In the evening, Kislöw's commercial street was empty. Many shops were empty, and many of them were closed. There were many soldiers patrolling the streets, and most of them were soldiers sent by the Empire. They were also freezing and cursing the cold in the North.
The prices of goods continued to rise. The prices of daily necessities, especially dalieba and salt, rose rapidly. Meat and sugar were almost nowhere to be seen. Even the prices of firewood and coal rose a lot, ensuring that the refugees could not afford to buy anything.
The heavy snow continued to fall. Kislev was truly a cold and bitter place that many imperial troops were unwilling to come to. It was said that the people of the empire who stayed here would lose their minds due to the endless snow, the muddy spring environment, the hard bread, and the strange food that tasted strange.
However, this was the Old World's first line of defense against the tide of Chaos in the North. It was also the buffer zone for civilization and Order to face the tide of destruction.
There were a lot of refugees on the commercial street, at least a few hundred of them. Most of them were barely clothed and had little food to eat, so they huddled together for warmth. The imperial soldiers could only sigh when they saw this scene. There were piles of straw mats on both sides of the street, and everyone knew what these straw mats were for.
The appearance of a group of Ugor soldiers attracted everyone's attention. Many refugees struggled to get up and ask for something to eat, but Berliat just shook his head and gestured for the soldiers to pick up their weapons. The refugees could only retreat and continue to huddle in the corner of the street.
No matter how crazy the refugees were, they would not think of robbing this group of people. Robbing shops and civilians was more likely than finding trouble with this group of people. Many people knew that there was a lot of food stored in the Empire's camp and the Urik Shrine, but no one dared to rob them.
"Actually, if I continue to stay in the Internal Affairs Committee, I will have a chance to replace Ye Ruofu." Berliat led a group of Ugor archers past. The general said casually, "Ye Ruofu has done too much for our Tsar. I don't think he will live for long. When that time comes, Her Majesty Katarina will not hesitate at all. After all, there are many people who want to replace him."
The beautiful Kislöw girl, Khorkina, followed Berliat warmly. She had a mutton pie for lunch, a piece of buttered bread, and a bowl of corn and ham soup. She was full and happy.
Although she had sacrificed for her family, being able to eat was better than anything else.
"General, I have thought about it. Her Majesty Katarina is only treating the symptoms and not the root cause. Also, doing this to an officer, the army's combat power will be greatly reduced." Xie Lieping was still thinking about what happened earlier. This Ugor officer still couldn't bear it. "What if the Kesa warriors and the Shooting Army cause trouble?"
"It's useless if it's too small. If it's too big, just kill Ye Ruofu." Berliat shook his head. "Did you do what I told you to do?"
"I got the news." Xie Lieping immediately said with indignation, "General Andrey, who was in charge of logistics and the payment of arrears, was convicted after his death."
"What crime?"
"Suicide for fear of punishment."
"Humph!" Berliat sneered. "Xie Lieping, now you know why I led everyone to pledge loyalty to His Majesty Laing, right? Following the right person is more important than anything else. Do you think His Majesty Laing would do such a thing? "
Everyone nodded. It was better to follow His Majesty Laing!
Just as they were talking, a group of Empire soldiers passed by with rolls of straw mats. The straw mats were rolled up, revealing pairs of black, festering, and frostbitten feet.
The snow was still falling, and the sound of the wind covered everyone's voices. After passing a few streets, they finally found a relief center. There were a few big iron pots here, and they were being heated by firewood. About a dozen soldiers were guarding the area. When they saw Berliat and the others, the leading officer shouted, "Ugor's men? What are you doing here? Looking at your equipment? Are you mercenaries? Or is it an order from His Majesty? "
Outside, the line for porridge was already one or two kilometers long.
"I'm Berliat Gulag, Lieutenant General of the Cavalry Archers and Special Envoy of the Brittany Knight King!" Berliat showed the document, and the officer was shocked. He immediately saluted. "General, Mihailovic, 2nd Platoon, 1st Company, 3rd Battalion, Kislów Castle Defense!"
"Hmm, what's cooking?" Berliat looked at the smoking pot. The water in the pot was still boiling, and the color was a little green. However, Berliat could not see what was cooking in the pot.
"Cooking … cooking porridge." Mihailovic was a little embarrassed. "It'll take a while for the porridge to be ready."
"Porridge? Porridge? "Berliat looked at the pot for a long time. He and Xie Lieping looked at each other." Stop the fire first! "
"Yes!" Mihailovic obeyed.
The fire in the pot was turned off, and Berliat stuck his head into the pot.
