If they wanted to develop well, they had to take root here. If the land was not good, they could cultivate wastelands. If the territory was too small, they could expand outwards. But if the people were gone, everything would be empty talk.
If a territory could be abandoned at any time, then who would be willing to buy a house here, who would be willing to produce in peace?
After the Assistant Minister left, Roland called Carter Lannis, his Chief Knight.
"Take your people and find me some local guards, hunters or farmers. They must have stayed here for more than five years and experienced the Months of the Demons. It would be best if someone had fought with the demonic beasts. "
The Knight left. Roland rubbed his forehead and continued to look at the summary of the information.
The main output of Border Town was minerals and animal fur. The main import was food. All the transportation was through the Redwater River to Longsong Stronghold or Willow Town. There were all kinds of minerals, iron, copper, sulfur, crystal, ruby, sapphire … this had completely exceeded the concept of associated minerals. He remembered Anna had said that the North Slope Mine was rumored to be an underground lair of unknown monsters. Until now, it had not been fully explored how many forks there were at the bottom of the mine.
Roland frowned when he turned to the item of food. Most of these ores were sold to Longsong Stronghold, but they didn't pay with the kingdom's gold royals. Instead, they paid with food. It was reasonable to say that gems and the like could be regarded as luxury goods. But after several years of trading, Border Town did not have much surplus food, and the financial income was not surplus.
In other words, Border Town's annual mining output could only be exchanged for a year's rations for two thousand residents. Considering that before the Prince came here, the Lord himself was a descendant of the Duke of Longsong, so it was understandable for them to produce and sell their own food. Anyway, in their view, no matter how much food was stored here, it would only benefit the monsters.
And the fur trade was the income of the local people. They went west into the Concealing Forest, hunting some birds and beasts, and sold them to the purchasers of Longsong Stronghold, or to the residents of Willow Town. Border Town did not set a tax on this trade, because there was no way to regulate it.
Roland thought, since he was here, then the ore production could no longer be traded with food. The branches of the Redwater River almost ran through the whole kingdom, so the traffic was not blocked. With this transportation artery, even if Longsong Stronghold no longer provided food, he could still purchase it from other places.
The premise was that he could stay here, in Border Town, and block those damn monsters.
Carter acted very quickly, the next day he found two guards and a local hunter, "These two are the patrol captains of Border Town, they are responsible for lighting the beacon every year. This hunter said that he had fought with demonic beasts and even cut off the head of one with his own hands. "
The three of them bowed in unison.
Roland nodded and asked them to step aside. He then stepped forward one by one.
"Your … Your Royal Highness," the first guard who was called was so nervous that he couldn't even speak clearly, "Brian and I are … are people from here, uh … after the snow falls, we … we will go to the North Slope Mine's Feng … Beacon Tower. From there, we can see the movement of the demon beasts. If they cross the Misty … Forest, we will light … light the beacon, retreat from the small … small road, and take the prepared boat to leave … leave. "
"Since you are together, call your partner to answer," Roland covered his face and shook his head, "What do the demonic beasts look like, can they be killed?"
Although the other guard was also very nervous, at least he didn't stutter, "Your Royal Highness, it should be possible. They are just ordinary animals in the forest, although they have been infected by the breath of hell and become manic and vicious, but they can still be killed. Every year after the end of the Months of the Demons, Longsong Stronghold will send a cavalry team to clear the remaining demonic beasts on the road from the stronghold to Border Town. "
"How long will the Months of the Demons last?"
"Generally, it is two to three months … it depends on the sun," Brian said.
"Depends on the sun?" Roland was puzzled.
"Yes," the guard explained, "Your Royal Highness has just arrived here, so you don't know. Once it snows in Border Town, it will not stop until the sun regains its glory, and the snow will melt. "
"The Months of the Demons won't end until the snow melts?" Roland thought back, at least the snow in Graycastle wasn't like this, it basically melted the next day, and the sun didn't change.
"That's right. The longest Months of the Demons I've experienced was two years ago. It lasted for nearly four months, and many people didn't make it through."
"Why, Longsong Stronghold doesn't even have a month's worth of food reserves?" Roland asked.
Brian's face became a little bad, "They do. But at that time, the municipal official responsible for supplies, Reynold said that the ore we produced in the autumn was only enough to buy three months' worth of food, and the fourth month's supply would have to wait for the new batch of ore to arrive. But the Months of the Demons haven't passed, so we can't leave the stronghold. "
"So that's how it is … I know."
They are simply idiots who cut themselves off from the people. If Longsong Stronghold treated these border residents like a warm spring breeze, it would not be easy to make them stay, but now it seems that the group of people hiding behind the wall are not good people. Roland expressionlessly called for the last person to come up and answer, but in his heart, he took note of this name.
The third person looked very strong, when he stood up he was almost six feet tall, which made Roland feel very pressured. Fortunately, as soon as he came up, he knelt down on one knee.
"You said that you have killed a demonic beast?"
"Yes, Your Highness," his voice was low and hoarse, "A wild boar and a wolf."
"'Breed'?" Roland repeated, "What do you mean?"
"This is what the hunters call demonic beasts, Your Highness. The more ferocious the animal before mutation, the more difficult it is to deal with after mutation. Moreover, they will multiply the advantages of their original body. Like the wild boar, the fur on its back is extremely hard, even a crossbow would find it difficult to penetrate fifty meters away. The wolf is more cunning, its running speed is amazing, if you want to kill it, you need to set a trap in advance. "
"Strong ones are stronger, faster ones are faster," Roland nodded, "but they are still animals."
"That's right, they are not the most terrible enemies," the hunter said, swallowing his saliva, "The most terrible are the mixed species."
"They are the incarnation of the devil, only hell can create such a terrible monster. I have seen a mixed species, it not only has the strong limbs of a beast, but also has a pair of huge wings on its back, allowing it to fly short distances. Moreover, it seems to know where I am, no matter how I hide, it can always chase me out. It is not hunting, Your Highness, it is just playing with its prey. " The hunter lifted his clothes, only to see a huge scar extending from his abdomen to his chest, "Before I lost consciousness, I jumped into the Redwater River, so I survived."
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