Imperial Crown

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With the locust plague, refugees began to pile up outside Raven's territory. The fences that had been built before played a role, and together with the patrolling Eagle Army, they ensured the safety of the territory.

But the concentration of a large number of refugees on the border is not a long-term solution after all, and Eagle City is busy with this issue.

Denise is one of them.

As Raven's aunt, she has her own independent study.

This is only the third day after she came back, and she has already begun to deal with various trivial matters diligently, not only the refugee problem, but also the affairs of the Mon'en City Chamber of Commerce that have been delayed during this period.

The personal maid Anqi brought Denise a cup of hot tea, and then stood aside respectfully, ready to be dispatched at any time.

Looking at her mistress, An Qi couldn't help but feel a little curious.

When in Mon'en City, the merchants privately gave Denise the nickname "Iron Lady", describing her as being swift and decisive in her words and deeds, and even her words were powerful.

But today, this Iron Lady seemed to be much softer.

Although she was lying on the table as before, the corners of her mouth were inadvertently raised, with a faint smile.

There was still a bright look in her eyes, which represented Denise's abundant energy and clear thinking, but in the brightness, there seemed to be a little different flavor, and people would be infected by the relaxed mood at a glance.

The most eye-catching thing was her dress.

Although she generally followed the usual dressing style, the short and capable coat, matched with a tight high-necked long skirt, was awe-inspiring and inviolable.

But there was a soft and beautiful light yellow ribbon on her neck, and a generous peony knot.

"Angie, hand me file No. 3." Denise suddenly spoke in a soft voice.

Angie obeyed and picked up a document from the bookshelf: "Madam, this is what you want..."

Before she finished speaking, the door suddenly opened, and Weisdong rushed in recklessly, just bumping into Angel.

With a sound of "Ya", the documents were scattered all over the floor.

Wesdong quickly reached out to support Angel, and then helped to pick up the scattered documents on the floor, not daring to raise his head.

But the expected storm did not come.

Denise tutted a little dissatisfied: "Don't stand there, hand it to me after you finish picking it up."

"Ah, okay." Weisdong was stunned for a moment, put the sorted documents in front of Denise, and felt a little strange.

If it were in the past, let alone making trouble recklessly, even if he walked in the wrong posture, he would be scolded. Why would he be let off so lightly today?

"What's the matter? Tell me now." Denise took the document and scanned the data on it: "Don't disturb me while I'm working."

"Oh, that's right." Weisdong came back to his senses and said: "Brother needs a detailed report to estimate how much food can be transferred from the Chamber of Commerce in Mon'en City after the locust plague."

"Got it." Denise didn't look up: "Sit aside for a while, wait for me to calculate, and then you can send it directly."

Wesdong picked a chair and sat down, looking at Anqi with an inquiring look, and Anqi shrugged, obviously not quite sure why Denise had such a change.

Anyway, it's a good thing, Weisdong didn't intend to delve into it.

After waiting for about half an hour, Weisdong came to the meeting room with the data calculated by Denise.

Raven took the document and scanned it, motioning Weisdong to sit down.

After handing the document to Fiona, Raven looked at Old Gordon: "Continue."

"Yes, sir." Old Gordon coughed: "As mentioned above, the refugees are now mainly concentrated outside the southeastern border of Eke Territory, and there is a trend of continuing to infiltrate the northwest along the edge of the territory."

"What about the number?" Raven asked.

"The total number is no less than 30,000." Old Gordon said with a bitter face: "Although the fence can keep them out, if left alone, riots are likely to occur."

Raven nodded slowly and looked at Weisdong: "How do you think we should deal with it?"

Wesdong didn't expect this problem to fall on his head. After a little thought, he said: "...Then follow the old way, oatmeal porridge, gray bread, draw a place for them, and help them for the time being."

Raven did not comment on this answer, rubbing his chin and thinking.

Seeing Raven's reaction, Weisdong was a little embarrassed, and leaned over to Fiona and whispered: "Did I say something wrong just now?"

Fiona didn't say anything, just wrote the two words "locust" and "time" on the paper.

Weisdong frowned at first, then slowly relaxed his brows.

Locusts are no different from other natural disasters, and this locust plague is even worse.

If we don't provide refugees with shelter, but only provide food, not only will we not be able to save them, but we will make them food for the locusts.

