"I need a million pounds of grain seeds, and I'm going to send a ship from the port to Metenheim as fast as possible to solve the famine there."

The lord really didn't hide it at all.

"Grain? I can't give food to people from hostile countries, it's a great crime to be an enemy anywhere, and I can't exchange my own guilt for the other two governors' evidence, right? Lord Leon, I'd rather pay double the price for ......"

Keros first rejected directly, and then stared at the two IOUs, showing a hesitant expression.

It seems that he is hesitant, not whether to trade......

"Don't get me wrong, food wasn't given to me. I'm just helping these friends of Mettenheim solve their problems, and it's Count Guderian of Mettenheim who buys food, and they are not your hostile country...... Of course, if you're not interested, I can go and talk to His Majesty the Emperor directly—in fact, I was going to talk to His Majesty the Emperor directly. ”

Leon gestured to the Metenheim standing outside.

Indeed, Kairos was not the only client, and it was okay to talk to Emperor Marius.

And it would be more certain to talk to Marius - there is no middleman like Keros.

The lord placed his hand lightly on the small table, pressed the parchment, and stared into Keros's eyes.

Emperor Marius would certainly be interested......

Before coming here, Leon was already very sure that he would be able to convince the Bacchus Empire.

However, he originally considered many schemes, such as going to meet Kairos in the name of Frederick, an envoy, and then using this to meet Emperor Marius, and using the factional struggle of the Bacchus Empire to convince Marius.

Emperor Marius must have been willing to solve the famine in Mettenheim – and with the wisdom of his majesty in pushing for reforms, he must have been willing to make Mettenheim a hardcore ally of Bacchus.

It is actually much easier to convince such an emperor than to convince a leader, and Li Ang has always been good at taking advantage of the situation.

But after gaining so much information along the way, he finally decided to reveal his identity directly, using the IOUs written by the two governors to convince Keros directly.

Because, Emperor Marius represented the country of Bacchus; And Frederick was the official envoy, representing Metenheim.

In the name of the envoys, this is a purely diplomatic act, and the benefits of the lord himself are limited.

And having a politician like Emperor Marius support Meettenheim is likely to have sequelae, such as causing Metenheim to be coerced by the Bacchus Empire.

But if you are to convince Governor Kairos privately, you don't have to worry about that.

Diplomacy is completely different from a private deal, but the outcome for Mettenheim is no different – even if the deal is negotiated diplomatically, Marius will still let Carlos complete the concrete steps.

Because the grain seeds produced near the port of Dilin are the most suitable, and they must be transported by ship from the port of Dilin.

Moreover, this private act would have made Leon himself the greatest gratitude of the people of Metenheim.

This is the selfishness of the lord - he has raised his goals a notch.

His goal was raised from 'gaining the gratitude of some of the people of Mettenheim' to 'gaining the respect of Mettenheim'.

Because, this almost single-handedly helped Metenheim solve a big problem.

Leon believed that Kairos would be willing to trade, because Kairos' demand had been thoroughly stimulated, and there were clearly two buyers now, and it was a seller's market.

Moreover, a million pounds of grain is not too difficult for Keros.

The territory of Kairos is the port of Dillin, a large city with a total population of more than 100,000 in the county, and the richest economic center of the whole Bacchus.

Dean has also carried out water conservancy construction in this area, and there is absolutely no shortage of food.

"If it's Mettenheim...... That's acceptable. Just need a million pounds of grain? No other requirements, right? ”

Keros sat up straight and looked at Leon again.

"It was a million pounds of grain seeds—grain seeds suitable for growing near the port of Tielin, which were sent by ship to Metenheim. Frederick, the emissary of Metenheim, would return home with some great swordsmen. As soon as I see the ship with the food departing, you can send me back to the Lion Realm directly, so you don't have to worry about what else I will do. ”

Li Ang finished his words word by word, picked up the two IOUs and put them back in his arms, and then opened the car door directly: "I really came with complete goodwill, I'm sure you can notice it." ”

"Deal."

Keros didn't ink anymore and agreed.

But before getting out of the car, he said softly: "Agathon is right, you will definitely become the great enemy of the Empire...... This ability to perceive people's hearts alone is enough to stir up the storm, and you are still so young......"

The lord looked back and smiled, "What? Is Lord Kairos planning to join me? ”

Kairos also laughed: "Ha, that's not a small breath...... Actually, I've been hesitating to kill you just now. ”

Lord Lords smiled and shook his head, "Lord Kairos, you probably don't know...... There is always a marksman watching you from the window. ”

After saying that, Li Ang got up and got out of the car, stood by the door and stretched out his hand to help.

The direction of the hand is towards a tree not far away.

Keros got out of the car, and then looked over with the lord's hand, and saw a man in green standing on the branch of the tree, holding a large bow, who seemed to be almost one with the tree.

Presumably seeing Keros's gaze, the archer dodged and disappeared into the foliage.

That's Risa Dilan.

