When Brooklyn pushed the door in, the discussion was raging. They turned their heads to look, saw that the person was safe, and continued back to their topic.

“…… Judging from the information we have learned, the total number of recruits trained by the Emperor through the Southern Military Region and the Eastern Military Region is now more than one million, and my private estimate is about 1.2 million, which is three times more than the signal released to the outside world. This also explains why the price of food and basic necessities has risen so much recently. ”

The speaker was Paul Chung, commander-in-chief of the Western Theater of Operations, whose mental state had changed since the debacle of Tulucas, becoming more suspicious and introverted.

"The serfs in the Western Theater of Operations, he has exhausted everything he can draw, and the rest are almost gone. I've heard that land in the west is now more than half cheaper than it was at its most expensive. Moreover, there were no serfs on the market, and children in their teens could buy more than a hundred crowns. ”

Miguel Martinez, the steward of the mage tower pyroxene vein, sat on a luxurious short-pile bench with his feet on his desk, looking at Paul Zhong who sat opposite. He is now the spokesperson of the owners of the property under the Mage Tower, and his status is only higher than before.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Brooklyn pulled aside a bench from behind Martinez, and sat down, "Recently, the Southern Military District has begun to forcibly recruit troops in Roseville, and they have even captured some workers and freemen, some of whom want to make trouble with the Emperor, but they have been suppressed and have not been conveyed to the top. ”

If you have to divide the upper echelons of Roswell, the Emperor, and the royal property and army attached to the Emperor, are now the most powerful part of Roseville. After the accident of the Grand Magister, the royal industry ate a lot of the mage tower's industry, and the scale expanded rapidly. The owners of the estates under the Mage Tower, on the other hand, call themselves glorious nobles. The name comes from the first people who served beside the Archmage. They are proud to be able to serve the Grand Magus, and they are all nobles, so they call themselves glorious nobles. In addition, after the birth of the steam engine, a new aristocratic class gradually emerged, whose energy and power were the smallest of the three, and who were often despised as barbarians by the other two.

However, it cannot be denied that these barbarian kinds, having overthrown the empires of both countries and established a republic with the glorious nobility and the new nobility as the main forces.

"Forced conscription? This will provoke a civil uprising! His Majesty Gibson couldn't be so stupid! ”

The rare commander-in-chief of the Western Theater of Operations, who has the same name as His Majesty the Emperor, questioned His Majesty's IQ in direct and undisguised language.

"This is the truth," Brooklyn distributed the information in his hand to everyone, and then became concerned about the war situation in the west.

"How's it going to the west? Winter is coming, so it should be fine, right? ”

"Now the emperor has not attacked us, and the remaining troops in the west have established a defensive line in the thorny hills, and it is not a big problem to defend through the deep winter. Whether it's us or we're on the other side, we're holding back our energy and waiting for spring to fight it out. ”

"So it's understandable that His Majesty the Emperor is crazy and rambling, right?" , Martinez casually rummaged through the Brooklyn materials, "Haven't we Anken Rein always played more and less?" ”

"That also depends on the times! This is the age of steam weapons, and the power of weapons is changing the landscape of warfare. Who would have thought that the gun platoon tactics proposed by a small serf this time had completely changed our previous combat methods? ”

"No, this is not the era of steam weapons, this is the age of capital! Even the emperor has to borrow money from us, otherwise the war will not go on at all! ”

"Do you call borrowing money? You're obviously paying tribute! Do you dare not to pay it? Do you dare not to give it? What a nice thing to say......"

Paul pursed his lips with a look of disdain. Seeing this, Miguel Martinez looked at Brooklyn and shrugged, which meant very clearly.

Look at this person, how do you cooperate?

Brooklyn is also a little helpless, the two people here, Martinez she knows better, she has always been her subordinate before, and there is no fight. But this Paul Chung, but the dignified commander of the Western Theater, how can he talk like a child? As soon as she wanted to persuade and put the topic back to normal, she heard Paul Zhong cough and change the topic herself.

"I said, do you know why the supply of basic necessities is so tight now?"

"You say." Martinez took a sip of tea, his eyes curious.

