Realm of Power

It was mid-June when the fat man set off from Tiha to Bremel. The weather started to get hotter. Even in the center of the Great Basin of Loder, the horse team began to be exposed to the scorching sun after passing through a forest landscape. , yellow and orange colors illuminated by the sun on the road Yes, the better ones are paved with some gravel, and the worst ones are just a dirt road. It's no wonder that the Rude nobles don't like to ride in carriages. Such a dilapidated road, if you bump around in a carriage for a day, even if it is no longer Even the good bones in my body are falling apart.

The fat man changed into a horse in the middle of the journey. The hooves of the war horse stepped on it and rolled up the smoke in the sky. All the way north, the fat man's eyebrows were knitted together.

The situation in central and southern Lod is still severe, and wars and banditry have basically subsided. However, due to the economic ruin caused by the late Lod Kingdom and the continuing drought, the ability of the new rulers is still tested. Salon who stayed here is not an economic man. Talent, this can be seen from the dilapidated villages seen along the way.

In June, which should be the busiest month, there are almost no people in the fields. Either it is dry and cracked with holes, or it is covered with waist-high wormwood. In the year of war and natural disasters, it was supposed to arrive in May. In the rainy season, after a few rains, it disappeared without a trace, and the water sources dried up day by day. This undoubtedly greatly affected the already thin crop production.

Especially in the central and southern regions that have just suffered from war, the large number of refugees and the chaotic situation have further worsened the local economy of Rode. It is like a barrier belt, completely blocking the flow of goods between the north and the south.

If it weren't for the southern coastal area where Fatty's instructions had liberalized population flow and absorbed the wave of refugees rolling down from the south-central part through ocean trade and the reconstruction of coastal towns, then what was now in front of the Falcon Empire would be more than just a piece of land. Desolate and dilapidated, there are 500,000 Rode refugees who are waiting for food.

Such a situation. It will be a fatal blow to the empire's new rule in Rode. Rode has never been an easy-to-talk nation. What remains in their blood is the inheritance of unyielding, as long as there is a little trigger. It will explode like a powder keg. The original Ikadiva dynasty launched a brutal suppression of the Rode slaves, which led to the great resistance of the Rode slaves and eventually fell apart.

The tragedy of the Millennium Dynasty must not happen to him. What troubles Fatty the most is not this, if the impact of the natural disaster is temporary. The lagging infrastructure in Germany was enough to make Fatty feel like he was facing an almost completely paralyzed patient.

This has to start with the economic system of Rode. Although Rode has a vast sea area, it is actually a traditional landlocked country. In addition to the area close to Kyoto and several large cities under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family,

The economic development among various places still mainly relies on the self-construction of the lords. This kind of terrain that looks like a large basin actually does not contain any particularly useful specialties, and valuable goods such as needed products are all under the control of the royal family. Therefore, the commercial exchanges between the lords are extremely poor. Apart from some pitiful territorial taxes, the lords in various places have almost no income.

Therefore, collecting heavy agricultural taxes and exploiting the people in the territory under clever pretexts became the most important means for local lords to expand their financial resources. Only some relatively wealthy areas would build some small trade fairs, and the development between regions was inconsistent. The balance has resulted in the construction of roads through various regions that are only just passable.

The Falcon Empire, which had just completed its occupation, faced such a mess. According to the habit of the Falcon Army, the captured prisoners are usually used to build roads in the occupied areas. However, the 100,000 prisoners captured in the Battle of Kyoto have long been released by His Majesty the Falcon, which has won over some Rode people. heart. But it also deprived the Falcon Army of its cheapest labor force.

If you build roads alone, the garrisons in various places will be a little overwhelmed. The Salon Army staying in Luode is about 50,000 in total. After excluding the troops sent to the border, the remaining troops are less than 20,000. Most of them are They are all concentrated in the Bramel area. With 20,000 troops, it is simply impossible to build transportation lines for the entire Kingdom of Rode.

But if workers are hired to build roads, it will definitely be an unbearable burden for the empire's finances. This year has been characterized by frequent wars, from the Battle of Dongting in the north to the War of Vecia in the south, to the final War of Conquest of Lod. , the three major battles before and after were all life-and-death battles involving more than 100,000 levels. The economy of the Kingdom of Rode was dragged down, and the Falcon Empire was also uncomfortable. The continuous wars have brought the empire's finances to an unprecedented level. past the deficit bottom line,

This makes the fat man wonder whether he should issue "treasury bonds" with his own face to some wealthy businessmen.

In the end, the fat man held back. No, if we really issue national debt, wouldn't it be equivalent to handing over the lifeblood of the empire's economy to these wealthy businessmen who hold a large amount of national debt?

Because it was a light vehicle and a simple journey, the entire Brymel knew that His Majesty Falcon was about to arrive and there would never be more than three people. Early in the morning, at the gate of Brymel, the Ressa Diwa Flag Regiment in charge of Brymel's military affairs The commander was already waiting there. He was alone and did not bring any guards with him as usual. In fact, he did not dare to bring any guards with him.

On his left is a somewhat thin middle-aged man. That is Rehasa, who has just been appointed as the administrator of Bremel. The person who was personally named was about thirty years old, with sharp eyes, somewhat deep eye sockets, a thin and straight figure, slightly closed lips, and inexplicably shiny eyes, giving people a shrewd and capable look.

Reza Diva, who was in charge of military affairs, had always kept a distance from this new administrator, neither daring to offend nor to compliment him. Everyone knew how important Bremel was, although the title of Rode Kyoto did not exist. However, in the minds of most Rode people, Rode Kyoto still exists. Whether it changes its name or not, it actually doesn’t make much sense.

Sure enough, as soon as the administrator took office, he immediately established the prestige of the empire with thunderous means. He first dealt a heavy blow to the German merchants in the city who relied on hoarding goods to raise prices, and executed three of the first criminals in the street. Confiscating millions of tons of grain and then selling it all to the citizens of the city at low prices and in limited quantities.

The Lods of Bremel were extremely excited by the administrator's righteous actions, and the empire's reputation was recognized by most of the Bremel people.

It's just that Ressa Diwa, who has a lot of eyes and ears, heard privately that the three first criminals who were executed suddenly only recently obtained a large amount of food at a very low price through some channels in the past month. Some people said that they came from the north. In the Suluo area, some people say that the internal high-level sales of the business alliance are privately sold. However, under the tough background of this administrator, the business alliance, which has always been known for its strength, has chosen to remain silent this time. This is enough to explain a lot of problems.

"No matter how you look at it, it looks like a conspiracy. How could millions of tons of food be released without the approval of the upper echelons of the Business Alliance, without the release of the Imperial Border Guards, or to put it more directly, without the acquiescence of His Majesty Falcon? In such a short period of time, at such a sensitive moment, it was suddenly gathered in the hands of three ruthless businessmen with no connections.

"Exchanging the heads of three businessmen for the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of people in Bremel is probably something that only His Majesty can think of."

Reza Diva shrank his head in fright. He was not a fool. After a little synthesis of the things he had in hand, he came to this conclusion. It can be seen from his vigorous and resolute actions that His Majesty will do this. Entrusting a sensitive area to him must be a sign of great trust and some kind of mission.

No matter what it is, it is not something that a small flag captain like me can provoke.

"Be wise and protect yourself, be wise and protect yourself." Reza Diwa rolled up his collar and looked at the mountain road in the distance with some concern, (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come (.),, your Support is my biggest motivation.)