When he heard about Luskan's movements, Levi saw the other party's purpose almost at a glance, and at the same time, he had to sigh that there was no shortage of careerists in this world who saw the general trend of the future sailing era and prepared for it in advance.

There is probably no better understanding of the control of sea power and the meaning behind it in this era than Levi, who came from another world and is familiar with the background of a similar era.

It can be said that whoever can control the sea routes will control the development rights of the new colonies, and will also accelerate the transformation of social forms.

Why did the Eagle Kingdom of Blue Star rise to prominence and become the so-called empire on which the sun never sets?

The fundamental reason was that it won the 'Seven Years' War in the struggle for colonial and world colonial hegemony, thereby becoming the most powerful colonial empire in the world, and establishing a bourgeois parliamentary system that was at that time more advanced than feudalism, and at the same time consolidating primitive capital through overseas colonial expansion and overseas trade. The enclosure movement gained a large number of cheap laborers, and the colonial plunder brought a large amount of precious metals and coal and iron resources, while the technology of the domestic handicraft workshops was also accumulated, and the foreign colonies brought a huge market with infinite potential.

All of this gave birth to the birth of the Industrial Revolution and made the Eagle Country the 'World Factory' at that time.

It's just that after the former world hegemon lost the advantage of industrial science and technology after World War II, he did not adjust the economic structure in time, and a large proportion of capital output made London the world's financial center, but the continuous transfer of capital from home to abroad also restricted domestic production investment and technological innovation, resulting in the foreign dependence of the British economy.

In Levi's time, the former maritime hegemon simply turned a good country into a 'financial company' that hedges the fortunes of the country at every turn, and can only rely on education to export the 'old aristocratic posture' to talk about himself.

In such a comparison, Luskan is really a little similar to the Great Eagle Empire in the early years in terms of geography and nature.

And Amm and Tesser, who have also controlled the advantages of shipping in the Northland, are a bit like Spain and Portugal at that time?

However, Levi, who had already completed the initial integration of forces and the rudiments of industry, could sit back and watch Luskan encroach on the Lunaris Islands.

From Icewind Valley in the north to Baldur's Gate in the south, it is about 1,400 nautical miles long from north to south, and the coast is almost all cliffs with a drop of several hundred feet, except for the natural harbor cities of Luskan, Neverwinter, Drawing Water and Baldur's Gate.

This means that almost all of the Northland's shipping is carried out by these port cities as supply stations and trade hubs, and Luskan's ships are no exception.

So when he heard that Luskan was interested in invading the Lunaris Islands, the first thing that came to Levi's mind was:

Realizing that he could not take Neverwinter and Draw Water by infiltration or invasion, Luskan finally needs to seek control of the staging depots on his maritime routes.

The Lunaris Islands are a cold, stony island covered in mist and deep forests, with wide, winding coasts, swamps, and towering mountain peaks, almost all of which are separated from the Northlands.

As far as Levi knew, Rusmu, in the northern part of the archipelago, was actually controlled by Northland invaders, but it was impossible to determine if the forces behind it were Luskan pirates.

The southern islands, on the other hand, are dominated by a group of dark-haired and skinned human "Fu" tribes, who have spawned a dozen small kingdoms and are ruled by a "High Queen".

In the early years, the Hokuriku and the "Fu" spent a great deal of time in a-for-tat confrontation, especially because of the bloody colonization policies adopted by the Hokuriku, and the rise of the High King, Tristan Kendik, to unify the two major tribes of Moonshadow.

Later, Tristan's daughter, the High Queen Alicia, unified her kingdom through a series of skirmishes between the lords of the small kingdoms.

The people of the Buddha are full of reverence for the earth and adopt the belief of the goddess of the earth, Atia, as the state religion.

They had long since discovered the divine power that existed in the rushing streams, mysterious ponds, and misty forests of their island, which led to the birth of an early group of primordial druids and Mother Earth priests.

The Ferns' deep and enduring love for their homeland is incomprehensible to other humans, and their connection to the dwarves and giants of the mountains makes them not without the strength to fight against the invasion of the Northlanders and even the pirates.

However, Luskan actually does not need to completely annex the Lunaris Islands, he only needs to conquer the easternmost Kolin Islands and Mingtan Island, and then occupy the port of Llewellyn on Alaron Island to achieve the initial goal.

If they took the Naranther Islands to the south, which were also occupied by pirates, they would almost be able to get rid of the constraints of Neverwinter and Draw Water.

At that time, I am afraid that the entire Jianwan coastal route will not be peaceful.

Thinking of this, Levi couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, and asked:

"What is the sea power of our Zeellandia today?"

