Episode 179 The time has finally come. (2)
Amelia frowned at Conrad’s words, the top lord of Actium.
“You asked for food from Fenris again this time?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Are the situations in Fenris and Ferdium that bad?”
“That’s not true. The northern lords have already provided support, and the royalist faction has also provided support. If I had to guess, I think they’re trying to secure it in advance because of the immigrants.”
“How much support did the pro-Prince faction give?”
“It was decided suddenly, so I don’t know the exact amount… … But since the Marquis of Branford is stepping up, it should be enough to get through the year.”
Conrad reported to Amelia whenever something special happened while dealing with Fenris. This case was no different.
When I first started selling food, I didn’t think much of it, but the more I looked into the situation, the more something seemed strange.
Even though they must have received a lot of support from the royalist faction, they were still buying food like crazy.
I had to report that the amount of food being purchased in the North had increased to the point where food prices were rising.
Amelia lowered her eyes and looked thoughtful.
‘What are you thinking this time?’
Harvest time is coming soon. No matter how barren the North is, food prices are bound to fall right after harvest time.
But I was concerned that Jiselle, who already had enough food, could not wait even for a moment and continued to buy to the point where the price was going up.
“What are the other bosses doing?”
“I’m selling food because I’m so excited. I know the prices will drop soon. I’m hoping to make a profit before then.”
The northern region is the area that merchants from other regions always stop by to sell food.
Even after deducting shipping costs, they can sell it here for a much higher price than anywhere else.
In the meantime, prices had risen more than usual, so it was obvious that any merchant would not want to miss this opportunity.
Amelia, who had been silent for a moment, asked something else.
“How’s the weather these days? How do you think the crops will be this year?”
“It’s a little drier than last year, but it’s not something to be too concerned about. We’ve had this kind of weather often.”
“hmm…….”
Although famines were common in the North, they were rare for Leipold and Desmond.
Even when there was a famine, the people of the fiefdom did not starve, as long as there was no surplus to sell to other fiefdoms.
That is why Conrad confidently said, “There is no need to worry.”
However, Amelia, who had been pondering for a long time after hearing that answer, soon raised her head and spoke resolutely.
“Stop selling food. Not just in Fenris, but everywhere else. Store it separately. Without anyone knowing. Buy what comes in from other regions as much as you can.”
Conrad responded slightly bewildered by the sudden order.
“The harvest will start soon, so the price will drop quickly. We should sell now to make a profit. We can stockpile our own, but it would be a huge loss to buy the other tops as well.”
“Stop complaining and just do as I say.”
“… … Do you know why you are doing this?”
“Since when have you been spitting on my words while working?”
“… … I’m sorry. I will do it right away.”
Amelia clicked her tongue at the sight of Conrad’s stiff face. Since he was a very caring subordinate, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to explain this much to him.
“I have something to check.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I wonder if his success so far was simply due to luck, or if it was truly the result of skill. I’ll accept the loss, so proceed as I say.”
“……All right.”
Conrad gave up trying to persuade her. He knew that once Amelia made up her mind, she would not easily change her mind.
No matter how much she cherished her subordinates, there were many times when she would punish them with her life if they crossed the line and questioned her decisions.
It was an order, so he had no choice but to follow it, but Conrad clicked his tongue inwardly at the thought that he would suffer great losses.
Even after Conrad withdrew, clutching his bitter heart, Amelia remained lost in thought for a long time.
‘Giselle… … Let’s see what she’s up to this time.’
* * *
Claude laughed loudly at the suggestion to prepare supplies for three thousand people.
“My Lord! Our force, including the knights, is only 500 strong! Three thousand? Hahahaha! Wendy, it seems the butler didn’t teach you the numbers properly! Aaak!”
Only after getting punched by Belinda did the real Claude rub his sore eyes and ask again.
“Is it really 3,000 people?”
“huh.”
“Our troops aren’t that strong?”
“I told you before. I said I would get it myself.”
“Where? There aren’t that many troops in Ferdium, but even if there were, they wouldn’t be able to withdraw because of the northern border.”
“Oh, that’s okay. There are plenty of places to borrow them from. Soon, they’ll be offering to lend them to you here and there.”
“Ugh… … . Here we go again.”
There is no lord who lends troops without a special relationship or without paying a proper price. Even the royalist faction that handed over the territory to the lords did not provide support in terms of troops.
But I couldn’t understand why the lord spoke so confidently about being able to secure troops.
Claude, now tired of even asking, asked to confirm.