Moreover, the last refugee outbreak was after the Death Hand Cult caused trouble, and the time was concentrated in winter and spring. There are still large tracts of undeveloped land in Raven's territory.

As long as the refugees survive, they can immediately start to open up wasteland and produce to earn food for themselves.

Now it is midsummer, and when the locust plague is over, it may be late autumn or even winter, and the refugees may still not be able to find work by then.

You can't support them for a lifetime.

Fiona thought about it and said: "Master, last year we provided a batch of grain to Earl Jonah. Although this year's harvest has been completed, the losses are also very large. Now there is less than 30 million pounds in the warehouse."

"Even if we include the estimated 6 million pounds transferred by the Meng City Chamber of Commerce, it is already the limit to feed the 120,000 people in the territory. If these refugees are brought in, even if we save more, there will be a large food gap."

"So I suggest that we strictly guard the border and not let any refugees in. If necessary... use the Eagle Army."

Fiona didn't say clearly what she was using the Eagle Army for, but everyone present understood the implication.

Raven asked Old Gordon again: "What about you, what do you think?"

Old Gordon pushed up his monocle: "Master, I don't think we can let these refugees in. Now that the locust plague is coming, people are panicking. Not to mention the food they consume, the chaos they bring is enough to collapse the security of our territory. ”

"However, we cannot let them die outside our borders."

"After all, you are the Sheriff of Xuefeng County, and now you are the supervisor of Security Area No. 3. If you leave the refugees alone, some people may find the excuse and use it as an excuse to attack you."

"So, I think it's better to let the Eagle Army go out and 'guide' these refugees to go elsewhere, and at the same time call on the nobles of the five counties to take them in."

After hearing Old Gordon's words, Vesdon glanced at Fiona again and shuddered in his heart.

This pair of grandfather and grandson wearing glasses are really more vicious than the other.

Fiona clearly planned to watch the refugees die, but Old Gordon was even more powerful. Not only did he want the refugees to die, but he also thought they didn't die fast enough.

By the time they got here, the refugees must have been extremely weak and starved to death. Now to "guide" them on a long journey would be like killing people with a soft knife.

But Weston also had to admit that Old Gordon's method was indeed skillful and sophisticated. It not only solved the refugee problem, but also prevented the nobles of the five northwest counties from blaming the Griffith family.

The most exciting thing among them, in Vesdon's opinion, was his brother's reaction, which gradually made him understand the essence of being a noble.

He let his subordinates come up with all the evil ideas, all he had to do was act helpless and go with the flow.

But Raven's reaction next made Vesdon's speculation come to nothing.

"What you two said makes sense, but it is fundamentally wrong." Raven looked around the three of them and said slowly: "I ask you to think of a solution, not to solve the refugees themselves, but on the premise of hosting the refugees. How to do it?”

After saying this, everyone fell silent and looked at Raven in shock.

"Master, cherishing life is indeed a noble virtue." Old Gordon advised: "Allow me to say something that is not pleasant to the ear."

"The so-called glory of the nobility has been abandoned long ago. If it hadn't been like this, there wouldn't be so many refugees outside our territory."

"For the sake of the stability of the territory, please... give it some thought."

Raven raised a smile on his lips and suddenly changed a seemingly unrelated topic: "Gordon, do you still remember what the Griffith family was like five years ago?"

Old Gordon was stunned for a moment, and then recalled the original situation.

Donald destroyed the Griffith family into pieces and then passed away. The originally huge Eagle Territory was only left with a small piece of land like Eagle Town.

It was so fragile that when faced with a group of more than a dozen horse thieves, they had to use the castle as bait to annihilate them.

There were rats running around in the warehouse, and none of the armor and equipment was useful.

Seeing Old Gordon sinking into memories, Raven said: "If Viscount John hadn't come to our aid and returned Goldsmith Town, the Griffith family would not have achieved what it has now."

"So." Raven slapped the table hard.

"All people are actually a whole. The misfortune of others is your misfortune. Don't think that the bell tolls for someone, it tolls for you."

Old Gordon was speechless, Fiona nodded slowly, and Vesdon seemed to understand.

Raven continued: "And population is a resource. Only with enough people can the territory develop rapidly."

"Now, I need you to tell me, how many refugees can we accept?"

