The next day after the rain stopped, Border Town became lively again. Many villagers gathered in the square, talking and waiting for the speech of the 4th Prince.
For this speech, Roland had posted a notice on the bulletin board the day before. Anyone who came to the square to listen to the speech would receive a bowl of wheat porridge and half a piece of bread. For the townspeople, this was equivalent to a free lunch, so the number of people who came to watch the hanging was much more.
When it was almost noon, Roland stepped onto the high platform that had been set up.
Facing the dense crowd at his feet, he would be lying if he said he was not nervous. In the past, he dealt with computer monitors the most. Even during the meeting, he only needed to applaud from the audience. This was the first time that he had to personally participate in such a big scene.
But he had to go, if he wanted everyone to stay in Border Town, he must have a general mobilization.
Roland waved his hand, letting everyone quiet down.
He had practiced this scene many times, but when he stepped onto the stage, his mouth was still a little dry. "My people, good afternoon. I am the 4th Prince of Graycastle Kingdom, Roland Wimbledon. At this moment, I have gathered everyone here because I have an important news to tell you! "
"The envoy from Longsong Stronghold arrived here four days ago, they came for the ore delivery. As you all know, a month ago, we encountered an unfortunate accident. The North Slope Mine cave collapsed. Until today, the mine has not fully resumed production. This accident resulted in only two months of ore production in the last quarter. "
"I explained the situation to the envoy, and hoped that he could allocate the full amount of food to Border Town, and the lack of ore will be made up after the end of the winter. But he refused! There was no room for negotiation, he refused to allocate more food – just like two years ago. "
The crowd burst into exclamations, obviously everyone had a deep impression of the food shortage incident two years ago.
"And this time, it is obviously worse. The astrologer of Graycastle told me that this year's winter will be longer than before, and the Months of the Demons is likely to last for more than four months. In other words, this time, everyone is likely to face a food shortage for two months. Two years ago, you lost 20% of your companions, some people lost their brothers, some people lost their children, this time, how much more do you want to lose? "
"No! Your Highness, save us! " Someone shouted, and then more people shouted, "Your Highness, please, help us!"
It seemed that preparing a few people in advance was the right choice. Roland raised his hand, suppressing the voices of the crowd, "Of course, I will not leave my people, not a single one! You may not know, but the price of wheat and bread shipped from Longsong Stronghold every year is completely different from the ore they shipped. According to the normal market price, two months' worth of ore is enough for half a year's worth of food! I have already sold the ore to the merchants of Willow Town, and their cargo ships carrying food will soon arrive at Border Town. In addition to bread, there is cheese, honey wine and dried meat! It's enough for a whole winter's worth of food. Everyone will be full! "
The square suddenly burst into cheers.
"But, this is tantamount to breaking off our relationship with Longsong Stronghold. They won't accept another person, so this winter, we will spend the winter in Border Town. Most people had already seen that on the west side of Border Town, a solid wall was being built. I know some people are worried about whether we can stop the demonic beasts when they attack. I want to tell you, the demonic beasts are not much stronger than the beasts in the forest. Although they have thick skin, they can't climb the wall, they can't bite the stone. Even if their skin is thick, they are just a group of poor targets! "
"Tell me, my people, do you want to hide in the shacks of Longsong Stronghold and starve to death, or do you want me to lead you to protect your loved ones and children, and defend Border Town until the last moment? I promise that as long as we hold out until the end of the Months of the Demons, all the townspeople who fight on the wall will get a reward of 25 silver royals. For those who unfortunately die, their families will get five Golden Dragon as compensation! "
"We are willing to fight for Your Highness!" Under the guidance of the people, they shouted and vowed to fight to the death. Seeing the atmosphere rising, Roland timely ordered the distribution of lunch. He didn't expect everyone to stay in Border Town. As long as half of the people were willing to stay, he was sure that they could stop the demonic beasts from advancing eastward.
*****
Pérot naturally didn't know how Prince Roland had arranged for him. When he brought the news back to the six aristocratic families in Longsong Stronghold, he only got a burst of laughter in response.
"You said that the naive prince actually wants to get rid of us and do it alone? He dares to repair the wall before winter, should I praise him for his bravery or laugh at him for overestimating himself? "
"Prince Roland's bravery is well-known, when did Prince Roland also have this courage? He's just ignorant! "
"Yes, he doesn't even have a stonemason, he only relies on the unpolished stones to pile up, with some wet mud in the middle, I'm afraid the pile will collapse."
"Anyway, it's a good thing. If he escapes back to Longsong Stronghold, naturally he will be at our mercy. If he dies in Border Town … we can also end this farce earlier. "
The Duke, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his mouth, "Pérot, what do you think?"
Pérot was startled for a moment, he didn't expect that the Duke of Longsong Stronghold would ask for his opinion. "Well, I originally wanted to maintain the monopoly, as long as it's 30% lower than the market price, it's still a worthwhile business for us. But … "His mind was quickly sorting out his thoughts," But His Highness doesn't intend to let Longsong Stronghold monopolize the ore, he's willing to sell the ore at a 50% lower price, which means that he has a plan to greatly increase the ore production next year. As long as we increase the production by twice as much as before, we may earn more than before. He also intends to produce his own ironware to sell, ironware is in high demand everywhere, it's also very easy to resell it. But … these are not the main points. "
"Oh? What's the main point? "
"If he can defend Border Town, it's also excellent news for Longsong Stronghold. We don't have to focus on fighting the demonic beasts every year, this can save us a huge amount of money. The second advantage is that the vast land between Longsong Stronghold and Border Town will belong to us, whether it's reclamation or migration, it's a good choice, it can greatly alleviate the current situation of overcrowding in Longsong Stronghold. "Pérot said one by one the ideas in his mind," Moreover, Prince Roland won't stay in Border Town forever. Five years later, we will have a more prosperous Border Town, after which we can incorporate the town into Longsong Stronghold, and Longsong Stronghold will become the third largest territory in the kingdom. So my suggestion is … "He glanced at the Duke, and cautiously said," Longsong Stronghold should send people to help His Highness build the wall, and cooperate with him in defending Border Town. "
"That's right," the Duke smiled, "but it's just a businessman's idea, they only see the gains and losses."
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