"Hello, dear Marshal," Kong Qian saluted respectfully, "On behalf of the Hangzhou Merchants Federation, I would like to offer you the highest respect."
As early as more than a year ago, the Hangzhou Merchants Federation was incorporated into the NAC as an economic zone. However, Jiang Chen has always given these merchants a high degree of autonomy. In addition to maintaining the garrison to maintain law and order, they only stationed troops in Hangzhou has symbolically set up offices and executive officers, and chamber of commerce presidents like Xiang Kong Qian are still elected by themselves.
Jiang Chen was very curious as to what the purpose of his fish bone base was at this time.
"I won't say any more polite words. Why did you come to see me all the time?" Jiang Chen asked straight to the point after looking Kong Qian up and down.
Kong Qian did not answer, but nodded slightly, took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Jiang Chen.
"Is this?" Jiang Chen frowned slightly, opened the envelope, and looked at the lines of words, his brows furrowed even more. Han Junhua, who was standing nearby, seemed to have guessed what the letter would be. He just scanned the first line of the letter and then looked away.
[Dear President of the Hangzhou Merchants Federation, on behalf of all the survivors of the Northern United Unified District, I would like to offer you the highest respect. We have been in trade for many years, and have always maintained friendly cooperative relations regardless of whether it is private or official...]
[…The force we possess is beyond the capabilities of bandits and grassroots bandits, and the puppet regime will surely be crushed under the load wheels of our tanks. If you persist in resisting, the only way out is destruction. I hope you will think twice.]
[Comments from Fang Yuanhong, Commander of the First Army of the Northern United Command District.]
Although the wording is polite, it is still difficult to hide the arrogance between the lines.
In short, this is a letter of surrender.
"Isn't it something that gangsters and bandits can resist...? Haha, it seems that we are really underestimated." Jiang Chen shook his head with a smile.
Although the industrial capacity of the Sixth Block is not comparable to that of any industrial park before the war, if we use wasteland as a comparison standard, we may not be able to find an industrial base with such a high production capacity in the entire earth. Although the Northern United Command has mastered pre-war equipment, war is never just about technological content, it also tests logistical capabilities.
So what if one Prowler can be exchanged for ten Jagdtiger IIs? Every time the Prowler explodes, one is missing, but there are still many Jagdtiger IIs lying on the assembly line of the military factory in the Sixth Street.
After folding the envelope back, Jiang Chen looked at Kong Qian and saw him looking at him with a half-smile.
"It seems that you have made a wise choice." Jiang Chen smiled.
Kong Qian bowed slightly.
"In my opinion, the change of political power is like the rotation of the sun and the moon, and there is no such thing as orthodoxy. For us businessmen, whoever can bring us stability is the undisputed master of this land."
In the eyes of these businessmen, compared to the NAC, which pursues free trade, the talents in the Northern United Region are more like bandits.
"I will remember your words and your loyalty," Jiang Chen put the letter aside casually, looked at Kong Qian and continued, "So, are you here just to deliver this letter? Or? If you have any other matters, be prepared to discuss them with me."
"There is indeed one more thing." Kong Qian nodded and continued, "I don't know if the marshal noticed it, but this year's winter is one month earlier than in previous years."
If you think about it, it's true.
Jiang Chen vaguely remembered that when it was still October, Wanghai City received its first light snowfall. Because a lot of things happened after that, he didn't take this detail to heart. Now that he thinks about it carefully, this is indeed a bit abnormal.
"Some time ago, a businessman in our chamber of commerce who deals in medicines and mutated cow fur returned from Shangjing and brought news from further north. The entire CP area north of Heilong Province has almost become a no-man's land due to the severe cold. According to the analysis of climate data observed at the Shangjing Weather Station, the Earth is likely to usher in a Little Ice Age caused by nuclear winter in the next five to ten years."
"Little Ice Age?" Jiang Chen frowned slightly.
He vaguely remembered that in history, the Little Ice Age began in the 13th century and reached its peak in the 17th century. At its peak, the Nordic region was starved to death, and even half of the population of Norway and Sweden died in famine. On the other side of the world, in the Ming Dynasty, part of the reason why the national power turned from prosperity to decline can even be attributed to this Little Ice Age.
"Does Marshal remember the first few years after the nuclear war?" Kong Qian asked.
"I don't remember, I was in the shelter at the time." Jiang Chen shook his head and answered in his usual way.
"No wonder," Kong Qian sighed and explained to Jiang Chen, "After the nuclear war, in the first five to six years, even in the hottest south, there was no concept of summer. The earth was covered with ice and snow all year round, shrouded in Under the gloom of nuclear winter. It was not until the beginning of the seventh year after the end of the nuclear war that things improved."
"We originally thought nuclear winter was over, but now it seems that was just wishful thinking."
Having said this, Kong Qian paused for a moment and then continued.
"The survivors' settlements north of Wanghai City are all desperately purchasing and stocking up on food. It's okay within Wanghai City, but in areas outside Wanghai City, the price of nutritional mixtures has doubled. Apart from that, All commodities are depreciating...except Yajing itself as hard currency."
"Someone is hoarding nutritional mixtures and sub-crystals? Do these things have any special use?" Jiang Chen asked.
"All the survivors are hoarding these two things." Kong Qian said seriously, "The reason is obvious, they are preparing for the winter."
No one knows how long this cold winter will last, ten years? Twenty years? Or even a century? As long as the radioactive dust cannot be dissipated, the climate on the surface will only become more severe. Under natural selection and elimination, alien species will evolve in the direction of being cold-resistant, strong, and savage. However, weak humans can only be eliminated by nature in this small glacier without the help of tools.
If this winter is going to last forever...
Jiang Chen looked out the window, feeling a strong uneasiness in his heart.
This inexplicable uneasiness was even stronger than when he heard about the invasion of the United Controlled District.
If winter is to continue, NAC's plantations will bear the brunt. Without the input of raw materials such as mutant fruit and Camu resin, the industry in Block 6 will undoubtedly suffer losses... Greenhouse cultivation? It is possible, but the most critical energy cannot be solved.
Most of the sub-crystals in the sixth block come from exotic pastures, and the feed for exotic pastures comes from mutant fruits produced in plantations. The energy source of these subcrystals is ultimately solar energy. If the two energy sources of solar energy and sub-crystal are lost, the electricity consumption in the entire nac area will become a problem...
Wait, if the migration in the United Unified District was due to climate problems, why didn't they move further south, instead choosing Wanghai City on the east coast? Rather than places like Fuzhou or Yizhou Island
At this time, Jiang Chen suddenly recalled the "Declaration of War" that was misinterpreted by the Crimson Chamber of Commerce during the last civil war.
If what makes the Northern United Region obsessed with it is not the remains of the Staff of God, then what exactly is the "treasure" they talk about
Just when Jiang Chen was deep in thought, Kong Qian spoke again.
"We have a proposal here. I hope the marshal can consider it carefully." (.)