Sitting in the pavilion in the garden, Lorraine Hill listened to them talking about the current situation of the empire without a word. Although they were not talking about any secrets or important matters, she felt that these people were not the usual mediocre nobles.
The few people that Earl Howard invited this time are indeed unusual. These extraordinary ornaments, which seem to have the ability to hide their breath, still give the impression of many outsiders that they are still in Sequence 5, which is not very out of the ordinary. It's just that such a method is useless to Roland Hill.
Roland Hill blinked his eyelashes slightly, and felt that the strength of the people around him were all above Sequence 6, and they were only about 20 years old. Such strength, even in the East, was at the top.
Regardless of the complicated intrigue, the purpose of Roland Hill's trip was not to fight for power, she just wanted to know more about the possible choices of these elite nobles in the future.
"The empire is very unstable now, and sometimes business is not easy to do, and the road is not very peaceful."
"Little Lacie also has such troubles. Haha, why don't I lend you a cavalry team from our family, you only need to provide some support wages, how about that?" Du Xiu, the lazy aristocratic young man, at this time Taking the initiative to speak, seems to like Loren Hill a little.
"Uh... .. this is still unnecessary, thank you Lord Du Xiu." Roland Hill replied in a low voice.
"Why, are you afraid that you can't afford it, haha, in this case, how about I can waive Xiao Laixi's commission for another half a year. Don't underestimate this cavalry of our family, they are all good players above Sequence 4. "
Although Du Xiu looked very casual and lazy, not like a powerful character, but he was able to call an elite team of more than 100 people casually, showing that his family background and strength were extraordinary. Sequence 4 transcendents are not everywhere, but nowadays they are the elite among the elites. In some small towns, it can even be said that Sequence 4 is the strongest existence.
"I understand, but I still want to solve these problems by myself. After all, I can't rely on others again and again for this kind of thing. If I get used to it now, I will suffer in the future." Roland Hill shook his head again.
"Little Lacey really doesn't look like a businessman. The businessmen I know are eager to try their best to borrow more money, expand the scale, and bring in more goods to make more money." Rosella sighed at this time. At first, she heard that her father invited a businesswoman to come over, and she felt a little unhappy and contemptuous in her heart. It was originally a party she had made an appointment with with a friend, and suddenly a stranger came in. After not wanting to talk and get along for a while, she had a lot of affection and affection for this girl who looked slightly younger than her.
He came out to take care of the chamber of commerce at a young age, and he was still running around, so he must have suffered a lot. A beautiful face is indeed an asset, but if it does not have a corresponding position in the empire, it will be a trouble. No wonder she was thinking about attending a noble gathering, and she probably wanted to take this opportunity to expand her fame and build more people to increase her own safety.
Thinking of this, the depression in Rosella's heart dissipated in an instant, and she also helped Roland Hill to get to know and meet these companions consciously or unintentionally.
"Miss Lacey is very strong. Girls like you are rare these days." Luther leaned against the pillar beside him and turned his head to comment. Among them, he was the most indifferent.
"Okay, why don't we help Lacey find some instructors and train those guards, which can be considered a favor." Rosella suggested at this time.
"It's simple. I know many retired officers, and I'm worried that I have nothing to do. After all, the war is over." Luther agreed casually.
"Why did Luther take the initiative at this time? Could it be that he also likes Little Lacey?" Du Xiu joked again at this time.
"Oh, didn't I just start lightly and didn't let you settle down?" Luther glanced at Du Xiu and quarreled a few more times. Although they seem to be at odds, the two seem to have a good relationship.
After that, Lorraine Hill and a few people slowly talked about the reasons for the poor security, and several people also talked about their own thoughts.
"In the end, the war was lost." Du Xiu took a strawberry on the table, threw it into his mouth, and said casually while chewing.
"If you win the Seven Kingdoms of Xuehua and expand a lot of land, any problem can be solved easily."
"As now, the food supply is always stuttering."
"Actually, the food production is still enough. When I was studying at the Royal Academy, the scholars said that the Empire's food was actually quite a lot. After all, there was the help of the forest elves." Rosella raised her hair and recalled.
"But there is also a lot of loss, and what is produced may not be eaten by people." Fa Xiner spoke rarely. This mysterious girl with black hair and black dress is the least talkative among them.
"Just like logistical supplies in a war, 100 catties of grain are transported from the production area to the frontline soldiers, and I am afraid there are less than 10 catties left, and 90% of them are lost on the road." She said helplessly with a slight sigh.
