"We have almost fully excavated the Abandoned Town above the New Underground Ancient City, whilst The Cove has also been excavated." Shang Yang explained to Dom. Xun Yu beside him already had some paper in his hand with notes, whilst Hatshepsut sat down beside them both. "I will start with The Cove, as it was a rather disappointing location. There was an E Grade Town Hall that will provide us with the basics to create a new Town but not overly ambitious at the same time. I have a location in mind but we will discuss that later. There was also some basic buildings such as a Potters, Fisherman's Hut, a Weavers and a docks."
Dom felt like this was very much a system generated Town that provided some growth to the game, rather than another players or a competitors. It felt a shame that it's population had already been destroyed or taken by Papaver and that it may have been a bustling little Village if they had discovered it earlier. Dom agreed that an E Grade Town wasn't the best, but it was still a Town and something he needed, in the future if he received an upgrade opportunity, he could always upgrade it then. The other buildings were ones that he already had, he expected that there may have been more originally, but wouldn't know until he visited Papaver in the long distant future.
"The excavated Abandoned Town was more fruitful." Shang Yang continued, "Whilst it was old and some of it beyond repair, we did find some buildings and damaged cubes were retrieved. One is for a C Grade Town which is a key item for us as our other major locations are C grade. There was also a variety of civilian buildings such as a Blacksmiths, Potters, Hunters Lodge amongst others. There was enough basic buildings to set up a new Town comfortably. Unfortunately though there was no Military related buildings, which was surprise. The best finds were the artifacts which we hope can shed new light on the old owners."
"We are hopeful that there will be more Military Buildings discovered in the new Ancient Underground City location, if not there then at the other new Abandoned Town which they aim to work on in the coming days." Xun Yu explained, "Hatshepsut, could you show Lord Lazarus what we were discussing earlier."
Hatshepsut nodded and stood up again, pointing towards three locations on the map. One was near the Westwood Fort, their westerly Fort that was at the Calm River Fork on the southern bank, as well as being just north of the Red Hare Valley. The second location was the most south eastern point of the southern half of the Kingdom, just south of The Cove and the battle location of Subutai and Tomoe's against the Papaver forces. The third location was near Liao Hua and the San's Battle against the Papaver forces, to the south of the Red Hare Valley and the western edge of the Serene Sea before it began heading south.
"We want to build a town in each of these locations." Shang Yang explained, "Strategically they make the most sense, I have already shown them to Xun You and Subutai and they are in agreement, with some proviso's on future expansion.
"But we only have two Town cubes?" Dom replied, knowing he had one of those moments when he had to choose again appear.
"Whilst we only have two right now, if we can negotiate with the San properly, we could have three." Xun Yu added, "We also have two other locations that are definitely available for excavation that may give us additional Cubes. We have pointed out two other areas in preparation, but we can discuss them afterwards."
"Our excavation is quite key in getting that additional cube and the San." Hatshepsut explained, as Dom listened to them all talk.
"Meritamen and Sun Ce have been very close to Chieftain Kung and Elder Kabbo over the last few days. We believe that if we move the San's Town to this South Western location, under the belief the only have one Town, as they may have more." Xun Yu continued, "Our plan, created by your wife, is to place their Town Centre in the western location and then place another at Zhao Yun's battle against the Papaver, promoting Chieftain Kung and Elder Kabbo to the mayor's of them both. That way they have their own towns that are part of the Kingdom, but have a level of their own control."
"Whilst I agree with the idea, wouldn't we be taking a risk with this? With Banas and even Tongpai Town, we fully integrated them." Dom replied, he didn't disagree with them, but wanted to make sure it was all covered.
"We would move all Military Spawn buildings to Riverside and their Western Town would become our forward base for Military Excursions." Xun Yu explained, "The middle location where Zhao Yun battled would be more of a normal town for growth, where there would be a naval presence. We expect they will expand north in to the Infinity Plains which is a huge expanse for them to maintain some tribal life."
"I wouldn't have normally agreed to it, but they have been amazed by our City and our armies. The fear of the Papaver should be enough to push them in to our open arms." Shang Yang explained with a measured tone, "I also intend to show them bodies of the Type 3's that we have in storage, these should be enough."
"Cicero and Umako are also working on a list of laws and guidance for the different Towns and new Residents. Hopefully they would feel welcome and included with the opportunities ahead of them." Xun Yu added, almost as if the San didn't have an option but to merge in to them.
"If they do have another Town to move of their own, it means we can expand in other directions or solidify our internals." Hatshepsut explained, continuing. "Ideally as well as the towns at the Westwood Fort and the three Battle Locations, we would build a Town at the North East Fort below the Mountain Pass to the North. This would be a simple Naval Town which is Military and Fishing based, with trade ships sent down to Serenity."
"Other than that location, Some Towns amongst the Infinity Plains, Red Woods and North of the Silver Forest would be key." Xun Yu continued, as Hatshepsut pointed at other parts of the map. "There are a few small lakes across the Infinity Plains which have their own food resource and fresh water, it seems a very fertile Land that Lucius is planning to travel to soon to plan ahead."
