Catherine only took a slight break. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info She was fine, purely mentally ill. There will always be a time when the physical wound will heal after the scab, but the mental pain will be at the touch of the touch, and I don't know when it will heal, and some even take a lifetime.

The palace is small, but very chic, the garden is full of exotic flowers and plants, small bridges and flowing water, pavilions and corridors are hidden in the rockery, giving people a kind of winding path and secluded elegance. Catherine secretly praised that Cuthbert, although he was strapped for money and saved money on construction, put a lot of thought into it. If the palace of Erathia Iron Fist Castle is compared to a graceful and luxurious peony, then the palace of the princess city can be said to be a quietly blooming lily, simple but elegant.

There is also a small council chamber in the palace, which is where the royal council is held. Catherine and Eldred had been wandering the gardens for a long time, and hurried over when the guards reported that Cuthbert, Madblade, and Sylvia were waiting for a report in the chamber.

"I've been busy all the time, and I've been on the road for a long time, and I'm ashamed to have received such an honor without doing anything to build the castle. Catherine was telling the truth.

"This is what you deserve!" Madknife laughed, "Guzi once said that he was going to give you a castle. There is no one else in the Lost Lands who deserves this honor but you. ”

Cuthbert quietly touched the Knife, and the Knife realized that he had slipped his mouth and immediately shut his mouth.

Catherine froze and said, "This is everyone's credit, and the honor should not belong to me alone." Cuthbert, go and call the others, I want to know about the current situation, and let's discuss what to do in the future. ”

Yoland, Adra, and the rest of the core members rushed to the chamber, and the mentor went to the Heroes' Guild, leaving Scythe as a special advisor to the meeting.

This time Catherine finally met Christine. Christine knelt down on one knee, holding the sword in her hand, and unexpectedly shed a few old tears, and said excitedly: "Your Royal Highness Princess, please allow me to continue to perform the glorious duty of a veteran. I will fight for you, for Erathia!"

"You'll get it!" Catherine held out her hand toward Christine. Christine kissed the ring on Catherine's hand, then stood up and said, "You know, I haven't had a good fight in years!"

Catherine smiled, "It seems that you still remember how to swing your sword." ”

"Yes, the sword is my life. If I were to die, I would also wield my sword and hum a minor tune to the death. ”

"You can't think about dying yet, you still have a long life. I also need you to follow me back to Erathia to drive out the invaders and protect our beautiful homeland. I reckon you'll live to be eighty years old, and then lie in bed and look at your children and grandchildren, and die happily. ”

Christine took Catherine's hand and shook her head, "That's not fun." This world was created by the Killer, but it is guarded by the Wise. When I've killed everything I need to kill, and there's no more place for me, I'll have to think about how to die. ”

The crowd took their seats. As the commander-in-chief of the castle's construction, Cuthbert was the first to report on the progress of the project.

Catherine said, "Cuthbert, how many inhabitants does this castle have at the moment?"

"Almost all the inhabitants of the fifty-kilometre radius of the town of Baurston have moved into the castle, and the population now exceeds eighty thousand, and the number of defenders is five thousand, most of them archers and pikemen, and the swordsmen and cavalry are brought by Christine and Mad Sword, and the total number does not exceed a thousand. ”

Madness shook his head and said, "Such an army can only defend the city, and has no strength in field battles. If we are to seize the initiative in war, we must train more powerful troops. ”

"Yes, we need more swordsmen, monks and cavalry. Christine added: "I still have more than a hundred horses in the stables, and Cuthbert wants me to distribute them to the heroes, so I don't have enough horses to train the cavalry." ”

Catherine nodded and said, "You should train cavalry, the training cycle of cavalry is very long, and we have to prepare for battle in advance." Madsword, you still continue to train swordsmen. Eldred, you and Inheim are responsible for the training of the Monks, and we need a more powerful ranged attack force. Cuthbert, I'll arrange it this way, and you can budget for whether the funds are sufficient. ”

Cuthbert is a master of financial management, and such a problem is not difficult for him. He nodded and said, "Then we still have to build a temple and a cavalry training ground, the funds are still enough, but it will delay the construction of civilian facilities." ”

"Not only do we need to build the castle, but we also need swordsmen, monks, and cavalry to protect it. It's like a person with different legs of different lengths can wrestle. ”

Catherine was a widowed son, and before she was born, her father fought in the Lost Lands and never returned. She grew up in the palace from a young age, was born intelligent, and has always been nurtured as an heir, accompanied not only by a large number of politicians, but also by many knowledgeable scholars. As for how to govern, she was from childhood to the age of sixteen, and only secretly ran to the Lost Land in order to escape the political marriage suggested by her mother and politicians.