Fisher, who had been mentally prepared for this, suddenly smiled wryly:

"We... At present, there are about 100 dhows in our hands, two-thirds of which are inland river ships, and if we have three masts, including the merchant ships that we can temporarily requisition, there are about 20 of them. This is still about three years ago, after Director Eagle and the Tactics Group analyzed Luskan's strategic purpose, they temporarily acquired a veteran shipyard in Jishui City. ”

As soon as he heard this data, Levi immediately wilted...

Counting the requisition, isn't it just a matter of watching.

However, he also knew that he couldn't blame them for this, after all, Levi didn't expect that he would sleep for so long before he fell asleep, so the most important strategic purpose promulgated before going to bed was to make every effort to build and develop Minas Stiris and industrial development.

In just one or two decades, Zeelandia would have had to spend all its resources and energy on building new cities and faltering industries.

In addition, their Baicheng is only an inland city by the river in the north, and they haven't even boosted their own domestic demand, so if they want to engage in shipping together, it will only lead to the failure of development at both ends.

And judging from the current situation, the cheap goods they produce by relying on industrial assembly lines can fully meet their needs by relying on the current shipping alone.

If they don't share a part of the profits, it can be expected that the probability of their Zeelandia merchant ships encountering 'pirates' at sea will increase significantly.

Sometimes the reality is just that, and proper compromise and distribution of benefits are often a matter of desperation.

"What about Luskan?" Levi asked, after a moment's thought.

Fischer scratched his bald head and said with a wooden face: "Based on the information collected so far, it is conservatively estimated that there are at least more than four hundred three-masted ships that Luskan can participate in the battle, and even some of them have built some four-masted ships over the years, in addition, they have also mastered a 'deep sea magic' technology, so that their ships can dive below the surface of the sea, get close to the target like a ghost, and then rush out of the sea like an orca, giving the target a fatal blow, so in recent years, there has been a legend about ghost pirate ships in the Sword Bay Strait." ”

"Nima... Have you pointed out the unscientific magic tree of the flying Henan people? It's a bit hard to top..."

Li Wei was envious, jealous and hateful, and couldn't help but complain.

"Huh? flying... Henan people?"

Fisher, who couldn't understand this Blue Star Terrier, looked confused, and thought that his boss had given the Luskan pirates some strange nickname.

"That's a huge disparity... In this regard, I'll go back and talk to Iggy and them. Levi said with a headache.

Just as they were about to fly out of the city and approach the Seblin River, a panting voice of a certain half-elf suddenly came from behind them:

"Mr. Long! Wait for me. ”

Levi couldn't help but look back, and saw that Erlinee had chased up the roof of the mountain city like some 'parkour-type assassin', and immediately slammed her wings, slowed down and hovered, and shook her big tail at the half-elf ranger who was rushing over:

"Oh, it's my battle nun, Miss Ellene, come, grab me by the tail. ”

"Hey!"

Erlene was stunned for a moment, wondering if this would be too offensive, but as her mind thought so, her body instinctively jumped up from the roof and grabbed the tip of Levi's tail.

"Hold on, Ellene. ”

Levi grinned at the corners of his mouth, and with a flick of his tail, Ellene shot into the sky like a cannonball on a siege vehicle, drawing a perfect parabola in the air.

Where has Ellene ever played such an exciting bungee jump, her little face turned white with fright, and she screamed in mid-air holding the corner of her skirt.

As he was about to fall towards the Seburing River, Levi swooped closer, reaching out his front paws to catch her in the palm of his hand.

He had planned to use his neck to pick it up like the bards of Corell in the story, but fortunately, he remembered that he had a row of knife-sharp dorsal fins on his back, and quickly dismissed the idea of letting the other party be a dragon knight.

Otherwise, Ellene will probably become the shortest-lived dragon knight in all of Corell...

But even so, the poor half-elf was filled with tears of fright under the dragon's prank, and held Levi's paws in both hands and protested loudly:

"Mr. Long, how can you be so cruel to a lady! I thought I was going to die!"

"Aha, with me here, I'm afraid your 'wish' is not so easy to achieve. Levi couldn't help but quip.

Seeing that the 'Beauty and the Beast' were chatting happily, Grand Master Fei hovered in the air in a knowing and interesting manner, silently saluted Li Wei, and retired first.

Erlene, who was so concerned and extremely sensitive, naturally noticed this scene, and couldn't help but ask with some guilt:

"Mr. Long... I... Am I disturbing your work as a lord?"

"It's okay, Fischer has also reported it, some things can't be decided with a pat on the head, and for the rest, I still have to go to the mages of Zeellandia to discuss, and now, I'm preparing to take a look at our 'Endless Farm' in Zelandia, so I have to say, Erlene, the timing of your visit is always so good." Li Wei said with a kind smile.

