Chapter 72 Do you think the war is over?
Construction in the territory is still in full swing.
The guards in the village were the troops left behind by Godric, flying the three-lion flag.
Godric seemed to have a strong sense of contract. During the two months when Leon's entire army was dispatched, there were still many troops from White Deer Castle guarding Maixiangling.
This is really good, Li Ang was even a little moved.
But after entering the village, Leon felt that there seemed to be more than a few dozen troops flying the Three Lions flag. He seemed to have seen several groups of Godric's men along the way...
Seeing a group of archers lining up in the village, Li Ang went up to ask.
"Has anything happened recently? I see you have quite a lot of people..."
The leading archer said calmly, "Lord Leon, a group of bandits came here a month ago, led by a few knights."
It seems that there are many people who have their own ideas...
"Do you know who it is?"
Leon asked.
"They didn't enter the village. It was another team of guys who were on duty earlier who saw them. They said there were all kinds of people there, like a group of bandits."
Leon was indeed sincerely grateful to Godric.
Fortunately, he left his troops here...
Otherwise, who knows what those criminals will do?
"Lord Godric and you were not here, so we reported the matter to Miss Amy. In order to prevent your territory from being attacked, Miss Amy sent an additional 200 people to patrol a few times... Then the bandits left and never came near again."
Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief. Miss Amy was a good person... He felt he should thank her.
Moreover, judging from what the archer said, when Godric was away, Amy was the one who had the final say in White Hart Castle?
So he sincerely planned to treat this team of archers to a drink and find out more about the situation.
But his invitation was righteously rejected.
The leading archer said, "Since you are back, our mission is complete . Miss Amy asked us to return to White Hart Castle immediately after seeing you. We cannot delay. Sorry, sir."
After saying that, he prepared to leave.
Leon had no choice but to stuff him with beer and send them away.
What a good ally, Leon exclaimed.
But as soon as the archers left, Leslie, who was in charge of logistics, found Leon with a puzzled look on her face: "Sir, our food supply is much less... The warehouse is empty! We must replenish food quickly! But it is not easy to buy food in this season..."
Li Ang finally reacted...
Amy, this cunning little sister...
It turns out it wasn't out of kindness!
She wanted Mai Xiang to take out food to help Bailu Fort raise soldiers!
Hundreds of people came to eat for more than a month!
And you have to let them eat as much as they want, maybe even take some food with them - they are here to protect the territory! You have to thank them sincerely!
Godric's 'upfront investment' was taken back with interest in one go...
I didn't expect that this cute and polite girl could be more calculating than Godric...
It turns out that all the noble families are full of shrewd people!
Leslie was extremely anxious: "My Lord, it is the beginning of January, the coldest time of winter. It is difficult to purchase large amounts of food during this period! What should we do?"
The Lord sighed and said, "Leslie, don't worry, the food seller will probably be here soon..."
Leon was very calm. He felt that Godric's daughter might have a backup plan.
Sure enough, just one day later, Li Ang received a letter with beautiful handwriting.
"Lord Baron Leon, White Hart Castle kindly reminds you that your territory will still be at least four months away from the next grain harvest. Although White Hart Castle is not wealthy, due to our close alliance, we are still willing to help you with all our strength..."
The lower half of the letter was a list of unit prices for various foods - it looked similar to the menu in Li Ang's "World of Food".
Looks like it's copied from the same style...
Even the quotation method and operation mode are copied - the prices are all doubled! They also mark "deliver to door" and "cash on delivery"...
The letter was signed by "Amy, General Manager of Bailubao Grain and Oil Company".
"Amazing... Amazing... You learned it so quickly!"
The lord looked at it and shook his head.
Once the capitalists' tricks are seen through, people will naturally imitate them.
But Li Ang did not expect that the first person to imitate would be the innocent and harmless-looking girl Amy.
Moreover, the routine is used so effectively - during this time period, all the surrounding villages will store food for the winter and generally will not sell it.
If we go to places like Changhe Town to purchase, let alone whether we can buy it, even if we can buy it, by the time we send it back, only half of it will be left. After all, there will definitely be losses on the way, and a large number of soldiers will have to be sent to escort it to prevent looting.
Amy took advantage of everything, forcing herself to buy food from her at a high price.
In fact, Li Ang did not feel aggrieved. He now has the psychological ability to bear it - this is just a normal phenomenon after becoming rich.
White Hart Castle only wanted to extort some dinars, and the other party did provide protection for their territory. This protection fee was worthwhile, much more cost-effective than the king's lance.
Moreover, doubling the price is not outrageous in the cold winter - to be honest, if it were Li Ang himself, he could increase the price fivefold!
Besides, the dinar is something that is earned to be spent - it can be earned again only after it is spent. It will not produce any offspring if it is hoarded in the hands.
Compared to buying food at a high price, Li Ang was more concerned about those bandits.
According to the archer, the bandits were led by a few knights, which made it clear that they were not legitimate bandits.
Leon was more worried about the knights who had no bottom line at all - like Rainier. These people often acted in an unpredictable way, and no one knew what they would do next.
In comparison, the actions of Archduke Alma or King Ulrich would be relatively easy to judge.
It's nothing more than ambition and profit-driven. If you apply reverse thinking, you can make some sense of it.
But the behavioral logic of some animals...naturally, humans cannot empathize with them.
So Li Ang wrote a letter to confirm the situation: "Dear General Manager Amy, please send someone to deliver the food. I have prepared the money. Also, do you know the whereabouts of those bandits?"
A day later, more than a dozen carts of food arrived, along with Amy's reply: "They retreated a month ago. We don't know where they are now. Please be careful."
It would be difficult to determine where the bandits were hiding and lurking. There were few soldiers in the village now, which made people feel uneasy.
Li Ang had no choice but to start with his own territory, strengthening armaments and adding defenses.
He asked the crossbowmen who were familiar with the mercenary business to recruit mercenaries separately. This was the most expensive but also the fastest way to increase the military strength in a short period of time. Anyway, they had money now.
Inside the territory, the lord also began to vigorously train all his subjects to supplement the military strength.
Relying on his wealth and the fact that he could still buy food to survive when his number was small, Li Ang directly recruited soldiers.
All the young and strong people between the ages of 15 and 35 were conscripted, regardless of gender - in fact, the vast majority of the people were young and strong, and most of the old and weak had already been killed when Rainier burned the village.
The lord is planning a large-scale military training.
But accidents always come faster than expected.
Trouble came before the crossbowmen returned and the new recruits began training.
Risa Dillan is back.
The Noldor elf ran back exhausted and covered in wounds. He brought back an unconscious man in black. It seemed that he had finally completed the task assigned by Leon.
But the first thing he said to Li Ang was terrible news:
"Lord Leon, a large army is coming here! At least a thousand people!"
"What!"
