Turning over the mountains that geographically separate Elta from the "south" and "west", the second half of the road can be said to be a smooth sail.

However, the city of Hazelal has not really descended to the foot of the mountain from the altitude it is located at, and its establishment is entirely due to the demand for timber from the Elta people, which in turn led to the development of the forest.

Initially, a group of Elta lumberjacks brought dry food into the gentle part of the mountain and established a non-permanent logging camp. Soon, the demand for large quantities of grown timber from South Elta depended on the constant output of axes, saw blades, and supplies from the wealth and agricultural centers of South Elta, and then took with them the towering timber that could build a three-story building.

Later, when the mountain roads of Cierta and South Elta were opened up from side roads to roads for horse-drawn carriages, the city of Hazelal was naturally included in the road stops. At that time, the Elta Empire was not yet the property of the Siravian dynasty, and Sielta and South Elta seemed to be owned by one person.

Therefore, the city of Hazelal and its surroundings are actually a territory that needs outside assistance and cannot survive on its own. The only way to keep it alive is through commerce, bringing in food, tools, and other commodities that are not produced locally or cannot be supplied for consumption.

And the fragility of this supply chain has been vividly demonstrated in the entire year before now. In the first half of the year, the South Elta was shrouded in the shadow of the "deep digging in the soft soil" of the Bimoon Church, and the laws of agricultural production were disrupted. Originally, several cities in South Elta could achieve economic self-circulation between them, and they could barely survive in the deteriorating Elta empire, but this year I am afraid it will not work.

As the Klafla carriage passed through the city centre, a small number of hungry people were already seen queuing up to receive couscous bread. And this is at the end of the harvest season, when mills and grain merchants are in full swing, and grain prices are at their lowest...... There are already people who can't afford to eat.

"In any case, this year, we can only survive the winter by allowing the central government to allocate grain." On the window edge of the spire of the city hall in the city center, there is also an old man looking at the situation below and sighing.

"Well, it is also the expectation of our central government to let you survive the winter, and preferably not to starve even one person to death." In the opposite seat of the reception table in his room, the newly arrived Special Envoy Plenipotentiary of the Transitional Government of the Hazelal Region calmly showcased the bewildered master of Hazelal. "But you also know our conditions, in Cierta we have always only provided the first bite of food for free, and the second bite has no reason at all."

"Attention to the merchants who sell grain from Cierta...... From now on, the main markets in El Sul will be able to sell and buy staple grains in a unified manner, where you can sell your grain to the red banner stalls in the market at today's uniform price...... Price vs. "

Outside the window, almost the whole city could hear the loudspeakers on the watchtowers blaring wildly, and even Wolff, who was in the car body, could hear it clearly.

"The old man has a question to ask, and I would like to ask the Plenipotentiary Envoy to give me advice."

"Say it." The envoy from China added another sentence after this, "I still don't want to be called 'adult' in the future, I don't like honorific titles." ”

"Okay." The lord of Hazelal found himself in the same position that he had not changed for a moment - he had been confused several times. It can't be helped, for him, honorific titles may already be a kind of inertia written in the genes.

"The question is, since you are now facing the problem of insufficient food supply for the laborers in South Elta, why didn't you stop these merchants from buying at that time?"

"There's no way around that." The envoy shook his head. "You let us into the city first, so that we can get in touch with the statistics and history of the city, as well as the problems of this year's harvest. The management of unified grain sales and purchase is not what our side wants, and this is already the ultimate means to maintain population stability. ”

Worst of all, the so-called "statistics" in these cities do not have data-centric archives at all. Even in Garcia, the imperial capital of Elta, the civil officials would only pass over the big and small events of the year, at most they would write a diary for the city and territory - who have you ever seen in a diary who would record how many grams of rice they ate and how many grams of excrement they pulled today?

Including the key data of how much grain was harvested and how many people were born, for the lords of Hazelal, there was no manpower or financial resources to do statistical work. Don't think that the numbers in the "XX City X Report" are all blowing, and when academics and managers want to make changes based on the numbers, they will have to deal with it by the worst means. But alas, even now, the old lord did not understand the importance of written statistics.

