King

With the return of Hudson, the Mountain Territory quickly became lively.

The uproar of the poisoning incident has long been brewing among the local nobles. Everyone is simmering with anger, and now only one person is missing to take the lead in stirring up trouble.

The truth is not important in the face of interests. Who will carefully examine whether it is unfair to punish a competitor?

The losses caused by the locust plague are so great, we have to find a way to make up for it, right?

If a crying child is fed milk and doesn't make a big deal out of it, how can the big shots above see it?

As the main figure of the local aristocratic faction, Hudson naturally had high hopes.

…

"Everyone, the timing is wrong. The kingdom is conducting a thorough investigation into the locust plague, and it has been initially determined that the man behind it is a major force in the mainland.

Now we don't have enough evidence to prove it. It's just a question of the severity of the disaster. They can completely blame the mastermind behind it.

This matter is far more involved than you think. Even the Governor's Office does not have much say in this issue.

At this critical juncture, our top priority is to fight against disasters and not to cause disaster. "

Most of the people present were his own people, and Hudson didn't want them to be taken advantage of and jump out of his way at this juncture.

If the younger brothers were really involved, he, the boss, wouldn't be able to escape.

Talking and fighting are two completely different concepts.

"Battle of words", Hudson has been "deadly fighting" with the Northland aristocrats. It looks like a fight to the death, but in fact it has no impact on both parties.

Private business can continue as usual.

If you really do it, it will be different. The outside world mistakenly believed that the mountain leaders had strong troops, but Hudson knew very well how weak his strength was.

Except for the group of veterans who have seen blood and been trained into real elites, the rest are just fake.

It's okay to form a formation, but if there was a fight, they would only kill cattle and sheep.

Their combat effectiveness is higher than that of ordinary serf soldiers. How far they are from the real elites can only be known by fighting them.

Without continuing to train for a year and a half, Hudson really didn't have the confidence to let his soldiers go to the battlefield.

"Baron Hudson, should we just let go of such a good opportunity?"

Baron Ezekiel asked unwillingly.

As the loser in the last round of battle, Baron Ezekiel gained nothing but some fame.

As time goes by, even these false names are slowly fading away.

When real nobles encounter problems, the first thing they think of is Baron Caillaux and Hudson.

Fame only brought convenience to Ezekiel in interpersonal communication. When practical interests were involved, his opinions no longer mattered.

"The kingdom needs stability. This is the need of the overall situation. As a noble, we must put the interests of the kingdom first.

We can slowly settle the grievances with those guys in the Northland in the future. The most important thing for everyone now is to fight against the locust plague.

The autumn harvest is severely reduced, but we can still work hard to preserve the next spring crop.

This locust plague is extraordinary. Not only will this year’s autumn grain production be greatly reduced, but next year’s autumn grain production will also be difficult to harvest.

The food crisis alone is enough for those guys to bear.

Isn't it good to see them in trouble?

Why do you have to jump out to rescue them?

Wasn’t the lesson learned last time enough? "

Hudson sneered and mocked.

It is simply a dream to use him as a spear user.

Now that we are fighting against the nobles of the North, they will have to fight tooth and nail. Only by winning the battle will those guys have enough food to survive the famine.

As far as Hudson knew, in order to reduce food consumption, many northern nobles were artificially reducing the number of slaves under their command.

Some ruthless people ground locusts into powder and added it to bread making. Many serfs with weak body resistance also perished.

It proves how difficult life is for those guys.

Although the production of locust powder was pioneered by the mountain leaders, Hudson only started with lone locusts. He did not dare to take the army of locusts that gathered together.

Even if locust powder is made, it is only added in a small amount, accounting for less than one percent.

With such a small dose, even toxins can be overcome.

They were all forced out. After reducing the ration supply, the nutritional supply of the slaves had to be guaranteed.

A grasshopper a day can be regarded as seeing meat and fish.

Seeing that no one among the nobles responded, Baron Ezekiel suddenly became embarrassed.

What was said just now was good, and everyone put pressure on the mountain baron, forcing the boss to take the lead in quarreling with the northern nobles.

