In late autumn, the eastern part of the mainland presents a withered sallow, and everything has not escaped new reincarnation and changes after all.

The newly established kingdom of Krulia was almost completely covered with this withered yellow.

Farms everywhere have just finished harvesting, and they can't wait to renovate the land and sow winter wheat. The Harrence Heights and the Garmic Plains are the only places on the mainland where two crops of wheat can be sown.

This year, thanks to the tax exemption policy of the Queen of Crulia for the reduction of taxes on pasture and pasture and the reclamation of wasteland, various regions, especially the more remote areas, have ushered in an opportunity for expansion.

Although trade flourished for nearly a hundred years, agricultural development was equally important to the emerging kingdom of Kruria.

The Cabinet of the Kingdom and all levels of the kingdom were so concerned about Pedi Reagan's first major decision after his coronation that the cabinet quarreled over the tax cuts and exemptions announced by Pedi.

Prime Minister Daisily Pombo argues that the five-year tax exemption for wasteland reclamation is too long and should be reduced to two years, while Chancellor of the Exchequer Edwin Filming argues that five years is too short and should be increased to 10 years, arguing that it takes at least three years for a mature farmland to be cultivated and another seven years for large-scale profitability.

The two of them had their own opinions, and whenever they had free time, they quarreled over this issue.

Pedi ignored the quarrel between the two men, and once he had set the course, he spent his time putting his time in order.

After consulting with the Minister of War, Sira Marne, the youngest and only female member of the Cabinet, he decided to abolish the corps and manage the army at the corps level, retaining eight regular corps and two heavy cavalry corps as the regular military force of the kingdom.

Among them, five corps are stationed in the border military district established in the eastern region of Iruk, which is under the unified management of the border staff. The remaining three regular corps and two heavy cavalry corps were stationed in the capital city of Crewe.

At the same time, garrisons were set up in the cities of Herion, Harrens, Byan, Baran, Seka, Gesen, and Kumar as reserves.

However, this plan was discussed by the cabinet and opposed by Prime Minister Daisily Pombo and Edwin Filming, who believed that the kingdom did not need such a large number of troops at the moment, and suggested that the size of the local garrison corps should be reduced to reduce military spending.

But Pedi stubbornly insisted on his opinion, and in the face of the opposition of the cabinet, he said firmly: "With the kingdom of more than 10 million people, it is not a problem to feed an army of less than 100,000 at all. ”

The issue went back and forth, and in the end Edwin Filming's suggestion was for the local government to raise its own garrison corps for military expenses.

However, his proposal was immediately opposed by the Minister of War, Silaman, who said: "Local governments simply do not know how to train the army, and letting them finance their own military funds breeds the corruption of the army, just like the corruption of the old empire." ”

After the issue was put on hold for a few days, Peidi adopted the advice of the old orc Morinda Morinda and asked the local garrison corps to recruit local young and middle-aged people to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army with minimal military expenses and basic training, and adopted a two-year compulsory military service system (without paying too much military expenses) to ensure the supply of soldiers for war in the territory while saving a lot of money.

At the same time, the corrupt semi-military group of the City Defense Battalion was formally disbanded after the establishment of the garrison corps, and under the dual investigation of the police department and the cabinet, the corrupt officials were eliminated, and the good ones were added to the newly established garrison corps.

Then there was the issue of education, which Pedi focused on, and he first proposed that the secretary of education, Cowlier, be included in the cabinet, but this proposal was immediately opposed by all cabinet members except Edwin Film. However, Pedi was not the emperor of the old empire, his power came from himself, and he did not agree with the opinion of the cabinet and forced Cowlir into the cabinet.

Pedi's dictatorial approach has caused displeasure among Prime Minister Daisily Pombo.

But in the same way, being opposed by the cabinet several times also made Pedi dissatisfied with the existence of the cabinet. At times, he calmed down and even considered ways to abolish the cabinet and return to the former authoritarian management of the Cabinet Office.

...

November 20, the third day after the completion of negotiations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the three goblin princes.

Peddy had just finished signing a cooperation agreement with the three goblin princes, and Danmen Green, the head of the Kingdom's Military Intelligence Division, hurriedly brought the latest battle report from the Klan Territory.

After reading the battle report, Pedi instructed his knight captain Otwood (the former lieutenant): "Have Baron Hanina, Lord Morinda and Sir Sira Marne come to the Inner Chamber office and wait for me." ”

At the celebration party with the goblins, after Peddy gave a speech, he asked his queen to preside over the reception in his place.

When Pedi entered the inner hall office in a gown, Sira Marne, Baron Hanina, and Morinda had been waiting for a long time.

"Has the intelligence been confirmed?" said Pedy, looking at Hanina, who was in charge of military analysis.

