Isugarde agreed with this opinion. They seemed to see that this made Yang Hao even more grateful, but also made Theresa spit out a complaint:
"Even the country across the sea knows your value, this barbarian... Oh, forget it, I won't say any more, my stomach hurts."
"Do you have a stomachache? Theresa, do you want to go back and rest for a while? I can be alone here."
"Alright, alright, let's talk about this when we get back. Now let's work, work!"
Let the man who suddenly began to care about her continue to work. Theresa curled her lips and muttered, "Who dares to leave you here alone?"
Arthur's story is still fresh in my mind. Since this elf can do anything to compete for his favorite object, then in order to keep him in the Elf Kingdom permanently, Finn must have done something he didn't know existed...
I have to watch here to prevent the dog from being kidnapped.
Theresa muttered softly and put her arm around Yang Hao's. Yang Hao just glanced at her and pulled the little nun a little closer to where he was.
Not far away, Qinna once again entered the reception room that had become an office. This time she brought a lot of midnight snacks, as well as intelligence from the Roman Empire.
"Fen, His Majesty Yang Hao, Mother Teresa - something worthy of attention has happened in the Roman Empire."
"Huh?" Yang Hao raised his eyebrows, indicating that he didn't want to continue paying attention to the place that might become an occupied area in a few months, unless the news was related to the little queen.
In response to this, Qinna thought for a moment and said: After Prince Gasson came into contact with the Isgard merchant ship in Drake Harbor, he used the name of the Queen to publicize that food would soon be coming from across the sea, allowing the refugees in the drought-stricken areas to hold on for a while, and good days would come.
And I heard that they were implementing a food rationing system in the central area - as a result, all the peasants got was sawdust bread, and although the cakes of the urban nobles disappeared, they were able to eat roasted pigs and chickens, and even roasted lamb and beef from the western livestock areas.
Upon hearing this, Yang Hao and Theresa just looked at each other in silence: "Let's not talk about when the riot will happen... By then, it won't be merchant ships full of food, but warships full of soldiers - why do they always think they are so powerful
Do you think that the Empire, which already has ironclad ships, will treat you, a country with only wooden sailing ships, equally? You can't even deal with famine here? I won't tear down all the irrigation pipes I left for them, will I? "
"He's a barbarian after all. Who knows?"
They put the matter behind them for the time being. After confirming some details, Yang Hao said hello to Theresa and Fen and went back to rest to recharge his energy for tomorrow's trip to Oak Mine.
And during the time when Yang Hao was taking a bath, Theresa knelt in front of the crystal statue of light as usual and prayed, while thinking about whether she should take the initiative to avoid Fen's premeditated actions - but at this moment, she vaguely felt that the light was calling her.
"My Lord, you are almost dead, what use is there for giving me divine revelation?"
The nun who had the least respect for God in history muttered to herself, lowered her head obediently, and felt the revelation from my Lord.
Then, she was stunned.
Because "Light" told her that He had given Theresa the ability to directly seize the power of the Church of Light—
But as a price, "Light" will sleep for a long, long time... until Theresa brings Him enough divine power, or until the final destruction comes.
Whether or not to allow "light" to appear in this world again is entirely up to Theresa.
After all, a true God would not order his believers to do things against their will.
Chapter 20: The seeds of industrial reform, the darkness beneath the perfection of the elves
[9000 words chapter W]
Early the next morning.
When Yang Hao woke up from his sleep, he found that Theresa, who was wearing a thin pajamas, had hugged his head at some point, with his chin firmly fixed on her chest. The hot air exhaled from Theresa's mouth and nose while she was sleeping soundly could be felt on his face.
They would sleep like this every night during this period. Although there were two specially prepared double beds, neither Yang Hao nor Theresa had any intention of separating.
But this also caused awkward situations.
No matter what, Yang Hao is a normal man, and Theresa doesn't seem like a woman who likes women.
Although the two sides have not taken further steps until now, in order to avoid losing his mind, Yang Hao still hopes to find a suitable occasion to propose to Theresa after giving her a stable life...
It doesn't seem right to be like this before proposing, right
Yang Hao thought about it. Priscilla had never done that with him before. But then he thought, this makes him seem like a special case. Forget it.
Let’s get up now.
"Theresa? It's morning."
"Hmm..."
The little nun, who had not yet woken up, subconsciously hugged the thing in her arms tighter. It was not until Yang Hao patted her back gently and pinched her ear that the usually arrogant nun woke up in a daze.
This was a scene that only Yang Hao could see: a dazed girl yawned and slowly sat on the bed, her gray eyes full of confusion, and she even had to hold on to his arm to make sure the surroundings were safe...
The beautiful scenery belongs to him - the man sighed, and Theresa, who finally woke up, yawned again and began to change clothes in front of Yang Hao without any care.
"I'm still here for now."
"Hmm? Oh—good morning."
"Good morning. Well, you know that's not what I meant..."
