The day after the rain stopped, the border town was lively again, and many villagers gathered in the square, waiting for the speech of the fourth prince in a lot of discussions.

For this speech, Roland had posted a notice on the bulletin board the day before, and anyone who came to the square to listen to the lecture would receive a piece of wheat porridge and half a loaf of bread. For the townspeople, it was the equivalent of a free lunch, so there were many more people than when they watched the hanging.

It was close to noon, and Roland climbed the high platform that had been erected.

Facing the crowd of people under his feet, he lied to himself if he said that he was not nervous. In the past, he used to deal with computer monitors the most, and even when he had a meeting, he only had to applaud from the audience, and this was the first time he had encountered such a big scene that required him to go into battle in person.

But he had to go up, and if he wanted to keep everyone in the border town, he had to have a general mobilization.

Roland waved his hand to silence everyone.

He had practiced this scene many times on his own, but when he got on stage, his mouth was still a little dry, "Good afternoon, my lords." I am Roland Wimbleton, the fourth prince of the Kingdom of Greykeep. We are bringing you together at this time because we have important news for you!"

"The emissaries of the Fortress of Long Song arrived here four days ago, and they came for the delivery of the ore. As we all know, a month ago, we had an unfortunate accident when the North Slope mine collapsed. To this day, the mine has not fully resumed production. As a result of the accident, the ore produced only two months last quarter. ”

"I explained the situation to the messenger and hoped that he would allocate the full amount of food to the border towns, and that the missing ore would be replenished after the winter was over. But he refused! There was no room for negotiation, and he refused to allocate more food - just like he had two years ago. ”

There were bursts of exclamation from the crowd, apparently impressed by the food shortage incident two years ago.

"And this time it's clearly worse. The astrologers of the Grey Keep told me that this year's winter will be longer than ever, and that the Hive Moon is likely to last for more than four months. In other words, this time everyone is likely to face a two-month food shortage. Two years ago you lost two percent of your companions, some lost their brothers, some lost their children, and this time, how much are you prepared to lose?"

"No, Your Highness, help us!" someone shouted below, and then more people shouted, "Your Highness, please, help us!"

It seemed that it was the right choice to prepare a few tories in advance, Roland raised his hand and suppressed the cries of the crowd, "Of course, I will not leave my people behind, not a single one! At normal market prices, two months' worth of ore is enough for half a year's worth of food! I have already sold the ore to the merchants of Willow Leaf Town, and their cargo ships carrying food will soon arrive in Frontier Town. In addition to bread, there is also cheese, mead, and jerky! enough for a winter, and everyone can eat enough!"

The square erupted in cheers.

"However, this would be tantamount to severing ties with the Changge Fortress, and they won't contain another person, so this winter, we'll spend this winter in the Border Town. Most people have seen that to the west of the border town, a fortified wall is being built. I know that some people are worried about whether we will be able to stop the beast when it strikes. I will tell you that the beasts are not much more powerful than the beasts of the forest, and although they have rough skin and thick flesh, they cannot climb the walls, they cannot bite stones, and no matter how thick their skin is, they are just a group of poor targets!"

"Tell me, my lords, will you hide in the shacks of the fortress and starve to death, or will you be under my leadership and protect your relatives and children and guard the frontier town until the last moment? Whoever unfortunately dies, his family will be compensated by five golden dragons!"

"I am willing to fight for His Highness!" Under the guidance of To, everyone shouted and swore to fight to the death. Seeing that the atmosphere was high, Roland ordered lunch to be distributed at the right time. He didn't expect everyone to stay in the border town, as long as half of them were willing to stay, he was sure to stop the eastward advance of the evil beasts here.

Pei Luo naturally didn't know how His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince arranged him, and when he brought the news back to the six nobles in the fortress, the response he got was just a burst of laughter.

"Do you think that naïve prince wants to throw us off and do it alone? Should I praise him for his bravery or laugh at him for not being able to do anything before winter comes?"

"It is a well-known fact that His Royal Highness the eldest prince is brave, when did the fourth prince have the courage to do so?

"Yes, he didn't even have a stonemason, so he leaned on the unpolished stones and piled them up, with some wet mud in the middle, for fear that if he piled them up, he would collapse. ”

"Anyway, it's a good thing. If he escapes back to the Changge Fortress, he will naturally be at our mercy. If he dies in a border town...... We can also end this farce sooner rather than later. ”

The duke, who had been closing his eyes and pondering, suddenly spoke, "Perot, what do you think?"

Pei Luo was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Duke Changge to ask for his opinion, "Well, I originally wanted to maintain the monopoly operation, as long as it is thirty percent below the market price, it is still a worthwhile business for us." However......" he quickly sorted out his thoughts in his head, "However, His Highness does not intend to let the fortress specialize in ore, and he is willing to sell ore at a fifty percent lower price, which means that he has plans to greatly increase ore production next year." As long as we double our production capacity, we may earn more than we have ever made. He also plans to produce his own ironware for sale, which is in high demand everywhere and easy to resell. But...... None of this is the point. ”

"Oh, what's the point?"

"If he can hold the border town, it's also good news for the fortress. We don't have to focus on dealing with the beast every year, which saves a huge amount of money. The second advantage is that the vast area from Changge Fortress to Border Town will be owned by us, and it is a good choice for both reclamation and relocation, which can greatly alleviate the current overcrowded situation of the fortress. Perot said the ideas in his heart one by one, "And the fourth prince will not stay in the border town forever. The Edict is only five years old, and in five years we will have a more prosperous border town, and then we will add the town to the fortress, and the fortress of Changge will become the third largest territory in the kingdom. So my suggestion is ......," he said cautiously, glancing at the duke, "the fortress will send men to help His Highness build the city walls and coordinate the defense of the border towns. ”

"That's right," the Duke smiled, "but it's all the ideas of merchants, and they only see the gains and losses." ”

At this point, he straightened up, his eyes slowly swept over the other participants, and his tone gradually became calm, "However, I have come to this position not by all interests. Why should I do business with someone I don't control? There are rules that have to be followed, and if you break them, you have to be punished. It doesn't matter if the border town is prosperous or dilapidated, the important thing is that it's my territory, and no one wants to put their hands in it, even if he's a prince. ”