If you want to develop well, you must take root here. If the land is not good, you can reclaim wasteland. If the territory is too small, you can expand it, but what people leave is empty talk.
If a piece of territory may be abandoned at any time, then who is willing to buy a house here, and who is willing to produce with peace of mind
After the assistant minister retired, Roland called Carter Lannis, his chief knight.
"Take your people and find me some local guards, hunters or farmers who have been here for more than five years and have experienced the Demon Moon. It would be better if someone had fought a demon beast."
The knight took the order to leave, Roland rubbed his forehead, and continued to look at the aggregated information.
The main output of Border Town is minerals and animal skins, and the bulk of imports are grains. All transportation is directly through the Chishui River to Changge Fortress or Liuye Town. There are all kinds of ores in minerals, iron, copper, sulfur, crystal, ruby, sapphire... This has completely surpassed the concept of associated minerals. He recalled that Anna had said that the North Slope Mine Area was rumored to be the den of unknown monsters underground, and until now, it has not been fully ascertained how many forks at the bottom of the mine cave.
Turning to the food item, Roland frowned. Most of these ores were sold to Changsong Fortress, but the other party did not pay for it with the Kingdom Golden Dragon, but with grain. It stands to reason that gems and the like can be regarded as luxury goods, but after a few years of trading, Border Town has not saved much surplus food, and the financial income is not rich.
In other words, the annual output of the mining industry in Border Town has only been exchanged for the annual ration of 2,000 residents. Considering that before the prince airborne, the lords of this place themselves belonged to Duke Changge's lineage, it is understandable to produce and sell them on their own. Anyway, in their opinion, no matter how much food is stored in this place, it will only make those monsters cheaper.
The fur trade belongs to the local people's own income. They enter the hidden forest westward to hunt some birds and beasts, or sell them to the buyers of Longsong Fortress, or to the residents of Willow Leaf Town. Border Town has no tax on this transaction because there is no way to monitor it.
Roland thought for a while, since he is here, then the output of ore can no longer be used to offset the price of grain. The branches of the Chishui River run through almost the entire kingdom, and the traffic is not blocked. With this transportation artery, even if Longsong Fortress no longer provides food, he can buy it from other places.
The premise is that he can block those damn monsters here, in Border Town.
Carter moved quickly, and the next day he found two guards and a local hunter, "These two are the patrol captains of Border Town, and they are responsible for setting off the beacon fire every year. The hunter said that he and the evil beast* He fought, and he cut off the head of an evil beast with his own hands."
The three bowed together.
Roland nodded and told them to step back first and speak one by one.
"Respect... Your Honorable Prince's Palace... Your Highness," the first guard who was called up was so nervous that he couldn't even speak, "Brian and I are both... from here, uh... After the snow, we... we... We will go to the beacon... beacon tower in the mining area on the north slope. There you can see the movement of the monsters for the first time. If they cross the mysterious forest, we will light the beacon, withdraw from the small... path, and prepare before boarding. The Kuaizhou Li... leave."
"Since we're together, ask your partner to come up and answer," Roland shook his head and covered his face. "What do evil beasts look like, can they be killed?"
The other guard was also very nervous, but at least he didn't stutter, "His Royal Highness, it should be okay. They were originally just ordinary animals in the forest. Although they were infected by the breath of hell, they became manic and vicious, but they could still be killed. Every year after the Demon Moon passes, Changsong Fortress will send a cavalry team to clean up the remaining demonic beasts on the road from the fortress to Border Town."
"How long will the Demon Moon last?"
"It's usually two to three months ... it depends on the sun," Bryan said.
"Look at the sun?" Roland wondered.
"Yes," the guard explained, "Your Highness, you just came here, so you don't know it. Once it snows in Border Town, it will not stop until the sun regains its brilliance, and the snow will melt away."
"The Demon Moon will not end until the snow melts?" Roland recalled, at least that's not the case for the snow in Greycastle. Basically, it melted the next day, and the sun didn't change much.
"That's right. The longest demon month I've experienced was two years ago. It lasted for nearly four months, and many people couldn't survive it."
"Why, doesn't Changge Fortress even have food reserves for another month?" Roland asked.
Brian's face became a little worse, "They have. But the mayor in charge of supply at the time, Ferno, said that the ore we produced in the fall was only enough to buy three months' worth of grain, and we had to wait for a new batch of ore for the fourth month. It can only be issued when it arrives. But we can't leave the fortress before the Devil's Moon has passed."
"I see... I see."
It's just a fool to cut himself off from the people. If Changge Fortress treats this group of border residents as warm as a spring breeze, it might not be easy for me to keep them, but now it seems that the group of guys huddled behind the city wall is not a good thing. Roland expressionlessly invited the last person to come up to answer, but he remembered the name in his heart.
The third man was strong and powerful, and when he stood up straight, he approached six feet, which made Roland feel a lot of pressure. Fortunately, he got down on one knee as soon as he stepped forward.
"You said you have killed an evil beast?"
"Yes, Your Highness," his voice was low and hoarse, "a wild boar breed, a wolf breed."
""kind"? Roland repeated, "What do you mean? "
"This is what hunters call evil beasts, Your Highness. The fiercer the animals before the mutation, the harder it is to deal with after the mutation. And they will multiply the original advantages of their bodies. Like wild boars, their back fur is extremely hard, Even a crossbow is difficult to penetrate 50 meters away. The wolf species is more cunning and runs at an amazing speed. If you want to kill it, you need to set traps in advance."
"The stronger is stronger, the faster is faster," Roland nodded, "but still an animal."
"That's it, they are not the most terrible enemies," the hunter said, swallowing. "The most terrible is the mixed species."
"They are the incarnation of the devil. Only hell can create such terrifying monsters. I have seen a hybrid, which not only has beast-like limbs, but also has a pair of huge wings on its back, which can fly short distances. And it seems to know where I am, no matter how I hide, it can drive me out. It is not hunting, Your Highness, it is just teasing the prey." The hunter lifted his clothes and saw a huge scar from The abdomen extended to the chest, "I survived by jumping into the Chishui River before I fell into a coma."
"There are still such monsters," Roland felt that the world was getting more and more fantastic. A solid city wall could block all ordinary evil beasts, but what if they could fly? "Mixed species should be rare, right?"