The airship was a great thing.
When they saw NAC's steel airship and the supply airship transporting ammunition six hundred kilometers away, all the merchants on the Sixth Street keenly noticed this point.
It was more than six hundred kilometers to transport the goods from Hongcheng to Wanghai. Along the way, whether it was raiders or mutants, they would cause significant losses to the merchant fleets passing by. Considering the road conditions on the wasteland, anything from Hongcheng to Wanghai would at least double the cost.
But if airships existed, the situation would be completely different!
Some merchants even considered ordering a few private airships from the military factory on the Sixth Street. They didn't have the financial resources to make a steel airship, but a normal airship wouldn't be a problem.
The only problem was helium. Because of the nuclear fusion power station, helium wasn't in short supply before the war. But now, after the war, it was harder than climbing the heavens to get a little helium. Helium couldn't be obtained, and airships made of hydrogen were too dangerous, so they had to give up on the idea.
In the NAC, helium was a strategic resource.
But fortunately, the UA in the modern world was selling helium on a large scale.
As a strategic resource for airships, the helium storage built by the UA in 1925 accounted for 30% of the world's helium reserves. But as the airship was no longer used for military purposes, the storage consumed a large amount of maintenance every year, so the Congress decided to sell off all helium 15 years ago. This decision also made helium extremely cheap on the international market, 20 times lower than its actual value.
Because of this, Jiang Chen could easily obtain a large amount of helium to subsidize the production in the apocalypse.
But if he allowed the production of airships, the liquid helium he brought from the modern world wouldn't be enough. Currently, there were around five hundred merchants in the long-distance transportation business on the Sixth Street. If he maintained the few hundred airships, the amount of helium consumed each day would be enough to build another airship.
Before he solved the helium production problem, Jiang Chen didn't plan to open up the helium resource.
But after discussing with Chu Nan, the NAC decided to set up two flights between Wanghai and Hongcheng and build two 300-ton airships to operate the flights. The route would serve as a supplement to the land trade route and provide paid transportation services to several large merchants.
At the same time, it would provide paid direct transportation services to survivors traveling between the two places.
…
It had been five days since the destruction of the Guru Tribe.
The Federation and the Empire maintained a stalemate on both sides of the Gan River. The insurgents of the Donggang Plantation were bitterly holding on under the siege of the Empire's regular army.
Because of the arrival of the NAC, the entire Hucheng was in chaos.
However, in contrast to Empire's hot water, the scenery in NAC's control area was unique. Golden River Farm resumed farming. The survivors who were once slaves of the mutated humans became the owners and built houses in the residential area designated by NAC.
Inside the farm, one could occasionally see businessmen dressed in suits and leather shoes walking around accompanied by a few mercenaries. Most of them were investors in the Sixth Street who were lucky enough to buy land from the bank. Almost the moment they got the land certificates, these businessmen had boarded the newly opened airship and rushed to Hucheng City which was 600 km away.
Cement, steel, graphene tubes, and other building materials were also brought here. The walls of Golden River Farm were reinforced, and a small market was erected. The seeds of order were planted, and it wouldn't be long before this place welcomed the bud of prosperity.
Just as the Golden River Farm was undergoing drastic renovations, the overwhelmed Empire finally sent a messenger to Jiang Chen to express the emperor's desire for peace. But Jiang Chen, who had the upper hand, would not agree.
"Let your emperor come see me. Maybe I can keep his palace and let him continue to be the emperor of that stadium. Otherwise, let him pray for his own good, "Jiang Chen said to the messenger kneeling on one knee.
If the emperor of Empire was smart enough and agreed to voluntarily join the NAC flag, it would be fine to let him continue to be the emperor. Although he wouldn't be able to enjoy the treatment of being above thousands of people like before, it would be fine to live the rest of his life in peace.
Unfortunately, both the Senate and His Majesty the Emperor were furious at the "arrogance" of the NAC General.
"This group of scoundrels are simply going too far!"
The emperor slammed the cup on the ground and cursed.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. As long as we mobilize the army of Empire, we can eradicate these foreign bandits!"
"That NAC General is too arrogant! Does he really think there's no one in Empire? "
"But Federation's army is still on the other side of the river …" Someone in the know reminded in a quiet voice.
As soon as these words were spoken, the elders in the palace who were filled with righteous indignation immediately became like deflated balloons, unable to say another word.
That's right …
The threat Empire faced not only came from the East, but also from Federation west of the Gang River. After losing the vassal Guru Tribe, Empire was already at a disadvantage against Federation, and now they had to face the threat of NAC.
The terrifying firepower advantage made it hard for people to muster up the courage to resist.
Sitting on the dragon throne, the Emperor was silent. His face was ashen as he looked at the elders. When these useless things discussed how to spend the money from the treasury, they were all smarter than monkeys. They did all kinds of tax accounting better than anyone else, and they all had the same tricks up their sleeves.
But at this critical moment, they were all useless.
"Speaking of which, where did Chen Ling go?" At this moment, a grand elder suddenly spoke.
As soon as the words came out, the palace became lively again.
"That's right! Where did that idiot go? How come I don't see him! "
"Arrest him! If it wasn't for that idiot's stupid idea, our two divisions would still be fighting against NAC on the frontline. We wouldn't be stuck at Donggang Plantation! "
"That's right, that's right!"
They couldn't think of a way to solve the problem in front of them, so the elders all focused on throwing the blame away. Even if they knew it was meaningless to save Empire from defeat, it was the only thing they could do at this moment and the only thing they could do.
As he listened to the elders' words, the emperor felt more and more certain of what happened.
If it wasn't for Chen Ling's suggestion to use the heads of the slaves at Donggang Plantation to appease the Guru Tribe, the situation would not have developed to this point. Since he didn't come to the palace today, he must have realized his sin.
The emperor's expression was dark as he looked at the guard next to him.
"Pass my order, arrest Elder Chen Ling and demote his wife and daughter to slaves."
"Yes!" The guard nodded and walked down the hall.
But then, a familiar voice came from the door.
"No need to trouble yourself, I'm here."
Elder Chen Ling's figure stood at the door.
Beside him stood a person familiar to everyone present – Empire's Third Division Commander, Wei Biao.
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