In the blink of an eye, it was the coldest month of the year. Even in Ellington, where the temperature was more comfortable, people preferred to stay in their warm rooms instead of going out.
Even if the Weather Mages controlled the weather so that it wouldn't snow, the biting cold wind would be merciless. It was too painful to go out in this weather.
The construction team of the Tang Chamber of Commerce, on the other hand, finally completed the heating system for more than ten major cities when the temperature in the Ryan Empire was about to reach minus forty degrees, allowing them to enjoy the comfort of modern life in advance.
The construction team hadn't been idle for the past month, especially the Mages who were in charge of the construction. Whether it was opening up the land or building the walls, their strength was needed, and they were exhausted. However, the results were gratifying. More than a dozen cities that looked like primitive tribes were forcibly transformed into square modern cities. Seeing the fluffy Beastmen living in the new houses with their mouths agape gave them a great sense of accomplishment.
Although they had been contractors for a month, Tang En didn't treat them unfairly. After they returned, they each had a cup of Dragon Island fruit wine. After drinking it, they felt a great improvement in their mana pool and their affinity with mana. Weren't they all happy?
Looking at the entire Prandal, the Irus Empire occupied the center of the continent. It had a vast territory from the south to the north, and had recovered half of its former territory. The remaining half was naturally the Ronitte Kingdom and the Gris Kingdom.
And now, although the Ronitte Kingdom hadn't returned, it didn't refuse to trade with the Irus Empire. As the trade relationship between the two sides continued to grow, it would sooner or later be completely controlled by the Datang Chamber of Commerce, like the Ryan Empire. It would eventually be completely integrated into the Irus Empire.
Only the Gris Kingdom was worthy of Tang En's attention.
It was because that country was too isolated.
Tang En wasn't in a hurry to deal with the Gris Kingdom. After all, the more peaceful and stable the world was, the better it was for him. That way, he could rest assured in farming and developing technology.
Unfortunately, the world often didn't go according to one's wishes.
Kingdom of Gris, Blood Plains, Blood Rock City.
Stanley sat on the throne, his eyes lifeless. It was clear that he was thinking about something.
The ministers all knew very well why King Stanley was so absent-minded. It was because his little Queen Harriet, whom he had married a few years ago, would be 16 years old after the new year. She would no longer be the little Lolita that Stanley liked. They were afraid that this little Queen would disappear from the world on the last day of her 15th birthday, just like the previous little Queens.
It was all the fault of that damned Princess Aurelia of the Irus Empire for not marrying him. As a result, their prince had become like this! (See Chapter 187 for details. Who still remembers that Stanley is a lolicon?)
But no one dared to say it out loud.
"Your Majesty! The weather is getting colder and colder. The residents in the city have a hard time hunting for prey. The other cities have also sent news that they don't have much food in reserve. I'm afraid it will be difficult to last until next spring. "
Even though he knew that King Stanley was not in a good mood recently, the tall and burly Duke Brow Wargott had to report the bad news.
King Stanley said disapprovingly, "Not enough food? Then go rob them! "
This was what they did in the past winter. Once there was a shortage of food, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Gris would pretend to be bandits and rob other places of food.
Because of the fortress of the Scar of the Sacred Sword, the Irus Empire was rarely robbed by the Kingdom of Gris. At the same time, because the climate of the Empire of Ryan was extremely bad and the land was barren, the Kingdom of Gris rarely targeted their northern neighbor. Therefore, only the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan in the east were unlucky. Sometimes, even the border cities of the Solant Kingdom suffered.
Back then, Klein knew that the Kingdom of Gris was taking advantage of the Irus Empire every year. However, his attention was always focused on how to completely destroy the Kingdom of Gris, so he did not deal with them. This allowed the Kingdom of Gris to live a good life for a few years.
However, the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan were very wronged. The so-called Duchy was just a city-state that acted as a buffer zone. There were only a few cities in the whole country. Even if the wilderness and forests were added together, it was only about ten thousand square kilometers. The population was less than a million. How much food could they produce?
The Kingdom of Gris came to take advantage of the Kingdom of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan every few days. Every winter, the Kings of the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan would wrinkle their old faces together as if they were constipated.
In the past, the Kings of the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan did try to resist. Unfortunately, although the Kingdom of Gris did not produce much food, its soldiers were all tall and strong, and their fighting strength was abnormally strong. Moreover, the ratio of Apocalyptics was extremely high. The two sides were not at the same level at all. Every year, many people would die, and many women would be taken away. The two sides had already accumulated a deep blood feud.