"It should be said that every time you show up, it is so timely. ”

When Erlene heard this, her originally pale face suddenly regained a little redden, and she thought that the other party meant something, just like she was rescued by him when she fled from the endless wilderness.

"Okay, don't tease you, is there something urgent about you coming to me?"

Levi naturally saw that this half-elf girl seemed to have something on her mind, and it might be something very important to her.

Ellene first looked down at this prosperous and beautiful city-state with some confusion, as if she was a little reluctant, and then plucked up the courage to raise her head, and asked with hope:

"I... I haven't thought about it yet, can I go with you to the farm in the wilderness first? I heard that this place is usually not open to outsiders, but today I will touch the light of Mr. Long. ”

"Haha, then... As you wish. ”

Levi's laughter echoed like thunder in the sky above the city-state, and with a sudden flap of his wings, he rushed into the sky with a screaming Ellene, scattering the clouds in the sky and swooping down into the wasteland of the earth, giving the poor half-elf a 'roller coaster' from another world.

It's just that as soon as he approached the wasteland, Levi couldn't help but slow down.

As far as the eye can see, the sparse forests and shrubs of the endless wilderness have been reduced to endless plains, except for a single ring along the banks of the Seburing River, along which a layer of stone has been built to prevent soil erosion.

On this plain, it has become a grid-like pastoral field, near the west bank of the Seburing River, which has been sown and grows a green nursery, and near the middle of the plain, a sparkling inner lake formed at the end of the Seburing River.

At this moment, close to the lake, you can see a group of slimes repeating their old tricks to 'inseminate the fathead fish' and sow the fry, the scene is quite spicy, so that Erleni can't help but look away.

A little farther away, Levi happened to see several steam locomotives coming from the lower city of Baicheng, dumping the 'farm manure' scavenged from the underground dragon's nest and the public toilets in various urban areas into a deep pit dug every few kilometers.

The peasants and workers who have been waiting for a long time will use shovels to pick up the mixed fertilizer mixed with the low silt of the lake in proportion to the low silt of the lake and throw it into the 'Fishman Three-Wheel Fertilizer Truck' specially tailored for them, just like the hard-working ants, transport these fertilizers to the various fertilization nodes of the Qianmo Farm, and pass them on step by step, sprinkling the fertilizer full of nutrients all over the countryside.

Looking at such a scene of 'artificial intelligence-type unmanned farm' that has not yet been realized in Blue Star, Li Wei can't help but feel an inexplicable sense of pride.

Just as he was about to blow down the Zilos force on the half-elf girl in his palm, he heard Erlene pointing to a 'fertilizer pond' with a 'frightened' face:

"Oh, how did they get inside, aren't they afraid of getting dirty?"

Levi looked in the direction Erlene was pointing, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

He had heard in Lanxing that even the most industrious ants would be some 'lazy'.

And slimes are no exception.

I saw that in the fertilizer pond that Ellene was referring to, a group of busy 'Kou Tao Fishmen' were like mariahs playing in the dung pit, and even threw balls at each other to start a fight...

The 'fish-man', who was occasionally confused, was not angry, and licked the 'brown fertilizer' off his face with his big tongue, making a 'grunt' sigh of satisfaction.

It seems to be shouting 'what a fragrance'.

And it is a well-known fact that slimes and such things, once they are put together in a certain number, will give birth to a little intelligence.

So a group of 'fish people' played while discussing what proportion of fertilizer was the most delicious, and who could eat it the most.

Until the last 'Kou Tao Fishman' said:

"Who's going to have our great dragon lord to eat, he can eat an entire 'canteen' in one bite. ”

"Quack, quack!" a group of 'fishmen' all shouted praise.

Levi, who had already heard stupid in the air, couldn't help but let out a roar of rage:

"Roar!! I don't eat 'food'!"

Hearing this roar like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, the group of 'Kou Tao Fishmen' suddenly shrunk into shivering slimes, and they fled in three or two clicks, and hurriedly went to work to deceive themselves.

"Your sister! These guys still dare to spread rumors about me, they are really swimming in the dung pit, and they are not afraid of shit!"

Levi said angrily.

"Cluck, cluck. Erlene, on the side, let out a silver bell-like laugh.

"Sorry for making you laugh. Levi said with some embarrassment.

"Hmm. ”

Erlene shook her head, smiled and said with tears in her eyes: "I am really satisfied and happy to see such a scene before leaving, really." ”

"You're leaving, where do you want to go???"

Caught off guard, Levi couldn't help but be stunned.