The Karret Plain is now also a scene of cold winter depression. The grassland is already withered and yellow, the foraging wolves are wandering around, and the roar of beasts can be heard not far away, but compared with the glaciers that filled the sky not long ago, it is almost Heaven.
Not far behind is the Heruite Snow Mountain. Looking back, you can see the ice wall goes straight into the sky, and the snow-capped Daxue Mountain can't see the border at a glance.
On the grassland, the elves formed a mighty convoy, moving slowly and firmly towards the north.
Most of the elves had to walk, and the mighty brigade walked extremely slowly.
The small number of carriages and big bird carriages are either loaded with seriously wounded people or with supplies such as medicines, medicines, and food.
Ordinary inanimate substances can also be placed in the city of eternal night. Once the food and supplies to be imported are corroded by negative energy, I am afraid that the user will become an undead.
From time to time, there are lightly wounded and children who can no longer walk, are dragged away by others, and faint cries can be heard from the team. Perhaps, this is because the survivors were paralyzed by fear and despair before, and when they finally died, When we are in a safe area, the grief of losing our home and loved ones keeps coming.
Even though the floating fleet is slowly advancing above the sky, and the artillery fire is already driving away the beasts approaching the convoy, the elves' winged horses and eagle knights are still cruising among the clouds, even though these sky knights and their mounts are all wounded , Perhaps, they want to find some work to do, so as not to think too much in their free time and indulge in sorrow and despair.
Perhaps the ending of the current destruction of the elf gods is the favorite of the clans on the main plane, and it is also the best choice for the elves who stay in the mortal world to face the future, but for ordinary elves, it is meaningless to see too far. , they are just war refugees who have just lost their homes and their families, they are just crying because they have lost everything in the past.
The entire team was vaguely covered by a gray mourning atmosphere, and the cries and sighs were endless, but we had no intention of interfering. If the grief cannot be released, it will become more trouble.
Maybe the first goal of the demon side has been completed, maybe the elf gods have been unexpectedly perfect sacrifices, maybe the magic tide is more chaotic than expected, and the pursuit we encountered is much milder than expected, and Soon, the latest battle report given by the goblins tells us the truth—the greedy magic tide is enjoying new prey.
"The Principality of Diwen has perished? It's only been a day?"
"Accurately speaking, it took 18 hours and 40 minutes to cross the border from the magic tide and reach Natis to break the gate of the capital. Although it is only a small country with three cities and nearly one million people, it is indeed perishing. Faster than expected."
It seems that even after the elves are consumed, the magic tide and Danatis are still not something that ordinary small countries can handle, and if I remember correctly, in order to avoid getting caught up, that country should have rejected our previous application for access, The results were generally the same.
I lay in bed trying to focus on the view out the window, but…
"Is there any more latest information and government affairs that need to be dealt with? Is there any new news from the Demon Abyss in the North?"
"There is no new news from the North, but probably because of the outbreak of the war, in just two days, the average price of inland winter grains has risen by 30%..."
The noise in my ears and those warm eyes finally made me reluctantly give up my plan to ignore other people in the room and concentrate on being lazy.
"Rene, can't the patient have a good rest?"
I still can't move now, I am lying in the medical room of the Northern Lights, the room is full of the smell of herbs and alchemy elixir, supplementing the overdraft after the release of the forbidden spell, I still prefer the more overdraft of life than the Holy Light, which has a slow effect. But there is no natural remedy for sequelae, and bandage therapy infiltrated with magic power recovery agent is a secret technique for treating magic power overdraft.
The small medical room has already set up a desk, Renee unceremoniously chose to work here, and her concubine, Ivy Marceau from Solo Federation, also handles government affairs here.
Early in the morning, Renee came here with her government team to work. Considering her more diligent but limited work style than me, now she is mostly looking for someone to take the blame.
"I know you're busy. Go to your captain's room. What does it mean to disturb the patient's rest here."
"Just because you tied yourself into a mummy doesn't mean you are really injured. The doctor said you can handle government affairs. If you have time to read the mechanical repair manual, you might as well do something serious, such as giving us some advice. By the way. By the way, you read the mechanic manual in Gnome language upside down."
I hurriedly turned over the manual, but the little girl's "puchi" snickering laughter told me that I had been tricked by accident.
Yes, what kind of engineering do you know there? Although I can speak some gnome language, I can't understand the mechanic manual full of engineering terms. Now I pretend to concentrate on reading, just to find a reason to refuse to work.
