Realm of Power

"What do you think the lord is looking for in that pile of mud? Is it true that the lord has lost a big gem here?"

On the watchtower of the castle, the guard Hesotto looked strange and was discussing in a low voice with the guard Rat who was standing guard next to him.

Because since yesterday, Lord Dustan seems to be competing with the rare earths on the river bank here. He is constantly rummaging for something in the land. He looks attentive and cautious, as if he is caressing an extremely beautiful creature.

It's a pity that the lord's fat face often holds the soil and looks at it carefully for a while with excitement, then shakes his head and throws it down with regret. The sigh of reluctance on his face seems as if his wife has just been robbed.

In the past two days, no part of the nearly 100-meter-long dam has escaped the hands of the lord. The dam surface, which was originally damp and muddy, is now riddled with holes, looking like white bread left behind after being eaten by ants and moths.

"Hey! The cloud soil layer here is too thin. If you want to mass-produce ceramics, I'm afraid the soil source here cannot be supplied." Dustan threw the last ball of white cloud soil on the ground with regret on his face. The fat body stood up and stretched.

Fatty, who was concentrating on looking for someone who could make ceramic clouds in large quantities, didn't know that his craziness in the past few days had caused quite a commotion in the nearby villages.

The villagers have spread that the noble lord accidentally lost a priceless sapphire ring when he was walking on the beach of the castle. The sapphire inlaid on it was as big as a man's knuckle, and the shining light could be seen even by a blind man. If anyone If he finds it, the lord will even reward him with a piece of rich land as a reward.

If the fat man knew that because of his inadvertent behavior, the nearby villagers had turned over this section of the river twenty-three times, I don’t know how he would feel.

"Master, the vehicle of the Northern Hertha Chamber of Commerce transporting armor and gold coins has arrived at the castle. There are fourteen large vehicles of supplies, ten vehicles are weapons, and three vehicles should be the 60,000 gold coins! What should I do with them?"

The old butler ran over with joy and reported that when the vehicles entered the castle just now, the careful old butler paid special attention and found that in addition to the first ten freight carriages loaded with weapons and armor, there were three other carriages wrapped in black cloth. a solid box carriage,

This is a closed carriage used by lords to transport gold coins. It is generally made of fine iron with a thickness of five centimeters. Even if it is robbed on the road, it will be difficult to open without a key.

The heavy ruts and creaking sounds, if you listen carefully, you can even hear the slight sound of metal, and you can tell yourself without a doubt, "That's three cartloads worth of gold coins."

"It's here so soon!" Dustan was stunned by the old butler's report. With so many supplies, Dustan thought it would take at least half a month to be delivered to his castle, but he didn't expect that it would only take three days to deliver them all. Got it all together

"It seems that I have been deceived by the old fox Lidastov. I knew that Hertha was strong, but I never expected that it would be so strong! I am still too kind, and I feel soft-hearted when I see people crying!"

The fat man opened his mouth slightly, and after recovering from his surprise, he couldn't help but feel sad that he had missed an excellent opportunity to "rob the rich and give to the poor".

"Next time I see this old fox again, if I don't kill him severely, my name won't be Du Yu!" The fat man secretly underestimated,

Seeing that the old butler was still standing awkwardly waiting for his reply, he glanced at the old butler with a very resentful expression and waved his hand to the old butler. The old butler looked extremely depressed and wondered why his young master was so crazy!

"Inform Statunko to send someone to pick up those weapons and equipment. You will personally supervise the transportation of the gold coins in two of the cars to the castle's treasury. Inform the tax collector Stonard to pick up the remaining one. Let’s go, I don’t want to hear this desperate guy crying in front of me again!”

Winter is the season of white snow, and the cold north wind blows large swaths of snowflakes and begins to howl outside the castle. Just like this unbearable cold weather, one piece of bad news comes from the turbulent north,

After more than a month of tug-of-war, the Kugit cavalry has broken through the kingdom's northern defense line, and their troops are heading straight towards the royal city of Kyoto, Klesto.

King Guitar III was shot through the thigh by an armor-piercing arrow from a Kugit sharpshooter in the battle of Sodale Valley last month. The main force of the king's army was defeated.

In order to cover the retreat of the large army, two thousand Guards knights were surrounded by nearly 10,000 Kujit cavalry on the Lisa River beach. The entire army died in the battle, and no one survived.

The main force of the Royal Army retreating into the northern fortress Sauron Castle was surrounded by the pursuing Kugit Cavalry, and the Kugit Rangers appeared within 50 miles near Kyoto Klesto.

Kyoto is in danger, and the entire northern war situation is in ruins.

In order to escape the war, large numbers of northern refugees dragged heavy carts, carrying all their belongings, and their wives, children, and children into the relatively peaceful southern counties amid the falling snow.

"Sir, in the past few days, more than 100 refugees have poured into our territory from the northern Satdo County. If this continues, our food will become a big problem! It is better to issue a "restriction order" like other lords! The adults have good intentions, but we can’t let these refugees drag us to death!”

Tax Collector Stonard reported to Dustan with a sad face. The pile of firewood burning in the hall drove away the cold air, and the dry pine firewood made a crisp sound in the flames, just like the anxious Stoner now. heart of virtue

Recently, more and more refugees from the north are coming to the Falcon Territory. From a dozen people at the beginning to hundreds in the past few days, the number of refugees in the entire territory has now exceeded a terrifying 3,000 people.

Thinking of the huge daily expenses to feed these people, Tax Collector Stonard had a headache, but this "prodigal lord" also specifically ordered that all refugees be allowed to stay in the territory, which was different from that of the nearby lords. The measures vary widely.

In order to make a good name for themselves, all nearby lords opened their doors to refugees from the north in accordance with the Wartime Noble Relief Act.

However, in order to prevent their territories from being overwhelmed by these refugees, they all issued "restriction of residence" orders without exception. They only allowed refugees to pass through their territories, but would not provide any help.

This cruel order drove all the refugees from the center to the south like a herd of sheep, and then continued to drive downwards. No one knew what would happen to the refugees who were being driven all the time. The lords had no idea about the life and death of these refugees. leisurely

Of course, there have been cases where refugees were stranded, but in the face of the sharp swords of the lord's army, these resistances were in vain.

In nearby Satdo County, a lord led an army to burn down the settlements built by refugees privately. More than 20 refugees were killed in the conflict, and nearly 1,000 people were expelled from Satdo County.

"You also want me to drive these poor people out like those cold-blooded animals? Let them freeze to death and starve to death in the mountains and forests this winter?"

Dustan interrupted the tax collector's chatter with a cold face, and the cold light in his eyes made the tax collector Stonard who was still complaining below knowingly shut his mouth.

Ever since he learned about the "restriction orders" issued by nearby lords, Dustan called these lords "cold-blooded animals." Although the tax collector Stonard didn't know what this meant, he saw the gnashing of teeth of his master. , also know that this is not a good word

"You go down first. Our food should be enough to survive this winter. You can then withdraw 30,000 gold coins from the castle's treasury and purchase food from the surrounding territories. I don't want to see anyone freezing to death this winter!"

With a serious face, Dustan waved his hand to the melancholy Stonard below. Looking at the back of Stonard who turned around and left, a sly smile appeared on Dustan's fat face.

"Only those who have money will have more people. Do you know that these refugees are my treasures, but they have helped me solve a big problem. As long as my ceramics workshop is built in a few days, these people may still be there." It’s not enough!”