As a result, when the matter came to an end, Hudson made a group of "temporary allies" who were not firm in their stance retreat with just a few words.

Whether he was persuaded or unwilling to confront the Mountain Baron, no one could tell clearly.

In short, no one wants to take the lead.

Facing Baron Ezekiel's look for help, everyone was wandering as if they hadn't seen anything.

Feeling the importance of strength again, Baron Ezekiel became more and more eager to break the situation.

In the current political structure of Wright County, the local nobles followed the Hudson and the Northland nobles followed the Sith Barons, so there was no room for them to exert their influence at all.

The situation in Wyton County next door is similar. Although the Northland nobles are divided, most of the local nobles look at Baron Cayo's face.

Due to his birth, Baron Ezekiel was unable to play happily with the nobles of the North. Among the local nobles, Baron Hudson and Caillot guarded him closely.

In the small teams they formed, there was no place for Baron Ezekiel.

If you want to form gangs, you will be targeted by all parties.

Neutral nobles are not stupid, so how can they get along with a guy like him who has no reputation?

No matter how powerful his deception is, it is not worth everyone's ability to weigh the pros and cons.

If this pattern continues, it won't be long before the reputation he has worked so hard to accumulate will be completely consumed.

…

In Dadir City, affected by the changes in the situation, a group of northern nobles also sat together to discuss countermeasures.

But the topic they discussed was not who to fight with, but how to raise enough food.

"Dear Sith Baron, this life is really unbearable, please help me find a way!

Affected by the locust plague, Boteling's autumn grain storage was less than one-third of the normal output. Originally, the area for sowing was small, but now we are catching up with this wave.

In order to reduce food consumption, I have ordered all the people in the territory to stop having children and reduced food supply.

Including me, the lord, the food standards have been lowered.

Now I don't even dare to eat a barbecue, and I make soup instead, just so that my men can get some meat.

But this is still a drop in the bucket.

According to the current food inventory in the territory, if we persist for at most three months, the smoke will be gone.

However, the locust plague is still raging now, and everyone who can move in the territory has joined the battle to exterminate the locusts.

But the locusts seemed to come in an endless stream. After killing one crop, they came again, but they couldn't kill them all.

Judging from the current situation, Qiugeng cannot be counted on. I don’t even know how to live the rest of my life. "

Baron Bazel said worriedly.

Although the three-month food shortage may be exaggerated, the food shortage does exist.

In order to cope with the crisis, Bazel really tried his best. Now the slaves in the territory have begun catching and eating locusts.

Even if we know that locusts are poisonous, it is better to be poisoned to death than to starve to death.

With strong physical resistance, some of the orcs were able to carry it down, but more of the orcs were lying on the bed wailing.

If nothing else, these guys lying down are now eliminated.

Not only were slaves miserable, serfs were also having a hard time living. Food rations were drastically reduced, and driven by hunger, many people also ate locusts.

Watching all this happening, Baron Bazel still turned a blind eye.

For Botland, if new sources of food cannot be found, reducing the population is the only effective way to deal with the crisis.

"Okay, Bazel. After all, there is a small river in your territory, and you can get some fish supplies.

My territory is miserable. There is nothing left except bare land.

Those damn locusts won't even spare the wild vegetables.

If this continues, I will have to eat dirt. "

Justin Knight teased bitterly.

There is no worst, only worse.

Perhaps in the eyes of the local nobles, the locust plague suffered by the northern lords was lighter, but the losses suffered by everyone were devastating.

…

Listening to everyone's constant complaints, Baron Sith's scalp felt numb.

"If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight; if you want to hold a rose, you must bear its injuries."

While you enjoy the benefits of being the boss, you also have to bear the obligations of being the boss.

Apart from anything else, Dadil City's previous business prosperity was supported by these young men.

Now that the younger brothers are almost hungry, how could he, the boss, not express his feelings?

Unfortunately, the Sith Baron is also short of food. Although he bought a batch in time, the locust plague will never end!

If your own territory is cutting down on ration consumption, how can you spare the time to help others?