"What's the matter, little dog? Anyway, we'll probably have to play naked in bed for an hour or two before getting up one day - haah... Are we going to go out of town for an investigation today?"
"Yes. I plan to take Naruga with me. After all, we may not be able to let them live an idle life. It would be great if we can find a use for golems."
"Where's Mr. Joseph?"
"They also have to take care of the wounded - after all, I heard that the growth of broken limbs is a bit troublesome for magical organs."
"oh… "
She took off her pajamas, then quickly changed into her nun's uniform. After putting on her boots by the bed, she suddenly nodded thoughtfully, turned around and grabbed the corner of Yang Hao's clothes, motioning him to come over.
Yang Hao did as he was told. He was used to Theresa having strange ideas from time to time.
What is happening this time
He looked at the little nun in front of him, and the little nun said thoughtfully - maybe they should change the way they address each other when they go out this time.
Yang Hao didn't need to change it, but Theresa reflected that it would be better for her to change it.
"After all, what should I say? Although when we are together, I call you "little dog" which actually reflects our good relationship - but for the time being, we still have to be respectful in front of outsiders, okay?"
"Just call me by my name?" Yang Hao shrugged. "And I think Theresa, you don't have to worry about these..."
"But I care a lot." Theresa said seriously, "I don't want outsiders to misunderstand that there is any superior-subordinate relationship between us, and I don't want anyone to mistake you for my "object" instead of a separate person. I think it may be the result of my nickname for you, so this matter must be resolved."
Since Theresa said so, Yang Hao had no reason to object.
He simply touched Theresa's hand to show encouragement, and after asking her what she wanted to do, Theresa pinched his chin.
"Uh..." The little nun stared at Yang Hao's eyes with deep eyes. After rubbing the stubble that stung the woman's skin with her slender hands for a long time, a blush appeared on her face:
"Although it's better for me to call you by your name when we're out in public... But when we're alone, I want to call you... dear."
She closed her eyes and took the initiative to hug me.
Feeling the wetness on his lips, Yang Hao also hugged her.
…
After bringing Naluga, the chief of the Ling tribe who was wearing elven clothes, outside, Yang Hao and others waited for Arthur's arrival at the archery shop.
His legs had been healed by magic, but for some reason, he was wearing a golden mask on his face - combined with his long golden hair, it made this already handsome man even more mysterious.
When he left, he kissed Wei Ya affectionately and said goodbye. The relationship between them is really good. Apart from the peculiar hobbies between husband and wife, they look like an ordinary and normal family.
"Your Majesty, let's go. To get to the Oak Mine, we need to ride on a horned deer or a hippogriff... Eh? Who is this?"
"She is Narujia, the leader of the Ling tribe. We will talk on the way."
The Sky Garden Fingal has a Hippogriff Flying Hub for all elves. By riding a Hippogriff, elves can move quickly and for free in the Elven Forest area, but they still need to show some documents when going to important places.
Yang Hao had the certification that Fen gave him, so after taking out that document, everything went very smoothly.
They arrived at the Elf's Oak Square at 10 a.m. that day. To the naked eye, this is actually a strange attraction formed by countless oak trees. But if you fly high in the sky and stay at the treetops for a while, you can see the truth inside the attraction.
Surrounded by oak trees, there was a small rocky hill that was slightly shorter than the nearly 100-meter-high forest.
The tree's roots coiled around the mountain, squeezing into every crack and poking tan, translucent tubes into the ground.
Under the light, the brown roots that look like intestines are wriggling regularly, transferring the mineral sand inside to the center of the tree bit by bit.
Arthur introduced that it was the Oak Mine of the Elves - the mine closest to Fingal produced more than 70% of Caparia's magic minerals as well as conventional iron ore, silver ore, copper ore, and gem mines buried deep underground.
This is actually the heart of the elves' mineral resources. Once this mine is lost, the elves will fall into the dilemma of insufficient mineral resources in the next ten years. Not to mention the production of armor, even the supply and demand of arrows will become extremely unstable.
After landing, Yang Hao and Arthur climbed down from the Hippogriff with a worried look on their faces. Before Yang Hao could say anything, Arthur, wearing a golden mask, led the way in front of them and said:
“Your Majesty, there are abundant mineral resources here, but you should think the same as I do… too dense. It really is too dense.
70% of a kingdom’s mineral resources are produced here. Not only the mineral resources, but also the supporting military industry is built around the mines.
It's like the human heart and brain working in the same place. Once this place is destroyed by human beings, the elves and the military industry will be ruined."
In the Roman Empire, the steam factory that has now been demolished is actually considered a intensive industrial area. However, when Yang Hao and Arthur were still in the Roman Empire, they would never build the crucial steam factory "nearby" the mine.
On the one hand, it is to avoid further environmental damage and population overcrowding, but the most important thing is to avoid being "caught in one fell swoop" by the enemy.
If the enemy only destroys the raw material production area, the factories are still there, and they can produce equipment as quickly as possible before the resources are exhausted, thus seeking a short-term solution to the invaders.
