Vol 5 Chapter 134: Kidnapping

While Charlotte and the Counts of the Round Table Council "terrorized" the dwarf messengers, the dark-haired wizard took the Silver Helmet dwarf who followed him to the self-governing territory promised to them.
After the battle of Silver Helmet and the Centaur raid, these dwarves who follow him are no more than ten, and most of them are strong and strong-injured, weak early Starved to death, exhausted on the road.
Byrne's army was originally a raid, and he couldn't even feed himself with enough food. When returning to Thousand Accounts City, he also had to bring the Pui remnant army ... Tens of thousands of dwarves left Silver Helmet Mountain, and now there are only less than 20,000. .
To some extent, this is also inevitable ... Although it is a harvest year, the supply of food and clothing for hundreds of thousands of dwarves in one breath means that all of Bain's reserves will be exhausted, and Bain has no spare time to raise troops in five years.
Because of this, twenty thousand ... just right.
As far as the dominion is concerned, it is not a problem. The area of ​​the Red Blood Fort is three to four times that of the rest of the counts, the cultivated land and woodland are six to seven times theirs, and the population is nearly ten times ... The Turin family cannot control the whole without this background. Poe, let Charlotte have absolute respect in a country that does not favor women.
It's not too easy to find a small area for the dwarf to become a dominion.
The territory that Loren carefully selected for the Silver Helmet Mountain Dwarves is a broken wall called "Star Fort".
It is not a remote forest. On the contrary, it is a commercial road hub; surrounded by manors, villages, fortresses with knights and troops, the dwarves can easily get supplies and help, and even build their own trading posts and do business.
But conversely, they are locked in the vicinity of the most elite gathering place of the Red Blood Castle, with limited development space, and they can't hide any turbulence;
The possibility of rebelling against the rebellion and colluding with bandit bandits and other forces is infinitely close to zero.
So, they got a "new territory" of the Silver Helmet dwarves, with great enthusiasm and unimaginable speed, they began to build their new home.
The grains that were continuously transported from the Red Blood Fort were stored in the first repaired granary, and more than 20,000 dwarves were divided into more than one hundred squads, which began to run like an army; they were distributed to them. Replenishment is not regarded as relief, but like "military resources", only if each team completes the work on time, can they get a day's ration.
Even in a shanty camp and ruins, they established so-called "monitoring stations" to monitor the progress of each dwarf; three tents formed the "Governor's Palace", and the open space in the center of the ruins was the "Parliament Hall" , Several ditches divide each "street", and the number of potatoes in the dining plate distinguishes the "upper and lower classes".
Occupation, type of work, class, region, system ... all of this seems to be integrated into their blood, becoming an innate tradition that allows all dwarves to perform instinctively from top to bottom.
This is a race that has lived in the "Legion" since it was left. Parents are not family members but commanders and inspectors; orders need to be unconditionally obeyed, and systems need to be unconditionally observed; collectivism is exerted on them. To the point where it is most vivid.
Such a race, the only possibility that can limit them is low fertility, a rigid system, and extreme xenophobia ... even if these are, Loren is full of jealousy when he thinks about it. .
The system is traditional, with ethnic groups as parts, bureaucracy as lubricant, and law as console ...
"It's ... a machine-like race."
With a touch of emotion, the dark-haired wizard summoned in a low voice.
"Thanks for the praise."
The leader of the Silver Helmet dwarf, Cisa Mihailo, with his hands on his back, stood with Loren on the observation decks where the dwarves had just completed their construction, monitoring the progress of the entire autonomous territory.
"I just evaluated it objectively ... is this a compliment?"
"For the people of Yunling, there will be no higher praise than this." Mihailo nodded stereotypedly: "Not to mention that now you are my lord, and I am your vassal." . "
"Under this generation of monarchy system, touting and meeting one's own monarch is also one of the vassals' work, whether it is the Bayern or the people of Yunling."
What he said was sensible and serious, as if his serious attitude could really turn flattery into a "work", so that Loren didn't know what to say.
"Can the Supreme King force you to flatter him?"
"Of course, in the territory of the Yunling Kingdom, flattering the Supreme King is one of the important administrative tasks of each fortress chief." Mihailo nodded with a straight face: "At least one hymn to the Supreme King must be written every month. To the current chief gift officer, His Majesty the Supreme King personally gives instructions to set the tone and policy for the next month. "
"Excellent hymns will be distributed to various fortresses for reference and promotion, so that everyone can learn; the most failed one needs to be punished, the relevant person in charge needs to be removed and fined; if not a noble, go to jail."
"..." Loren Turin.
"But I believe that the Duke you need is not our flattery." Mikhail Dwarf remarked: "What you need is metallurgical technology from Silver Helmet Mountain, refining technology and various ore mining technologies."
Loren shrugged: "The steel forged by the Yunling Kingdom ... I think there should be no lords in this world who are not greedy."
"Yes, but they are not as deep as you are craving." The dwarf Mihailo exacerbated the tone: "I have heard before I came, that the entire Byrne is in full preparation and needs a lot of excellent weapons to arm you Soldiers and knights. "
"Human metallurgical technology cannot arm an army of more than 100,000 people in such a short time; without us, you can only have a local armed force that cannot even standardize shields and spears and cannot fight for a long time. . "
The dark-haired wizard finally heard it. He was bargaining.
"Sir Mihailo, what exactly do you want to say?"
"What I want to say is that you did not fully abide by the original agreement and gave us an autonomous territory similar to Silver Helmet Mountain." Mikhail Dwarf said in a deep voice:
"You just threw an abandoned castle to us and exchanged a piece of deserted land for our loyalty ... because we have no choice."
