Volume 1: The Rise of Elanhill Chapter 0029 Follow the Wind
"Sir, why don't you send troops to destroy Elanhill first... and take back the technology and craftsmen there..." Another officer leaned against Zorn and made a harsh suggestion.
Zoen smiled and waved his hand, saying, "That tiny country is not worth our early attack. Anyway, it has to pay 50,000 gold coins in taxes every year. Can it still run away?"
"As a person, don't be petty. When you see someone has something good, don't immediately want to grab it." He looked at his subordinate with the corner of his eye, as if he wanted to cultivate him: "You have to think long-term! Think about what kind of impact your choice will bring."
As he spoke, he patted his subordinate on the shoulder twice and said, "For someone as cooperative as Grand Duke Ailanhill, it is only right to keep him there for a few years. After all, there are not many people as sensible as him now."
"First, we need to set an example for other lords and let them know that those who obey us can benefit from the Alante Empire." Zorn felt a sense of life and death in his heart when he said this: "Second, if you go to rob someone's property just because they are offering treasures, what will happen to our reputation?"
"I understand, sir." The subordinate lowered his head , looking like he had learned something. For a man like him, sometimes showing one's own stupidity to highlight the intelligence of his lord is also a very useful technique to flatter: "So let's just leave it at that?"
"When we come back from the south, we will find a reason to cause trouble for Elanhill." Zorn said confidently, "When the time comes, we will have a hundred thousand troops and a thousand cannons to show that Grand Duke Elanhill what the foundation of a great power is!"
"Your Excellency is wise!" This time, the flattery was effective, and the subordinate took two steps back and followed General Zorn.
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"This is truly the heritage of industry." Looking at everything in front of him, Des said to his followers with a bit of a smile.
The purpose of his visit this time was to make it easier for Ireland Hill to capture the earthen fort - in fact, there was no secret, it was just a matter of distributing things.
"Slow down, slow down! Everyone has it! Everyone has it!" An official responsible for comforting the civilians in the earthen fort was shouting loudly in the crowd at this moment.
At his feet, there was a pile of cloth from Ailan Hill. Every household in the earthen fortress could receive such cloth as long as they received the Ailan Hill certificate, without any exception.
At the same time, various small items were also distributed, such as soap produced in the Ireland Hill workshop and matches produced in the Maine factory - in short, all these things were converted into pensions and distributed to every resident of the earthen fort.
The wounds brought by the war healed quickly, and every Tubao people had gotten used to it. Every year there were some frictions between Tubao and the grassland empire, and every year a group of cavalrymen died in Tubao.
Because of this, the Elanhill troops, who did not burn, kill or loot after occupying the earthen fort, were not rejected by the people of the earthen fort. Life continued as usual, and no one paid attention to the black-gold eagle flag of Elanhill rising on the top of the castle.
"Do I have one, too? Excuse me, do I have one, too?" A woman was waving her Elanhill household registration certificate in her hand and was pushed around in the crowd.
An old woman beside her pushed the woman in disgust and cursed her unhappily, "Get lost. Your husband was killed by the soldiers of Ailan Hill. How dare you come to receive the gifts from them?"
The woman pleaded with a sad face, but was drowned out by the noisy voices. However, she still stubbornly held up her household registration certificate, as if she was unwilling to leave like this.
"Have the guards maintain order here! The women must also be given enough." Des instructed the guards around him and pointed at the women who were struggling helplessly in the crowd: "Have them line up! Stop making such a mess!"
Soon, a dozen soldiers from Ailan Hill joined the crowd. Seeing these soldiers with long swords coming, everyone subconsciously stopped crowding. Soon, a long line formed and the scene was restored to order.
Because of the order, every household holder can get the supplies that belong to them. There are stamped utensils, and various small items... Everyone left with a smile on their face, as if Ailan Hill's call was not a bad thing for them.
Before, the life of ordinary people was very difficult. Because the earthen forts also had to pay taxes, the people here were also exploited. Now, they have a new life, which makes them very satisfied.
