, one of the three battalions would be selected to supplement Gondor. The Veteran Farms and Ranches system didn't actually have an official unified organization, but the heads of those farms and ranches spontaneously created a coordinating and governing body, the Veteran Association. Under the coordination of this organization, it took only twelve days from the Veteran Association receiving permission to establish three more battalions to sending the three battalions out to replace defenses. This efficiency left the people in the Command Department speechless. Although they had long known that the wealthy veterans treated weapons and armor as collections and necessities at home, and usually conducted high-standard training for each age group, they didn't expect the veterans of the Veteran Farms and Ranches to be so belligerent.

The Tieyun Riders and Jingyun Riders would each maintain a force of two battalions in Gondor in the future: four battalions of light infantry, two battalions of heavy infantry, two battalions of heavy equipment, three battalions of logistics, and six battalions of standing garrison. Adding the three Veteran Battalions in the future, there would be twenty-four battalions, about 75,000 regular troops. The tribes of the Benlang Plains would station 5,000 tribal cavalry and 3,000 infantry in Gondor in the future, with self-provided equipment and training under the guidance of the Command Department. The Northern tribes would send 3,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry. And these were all outside the military establishment. Adding the forces currently distributed in Ningyuan, Thunder Bluff, Ye Family Fort, and Ye's Workshop, there would be more than 100,000 troops, all of them strong and elite. At Tianling Fort, the combat power of the Dai family's battalion of tribal soldiers was also not to be underestimated. Although these were all things in the vision plan, such a plan still made the Dongping high-level officials, including Tan Xiaopei, very satisfied. This was the majesty that Gondor, known as the Crown of the North, should have.

In order to welcome the arrival of the grand ceremony, Ye Tao, as the Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner, had to come to Gondor early and live in the Ye Residence that had been completed long ago. Not long after, Lu Dan and Tan Weiran came to Gondor from Zhenzhou and the Northern Grasslands respectively. One battalion of their troops would also participate in the military parade.

Although the crowds coming to participate in the grand ceremony arrived in an endless stream, Gondor's well-planned transportation system was far from feeling the pressure. Battalions of troops entered the city directly in marching formation, and while marveling at the grandeur and beauty, they stepped into spacious, clean, and well-equipped military camps. Because the troops didn't need to register for city defense, the traffic pressure caused by their large numbers was even smaller. On the other hand, representatives from various places, deacons, elders, and patriarchs of various families, representatives of various chambers of commerce, and people from all walks of life who were deeply interested in Yunzhou, because their respective retinues were not small, spent a lot of time registering to enter the city. However, because the Northern Frontier Pacification Office had always been experienced in handling such complicated business, the reception work was well organized. The arrival of so many people also added some vitality to the originally slightly deserted Gondor.

Jiang Yan, who had been staying in Gondor, carefully studying the operating mechanism of this city, waited for Zheng Zhe. This time, Zheng Zhe had left an impression on the bigwigs in Chunnan. He had no decision-making power on the airship transaction, but the subsequent arrangements for the people Jiang Yan brought were all coordinated and implemented by him. The inspection, delivery, and immediate research of the airships were also very timely. He did a really good job. As Chunnan's envoy to Dongping, he was naturally qualified to be invited to Gondor to attend the ceremony. He traveled lightly, taking two attendants directly from Danyang to Thunder Bluff, and then taking a carriage arranged by the Pacification Office all the way to Gondor. What he saw along the way was a great shock to this young man.

"Mr. Jiang, this... what I have seen along the way is really sigh-worthy. I wonder when Chunnan will have such a city and such grandeur." After seeing Jiang Yan, Zheng Zhe couldn't help but discuss it with Jiang Yan. Jiang Yan, who knew the most about Gondor, smiled faintly and said, "Ye Tao, this guy, is really unbelievable. I've lived here for a while. Except for being a little deserted, it's better than Yuhang and better than Danyang in every way. Look at the electric lights in my room. I originally thought it was a rare item that only wealthy people could afford, but I didn't expect that here, there are street lights on several main roads at night. It is said that electric lighting will be popularized throughout Gondor in a few years. And when the news came that there were electric lights, those censors in Chunnan actually said it was witchcraft... What a narrow view."

Jiang Yan said with emotion, "There will be a heavy rain these few days. When the heavy rain passes and the clouds clear, it will be the official inauguration ceremony. Take a look at what it will be like for such a big city not to accumulate water. Ye Tao wanted to hide this city, and Tan Xiaopei wanted to show it off. Now it seems that both have their reasons. This city... I wonder if those many so-called garden masters and architectural masters can dream of it..."