Sometimes, the Kings of the two Duchy even wanted to directly merge with the Solant Kingdom and accept the protection of the Solant Kingdom. Even if they could not take revenge, it was better than being taken advantage of every day.
Unfortunately, Klein did not accept it!
The existence of the two Duchies was to act as a buffer between the Solant Kingdom and the Kingdom of Gris. If they merged with the Solant Kingdom, the two Duchies would directly border each other, and the conflict would become even more intense. How could he concentrate on dealing with the Irus Empire?
If they wanted to merge with the Irus Empire, Victor might have agreed. However, at that time, the Irus Empire was very weak and did not have the charm to let the Duchies return. They simply continued to remain independent.
But now … the situation had not changed.
As the Solant Kingdom was completely accepted by the Irus Empire, the Duchy of Poleni and Duchy of Yakna, which were sandwiched between the Irus Empire and the Solant Kingdom, were directly accepted with great joy and became Poleni City and Yakna City. The original cities in the Duchy were downgraded by one level and became towns.
Although their administrative ranks were lower, the treatment they enjoyed had increased instead! The endless supply of goods and food from the Datang Chamber of Commerce simply dazzled these country bumpkins!
After returning to the Irus Empire, the citizens of the Duchy of Poleni and Yakna celebrated every day as if it was a festival!
Originally, the Kings of the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan had also prepared fireworks and flowers, waiting for the Irus Empire to send people to receive them. However, after waiting for a long time, they did not receive any notification. In the end, they were so anxious that they did not hesitate to send people to inquire. Only then did they learn that in order to not provoke Stanley, they did not plan to take over the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan for the time being. But don't worry, if you are harassed by the Kingdom of Gris, we will help you settle it.
Although the words were very beautiful, the hidden meaning was – now is not the time to start a war, so you can continue to guard the door for us and be obedient as a buffer.
This time, the Kings of the two Duchies were dumbfounded. The good days they had been waiting for did not come, and the two Kings' hearts were cold. In the end, they waited for another winter, and the evil neighbors came again …
Fortunately, they had the support of the Irus Empire, so the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan had a much better life this year. Losing this bit of food was completely acceptable.
The camera returned to the palace of Bloody Rock City.
"Your Majesty," Blau said in a deep voice, "this year is different from previous years. The Solant Kingdom was recovered by the Irus Empire, and now the Irus Empire is at the peak of its power. If we cross the border to plunder food and property, it may cause a war. If a war breaks out now, it will be very disadvantageous to Your Majesty's plan."
Stanley glanced at him and said indifferently, "The Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan have not returned, right? Is the food of the two Duchies not enough for us to last until spring? "
Blau smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty, that was the situation in the past. Don't forget, we have more than a few million mouths now …"
Stanley frowned, "Can the kobolds eat that much?"
Blau explained, "Although they don't care about the quality of the food and can eat anything, they can't stand the huge amount of food. The amount of food transported over there every day is an astonishing number. Although the soil of the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan is fertile and their food production is not low, their population is small, and the area of land cultivated is not much. The food we snatch can't make up for this big hole."
Stanley said indifferently, "Then kill some kobolds, cook them and feed them to the other kobolds. At the same time, according to the original plan, go to the Duchy of Sila and the Duchy of Ivalan to snatch some food back."
"This is a solution, but if we kill the kobolds, the speed of the excavation work …"
"I believe that filling their stomachs and the effect of the whip will be enough to make up for the kobolds who died."
Stanley said coldly, "Duke Vogott, do you have anything else to say?"
"Your Majesty … no."
"Then do it immediately."
Stanley changed his posture and said indifferently, "Then, Duke Rupert, report the progress of the excavation work."
Ferguson Rupert was also a tall and strong man. At the moment, his body was dirty and his face was covered in dust. It was obvious that he had just arrived. Hearing this, he stepped forward and said, "As we dig deeper, the temperature is getting colder and colder. The soil is very hard, and it is difficult to carry out large-scale excavation work. There are also landslides, and many kobolds die every day."
Some people could not help but mutter. The deeper they went, the hotter it should be. Why was it getting colder instead?
Stanley's eyes lit up, "Colder and colder!? Very good! It seems that we are close to the goal! "
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