“Everyone is facing similar situations, but ultimately the biggest problem is lack of food.

This locust plague has spread so widely that nobles in various places have suspended grain sales to foreign countries. In a short period of time, it will be difficult for us to purchase enough food in the southeastern provinces.

For now, we can only organize caravans to go to other human countries to see if we can gain anything.

The closest country to us is the Kingdom of Hesse, but unfortunately it is blocked by the Blackstone Mountains, so we have to take a long detour.

It's easy to send people there, but it's a big problem to transport a large amount of food back.

Not to mention the long consumption time, the key is that half of the food will be consumed halfway.

The easiest way is undoubtedly to take the water route. Unfortunately, most coastal ports are controlled by the Dalton family.

With Governor Pierce's hostility towards us, the possibility of lending us a tunnel is extremely slim.

Even if we can find a way out, the vast sea is extremely dangerous. It is not surprising that the entire army was wiped out at sea. "

Baron Sith's words undoubtedly poured cold water on everyone.

It's not that the boss doesn't think of a solution, it's because he has thought of all the solutions, but he just doesn't have a reliable plan.

Not enough food can be purchased internally, but food can be purchased from the outside world, but the problem is that it cannot be transported back.

The combined population of the northern nobles present totaled 70,000 to 80,000 people. If slaves were included, the population would exceed 100,000.

Livestock must also be taken into consideration. Leaving aside cattle and sheep, the rations of war horses cannot be deducted, right? To solve the food gap, at least tens of millions of pounds of food must be imported.

With such a huge gap and a detour of nearly a thousand miles, land transportation is just nonsense.

For shipping, unless you get the support of the Dalton family, no matter how many people go out, they will be wiped out.

Within the kingdom, everyone needs to pay attention to how they eat and not go too far.

In the vast sea, it is too common for a fleet to disappear. Even if the kingdom wanted to investigate, they wouldn't know where to start.

"Just because we don't have food doesn't mean that others don't have food either. Instead of lamenting here, it's better to talk to them directly and honestly.

Either sell us food and get through this difficulty. Either everyone quits and goes to hell together. "

Baron Kettle said murderously.

There is really too much resentment accumulated recently, and I urgently need a channel to vent it. Anyway, he is deeply involved in the trouble of the July Meeting, and whether he can escape is still unknown.

The others were worried about the consequences of doing so, but Baron Kettle didn't care.

If you win the bet, you can continue to be a nobleman here; if you lose the bet, the worst possible outcome is to run away.

Anyway, once the thunder of the July Meeting explodes, he will still have to go to the end of the world.

It's a good thing to be a little early and have so many people accompanying you.

"It's not that big of a deal.

We can also ask the Kingdom for help.

Everyone mobilized their connections and worked together to put pressure on the Dalton family. Our Governor cannot withstand such great pressure.

When the time comes, he will naturally choose to compromise. "

The Sith Baron hurriedly reassured.

Reason told him that now was not the time to provoke a conflict.

The local nobles did have food in their hands, but that didn't mean that they also stored a large amount of food in their newly opened territories.

"My neighbor stocked up on food, I stocked up on guns."

The premise is that neighbors have stocked up on food.

If someone doesn't have much food in store, even if they win the battle, it will be difficult to get the expected harvest, and they will only get into trouble.

Baron Kettle has suffered continuous setbacks and is ready to break the pot. Baron Sith, who still has a bright future, does not want to accompany him.

Background is background, Caesar III is not someone to be trifled with.

Why should a guy who only causes trouble and cannot maintain local stability serve as the governor of a county?

Not to mention the illegitimate son of the Grand Duke, even if he is the legitimate son of the Grand Duke, if he cannot be brought up, he will still be nothing but a worm.

A conflict provoked by someone with good intentions was suppressed by a tacit understanding between the two giants in Wright County.

But the practical problem of locust plague still needs to be solved.

If you have a relationship, start a relationship. If you don't have a relationship, you can only save yourself.

Suddenly, things got busy for Hudson, or to be exact, Bear Stearns got busy.

