"Rules, rules, and laws are the winner's free to dictate. They came here, they conquered everything, so it's the prerogative of the winners. At least from now on, the consequences of going against their will can be fully expressed by the word 'deserved'. ”

Wolff's words could not help but carry a little sadness - the strong order and power will take advantage of the momentum of the wind and grass, and sweep away all the large and small forces that "disobey the royal way" on the entire Elta continent. At that time, will she still be able to evaluate those who have been hung and exiled as easily and happily as she is now?

It won't be too far off, at least sooner than Wolf expected. In the war-torn central and eastern regions, new settlements created by "village consolidation" and "appropriate migration" have completely replaced the old Elta towns and villages.

As a result of the war, these areas have lost more than 40 percent of their population compared to before the war: they were killed in war, died of disease and overwork caused by the forced recruitment of serfs, and migrants who fled the war to the west......

The Western Expeditionary Army withdrew in disgrace, but the population gap could no longer be filled. If a city is isolated in the middle of an empty rural cluster around it, the commercial, political and even survival value of the city will soon be lost.

There were no peasants, hunters entered the city in a centripetal structure to sell their produce and catch game, there were no lumberjacks who regularly and quantitatively transported firewood and timber to the city, and even the most beautiful cities would sooner or later become grassy and gradually forgotten and erased from the map......

Therefore, the construction site built not far from the original town has replaced the old city surrounded by stone walls and has become a new gathering place for residents.

What began as a regulated and demarcated street around the site was soon a shack area – within a few days, a piece of paper was delivered directly to the sites by barge, including an order to build a new city around the site.

Truckships of color steel houses arriving from all over the country and Cierta arrive around these construction sites to offset the vegetables, fruits and labor provided by the residents.

Residents who moved in soon had temporary jobs to do, and this "snowballing" development model gave a shot in the arm for the construction of new towns one after another. In less than two months after the war, many of the old cities were almost in the final stages of relocation, leaving only the villages that were still huddled and depended on food rations from the Elta Center.

For these villages, those who are willing to relocate naturally do not have to talk nonsense, pack up their things and leave; If they don't want to, the local government will naturally bother to pay attention: when the small-scale peasant economy is completely deflated and shattered, they will have to move if they don't move.

And the farms that were scattered on the plains before the war were still the ones that remained the Lord after the war - and that did not include the ones that were destroyed in the war. The farmsteads near the forest were demolished and the land was releveled and sparsely sprinkled with seeds of herbs native to Elta. In the future, these areas will be returned to forests, and the timber produced will be an excellent "sustainable resource".

"If it is not broken, it will not stand", which is the best interpretation of the temperate region of today's Elta Empire. In contrast to the sluggish progress of the subtropical Southern Elta region, which was less damaged, these war-scorched areas were changing rapidly, and the local forces were so weak that they were unable to resist the presence or even control of the various ruling forces of the New Elta Empire.

These abstract and ethereal "ruling processes" were quickly transformed into reports and charts marked with exact numbers and proportions, changes and predictions, and predictions under the regulations and standards set by the Chinese side.

With these references, even a fool can understand the current pace of development of the Elta Empire. No matter how knowledgeable and talented Wolf is, he can only misjudge if he does not have access to this information.

Of course, there is another group of people who have misjudged in another direction because they have come into contact with the unthinkable.

Later that same day, a group of people sat in a tavern by the merchant port of Lancasbourne under the Church of the Two Moons, around a dim magic lamp, drinking and listening to the recent return of the captain from Elta.

"Old man, don't drink, don't drink! Let's talk about the iron boat built by people from another world and walking in the inland river, which is really as long as our trestle? ”

"I'm not drunk!" The old captain who had returned from Elta had only taken a sip before he was dragged aside by someone who had chopped his glass. "I'm afraid that the iron ship is longer than the trestle, and there is a section of iron keel on it, which is probably used to build sea ships!"

"How big is that keel?" Someone in the crowd immediately asked.

