"Your Majesty, are you planning to send troops to conquer the Far South now?" Iron Axe's always calm face showed a rare excitement, "but the evil moon is coming soon......"

"How many people do you think are left in Neverwinter to deal with the swarming beasts?"

"This ......," he said, taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing his excitement, "if you look at the scale of the previous year, a thousand people can hold the wall. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info"

"So for the sake of conservatism, leaving two thousand five hundred soldiers should be more than enough, not to mention that a new batch of reserve troops has already begun to recruit, and there is no problem in defending Neverwinter. Roland stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, "Let me tell you about the Far South, you should be the most familiar with it." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" said Iron Axe, "most of the land in the extreme south is yellow sand, and the oases are scattered along Yinchuan to the west of the desert, and more than ninety percent of the Mojin people live in these oases. The largest oasis is the largest oasis with a castle, and the only city in the extreme south, Iron Sand City. ”

"Yinchuan is a river?"

"It's only half a river," Iron Axe explained, "and most of the time, it's buried underground, like the River Styx, and the outcrops form oases, so the Mokin people call it the River of Life." ”

Roland turned around and asked curiously, "Where did it come from?" I can see from the map that there are no mountains or lakes nearby. ”

"It comes from the sea, it's a gift from the god of the sea," Iron Axe said to the table, pointing to the junction of the western side of the Far South with the green space, "There is a huge cave here, and the flowing water is constantly pouring into the cave, and you can feel the soles of your feet tremble when you stand on it." ”

"You mean, the sea is the source of Yinchuan, but it can give birth to oases. ”

To be an oasis is to say that Yinchuan is a freshwater river – the salt of the sea is too high for irrigation and drinking, which sounds completely counterintuitive.

"Mother Earth absorbs the salt from the sea, and the area is all covered with white salt, which also isolates the green space of the Grey Keep. When you need salt, just pick up a bucket and scoop it on the ground. ”

Is this a miracle of nature? The soil under the yellow sand actually filters the salt and forms a saline-alkali land? Roland was amazed, it seems that in addition to oil, he has another resource to collect.

"How many people live in Iron Sand City?"

"About forty thousand. ”

"It's actually more than the old kings of Grey Keep?"

"Your Majesty, the city of the sand people is not the same as the capital of the kingdom," Iron Axe smiled, "Iron Sand City has only one core urban area, which is inhabited by the rulers of the six clans, and the outer periphery is basically tents or thatched bungalows, which have expanded layer by layer, gradually forming the current appearance - as long as you enter the scope of the oasis, you will enter the territory of Iron Sand City. ”

"What about the Mogins who live in the other oases, and there must be quite a few of them?" asked Roland. Population is the key to quickly turning local specialties into usable resources, and it is unlikely that he will have to send a large number of people from Nevershed to extract oil, and in the end he will have to use the locals to his advantage.

The commander-in-chief nodded, "No one has counted them, but I estimate that there are at least 100,000 people." ”

It should be enough to build several mining stations and a transport line, and the next question is how to control them.

"By the way, what was the Holy Duel you talked about last time, and how did the Mojin people determine their right to rule?"

This time, Iron Axe's answer was very detailed, and it took almost half an hour for Roland to figure out how the Shamin's power struggle was conducted.

Promotions within the clan are put aside, and for these aliens who worship force, great strength is the only thing that can be trusted. The ruling class of Iron Sand City is usually made up of six clans, and they are not a single lineage, but they are fought for by their own strength. However, in order to avoid the bloodshed of various clans due to the struggle for power and profit, which led to the weakening of the clan's ability to deal with external dangers, it became the only choice to select a small number of people as representatives to fight a duel.

Over time, this rule was accepted by all the sandfolk and given a sacred meaning - whether it was a large clan that lived in Iron Sand City or a small clan born in the oasis, they had to observe the outcome of the sacred duel. Anyone who defiles the duel will be spurned by all the sandmen.

"Could it be that the supreme ruler of the Mojin people is the patriarch of the various tribes?" Roland wondered, "You don't have a big chief or anything like that?"

"Big ...... Chief?"

"It's the leader who can rule all the clans, similar to the king of the Grey Keep. ”

"This ......," Iron Axe hesitated, "There is a saying among the clan that there are only two ways to get all the sandfolk to submit - one is to get the affirmation and blessing of the three gods, and the other is to open up a vast oasis for the clan, eliminate the sandstorms that obscure the sky and the sun, and keep the sandfolk away from the threat of hunger, thirst and death. ”

"The affirmation of the three gods...... How do you count this?" Roland frowned.

"Sacrifice to the three gods in the Land of Fire: the ironclad scorpion that rules the land, the unicorn that rules the polar sea cape, and the four-winged eagle that dominates the sky. "These three beasts have taken the lives of countless people, but no one has ever found their lair, and the bait and trap have not worked—I even suspect that they may be hybrid beasts that have acquired the most basic intelligence." ”

Neither of these conditions can be achieved, especially the second one, which allows the desert to grow an oasis, which is almost close to the power of the gods. Roland couldn't help but fall into deep thought, if he just let Echo return to the position of patriarch and avenge the entrapment five years ago, it would not be of much help to unify the entire Far South. Although the six clans have different statuses, they are not directly subordinate, let alone the sandfolk scattered in the oasis. I have to find a way to make myself the great chief of the Mojin clan.

In addition, the Holy Duel is also something that must be considered, the First Army may be able to defeat the Iron Sand City Guards like a devastating one, but it may not be so easy to make the Sand People consciously obey the rule.

The most appropriate way is to use the rules set by the Mojin themselves to realize the annexation plan.

"Can you invite people from other races to play in a duel?"

"That's fine," Iron Axe affirmed, "I'm a half-blood, but I can still take part in duels in place of the Osa clan. In fact, brave gladiators are often welcomed by the major clans, and this is the only hope that the small clan will turn around—if there are three or four brave men in the offspring, there is hope of winning a better place in the sacred duel. ”

"Really?" Roland smiled, "Since that's the case, it's much easier." ”