"As you wish, my lord. Abel bowed his head and said, "The Sassan Empire is vast and rich in products. Thirty years ago, the Sassan Empire claimed to have nearly four million registered citizens, and now there are probably five million. As for the non-registered displaced population, it is impossible to count them at all. The number of outcasts in Bronze Halberd is three times that of the registered inhabitants, and considering that it is a trading city with a large number of outcasts, I assume that the total population of the Sassan Empire will not be less than 13 million. ”

"The land in the central and eastern part of the Sassanian Empire was unusually fertile, and when dried, the black soil was iron-red, and it was this soil that allowed the cultivation of high-yielding green barley. The hills of the western part of the empire are connected to the vast Endless Forest. To the north is the Duchy of Teuton, where the Moon Bear family keeps millions of reindeer on that tundra. Therefore, the agriculture and animal husbandry, handicrafts, and wool industries of the Sassang Empire were very developed, and they did not lack wood, stone, grain, leather, meat, and salt, but they lacked minerals. ”

"The Bronze Halberd City got its name because of the copper halberds used by the garrison soldiers. In that city, an ordinary iron sword could be exchanged for a fine warhorse, or 8 shorthorn oxen. Abel smiled and said, "My lord, it is said that the Sasang Empire collects obsidian weapons from orcs, and I have personally seen Sasang craftsmen make obsidian arrows and obsidian spears. ”

"The Sassanian Empire has an abundant meat diet and a huge population. As a result, the carefully selected Sasang soldiers were exceptionally strong and well-trained. Limited by the barren mineral resources, only the most elite vassal soldiers are eligible to be equipped with steel ring armor and fine iron weapons. The Sassanian Empire has 150,000 elite cavalry, and the rest are militia......"

"Wait!" Victor asked in surprise, "The regular army of the Sassan Empire is all cavalry?"

"It's all cavalry. One man with two horses. ”

Victor shook his head and sighed: "This is the benefit of taking the Prairie Holy City, there will never be a shortage of war horses." ”

"The political landscape of the Sassanian Empire is complex, but it can basically be divided into four major forces, with the Moon Bear family of the Teutonic Principality dominating the northern tundra and relying on the power of the barbarians to maintain a neutral position. The group of lords, led by the Imperial Family, occupied the eastern and western parts of the empire. The group of lords led by the Barcelius family occupies the western part of the empire, and the central and northern lords of the empire are divided into several bloodlines, they have no leader families and belong to the center of the empire. ”

"The Barcelius family, is it the Hippogriff?" asked Victor, looking up.

Lord Abel said solemnly, "Yes, they are the blood of Queen Verotica Barcelius and Prince Draven Wimbledon, and the royal descendants of the Iron Mountain Empire. There are 5 highnesses in the Sassanian Empire who hold high the eagle-headed sphinx flag. There are also rumors that Duke Usein Baselius is likely to step into the realm of legends. ”

"The descendants of the Divine Knight and the Sword Saint have actually been squeezed out to the west where green wheat is not produced? The water of the Sasang Empire is not ordinarily deep!" Victor sighed secretly in his heart and asked, "Teacher Abel, what is the price of green wheat in Sasang, and what is the price of war horses?"

Abel replied, "In the Holy Armor City, 1 copper sol can buy 3 pounds of green barley. In Copper Halberd City, 1 copper sol can buy 20 pounds of green barley. The trade in horses and leather armor was regulated, and only caravans selling minerals could buy both. Victor nodded and asked, "So...... Can the Duodos buy barley in the Holy City?"

"Caravans of any power can buy barley in the Holy City without paying taxes. ”

At this point, Victor has basically figured out the strategy of the Sassan Empire.

There were many factors that led to the war, but if we look at the war between Sassan and the Three Kingdoms from the perspective of trade alone, it is not difficult to see that it was a war of green barley.