"Of course, ten minutes ago, Baron Danmen brought the confirmed information. Baron Hannina nodded, "At the same time, there have been diplomatic letters from the diplomatic envoys of Shikan-Silveraxe in Crewe, asking us to help them break up the alliance that was about to be formed in Crane City. ”

"How could the elven army led by the Klan be finished in such a short period of time?" said Pedi with sarcasm on his face, "Can you imagine? The nearly 200,000 troops of the old empire couldn't do anything about them. ”

"The Elven Alliance has not been very harmonious since the collapse of the Empire. Sirah-Marne pointed to Tyre, "The army that Iruk had assembled in Tyre could have reached Crane in a short time, but according to intelligence, they didn't even move. ”

"The Chief Consuls of the Principality of Suluk only have a two-year term, and now they are too busy electing consuls internally to bother with the elves' war in Klan. Baron Hanina said, "At the same time, the werewolf army and the Dark Elf Magister stationed in Hatis Town have scattered their armies and placed them all over the Suker Plains as if they were on vacation. ”

"Any news from the elven stronghold?" said Pedi silently as he looked at the map.

"Not yet, since the end of the war with the old empire, the elven base camp has been a little too quiet. Hanina was deeply puzzled, "Even in the reform of the city-state system in Kwyn, Hatis and Sukh City, the elves did not intervene, which led to chaos in the Suk Plains. ”

"The more chaotic the situation, the better it is for the elves, and when this chaos leads to conflict, the elves will come out to clean up the mess and get more support. Morinda smoked a cigar and said: "It's not that the Principality of Suluk has not supported Crane City because of domestic political problems, they are also waiting for the Suke Plain to fall into complete chaos, and the defeat of the elves in Crane City is undoubtedly the strongest medicine to accelerate the chaos in the Plain of Suluk." ”

"But the elves failed too quickly, and it didn't do us any good. Pedi frowned, subconsciously picked up the cut cigar on the desk and lit it, and when the tobacco was burning, he said: "I don't want the Suke Plain to return to calm too soon, the more chaotic the rest of the world except for our kingdom, the better!"

"The information came too late. Sira Marne, who obviously lacked experience in dealing with emergencies, frowned, "Tomorrow the troops around Crane City will encircle the elves, and in the face of this huge interest, even the barbarians will not pay attention to our requests. ”

"The largest trade zone in the interior?" Pedi murmured thoughtfully, the hot smell of tobacco stimulating his lungs and making him squint in comfort, "If they had established a trade zone half a year later, I might have given up on working with Shikan-Silveraxe to facilitate its establishment, but not now!"

"But there's nothing we can do to stop it at the moment. Sheila Marne looked helpless.

"Haha!" laughed Pedy, "if this matter were to be left to Sir Edwin, he would have more than ten ways to make the establishment of the Trade Zone a dead letter. With that, he looked at Hanina, "How's the battle in the Western Continent?"

Hanina pondered for a few seconds before saying, "The army of Stone-Silveraxe occupies the western part of Lacnivi City... Perhaps, the war will end after the next decisive battle, but this decisive battle does not know when it will be fought, maybe tomorrow, but it may also be next year or the year after. ”

"In other words, the war in the Western Continent will not have much movement in a short period of time?"

"Theoretically, that's true. ”

Morinda suddenly said: "Shikan-Silver Axe is not the kind of person who is willing to wait for several years, he will definitely use the fastest time to solve the war in the Western Continent. ”

"Well," Pedy smiled suddenly, "Sir Cyra... You went to the banquet in place of Sir Edwin, and we clearly need his business acumen now. ”

Sira Marne's eyebrows furrowed when she heard this, and she nodded in agreement as she walked towards the door.

...

On the 22nd, it was not yet dawn,

Under the white fog and dark night sky, the four walls of the city of Crane were full of fighting.

The high-intensity battle has continued since dark yesterday, and the morale of the Elven coalition army, which has been without supplies for nearly twenty days, has fallen to the bottom, and the besieging coalition army is in full swing, and their warriors are rampage across the battlefield with a victorious attitude.

At six o'clock in the morning, the elves abandoned all the walls and withdrew their army into the Mortan bunker.

This orc-transformed bunker has complete defensive facilities, and the remaining 6,000 warriors of the elven two outposts and the ranger army can just play the powerful defensive function of this bunker fortress.

Sure enough, the siege coalition army, which was invincible at the beginning, suffered numerous casualties in the face of the bunker fortress's powerful defenses and the elven rangers' marksman.

In front of the wide moat, the siege coalition attacked for only one morning before stopping.

They hastily convened a brief coalition meeting, but in the end they broke up,

Because, no one wants to rush to the front.

This delay dragged on for three days.

The fourth day, the 26th.

It snowed heavily, very heavily on this day, and the moat in front of the bunker fortress was frozen into ice.

The Grand Duke of Trofil of the Duchy of Rigrock proposed that he provide 10,000 peasant soldiers, and the barbarians and Twak lords would provide the basic equipment and food and grass of the peasant soldiers, so as to consume the few strategic materials left by the Elven Ranger.

