The blazing flames climbed up the wooden eaves, illuminating the bewildered faces.

The rising black smoke was like a homeless ghost, and the crackling cry was conspicuous in the silence of the crowd. This is the southwest corner of Mammoth, a small village called "Stone Village?????? Or rather, it used to be called that.

Most of the people who lived here were freedmen from the Empire.

However, the Empire is the opposite of the rest of the wasteland, and the Free Folk here are not something to be proud of.

Since most of the fertile land along the river was in the hands of the aristocracy, most of the freedmen were quite poor, even if they had land to grow.

If the average serf had to eat six meals of red clay a week, then the freeman might have to eat seven or eight meals, and he would have to remain in a state of half-death.

Except, of course, those who can survive in or on the edge of settlements.

The same is true for Stone Village, because it is far away from the Tasang River, there are no small rivers or lakes nearby, and the land is not easy to grow, so most of the villagers are foolish to have food and clothing.

This kind of guy who lives like weeds really can't squeeze any oil and water, and the empire generally doesn't bother to take care of them, except for collecting taxes, they are usually left to their own devices.

Of course, the forbearance of this gift is limited to ordinary times.

Further south from Stone Village? You can see the boundary monument of Mazhou for five or six miles, but it was the life of these five or six miles that made the fire of the "strong wall and clear field" burn here??????

At the gate of Stone Village, an old man over half a hundred years old sat on the ground, looking up at the tall centurion, crying a handful of snot and tears.

"My lord, we have been living here for many years, and you have set this place on fire, I, where are we staying??? The centurion looked at him expressionlessly and said coldly.

"Next door is Mazhou, and further south is Huzhou, your legs are long, as long as you don't go north, you can go wherever you like."

The old man pleaded.

"But, but?????? How can we live without land. ”

"How do you live?" The centurion sneered and looked down at the old creature lying on the ground, and said sarcastically, "Why don't you just find a manor and sell yourself?????? Don't cry or cry, you're an old thing, it's time to go into the ground. ”

Seeing that the old man looked at him in a daze, the centurion pondered that he really didn't pay much attention to what he said, so he softened his tone a little and said.

"Okay, there is trouble here, let you go for your own good, don't be so ignorant. I'll give you time to pack your things, so get out of here when you're fine. ”

"Bandits?! But, but, those Moon Clan people didn't care about us?????"

Seeing that the centurion was about to leave, the stunned old man suddenly became anxious, and he didn't choose to say anything for a while, but he forgot the identity of the military master in front of him, and even more forgot what the Moon Clan people meant to the empire.

When the centurion heard this, he stopped, squinted his eyes and looked the old man up and down, and his eyes became slightly unkind.

"They've been here?"

Not only did the centurion squint at the old man, but the soldiers on the side also put their hands on the ripper's rifles. Feeling that something was wrong with the atmosphere, the old man was also frightened and stuttered for a while.

"I ??????" The centurion stared at him.

"Why don't you report to a nearby outpost?"

"What, what outpost?"

Beads of sweat seeped from the old man's forehead, and before he could explain, the centurion waved his hand at the soldier next to him.

"Take it back for trial."

The two soldiers strode forward, and one of them grabbed the old man by the shoulder, and carried him to the cart like a cattle, despite the latter's screams of killing pigs.

The young men in the village wanted to go up to stop them, but they were stared at by the murderous gaze and did not dare to move forward, so they could only watch as the elders of the village were taken away??????

Similar scenes are happening not only in Stone Village, but also in other places. And even more.

More than 50,000 gray wolf troops stepped into the mammoth state occupied by the rebels with great momentum, and they were ready to be ashamed from top to bottom.

Alayan sent scouts to reconnoiter the movements of the resistance, and on the other hand, he steadily opened the battle line, and at the same time sent small forces along the border line to advance his strategy of clearing the wilderness.

It wasn't just the old man who was suspected of having contact with the Resistance who was taken away.

There were men, women, children and animals kept in barns without even knowing what was happening. These Imperial soldiers did not even let go of the eggs laid by the hens.

Of course, not all villages are so docile and obedient, after all, with the ecological situation of Borneo, it takes some skills to carry the land annexation of the nobles.

Some of the indignant lads brought out dung forks, bows and arrows, bird guns, and even earthen cannons in an attempt to confront the Empire's Gray Wolf Army.

However, instead of frightening off the Empire's gray wolves, their righteous indignation brought death to themselves and their families.