Without saying a word, Keros returned to the carriage, and then said to the lord, "Lend me this carriage, and I will be waiting for you in the harbor in three days." ”

Leon smiled and nodded: "What are you talking about, let's give this carriage to you as a souvenir." Klose, go help the Doge drive. ”

Keros shook his head in the car: "How many dinars is this carriage worth?" ”

"Now that you know that it can block all arrows and spears, it is clear that it cannot be measured in dinars. I hope you will understand my friendliness and sincerity, Your Excellency the Governor. ”

Leon smiled and waved goodbye to Keros.

Keros's guards escorted the carriage in the direction of the port of Dillin, and Keros did not refuse to let Klose drive, knowing that this was the liaison Leon had given him.

Watching the carriage go away, the lord nodded to Frederick, who had been watching him all the time: "Your mission can be completed, go to the port and wait, you can return to Metenheim with food in three days." ”

Frederick burst into tears in two seconds and fell to his knees facing Leon.

"Your Excellency, your virtues will be proclaimed before you set foot in the land of the Iron God. In my capacity as an envoy of Metenheim, I declare that all the people of the Iron God who hear your name will recognize your will, glory, and authority, and that it is the highest honor to fight for you. ”

Frederick was now representing an independent nation as an envoy.

This is not an oath of allegiance, but an endorsement of the lord's right to rule on behalf of the people of Metenheim.

From now on, regardless of whether Leon has a territory or not, and whether he is loyal to others or not, he will be regarded by the people of Mettenheim as a ruler equal to the Earl of Mettenheim.

This meant that the people of Metenheim no longer saw him as an ordinary noble lord.

Rather, he is regarded as the king of the allies.

……

Three days later, the emperor came to the port.

Keros sent an ocean-going fleet to Metenheim with a large amount of grain.

All the people of Metenheim said goodbye to their lord for the time being and set out on their way home.

They have to protect with the ship, and they also have to keep an eye on a few captains without making small moves.

But in fact, the ships will definitely not make any small moves, because Lord Dean also followed Frederick on board.

He was going to Mettenheim to build a water conservancy facility and help Mettenheim solve the famine.

This is his faith.

Dean is the lord of Bacchus after all, and it's impossible to kidnap him to the Lion Realm - it's treason.

This is a man who will obey the small law of even the age of marriage, and he is loyal to the Bacchus Empire, and he will not commit treason.

And the repellent sent by Creon is still following.

But when he went to Metenheim, he didn't feel any pressure at all. In fact, even the outbreakers felt that Dean might be the best option for him to go to Metenheim.

This allowed him to avoid the sin of not marrying.

But for Dean, that's what Amy told him — that her teacher would be able to give him an enemy who would have no scruples about researching and promoting high-yielding crops, so that there would be no famine for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even entire continents.

"Your Excellency Leon, it is the duty of the goddess Damia to solve the famine of the people...... I will continue my career at Eisenberg, thank you for your help. ”

Dean waved goodbye to Leon and Amy, "Miss Amy, I said I was going to give you a cart of seeds—but I'm going to take this cart with me." You can go to my house and remove all the remaining seeds from the cellar, and leave enough grain for my steward to grow on my two hundred acres of land. ”

Amy had hauled a cart of potatoes and corn seeds from his house, and Dean was going to take the cartload directly to Metenheim.

Dean gave Leon and Amy a handwritten letter to his butler, and at the same time, to his father, General Creon.

He had more left in his cellar.

After bidding farewell to the fleet, only Amy and the few plague wardens were left by the lord's side.

While witnessing the fleet leave, Leon handed the two IOUs into the hands of Governor Keros.

Later, Kairos sent troops to send them all the way to the village of Yinmeier, and gave Leon a sum of money at the time of parting.

Not much, two thousand dinars.

It's the money that Keros paid for the carriage.

The governor did not accept the gift, but paid a reasonable price and bought the van.

Probably he was worried that the lord would use the same logic to trick him......

After all, accepting a gift from an enemy lord is also easy to arouse suspicion.

The other two governors wrote these two IOUs and were used by Leon, so he took his carriage and could not guarantee that he would not be used again.

simply let his subordinates pay, so as not to be cheated.

After seeing the archers in the trees, Governor Kairos was quite wary of the lord.

However, the lord just needed cash, and the two thousand dinars were spent by Leon in the blink of an eye.

He used the money to buy five ordinary wagons and haul most of Dean's potatoes and corn seeds back to his domain.

More than 3,000 pounds of corn, and about 1,000 pounds of potatoes.

When I returned to the territory, it was already June.

This is no longer the season for potato planting, the weather is too hot, the soil temperature is too high, the potatoes will not sprout, and you can only find a dry and opaque cellar to store until autumn.

But corn can be planted in June or July – and the corn seeds here in Dean are suitable for autumn corn.

What to do with wheat, the lord doesn't know at all.

But he knew about corn, even more than Dean.

In order to compare corn with wheat, Dean planted corn according to the wheat cycle, and used the same irrigation method, which is actually a bit problematic......

Although he got twice the yield of wheat, two or three hundred pounds per mu was still not the data that corn should have......

