Lord Chronicle

Chapter 130: One Mountain Can't Hold Two Tigers

At this time, Mary had already put down her luggage in the guest room, and she was sitting on the sofa in the living room drinking the black tea that Marlene brought her, while looking around curiously.

Although the lord's mansion is dilapidated, the industrious Marlene cleaned it spotlessly. With the addition of Jessica's original small decorations, it gave people a warm and simple feeling.

Seeing her keep looking around, Jessica said coldly: "How about it, can you still see it?"

"That's right. If you run a hotel, you will definitely attract a lot of customers." Mary smiled at her.

"You..." Jessica sat down in the chair opposite her angrily.

After Saul and Jessica sat down, Marlene carefully poured tea for them and brought a plate of exquisite pastries.For a while, the living room was silent, only the soft sound of drinking tea could be heard from time to time, and the aroma of pastries lingered in the air.

In general, this should have been a very beautiful scene, but because of Jessica and Mary's hostile gaze from time to time, and Saul who was caught in the middle, the atmosphere was quite weird.

Sensitive Marlene also noticed the strange atmosphere. She looked left and right in the three-person room, and suddenly grabbed Sol's hand: "Master, come with me."

Sol was in a dilemma, and he couldn't help standing up with her when he heard the words: "Where are you going?"

"Hee hee, anyway, you just follow along, I have something good to show you." Marlene smiled mysteriously at him.

Thinking of the last time, it was Marlene who said she wanted to look good to herself, but she almost made a big fool of herself.Saul couldn't help but be wary: "What is it?"

"Oh, just come with me. Sister Jessica, Sister Mary, you all come too." Marlene couldn't help saying that she dragged Saul away.

In desperation, Sol had no choice but to follow her to the study, and at the same time made up his mind that no matter how weird the things Marlene wanted to show him were, he must remain calm.Jessica and Mary glanced at each other, then got up and followed them.

When she came outside the study, Marlene turned her back to cover the door, and proudly said to Sol, "Master, it's inside, don't be surprised for a while."

In my impression, Marlene had never done such mysterious things, and now Saul couldn't help being a little interested, what exactly does this girl want to do?It could be seen that the two women behind him were also aroused with curiosity.

"Hey, young master, look!" Guan Zi was almost sold out, Marlene turned around and pushed the door, and then stood aside.

"Ah, that's..." Sol looked into the study, and was immediately attracted by something.

There is a huge square table in the middle of the study, it is not very accurate to say that it is a table, because the table is full of things.Some of these things are undulating in layers, like mountains, and some are densely green, like forests. The most peculiar thing is that there is a group of exquisitely carved house models in the middle of the table, with doors and windows. There are also paths paved with fine gravel, like some child's treasured toy.

"What is this?" Jessica behind couldn't help but ask.

In fact, if any modern person is here, he will be able to recognize that this is a degree of completion when he sees the small flags on the table that indicate the height, have strict proportions, and the undulating mountains are like a miniature version of the mountains. Pretty tall sand table.

At this time, Sol was also full of shock. The sand table was one of the items that he asked Manson to make on the blueprint he gave to Manson before he left. He didn't expect it to be made so soon. The dwarf's craftsmanship is really not to be underestimated. look.

In fact, after the last undead invasion incident, Sol has always wanted to make a sand table, because this thing can most intuitively reflect the surrounding terrain, which is quite helpful for commanding operations.

The production of maps in this world is still in a rather rough stage. Not only is there no scale, but the identification of mountains, rivers, towns, etc. is also very confusing.When the undead invaded last time, the map of the garrison almost gave Sol a hard time looking at it. If it weren't for Jessica's explanation, he wouldn't even know what was drawn on it.

That is, from then on, Sol thought of the sand table. If he could make a sand table according to the terrain around Lovell, then he could justifiably stay in the safe lord's mansion to command, without having to go to the front line in person.

It's just that there was no time for one at that time, and the handicraft level of the second territory did not meet the requirements, so this matter has been put on hold.Thor didn't think about it again until after the Ik people moved in.But at that time, he just mentioned it to Manson with the mood of giving it a try. After all, this thing is quite delicate, and he didn't expect it to be made by them so soon.

"Sure enough, she's a little girl, and she still has the time to make this kind of toy." At this moment, Mary muttered.

Jessica, who is more familiar with the territory, saw the clues. After observing carefully for a while, she said hesitantly: "This is the Yire River, and this is the relic forest. Is this our Lovell?"

