The commercial and industrial area north of Nauman City has a gentle name, 'Breeze', but it's much worse than its name, since the Southridge Legion built its first munitions factory here one hundred and fifty years ago, the breezes of Breeze's Haven have often carried the smell of steel calcining and molten metal.

One hundred and fifty years later, the military factories were gradually converted into production parks for the production of various light industrial products, providing most of the towns and manors in Nanling with the necessary agricultural tools, weapons, lanterns and alchemy raw materials.

The smell of potions and metallic smells fill the place, and a gentle breeze blows them away, but the workshops that continue to produce them all day long.

There shouldn't be any wild animals willing to approach it, but that's the magic of Terra - large numbers of iron-beaked seagulls love the unnatural smell, chirping through the grey clouds over Breezehaven, and every now and then a gray feather or two drops.

At the docks by the sea, a steady stream of merchant ships arrived and transported the goods from the workshop, and on the turquoise sea sat a towering gray watchtower, the top of which shone with a striking golden light even in the daytime, and the core of the thunder flashed at the top of the tower, both to guide the passing ships and to drive away the surrounding magical beasts.

With a steel-patterned sword at his waist, the white-haired boy walked along the seaside streets, and the brown wooden breakwater technology was derived from the elves of Canaan Moor. If you think about it, the connection between the Empire and Canaan Moore has been going on for decades, but at that time most people thought it was just an ordinary technical exchange, but they never thought it was a precursor to an alliance between the two countries.

He had long white hair that fell down to his waist, an ivory-white alchemist's robe that was slightly wide, a blue-gray strap wrapped around his forehead, and a thin lip with a smile on his handsome and fair face.

The slender young man's eyes were bright, and his water-colored eyes scanned the streets by the sea and the merchant ships that were as dense as schools of fish, as if he was condescendingly examining something.

But this condescension does not carry any arrogance or contempt, but only a purely rational scrutiny.

On October 22, 22 October, two weeks after leaving the imperial capital, Ian returned to the vicinity of Nauman City in Southling.

After leaving the imperial capital, Ian did not use the fastest combination of the 'Alchemy Train' and the 'Griffon', so that he could return to Nanling in three or four days.

The reason why he used a speed that was not too fast but not too slow along the way, and walked all the way back to his hometown, in addition to avoiding his own luck and causing another problem in the vehicle, was to observe the impact of the state of preparation and the harassment of the Flying Flame Land on Nanling.

The results were rather unpleasant.

Along the way, whether it was the knight's manor in the golden wilderness or the knight's village in the hills, it was a bit depressed compared to when he left, especially after agriculture was affected, and the autumn harvest festival that should have been held during this time was canceled recently.

After all, there is not much food, and there is nothing to celebrate.

The situation around Nauman City is good, after all, in addition to the grain stored in previous years, the three core cities of Nauman, Three Rivers and Port Harrison are all coastal cities, and judging from the prosperity of Terra's coastal products, the catch alone will not really starve to death.

"This is still a situation where I reminded you to take precautions in advance - if you don't prepare in advance, the famine on the Nanling side is basically predictable, and it is estimated that only a few big cities can rely on the aid of the imperial capital to barely survive."

Ian surveyed the city along the streets, and the streets of Breeze Haven were much deserted compared to when he left.

Nanling has entered autumn. Autumn was a bleak autumn without a bustling harvest and a deserted street full of crowds and travelers, with exotic goods from Canaan Moor, fine swords, armor, and all kinds of alchemical products.

Most of the pedestrians are in a hurry, and there are no children even playing on the streets, and the merchants are shouting.

The fierce bargaining between the women and the rising grain sellers is probably the most life-like scene Ian has ever seen.

In contrast, there is a busy scene in the industrial area of the workshop. Looking beyond the dirty top floors of the houses, the chimneys made of rock bricks in the distance are spewing all kinds of alchemical dust, most of which are slightly toxic, and the Terra people are solid, if the earth has not undergone genetic modification, it is estimated that living here for three or four years will be sick.

The dusty and misty workshop area is bustling with production and a large number of skilled workers and porters.

Although universal education has been abolished for many years, the official alchemy workshops in various places will provide some training courses for skilled workers, just like the various breeding manuals and planting tips popularized by Axel, and the popularization of education in another sense is slowly spreading.