Facing the pot, he saw a handsome man wearing a pair of round rimless glasses. He looked elegant and easy-going. He was wearing a Brittany military uniform, and on his chest was the Bafeng Mountain Expedition Commemorative Medal and the third-class Golden Iris Flower Medal. Those were honors that all soldiers who participated in the Bafeng Mountain Expedition Commemorative Medal could receive.
Berliat calmly adjusted his collar and patted the snow off his shoulders. He then reached out his hand to the man who was cooking the porridge. The man was stunned for a moment, but soon understood Berliat's intention. He handed the big iron spoon in his hand to him.
General Ugor stuck the big iron spoon into the pot and stirred it back and forth. The whole pot was stirred until the contents of the pot were finally revealed.
The pot was full of grass roots, tree bark, and rotten pickles. Berliat scooped up the pot twice with the big iron spoon and felt that it was a pot of hot water. He then stirred it a few times and scooped deep into the pot. Finally, he scooped up a few grains of unground rye and even fewer grains of buckwheat. The general nodded approvingly. "Hmm, porridge. That's right, it's porridge, rye porridge! Hmm, it smells good! "
Mihailovic's face turned sour. Even so, there was only a bag of rye and half a bag of buckwheat left in the shelter. There were still thousands of people waiting in line!
"Essun, you call this porridge?!" The young Xie Lieping felt his blood rushing to his head. He was about to roar when Berliat stopped him. "Alright, you'll know when you see it."
After that, Berliat turned to Mihailovic and said, "I see that you don't have much food left. You should use it sparingly."
"… Yes."
Berliat led his men out of the shelter. Xie Lieping anxiously chased after him. "General, those bastards, how dare they call this porridge? Is this porridge? "
"Of course it's porridge." Berliat said calmly. "It's original and has the unique smell of Kislöw. It's just a little thin, but that's not important. In fact, it's good that the porridge is thin. The thinner it is, the better! That's how it should be! "
"Alright, we can confirm with our own eyes that the porridge is so thin. We can send a diplomatic note to request an audience with Her Majesty Katarín."
Three days later, Kislów Castle, Bokha Palace.
Lieutenant General of Ugor's Mounted Archers, Special Envoy of the Brittany Knight King, Berliat Gulag, was allowed to enter the palace to meet with Tsar Katarín.
Although the Kislev Kingdom wasn't big, there were many rules. Belial and the others had no choice but to strictly abide by them. Otherwise, even if no one dared to kill him, a little suffering and failure to complete his task would be enough for him.
First of all, no one was allowed to turn their back to Tsar. This meant that they had to leave in reverse. Of course, Her Majesty Katarín was often very busy. She was usually the first to leave after a meeting.
No one was allowed to sit in front of Tsar unless Tsar gave them a seat or if they did not have legs.
No one was allowed to stand behind Tsar.
No one was allowed to be taller than Tsar Tsar.
No one below the rank of Poillé was allowed to speak to Tsar. Even a Poillé was only allowed to speak when Tsar Tsar asked a question or invited them, and they had to first say, "Your Majesty …"
There was a lot of red tape, but Berliat remained calm. He kept bowing until Queen Katarín slowly ascended to Tsar's throne. General Ugor knelt on one knee in front of many Poillé nobles, General Kislöw, and several legendary ice witches. "Blessed by Essun, Lieutenant General Ugor, Special Envoy of Brittany, Berliat Gulag brings greetings from Knight King Laing Macado from the far south."
"Kneel with your other leg, Berliat!" Katarín's voice was very cold and without any trace of emotion. Tsar sat on Tsar's throne and said lightly, "Otherwise, you can leave."
"…" Berliat immediately knelt on both knees. He lowered his head to prevent others from seeing the flash of anger in his eyes.
"Knight boy … Oh, no, I mean our Knight King sent you from afar. What's the matter?" Tsar said lightly. "I'm very busy. Many things."
"After His Majesty Laing returned from the Eight Peaks Mountain Expedition, he sent me to share the joy of his victory with the generals and Poillé of the Frost Kingdom. He also sent his regards to Her Majesty Katarín's perseverance in the North. We have prepared some small gifts. I hope Your Majesty Tsar and the generals and Poillé will kindly accept them." Berliat's expression did not change. He waved his hand and some gifts were sent in from outside. The generals and Poillé were very upset because they were forced to spit out some of their spoils of war. They were very happy to see the gifts. Berliat's gifts were the best refined salt, white sugar, and brown sugar. They were in short supply of medicine, boxes of high-quality white bread, and a lot of frozen meat. Everyone was happy.
"Yes, His Majesty Laing is very thoughtful." Katarín's cold expression did not change. She just said casually, as if she was dissatisfied that the gifts were not enough and not good enough. "Get up."