The Sassarians gained control of the Twelve Holy Cities, not only gained strategic depth, but also obtained excellent war horses, thus forming a highly mobile cavalry corps. The Sassanian cavalry entered the territory of the kingdom of Dodor, where they burned farms, trampled fertile fields, plundered supplies, dispersed their subjects, and eliminated vassal farmers. In the face of the attack of the Sassanian cavalry, the Kingdom of Duoduo adopted the strategy of clearing the wilderness. As a result, the grain-growing regions north of Dordor became unharvested, and the farmers had to leave their homes and migrate south, eventually entering the territory of Gambis as displaced people.

The food production area of Dordor was destroyed, Neville itself lacked arable land, and Gambis took in so many displaced people at once that there was no way to provide food to meet the needs of Dordor and Neville. As the population grew, the Three Kingdoms had a growing food shortage, and importing barley became their only option.

The greatest threat to the Sassan Empire comes from the Eastern Wilderness, not from the Southern Kingdoms. Although the empire was densely populated and rich in food, it was full of internal contradictions, coupled with the lack of minerals, the main army could only be placed on the eastern border, and there was no spare energy to annex the kingdom of Duoduo.

In this case, the Sarsanians traded with the chambers of commerce in Gambis, exchanging agricultural products and horses for minerals they desperately needed. Green barley is planted every year, and it will still be moldy in the warehouse, while iron tools can be used for many years. As long as the barley trade continues, the army of the Sasang Empire will continue to grow, and the Sasang Emperor will also need time to slowly sort out the domestic contradictions. When the time comes, the army of the Sassan Empire will move south, and the northern lords of the Duoduo will be the first to surrender, and the alliance of the Three Kingdoms will collapse.

Ostensibly, the Gambis Chamber of Commerce made huge profits from the green barley trade. In fact, this is exactly what the Sassanian Empire wants. There is no limit to the amount of barley purchased from Gambis, and the purchase price of 20 pounds per copper sol is more than 6 times lower than that of the Kingdom of Dord, and the caravans of the Kingdom of Neville are not exempt from the transit tax at all, so they can only sit and wait for the Chamber of Commerce of Gambis to come and sell the barley. Gambis made a lot of money in the barley trade, how could Duoduo and Neville not be jealous? The uneven distribution of interests inevitably led to contradictions within the alliance.

The Sasan people played the trick of boiling frogs in warm water with one hand and killing three soldiers with one peach. Unfortunately, man is not as good as heaven, and Victor's ploughshare plough and new farming and animal husbandry will surely make their plans fall to ruin. As for how the pattern of the human kingdom will change, Victor is also difficult to predict, and he is now more concerned about whether his freeman caravan can enter the territory of the Sassangian Empire.

"Teacher Abel, is the secret trade route in Sophia's hands leading to the Sassan Empire?"

Abel was silent for a moment and said, "I don't know the specifics, but you must have seen the saber-toothed tiger head specimen in the Marquis's study, right?" Victor nodded, and when the little baron saw the specimen for the first time in his memory, he was really taken aback. Abel continued, "That's the saber-toothed tiger that Lord Sophia hunted in the mountains of Naville, she was only 19 years old at the time, and she was the guardian knight of a small caravan. The caravan suddenly lost contact with us in Neville's territory, and we all thought something had happened to her. Unexpectedly, a year later, Lord Sophia's caravan returned, bringing back not only the head of the saber-toothed tiger, but also the specialties of the Arrett Mountains, and the friendship between the Neville and the Sassans. From then on, the Sassonian Empire allowed us to set foot in the Duchy of Teutoni and participate in the barbarian bazaar. It was also in that year that Sophia became a marquise and formed the Sabertooth Tiger Merchant Order. ”

Victor's mind came to the scene of Nicole angrily slashing the ogre, and he exhaled and said, "Life and death trial!"

The saber-toothed tiger is a silver-level beast, and if Sophia can kill it as a knight, it will be a test of life and death. However, the trial of life and death is a hundred deaths, and the knight will not joke with his life unless it is absolutely necessary, and the saber-toothed tiger only operates in the mountains, which shows that Sophia entered the mountains and happened to meet the beast. Well, the only reason for her venture into the mountains was to find a trade route to the Sassangian Empire, and apparently she succeeded.