People are like this sometimes. When life becomes very difficult, a box of matches, a piece of soap, and a simple little mirror can make them happy.
For Ailan Hill, these products were too cheap, so cheap that it made people want to cry. Using these products to gain the support of the people was much more effective than issuing silver and gold coins.
Moreover... Desel knew that Chris would still issue coins later. It seemed that every civilian in Elan Hill would receive a war benefit of 1 silver coin after the war was won. This seemed to be a rule, a rule that gave people a headache.
The population of Ailan Hill is not small now. Because of the annexation of the earth fort, their population base has exceeded 500,000. If the vagrants attracted by food and other benefits are included, the population is even close to one million.
With so many people, if they had to share the dividends every time they won a war... I guess if they win again, they might have to share 100,000 gold coins. Des didn't think 100,000 gold coins was a lot to win people's hearts. He was afraid that when the population exceeded 10 million or even 100 million, he would not have enough money to pay...
"5 meters of cloth per person! Grand Duke Elanhill is so generous..." An old man holding a roll of gray cloth walked out of the crowd excitedly with a satisfied smile on his face.
I heard that there are countless job opportunities in the Principality of Ailan Hill, and the people will not go hungry. In the past, the Lord controlled the migration, but now that the Lord is dead, no one is in charge of such things anymore. If I go to Ailan Hill and try my luck, maybe I can find a bowl of rice to eat...
Everyone had their own thoughts, and those families whose husbands and sons had died became more receptive because of the unexpected compensation. As the saying goes, after taking Chris's money, people subconsciously transferred their hatred to the ignorant Lord Dong Bran who resisted Elanhill.
Anyway, the person was already dead, so there was no way for everyone to vent their hatred, and everything became unresolved. These small territories and castles had no concept of a country, and had been forced to split for a long time, so it was only a matter of time before they were reunited by Elan Hill.
"If we continue to fight like this, our expenses will actually be reduced." Although almost 100,000 gold coins were distributed, Desel casually calculated that the coal and steel purchased from the earth fort in the past year were worth about 150,000 gold coins.
All this money was originally earned by Dongbrand under various pretexts, but now it has flown back to the treasury of Elanhill as if it had wings: most of the gold coins that were taken away by Dongbrand are piled up in the castle treasury of the earth fort.
As a result, Dong Bran was accidentally killed in the battle, and the gold coins in the earth fort returned to Chris's pocket - because Chris's advance was too fast, the troops from the two territories of North County and Hanhai had no time to gather before the earth fort was destroyed.
Chris also broke his own record for annexation speed this time: before the enemy's allies arrived to support him, he had conquered a territory. Such an attack speed seemed to have never appeared in the history of mortal warfare.
"Don't worry, we have already sent a messenger... If nothing unexpected happens, the cowardly North County will probably surrender this time." Des looked at the woman in the distance who was leaving with cloth and other things, and he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
The woman's husband died under the guns of the Ailan Hill grenadiers, but she did not have much hatred for Ailan Hill who fell from the sky. If Ailan Hill could quickly accumulate its own territory in this way, then this principality would soon have the strength to compete with other empires.
Des knew the lord of North County and had done business with him many times. Des knew the other party's character very well. He was a strange person who surrendered when he was attacked and surrendered when he was attacked. The only reason he survived until now was his ability to accept adversity.
As long as you don't move his position, he will agree to whatever you say to him... This is the strength of the Lord of North County. It is also because of this that this Lord is nicknamed "Lord of the Wind".
However, the good days of Lord Suifeng may be over - as the Grand Duke of Ailanhill, Chris wants absolute control over North County, so it is unlikely that he will give Lord Suifeng another chance.
When the Elanhill grenadiers arrive, this lord will probably not even have a chance to escape and will have no choice but to surrender and hand over his territory.
Thinking of this, Desair stood up and turned away from the distribution point for the relief supplies. As he walked, he thought to himself, " This is the end! The only thing left is the vast sea, and the surrounding territories will all be under the rule of Ailan Hill!"