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Currently, entry to Leningrad was strictly controlled. All along the outskirts of the city, patrol teams of the State Police Force were making rounds, ensuring no unrelated people could sneak into the city. The various roads were also manned with checkpoints, making it difficult for someone to get in unnoticed. This was done, in order to prevent access to the city as much as possible. Especially people from the outside such as traders and travellers were not allowed to get close to the city, Add did not want too many mouths babbling about his projects. While the populace of the republic was mostly loyal to him, same could not be said for others. As such, most of the matters related to industry, technology and military strength were kept under strict watch and secrecy.

For the common citizen of the SRR, things were quite stable. The year 1123 of the calendar of light was nearing its end. Winter was at the doorstep, and the weather had been getting colder with each passing day. While it did not usually get cold enough to snow, the winters were quite cold in the region. Both all creatures, including humans and monsters were busy preparing for the coming difficult times. For the people in and around Rigel, winters from the past few years had been much more bearable than they used to be. With the rapid improvements made in farming that led to huge increase in the quantity of grain, and the government’s policies of providing food and work to the poor and the homeless, the number of people who died of starvation and exposure had been drastically reduced.

“What are you making here? These Buildings look so different than the ones I saw before?”

Sylvia asked as she looked at the multi-storey apartment blocks being constructed. The dominant type of architecture in the Northern Subcontinent was similar to gothic Victorian architecture, while also maintaining many unique aspects as well. Most buildings were built of wood, while only the rich could use stones or bricks to build their homes. The type of architecture Leningrad was to have, was modern and completely different from anything seen on Iseria before. Not shifting his gaze from his documents, Add answered her question with a simple sentence.

“We are building the future…”

“…”

Over 50,000 workers were currently engaged in the construction of the city. Despite this seemingly large number, the 400 square kilometre city was not something which could be completed in a short time. Instead of building the entire city at a time, the work had started from the central Administrative district, which was by now nearing completion. Alongside this, some resources were directed towards the industrial district to build much needed factories and workshops. Work was also progressing on the residential micro districts as well depending on the population trend of the SRR, with a few of them already completed, and more on the brink of completion. As such vast areas of the planned city were currently vacant and some of them were used to store supplies and house the temporary residences of the workers.

All this construction required an astronomical amount of materials and resources. The state supplied cartloads of grain and food materials to the city every day, while efforts were made to ensure that the workers were always fed and healthy to do their work. For the huge amount of materials required for constructions, dozens of brick kilns were set up outside the city to provide a steady supply of bricks to the workers. The industrial district which had been the first to have been built, now housed a large Iron and Steel plant owned by the National Iron and Steel Corporation (NISC), also a state owned company. Parts of the plant were still being constructed but it was already churning out tonnes of iron and steel each day, and smaller workshops converted them into items such as beams, TMT bars, sheets etc.

A large cement factory was also set up alongside it. These two factories had recently began production and were slowly increasing their outputs, hundreds of workers working tirelessly to meet the requirements. While these factories could barely match the level of the early 18th century factories of Earth, for the people here, such a factory could cause entire kingdoms to fight for it. In this age, most activities of production were done in small scale workshops, nothing got close to the sheer size and potential of large factories. These factories themselves required massive quantities of raw materials as well, but thankfully the SRR was seemingly blessed in terms of raw materials.

Deposits of coal were located little over hundred kilometres from Rigel, and a large number of people were transporting mined coal to the city very day. Carts filled with coal could be seen trudging along the roads, bringing vital fuel to feed the gaping maws of the gigantic furnaces. Another important material, limestone which was a key ingredient of cement, was also within accessible range. Now, limestone was a major component of cement, and while the people of Reingleif did have a type of ‘plaster’ used to hold bricks and stone together, it was not really on par with actual cement.