I reluctantly threw away the book, and at this point, I struggled to hold on, and it was really ugly, but I still mumbled a few words.
"You have done a good job all these years, and you have been on your own for a long time. What do you want us old bones to do, we should retire long ago."
The complaints were not overwhelmed, but were still heard, and Renee shook her head directly.
"At least, it should let you know about the recent changes in the North, and you are a real 'prophet'. Don't squeeze it... I mean asking for advice, it's really a waste."
prophet? Oh, it turns out that the trick of fooling the League of Gentlemen was taken seriously, but, in a sense, I do have the ability to predict "history", but now that "history" has changed so much, the things that can be "predicted" are no longer available. too much.
"...Don't expect too much from me, especially the things from the North. The prophecy thing, as long as the actions of the prophets themselves are involved, it can't be done at all. The North and me are too involved, and I can't say anything."
This is not pure nonsense. The history of the Holy War in the North was much more miserable than it is now. Without Cavans and I, there would be no revival of the Lan Kingdom and the establishment of the Lan Alliance. The strong northern orcs directly occupied that land.
More than 300 years were enough for them to completely occupy the Northland, cooperate with the counterattack of the underground world to defeat the Northland Moon Elf Kingdom, and even won the historical praise of the revival of the orcs. It was not until the demons swept the entire plane that the Northland ended. The last glory of the orcs.
I'm not lying, the "historical" development of this piece is too much to do with me, and it has long since changed beyond recognition, so what else can be predicted.
Probably my rhetoric of "believe is not good or not, you can count people but not yourself" is too much like a wandering fortune-teller on the street, that little girl from Solo Federation laughed outright, with a smile and a squinting expression. I don't believe it at all.
It turned out that Renee, as always, trusted me too much, and when I heard the rejection in my words was not very firm, she was full of laughter, and she followed the snake with the stick.
"Then you promised to give us pointers, Kati, continue to report."
So, the pockmarked senior government official continued his report.
"… The increase in winter grain has exceeded the dangerous value of 30% in just a few days. There has been a panic buying wave in China. The opinion of the joint meeting of the logistics ministers of the Lan Alliance countries is that our current grain reserves are still very sufficient. The treasury should be opened, prices should be balanced, and people’s hearts should be stabilized.”
Although the current Lan Alliance is an alliance composed of dozens of countries, the Lan family is too large in it, and Renee has a very high voice. Even if the country has reached a consensus, it is still necessary to make this uncrowned in the end. The king came to confirm.
"I looked at the inventory data of the grain reserves. Judging from the current consumption, there will be no problem with the autumn harvest next year."
Ivy Marceau's father was a member of the Solo Federation. She was also raised as a descendant of politicians since she was a child. Now she handles government affairs for Renee as a princess, and she is very dedicated.
Seeing that everyone around was nodding, Renee was about to approve, but I finally couldn't stand it any longer.
"Don't, don't talk about the grain now. Now you should open all the warehouses and collect the grain with all your strength."
As soon as I exited, I overturned the decree that was about to be made. All the government officials in the room looked at me. There was no need to say more about their dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction. I didn’t refute it on the spot, maybe I still saw the reason for being in front of the imperial palace.
"… If I guessed correctly, the price of grain will skyrocket for quite some time from now, haven't you read the latest news, San Antonio, the largest grain exporter in mainland China, has been involved. Holy war, and as long as their emperor's head is right, next year's export volume will be greatly reduced, if not zero, and the skyrocketing food price is to be expected."
The San Antonio Empire occupied the holy land of origin of the original orcs. It is said that if you scatter any wheat, you will be able to harvest the golden plains of the wheat fields next year, and the annual grain is not only enough for their domestic use, but the excess is naturally used for export.
Even if the jihad does not affect the production areas of San Antonio, agricultural exporting countries during the war, even if they have enough food, will reserve excess grain crops as war reserves, and a large-scale decline in exports in the coming year can be expected.
"We have considered it, but our food import destinations are mainly Bayer and Oran. Even if food prices will be affected by fluctuations, it is expected and we can cope."
As Renee's chief assistant officer, Ivy, who has a special status, made no secret of her dissatisfaction with my judgment, and judging from the expressions of other administrative staff, they also agreed with Ivy's judgment.
