Since ancient times, it has been customary for the conquered to offer tribute to the conquerors in order to ensure the safety of life and property, as well as to make some form of investment in the future. Through this customary ritual to express one's obedience, in exchange for a moment of peace and respite.

And the things that were used as tribute were probably money, territory, privileges, and beautiful women. But it didn't make much sense to give the Wehrmacht coupons and military tickets that Charlemagne himself didn't want, and there was a risk of death. Territory and privileges were in the hands of the elves the moment the defenders arrived, and no bargaining could be made in the face of hordes of chariots.

Then, all that's left is to use beauty.

However, this only feasible strategy also encountered two insurmountable obstacles in front of the 101st Experimental Heavy Armored Battalion - appearance and gender.

Needless to say, the elves have the advantage of natural resources in this regard, and the beauties in their own eyes are only afraid that they are all varieties such as "dragoons". The gender issue is that this battalion is a special situation, and the proportion of orc female soldiers is high, even if there are really peerless beauties in the village, it only makes sense for the other party to have a lily tendency, otherwise it is to let the girls in uniform and non-uniform get together to discuss what?cosmetics?boyfriend?new clothes?the latest fashion trends?does the other party have that mood?

In the face of difficulties, not to be discouraged, not to give up, and to continue to work hard until success – this is a virtue. But if the direction and form are wrong, multiply the great positive number of virtue with the great negative number of despicable purposes and deeds, and only get a huge negative number that is too great for even the hard-willed soldier to bear.

"So, Mr. Mayor. ”

The veins on Nona's forehead were squirming, and her right hand was holding the holster, her fingers twitching from time to time.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

In front of the man-wolf major was a fat man in his fifties, his head was bald, and his baby-like ruddy face was putting on a flattering smile, and behind him was a group of thinly dressed boys who were snuggling up to each other and shivering.

The youngest looked to be no more than five or six years old, and the oldest was no more than twelve or thirteen, each of them in a state of malnutrition, and his eyes full of horror and uneasiness moved back and forth between the ground and the onlookers of the defense officers and soldiers.

The contrasting picture in front of me can be said to be a sketch of the various social classes under Charlemagne's control today. Due to the shortage of supplies and soaring prices, Charlemagne has fully implemented rationing. The amount of meat and fat that all citizens can get per week is strictly controlled, and theoretically each person receives 500 grams of fresh meat and 125 grams of butter per week. If it's a pickled product like bacon, it's only 300 grams.

It sounds okay, but in places where you can't even eat wild vegetables, this standard can be considered heaven on earth. Note, however, that this is theoretical, and in practice it is simply not possible to implement the distribution by head. In addition to class divisions, there are also problems of corruption and the black market. Many officials have used their power to embezzle the supplies that should have been distributed to the people and put them into the black market for huge profits, which has further worsened the supply and demand of materials. Especially in rural areas, people are already dying of starvation.

In this desperate situation, morality and law are completely inapplicable, and in order to survive, in order to create new "profitable projects", some things that were once despicable begin to happen quickly and spread.

such as smuggling;

For example, selling intelligence;

For example, human trafficking.

The last item, in particular, is the most prosperous trade in recent times. For families that don't even have moldy potatoes, one less mouth to eat can give the rest of them a few more weeks to live...... How they will choose between survival and family affection is a matter of obviousness.

As a result, children who cannot work have become the main target of sales. In addition to various Fengyue places and suspicious organizations, the largest sect is the church.

The church itself runs orphanages, and in this way receives subsidies from the government and donations from the private sector. Over time, more and more clergy began to see running orphanages as a "business" – a low-cost, high-income buy and sell for unpaid labor and social investment. As long as there are children who are abandoned at the door of the orphanage for various reasons, the gold coins will continue to be put into the pockets of the church, priests, and grandmothers. On the other hand, if all the orphans die, the orphanage will be cut off from a source of income. So, in order to ensure the fact that "there are orphans", the regular purchase of orphans from traffickers has become a private business that the church has been doing.

The orphans in front of them were the ones that were ready to be shipped next month, and they not only did all kinds of chores, but also taught them to play the lute and sing in order to dispel the loneliness and boredom of the priests. As for the entertainment for long nights...... According to the request of the buyer, who is keen on the panic and shy reaction of children, he did not teach it, and I believe that after the buyer is in the hands, he will spend a lot of time on this education......

Originally, this was a big deal of more than 50 gold coins. But now, in order to keep his position, he is even more important to keep his head. I had to endure the pain and cut my love, and these pointy-eared ghosts were cheaper...... Uh, it's pointy-eared gentlemen.

- Even if you are a woman living in a boring barracks, you can't help but shoot when you see such a cute child.

The mayor of Pierre La Barte muttered silently in his heart, his greasy hands rubbing back and forth, and the fat on his face squeezing out a flattering smile, like a pimp at the door of a country tavern, completely oblivious to his own dignity in the eyes of others.

"As you can see. ”

Pimp, no, the mayor of La Barte blinked, and said humbly:

"These children are dedicated to serving the governors. ”

If you are a decent young man, you may not understand the subtext of the mayor, but Nona, who has special experiences and rich social experience, understands what the other party means at once.

- Officials who eat until their brains are full of fat, and they want to maintain their status and power at any cost;

- Children who are hungry and have yellow muscles and thin abdomen, and are afraid of the unknown future;

For Nona, this is really a very visual image.

At that moment, Nona almost couldn't hold back and shot the fat man in front of her who made her sick. But with the assistance of military honor and a sense of duty, she finally suppressed the impulse.

- Perhaps the other party may have mistaken Charlemagne's propaganda and thought that the Wehrmacht would slaughter the village, so he had to make this decision as a last resort.

With the only hope of humanity, Nona guesses the other party's intentions, and then she decides to communicate with the other party further to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Mr. Mayor, I think you may be mistaken. Our army will leave soon, will not stay here long, and will not need additional labor and services. If there is a shortage of food or other problems in the village, you can make a list and submit an application after the officials from our logistics department or civil affairs unit come up. As for the service or something...... I don't think we need to. ”