If the enemy only destroyed the steam plant industrial area and the raw material production area was not destroyed, they could still prepare for long-term combat. Although weapons production would not be as efficient as before, at least they could produce in small batches continuously to cope with a long-term war.
But the outdated arrangement of the elves, which gathers "more than half of the raw material production areas" and "more than half of the handicraft industries" in the same area... is undoubtedly a stupid thing.
This means that if an enemy causes damage to a raw material production area, it can also destroy the gathering place of the handicraft industry.
When both raw material output and product output are lost, the country can only use its reserve products and resources to fight the final battle to determine life and death...
Perhaps the elves were thinking that this is how they did it in the past, and they are doing it this way now, which is perfect - but according to Yang Hao, this outdated perfection would be better off just throwing it away.
"You see, your majesty... it's like a perfectly good stone knife - but we've entered the age of steam, what's the point of using a stone knife
I would rather see the elves use imperfect iron knives than see them take stone tools to the battlefield, not to mention the Roman Empire's current steam factories..."
"The steam factories? They're all gone. They've been demolished. The steam rifles have all been thrown away or sold off. So now the elves are using perfectly good stone knives to fight the rusty iron knives of the parish."
"Huh?! It was demolished?! Are they stupid?!"
Arthur was so overwhelmed by the bombshell news that Yang Hao suddenly dropped that he just stood there stupidly. He didn't even react when Naluga and Theresa passed by.
Perhaps this was too great a blow to Arthur - after all, the steam factory was the result of his hard work, and was like Arthur and Yang Hao's child. Although he no longer had the chance to go back and see it, he was still quite proud of it in his heart.
In the end, the Roman Empire not only expelled the regent, but also demolished the steam factory? Who could have imagined this...
He was stunned for a while, but finally calmed down. While muttering, "I'm going to the Elf Kingdom anyway," he trotted back to Yang Hao.
It was at this time that they came to the entrance of a hollow oak tree. After showing the documents in their hands to the guard, they went inside and carefully observed the "metal ingots" produced automatically by the ancient tree.
Yang Hao counted silently in his mind, and Arthur gave the answer directly at the right time:
"The ancient tree can't produce metal ingots as fast as the factory we built in the Roman Empire. From a macro perspective, the overall production capacity of the Oak Mine is only two-thirds of that of the Roman Empire's "steam plant".
However, considering the gap in population and resource needs between the two countries, the Elf Kingdom would be better than the Roman Empire overall - but the Roman Empire is larger in overall size, after all, it has a large population.
The disadvantages are as mentioned above, and the advantages are as you can see. We just need to let people sort and load the produced metal ingots and then transport them out for storage.
As for the cost, we only need to regularly supply magic power to the ancient trees, plant oak seeds, and irrigate them from time to time. And there is no need to worry about the underground mines collapsing. "
"Underground mine... How many resources are there here?"
"No one knows. But the elves say that the oak mines and workshops here have been operating for thousands of years, from the ancient wars to the present.
I personally estimate that there is a rich mine underground that only elves can obtain. But I must make it clear to you... This vein is more fragile than we thought.
We simply cannot mine the resources underneath with human power, unless we dig the entire mountain flat and then dig a large hole down, just like the silver mine on the east side of the Roman Empire..."
"That is to say, this is not only the heart of the elves, but also their vital life gate..."
Yang Hao sighed heavily and muttered, if it was just his heart, then the worst that could happen was for him to let the mage release healing magic to save his life after he was severely injured. Doing so for a month would be enough.
But once the "life gate" is damaged, the person will die on the spot, and there will be no chance of rescue...
Arthur and Yang Hao discussed that the proposal to divide the "intensive mixed industry" here must be put on the agenda as soon as possible - although this will affect production efficiency, it is better than one suffering and the other suffering as well.
Then they talked about the possibility of turning the oak tree into a steam plant-like structure. But during this period, Arthur seriously said that Yang Hao must confirm the direction in the early stage.
After all, ancient trees are not factories built by humans. It takes time for them to grow, and once they grow up, it is basically impossible to change their internal structure except for further expansion.
So is it planning to create an "automated factory" that produces metal ingots like it does now, fully automatic but slowly, but can produce products endlessly without any supervision
Or is it a "semi-automatic factory" like the steam factory that requires manual processing but can quickly produce output
Yang Hao thought about it and felt that he didn't know much about the Elf Kingdom, so he humbly hoped that Arthur could "not care about his face" and make suggestions.
“That being said… I prefer the slow, fully automated factories.”
Arthur shrugged and patted the mask on his face. "After all, the total population of elves cannot provide us with a large number of laborers, and elves are a casual race. You may invite an elf to go out and watch the moon from time to time, but if you say you want to watch the moon every day, he will just turn his head and leave..."
"In other words, they can't be doing boring manual work on an assembly line... I see. Thanks, Arthur."