"The Royal Griffin is a ferocious bird of prey in Erathia, can't the Lost Lands be cultivated?" Catherine couldn't help but ask. This creature flies incredibly fast and has a powerful attack, and is often used in conjunction with cavalry units to launch surprise attacks on enemy ranged units.

Christine said, "When His Majesty was fighting in the Lost Lands, Adric led an army of griffons. After the war, there were heavy losses, and only a few griffons remained. After His Majesty's death, Adric took the griffons to an unknown place. If you can find Adric, you should be able to raise a royal griffon. If he's not dead, of course. ”

"Wait for Hart and Taris to return from Hook Bay, and then I'd like to ask you to give them the cavalry training mission, and you take the cavalry to find Adric. ”

Christine nodded in agreement.

There are 80,000 people in the castle, and we must not only try to provide them with comfortable living conditions, but also enough living materials and jobs to make a living. ”

"We divided the castle into several residential areas, so that any inhabitant could buy land to build his own house, or to use forced labor in lieu of the purchase money, which eased the financial pressure," says Cuthbert. Various handicraft workshops were built in the city, and commerce was still very prosperous. The only problem was the lack of food reserves, and the city's food supply now depended entirely on the fleets or caravans at the docks. ”

"Food reserves are a big problem. We must have at least a year's worth of food for war preparedness, otherwise the enemy will besiege the castle and wait for the city to run out of food, and the castle will collapse itself. ”

Cuspera nodded and said, "But where do we get so much grain? We can buy some of it with our funds, but it's still not enough." ”

Aedrid said: "We can only use our own food storage as war materials, and the key is to have food in the hands of the people. ”

Cuthbert said: "With so many people moving into the city, there will be tens of thousands fewer farmers in the fields, and the reduction of grain production is inevitable, and the price of grain in the city has now begun to rise." ”

"In my opinion, the Lost Lands are not very populated, and the soil suitable for cultivation is everywhere. If you can guide the common people to farm outside the city, you should be able to solve the food problem, after all, there is no food in the castle. ”

Cuthbert shook his head, "In that case, we'll have to negotiate with Lady Grey again." Mrs. Grey has fallen out with me several times over taxes. ”

"I agree with Inheim. The land outside the city is also barren, so why not use it? It's good for Mrs. Grey. We encourage the people to cut wood, cultivate, and level outside the city, which can not only solve the food problem, but also have a wide field of vision, and the enemy cannot hide, which is also very beneficial to the defense of the city. ”

Catherine nodded, "Lady Grey, I know very well that as long as it is profitable, she will never object. Let's arrange the food problem in this way. Sylvia, the castle's navy is left to you, and you must find a way to ensure the safety of the sea transportation routes. In the event of a war, the docks will be the only way to get supplies. ”

"Yes, I plan to build an offshore fleet of dozens of warships in advance, which can not only escort various fleets, but also trade with various ports and solve some financial problems. ”

"What about me?"

Catherine laughed, "You are the king of the dwarves, our ally, and your status is so noble, I dare not command you." ”

Youlande was very proud, and said: "Then I'd better go find Guzi, he is alone outside, I don't worry." ”

Catherine nodded silently and said, "You must find him." If...... If he refuses to come back, you ......"

"I'll grab him by the ear and tie him back!" Yolande assured, patting his chest.

Adridrid pouted and said, "You just blow it, who doesn't know that you two are wearing a pair of pants, maybe you see him, the two of them smell the same thing, and they fool around together." Suddenly knowing that he had said the wrong thing, he hurriedly covered his mouth and stole a look at Catherine.

Catherine's face was so sad that it was unbearable to look at it directly. The crowd quietly retreated, not wanting to disturb her any longer.

In the evening, Lady Grey came to visit Catherine with Thunder. Catherine did not know her intentions, and just as she wanted to consult her about the reclamation of the city, she waited in the conference hall to meet Lady Grey, accompanied by Cuthbert and Adrid.

Madame Grey was still full of spring breeze, and before she saw her, she heard her voice first: "Oh, Your Royal Highness Princess, you are finally back, I miss you!"

Catherine hated her for being pretentious. But in the midst of a power game, sometimes you have to deal with it. She stepped forward and invited Lady Grey and Thunder to take a seat.