From this point of view alone, Ian argues that Axel the Defender does not simply fall into the ranks of 'bad guys', and that he has a comprehensive and progressive plan for the governance of his country.

Moreover, he has a strong grip on the entire country. Even if he has not come forward much in recent years, the supreme power of the entire empire is still in his hands.

The Settar Empire was not a primitive medieval empire, it was a powerful industrial country with a well-developed industrial system, the aristocracy of the empire seemed primitive, but it was not a simple feudal system, a system composed of emperors, nobles, knights, commoners and sublimators, making this structure indestructible and loyal.

Axel proposed a policy, and the people below would carry it out, and no one would dare to disobey the will of the fifth level, and no one would be stupid enough to face the emperor's direct orders, thinking that they could play with words and disobey the yang, but this defender would not dare to kill him because of any 'rules' and 'order'.

This emperor of the empire is the inheritance of the sun god bird, and it only takes a second for him to go from one end of the empire to the other.

"Universal education can be problematic, but if you teach a trade, everyone welcomes it."

After seeing the thriving scene of the workshop area, Ian couldn't help but nod slightly: "Reform should also be adapted to local conditions, and higher education cannot be rushed." ”

The streets are filled with vats and boxes of raw materials, as well as very tightly wrapped goods. Ordinary people may not see any clues, but Ian can see through the hidden skin and see the things inside.

That's weapons and ammunition. Large quantities of different weapons and ammunition.

Armor, swords, parts and components of ordinary gunpowder firearms, bullets of large and small calibers, shells of some alchemical gunpowder and alchemy artillery.

Ian even saw a batch of core igniters in the heart of the alchemy furnace - armored vehicles draped in heavy outer armor and a small team of escort knights delivering this batch of strategic-grade supplies worth at least 20,000 thalers or more into a lead-gray ironclad ship.

This is the general direction of Nanling's policy today, and the productive forces in all aspects have made concessions to the military industry, and there is nothing to see from here.

At least I can't see the situation of ordinary people's lives now.

After roughly calculating the port's throughput, Ian walked over to a dim sum shop where he had bought a specialty.

As soon as he entered the door, he asked, "Boss, is there still a breeze to bake cakes?" ”

The light breeze cake is a local specialty, and it looks like two plates together, similar to the dorayaki of the previous earth, and the sweetening of the skin is made with honey and eggs, and each shop adds a variety of nuts, sesame seeds, and raisins depending on the technique.

Instead of sweetening it, some restaurants add fresh meat or shrimp filling to bake it to create a rich umami flavor that soaks the entire pastry.

When Ian ate it along the way, he liked this specialty, the taste was crispy when I took a bite, the sweet taste was sweet and fragrant, it melted in the mouth, the texture of the fresh meat was strong, and the gravy and fat were diffused when chewed, and it was full of satisfaction.

Whether it's sweet or savory, Ian loves it, unlike the local Nauman people who fight each other for taste and reject each other as heretics.

But unfortunately, this time he came at the wrong time.

When the clerk saw Ian's alchemist robe and his white face, which looked like he was soaking in an alchemy laboratory, he bowed respectfully: "Sir, the price may be a little more expensive than before. ”

The corner of Ian's eyes swept the price list in front of the counter, and the original sweet breeze baked cake with two pfennig copper has now increased in price to four, and the price has directly doubled.

On the contrary, it is stuffed with meat and shrimp, which was originally three pfennig, and now I buy five pfennil and two nine pfennig.

"Two minced meat."

Ian didn't say much, the pastry shop also sold candy, but the jars on the shelves were all empty, and even Nanling's specialty sour syrup candy pills, a sweet and sour refreshing, sweet and sour mint-like snack were gone.

He raised his hand and pointed at the sugar jar: "What, are they all sold out?" The tone smacked of a faint accusation.

"No, there are no raw materials...... the clerk was taking out the hot baked cake from the oven for Ian, and he immediately bowed his head when he heard this: "Sir is from out of town, right?" The sugar cane and sugar beet fields of Southridge were attacked by agents from the Flamelands...... To be honest, even the price of flour has risen quite a bit, and it is difficult for the store to continue......"

