Data Wasteland

dr2618-10-26, am8:15

The wind of late autumn blew across the eastern plains, and the wheat fields were bare, and at intervals there were piles of rolled up things, which were the straws left after mechanical harvesting. After drying, it is burned in situ and backfilled into the fields as fertilizer.

The rumbling of the engines came one after another, and the army of infantry and mechs was crossing the wheat fields and approaching the distant city.

This is the largest city in the eastern plains - Dadongting. At this moment, three figures are suspended in the sky above the suburbs. They stood in different directions, and surrounded the palace in the distance in a triangle.

The psionic energy fluctuations belonging to the legendary powerhouses spread to all directions, deeply shocking the men, women and children in the city.

The three legends are Bai Wancheng, the Grand Duke of Baiye, Eric, Marquis of Hongsang, and Marquis Norton.

In the morning light, Bai Ye Fenghua was wearing a battle robe, standing heroically on a high ground in the suburbs, looking down at the endless wheat fields below.

"Commander, we have completed the siege!"

At ten o'clock in the morning, the Binglan City coalition led by Bai Yefenghua completed the siege of the East Court of the King City of Duke Xiaoyue.

Bai Ye Fenghua nodded towards his subordinates, then took the blue golden flower battle flag handed over by the other party and put his hands on the ground.

Raise the flag and declare war!

According to the tradition of the kingdom's civil war, the army was not allowed to directly attack a city with a population of more than 10 million.

Flag to declare war means that the attacker chooses a sparsely populated and relatively flat area outside the city, planted a flag, and declared war on the defender.

If the attackers surround the city, the defenders must go out to fight, otherwise they will be regarded as cowards and cast aside by the people of the Ambergris.

This kind of situation often occurs in the civil war of the kingdom. After all, the palms of the hands and the backs of the hands are full of meat, and the things that are broken are their own, or one of them has an overwhelming advantage. There is no need to resist and make unnecessary sacrifices, otherwise it will enter the cruelty city ​​fortifications and street battles.

Now is the Red Civil War, not foreign aggression that affects the survival of the country and the nation, and there is no need for the whole people to be soldiers. In order to reduce the losses caused by the civil war, Archduke Xiaoyue must go out of the city to fight.

At this time, the Dadongting Palace was dead silent.

Millions of soldiers were approaching the city, and everyone was overwhelmed.

The light in the royal hall was dim, no lights were turned on, only a ray of morning light from the skylight.

Silently, a tall, middle-aged woman in heavy armor stood in front of a huge oil painting. I saw her sword pointed to the ground, two iron hands resting on the hilt, looking up at the person in the oil painting.

It was a middle-aged man with a gentle smile on his well-defined face. He was dressed in a white aristocratic dress, and his face was handsome, exuding a sunshine-like aura.

The man in the painting is Malan XXII, who is in his prime. In the Mood for Love, I met the youthful Doris Mante.

The woman seems to be immersed in past memories. In a blink of an eye, a hundred years have passed, and she has become a middle-aged woman. Although the lifespan of legendary powerhouses is much higher than that of ordinary people, they still cannot retain their lost youth.

In the past 100 years, she has jumped from a fledgling civilian female warrior to become the Duchess of Xiaoyue Principality, one of the four major duchies of the Dragon River, holding the most fertile land in the world.

This is the lover's grace to her, giving her the most beautiful and happiest hundred years.

"The incompetence of the subordinates has led to the crisis of breaking the city today. I beg the Lord to forgive the sins and the subordinates will die!"

Between his thoughts, the young man's choked voice came from behind him. The Duchess turned around slowly, looking at the handsome face of the young man, her thoughts drifted away again.

They are so similar, their eyes are as blue as the sea, and their smiles are as warm as the sun.

Only a few people know that the young talent of the Sikong family, the eldest son and eldest grandson of the Sikong family, is actually the crystallization of her and her lover, the real Prince Malan.

It's just that this secret will never be known to the parties, let alone the world.

"How is the noble family in the city?" the Duchess asked.

"They, they" Sikong Shengjie showed pain, squirming his lips with difficulty, "all of them are locked out."

Hearing this news, the Duchess raised her head, closed her eyes, and sighed, "Today's fruit is already doomed."

"Get up, it's not your fault." The Duchess stepped forward to help the young man up. Looking at this blood relative who is close in front of him, but can never be recognized, there is love in his eyes.

The tolerant appearance of the Duchess made Sikong Shengjie feel even more uncomfortable, and felt more and more self-blame. The Lord unreservedly trusted him, but he retreated steadily, and was finally forced to the city.

"You don't have to blame yourself." The duchess caressed his shoulder and comforted him, "I was born in a commoner and climbed to the sky with the king's favor, but I have always had an unstable foundation."

"Things in the world should be yours, they should be yours, they shouldn't be yours, and it's useless to force them."

"After a hundred years of business, I still haven't been able to gain a firm foothold. It's my lack of ability, and I don't blame anyone."

Hearing the Duchess muttering to herself, Sikong Shengjie couldn't hold back any longer, covering his face and weeping.