Although the Grey Wolves were almost drowned by the Alliance in the Yongliu River when they were outside the city of Golden Gallen Harbor, it was still not a problem for them to clean up a group of poor ghosts who were not covered in clothes. With just a charge, the soldiers slaughtered this group of weeds that did not know the height of the sky.

And once the bayonet is red, things don't end so well.

What's more, today's Gray Wolf Army has been corroded by the Tiger Army and the Black Panther Army, and both the will to fight and the discipline are far inferior to half a year ago?????? Although they weren't much better half a year ago.

After venting on the surviving weaklings, a group of gray wolves who were happy enough lifted their pants, rewarded the "captives" with a good time, threw their heads on the cart, and took them back to the camp as the heads of the rebels.

Just hundreds of kilometers of the mammoth state's border with Massachusetts, the burning flames are like a long snake that winds and crawls, devouring one village after another.

It was like a wild beast, like a wolf crying and howling on the Ten Peaks. Not even more than that??????

“?????? These brutes! ”

At the edge of the dark forest, Ackerman stared at the soldiers departing from the rubble, his eyes burning with rage.

When the long-haired woman was dragged into the cowshed, he thought of his mother??????

The same was true of the soldiers beside him, all of whom were desperately clutching their rifles in their hands, eager to rush forward and devour the hundred-man team alive.

Especially the boy named Udi, if it weren't for the companion next to him pulling him, he would probably have rushed up. "There are too many of them????"? There are only ten of us, not their opponents. ”

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Ackerman said in a deep voice.

"Lassi told us that if we want to defeat opponents who are much stronger than us, we must not only have the ruthlessness of not being afraid of death, but also learn to use our brains."

A tall boy with freckles looked at him and asked in a low voice.

"What are we supposed to do?"

"You take Udi, and you, you ????.."

Ackerman counted out five local recruits, handed them to the veteran who had killed all the way from Huzhou, lowered his voice and continued to instruct, "You go north, tell those villagers about the things here, and say that the people of the empire are coming, kill people when they see them, and run north quickly if you don't want to die." ”

"It's useless for them to go there," Udi interjected, whispering, "it's all flooded there??????

"It's just temporarily flooded, the flood season has passed, and it's winter soon?????? When spring comes, the flooded land is the most fertile, and Lord Lassi will divide the land of the nobles among them to plant. Ackerman said without hesitation.

The lands along the Tasan River that had belonged to the nobility have been annexed and will be used to resettle the displaced villagers as soon as the flood season is over.

The land is much more fertile than here, and Lassi says he will give some to the locals. Now that Mammoth State is the territory of the Resistance, they have to manage the land well.

Hearing the division of land, the eyes of the two lads lit up, including Udi.

His village was outside Mammoth City, where it was the domain of the nobility. His father and mother had planted land for the nobles all their lives, and they did not have a piece of their own land, but now there were people who were willing to give them the estates and plantations of the nobles, and they were all excited and eager to cheer for a while.

Only a few veterans from Huzhou looked at their innocent appearance and smiled. Farming?

There's no way out of that thing.

They have had enough of the hardships of farming in the ravines and ravines of Huzhou, and they have to carry guns to live a good life.

Freckled face frowned slightly, looked at Ackerman and asked. "Why do those villagers believe us?"

"Go there and pick up some things for them to bring, believe it or not, we will only save what we can."

Ackerman pointed to the ruins of the village not far away, motioning for him to go there and pick up some physical evidence, then continued in a low voice.

"Today should be all these villages, the gray wolves dare not walk at night, but it is not good to say after dawn, you better move quickly, and get everything done before dawn?????? Remember, notify all the villages within half a day's walk! ”

The six young men nodded solemnly, and went into the bushes to the side and carefully touched the village, and disappeared in a flash of smoke.

As for Ackerman, he took the remaining three and followed the retreating Gray Wolf Army hundred-man team to try to find their "regimental headquarters".

If you're lucky, you might find a chance to do a few shots on them!

At the same time, on the other side, the headquarters of the Gray Wolf Army, General Alayan looked at the sand table expressionlessly, and his thoughts unconsciously drifted away with the chess pieces on the sand table.

still remembers that at the beginning of the year, he was still the god of war admired by thousands of people.

And in just half a year, those who admired him regarded him as a disgrace to the empire and stepped into the sewers with a fierce kick.

How high those people held him up at the time, and how hard they threw him later. But it was precisely because of that incident that he completely woke up-

These people are not worthy of his sympathy.

He shouldn't have treated them as human beings, even though he hadn't felt much for them before.