It was not difficult to understand that the situation in Kislöw was very unstable now. Tsar must be hoping to make a big fortune to solve the problem. Berliat's eyes turned and he stood up. "Also, Lady Aurora and Lady Teresa have asked me to bring some small gifts to Your Majesty Katarín and the Ice Witch Sisters."
The attendant handed in two boxes. Inside were some high-quality cosmetics, perfume, five boxes of unopened Wolford velvet calico stockings, refined sugar, honey, and Bordelot wine. Katarín's eyes lit up. She immediately accepted it. "Aurora still has time to prepare gifts for me? That's not easy. I think she should think about what to do next first. The gifts are very good. I'll accept them. Have a seat. "
The generals and Poillé looked at the gifts with burning eyes. The things that the Ice Witches received were all super luxuries in Kislöw.
"Have a seat!" The Karim guards brought a small stool over and let Berliat sit down.
General Ugol chuckled in his heart. Without her father's commanding ability and strong prestige, as well as the military industry that personally charged and broke through the enemy lines to convince the soldiers, what did the female Tsar rely on to rule the country with relative strength?
It was the Ice Witch Sisters in Kislöw. These Ice Witches married the big nobles, generals, and Poillé and became their wives and female courtiers. From there, they controlled the nobles. Katarín was the undisputed leader of the Ice Witches.
The two sides exchanged conventional greetings and talked about some boring topics. Katarín was very interested in how much Laing had obtained in the Ba Feng Mountain Expedition, but Berliat's answers were flawless.
When Katarín finished asking, Berliat said that he came here to build a new army and wanted to recruit a few hundred Ugor's people. Tsar agreed without hesitation. She only emphasized that in addition to the hiring fee, she also wanted to give the kingdom a "training fee."
Belial wasn't surprised by this. This issue was considered settled after the discussion.
The second issue was that Berliat still had a lot of goods to sell, including a large amount of grain, meat, salt, sugar, textiles, and daily necessities. These goods that Berliat brought were the solution to Kislöw's urgent needs. Tsar and the Duma decided to buy them all. They used a large amount of gold, silver, magic ores, bear hides, wood, and iron ores from the Northumbrian Expedition to trade. Berliat took the opportunity to ask for a very high price. It was much higher than the standard purchase price that Laing had given.
Then, for the third issue, Berliat emphasized, "Your Majesty, I want to buy some people from you."
"Buy people? Does His Majesty Laing have no people? Or is his rich land all rotten? "Tsar said impatiently." Who do you want to buy? "
"We want to buy some people from the prison in Qitar," Berliat said carefully. "Some people … can't rot in Qitar prison, right?"
"Wait! Do you want to buy … No, absolutely not! "Tsar immediately understood Berliat's meaning. She said sternly," Absolutely not! These are all traitors and desperadoes! I will not allow these people to leave Kislöw, not even to other countries! "
"We are willing to pay a high price!" Berliat repeated.
"No means no!" Katarina also repeated.
"Then … I heard that many officers and soldiers have been arrested these days?" Berliat had to settle for the second best. He tried again, "If you can …"
"No, I have already sentenced many of them. They will all be executed within a week!" Tsar continued. "You are too late, Berliat."
"… Then, I see that there are many bankrupt workers and starving intellectuals in the prison and on the streets. The merciful His Majesty Laing is willing to give them a way out. We also need these people." Berliat frowned and thought for a long time, then took another step back.
Tsar was silent. Katarina thought that it was not good to continuously refuse. Moreover, for Kislöw, the population was a heavy burden. If they could get rid of some of this burden and get some urgently needed food and cash to tide the kingdom over, it did not seem unacceptable. With Kislöw's current situation, workers and intellectuals would not be of much help.
Laing was now famous in the old world. If they could build a good relationship with him, they might be able to get military and material aid from Brittany in the future!
After thinking for a few minutes, Katarina finally nodded reluctantly. "Akinfeev! Dmylov! "
"Here!" Tsar's Minister of the Interior and Minister of Finance stood up.
"Take Berliat and go to the prison to pick people first. Remember, who can be and who can't. I don't want to say too much."
"Yes!"
The meeting was dismissed.
Berliat was led out by Akinfeev and Dmylov. General Ugor was a little anxious.
He had come to Kislöw this time to find a way to get someone out and send him to Brittany.
This person was called Sheogh, the former chief engineer of Kislöw and one of the designers and manufacturers of the Hellstorm rocket launcher. He was now locked up in the deepest part of the Cheka prison.
If Brittany's gun factory wanted to have the ability to design and produce a super weapon like the Hellstorm rocket launcher, this person was the only hope. Laing had given a death order. If necessary, Sheogh had to be rescued at all costs and sent to the Knight King's Kingdom!
It seemed that they had to think of another way.
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