Due to the volcanic past of the Great dividing ranges, there had been many volcanoes, some of which were still quite active today. Over thousands of years, the ash coming out of those volcanoes settled on their slopes and nearby areas, and got compressed into a type of soft rock, which was very common in the mountains. Grinding this rock into powder and mixing it with limestone and some other materials such as fine clay, a type of cement was produced which was closer to Roman cement in properties than modern Portland cement. The factory produced both types of cement, the ‘Roman” cement was reserved for important constructions while the regular cement was to be used for general purposes such as in construction of buildings.

Aside from these two active factories more were under constructions while many smaller workshops were also producing a variety of goods, such as agricultural implements, tools, etc. Currently these factories and Workshops did not have electricity, but a thermal power plant was also being constructed which would soon be ready, and would be dedicated to supplying electricity to the Industrial District alone. The factories churned out smoke and the workers were busy building the city of the future. Unknown to most, the industrial revolution had already begun on Iseria.

As a result of these rapid development, the number of people involved in the farming and manufacturing industry had increased greatly. Since the Farmers and the workers were the pillars of the state’s economy, Add had given strict instructions that the workers who were working in the workshops and factories, would have to be given wages worth their labour. The state owned institutions would focus primarily on providing employment to as many people as possible, thinking about profits would only come after that. He knew very well, as to what the discontent of the workers could lead to, so fair pay had to be ensured at all costs.

The state as a whole was making money indeed, thanks to the new tax system but most of the earnings were directed towards militarization and developmental purposes. The construction of Leningrad was a sinkhole of money, and the government never had enough. So the profits were quickly dissipated, but the good thing was that thousands of people were getting jobs as a result of these projects, and the economical situation of the populace was slowly improving.

Still, money is never really enough. Just over two years into the beginning of his projects, Add faced a serious problem. He was short on money. Both in the economic sense and the physical currency. The SRR had been steadily increasing its trade with rest of the kingdom, but the amount of revenue was not enough to sustain the project in any capacity. When the problem was brought before Add, he considered for a while and then said.

“If there is not enough money, then we will just have to print our own money.”

This statement of his sent alarm bells ringing in the years of the officials, but his word was the final. As such, the government came up with as risky solution. Instead of paying the workers and government officials in the usual currency, the Soviet Rouble was introduced as a new currency. The government made it compulsory that any and all transactions within the SRR had to be done in the Rouble. For people who came from outside the SRR, they had to convert their money into Roubles, the conversion rate being 1 copper coin equal to one Rouble, to facilitate exchange.

The state treasury issued the new currency in terms of both bank notes made of paper and coins made of steel. The State under the name of the Marshall, was the guarantor of this currency. Since Add had given the mint modern money printing equipment purchased from the system, it was close to impossible for the people to make counterfeit currency, they simply did not have the capability to do so. The amount of currency printed was kept under strict control, to prevent inflation, and it was only released by payments made to people employed by the government. People could exchange for it through the Central Bank as well. As for the currency exchanged, the gold silver and copper coins, a portion of it was kept aside for exchanging with outside parties while most of it was stashed for refining at a later stage. These metals were too valuable to be used as ragtag currency.

There was a risk to this too. Reingleif as a whole was not governed directly by the Royal family. Instead, the Nobles were left in charge of their respective territories, while the kingdom levied a system of tithes on each territory, depending on its size and resources. As long as the noble family ruling the territory duly submitted their tithes, the kingdom would not really care about what the Nobles were doing. Of course in certain conditions, the kingdom would directly intervene, but for the most part the Nobles were free to rule their territories as they saw fit. But making your own currency was stretching that line quite a bit, but he was helpless. He could only hope that the kingdom would not be too bothered by this, but if matters did turn sour… then that would have to dealt with accordingly.

The carriage stopped after finally reaching its destination, which was the very centre of the new city, the Administrative District. The roads here were carefully paved with flat cut stone slabs, and care was taken to minimise the bumps as much as possible. They had yet to find petroleum and as such making paved roads with asphalt was still not possible. Dismounting the carriage, Sylvia found herself in a rather peculiar place. A straight road stretched long and wide, on one of its sides, were a lot of buildings, while on the other, there was just a stretch of vacant lands. The carriage had stopped before a flight of stairs, which led to a large square, the entire area was elevated a few metres above the level of the road. The entire square was surrounded by stone walls on three sides, behind which many buildings could be seen.