"How old?" The old captain gestured twice, then leaned back and pointed his finger at the tavern's spired ceiling—"It's so high, I can't describe the width." ”

The crowd around the wine table suddenly erupted in exclamation. The keel alone is as tall as a tavern with a three-story bungalow, so how big does the ship have to be? The old fur seals had to frighten themselves at the slightest imagination: this is not a ship, this is a city!

Even if you take a step back, it would be amazing enough to see that the iron ship that was wide and moved freely in the river was really as long as a trestle. "How many goods can be carried this time! Can we afford to buy these iron ships? ”

"I don't know, but I want a good ship too." The old captain shook his head slightly, as if complaining that his old man was useless. "Our ship left the port of Hilzi in a very windy weather, and my ship shook terribly. But the iron ship without sails and oars made by people from another world is like no one, going against the wind and emitting black smoke to the open sea. I thought at the time, it's not good to give a big one, it's better to give a small one. ”

The "iron ship" is just that. Although it can withstand the wind and waves, if the wind blows the sails and can't drive it, then what's the use of an iron bathtub? But almost all the people present who live by the sea have a keen grasp of the words "no sails and no oars", at least in the wind is a veritable nightmare for every seafarer - even if they forget their wives, forget where the wind and moon are everywhere, and they will not forget the fear brought to them by climbing the mast and collecting sail ropes like an acrobat.

"My employer has said that the former people of the other world, the Elta who now come into contact with them, will compile everything that can be sold to us into a book, with a clear price and quantity. But if it's not in the booklet, it's not for sale. ”

"Old man, is there any such ship up there?" A young man in the crowd dressed as a captain asked.

The old captain tilted his eyes and glared heavily at the newborn calf. "Be respectful! Is your attitude a navigator who is tired of the rules and regulations of the aristocratic family and has come to this place to take risks, and does not know the height of the sky? ”

Before the old captain's words of reprimand landed, the young man's outstretched palm slowly opened in front of him.

Inside were several golden, heavy gold coins.

"Whoever I am, I just want to hear your story now, just tell me."

This rich situation immediately choked the old captain speechless--if he was not short of money, why did he have to wade into the troubled waters of this "enemy country" and pin his life to his waist as a rich man?

The other captains obediently shut their mouths when they saw the coins slowly sliding from the young man's hands to the table, and the melodious sound between the gold and the gold, and between the table and the gold. No matter how much they despise the rich nobles in word and deed, in the end they still have to rely on the snort of the nobles - even a few gold coins are enough to make them bend their noble waist in the face of the wind and the waves.

"Of course, there were no such ships on it, and I had the privilege of taking a cursory glance at it, and it was full of things to eat, wear, and enjoy." It took a while for the old captain to put away all the embarrassment, and to continue describing what he had seen. "The prices are amazing, but compared to the price that can be sold in Lancas, it's worth the price."

After this, the young man asked many questions - such as whether he had seen a factory where people from other worlds built ships, but there was no follow--Hilzi's shipyard was in the other corner of the estuary, and although it was impossible to avoid the exposure of the barges transporting keels and materials, the shipyard itself was strictly secret, and how could a captain who was originally a foreigner know where the shipyard was located since he had sailed according to this prescribed route?

It was not long before the old captain and his companions stopped and began to push and change their glasses like a pack of real old fur seals, and to talk drunken words like a fart. No one noticed that the young man who had just paid a lot of money for wine had already quietly left.

The "young captain" walked out the back door of the tavern, flicking his wand in his sleeve slightly around the gloomy corner. The ornate and contemporary captain's outfit was replaced by a hooded robe with a starry sky motif for nocturnal action.

The ordinary hooded robe emerged from the corner, turned a few alleys, crossed several streets, hurried to the door of a mansion, and pushed open the courtyard door that was hidden but covered with magic mechanisms.

Walking through the already deserted courtyard, the door opened for him automatically. He glanced behind him, quickly tucked his whole body into the crack in the door, and closed it softly.

"Good evening, Her Highness Hermarita, the supreme living god." He removed his hood, saluted, and knelt on one knee in front of the woman in front of him. "My subordinates have visited several extremely key people and brought you the most timely Elta information."