His tone was full of gnashing teeth, and a wave of anger and hatred from his heart could not be concealed.

"I see." Ian saw that the clerk was talking clearly, like an educated person, so he asked a few more words, and then realized that the other party was actually the owner.

The old owner passed away last month, and his son, who had studied in Nauman, had to return to inherit the family's business.

"My father used to be in good health, how could he suddenly get sick and die?"

The young shopkeeper's tone was filled with sadness and hatred, and he believed that his father's sudden illness and death had something to do with the Flamelands' plague tactics.

Ian looked at the other man's demeanor and felt that if he met a Flame Lander, he would probably chop the other into minced meat and stuff it into a baked cake.

Because Ian's image was too good, and he comforted him a few words in passing, and he seemed quite gentle and amiable, so the shopkeeper's conversation box was also opened.

All the grain and cash crops on the South Ridge side have been hit, and although the Governor's Palace quickly adopted the corresponding spraying treatment to eliminate pests and diseases, this year's grain production is only 40 percent of the past.

That is, thanks to the continuous supply of food support on the side of the Central Plains, the Governor's Mansion has long been prepared to store grain, otherwise, this year's Nanling will definitely be a year of great famine, and I don't know how many people will starve to death.

Even so, rising food prices are inevitable, many restaurants in the city have closed, and some affordable seafood is still opening, and even the rich cannot buy the usual pastries, let alone sweets.

"Sugar is also a material from the workshop, isn't it in a state of readiness now, and the army is given priority."

The shopkeeper nagged, "You can kill a few more Flying Flame Ground cubs, it's not a big deal if you don't eat sugar." ”

Ian felt that it was not that simple, because the fog on the shopkeeper was light red.

But it was probably his own bad luck, so Ian went out and went to a few other pastry and bakery shops that were still open, proving that the young owner of the original shop was right, that basically all cereals and sugars had gone up or that they were not available at all.

And the fortune of these shopkeepers is normal gray and white,

"It seems that I was right to ask Isengard to help me prepare enough food, a convoy of food should be enough to appease the territory."

With the cake in hand, Ian walked to the lookout of the breezy harbor and ate the cake and blew the wind, overlooking the most important commercial and industrial town north of Nauman City.

His eyes were lowered, with concern: "The reduction in grain production in Nanling has not hit the order of the towns around the three-city trade route, and even cakes are still sold, although the price has increased, but the fact that there are still customers on sale means that there are still customers, and the residents complain at most, but they are not panicked in their hearts, and they are not worried that they will starve to death." ”

"But not necessarily elsewhere."

"The grain-producing area of the Agate Stone Plain has been hit, and the first to feel the pain is definitely not the imperial people, but the mountain people."

"The mountain autonomous regions and imperial colonies in the west can't stop the spread of the plague of biological warfare in the first place, and their food production is definitely more serious than that around Nauman City, which is the main target of the Flying Flame Land."

Lyan collar, naturally, is one of them.

At this moment, a gust of sea breeze blows in your face, and the coolness of autumn and the breath of the blue sea hit your cheeks like a tulle touch.

It swirled in the leaves, and Ian reached out and plucked one from the wind.

"The insect plague continues. The Flamelands didn't stop moving. ”

With a silver glint in his eyes, Ian thoughtfully sent the insect-eaten leaves back into the wind: "The situation in Nanling is more serious than what I heard in the imperial capital - and the news of ordinary people is blocked, they don't even know it. ”

He turned his head to look at Nauman City, where the rows of rooftops and chimneys formed a jungle of buildings, where the workshops were also running at full capacity, spewing large expanses of white water vapor or alchemical dust, and there was even a faint sound like a bell ringing in the huge alchemy towers of Nauman City.

It was the only place in Naumann where armor could be legally manufactured.

Even it is running at full capacity, which is enough to prove that the so-called 'all-out war' is coming, and the severity of the situation in Southridge.

Two baked cakes were obviously not enough to fill Ian's belly, and although he looked slender, he ate a lot of food.

The new shopkeeper was even better at his father's workmanship, and the meat filling was filled with a little spice powder, which tasted quite satisfying and satisfying, and the price of the meat was justified.