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"Is it so scary?" Du Xiu was surprised, he never cared about this.
"That's it." Luther also nodded at this time.
"My grandfather told me this since he was a child, and in wars, logistical supplies are also the most important."
"The reason for the late defeat of the empire was not only that it encountered extraordinary alchemy weapons on land, but also that the supply line on the water was cut off by the southern archipelago."
"You must know that water transportation is much more convenient and faster than road transportation. At least 70% will be lost on land, and only 2-3% will be lost at sea." The noble young man from the general door said his opinion.
"Food is easy to break, bugs, fires, dirt, mold, soaking, etc. You have never been on the battlefield, and you don't know how difficult it is to supply the front line." Luther shook his head.
"Not to mention that there are still people who deduct corruption from it." He added.
"At present, many nobles and merchants in the country are stockpiling grain, and some would rather not sell it, and have to store some in the cellar to feel at ease."
"But in this case, it will be very difficult for the civilians below." Roland Hill sighed softly.
"Little Lacey is really kind, but there's nothing you can do about it." Rosella held the girl's hand.
"It's impossible for everyone to live as comfortable a life as the nobles. It's been like this for thousands of years." She comforted Roland Hill.
"Huh, that's it. Too much sympathy will make life very tiring. People are dying every day in the world. How can you care about it and live your own life well." Du Xiu also said.
"Miss Lacey will gradually get used to it in the future. This is just the normal state of the world." Luther also said.
Looking at the appearance of the few people present who didn't care, Roland Hill also slowly felt that he was out of tune with the people of this era.
Maybe they are just normal behavior. In this era, as recorded in history, famine is a common occurrence, and starvation of people at the bottom is also a rare and common thing, and it is not worth paying attention to. The nobles live in stable castles and don't have to worry about these, and they are used to buying a large amount of land and population with grain in times of famine to expand their wealth.
"If it's Lacey, what do you want to do?" Fa Xiner said at this time, the black-haired and black-eyed figure sat there quietly, quiet and mysterious.
"If it were me, I hope everyone can have a good life."
"But, Lacey. People's hearts will not be satisfied, their cravings will continue to spread, and you will never be full." Faxiner shook her head lightly, and the hairband by her ear also swayed.
"In the early days of the empire, the land was abundant and the food was abundant. It was indeed a beautiful era."
"But time will always pass slowly, and more and more people will gradually fill various places. One day, the limit of the empire will be broken, and then famine and disaster will be won."
"Famine and disasters are very annoying and unpleasant, but they also exist, reducing the population and allowing others to survive." The black-haired girl explained it from another angle.
"Fa Xiner is still so sensible and intelligent, she deserves to be a wise raven." Rothera said with admiration.
"I'm just telling ordinary and realistic things, so I'm not smart." Fa Xiner shook her head and answered modestly.
"However, there are other ways to solve the problem. Letting famine and disasters reduce the population is still too rude." The girl shook her head. She had a lot of thoughts in her mind, but it was not easy to explain at the moment.
"It's ideal, little Lacey." Rothera picked up an apple, wiped it with a towel, and placed it in Loren Hill's hand.
"The hand is only so big, and we can only hold an apple."
"So, don't think too much, just eat the apple in your hand with peace of mind. As for other people and things, you don't need to worry about it."
Afterwards, a few people ended the topic and slowly started talking about other things. Some were the latest trends, some were some interesting gadgets created by a noble’s alchemy workshop, and some were good friends with whom and who. class topic.
Slowly, the sky darkened. After having dinner with a few people in the mansion, Lorraine Hill also waved goodbye and left the earl's mansion in a carriage.
In the darkness of the night, the exquisite elf wind carriage gradually disappeared at the intersection, and the sound of the wheels turning slowly disappeared.
Earl Howard and his daughter turned around and walked towards the brightly lit pavilion.
"How is it, Miss Lacey?" he asked his daughter.
"A very good child, I feel like an eldest lady who is not deep in the world but reads a lot, and doesn't look like a merchant's daughter at all." Rosella commented on Lorraine Hill.
"Why do you say that?" Howard looked ahead and shook his head slightly.
"She knows a lot and is very smart, but sometimes it's too ideal."
"Do you think she knew the life of the underclass up close?" Howard asked again.
"This... ..I think, maybe I know, the situation she occasionally mentions seems to be quite true."
"Since you said she was smart and had a real understanding of the reality, why do you think she is so ideal?" Howard asked again.