"This is not an abandoned wasteland, this is an important transportation hub of the Red Blood Fort; once rebuilt, the land under your feet will instantly appreciate tenfold." Loren chuckled and said very relaxedly:
"What's more, the largest mines in Byrne are all in the south. I can't let my counts cut the ground-even the Star Fort, which I asked for from Charlotte ... This account has to be paid back."
"So, in theory, you, Duke Byrne ... does not have a territory other than his own court?"
"No, there is nothing. The court borrowed it. It was the palace of the Earl of Red Blood Castle." The joking dark-haired wizard raised his mouth. "Sorry, but your loyal prince is just a poor-looking egg!"
"..." Mihailo.
"A piece of land sufficient for your ethnic group to live, rations within one to two years, as well as various material assistance and political protection ... This is the biggest condition I can get."
Another chuckle, Loren looked at the dwarf meaningfully: "And I also believe that no one can offer a higher price than me-they will never let 20,000 cloudy people live in the same place. On a piece of land, you will definitely be demolished and resettled to prevent any accidents. "
"They will only treat you as easy-to-use slaves, servants and consumables on the battlefield; let you work day and night in the mines and workshops, on the front line on the battlefield as a dead ghost ... only Because it is not my family. "
This time the dwarf Mihailo did not refute anything, he knew that Loren was not lying ... because the dwarf did the same.
"But I'm different. I won't let you separate you. I even allow you to be autonomous ... because I know you." Loren said one thing at a time:
"I think of you as a vassal of me, outside of the thirteen byrs of Byrne, and I will never betray my subordinates and be my own ... even if you, you may not have thought about it at all. ! "
It was a joke-like excuse, but Loren's face was very solemn.
"Then, Lord Duke."
The expressionless dwarf Mikhail put his right hand behind his back, and Bi Jing bowed down the waist that might not even exist: "As your vassal, what are we going to do for this wasteland with only ruins, basically Not enough to provide supplies for 20,000 ethnic groups, and your political protection for us ... what is the price? "
The irony is so thick that it is clearly visible.
"It doesn't have to be too much, as long as you fulfill the obligations of a vassal ... it's all you own." Loren smiled like a child, as if he didn't understand what he meant: "Pay taxes on time." , Provide sufficient troops, and build a workshop sufficient to maintain the supply of 100,000 military weapons ... The last one is your own, I did not force you! "
The expressionless dwarf Mihailo still put his hands behind his back motionlessly, as if restraining himself so strongly that he wanted to give him the urge to punch.
"There is another mission, I hope you can come next." Unconsciously, he was almost "shocked" by the dark-haired wizard who continued:
"It's no big deal, just a very ordinary project."
"Very ordinary project?" The dwarf Mihailo's eyes narrowed into a slit, and he almost said "I don't believe it".
"Yes, my wizard advisor ... more accurately, it should be my mentor, preparing to build a wizard college in Red Blood Castle, which requires a lot of manpower and equipment-more importantly, his quality of engineering The requirements are strict. "
Mihailo's eyes looked far away, and the president of the Union Chamber of Commerce, the young man responsible for the dwarf aid, was approaching this way.
"Master Duke, we are loyal to you, but I hope you can be honest with us, too." Mihailo said slowly and solemnly in an old tone:
"This" Wizard Academy "should not only look so simple, right? You want not only our assistance in construction, but also the use of various mechanical techniques of Silver Helmet Mountain?"
"Do n’t ask me these technical questions, I ’m only responsible for asking you to help build the college; the chief engineer is Ain Rand, and the inspector is my mentor. Row."
Loren waved his hand, and his smile resembled that of a shameless prince: "There is only one thing ... This thing must be kept strictly confidential. It is for this reason that I ask you to take over the project; in the next three years, this will be the most popular by Bayern. An important event, I want both quality and speed.
The dwarf Mihailo raised an eyebrow, then snorted.
"Observe, Lord Duke ... When the capital construction on the side of the territory is completed, I will take someone to your mentor and Ain Rand to report that they are guaranteed to be our best architectural designers!"
When he had finished speaking, he turned away and passed by Little Jord, who had just climbed the lookout tower.
"It looks like everything is going well?"
Little Yoder's expression always seemed to be mocking: "The great and just Lord Lord Byrne, has made the dwarves of Silverhelm Mountain happy and convincing in front of you, kissing your boots with all your body?"
"How's the round table council?" Loren ignored his sarcasm directly.
"How is it going, everything is going well." Little Yoder raised an eyebrow, with a sly smile like a businessman: "The elegant and proud Countess of the Red Blood Castle, while intimidating and calming, made the Supreme King's messenger recognize the reality. . "
"After all, when a person with bluff encounters another person with bluff, he always suspects that the other person is also with bluff; but when his bluff is seen through as bluff, he does n’t know if the bluff on the other side is bluff. Just think that the other party is also bluffing. "
A tongue-twisting passage that explains the situation in the Round Table Parliament in detail ~ EbookFREE.me ~ It's really an outline, refreshing ... Thank you. "Loren sniffed."
"You're welcome, this is what your humble servant should do." Little Yoder accepted it politely: "On your side, is everything going well?"
"Ain Rand has started discussing the design with Isaac. The Silver Helmet Mountain dwarves will be ready to go there, and they will be able to start construction secretly in about a month."
Loren sighed: "Prince Connold will soon receive such information, saying that Duke Byrne is privately building a floating city that combines wizardry towers and dwarf technology. Then the spies of the entire empire will focus their attention on ... uh, what is your expression? "
"Oh, it's nothing!" Little Yoder was suddenly surprised, and the meaningful smile in his mouth was unabashed: "Just suddenly thought of a vocabulary to describe you and the distinguished Countess of Charlotte.
"... Not a good word, right?"
"My lord, you really have a pair of eyes!"