As expected of my steward, he is really intelligent, and Saul praised him in his heart.Marlene had already cheered: "Sister Jessica, you are so smart, this is our territory."

"Is this Lovell? What's the use of this thing?" Hearing what she said, Mary circled around the sand table in doubt. interested.

"Hey, what do you guess?" Saul said proudly to the two women under his joy.

"Well, it is indeed much more intuitive than a map. Even people who come to Lovell for the first time can quickly figure out the terrain here." As expected of an alchemist, Mary quickly showed her professional side.

"That's right, and once something happens in the territory, you can quickly make adjustments based on it, such as where to go faster, where to go will be blocked, where there is a road, and where to go through..." Jessica Also murmured to himself.

"Hehe, it's not just that, the lord obviously has a deeper consideration for wanting me to make this thing." At this moment, a burst of heroic laughter came from behind the few people.

Looking back, it was Manson, Vince, Reed, Dylan, Kress and Chip who came.Seeing the sand table in the study, Kress and Chip, who saw it for the first time, were immediately attracted to it, while Reed and the others, who had already seen it, still couldn't hide their amazement.

"Is this the sand table you mentioned?" Kress walked to the table in a few steps.

"Is this called a sand table? What a weird name." Mary curled her lips.

What Jessica cared about was Manson's words: "You said the lord asked you to do this? Are there any deeper considerations?"

Before Manson could speak, Chip, who had been staring at the sand table in silence, said, "War."

Saul was convinced now, as expected of being the only professional soldier present, he immediately judged the most important role of the sand table.In fact, this thing was prepared for the war that Lovell might face in the future.

As soon as he said this, Jessica and the others were horrified, and Kress couldn't help saying: "It's amazing, it's really amazing." I don't know whether it was praise for Chip or the sand table.

Saul said to Manson: "The one who is really powerful is you. I didn't expect you to make it so soon."

Unexpectedly, Manson pointed at Marlene: "I really want to thank you, you must thank this little girl."

"Marlene?" Not only Sol, Jessica and the others all focused on Marlene.

"It's, it's really nothing." Faced with the scorching gazes of everyone, Marlene lowered her head in embarrassment.

After Manson's explanation, Saul understood.It turned out that when Manson only made the base of the sand table, Marlene learned that it was commissioned by Sol to make it, so she volunteered to survey the terrain around the town.In the past few months, she took Mira to almost every place outside the town, drew a large number of topographic maps under Manson's guidance, and carefully helped him perfect the details of the sand table. It can be said that this The sand table can be released so quickly, thanks to Marlene's hard work.

No wonder she couldn't hide her complacency when she mentioned the sand table just now. It turned out that a lot of her hard work was involved in it.

She didn't expect that this girl who always only knew how to cry and cry, and seemed to be unable to do anything without her and Jessica's care, could do such a surprising thing.Sol and Jessica looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"All along, I, I have been unable to help the young master. This time, it's just running errands. It's really nothing." Marlene lowered her head and said in a low voice.

"No, Marlene, you've done well, you've finally grown up." Jessica said.

Marlene raised her head in surprise, facing Sol's encouraging eyes.At this moment, she couldn't bear it anymore, tears welled up in her eyes, but her face was filled with happy laughter.

Mary on the side looked at a few people and at the sand table on the table, showing a thoughtful expression.

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Taking advantage of the gathering of all the principal persons in charge, Sol simply held a small meeting to inquire about the affairs of the territory during his absence.

"The factory is under construction, and I believe it will be officially put into operation in a short time. Patriarch Leo has personally led people into the mountain to search for ore veins. Although there is no news yet, it is estimated that there should be gains." This is Manson's report .

"Now the territory is very peaceful, everyone is satisfied with the current changes, and there are no disturbances on the refugee side. In addition, we have selected a place on the east side of the town, and a new school is under construction. According to your request, all 12 Children under the age of [-] will go to school," Vince said.

Dylan reported the defense situation of the territory: "The newly joined dwarf warriors and the garrison team are getting along well. They are a very strong force. There are currently no noteworthy security problems in the territory. Since last month we defeated a bandit group From now on, there will be no more thieves entering the country. After the defense facilities outside the town are built, I believe the defense capability of the territory can be further improved."

Reed said: "The trade with the Frozen Plateau is going smoothly, and the four major chambers of commerce have also purchased all the special products according to the agreement. I have already purchased a large amount of food for the territory through their channels, and within half a year the territory will not Troubled by lack of food."