At the centre of this square, stood a five metre tall statue of a beautiful lady, carved out of pure white marble, on a pedestal made of greyish stone that was no shorter than the statue itself. Dressed in a gothic dress for war maidens, she stood in a gallant pose, her eyes looking into the far distance. In her right hand she held a sword whose blade was lodged into the pedestal while her left hand supported a tower shield, that rested on the ground. The shield had the State Symbol engraved on it. Her long hair rested in waves above her shoulders, and a determined expression was etched on her beautiful face.

“This is the Statue of the Motherland…”

Add whispered. This was a statue created as a personification of the Motherland herself, built under the impetus of Add, crafted by a few master craftsmen of the kingdom. With her shield she defended her citizens, and with the sword in her hand she destroyed her enemies. Add was inspired to have this statue built as a symbol of national unity, similar to the romanticists of the mid 19th century. At the foot of her pedestal, the following lines were inscribed with golden letters:

“Whosoever comes at us by the sword; by the sword shall perish. Such is the law of our motherland, and as such shall it always be.”

Reminding Sylvia, who was intently gazing at the statue, to follow him, Add made his way towards the other end of the square, where a large gate was located. It was guarded by many state police guards, implying that the place was not open to all. As they walked past the gate, they followed a wide stone pathway, surrounded on both sides by flower gardens. A myriad of different coloured flowers were blooming, giving the area a refreshing feeling. The path finally led them to a large building. It was a three storey building and had a relatively traditional design like most buildings in this district, with sloping roofs covered with tiles, arches etc.

The building itself was painted in light colours, making it comfortable to the eyes. Above its main entrance, the state emblem was affixed, brightly coloured in gold, and atop the building the red flag was waving in all its glory. This building, was one of many similar buildings located within an area greater than nine football fields. The entire complex as a whole was known as the ‘House of The State Secretariat’, which was to house the headquarters of the various government departments and ministries in the future. Currently, almost all of the buildings had been constructed, but a few were still being built. Only this particular building was completed and furnished, and it housed Add’s office as the Marshall of The Soviet Union.

Although it was not in official use yet, the Marshall often used this place when he visited Leningrad to check the progress of the various projects himself. So a few people, including government employees and some working staff were always present in this building, managing the ongoing works in the city and taking care of the various jobs within. Once inside, the pair was greeted by a few of the staff before entering his office. The office was not just a single room, but had multiple rooms, including a the actual office, a lounge, a bedroom, a bath and a restroom as well. It was a complete apartment by itself. This was so that he could stay here for long durations and did not have to change places.

As usual, Sylvia who was not a person of many words sat down on a comfortable sofa and rested. Add for his part looked at the few reports which he had asked a staff member to bring him, which mostly covered the extent of work completed, requirement of funds, etc. While he was doing that, a series of knocks sounded at the door.

“Come in.”

With his permission, a man entered the room. The man was in his mid twenties, and was quite tall, with a square face and blonde hair. Dressed in a brown overcoat, he had a serious expression at face as he made his way towards Add’s table.

“David is it… what brings you here today?”

Not responding, the man named man named David looked around and his gaze fell on Sylvia. He was clearly hesitant to speak his mind before the girl.

“You don’t have to worry, there are no outsiders here. Speak freely.”

The man cast one last look at her, his eyes still showing doubt, and then turned to face Add.

“I apologise for dropping in without notice Marshall, but I have some important news to report. I was going to visit your residence but I got news that you were arriving here, so I rushed to meet you.”

“Hmm? What is it that the director of the KGB himself is in such a hurry to meet me?”

Yes, David was indeed the director of the institution which bore the name of the infamous KGB ( Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ); Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti) which was the ‘Committee for State Security’ of the Soviet Union. Add had re-established this organization to carry out internal security, intelligence gathering and secret police functions.

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