“But didn’t we decide to go to Mercury? Was I mistaken?”
“I never said anything like that.”
“That hot air balloon time!”
Claude stopped talking as he raised his voice.
Come to think of it, the lord never really said anything like that. I just believed it out of excitement.
“… … Yes, it was just my mistake. Then when are you going to borrow the troops?”
“Soon. Almost done. Just wait a little longer.”
Claude sighed.
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It seemed like that damn ‘time’ I had been talking about since I returned to the territory had arrived.
I wanted to open my eyes wide and check what kind of time it was that made me so confident.
If it wasn’t for nothing, I was ready to tease you with all my might.
‘But if only I could really borrow 3,000 troops… … .’
Even though it’s absurd, there are roughly 400 people who can exercise the power of a knight for a short time.
If we add 3,000 troops to that, our chances of victory will increase significantly.
‘Of course, if Count Cavaldi is frightened by our numbers and enters the siege, then I can’t guarantee anything… … .’
Claude shook his head as if to cut off his complicated thoughts. Nothing was certain right now.
“Okay, I’ll finish preparing to go on a campaign with 3,000 men. We have plenty of food, so there won’t be any major problems.”
“Okay, there’s not much time left, so everyone make sure to do your best with your assigned tasks.”
The servants lowered their heads and looked anxious. From the way the lord spoke, it seemed as if they would be leaving for battle soon.
Up until now, the lord had been preparing various things and had said that he would borrow troops, but that was all.
Since I had never heard the details, I was just confused and had a hard time believing it.
But what power do they have? They just do whatever they want. Since they are at the level of a general, they are just being mean in front of the lord.
Looking at the anxious people, Giselle smiled faintly.
‘Just wait a little and you’ll find out.’
As Jiselle had predicted, as time passed, the people of Fenris Territory began to sense something strange.
“What? Why is it so hot these days?”
“It hasn’t been this bad in years?”
“If this continues, won’t there be a severe drought?”
Farmers are sensitive to the weather, as the weather is closely related to how much the harvest will be that year.
As the air grew hotter and drier day by day, the people of Yeongji became suddenly frightened.
For those who had always starved and were now finally able to fill their stomachs, the drought was the worst disaster that brought back nightmarish memories.
Everyone had a worried look on their faces and were busy looking around the farmland every day.
But those worries didn’t last long.
“Oh, I was worried for nothing. I guess it was just a little hot. Did you feel weak?”
“The wheat is still growing well. We’ll be able to harvest it again soon.”
The monster wheat that the lord made was very sturdy and ripe regardless of whether the day was hot or dry.
Honestly, it looked like it could be harvested right now.
Thanks to the recent renovation of the waterway, there was no problem in supplying water.
Unlike the Fenris Territory, which passed without much trouble, chaos began to break out in other territories.
Lowell, who was in charge of gathering information, went to Daejeon every day and reported on the situation in the surrounding territories.
“The weather is not good. It seems like a sign of a major drought. The lords of each region are also worried.”
At first, the report ended with only a little concern. In addition, since the density was growing well, the people who went did not feel the weather problem much.
There was no need to worry about water because the reservoirs and cisterns were filled with water drawn from the river.
Everyone just assumed Lowell was making a fuss about the hot weather.
But Lowell’s reports became more and more radical with each passing day.
“The river level is dropping rapidly! The crops are in bad shape!”
“The upper ranks are moving to secure food! It looks like there’s a food shortage.”
“Wow, food prices are skyrocketing!”
The people who heard the report, which was much more serious than before, opened their mouths and looked at Jiselle.
The Fenris Territory has expanded its warehouses to accommodate the lack of space to store food, but other territories are said to be in chaos due to food shortages.
If there really was a famine, it would be understandable. All the food in the North had already been sucked out by the Fenris Estates, even paying a premium.
Even if other tops want to get it, they won’t be able to.
But the vassals who stayed only in Fenris could not believe Lowell’s words.
Just the day before, he had been cursing the lord for stockpiling so much food that ‘it’s going to rot before we can eat it all’, and now all of a sudden there’s a food shortage all over the country?
‘Are we okay? Are you lying? Did the lord tell you to lie?’
‘The prices of crops in poor condition have also skyrocketed. Are you saying that there really is a drought?’
The vassals who had been half in doubt became convinced after a few days when a new report came up.
“Famine stones have appeared in various places! Drought is certain! The situation is serious!”
If the famine stones placed in the river to indicate a drought have appeared, it means that the situation is so serious that even the river water is showing its bottom.
