"Extra! Extra! What's New! Big news! ”

In the early morning, the crisp and immature shouts of the newsboys wafted through the streets. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Maximian, the pirate duke of the Giant Demon Island, openly provokes the Bend League! The situation in the North Gulf is unprecedentedly tense, and war is on the verge of breaking out! ”

Roland pushed open the window on the second floor of the hotel, and the morning light and the fresh sea breeze poured into the bedroom, which made him feel refreshed, but the newsboy's troubled shouts cast a cloud over his already good mood.

Standing in front of the window and pondering for a moment, he turned back to the bathroom, wrung out the hot towel and applied it to his face, and then rang the brass bell.

There was the sound of brisk footsteps outside the door, and the waiter respectfully asked, "Honorable guest, what are your orders?" ”

"Bring me breakfast, plus a copy of today's morning paper."

"Please wait a minute, I'll get it to you right away."

Two minutes later, Roland opened the newspaper with a cup of coffee from the waiter, and a shocking caricature appeared on the front page in an exaggerated style: a giant squid with an anthropomorphic woman's face was grinning, and her twelve tentacles were entrenched on the map of the North Bay, stretching from the bay to the coast, each pointing to a place name marked in red letters--White Gull Harbor, Silver Sail City, Cold Spring City, and Windless City...... It was the twelve city-states of the Bend-German League.

Anyone who reads this cartoon will be terrified that Kraken and his group of Pirates of the Troll Island will declare all-out war on the states of the Bend League. However, Roland looked at the specific content of the headlines and realized that compared to this cartoon, what the newsboy revealed just now was more realistic: Kraken himself did not appear in the text at all, and it was Maximian, the number one among the ten demon generals of the Giant Demon Island, who really shouted publicly through the media. Moreover, Maximian did not say that he would go to war with the states of the Bend League, but miraculously regarded himself as a messenger of justice, and made a high-sounding speech, in which he issued two solemn warnings to the states of the Union, mainly against Port Baigull.

First, from the date of the proclamation, the city-states of the Bend League were required to unconditionally cut off trade with the Kitlanders, and if they were found to be transporting goods for the Kitlanders, they would be immediately seized and confiscated.

In the announcement, Maximian explained the reason for the ban: Her Majesty was so grief-stricken that Grand Grande, the son of the pirate queen Kraken Furmore, was killed in Kitland, and she would do whatever it took to take revenge on the Kitlanders, and ordered the Bend League to cut off trade with Kitland.

Roland has read this report and has to admit that Kraken, the old witch, is indeed powerful, although this "breaking tactics" did not directly launch a single soldier against Kitland City, but it was hitting the opponent's vital point.

Now that the Kitchenland region has just subsided the war, the city is short of supplies, and it is urgent to export ironware, furs, medicinal herbs and ores in exchange for bulk overseas grain, and the states of the Bend Alliance are precisely the contractors of Kitland's import and export trade, and now the only passage in and out of the North Gulf "Bagel Strait" is blocked by Giant Demon Island, Kitland cannot obtain an abundant food supply, and the situation can be described as worse, even if there is a backup food supply channel of the "Harvest Ring", after all, the stock is limited, and the autumn harvest season has not yet arrived, It will be difficult to make up for such a huge food shortfall for a while, and if the blockade of the North Bay lasts for two or three months, Kitland City may face the threat of famine.

Roland sighed heavily, thinking about his feud with Kraken's mother and son. Since Kraken already knew that Grande was dead, he must have tried to resurrect his son by magic, and since Grande's soul had been absorbed by "Durandal", her efforts would inevitably end in failure, so how could she not think deeply about why her son could not be resurrected, and who destroyed his soul? Continuing along this line of thought, supplemented by divination, Kraken has probably guessed that he Roland Khoras is the direct murderer of his son, and may even guess that he has come to the North Bay, so why is there no mention of this in the announcement?

Roland can only come to one conclusion: Kraken intends to seek revenge on him personally!

As soon as he thought of this, even though he had been on guard, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

After Grande left the island, Maximian became Kraken's most valued assistant, the de facto consul of the island, and his public statements in the newspapers represented Kraken's attitude, the second of which is particularly worth pondering.

This announcement had nothing to do with personal vendettas, and Maximian directly issued a harsh accusation to the authorities of Port Baiou, demanding that the airship company be abolished and that the relevant research and development work be abandoned.

Compared with cutting off the sea trade routes of the Kitlanders, this demand had a greater impact on all classes of Baigull Harbor, and even attracted a lot of support in the streets and alleys!

In addition to being surprised, Roland also deeply felt that the city-state of Baigull Harbor, which was prosperous and powerful on the surface, was actually seriously torn inside, and the airship incident was a mirror, reflecting the contradictions of all levels of society.

From a geopolitical point of view, the Behemoth Island chokes the "Bagel Strait", the main route from the North Gulf to the Meteorite Ocean, and merchant ships must pay 30% of the profits as customs duties, otherwise they will be plundered. The authorities of Giant Demon Island believe that their interests have been violated, and it is reasonable to vehemently oppose the development of airships by the Yangbo family, but why are there many people in Baigull Harbor who oppose airships, and are they willing to endure pirate exploitation?

In order to answer this question, we should not regard Baiou Port as a community of interests, but should specifically analyze the different interests of various strata within it.

After the launch of the airship, the biggest profit is undoubtedly the operator: the employees of the airship company and the Yangbo family consortium, the company's holding legal person.

At the same time, in the long run, all walks of life that provide services for maritime shipping may be affected by some shocks, resulting in structural unemployment of related workers. Roland had an in-depth discussion on this issue with Lyubov yesterday, and the shipping committee represented by Kun Tiliang also expressed anxiety about it.

Roland believes that the establishment of a social unemployment and pension fund can solve these contradictions, but he also knows that this plan is costly, time-consuming, and difficult to implement. However, this is the only way to go, and there is no other way.

So what do the citizens and working class of Hagull Harbor think of the airship industry? Is it for or against?

In the long run, airship transportation improves the existing logistics system, which will inevitably promote economic development and social progress, and all the public will benefit from it, making life more convenient.

But in the short term, it seems that the novelty of the airship is not directly related to the people, and even because of the harsh statement of the giant demon island, their vital interests are implicated, and their lives are negatively affected.

Reasonable people will naturally be indignant at the arrogant and domineering behavior of the Giant Demon Island, and those who are unwilling to use their brains or be instigated by conspirators are afraid to take their anger out on the airship company. Their logic is very straightforward: without the airship company, there would be no airship, without the airship pirate master would not be angry, and there would be no blockade of the strait and cause them to suffer, so it is all the fault of the airship company, to put it mildly - some people kneel for a long time, and when they see others standing up, they think it is a crime. (To be continued.) )