Duke Andy Barrett immediately readily agreed, and neither the barbarians nor Perus objected again.

In the end, the result of the negotiation of the besieging coalition forces was,

After six days, when the temperature has cooled down completely, the attack is launched.

Unbeknownst to the barbarians ahead, their old king, Sakdor, is facing a difficult choice.

As early as the outbreak of the offensive and defensive war of Klan City, that is, on November 21, the Kingdom of Kruria sent a magic letterhead. In the letterhead, the Kingdom of Kruria, in the name of the Kingdom's military headquarters, demanded that the Kingdom of Balu stop its assault on the city of Crane and withdraw its troops from the town of Benson.

But after thinking about it again, the kingdom of Sakdo neither agreed nor refused, and he planned to drag the matter over with silence.

But what he didn't expect was that the offensive and defensive battle of Crane City, which was about to end, would drag on for so long.

Then, ten magical letters were sent in a row, and the words became more and more harsh, and finally even warned him that if he did not obey, the Kingdom of Baru would be removed from the trade alliance by the Kingdom of Kruria.

After the last warning letter, no further letters were sent from the Kingdom of Kruria.

Two days later, King Sakdo received a letter of expulsion from the Trade Union. At the same time, the fleet of the Balu Kingdom is blocked by the combined fleet of goblins and orcs in its own waters!

It was only at this time that Sakdo truly felt the strength of the Kingdom of Kruria. She can be so powerful that even orcs and goblins have to accept the rules they set in ocean trade.

...

Snow Castle, in the warm study of the King.

Sakdo had been alone for a day and a night, and during this time he felt only a chill that penetrated into his bones, and even turning on the stove next to his room to the maximum could not dispel it.

Outside the window, when the night had dissipated and the white snow was clear again, the old king looked up at the magic clock on the wall.

The hand pointed to half past nine...

Nov. 29, half past nine in the morning!

"Knock Knock"

A dull knock on the door was accompanied by the roar of the stove, and before Sakdo could reply, the door was pushed open from the outside, and in came his eldest son, Meru, and his chief staff, Kebot.

The two of them were inspecting the kingdom's winter security in various places, and after receiving an urgent order, they rushed back as quickly as possible.

"Sit down. Sakdo gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk.

Prince Meru sat down obediently, while Kebot stood next to him with a frown, "What's going on? Is the battle going badly in the Klan Territory?"

"It's a little bit uncomfortable, but it's not the main problem!" said Sakdo with a wry smile.

"Is it a matter of the Kingdom of Kruria?"

"Yes. The old man picked up the letter on the table that he had read countless times, "Look at these." ”

Kebot looked at the giant bear badge on the letterhead and didn't dare to slack off, he looked at them one by one, and his originally unwavering face slowly began to be a little moved.

"The earliest letter was from eight days ago. After reading it, Kebot handed the letterhead to Prince Meru.

"Yes, I miscalculated the battle in the Klan Territory. Sakdo whispered, "Now that the combined fleet of orcs and goblins is near our port, our merchant ships can't even get out of the sea!"

"How can orcs and goblins listen to humans?" said Prince Meruld's face with incredulity.

"The three goblin princes are all in the Kingdom of Kruria now, and the Orc Northern Clans of Shikan-Silveraxe and Pedi Reagan have already signed a treaty of alliance. Kebot frowned and looked at the old king, "We've agreed before on the issue of the Crane Territory... My opinion remains the same, that is, no matter what happens, we must obey the 'orders' of the Kingdom of Kruria. ”

"Yes, I've always stuck with that decision. Sakdo nodded, "But the news from the front line at that time was that the offensive and defensive battle of Crane City would end soon, but who would have thought that the originally vulnerable elven alliance would be so difficult to fight at the last moment." ”

"You actually use the word 'vulnerable' to describe the elven army?" said Kebot in disbelief.

Sakdo smiled wryly, "In the early battle of the Crane Territory, they behaved badly... Their poor performance made me forget how powerful they were. ”

"The Common Trade Zone," Kerbot shook his head, "without Peddy Reagan's support, our Common Trade Zone in Crane City would have been a joke." He looked at the old king, "What's Pedy Reagan's attitude now?"

"Not only Pedi Reagan, but also the orcs and goblins, who have demanded that I take responsibility for this incident and bear all the losses since the trade strike, and at the same time evacuate the garrison in Benson Town!" said Sakdo with a tone of helplessness.

"What kind of losses will be compensated?" Prince Meru asked subconsciously.

"500,000 kroner!"

"They should know we can't afford that much money!" Kerbot frowned, "I'm sure they must have suggested something instead?"

"That's right. The old king squeezed out a sentence, "In the joint statement of the Orcs, the Goblins and the Kingdom of Kruria, it is demanded that I myself must be held responsible for this negligence... If we can't come up with 500,000 crowns, then I must abdicate to bear the responsibility for this negligence!"