Herald of Steel

Chapter 1384 Re visiting the Northern District

Adhania had businesses specialized in renting out horses for trips to specific cities, kind of like a rent a car.

And the procedure was also similarly quite simple- to get such a service, one just had to give his name and address and pay a part of the fee here and the rest to a branch in that other city upon reaching it.

That's it.

As for the risks of the business, such as the person simply running away with the horse, well that was the address was for.

If something happened, the owner could always come looking for the wife and children. The customer naturally had to swear an oath to do no intentional harm to the beast.

In addition, many of these horses were trained from birth for that specific route. So any attempt to divert it would be met with fierce resistance.

Sometimes they could even make their way back to their owner on their own.

So the business was not as risky as it might sound.

But, to reiterate, such services were only available between large, famous cities and still too expensive for most of the populace.

As Alexander recalled all this, he chimed, 'I should also start a horse drawn bus service. Maybe once or twice a day between the large cities. And also a postal service. Like the Romans or Mongols had.'

...

These would be his main takeaways as Alexander moved from the western district to the northern part- the place that used to be the slums and poor corner of the city.

Being closest to the northern gates, it was designed such that the city's lowest should be the farthest from the others, and perhaps in an extremely cynical move, even act as a kind of meat shield should an army ever breach its walls.

Alexander had tried his best to remove much of the squalor, such as by removing the slums and replacing them with proper wooden houses and makeshift toilets, but still, the signs left by centuries of being in such a dismal state were hardly so easy to erase.

The streets were noticeably narrow despite being renovated as many homeless vagrants made a part of it their abode, and alongside them, many new precariously built shanty towns were slowly beginning to prop up, constructed of wood and brick.

The main issue was still the overpopulation and housing crisis, with many poorer folk finding it difficult to get anything better.

Now, there was no doubt that their lives had definitely improved when compared to times they were under Pasha Muazz, but they were still a lot lacking, thus forced to huddle in cramped, poorly ventilated, and highly unsanitary conditions.

The various filth littering the newly constructed roads amply proved that last point.

Alexander did not even want to guess that some of those black lumps of strange smelling sludge were- just the mere sight was enough to make him retch.

Usually, there was a fine for such illegal dumping but clearly, the magistrates were not doing their jobs properly.

Or perhaps, looking at the malnourished folks, Alexander guessed the much more probable answer was that these poor folks simply had no money to pay these fines.

So what were the magistrates to do, throw them in jail? How many?

Given the extent of 'littering', he would have to put not insignificant part of the district behind bars.

Clearly, such a thing was impractical.

In reality, the slums were only a small of the whole district and the place held a lot of potential.

Many lower class but respectable people also lived there, workshop workers, foremen, miners day laborers, and dock workers, residing in relatively well built wooden and stone houses, with the higher one's status, the more they tended to live away from the gates, towards the central district.

Thus as one moved north to south of the district, one would find the chaotic and grimy streets getting less and less menacing, the skyline becoming more and more visible, more and more vendors hawking food from stalls on the side, and a greater number of children playing in the streets.

They would also notice nicer and nicer laundry strung between buildings, fluttering in the breeze, whereas in the slum parts, no one would dare dry their clothes like so in fear of getting stolen.

Alexander even spotted a street performer juggling and whistling on one of the better streets and tipped the thin, lanky man five ropals.

...

As Alexander's tour of the northern district came to an end, he understood that although the part was recovering there was lots of work to be done.

Diseases were common, and due to none of the aqueducts meant for the district still not being finished, there was a lack of clean water, creating unsanitary conditions.

Garbage disposal was also a problem as was malnutrition and overwork.

Lastly, there was the ever-present risk of fire and building collapse.

There have been many fires in history that nearly burnt entire cities- the most famous one being perhaps the Great Fire of London.

But with all the negatives, there were some positives.

Alexander had spotted the outlines of a huge circular amphitheater being built right at the center of the district, and after the visit, decided to build the main bathhouse here.

The northern district was supposed to be the entertainment hub, and Alexander was determined to see it.

Thus once the apartments on the western side were finished and some of the poor could be relocated there, Alexander planned to heavily modify the plot there.

.....

Crossing from the northern district, Alexander skipped the tour of the central district because he had already seen it.

He lived here, the main Gaia temple where he prayed was there, and the senate building he worked in was also here.

So he moved onto the southern part.

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

Please come Here!

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