To this day, he still does not forget the humiliation he suffered at the port of Goldgallen, where the poor ghosts killed his scouts for a few silver coins, sold his information, and deliberately dug the trench as a grave, so that his soldiers could not reach the trench with their hands raised above their heads.

and the reeds on the banks of the Yongliu River.

Those guys would rather be shot and drowned ghosts than be the dogs of the Alliance, and they just won't stay in the empire and be good people.

He knows better than anyone else that if he gives an order from the wall, the people under him will definitely use "their own methods".

But so what?

Rather than leaving these pigs to drag their feet on the front line and deliberately disappoint the bad guys, it is better to use their blood to deter those who dare to oppose the Empire.

At this time, the officer in charge of the work of clearing the field of the fortified wall walked into the tent, looked at General Alayan standing in front of the map, saluted respectfully, and reported it.

"My lord, eighty percent of the Moon Clan Resistance has been here."

"They're definitely coming, nothing surprising. After a while, you can check if there are any relatives in the Resistance Army, whether they are distant relatives or close relatives, and they will be drawn out to form a separate team, and I will keep them useful. ”

Staring at Mammoth City on the map, Alayan continued with a blank face.

"That Lassi is an Alliance-trained officer, and the one who left Golden Gallen Harbor with him was also League-trained. What these people are best at is interspersing, infiltrating, and breaking into parts, so as to fight more with less?????? When they were in Luoxia Province and River Valley Province, those people relied on these tricks to make the Willant people suffer. ”

The officer's expression froze, and he said in a low voice.

"If that's the case, I'm afraid this battle won't be easy to fight."

"I'm afraid?" Alayan laughed, pursed the corners of his mouth and continued, "Don't expect a quick victory, it will take at least three or four months to completely exterminate them, if they want to fight guerrillas, let them fight, we will set up our formation-"

Before he could finish his words, an explosion could be heard in the distance.

The two men in the tent were stunned, and Alayyan's face changed first, and he hurriedly rushed out of the tent and looked in the direction from which the voice came.

The officer followed him out of the tent, and then heard a second explosion in the distance. His face changed slightly, and the officer said in a trembling voice.

“155mm!”

155 of the Union!

The impression that thing left on him was so unforgettable that he could never forget the buzzing of the melon seeds in his brain for the rest of his life.

"You need to talk nonsense??????" Alayan scolded, took off the walkie-talkie hanging from his shoulder and roared.

The first few shells were just "school shots"!

There must have been guerrilla scouts and communication radios reporting the impact points in the vicinity of the units that were shelled! And the truth is exactly what Alayan thinks.

Soon, the boiling cannon sound exploded on the position of the 7,000th team, which belonged to the 10,000th team, and gave the gray wolf army, which was originally high morale, a blow to the head.

Due to the lack of excavation of the anti-artillery fortifications, the entire thousand-man squad suffered heavy casualties, and only sixty percent escaped from the position and were rescued by the 6,000-man squad that rushed to reinforce them.

The first encounter between the Grey Wolves and the Moon Clan Resistance ended in a small victory for the latter, but a single battle victory was not enough to reverse the latter's disadvantage.

The disparity in forces between the two sides remains wide.

Alayan has an army of 50,000 men, and it is also an elite division equipped with the equipment of the Wilantes, and its chief instructor is the famous general of the Eastern Legion, MacLen.

As for Lassy, although he relied on the trick of "flooding the army" to wipe out the local army in Mammoth State, so that the resistance army could face the attack of the gray wolf army in an intact state, but even so, the total number of troops he could use was only more than 20,000, and more than half of them were new recruits.

Although the inhabitants of the Port of Golden Gallen and even the Port of French Fries donated tens of millions of silver coins to the Moon Clan Resistance Army, if the latter could not win on the battlefield, all ideals would be nothing more than empty talk in the end??????

In the waiting hall of the Golden Gallen Harbor, Qian Duo from Dawning City was looking at the "Survivor Daily" in his hand with interest.

The Daily Survivor here is completely different from the Dawning Edition, mainly reporting on some news that the locals are interested in, and only a few mentions are made about the war in Haiya Province and the affairs of River Valley Province.

As for today.