Catherine was annoyed by Lady Grey's greetings and compliments. She smiled slightly, "I know that Lady Grey is not here to compliment me. ”

"Yes, Your Highness Princess, you know that the Grey family has been allies of Erathia for hundreds of years, was, is, and will be. ”

"I am honored that Erathia has always had the support of your Grey family. Catherine said in her heart, who of you Grey doesn't know, you only ask for it, you don't give it back, and you will shake from side to side as soon as the war comes.

"As the guardians of the Lost Lands, we bear the brunt of every war, and the Grey family has sacrificed a lot for it, and many castles have been destroyed. ”

Aren't all these castles yours, how many families did your ancestors exterminate in order to gain power and profit? How many rebellions did your family take and cause in the Lost Lands? Don't you say it's all for Erathia.

Catherine didn't contradict her, just listened quietly.

"So, when Valley Hero and Cuthbert came to me to discuss the construction of the castle, I readily agreed, offering not only a few thousand acres of land, but also the necessary funds. It's all for the common good of all. ”

Cuthbert couldn't take it anymore, and whenever Mrs. Grey said it was for the common good of all, it was actually for her own personal interests. He couldn't help but say, "Lady Grey, we had an agreement at that time. We built the castle purely to provide a refuge for the people of the Lost Lands. We won't stay in the Lost Land forever and will go back one day. We can't take the castle with us, you will be the biggest beneficiary of this matter, I don't know what else you can't figure out. ”

"Cuthbert, I know what you're capable of. If you go back to Erathia, I'm sure you could be prime minister, but I don't think there's something you can fully figure out. ”

"Now, not only have the residents of the dozens of kilometers around Baulston moved into the city of Princess, but many of the original residents of Baulston have moved here. Originally the center of commerce and trade in the Lost Lands, the town of Baulston has gradually moved to the castle, and the number of villages under Baulston's direct jurisdiction has been reduced by a few dozen. I would like to ask you to calculate how much I will lose my revenue. ”

Adridrid pouted: "The legs are long on them, why they chose to leave, you should know very well in your heart." ”

"Your Royal Highness, is it possible that your subordinates are so ignorant of etiquette that they can interrupt other people's conversations at will?"

She glared and tried to refute, but Catherine raised her hand to stop her and said, "Eldred is not an outsider, and she can be my plenipotentiary when I am away." She, like you, has a noble knightly bloodline and is well educated. Let's stop beating around the bush, just tell us what you want!"

"I have two conditions, and you have to say yes to both of them, or I'll consider breaking off our relationship. ”

"Tell me about it, if your conditions are unreasonable, we'll consider not throwing a single gold coin into the castle and just leave it as it is. I'm sure my people wouldn't object to going back with big bags of gold coins. ”

Lady Grey didn't expect Catherine to be so confrontational. With such a warning, Lady Grey had no choice but to lower the requirements.

"Well, the castle is affecting the normal income of my domain, and I am asking for half of the castle's tax revenue as compensation. ”

The castle has been built into a congress center, and the daily tax revenue can reach 4,000 gold coins, which is divided into half, which is more than 60,000 yuan a month, and 720,000 gold coins a year.

Catherine was noncommittal and asked, "You say the second condition." ”

"The City of Princesses is built on my domain, I am the second largest investor, and I have at least a third of the seats in Congress. ”

Catherine nodded and said, "I can agree to your conditions, but you must also agree to one of my conditions." ”

"Say it. ”

"There is a lot of abandoned land outside the city, and I want to reclaim good land. In return, you get 100 kilograms of grain for every acre of land. ”

"I can't agree to your offer. In the Lost Lands, tenant farmers had to pay 70% of their income in land commissions, and they could only keep 30% for themselves. ”

"I finally understood that it was no wonder that so much land would rather be left uncultivated than cultivated. How can you tell the farmers to be interested in farming after a hard year of barely making ends meet? If you don't agree to this request, then we don't need to go on. ”

Madame Grey's brain was spinning rapidly. If you can cultivate 1,000 acres of fertile land, you will have an income of 100,000 kilograms of grain a year, which is an unexpected income. If you can get half of the castle's financial revenue, which is already twice the original income of the entire town of Baulston, what can't you do?

She was very annoyed in her heart, why was her husband so stupid, he couldn't do anything but fight! If he could be half as smart as Gu Shiyu, he would only need to sit at home every day and count the gold coins, where would he need to calculate others?

Madame Grey sighed, "Then it's up to you, a hundred kilograms of grain per acre." ”