"So we are working on these three Towns as an initial plan, the two from The Cove and the Underground Ancient City, with the third being from the San people?" Dom asked, trying to clarify and work out the direction.
"That is correct, with the hope that we will gain other towns for the middle of the south, as well as one of the other locations, probably the North East Fort." Hatshepsut explained, before turning to Shang Yang.
"What are your thoughts Lord Lazarus?" Shang Yang asked Dom, Dom looked back at him knowing that if he was offline then Shang Yang would have done it anyway, as was his role in the Kingdom now.
"It makes sense, we just need to agree on names and Mayors for them." Dom replied, fully onboard with the plan if the San would join them. If the San declined, then one of the other Towns would have to be postponed for now, as that Location was too important.
"The most important is the San's location, I do not know their Town grade but we can assume due to their size it will be reasonable. They also have an initial population so the grade isn't overly important." Xun Yu explained, "We came up with two names for that location, Futurus and Vindicta."
"They don't sound like names that you came up with." Dom laughed as Xun Yu shook his head in response.
"I didn't, but the meaning was good. Futurus to look forwards, whilst Vindicta as a place to begin our response to Papaver." Xun Yu laughed, "It's ironic that our real intention is to also raid to the west, as Papaver are also doing, for our own growth."
"The winner dictates history, the narrative of why they did what they did is always acceptable. We just need to be the winners in our history." Shang Yang explained calmly, "Personally I am for Futurus over Vindicta. However the most important part is the Mayor. If it's the San's Town then it should be Chieftain Kung, if it is not the San then it should be Liao Hua as he has the relationships with the San and is probably the most calm out of our South West Front Generals."
"Would the San not want to name the location themselves?" Dom questioned, thinking that it would be better to give them the freedom to better include them within the Kingdom.
"It could be a good idea, but they are tribesmen who live off the land and travel regularly. Our naming makes it clear that they are living within our Kingdom, but the names are a recognition of what the next steps are for them." Hatshepsut explained.
"I agree, with the expectation that Elder Kabbo would be the Mayor of their second Town if that is the agreement, if that is not agreed then that Town can wait." Dom nodded as Xun Yu continued.
"For now we shall call it Futurus but will confirm the name once it has been placed. The second location is the Grade E Town, which I believe should be at the location south of The Cove." Xun Yu continued, "There is a lot of risk with the southern coast and we will be looking to build many other Towns down there. Gan Ning want's to use The Cove itself as a Naval Base for his fleet, however this location may be better suited with The Cove being a secret base similar to Noctus."
"The name for this Town is Elpis, it means Hope. This will be our first Town on that southern coast and the Infinity Plains should feed our Kingdom in the future. That Coast has seen a lot of battle, but the name will bring positive meaning to that." Hatshepsut explained.
"The Mayor needs to be decided, however we have several key Civilians who have stepped up. I believe that one of our Scholars could be a good choice temporarily until we find a permanent placement." Shang Yang put forwards.
"Which of our Scholars could we free up, Thucydides and Zenodotus are busy with the Red Woods, whilst Aristarchus and Herpatya are both involved in the education with Gu Kaizhi." Dom replied, remembering his small but growing group of Scholars.
"Thucydides has shown a lot of loyalty to both Da Qiao and yourself since joining, I think it would show the large number of our Civilians from Tongpai Town that they are recognised as a key part of our Kingdom. He is also close enough to the Red Woods to be able to travel to continue his work." Xun Yu stated.
"That is a great idea actually, as long as it's temporary. I feel that he is quite important as part of the Scholars group." Shang Yang agreed, whilst Dom nodded in acceptance. He understood that the Scholars were a key part of the governance of the Kingdom, but a lot of what they discussed was on a level deeper than what he normally comprehended.
"The final Town is at Westwood Fort. This is a trade hub at the River Fork, as well as a forward Naval location for Ling Tong's Calm River Fleet. To the south is the Red Hare Valley and the Red Woods, whilst to the West is the unknowns beyond that Tomyris is planning to raid." Xun Yu began, taking the conversation forwards. "I believe the name Eruthros works for it, this is a word the Hoplite have told me that means red. It's not the most ambitious name, but the Town is beside the Red Woods and the Red Hare Valley."
"Simple, but it works and the Town has multiple purposes so I assume that is why this will be the larger Grade C Town?" Dom asked.
"That is correct, I intend to redistribute some of the resources and have the Red Woods logged and spread around the Kingdom as well. Tomyris plans to scout and then raid, so if we find good trade partners then this will be our access point and most Western Town. It also covers a key defence location for us and will need to be reinforced with a defence force." Hatshepsut explained passionately, Dom could clearly see the work the former Pharoah had put in to her planning.
"The Mayor would temporarily be Ling Tong. I think he is young and not ready for the role, but it would suit him as an experience to mature and as a base for his Navy." Shang Yang stated. Dom nodded again in agreement, but realised that whilst he had suddenly gained a large number of Heroes, he was still short of the right type for his growing Kingdom.