Take a look, what is talent?Even if I, the head of the family, is not around, I can still manage the territory in an orderly manner. This is a talent.Sol couldn't help but be very proud of his good use of knowledge, although he didn't realize that even if he was in the territory, he hadn't played any role.

Judging from everyone's reports, the current situation in the territory is very good.The addition of the dwarves has brought considerable vitality to the territory, and after absorbing refugees to supplement the labor force, the pace of construction has been accelerated.

Even though the whole Kingdom of Dinard is in turmoil, the inconspicuous Lovell keeps rising like a strong stock in a bear market.

Sol, who is the lord, naturally wanted to praise this. After talking about everyone's hard work, and the year-end dividends are naturally indispensable to you and other nonsense, he asked again: "Is there any difficulty?"

Manson and the others looked at each other, shook their heads and said, "Everything is going well so far, and we haven't encountered any difficulties."

Before Saul was happy with these words, Reed gave them a rather depressed look, and said, "My lord, I have something to say."

"Oh, what's the matter?" It seemed that only Reed had a problem. Sol couldn't help despising his financial expert a little in his heart, and said that he was a first-class businessman. I hold back.

"Recently, the cost of the territory has been a bit huge," Reed said.

"How much did it cost?" Sol asked indifferently.If he remembered correctly, with the 1000 million sent by the four major chambers of commerce plus the income from trade with the frozen plateau, he has at least 1200 million gold coins. Do you know what this is called?I'm so rich that it's nothing to spend two or three million yuan on.

Unexpectedly, Reed's next words almost made Saul fall down.I heard him say: "Five hundred... no, it looks like 600 million gold coins."

At this time, Sol was just bringing the teacup to his mouth. He shook his hand when he heard the words, and poured all the scalding hot tea into his mouth, which made him grin his teeth.Because his tongue was numb from the heat, Sol couldn't say a word, he just stared at Reed with the expression of a dead mother, panting.

Jessica Tisol asked, "Why did it cost so much?"

Half of the 1200 million territorial funds have been spent in just a few months. Isn't this too exaggerated?
Reed showed that resentful expression again: "Now the territory is in the construction period, and many large projects are started together. In addition, most of the raw materials have to be purchased from outside, and the war prices are soaring, so..."

As he spoke, he counted them one by one: "Refugees' residences, the expansion of the three roads, the defense facilities outside the town, the construction of forging factories, the schools in the town, the laying of tracks outside the coal mine... these are the most important ones. .In addition, we have just purchased a large amount of high-priced food, and for the refugees, we have purchased a large amount of daily necessities from the Adventurer's Guild, as well as the costumes of the territorial guards, and various expenses..."

Following Reed's words, Manson and the others looked away with unnatural expressions.Now Sol understands, no wonder you guys didn’t encounter difficulties, all the money was spent by you, of course nothing happened, whoever it is, spending money so recklessly, nothing will happen difficulty.

Prodigal, prodigal, I earned the money back for the territory through untold hardships, my lord. It's good for you to spend it like running water. Tell me yourself, are you worthy of my trust?
Seeing Sol gradually show a pooping face, Jessica said: "Why are there so many projects being built at the same time? Didn't there be any planning beforehand?"

Manson said with an aggrieved face: "The construction of the factory and the expansion of the road were specially ordered by the lord before he left. The fortifications outside the town are very necessary. For the sake of the safety of the territory, the sooner they are completed, the better. "

Dylan said: "For the garrison to replace the equipment, the lord has already ordered that it must be completed as soon as possible."

Vince also said: "Didn't the lord specifically tell you about the resettlement of refugees? You also said that education is a major plan for the future of the territory, so the school must be built as soon as possible."

"Receiving a large number of refugees, the territory is seriously short of living supplies and food, so we can only buy them from the chamber of commerce at a high price. This is approved by you and Miss Jessica." Reed also defended.

Apparently, all of them were saying the same thing, and they were all conveying the same message, that is: We spend so much money in full compliance with your orders, Lord Lord, you can't just blame people.

Sol couldn't help being speechless, thinking about it carefully, it seemed that those things that cost money were really carried out under his orders.In other words, the culprit who caused the large loss of funds in the territory was himself.

At the end, Manson and the others still didn't forget to give Saul an insult: "You have said more than once that money is not a problem, that's why we..."