Avoiding the kingdoms of Duoduo and the savannahs, this trade route connects Neville with Sassan, and although the mountain road cannot transport large quantities of goods, the Sassians will be ecstatic even if they carry small amounts of iron. In order to maintain this trade route, the Sassans did not hesitate to exchange the rare medicinal herbs of the Arrett Mountains to ensure that the kingdom of Neville continued to transport iron tools. Sophia is playing the role of a middleman.

"This woman is actually with me, and she's not afraid to play herself to death!" Victor muttered to himself, he had to admit that Sophia's ruthlessness was beyond his reach.

Victor shook off the inexplicable thought and said to Abel: "Teacher Abel, the information you provided is very useful to me. I can raise the Bucks Merchant Group's share of 3 million pounds of jaggery. However, I have one more request. ”

Abel stood up, bowed, and said, "Your Excellency, please speak." As long as I can do it, I will try to satisfy you. ”

"It won't embarrass you. Victor smiled and said, "The carriage made by our Randall Collar is light and sturdy, and its carrying capacity is forty percent higher than that of ordinary carriages. I hope that the Bucks merchant group will buy my carriage in large quantities, you should have this power, right?"

Abel hesitated and said, "My lord, I have seen your freight carriage in Yeliu City, it is indeed good...... But those carriages don't have roofs! How can they protect them from rain and snow?"

Lilia pursed her lips and smiled: "We have produced an oil canvas that is particularly waterproof and cheap. And those carriages can also be roofed. You can go to Yehliu City and ask. ”

"Then can I buy directly from Pinghu Town?" Abel said tentatively.

"Can't!"

Victor's voice was not high, but it was full of non-negotiability. Abel said, "Well, I'll go, and if Lady Lilia says, I'll buy a lot of new carriages." ”

"Mr. Abel, I was just about to invite you to the Randall family's dinner." Victor stood up and said goodbye. Abel bowed and said, "Thank you, sir, for your kind invitation. But the weather waits for no one, and I have to transport the jaggery to the Minsk fortress before the rainy season begins. ”

"I see. Victor nodded and said to Lilia, "Honey, please send me a gift for Mr. Abel." ”

"Your Excellency, please come with me. Able bowed down and left the study under Lilia's guidance.

After a few moments, Lilia returned to the study, and she sat directly on Victor's lap, put her arms around his neck, and asked in a coquettish voice, "Just let him go?" I thought you would try to subdue him. ”

"Why do you want to be subdued? The large chamber of commerce is our opponent and can only be defeated by us. Victor chuckled.

"However, there was no way for the smuggling caravan to cross the Wharton Meadows. Lilia bit her lip and frowned beautifully. Victor sighed, "So, we're going to parasitize on the Stag Merchant and let them take our people over." ”

Lilia's eyes lit up, and she asked with a smile, "How do you parasitize?"

Victor thought for a moment and said, "The Bucks Merchant Group is strong and flourishing, and I'm afraid that tens of thousands of people rely on it for food. Among them, there must be a mercenary group serving the Stag Merchant Group. Let Mercury find out those mercenary groups, infiltrate, buy, and destroy them if they can't do it, in short, let our mercenary groups become the periphery of the stag. As long as Mercury and the mercenary group cross the Wharton Meadows, we will be able to develop our own power in the Sassan Empire. ”

"And then defeat the Bucks Merchant Group once and for all?" Lilia laughed, "Aren't those tens of thousands of people going to run out of food." ”

"People who have the ability can find jobs there, they just change bosses. At that time, Abel will have to work for me, so I don't have to accept him. Victor paused and said, "My dear, the family's population is expanding too fast, and it takes a while to digest and absorb it. From now on, the inflow of population will be strictly controlled until there is stability within the family. ”

"In the past two years, our eyes have been on the outside. ”