Chapter 1348: Oscar's Worries
The effects of the war, apparently, are comprehensive.
Large-scale national wars like the Soma Alliance and the Sika Kingdom are not only a pure battle of armies, but also a battle of national strength.
Therefore, the victory or loss of the front line is not only as simple as the casualties of soldiers, but also affects many aspects of the rear.
Walking on the road, Richard saw that because the official was preparing for the delegation's entrance ceremony tomorrow morning, the overall atmosphere of Char was festive, cheerful and busy.
Numerous laborers, reprimanded by low-ranking officials, cleaned the streets and hung festive decorations. In the square, several sculptures commemorating the victory in the war, carved by stonemasons, look ready to be completed by tomorrow.
However, this is only the appearance.
Looking through the appearance, looking inside, you can see a lot of negative things. For example, there are a lot fewer customers in the store, and some stores are even closed and put up a "sell" sign.
Listening to the whispers of passers-by, Richard was sure of his suspicion: the war had a deep impact on the inhabitants.
In order to win the war and do a good job in logistics, the alliance mobilized a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and the emptiness of the treasury led to the special levy of war taxes several times, and increased the proportion of many taxes paid before.
When the tax rate is high, there is naturally less money left, and the purchasing power of residents plummets. As a result, the store makes less money, has difficulty in turnover, and it is natural for the store to close.
That is, if you win the war, you can breathe a sigh of relief, the tax rate will be restored, or even reduced, and Sika's war reparations can also stimulate the economy - and if you lose, I'm afraid it will be a different situation, it will become even worse, the top level is nothing, and the people at the bottom will be miserable - this should also be the current situation of Sika.
Richard thought about this, shook his head lightly, and didn't continue to think about it - he was simply analyzing the information, and he didn't have the feelings of worrying about the country and the people.
Walking towards Char's more central position, Richard turned into a quiet street.
Walking halfway down the street, in front of a black mansion door, Richard stopped, stretched out his hand and knocked on the door.
"Tuk Tuk!"
After about a few seconds, with a "bang", the door opened. Inside the door, a young man in his twenties appeared, his eyes were bright, and he couldn't help but look at Richard in surprise.
Richard knew each other, and when he first came to Char, they received him.
"Maas, right. Richard glanced at the other party and said, "Let me ask, I went back to Char early, can I continue to live here?"
"Of course, Lord Richard, please come in, please come in. The other party obviously remembered Richard, and greeted him with an extremely warm and respectful expression, and while leading Richard to the depths of the reception mansion, he said, "Lord Richard, your residence has been preserved, all the furnishings are the same, and someone is sent to clean it regularly. Where can you continue to stay if you don't mind. โ
"That's good. Richard nodded, "I'll live there." This time I'll probably only stay for a few days, and when I'm done, I'll leave. During this time, I hope to try not to let anyone bother me, as before. โ
"Okay, I made a note of it. โ
"Well, by the way...... Richard thought of something, "and help me contact Mr. Oscar, and hope that he will take the time to come over, or that I will visit himโthe war is over, and I have something to talk to him aboutโthe sooner the better." โ
"Okay, I'll do it right away. Maas said seriously.
"That's good. โ
......
In this way, Richard lived in the familiar courtyard, and Maas, who promised to contact Oscar, did not break his promise and really did it.
After that, Oscar received the news and paid a visit, but the timing of the visit was a little special, not at dusk, not at night, but in the middle of the night.
......
In the middle of the night, in the courtyard of Char's official reception.
Richard didn't sleep, but in the study on the second floor, sorting out some research questions.
In the course of his battle with the Truth Society, he banished the Grey Mist, confirming that his research on the art of exile was valuable. However, science is endless, and this can only be regarded as a small success, whether it is the continued improvement of the banishment technique, or the continued improvement of the energy furnace, or the cracking of Baltavin, none of them can be relaxed.
So next......
"Rustling ......"
Richard held a quill pen and quickly wrote down some of his thoughts and next plans on a papyrus scroll.
As he was writing, the door of the study was pushed open with a "creak", and a figure appeared outside the door - not a servant, a servant could not be so rude, it was Bibi who appeared.
Richard looked up, looked at Bibi, and asked, "Something?"
"Ha-yawn" Bibi yawned, covered her mouth with her hand, and said with some complaints, "Someone is looking for you, I'll come up and inform you." โ
"Anyone, Mr. Oscar?" asked Richard.
"I guess so. Bibi yawned and said with confused eyes, "I didn't see it too clearly, but it did look quite dark, as if I hadn't washed my face." โ
Well, that's it...... Richard thought, waved away the papyrus scroll on the table, got up and walked out, and walked to the parlor on the first floor.
In the living room, he really saw the black-faced old man Oscar who was visiting.
The black-faced old man Oscar looked very tired at this time, took a sip of the hot tea sent by the servant, stretched his body on the seat, and then let out a long breath and relaxed a little.
Later, when he heard Richard's footsteps coming down the stairs, he turned his head to look at Richard, raised his flabby eyelids and greeted, "You're back! โ
"I originally planned to be together, but there were too many celebrations along the way, and I heard that there was a special entrance ceremony to enter the city, so I didn't want to waste time, so I moved forward. Richard said.
"You're not going to attend the entrance ceremony? That's a shame. Oscar listened to it and said with a little regret, "Char's entrance ceremony to the city this time is very huge, no less than the celebration ceremony held in the palace later, and I and many people are busy with this, so I see you at this time." After seeing you, I will go to the city gate when it is dawn to deal with the last details and the things that will be celebrated later......"
At the end, Oscar couldn't help but confirm and asked, "You really don't participate in the entrance ceremony?"
"Forget it, I really don't want to participate. Richard shook his head, glanced at the tired Oscar and said, "Mr. Oscar, instead of caring about me, you should care about yourself, you are so old and still working so hard, don't be surprised." โ
Something happened, what should I do with my stuff?" Richard said to himself.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Oscar said indifferently, "I've always been in good health, and I can't get out of trouble." โ
Suddenly thinking of something, Oscar paused, showing a little worried: "But Your Majesty, because of the war, I haven't been able to eat or sleep well for more than three months, and I didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the situation was completely determined recently." I'm even more afraid that Your Majesty will have health problems, but don't get sick and won't be able to participate in the celebration......"
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