Chapter 63: Dilemma in the North
“Your Highness…”
Standing there, looking at Orliman who was standing there in a daze and seemed a little dazed , Chen Heng reminded her.
Only then did Orliman come to his senses.
"Feel sorry."
Looking at Chen Heng in front of her, she sighed and covered up: "Sorry, seeing you made me think of some past events."
"It doesn't matter."
Chen Heng nodded very understandingly and didn't ask any more questions.
"In the past few months, Kailin, you were not in Kutu. Where did you go?"
Looking at Chen Heng, Oliman continued speaking.
Of course, she knew very well where Chen Heng had gone, and she was just changing the subject at the moment to continue the conversation.
"I went to my father's land and stayed there for a while."
Chen Heng spoke truthfully: "There, I had some things to deal with, so I stayed in my father's territory for a while."
"oh?"
Olliman seemed a little curious and asked deliberately, "I don't know, what is it?"
"Would you mind telling me?"
There was curiosity on her face, and a smile on her beautiful face, which made people feel itchy.
Anyone who sees her like this would probably want to show off their achievements.
Chen Heng was unmoved. He just smiled and simply explained what he had done.
What he did, while important, wasn’t actually a secret.
At least like Princess Orliman in front of us, as long as we want to investigate, we will probably know the result soon.
Since there was no possibility of concealing anything, Chen Heng had no intention of concealing anything. He just opened his mouth and told what he had done.
“North-South trade.”
Listening to Chen Heng's story, Princess Orliman showed surprise on her face, and her face was full admiration: "What a good idea."
"How did you come up with that?"
Her face was full of admiration, and she asked curiously at this moment.
Compared with before, although she still had some disguise this time, there was a lot more sincerity in it.
She really admired what Chen Heng had done, and she also had many things she wanted to discuss with him.
The performance at this moment is not entirely a disguise.
"My friend Kurud is a lord from the north."
Sitting opposite Princess Orliman, Chen Heng spoke softly: "Through this friend of mine, I learned about the lives of the northern lords, their plight, and the differences between the north and the south."
“The idea of developing north-south trade also came from this.”
"oh."
Olliman became more interested: "Tell me, what did you find?"
"That would be very cumbersome."
Chen Heng smiled and continued, "For example, climate, production."
"Your Highness may not know that the climate difference between the south and the north is huge."
“This difference seriously affects the output and also affects the income of the lords.”
"Compared with the south, the north's grain production is not high due to climate reasons. The output per acre of land is only a quarter of that in the south."
"And similarly, the battle with the desert aliens led to a long war."
Looking at Oriman, Chen Heng explained: "The battle affected production, forcing the labor force that could have been put into production to become soldiers. It even seriously affected the farming cycle, causing the output to further decline."
"These factors have affected the price of food, making it very expensive in the north."
"indeed."
Oliman glanced at Chen Heng and agreed with what he said.
Although what Chen Heng said was very simple and clear, in this era, not everyone can summarize it.
For many nobles who grew up in Kutu City, they probably didn’t even know where the north was, let alone come to any conclusion.
"So what do you think should be done in this situation?"
Oliman continued, looking at Chen Heng with interest.
She just asked this question casually and didn't expect Chen Heng to really answer it.
In the past, she had asked many people about this issue, but had never received a specific and clear answer.
Even those professionals who were very familiar with the situation in the North had no way to solve it, let alone Chen Heng in front of them.
But to her surprise, Chen Heng in front of her gave the answer after just a little thought.
"There are two ways."
Chen Heng thought for a moment, then said: "The dilemma of the northern lords is not due to low output, but to continuous wars."
The high or low output of the land will not actually cause the lord to fall into trouble.
After all, even if an acre of land produces less, it only means that the lord's income will be less, and his life may not be affluent, but it will not bring the lords to the brink of financial collapse.
The real dilemma of the northern lords is that their land output is low, their income is low, and they have to face strong military pressure.
Because of the strong pressure from the desert, the northern lords were forced into a long war.
And fighting a war requires costs.
It is precisely because the northern lords have to pay high war costs despite their own low income that they are in their current predicament.
Therefore, the method to solve the current predicament of the Northern Lord is actually very direct.
"To solve this problem , we must either eliminate the pressure from the desert, or let the northern lords profit from the war so that they can continuously recover their costs and continue to support themselves."
Looking at Oliman, Chen Heng gave his answer.
"So how can we achieve this?"
Looking at Chen Heng, Oliman asked this question subconsciously.
At first, she listened very casually and a little nonchalantly.
But as Chen Heng spoke, she became more and more engrossed. In the end, she had concentrated all her energy and listened attentively.
As the princess of Kutu Kingdom and a lord close to the northern lords, she has always attached great importance to the problems of the northern lords.
In the past, she had listened to the advice of many relevant people, but no one had ever been able to analyze as thoroughly and clearly as Chen Heng.
“The method is actually very simple.”
Looking at Orliman who was gradually absorbed in his thoughts, Chen Heng continued, "If we want to reduce the burden on the northern lords, we can start with trade."
"Unlike the situation in the north, the south has abundant food production due to its climate and environment. Sometimes the food even rots in warehouses and cannot be sold at all."
“That’s the opposite of what’s happening up north where food prices are high.”
Chen Heng said softly: "Through trade, the surplus grain in the south can be transported to the north, thus reducing the costs of the northern lords."
"On the other hand, the slaves obtained by the northern lords in the war can also be digested through trade, allowing the northern lords to gain profits from the war and make the war no longer an unprofitable thing."
"If we do these two things well, the pressure on the northern lord will be greatly reduced, and it won't be as difficult as before."