"Well, just ask an older person." The old lord shook his hand, "If it's a bad year, forget it, but who would have thought that Elta would be in a rebellion by sword soldiers this year?" Hey, I can't think of it, I can't think of it, it's a natural disaster, not a man-made disaster! ”

The Southern Route Army of the Shuangyue Church is not considered "rampant and tyrannical", compared to the layers of the central army and the warlords on the other side of the door, the excesses and miscellaneous taxes are already considered "primitive" and "humane".

But there was no smile on the face of the plenipotentiary envoy behind the old man. What was this old man doing when the South Route Army of the Shuangyue Church disrupted the order of agricultural production? What was this old man doing when the law and order were not quiet? You don't need to ask to know that he is most likely groveling behind the generals of the Double Moon Church, with a "lord" on the left and a "general" on the right. As for the stewardship, it is naturally "only the leader is the first to look forward".

And now that he is here, the object of flattery and flattery has naturally become himself with power. Anyway, whoever wins will strive to stick it on the leg and stomach in the center to suck the blood of the people in the territory, and if there is no blood and starvation, he will push the pot to Nianjing and God, this day is simply very happy! The Plenipotentiary still had a false smile on his face when he thought of this, but in his heart he had already wanted to kick the old crutch into the muddy water below the city - if it weren't for the death of the people above, he would have done it a few days ago.

The reason why the city of Hazelal was not moved, the city of Beroksvia further south, and the city of Berotswia in the south, all the way to the southern metropolitan alliance, that is, the core of South Elta, was of course not because of the fear that the lords of this city would rebel, but because of the fear that the entire south would wake up and squeeze out and expel the fledgling central forces that had entered this area.

"I mean, the parasites in this city will use such clever methods?" The first thing Wolfe said from the curtain of the car body after being woken up by the loudspeaker was to lazily complain. "I thought they would just shirk Niancheng. It seems that the officials of South Elta still have the ability to work hard. ”

"Don't think too much about it, Wolff." Clough turned his head and stroked Wolfe's slept, shaggy and messy hair. "This city has been taken over by people from another world, look at the streets now, does it look like a shield city?"

Wolf pulled out a plastic folding comb from Mendong City from his trouser pocket and began to comb his hair slowly, "It's still far from it." In addition, it would not be surprising at all if the order for food control was given by someone from another world. ”

"Well, no wonder you warned me not to meddle in the grain trade...... No, Wolfe, you knew from the beginning that people from other worlds would do this? ”

Wolf had already combed the hair on his left ear by this time, and began to tidy up the other side: "Almost." The way people from other worlds have always given me a hunch about this. Although similar means are rare in the history of the Elta continent. And the most critical thing is, of course, the problem of wintering in South Elta. ”

"In other words, the merchants can only sell their grain here to the managers of the city of Hezelal at a price set by the other party, and at the same time, the grain depot of Cierta no longer sells flour and wheat grains to the outside world?"

"Number one, Sierta's sale list doesn't include wheat grains, you're mistaken, Clough." Wolf guides her traveling companions while using rubber bands to tie her hair into a smooth single ponytail. "Second, the movements of people from other worlds should be uniform, not only Hazelal, but all the way to the south of the sea mouth standard is exactly the same. Of course, merchants have the freedom not to sell, but they don't let the flour be damaged by moisture because of the lack of profits, right? ”

Clough was still a little confused: "The merchant can sell to a bakery, and he can sell to a large family." People from other worlds and Sierta don't have deep roots here, so it should be okay to make such a sneaky move, right? ”

The carriage creaked over the "improvised speed bumps" between the roads and slowly headed for the city gates.

"The regulation of food is based on two premises, dear Clough. First, "Wolf sat cross-legged in the carport, like a monk preaching, and proudly raised his index finger. "The people who propose the regulation must have enough food in stock, and the second is that they are willing to keep the cost of selling the grain below the cost of the merchant to buy it."

"Are people from other worlds crazy?"

"A long time ago, Elta had people who met condition one who wanted to manage the flow of food in the market so that a small part of it could be successfully transferred to the poor. so that they do not starve to death. Wolfe's expression instantly became serious. However, not only could he not control the subordinates who went to the towns and villages to carry out orders, but he also forgot how much of a terrible backlash the merchants could play in them. So in the end, he not only failed, but was also thrown into the ground, and his kindness was not only not rewarded, but also ended up bankrupt. ”