Global Catastrophe: I Became the World Tree-Chapter 248 - 182 The Second Expansion of Yang City_1

At this moment, in the largest meeting room of Yang City, the lights were brightly lit.

High-ranking military officers and leaders of the municipal department were seated on either side, engaged in heated discussions, each expressing their viewpoints.

Of course, the majority of those speaking were leaders from the municipal department.

Under their deliberation, various civil issues that had arisen in society these past few days were quickly resolved with solutions, recorded and waiting to be implemented in succession.

Bai Yinghui sat to the side, unable to suppress a yawn, to be honest, he wouldn’t have wanted to attend this meeting if it were not for the military-related matters that followed.

Finally, after Bai Yinghui had been sitting for a full hour and was growing impatient, Secretary-General Cao Guangzhi closed his notebook and turned to Liu Zaoxin.

"Mayor, these are the civil issues that have emerged during this period," he said.

Liu Zaoxin nodded, stood up, and said, "All right, then we can move on to the second stage and discuss the subsequent expansion issues."

"I can tell everyone clearly that just this morning, the red-headed document came through. The national authorities reassessed the strategic significance, strategic positioning, and future potential of Yang City, deciding to further increase support."

"In terms of construction funding, an additional 30 billion Huaxia currency will be added. The funds will arrive in stages over the next week, and at the same time, five construction teams of 10,000 workers each will be drawn from across the country."

"It’s safe to say that in the coming period, whether it’s money or manpower, we won’t be lacking. However, our task remains daunting, because according to the latest directives, Yang City needs to further expand to accommodate a population of 20 million people."

Although many people had heard some news beforehand, they were still excited when the news was confirmed.

This meant that the future of Yang City was not just as a first-tier city, but it was likely to become a super first-tier city.

However, there are many significant challenges. The increase in population isn’t just a number; it brings a series of civil issues.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be necessary to have such lengthy meetings to discuss these problems, and the issues that make it to this meeting are generally those that cannot be dealt with at the grassroots level.

Of course, compared to the housing issue, those they discussed before were minor.

According to the original plan, Yang City was designed to accommodate 10 million people. Even if there was some surplus in the initial design, an increase of one or two million people would be the limit.

Now the population is set to double, and it’s impossible to fit them all in.

Therefore, further expansion is imperative. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

But considering the current environment, it’s not as simple as choosing any location to start building houses, as these undertakings require the assistance of the military.

Therefore, Liu Zaoxin looked towards Bai Yinghui. "Commander Bai, do you have any opinions on which direction we should expand?"

Seeing that the core issues were finally under discussion, Bai Yinghui let out a long sigh of relief internally, adjusted the microphone in front of him, looked around, and said, "Regarding this matter, our military has already discussed it internally."

As he spoke, he had someone turn on the projector.

Suddenly, a huge map appeared on the screen behind him, and with a laser pointer in hand, he said, "If we expand southward, we will encounter the obstruction of the East River. Although we can also cross the river to develop the opposite side, that would require building bridges. Given the population of our city, one or two bridges would hardly suffice, and the consumption of manpower and time is too significant, so we temporarily rule it out."

As he spoke, the laser pen shifted direction. "Most of the area to the east is wetland, where building houses is not only difficult but also risky."

"Therefore, we can expand either to the west or to the north."

Hearing Bai Yinghui state this, many leaders of the municipal departments frowned slightly.

They could understand expanding westward, but if they were to expand northward, that’s where the Donglin Mountain Range was located!

Liu Zaoxin directly voiced his question, "Isn’t the Donglin Mountain Range to the north? How can we expand there?"

Bai Yinghui smiled and said, "In fact, compared to westward, I recommend expanding the city to the north."

"The city’s scale will nearly double in the coming period. City walls, needless to say, and when it comes to building materials, especially sand and stone, we will need massive amounts."

"And now, as the process of city mergers advances, there could be a construction boom across the country in the near future, at which point construction materials will really become difficult to purchase, even with money."

"If we expand directly northward, these materials can be sourced locally, simply leveling the entire mountain range would suffice."

Now is not ancient times, when moving mountains would take generations to complete.

But with modern times, as long as there are enough excavators, that time can be infinitely shortened.

Many people nodded upon hearing this; if we expand towards the Donglin Mountain Range and source materials locally, it’s estimated that construction progress could be boosted by at least 30%.

But there’s also a significant problem.

"What about safety issues? How can they be resolved?" Liu Zaoxin asked.

Bai Yinghui smiled and said, "Everyone thinks of the Donglin Mountain Range as dangerous, but that’s not really the case."

"It might have been dangerous before, but now it’s almost entirely Dragon Hall’s territory. It’s likely that any stronger mutated animals that appear there will be subdued by them, so all we have to deal with are the weaker mutated animals and those mutated insects."

"Once the walls are built, these issues will naturally be easily resolved, and we could even bring new recruits there for live combat training, which could boost training efficiency by more than half."

"As for safety concerns during the construction process, my idea is to negotiate with Dragon Hall to ensure our protection."

Everyone was speechless, thinking it was the same old tactic: calling for reinforcements.

Liu Zaoxin looked at Bai Yinghui and couldn’t help asking, "Now our Yang City’s military numbers exceed 50,000. Can’t we handle this independently?"

"It’s not that we can’t, but the casualties will not be minor. Even if we can manage it with ease, I wouldn’t recommend doing so."

While speaking, Bai Yinghui looked around at everyone and continued, "It’s a matter of attitude. Think about it, for everything in the past, we have cooperated with Dragon Hall. Now, if we just shrug them off and go it alone just after the crisis is over, how would Dragon Hall view this?"

"It’s best not to give them any misunderstanding and even proactively ’hand over’ leverage to maintain this relationship."

"Is this... necessary?" Liu Zaoxin asked.

"It certainly is," Bai Yinghui affirmed confidently. "Because without realizing it, we’ve already got a grip on their biggest leverage."

"Unless we wish to start a war, we must not make any moves that could be misconstrued at this time, or our ally could turn into an enemy in a matter of minutes."

The officials in the room were startled by this revelation, Liu Zaoxin included, but he quickly grasped what was meant, "You mean that Dragon King’s account now holds 13.1 billion Huaxia currency?"

"Exactly!" Bai Yinghui nodded affirmatively, "If it weren’t for us bridging the gap, the money in its account would just be a string of numbers."

"Previously, when the amount was small, the Dragon King might not have felt much, but after being busy for several days and accumulating such a sum, it would surely be more cautious."

"I even dare to assert that if we did something inappropriate during this process. For instance, concocting some excuse to block the purchase of mutated animals, we’d likely turn into sworn enemies on the spot."

"If the Dragon King strikes again and uses that Divine Skill, tell me, how many of us here wouldn’t become ice sculptures?"

Bai Yinghui scanned the officials with a chilling tone.

He made these remarks deliberately to break the tension, worrying that some might act foolishly and make decisions that would drag the whole of Yang City down.

At this moment, Liu Zaoxin also came to his senses, nodding immediately, "Mayor Bai is right, especially at this time we should strengthen our cooperation with Dragon Hall and eliminate any potential for a trust crisis."

The rest, having heard this, nodded in agreement. Just then, a staff member quickly walked in from outside and whispered something to Liu Zaoxin.

A look of surprise crossed Liu Zaoxin’s face. "I have something to tell everyone, the Parrot Messenger has just arrived, asking to discuss the restricted zone with us. Well, let’s invite them over, and settle all these matters at once!"

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I’ve written fewer words today, please forgive me, recovery is slow.