Almost all of the newspapers in Port Golden Gallen focused on the front lines of Mammoth State. 【...??? The human and material evidence are there! Shameless executioner Alayan! 】

[Roger, secretary general of the Golden Gallen Harbor Federation, strongly condemned the barbaric acts of the Imperial Gray Wolf Army, and 100,000 survivors held up signs to protest against the authorities' repatriation of prisoners of war!] 】

[The Governor's Secretary-General, Yodu, who has always refused to express his opinion on matters related to the Empire, made a rare statement denouncing the crimes of the Empire, "It is not only Stone Village where the tragedy occurred, we don't know how many there are in places we can't see!] ”】

[A Chinese teacher from the southern seas, who did not want to be named, expressed shock in an interview: "Shame! I will write to my relatives and friends in the roundabout, and I will go to the representative council to petition! The survivors of the southern seas will never cooperate with man-eating things! ”】

"More than 100 villages were burned, hundreds of thousands of survivors were expelled, and countless people died during the migration?????? Tsk, this Xilan man is ruthless enough to his own people. ”

Looking at the shocking photo, Qian Duo couldn't help but smack his tongue, but he only slurred his tongue and turned a new page backwards.

Mammoth was where he was going in a moment, and he was waiting for a flight there in an hour. But to be honest, seeing the battle situation here is so miserable, he has a little drum in his heart.

100,000 people??????

How many tens of thousands are there in Dawning City now? Three hundred thousand?

Or half a million?

If you count the floating population, I'm afraid it's really a bit difficult to calculate.

Han Long, who was sitting next to him, raised his eyelids and said casually.

"Is the Bone Chewing Tribe not ruthless, or the mutants in Jinchuan Province are not ruthless?????? Wonder is the daughter of ignorance. ”

"Haha, that's ?????? But then again, 50,000 regular troops against 20,000 stragglers, if the alliance doesn't plan to make a move, I think this Lassi will be finished. Looking at the comparison of the strength of the two armies on the back page, Qian Duo smiled and said so casually.

"The alliance has made a move, and I'm afraid the legion will have to go down, huh????? It's really not easy. Han Long took a sentence thoughtfully.

At this moment, an unfamiliar voice suddenly came from beside him. "He's not done."

Han Long didn't pay attention, but Qian Duo looked at the person who interjected into the topic with interest, and saw that it was a man who looked gentle, elegant and easy-going.

He looked like a man of high status, but his outfit was not very valuable. There was a suitcase at his feet, and it looked like it was not small, most of it was a long way out.

Curious about the opinions of the locals, Qian Duo asked curiously. "Oh? Do you think he can win even if the league doesn't make a move? Zeid smiled faintly and said in a soft voice.

"It's up to you to define winning or losing, but if it's aiming to beat Alayyan, it's not a problem for him. But if he aims for the program proposed by the Federation, he has no chance of winning.

Qian Duohaha smiled.

"You're saying something funny, but I think the other way around. If the Gray Wolf Army loses again, the empire will never be able to turn the tables again, and it is only a matter of time before it collapses. ”

Zeid shook his head and said in a coherent manner.

"You mean Lassi wants to be emperor? But I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, even if it's a bit feudal here? At least it's much more civilized than the way Ru Mao drinks blood now?????? I'm sorry to be a bit direct, but it does seem to me as an outsider. ”

After all, they are immortals who can compete with things like the Bone Chewing Tribe, which have been buried in the soil, and the place where birds don't in Red River Town may be much more advanced than them.

Zeid didn't get angry, just smiled faintly and said.

"Everyone can see that Lassi wants to be emperor, and you are not the only ones who can see it. But it's a pity that he didn't have this opportunity, the survivors of Borneo don't need an emperor, or the people here never need an emperor, but the end result is that they get His Majesty?????? Of course, what they need is not equality, but someone who "can make decisions for me". ”

Qian Duo raised his eyebrows with interest.

He had done sufficient market research before coming here, especially after reading Ms. Han Mingyue's research report repeatedly. What this guy said was very different from the results of the Alliance's scientific expedition, although it was not completely contrary. "Don't you think Lassi is the one?"

Zeid shook his head. "Apparently not." Qian Duo asked curiously.

"Because he was born a slave?" Zeid shook his head again. "Of course not." Qian Duo asked again. "And why?"

Zaid looked at the ceiling and thought for a moment. "Because?????? He wanted to be a good emperor. ”

Qian Duo couldn't help but laugh.

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

Zeid smiled faintly and did not answer the question directly.

"There is a logical paradox in this land, which I will call ??????" The rat becomes an adult theorem", referred to as the "rat-man theorem". A person who wants to be a good general must not be a good general, a person who wants to be a good emperor must not be a good emperor, and even if he just wants to be a good person, he must not be a good general. Whether it's Lassi or the witch, whether it's the lads of the federation or the old nobles of the witch, the harder they try, the more they struggle, the more they will run counter to their ideals. ”

This seems to be a theory he is currently making, after all, he has been thinking about the name of this broken theory for a while.

