In the middle of Phuket, there are many mountains and forests.

These mountain ranges separate the north and south of Phuket Island, leaving there to be little communication between the two sides for nearly a decade.

Count Abbe got the fiefdom of the Southern State back then, and gradually lost contact with the outside world, he was not missing, but old, and did not want to participate in anything in the outside world.

He led 20,000 peasants to make a fortune and live a stable life with peace of mind.

"Utan Pradesh is half the size of Uttar Pradesh, but the land of Utan Pradesh is more fertile, and the mountains also block the cold, so that Utan Pradesh forms a natural basin. It can be said that in the past, the grain output of the southern state was equal to that of the whole north, and the 20,000 peasants were not inferior to the 200,000 peasants, which shows how fertile the land is. ”

On the mountain road, Charles explained to Luo Lan the customs of the southern state, and his words were full of praise.

"Count Abbe implemented a policy of light taxation, and his nobles followed suit, and were very friendly to the peasants. Although the land still belonged to the lords, the peasants' harvest did not need to be handed over to the lords, they only had to pay a certain tax, which was almost the same as His Highness's policy of dividing the land into households, but the southern states did not make this policy. ”

Really?

Luo Lan showed a surprised expression, this is really remarkable, there is no policy to divide the land into households will greatly damage the interests of the nobles, the nobles of the southern state still follow Count Abbey, and Count Abbey's personality charm is too strong.

This is another example of one-man rule, but its drawbacks are also obvious, Count Abbe is exhausted, and his son begins to make trouble.

As they spoke, the group bypassed a large mountain and began to climb over the last high mountain.

The road on the hill was so faint that the guards had to dismount and walk, and the horses' hooves trampled on the mud and fell into a pit.

After a short walk, the mountain breeze in front of them brought a sweet smell, which made everyone take a deep breath.

"It's goat's milk, someone is cooking goat's milk in front!" Charles excitedly said that he was like a wanderer returning home, leaving his horse behind and running up the hill impatiently.

Everyone hurriedly followed, and after squeezing a large patch of dense leaves, the blue sky jumped out in an instant.

As far as the eye can see, there is no frontier grassland, the basin grassland of Utan Pradesh.

Under the sky, water and grass are luxuriant, cattle and sheep are flocked, and a clear river meanders through most of the grassland.

At the end of the line of sight, you can see many low-rise houses, made of stone and wood, and some simple tents that resemble yurts.

If he didn't know that this was Phuket Island, Luo Lan would have felt that he had come to the northern country of the Norlan Continent.

Of course, Utan Pradesh is not only the grasslands, but also large tracts of farmland and several small towns beyond the grasslands.

"It's beautiful." Luo Lan sighed with emotion, the breeze blew, making his hair fly, and the cool air made his mind clear.

Everyone also showed a look of amazement, this is a gift of nature, which cannot be seen in the north at all.

Charles opened his hands and roared loudly.

At the foot of the mountain, a dozen or so herdsmen suddenly appeared, looking upward, still clutching hot goat's milk in their hands.

"The northerners are here!"

When the herdsmen saw the soldiers on the hill, they turned around and ran, spilling goat's milk all over the ground.

Charles was anxious to explain, but the herders had already run away, disturbing the nearby flocks.

Looking at the fleeing herdsmen, Luo Lan frowned.

"These herdsmen are too sensitive, we are all from the same island, how can they think that we are trying to kill them." Barrett sneered, he had been nervous all the way, and now that he saw the herdsmen fleeing, he was not nervous.

The rest of the Guards also laughed, but Luo Lan and Charles couldn't.

What do the herdsmen's flight and words represent? Indicates that they no longer consider themselves and the northerners to be people of the same country.

At least subconsciously resist the northerners.

"Your Highness, Count Abbe will never deliberately guide the peasants' thoughts, it must be Gargo's ghost, he has scandalized the northerners, and wants the people to support him and fight against the royal power together."

Charles analyzed seriously, he wanted to exonerate Count Abbey, although Luo Lan did not blame Count Abbey.

"Charles, I don't think Gargo has that much ability, this is a change in ideology, and I'm afraid Gargo doesn't even know how to take advantage of public opinion."

Others don't understand this, but Charles can understand it, Luo Lan has discussed many of this kind of issues with him before, and the proper noun Charles will also.

"What does Your Highness mean...... Count Abbe has always been ...... Was he the one who weakened the people's sense of belonging to the royal power of the Southern Pradesh state? ”

Charles said this reluctantly, his lips pursed together, his face full of disbelief.

Luo Lan smiled lightly, he was willing to believe Count Abbe, but the general trend could not be controlled by one person.

"Charles, have you ever heard of the principle of poor relatives?" Luo Lan patted Charles on the shoulder and signaled him to calm down.

Charles shook his head in confusion, and the guards were also confused, all looking at Luo Lan.

"The principle of poor relatives is that if I am rich and you are poor, then I will definitely have a sense of superiority, and I am willing to help you, but I am absolutely not willing to recognize you. This is actually a kind of discrimination, I don't want to have a family with you, even if we have the same ancestors, I want to be independent. ”

Luo Lan said, Charles's pupils couldn't help shrinking.

What the prince meant was that after so many years of superiority, the people of the southern state would not recognize the northerners for a long time, let alone any royal power, they only recognized the southern state, which was not something that Count Abbe could control.

"Now that Count Abbe is old and weak, and Gargo is in power, it will only take him a year or two to detonate the sense of superiority of the people of the southern state. Gargo's trade, military training, and momentum are in no way disgusted by its populace, and they are likely to be proud and have the idea of a military confrontation with the North. ”

Luo Lan added, sighing secretly in her heart.

I am a poor relative, and it is not easy to bring back a rich relative, and in the case of the head of the rich relative's house, he is aggressive.

"This ...... These may just be your guesses, Your Highness, let's go into the southern state first, and then investigate clearly. Charles didn't want to believe it, he was even a little panicked, he was afraid that Luo Lan would attack the southern state in a fit of rage.

Luo Lan didn't speak, he motioned for everyone to camp and wait, and let the fleeing herdsmen "report".

Everyone sat down and looked at the end of the meadow from the hill.

In a few moments, smoke and dust rose from the end of the prairie, and in the cold wind of late winter, three hundred cavalry appeared.

They were extremely fast, like a charge, and swept towards them with the momentum of burning clouds.

The guards on the mountain all changed their faces, although the number of cavalry on the other side was not large, but such an aura was really terrifying.

Behind these cavalry, there were more than a dozen chariots, drawn by four horses, carrying more than three soldiers, followed by thousands of soldiers.

To be honest, this bit of strength is not worth mentioning in Luo Lan's eyes, he has even seen Barron's 100,000 elite soldiers, what are these?

But on the other hand, these troops are absolutely invincible in Phuket Island, and if there is no firearm to stop them, these soldiers can be pushed flat to Phuket City.

Obviously, Gargo wants to "rebel", he may not attack the prince, but he will hang a sharp sword over the prince's head, and eat away at Luo Lan's royal power step by step.

"It's a big battle."

Luo Lan exhaled, his fingers tapping lightly on the long sword at his waist. This longsword was specially made for Elle to wear.

Charles stared at the galloping army and was silent for a long time.