Although he was very entangled in the affairs of the Rand family, Loren soon had no heart to think about it - only a week had passed, and the howling cold wind had completely conquered the entire county. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Even if the sun is still shining in the sky, the biting cold makes people feel like falling into an ice cave!

Winter is coming far faster than Loren had expected, and something even more terrible is yet to come—according to the calculations of the little wizard, and her past experience in the Deepcastle, this winter is likely to be unusually long.

This also means that it is very likely that the grain stored in Shenlin Fort will not last after the spring ploughing next year, and even if there is only a slight accident, the entire castle may run out of food.

At this point, the black-haired wizard finally understood why Barry Senna had willingly surrendered the land - according to the tradition of the Duchy of Lothair, the vassals were only responsible for the subjects in the fief, and the freedmen were the subjects of the liege.

In other words, they don't care if these people live or die. The only one on whom the peasants had just acquired their land was Count Ruben Fried.

They abandoned some barren land and a group of helpless peasants to take advantage of the opportunity to consume the few stocks of food in the castle. When these people have eaten up the food in the castle, and the count is cornered, he will naturally surrender to them!

The other party's methods are simply vicious, they must know that this will cause hundreds of people to starve and freeze to death in the cold wind, but in their eyes it is worthless, just a prop used to force Lu Wen to surrender to them.

I actually miscalculated again......

Loren now realizes that he has seriously overestimated the moral bottom line of these nobles, thinking that even if they don't treat their tenants as people, they should be "property" that cannot be easily abandoned, but the reality is really cruel.

Loren hates unexpected, unstable, sudden situations...... But in comparison, he hates his "failures" even more.

As long as there is a breath left, as long as there are chess pieces in his hand, and there is room for maneuvering, he will absolutely refuse to admit that he has failed - not to mention, now he is just being preempted by the other party.

This game is not over yet, at least not before he is generalized!

.................. Even though the fireplace was blazing, the temperature in the map room was still shiveringly cold. Flickering candles left black silhouettes on the walls, flickering like devils.

Sitting in the armchair next to the map table, Ruben Fried's mood was even colder than the temperature. The moment he heard the black-haired wizard say it, he even felt a little desperate.

"Is that alchemist friend of yours really able to guarantee accuracy?"

"He's the best alchemist I've ever known. I know far more about meteorological changes and naturalism. ”

Loren nodded expressionlessly: "If Lian Ai... If Isaac says so, then I can only respect his judgment. ”

The young count's expression was even more ugly, and he certainly knew what a long, harsh winter meant. The peasants, who had just acquired the land, would not be able to withstand the cold if they did not provide the castle with food to help them.

But Loren had just said that although the food in Shenlin Fort was abundant, it was definitely not enough for so many people to consume, and it could only last for a month at most.

For more than a month, everyone had to starve to death!

"Today, many village elders have come to the castle to intercede, saying that the farms are running out of food. Loren said calmly: "If we can't allocate some food to them as soon as possible, they will have to starve to death except poaching and being robbers." ”

"If that's right, soon more refugees will come to Shenlim to ask for relief, and the situation will only get more dangerous. The weather is getting colder and colder, and once they don't have anything to eat, they can do anything, or even go back to serving those lords as tenants, the whole plan will fall short!"

"What the hell should I do?!"

Lu Wen, who was about to endure it anymore, stood up directly from his chair: "Is there really no way at all? We are almost successful, do we want to let a natural disaster wipe out all the results?!"

Lu Wen was unwilling, of course he was unwilling - it was clear that victory was already in sight, and the fruits of success were within reach, but at this time he had to stop, how could he accept it with peace of mind?

But the reality is so cruel that it is unbearable, it is impossible to feed everyone in the deep forest castle alone, and without the support of those nobles, he will have to watch those who believe in him shiver in the cold wind and turn into corpses.

"Of course there is. ”

"Say!" said the Earl, who was about to lose his patience, became much more aggressive.

"We need support, otherwise we will never be able to hold on. Loren had a confident expression: "Since this winter is so severe, you have every reason to ask your father for help, and ask the Duke to give us some relief food, and even... Reinforcements. ”

"At the same time, get the word out as much as possible, preferably so that the whole county will know that a wagon full of food will soon arrive in the deep forest - not only to give confidence to the commoners, but also to the nobles."

"If it was for the sake of the Deep Grove, my father wouldn't have refused. Leven nodded, and turned his gaze to Sir Aaron beside him: "You will set off tonight, and you must let your father understand how serious the situation is now!"

Sir Aaron was about to ask a few questions, but Loren quietly slipped him a note from behind, and he fell silent with a frown.

"Also, for those refugees who ask for help from the castle, it should be dealt with separately. The black-haired wizard continued: "First of all, gather those young and strong as much as possible, so that only the old and weak women and children are left, and there is no need to worry about any disturbances." ”

This is also cruel, but it is an option without a choice. The Count could understand why Loren had done this: "But after gathering these young men, they also need relief. ”

"It's simple, find them some work. Loren raised his eyebrows: "The sturdy ones will be temporarily assigned to the castle guards to guard some inconsequential places instead of the original knights of the guards, and those who are thin will be given easier jobs." ”

"As long as they have work to do and can barely eat, these people will not be a destabilizing factor and will be temporarily guaranteed that there will be no riots. The black-haired wizard leaned down slightly, his right hand swiping lightly across the county's map, "We can buy time to deal with the nobles who have not yet surrendered." ”

No matter how many means you have, you can only buy time. As long as you can't get rid of these nobles in the deep forest and get enough land and food from them, then everything is in vain.

If you want to solve them, you need more information and handles. And it just so happens that I have someone by my side now who can do this.

Loren, who had left the map room, looked at the hat that was waiting outside, and a kind smile appeared on his face - but in the eyes of the hat, it looked like a prehistoric beast baring its teeth at him, and his hair stood on end.

"Please, may I ask if there is anything you want to order, Lord Loren?" the boy who clung to the brim of his hat was scared and nervous, and smiled flatteringly, "As long as you tell me, I will do it for you." ”

"I sincerely hope you didn't lie to me, dear hat. Slowly crouching down, Loren and the boy looked at each other, "So let's make a deal." ”

"Deal?"

"As long as you help me this last time, and never betray me, I will never ask for anything from you again. ”

Loren's tone was full of seduction: "Not only that, but I can also help you find a place in this castle, and if I'm lucky, maybe I can convince the Count to make you a knight's squire." ”

Knight's Squire...... The hat swallowed hard, trying to look calm, but he still exposed his heart. The black-haired wizard slightly hooked the corners of his mouth:

"So...... Deal?"