But in order to better understand the market under his feet, Qian Duo continued to listen with interest. "Sounds like a desperate fate."

"Isn't it?"

Zeid glanced at the clock on the wall of the waiting hall, and seemed to have some time, and then continued to talk eloquently.

“?????? An invisible curse haunts everyone in this land, whether it's the rat people or the moon people. Some people realized that the source of the curse was red earth, the city of a thousand pillars, but many more just thought that they realized it, but in fact they didn't understand anything, so they set their eyes on the red earth, on the thousand pillars. It's like picking flowers in a mirror, fishing for the moon in the water, and looking for a horse in a cowshed. ”

The only thing that could call the shots for the survivors of Borneo was a flawless "saint" who excelled in this and was even more devout than the Silvermoon Bay cultists, so they finally got their wish to get Lowell?????? You might say that Lowell died a long time ago, but isn't that the witch another Rowell? ”

"He never left, he cursed the man who buried him in the red soil. Now his children have found a new answer, and it is something they have never thought of before, which is the 'equality' you give them. ”

He lowered his eyebrows and sighed faintly.

"Everything seems to be beautiful, but unfortunately the curse strikes, or the "nezuman theorem" takes effect, and the rats who want to be good people can't even be good mice. When all the survivors of Borneo are consciously or unconsciously yearning for "equality", they will eventually get something the opposite. ”

Qian Duo was stunned for a moment, and said with a smile.

"If there really is that kind of perfect saint, not to mention you, we need it too?????? You don't have to say that laziness is something peculiar to you.

Zeid said with a smile and shook his head.

"You don't really need to, you're just talking, you're completely different from us. I'll give you the simplest example, if you're in Borneo, a bunch of people who don't seem to be serious, but in general do some good deeds, are not likable to anyone, and they have to go to hell. ”

"You mean the Vault dwellers?" Qian Duo glanced around, there were just a few blue coats nearby, and then said with a smile, "I think the people in Golden Gallen Harbor like them a lot." ”

Zeid whispered.

"That's because they're not gone yet????? Moreover, you can see that the Golden Gallen Harbor seems to have been remodeled well, and it seems that they have finally achieved the equality they have dreamed of, but in fact, they don't realize that they have finally found someone who can "make decisions for them", or the group of people who can hold their tired souls. ”

It sounds as if the survivors of Borneo were idealists, but the Daily Survivor in Port Gilgallen was materialistic, just like the Union.

Qian Duo raised an eyebrow with interest, though he didn't agree with him at all.

"Your inference is interesting, but there is no basis for it?????? In fact, you might as well follow the example of Ms. Han Mingyue and write your reasoning into a more coherent paper for publication, and we look forward to the debate between you. ”

Zeid suddenly smiled.

"That kind of thing doesn't make any sense, would you write down the specific steps to make money in the newspaper? And don't forget the nezumi theorem I mentioned, I don't want to be the first victim of this paradox, there are too many people who will die for it. Time will tell?????? My flight is coming, and I wish you a great trip. ”

As he spoke, he got up from the seat with his suitcase, and suddenly seemed to think of something, looked at Qian Duo with a smile, and took off his hat to salute.

"Also, Mammoth State is a good place to be, and I'm just as optimistic about the future there."

Leaving the surprised Coalition merchant behind, Zeid made his way to the security checkpoint. He seemed to have some argument with the people there, but eventually went up.

Qian Duo looked at Han Long on the side and said excitedly.

"Damn?????? This guy has something, and he actually sees that we are going to Mammoth State for an investigation? "Funny guy.

He should have asked for his name.

Han Long stared at the man's back for a while, his electronic eyes swaying from side to side.

"I only care about my boss's business?????? Then again, this guy doesn't seem to be very optimistic about Lassy? Do we still need to go? ”

Qian Duohaha said with a smile.

"He is not optimistic that is his point of view, there are many people in this world who have different views from us, don't let the nonsense of a passerby affect your judgment. What's more, our views are not all opposite, at least he is bullish on Mammoth State, which is the same as mine. ”

If Lister Group wants to keep up with the trend of the times, it has to expand its overseas business like Baiyue Company and join the new supply chain that is taking shape.

In the future, the goods of the alliance will no longer be produced only in the two industrial zones of Dawn City and Boulder City, and the invisible logistics network will connect all the backward and advanced productive forces in the adhesive community.

But while expanding your business is key, controlling risk is even more critical.

And that's why Liszt asked him to go to Mammoth City, but he made his first stop at the port of the Golden Gallen. Only the nouveau riche only stare at yields.

Before considering the benefits, he had to find a way out.