The duchess squatted down slowly, hugged the young man's shoulders, and said softly, "Child, you have to live well."

"When the city is broken, you are just like other clansmen and families, claiming to be the subject of the new king."

"No!" Sikong Shengjie gritted his teeth and shook his head vigorously, "No, I will not surrender, never!" He raised his head and looked at the other party firmly, "I want to live and die with the lord!"

"No, you can't die, you are still young, and an infinite future awaits you!" the Duchess said solemnly.

"Even if you don't agree, I'll do it!" Sikong Shengjie stood up excitedly, shouting almost frantically, "Damn them, they are the rebels of the kingdom, I would rather surrender to the traitors and thieves. Go to hell!"

"Snapped!"

The Duchess slapped the young man's face with a slap in the face, the iron gloves were heavy and hard, and the young man's cheeks instantly swelled up.

"You can't die!" The duchess grabbed the young man's shoulders and shook it vigorously, "Even if the whole city died, you can't die!"

Sikong Shengjie looked at each other blankly. He had never seen the master make such a big deal to him. , At any time, the master looked at him with gentle eyes. But today, the lord seemed to have changed his personality, which made him feel a lot of unease.

Seeing Sikong Shengjie's frightened look, the Duchess's expression softened and she said softly, "Promise me and live well!"

"Even if it's for me, live well."

Sikong Shengjie nodded blankly. The Duchess put her arms around him and stroked his head lightly.

Time seemed to stand still, condensed in this moment.

At the same time, when Bai Yefenghua planted the flag of declaring war and the chaos in Dadongting City was raging, Chen Xing was in the Free Trade Building of Sanchahe City and the Vice Bishop Slade Yutian and Vice Chairman Liu Huan. into lunch.

"The last time we parted, we both missed the adults very much." "Yes, yes, it's like every three autumns without seeing the adults for a day."

Slade Yutian and Liu Huanxi took turns to flatter the Prime Minister. In the face of Chen Xing's questions, he also knew everything.

After eating half of the lunch, Chen Xing had a general understanding of the situation of the major forces in Sanchahe City.

Sanchahe City is managed by the Chamber of Commerce, whose full name is "Sanchahe City Free Trade United Chamber of Commerce".

The Chamber of Commerce is composed of nine consortiums based in Sanchahe City.

The nine consortiums are Golden Flea, Black Fire, Yin Tiao, Golden Long Ear, Yexun Street, Shenxiang, Golden Toad, No Calling Bird, and Bronze Disciple.

Among them, the Golden Fleas, Yin Tiao, No Calling Birds, and Bronze Disciples are capital consortiums. Simply put, they are consortiums that have no industry and generate revenue by providing financial assistance to all walks of life.

Heihuo is an association of arms suppliers, Jin Changer is a joint organization of intelligence dealers, Yexun Street is an association of the nightclub industry, Shenxiang is an association of underground markets, and Jin Toad is a Sanchahe City Jewelers Association.

In addition, there are three influential forces in Sanchahe City that are not involved in formulating rules, namely the Longxiaohe Logistics and Transportation Association, the Grain Suppliers Association and the Energy Suppliers Association.

During this period, Chen Xing asked about the taxation of Sanchahe City, because he had never heard of where the taxation of Sanchahe City would go.

Liu Huanxi answered this question.

Sanchahe City has no tax and is a place where funds and goods circulate freely.

The import and export tax of Ambergris United Kingdom is divided into two parts: sea and land transportation.

The shipping checkpoint is in Jinfen Port, and the tax collected is turned over to the Ice Blue City, mainly for the expenses of the Imperial City Imperial Guard and the Dragon Scale Guard.

The amount of land transportation is much smaller than that of sea transportation. It is mainly to do business with the neutral forces in the Central Wilderness, as well as the Qing Kingdom and the Yellow Kingdom. The tax is collected by the White Tiger City, which is mainly used for the expenses of the national army.

Sanchahe City is mainly a place where dealers from all over the world come to purchase goods. Because of the heavy tariffs, there is no additional tax charged for domestic retail sales.

Since there is no fixed tax revenue, Sanchahe City has almost no funds to invest in public utilities, so it looks shabby.

Simply put, it can be regarded as a trade transfer station.

Chen Xing had a general understanding of the situation, so he asked the two to notify the heads of the nine consortiums and asked them to come here for a meeting. He had something important to announce.

In Longxiaohe, no one's arms are thicker than his, and they dare to wrestle with him.

"My lord, they have been waiting downstairs for a long time, waiting for your call." Slade Yutian said with a smile.

"Huh?" Chen Xing frowned. Why didn't he notify others that he was here.

Slade Yutian showed a look of sincerity and fear, "Sir, you have misunderstood. Chairman Liu and I did not disclose your whereabouts."

"But a businessman's sense of smell can be said to be the most well-informed in the world."

"Since your airship came here, sir, probably they already know that the prime minister is coming."

Chen Xing nodded slightly, agreed with this statement, and then reached out and made a gesture of invitation, "Then ask them to come up."