"I've heard that there are quite a few capitalists who are hoarding and waiting to make a fortune! Now it's not that there is no food, it's not that there is no cloth, it's that these capitalists don't want to sell! Your mage tower, but there are also people who are reselling and hoarding pyroxene, and now that pyroxene has suddenly risen, can it have nothing to do with you? You have more than 80% of the country's pyroxene production! ”

"That was before, since the disappearance of the Great Magister, the Emperor has taken a lot of mines, and we can't help it."

"But isn't the production and middle level of the mine still your people? The emperor has only sent a few nominal directors, and you are the de facto managers, aren't you? ”

Paul Zhong spoke in a very orderly manner at this time, he sat up straight, and said in a lower voice, "Besides, aren't you trying to find something for that person behind your efforts to suppress the production of pyroxene?" ”

"Shhhh

Martinez waved his hand again and again, "Don't dare to say this, you don't want to live, I still want to live." ”

"Come on," said Paul Chung, leaning back into his chair, "to come into this room and sit down in front of me, everyone will think the same." ”

"Well......", Martinez smiled and turned to Brooklyn, "But ah, the news from the Emperor's side, Brooklyn, you still have to help, otherwise we will rush to the front, and you will sit in the back to reap the benefits of the fisherman, right?" ”

"That's nature."

Brooklyn bowed slightly, her expression natural, and she didn't feel offended in the slightest. Even though this Martinez had always called her Master Arquette before, even if this person didn't even have the courage to look at her directly, Brooklyn still accepted the other party's change of attitude towards her.

Now that there is only one name left in the Mage Tower, she really doesn't have much capital to be reserved.

——————————

Paul Gibson has been depressed lately.

As an emperor, the first emperor ever to lead one of the world's six great powers without a magister, Paul Gibson should have been cool. No one can restrain him anymore, no one can restrain him anymore, he should be the best man in this country.

The only one.

But in this world, even without the Magister, there are still five other countries that are comparable to Ankenrein, and if you evaluate it objectively, they are even stronger than Ankenrein. In front of these countries, Paul Gibson, is still not free.

"Your Majesty?"

Emile Owen, the prime minister of the Ankenrein Empire, stood in front of Paul Gibson and whispered a reminder.

"Oh, where's that?"

Lately Paul has been wandering his mind, and since the defeat of his army on the front line in Tulucas, he has been a little distracted, and on the outside, it is easy to get distracted.

"Speaking of the results of the investigation into recent market movements", Emile Owen paused, looked at Paul, and confirmed that he was listening before continuing.

"Grain prices are rising all over the country, and Roswell is the worst of all, with rye prices nearly fivefold higher than they were before the war, and wheat prices nearly sevenfold. The price of potatoes has also risen more than fourfold, and many freemen and workers, with a month's salary, are not even enough to buy a month's worth of food. ”

"I know all this, tell me the result."

This is not the first time Paul Gibson and Emile Owen have discussed this issue. The country's rulers and high-ranking officials were not fools, and after the outbreak of war, they noticed changes in the price of food and other basic necessities. Some measures have also been taken, and some investigations have been carried out in the shadows.

“…… It's safe to say that someone is behind the scenes. It is said that the private treasury of several large grain merchants in the capital is full of grain, but they do not sell it. ”

"What about our own public treasury? Isn't there a reserve of grain? ”

"That ......," Emir frowned, a little helpless, "all of them have been stolen by the rats below." The actual reserves of the seven first-class granaries around the capital are less than 20% of the book reserves, and they cannot meet the market demand, let alone calm the market fluctuations. ”

“20%？ These grandsons are greedy for eighty percent of Lao Tzu's food? ”

Paul Gibson couldn't believe it, he paused, and asked in a questioning tone.

"Eighty?!"

The emir nodded, not saying a word.

"Check it for me, check it well! Check to the end, never tolerate! ”

Paul raised his voice uncontrollably, as the founder of the post-magic era, he should have been indomitable and proved his merits by expanding his territory. But now the battle is in a mess, and the corrupt officials in the rear are also uneasy, which makes him very angry.

"Your Majesty...... This matter is ...... with the police in Rosville."

The emir wanted to speak and stopped, but the meaning of the words was clear. Paul Gibson nodded, "Let Filas Navlet find someone to do it, he will do it, I don't worry." ”

Filas Navre, the Sergeant of the Royal Police, was not so close to the local nobles of Roseville, and the Emir nodded in agreement and brought up another matter.