A drought of this magnitude would be a disaster that would occur perhaps once every few decades, even in the harsh north.
The problem wasn’t limited to that. Other regions outside the north were also suffering from drought.
“The entire kingdom… … The abnormal weather has hit the entire kingdom. It will be difficult to harvest crops normally… … . This applies not only to Rutania, but also to the territories of other countries adjacent to our kingdom. It is the worst… … drought.”
At this point, it could not be passed over as a simple famine.
It was extremely rare for drought to cause crop failure throughout the kingdom.
The people who went could not come to their senses.
In Fenris, there was so much food and water that it was hard to feel it, but it is said that all the other territories were in chaos due to drought.
It seemed as if the lord had foreseen this situation and was treating the people like a savage.
Claude asked, his hands shaking with embarrassment and anxiety.
“Oh, my lord, what is this? What has happened? Did you really expect a drought to come?”
Everyone looked at Giselle, agreeing with Claude’s words.
Up until now, everything the lord had done could be passed over as something he had heard somewhere or was lucky.
But predicting the weather was a different matter altogether.
Because predicting the future was something only legendary prophets could do.
Even as everyone was surprised, Giselle just smiled with her chin resting on her hand and her eyes closed.
What should I say? I actually know the future?
I can’t really say it, but it was fun to imagine.
As Giselle just laughed, Claude pressed for an answer.
“No, don’t just laugh! How on earth do you know there’s going to be a drought?”
After a long pause, Giselle answered bluntly.
“Because the weather is hot.”
“yes?”
“If the weather is too hot, a drought will come. It’s been hot for a while now. Isn’t it?”
“No, you’re just making us prepare so recklessly because the weather is hot? Does that make sense!”
“Oh, it’s so hot. What should I do? I hate hot weather.”
“… … .”
Everyone kept their mouths shut at Giselle’s insistence.
‘So, you’re saying that it was just a coincidence that the weather was a bit hot and you were getting ready?’
This is an idea that only someone who lives with serious worries would be able to come up with.
This is equally hard to believe, but it is at least more credible than predicting the future.
If that prediction was wrong, the Fenris Estate would have suffered great losses, with a lot of rotten food still being left behind.
Jiselle, who had been enjoying the silence of the people for a moment, asked Lowell.
“What is the condition of Ferdium?”
“Uh, um… … . It’s a little different from other places.”
“Tell me more.”
Lowell flipped through the report and answered with a cold expression.
“Baron Homer, the governor of Ferdium, received a report on the situation in the territory… … .”
“And you received it?”
“Ah, the harvest was a failure again this year. But we have failed every year anyway, right? It’s okay now because we have plenty of food. If we run out, we can just ask the Grand Duke for more.’ … … he said.”
“… … Okay. How’s the water situation over there?”
“The water level has decreased significantly, but thanks to the river flowing from the Forest of Demons and the reservoir we built, it seems to be holding up. It’s in better condition than other territories.”
“Okay, I guess it won’t be a big problem.”
Ferdium was originally a place where people lived without drought, so they were able to get over this drought by thinking, ‘It’s always been like this.’
If the drought continues, there will be a water shortage, but we will be able to endure it somehow.
To be honest, I wanted to build more reservoirs and waterways, but since Ferdium was my father’s territory, there were limits to how much I could interfere with.
Giselle, relieved that Ferdium was holding up well, asked something else.
“What is the situation in the other territories?”
“It’s the worst. Raypold and Desmond won’t even get half the harvest they would normally. They probably have a lot of stockpiled food, so they’ll be able to hold out… … but elsewhere, starvation is expected.”
“Hmm, that’s sad news.”
“Everyone is trying to get food. If you sell it now, you’ll get ten times the price.”
The eyes of all those who heard Lowell’s words lit up.
The North, which had poor food productivity to begin with, had no way of surviving this drought.
Meanwhile, Fenris has an unimaginable amount of food stored up, and soon, even more will be produced from the fields where they have planted monster wheat.
If you use this opportunity well, you may become the wealthiest fiefdom in the kingdom.
Even though she was receiving the hopeful gazes of the deceased, Jiselle shook her head.
“I have no intention of selling it now.”
Claude suddenly remembered the word ‘envy’ that Giselle always said.
“My lord, is it by any chance… … a good time to go to war… … .”
With the crops withering, even the Cavaldi domain will not be able to properly feed its soldiers.
It was obvious that the starving soldiers would have low morale and would not be able to fight properly.
Jiselle answered with a snicker.
“Yes, the time has finally come.”
