Chapter 164: The Population Problem

Those four are not stupid, and likewise, I am not stupid either. If they continue to scheme against me with such premeditation, I have nothing left to talk about with them. Patrick couldn't be bothered to explain any further to Saelavor; an elf sunken deep into the whirlpool of Silvermoon City would never understand.

Although the scenery of the floating city was breathtaking, Saelavor was in no mood to appreciate it at this moment. His Majesty Anasterian’s intention was to mediate the conflicts among the councilors as much as possible. Saelavor had come with this resolution feeling completely confident, but who would have thought that Chief Councilor Patrick would take one look and reject it outright, delivering a stinging slap to his face and leaving Saelavor in a deeply distressed state.

"Councilor Patrick, is a direct rejection really the only response?" Saelavor asked once more for confirmation.

"Just relay my exact words. If the final three resolutions remain in this state, then please ask those four never to come and bother me again." Patrick had no desire to continue speaking with Saelavor.

The Council's objective was crystal clear: they wanted Patrick to develop the Ghostlands entirely on his own, while preventing the four councilors from extending their influence into places like Sunhollow City. The entirety of the Ghostlands had practically been monopolized by Patrick and the Windrunner family. Meanwhile, Patrick could use the authority of a Council Councilor to attract a majority of unaligned elves to his banner.

These unblemished elf commoners, who bore no allegiance to any faction, naturally gravitated toward Patrick’s camp once they developed a sense of belonging in Sunhollow City. The Council was utterly powerless against Patrick independently absorbing personnel within the Ghostlands.

However, if Patrick were to return to Silvermoon to participate in the government now, the situation would be vastly inferior. At best, the seat assigned to him by the Council would be that of Deputy Chancellor, with a Chancellor firmly suppressing him from above. When it came down to final resolutions, they could easily use their majority advantage to completely veto Patrick's proposals. Even worse, the Council might revoke his appointment as the Chief Administrator of the Ghostlands. Should that happen, the manpower and resources Patrick had accumulated would be worn away entirely through prolonged conflict.

Moreover, if he could not withstand the overt and covert suppression by the Council's quartet of power players, his only remaining option would be to resign. In the end, everything Patrick had painstakingly developed would be carved up by the Council, and years of hard work would entirely serve to benefit the four major families.

Such a clumsy plot and such appalling acting were things Patrick truly held in utter contempt.

***

Returning to Sunhollow City, life resumed its previous rhythm: researching arcane arts and handling routine state affairs. Following this baptism by the horde, the establishment of the floating city made elves throughout the entire Ghostlands realize that retreating to the floating city was at least supremely safe, freeing them from the need to worry about threats on the ground.

Furthermore, when they thought of the elves living inside the floating city, the ones serving under Councilor Patrick with their haughty demeanors and a sense of superior privilege, coupled with the fairy-tale existence of dwelling in the skies and keeping company with the clouds day after day, the elves of the Ghostlands desired to live in the floating city all the more.

This was especially true for the residents of Tranquilien. Having witnessed the tragic states of Goldenmist Village and Windrunner Village, the fierce battles of the Orc invasion were still fresh in their memories. At the very least, those Orcs could not scale the heights to reach the floating city, could they? Their safety was guaranteed, and moreover, Patrick Carborum, the lord of the floating city, was a Silvermoon Councilor and an Archmage. The safety level of the floating city was likely far higher than that of Silvermoon City itself.

Rumors began to circulate of their own accord, which was a good thing for Patrick. At the very least, the floating city had won the approval of the elf commoners in the Ghostlands. Elves came to seek refuge from time to time, making Patrick's city increasingly prosperous. With the growing population, more and more elves would arrive within the floating city, creating a virtuous cycle.

As the settled population increased, residents lived more densely within the floating city, which maximized living efficiency. Whether human or elf, both were gregarious creatures with individual specialties. These individuals, with their clearly defined divisions of labor, formed a massive and sound working network. There was a good reason for the fast-paced life of a major city.

With the increase in population, congestion would be effectively alleviated, and the utilization rate of materials and the speed of development would increase exponentially. As matters stood, the urban construction of the floating city was still incomplete; the outermost wall had not yet closed, and housing and urban planning within the city were still under preparation. The initial engineering had only completed the floating city's energy power system and arcane defense system. Before the Orc invasion, the road planning and the teleportation portals of the subsidiary islands had been finished, while the construction of internal infrastructure had to be temporarily shelved due to a shortage of manpower.

Facts proved that Patrick's approach was correct. As long as external interference was warded off, the development of the floating city would remain on track without the slightest disruption.

What Patrick needed right now was the social dividend brought by a high population. Relying on this social dividend, he could greatly accelerate the development of the floating city and forge it into a top-tier metropolis in the Ghostlands.

As for whether the continuously rising population would cause urban congestion, that question could be looked at in reverse: would a declining population delay urban congestion? Here, Patrick could state very responsibly that it would not. On the contrary, a population decline would severely exacerbate urban congestion.

Taking the Russians of the previous world as an example, Patrick had once studied them carefully. From the end of World War II until the year 2000, Russia's population plummeted by more than 6 million, a loss roughly equivalent to a major war or a severe natural disaster. Yet this massive loss of population brought no benefits to large cities like Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

On the contrary, due to the population decrease, many small towns lost their vitality, and most people were forced to migrate to large cities in search of better living conditions, medical care, and educational opportunities, thereby significantly worsening the population congestion in major cities. Therefore, a decrease in population is by no means a good thing for a major city.

Regarding population size, there was only one ideal model: steady and moderate growth. For a ruler, this was the best-case scenario, as there was no need to worry about social development issues, and the entire city remained in a healthy state of growth.

Nowadays, elves in the Ghostlands generally wanted to come and live in Sunhollow City. Patrick had also specifically formulated a clause within the city: the arable land inside the floating city all belonged to the Sunhollow Spire and could only be farmed upon official appointment. However, the newly reclaimed farmland directly beneath the floating city could be farmed freely on a basis of working more to earn more, requiring only a small agricultural tax.

The floating city's requirement for ordinary elves to take up residence was simply taxation. As long as they began paying taxes to Sunhollow City, they would gain residency qualification for the floating city, requiring no other conditions whatsoever.

Aside from stationing garrisons on the ground to guard the teleportation array, Patrick had also established numerous farms to help accumulate supplies for him. Even if a formidable enemy approached, the farmers could simply abandon their fields and retreat directly back to the floating city—simple and practical.

Normally, commoners would farm the land directly below the floating city and return to the floating city via the teleportation array to rest at night. Elves who found it troublesome could simply live on their farms; unless a truly formidable enemy arrived, no one would be foolish enough to cause trouble there.