"Because she's a girl with such a character, she's quite lovable and cute." A smile appeared on the corner of Rosella's mouth.
"Perhaps that's what she wants you to think." The Count turned around.
"Her life experience is not simple. That chamber of commerce was established temporarily, and there was no trace of it before. There has never been a Lagertis chamber of commerce in the empire. If she said that she inherited her father's legacy, but where did the wealth come from. "
"All the members of the caravan have been recruited in recent months, and the goods are not known where they came from. Everything is like a fog."
"Is that so? Doesn't that mean that she has been lying to me." Rothera squeezed the silk scarf in her hand, in disbelief.
"But it's not completely false." Howard shook his head.
"Fortunately, the pendant in her hand was indeed given by Princess Aitesi. I just received news from the Emerald Forest recently that the princess who went to the East has finally returned."
"Combining the date and itinerary, she should have come back with Princess Aetsy, so the identity of the businessman makes sense."
"Huh, that's actually understandable. Girls have to protect themselves when they are outside." Hearing this, Rosella was relieved again and helped Loren Hill indifferently.
"Oh, you, it's still too easy to trust a person's appearance." Howard patted his daughter, and the figures of the two slowly walked into the pavilion and disappeared.
————
On the way home, Loren Hill leaned against the car window and thought.
The few I met in the past few days should be the elite nobles in the empire who are about to take control of the real power. They are indeed different from those who are having fun at the banquet.
Generally speaking, these people are not bad, they are even better and better. But it was precisely because of their excellence that Roland Hill gradually became disappointed.
Because even these nobles with rich knowledge and insights don't care about the famine and disasters of the lower classes in the empire, and even those scoundrel nobles can't count on them.
The power of habit is really powerful. Powerful enough that people can face these grim scenes without caring.
Roland Hill, who grew up in the modern era of stability, naturally retains many of the values and worldviews of her previous life. In her opinion, it is cruel and uncomfortable to see a famine without seeking treatment and starving to death.
But in the eyes of today's people, these are just ordinary things, and there is nothing to be sad about. For the nobles, those are nothing but distant strangers, they have not even met, and naturally they will not be sad.
As for the rebellion, it's just a small fight. This is a world with extraordinary power. Those poor people without knowledge and power are destined to be difficult to defeat the nobles.
However, times have finally changed.
After finishing the thoughts in his mind, Roland Hill slowly sat upright in the carriage and looked at the rows of orange lights passing by the window.
The empire that relies on individual strength and the rule of a few elites will eventually face the huge impact of the wave of industrialization, and even the most intelligent and knowledgeable group of people in the empire today still do not realize this slowly walking gray rhino .
Relying on the internal self-reform of the empire, it seems that it will not work, and their cognition and values will not agree with the statement of equality. And even if it is to imitate the industrial model of Crancia, it is estimated that the poor are organized to perform shallow labor and learn a rough shape.
True industrialization requires universal education, cultivating a large number of workers with good cooperation and self-awareness, a good and just social order to ensure the circulation of resources and the smooth progress of commercial activities, and a high enough grain yield to liberate people from the fields and enter the country. factory.
But none of these empires can do it.
First, they want to maintain the stability of the nobles, and they are unwilling to spread knowledge and extraordinary power to many commoners.
Second, they will conservatively seize the products and resources of their respective fiefdoms, and set up cards layer by layer, so that trade will become a weapon for them to coerce and manipulate businessmen, which will hinder the expansion and development of the industry in disguise, and businessmen will naturally not dare to take risks to avoid In case of material out of stock at any time. Because they can't sue the nobles, nor can they restrain the nobles. It is too difficult for such a society to accumulate and develop industry.
Third, there is no impetus to increase food production urgently, and instead hope to make profits from scarcity. As a result, a large number of civilians are still trapped in the fields and land, and there is no opportunity for prosperity, and there is no leisure to learn and grow.
After staying in the imperial capital Titania for a while, Roland Hill finally slowly outlined the thoughts and opinions of the upper-class nobles of the empire.
Is this the power of the times? Even the smartest group of people in the empire are limited by the past and vision, and it is difficult to see the picture of the future.
Maybe I shouldn't have hoped for this from the beginning, and I still have to carry out a thorough overthrow and reform as in the history.
Just like this, it will cause turmoil and war, and many people will disappear in the flames of war.
The girl in the carriage stared out of the window dazedly, with thoughts surging in her mind, and the fluke in her heart was slowly extinguished.
Time to get out of here.