Gordon Sr. began to look through his notes, while Fiona began to check various data. In the end, the two of them looked up almost at the same time.

The grandfather and grandson looked at each other, and it was Fiona who said: "Reporting to the master, there are basically no vacant houses in the territory now, but three of the warehouses built around Eagle Castle are temporarily vacant. If they are slightly renovated, , if it is squeezed again, it can accommodate about 7,000 people. "

"There is also the abandoned mine in the back mountain of Eagle Fort." Old Gordon added: "Although it is not suitable for long-term living, it can accommodate about 2,000 people just to avoid the locust plague."

Raven tapped his fingers on the table: "That's nearly ten thousand people..."

As he spoke, his eyes fell on the map on the table.

This is a map of the five northwest counties, drawn by Simon's air brigade, and now marked with the movements of large swarms of locusts.

Judging from the map, the current locust plague is advancing in two directions.

To the south, it already occupies the southwestern half of Hampshire County; to the north, it appears on the southeastern edge of Savery County.

"In 10-15 days at most, the main locusts may come to our territory." Raven said: "Calculated in 10 days, regardless of the area, we can build a temporary shelter on the original site of Holo Territory with ordinary stones. How many people can it accommodate?"

"For this..." Old Gordon lowered his head and began to calculate, and with the help of Fiona, he quickly raised his head: "If we only mobilize the labor force of Holo Territory, we can probably build a building that can accommodate 6,000 people."

Raven nodded decisively: "Then order people to execute it immediately, open the border, and start accepting refugees."

"But... Master." Fiona was a little worried: "What about food?"

The family's food reserves are not enough. When the locust plague is over, the price of food will definitely usher in a wave of soaring, and by then, you may not be able to buy it even if you have money.

"Don't worry about that." Raven said confidently, "I will naturally have a way to get food."

"Any other problems?"

"No."

"Then do it immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

Old Gordon and Fiona both took the order and left, leaving only Raven and Weisdong in the same room.

Raven ignored his younger brother, but stared at the map and fell into deep thought.

These 16,000 people are basically the limit of the territory's ability to safely accept. If there are more, it will be a bit helpless.

"Brother." Weisdong saw Raven's entanglement and asked, "Old Gordon said before that he would call on the nobles of the five counties in the northwest to accept refugees. Do you want to carry it out?"

Raven waved his hand and rejected Weisdong's proposal.

If he didn't plan to accept refugees, he could still make a call like this.

But now that he has made up his mind to accept them, he can't do it.

It's also a kind of helplessness to say something but not do it, and to do something but not say it.

But it's rare to be a good person. If I only do half of it, I always feel uncomfortable in my heart.

"Oh, Koja Territory!" Raven's eyes lit up.

Koja Territory of Wesassin had just been harassed by Viscount Broca. The territory had lost a lot of people. It was not short of food, but it was short of manpower. Moreover, there must be a lot of vacant houses in the territory, which was most suitable for accommodating refugees.

Raven immediately contacted Wesassin through the Sky Eagle platform and briefly explained the matter.

Wesassin was overjoyed.

He had lived a miserable life for more than half a year. He had just taken back the territory and was exhausted from urging spring plowing. As a result, the crops in the fields had not grown well yet, and locusts were coming.

There were not enough people to harvest them!

Now that the refugees have arrived, it can be said that he has recovered a lot of blood. He immediately said that he would discuss with Knight Link and bring people to guide the refugees. At the same time, in addition to the empty houses, some temporary shelters would be built. In general, about 10,000 people could be diverted.

This made Raven feel relieved. 16,000 + 10,000, there is only a difference of 4,000 people from 30,000 people. If he tries hard, his territory can also take up this number.

The refugee problem can basically be solved.

"Nobles." Raven sighed, his voice was a little teasing: "They usually eat, drink and have fun, but when they encounter problems, they can only complain... haha!"

If those nobles were not so unpromising and could not even manage their own territories well, there would not be so many refugees.

After all, the peace has lasted too long. The Hand of Death incident did not seem to wake them up, and they did not learn to face the problem, let alone how to deal with it.

I don't know if there will be any progress after this locust plague.

However, not all nobles are at a loss for the locust plague. In the Nord province, there is a noble who not only accepted a large number of refugees...

He even wanted to solve this insect plague.

...