Now Saul was completely speechless, and he did it to himself, who told him to be so impatient. In order to build the territory as soon as possible, he wished that all the projects could be completed as soon as possible.Unexpectedly, the combination turned Lovell into a bottomless pit of crazily absorbing money.

In embarrassment, he rubbed his numb mouth: "Uh, this... I don't blame you, everyone works together, and now the territory is changing with each passing day, so what's the point of spending some money?"

Although distressed to death, Sol also understands that once these projects start, it is impossible to stop, otherwise the loss will be even greater if they are not completed halfway.Therefore, he could only forcefully put on a smile and make a guarantee to everyone.

Alas, I only hope that the remaining 600 million gold coins can last a little longer, where can I get another sum of money before my poor lord goes bankrupt.

Seeing Saul's smile is uglier than crying, the shrewd Reed naturally knows what he thinks.Feeling that it was time to perform his duties as a financial officer, he couldn't help coughing dryly.

"My lord, please rest assured that the financial situation of the territory is not as bad as you think. First of all, a large part of the 600 million expenditure is one-time consumption, such as the purchase of food and living supplies. The rest of the construction, It was invested in batches, I calculated carefully, and the remaining 600 million gold coins, plus the trade income from the frozen plateau, are fully enough to support these projects until they are completed."

After a pause, he continued: "In addition, if we can find ore veins in the mountains, the territory will be self-sufficient in iron in the future, which will save a lot of money. After the factory is completed, with our high-quality ironmaking in Lovell technology, it can be expected that future earnings will be very optimistic.”

Hearing this, Saul finally let out a long sigh of relief. I was scared to death. I almost thought that I was going to go bankrupt.It’s okay, it’s okay, it seems that the difficulties are only temporary, and my territory still has a bright future.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help feeling proud again: "My lord, I still say the same thing, what should be built should be built, and what should be bought should be bought. As long as the territory is good, what is money?"

Everyone: Come on, I don't know who just looked like he was dying.

The financial "crisis" passed, and the atmosphere on the field relaxed.Thinking of going to the frozen plateau soon, Sol asked Reed, "How is the barbarian at present?"

Reed said: "With the large number of high-quality tools we sent, the construction speed of Xueyuan City is quite fast. Now many barbarians have begun to move there, and it is estimated that it will not be long before it will truly have the appearance of a city. And we The relationship with the barbarians is very good now, if it weren’t for the war and the reduction in the purchases of the four major chambers of commerce, I would have wanted to expand the scale of trade a long time ago.”

He said, "But the barbarians have been asking, when can we import weapons for them? It seems that they are eager to form an army."

Sol nodded: "I was planning to talk about this. I have already obtained a batch of weapons and supplies, and I plan to send them to the frozen plateau in a few days. But the quantity is too large, and it may take a lot of work."

"Is it the convoy that entered the territory with you today? The escort seems to be the Knights of the Royal Capital." Reed asked strangely.

"That's right, these supplies are exactly what the king intends to aid the barbarians." Jessica nodded.

Everyone couldn't help looking at each other. Now that the battle in Dinar is very tight, how could the king take care of the barbarians' affairs and send them such a large batch of things.The lord is too good at hands and eyes, isn't he?

"The thing is like this..." Jessica followed the orcs to besiege the Broken Sword Gorge Fortress. Sol told them that he was going to ask the barbarians to send troops to rescue them. She finally said: "This news is strictly blocked, so there are not many people. Know. Otherwise, in the current situation, there may be considerable panic."

The secret passage turned out to be like this, and Reed said excitedly: "It's really great. Now that the war situation is unstable and the arms trade has been strictly controlled, I'm wondering how to answer them. The lord is more powerful. Just a few words can't be done." It pays a penny to fulfill the promise to them."

Sol felt a little depressed, are you really complimenting me?Why does it sound like I'm an empty-handed liar.

Coughing twice, he said, "Let's not talk about that first, this batch of materials is of great importance, and there are a lot of them. Reed, you should prepare well and send them to the frozen plateau safely."

Reed nodded: "The current delivery capacity of the territory is not enough, but I will find a way."

At this time, Jessica said: "If this cooperation is successful, Dinar will provide a lot of assistance to the barbarians in the future, and Lovell is the transit center, so we should increase the transportation capacity of the territory as soon as possible."

"Once the expansion of the road is completed, then we can..." Vince said.

Sol shook his head: "No, it's not enough. In fact, the territory already has a fast and convenient transportation channel, but we haven't developed it yet."

Reed quickly realized: "You mean the Yire River?"

(End of this chapter)