"Your Majesty, the results of the preliminary secret investigation of this great rout in the Western Theater have also returned."

"How?"

Paul's expression became solemn again, and he was puzzled by the defeat in the Western Theater. The people in front always say that the enemy's weapons are too advanced, but he also tried the enemy's rifle, which is nothing more than a dozen meters more, can it really change the war because of this?

"It is said—" Emir said again.

"You say, it's okay." Paul understood what Emir meant and reassured him.

"——It is said that it was the light army of the Six Princes who advanced and lost the Third Guards Division, and our side lost the high-end strength that could confront the enemy, so it was unable to defend against the opponent's attack."

"But in the letter that Elliot's kid gave me, he said that the rear defense was not good, and when he swooped out to kill the enemy in front, he didn't protect the flank, so that the enemy made dumplings from Scat Province?"

The emir was silent, his task was to report on the situation, not to analyze the truth or falsehood. All the information was placed in Paul's presence, and it was not a matter for his emir to believe or not to believe.

Paul understood what Emir meant, and he shook his head and fell into deep thought. The group of people in the Western Theater of Operations have intertwined relationships, and they also have an unclear connection with the Mage Tower, and he originally wanted to take this opportunity to clean up some people and win over some people. But all these ideas are based on victory. Now that it's like this, it's not too much to kill all these people. What worries him is what to do with his sixth son. He had always thought that Elliot had some talent in military affairs, but judging from the current battle situation, it was obviously not like that.

I was about to talk to the emir about this again, when there was a sudden roll call outside.

"Brooklyn Arquette, the director of the Mage Tower, asks to meet—"

How did she get here?

Paul and Emile looked at each other, and Emile bowed and disappeared into the background. Paul straightened up and waited for Brooklyn to come in.

Today, Brooklyn is still wearing a wide mage robe that wraps her whole body, completely covering the curves of her body. Paul was not disgusted by her passive resistance, but sometimes aroused greater interest. But Brooklyn is an old woman in her forties after all, and after Paul has been with her a few times, he is not interested, but can talk to her calmly.

"Come here today, what's the matter?" Sitting in his place, Paul watched as Brooklyn sat across from him, asking casually.

"Someone told me today that your people are openly arresting people as soldiers on the streets, and they say that they are serfs. It's a big talk, you know? ”

These grandsons who don't save Lao Tzu trouble!

Paul's heart tightened. It was the idea of the emir to have the troops of the Southern and Eastern Military Districts train the recruits on their behalf. He also authorized the two regions to recruit soldiers throughout the country, especially in the Midwest, which had not been affected by the war. But he didn't say that he could be arrested as slaves and forced to be soldiers!

"I don't know."

"Now that the prices of daily necessities on the market are rising rapidly, and those troops are openly arresting people on the streets, you have to be careful of the consequences when you hit Negro this time, otherwise everyone will have a hard time."

"You don't need to worry about that."

"I'll wait to see your jokes."

Brooklyn was-for-tat, but Paul wasn't so angry. The Mage Tower is no longer the Mage Tower before, and the woman in front of her, whatever she says, is just a duck with a hard mouth.

"Are you okay? There's nothing to go. ”

Brooklyn stood up, walked to the door, and paused, she turned and asked in a slightly softer tone.

"Do you have a score?"

"Of course", Paul also stood up and walked over to the huge map in the room, "I have 1.4 million people training now, how many enemies are there?" They now have less than 400,000 troops on the front line, and even if they are mobilized like me, how much money can an inefficient country like theirs spend on hiring soldiers? How many people can be hired? To fight a war, there are more people, and whoever has more people will win! ”

Brooklyn's eyes followed Paul's hand as she wandered the map, and she looked at the map and then at Paul, and finally gave a reminder.

"Food prices are weird right now, you have to be careful of backyard fires."

"Thank you."

Paul bowed lightly and greeted Brooklyn. Brooklyn laughed and turned to leave.

His Majesty Paul, the Emperor of the Ankenriin Empire, stood in place, waited for a while, and called out the figure behind him in a cold and chilling voice.

"Emir, won't you explain to me about the slavery?"