So he went back to that pastry shop and was ready to buy two more to eat on the way to Nauman City.

By the way, ask the owner what the situation is, and help him avoid any bad luck that he may encounter recently.

Good craftsmanship does have preferential treatment.

But as soon as he reached the street where the pastry shop was located, Ian saw two heavily armed knights of the guard guarding the door, while two other knights in strong armor were inquiring about the situation in the shop.

"Please stop...... Mr. ”

The knight guarding the door noticed Ian's approach, and when he saw Ian's alchemical robes and the silver 'Elite Alchemist' badge pinned to his chest, he lowered his head and said in a less blunt tone, "An important investigation is underway here, please stay away." ”

Ian heard a shouting from inside the store, 'Are you sure you're telling the whole story?!' ''Mind you, sir, if you don't tell the truth, you are guilty of treason!'' Such words.

"Treason?"

Raising a brow, Ian looked at the Guardian Knights who seemed to want to continue expelling him, and he took the Patrol Knights' badge from his bosom, the water essentia in his hand moistening the air around him.

The young man's tone was indifferent: "Tell me the situation, knight." ”

"This ......"

The knight guarding the door was stunned, as a civil servant, he obviously didn't do his homework on weekdays, and he didn't recognize the badge of the knight at the first time, but he felt quite familiar, and it was a feeling that he couldn't be offended.

Moreover, such a young alchemist and sublimator......

He looked at another companion guarding the door, then straightened up: "I'm going to report to the chief." ”

The knight entered the storefront. Soon, another squad leader with a more complex armor style and a power structure on his legs appeared in front of Ian.

Just glancing at the badge in Ian's hand, the squad leader immediately stood up and saluted: "Report to the chief, the Nauman City Guard, squad leader Piman, is leading the team to track down and screen the Flying Flame Land agents!" ”

"Report back to me." Ian said lightly, he saw the shopkeeper staring at him with a shocked face: "Why is he suspicious?" ”

"Report sir." Captain Piman was not surprised by the presence of the Patrol Knights, after all, their immediate boss, the Marquis of Batun, was the top of the Patrol Knights, and he said fluently: "A week ago, there was a large-scale rebellion in the mountain people's autonomous regions around the Baissen Mountains, and we tracked down that some Flying Flame Land agents had developed traitors within us, providing weapons and food to the rebel mountain people through our internal channels. ”

"There is a partial overlap between this shopkeeper's raw material channel and the internal traitor's channel, and we can't let go of any clues!"

Nonsense. Ian thought to himself, how many more channels can get enough and high-quality food at this time? If you don't overlap, you have to really check the situation of this shopkeeper, which is too powerful.

Moreover, the mountain people rebelled? Which hill people rebelled?

Elder Cliff: They've been working with the Empire lately, right? The Marquis of Barton is their partner.

However, it is true that they are not representative of all mountain people.

"No wonder in the past two weeks, no one from the Bailong Sect has replied to me, the feeling is that there is a fire in the backyard, and even the situation is quite serious."

Thinking of this, Ian suddenly had some guesses in his heart.

But he continued to instruct the knights: "Tell me more about the rebellion of the mountain people. What is the extent of the impact and what is the impact. ”

"Report sir." Piman also saw that the patrol knight estimated that he had just returned to Nanling, and it was not a critical task to examine the shopkeeper, so he simply continued to report: "The situation of the mountain rebellion is very complicated, and the spread is extremely wide, the colonies of Moldor and Odore have fallen, the tribes that support the empire in the Frodo Autonomous Region are still resisting, and the South China Sea Navy is going to support. ”

"And the autonomous region of Midra and the surrounding noble lords have been caught in the war, but for now it is only limited to the interior of the Baisen Mountains, and the Agate Stone Plain has the knights of the Marquis patrolling, and it has not been affected."

"Ryan collar." Ian nodded slightly, and he went straight to the core: "How's the situation?" I remember that the mountain knights were also in charge there, so it wouldn't have been affected by the rebellion. ”

Piman thought for a moment, and he nodded: "Yes, sir, the former Ryan Collar is currently missing. ”

- Ha, I know.

With a sigh in his heart, Ian shook his head.

He knew that things were not going so well.