Wheat is best sown at a temperature of 10 degrees, that is, at the beginning of spring.

But when it's around 30 degrees, that is, summer, is the most suitable temperature for growing corn.

And Dean dries the corn seeds and preserves them directly—the wheat is indeed planted directly.

But corn is different, sun-dried corn seeds should be soaked for a day before planting, otherwise not only slow germination and low efficiency, but also the quality of the corn that grows is not good.

In the relatively cold places in the north, it is even necessary to use pots and warm water of twenty or thirty degrees to promote planting, and then plant them in the ground when they germinate.

Although the lord's understanding is indeed limited, he knows that as long as he follows the right way, even this kind of corn that has not been improved and optimized can reach a production capacity of more than 400 pounds per acre.

In order to ensure the safety of the land, the two carved out a wooded land behind White Hart Fort, which was planted by Mai Xiangling's troops - these soldiers with shares were more trustworthy.

More than 3,000 pounds of corn seeds became nearly 1,000 acres of corn fields in a matter of days, and this land belonged to the joint property of Leon and Amy.

The seed was given to Amy by Dean, and the land was planted by the lord, but the land belonged to Godric...... It's really a joint industry.

The potatoes were actually stored in the cellars of White Hart Fort - Mai Xiangling did not find a dry enough environment and did not see light at all, and the cellars of White Hart Fort were actually converted from prisons.

For the sake of these baby bumps, the lord also stayed in White Deer Castle.

So, as Godric said, Leon was officially stationed at Fort White Deer to take charge of military affairs.

Amy would help him with the trivial matters, and Leon would manage the affairs of the two realms together.

The people of White Hart Fort quickly became acquainted with the young lord, and gradually became accustomed to reporting important matters to Leon's side.

And the people of Mai Xiangling and those merchants are also accustomed to looking for Li Ang for big things, and Miss Amy for small things......

Even the officials of Changhe Town knew that if they had any official business, they would go directly to White Hart Fort and find Leon and Amy—all the same anyway.

In addition, there is basically no boundary between Mai Xiangling and Bailu Fort, and all sides of the road are now planted with wheat, and the people have scattered in between, with one or two farms every few hundred meters.

The territories are fully connected.

Bailubao and Mai Xiangling gradually became difficult to distinguish from each other.

……

Siyuan City.

In the side hall of the palace, there were only two people.

Emperor Marius sat on the throne with a thick brown beard twisted on his chin.

In front of him was the Governor of Justes.

"Justus, my old friend, that Baron Leon sold the IOU you wrote to Keros, you should know what that means......"

Emperor Marius glanced meaningfully at Governor Justes, with some hint of a friend's joke.

Justes bowed: "Your Majesty, I swear that I have not done anything to betray the Empire......"

"I know you won't, you told me that...... I just wanted to tell you that Leon, who entered the empire alone the other day, transferred your and Levius' debts to Keros. This makes me have to 'buy' your debt again for a much larger price, or your reputation will be ruined......"

Emperor Marius's communication with Justes was very direct.

The two seem to be real hardcore old friends.

"Your Majesty, my reputation was originally irrelevant...... The Shadow Legion is the trouble that must be solved, and you should not continue to have Keros as the marshal......"

Justes shook his head.

"But the problem is that Keros got these two IOUs, which to outsiders can prove that you and Livius made a deal with the enemy during the war...... What would the Shadow Legion think if I didn't compromise with Kairos? Now let anyone other than Kairos be the marshal, and the Shadow Legion will riot, and they may even raise the rebel flag directly. You should know that there is also a rebellious Augustus in the Empire, he is a member of the Senate, and the Shadow Legion is already biased towards him! ”

Emperor Marius reached out and tapped on the arm of his chair, looking a little anxious.

"Your Majesty, in that case, you can demote me, Keros, and Livius together...... And then make General Agathon the marshal, so that it will appear above board, and no one will object to it......"

Justes does seem to be loyal to Marius, and is willing to make such self-harming suggestions.

"You're the only one who can support me in completing reforms, Justes...... If you are regarded by the majority as an incompetent traitor to the fornication enemy, our reforms will be difficult to sustain. I can't do that, Justes, people believe in reform because they trust their leaders. If you are seen as incompetent, I will be regarded as an incompetent emperor, and our reforms will not be able to be carried out......"

Marius stood up and waved his hand: "Let Keros continue to be the marshal, it's okay, I can put him in charge of exterminating Augustus!" And the person who kidnaps you must be a strong enemy that cannot be resisted! Only then can the civilians and soldiers understand that you could not defend yourself against the kidnappers. And we have to reform to deal with strong opponents......"

After speaking, he looked at Justus: "We are going to make that Baron Leon a more powerful general than Agathon, so that people will forgive you for the fact that you were captured by him." ”

"But he was really just a little baron...... Alas...... Unless His Majesty does not hesitate to act personally. ”

Governor Justes sighed.

"That's what I called you for, I'm going to write him a letter, and you can arrange for the spy to send it over......"