Facing the locust army, the efficiency of manual locust extermination is too low.

It would be much simpler to switch to the Earth Bear. Not only could it kill the current locusts, but it could also eliminate the eggs in the ground.

Especially locust eggs, that thing is even more stubborn.

The traditional method uses manpower and natural resources such as water and fire to kill. Not only is the efficiency low, there are still many fish that slip through the net.

After all, locust eggs are too small and are easily missed by the naked eye when mixed in the soil.

Fire has the best effect, but you can't burn all the land, right?

The magic potion is also very effective in killing insect eggs. Unfortunately, not only is the price high, the output is pitifully low, and even the big nobles don't have enough.

Bear Stearns, who possesses special skills in exterminating pests, soon came into everyone’s sight.

Even the locusts can't stand the gravity field, and the eggs naturally can't resist it either.

Now there is a bare patch of land everywhere, and there is no worry of accidental damage to flowers and plants, and the cubs can let the cubs toss them around.

There is no doubt that there will be a charge for killing locusts, and if you kill the locusts together with the eggs, you will have to pay extra.

Hudson was also very helpless when he encountered a bear that only recognized money. If this continues, the outside world still doesn't know how to arrange him.

If the monster causes trouble, the owner must take the blame!

In order to facilitate bargaining, Bear Stearns learned to speak in advance, leaving no chance for Hudson to make a profit by acting as a middleman.

The harvest was not without success. Everyone thought that Mr. Hudson’s bear had reached adulthood!

The deterrent power of the mountain territory is +10086...

No matter how hard you try to hide it this time, it is useless. It is a "truth" that everyone recognizes that the Earth Bear cannot speak the common language of the mainland until he reaches adulthood.

Bear Stearns, who was originally only two years and three months old, now had to announce that he was two hundred and thirty years old.

As for Hudson, he was naturally lucky and picked up an Earth Bear that was about to reach adulthood.

Regardless of whether Hudson believed it or not, the outside world believed it anyway.

This time, no one doubted that Bear Stearns was the bear of the earth captured by the Holy See, and he didn't match up in age at all.

The Earth Bear, which is approaching adulthood, is also extremely powerful in combat, and it is almost impossible to capture it alive.

In this world of the weak and the strong, the charm of the strong is unparalleled.

No matter where he goes now, Hudson, who is so powerful, will receive the warmest welcome.

Even the nobles who complained about the high fees stopped saying anything.

The top experts in the mainland are willing to help eliminate locusts. It is very conscientious to only receive one silver coin per acre of land.

I don’t want to, but there are still people lining up behind me.

If it's not your territory and it's not measured in units of 10,000 acres, this kind of charging standard is really not high.

Although the speed is a little faster, it only shows that the efficiency is high. In any case, Mr. Bear Stearns had to go and take a walk in person.

In one day, he can solve the problems of more than a dozen noble families. Watching Bear Stearns make money every day, Hudson suddenly realized that he was a poor man.

In the past, it was Xiong who worked for him, but he didn't expect that things would turn around and now it was his turn to work for Xiong.

Although I got a good price, according to the maximum appearance fee of "Knight of the Divine Bow", it is 500 gold coins per day, plus overtime pay.

But Hudson was not happy at all.

Reason told him that Bear Stearns' treasury must be emptied as soon as possible, otherwise this thing can go to heaven.

After some deep introspection, Hudson realized that he was not black enough.

The expenses for training are too low. Anyway, the energy is stored in my own compass. Bear Stearns would not know if he had falsely reported the amount of magic crystal consumed by more than ten times.

Reason: Increased strength requires higher purity of energy.

There is nothing wrong with it. Energy purification must involve losses. This is common sense in mainland China.

Services are urgently needed, monopolizing sales, and no bargaining is tolerated.

Just a little extra for pasture rental and after-sales service. These visible expenses can no longer be deceived by bears.

Perhaps tricking the bear into developing the swamp is also a good option. As long as Bear Stearns is willing to contribute, the development progress will definitely increase greatly.

For example: before digging a trench, use magic to temporarily harden the mud on both sides.

…