I'm at a loss for words. It's not that I'm persuaded, but that I don't know how to explain the sinister people, the profiteers who eat people, and a large number of unscrupulous businessmen who are waiting for roasted seeds and nuts, waiting to make money from wars and national disasters. No matter how to estimate it, I underestimate the intensity and duration of the jihad. As long as it is fought for a long time, the price of food will naturally rise again and again.
Although there are several excellent cold-resistant crops in the Northland due to Amyra's help, considering the weather and barren land in the Northland, as well as the population that has increased dramatically after the formation of the Lan Alliance, even though the promotion has been promoted in recent years The cultivation of cold-resistant crops still has a large annual food shortage.
Of course, this can be solved. Although the last selected cold-resistant wheat looks a bit like a piranha, it tastes a little strange and has an earthy taste, but it is not a magic plant, it is non-toxic and harmless, and it will not kill people. .
Although the yield per mu is relatively low due to poor planting conditions, the north is mostly wasteland and labor. As long as the planting area increases and the grain output increases, a balance can be achieved in the end. People can naturally go to other places to buy food.
For the officials of the Lan Alliance, being picky about the taste of food is too extravagant, and it is already a great historical achievement to be able to ensure that people in the barren northern land will not starve to death.
Everyone knows that this is a big event. In the past eight years, the young people who applied to become reclamation farmers are the most honored. The number of fields around the city has skyrocketed, and the grain production in the northern region has indeed skyrocketed exponentially.
And it is precisely this year-by-year increase in food production that makes these administrative officials miscalculate the future direction and feel that as long as they last for a period of time, the food will be able to achieve self-sufficiency balance, but I know that the jihad will not allow them to easily survive there. One day, as long as the Lan Alliance still needs to import food, the northern countries must store food on a large scale. Maybe, when the jihad enters the white-hot period, there will be no food trading in the international market.
I was silent for a while and organized my words.
"How do you ensure that neither Byer nor Oran will be involved in the jihad again in the coming year?"
"how is this possible… "
I was stunned halfway through the negative words. Ivy wanted to say how it could be so coincidental according to common sense, but also thought that no one could make such a guarantee, and no one could predict the progress of the jihad.
"Also, you may not have experienced a world of war at the level of a world war. In this situation, once a problem occurs in a grain-producing country, it will have a psychological impact on the entire international grain market. Other countries will begin to purchase grain instead of exporting. International grain The increase in price is predictable. Even, there may be a situation where there is no market for prices.”
The more I think about it, the more likely it is. There is no international organization to maintain balance in this world. If those multinational profiteers and agents with national backgrounds really start to speculate on the price of food, it is possible for food to become more expensive than gold in the end.
"Well, let's decide this way. This year, we will open the purchase of grain instead of grain."
Renee made a straightforward decision, but Ivy was in a hurry.
"But there is a shortage in the domestic grain market, and the lack of winter food will affect people's hearts and cause panic."
Renee looked at me, and I shrugged, I'm pretty good at this sort of thing, but it's certainly not a normal way of peace and well-being.
"It will increase by 30% in two days. Do you believe that there are no profiteers to roast seeds and nuts? All those profiteers will be raided, and all the goods in stock will be taken out to balance the price. By the way, if you can't handle this matter, throw it to the dark elves, they are all good at it. , I promise to catch one accurately, catch one, and even the eighteenth generation of his ancestors will explain it clearly."
Obviously, this is not a conventional way to deal with it. Randomly raiding wealthy businessmen will make businessmen panic, and maybe make those businessmen choose to relocate and transfer property, which will cause endless troubles in the long run, but…
"It's already the time of war, and using the peace-time approach will only make those profiteers look down on you. It's better to kill chickens and warn monkeys than to keep blocking things. Oh, the feudal kingship era is convenient, and you don't need to find evidence for raiding your home."
And the way I dealt with it too violently made Renee nodded.
She knew that I wasn't a bloodthirsty person, and it could even be said that I was tired of killing, but at this time, she took such an extreme approach. Naturally, she had some reasons.
"... Northland, will also face war?"
Since it was during the war, no matter how intense it was, I could understand how to deal with it. I laughed when I heard Renee's question. She was still too young to despise the holy war that was about to engulf the entire plane.
"No, it's not that the Northland is about to face war, it's that the whole world is already at war. Every race, every country, a region, every individual can face the test of war. You die, maybe I die, or The final holy war to end together."
The sensational words have already been spoken, and I don't care about their reactions. It doesn't matter whether they believe it or treat it as nonsense, but since it has been spoken, I am also a little interested.
"Boy, continue to report, let me see how your juniors are doing."