Winter has turned to spring, and the scars left by the war on the earth have not yet faded, but people's lives have continued as usual.
The snow melted, roads became clear, and civil wars began in the kingdom. These factors created the best opportunity for tribes and slaves under Ulster's control to migrate and escape.
At night, when you look down at the forest from a high altitude, you can see the light of torches everywhere.
More and more barbarians are taking advantage of the darkness of night to escape from their homes and come to Froststone. Many of them have only heard of the "Legend of Demigods" and have only begun to embrace freedom and tranquility.
Desire to seek refuge.
However, with the rapid increase in population, the originally narrow basin was no longer able to accommodate all residents.
Due to the abundant labor force, large-scale construction work began in the camp, a large number of forests were cut down, and fertile land was reclaimed.
Equipment from the Holy Guard City was continuously transported into the camp, and groups of barbarian warriors began to practice military formations and coordinated combat techniques under the training of the "Death Knights".
Everything is on track, except for one small problem.
Yes, small problem...
"You collapsed the wall in the room again!" Rachel looked at the big hole in the wall and wanted to cry.
Todd smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I don't know why. Recently, whenever I fall asleep, I will inexplicably trigger the evolutionary state."
Deirdre gestured with her hand to show the size of the hole, nodded and said, "This time the hole is bigger than last time."
Todd looked at his body and tried to start evolving. As the monster form unfolded, his body gradually occupied the entire first floor, but the transformation was still not over.
Rachel heard the harsh "whining" coming from the floor, and quickly said loudly: "Stop! Stop! If you keep getting bigger, this building will collapse!"
Helpless, Todd terminated the Tyrant evolution and returned to human form.
Rachel looked at the solid wood floor full of fine cracks and said to Todd distressedly: "What have you done recently? Why are your evolved forms getting bigger and bigger?!"
Todd thought about it carefully and thought of one thing: "Since the end of that battle, I have been studying the Tyrant Virus. When I was in the laboratory, I more or less inhaled some of it into my body. Will it be related to this?
related?"
"Then reduce the number of times you go to the laboratory and have as little contact with the Tyrant Virus as possible!" Rachel pressed her temples with a headache: "You yourself said that the virus is an unstable substance for living organisms.
It may lead to unpredictable consequences!”
Todd was a little embarrassed: "My experiment has now reached the critical point. During last winter's battle, I discovered a new parasite - 'spores'. It grows in the belly of the war beast and looks like
Like a sphere wrapped in thick skin, a substance similar to nitroglycerine is stored inside. As long as it is stimulated by the outside world, it will..."
Rachel did not care about Deirdre's existence at all, and said in a serious tone: "Your Majesty! This is not the Kingdom of Muxi! You must restrain your personal interests! Look at the people outside the door, they come from many countries
Different tribes have different interests and demands, and it is impossible for them to handle and coordinate affairs as spontaneously as Mu Xicheng does. This camp seems to be growing, but in fact it is a mess! The only person who can integrate and lead them is you!"
"You gave these people hope and a home, but Muxi City's method of kingdom autonomy simply won't work here! If you don't manage these people, in the end, this place will only end up with internal strife." Maybe.
Feeling that her tone was too harsh, Rachel breathed a long sigh of relief and slowed down her speech: "These people are gathered around you because they value your power and reputation. To control them, you need to find a way to control them."
A more appropriate path.”
Todd sighed softly: "I understand what you said. After winning the battle, I did feel a little...relaxed."
Rachel glanced at Deirdre, who was standing next to her with a stiff expression, and said in a pretentious manner: "I sometimes worry that if our conversation is leaked..."
Seeing Deirdre looking like she was about to cry, Todd said helplessly: "We haven't discussed this matter long ago. Deirdre's doing this will not do her any good."
Rachel gave Deirdre another meaningful gaze before continuing to say to Todd: "Agatha's fleet has arrived at the temporary port, and the latest batch of food supplies is being unloaded. But the camp's
The population is increasing, and the transportation volume of food can hardly keep up with the consumption volume."
Todd nodded: "I have thought about this issue. The transportation cost of food shipped from Muxi City is too high, and it can only be used for early-stage emergency relief, not a long-term solution."
"You don't want to attack the surrounding tribes, do you?" Rachel looked a little nervous: "Let me tell you in advance that although plundering nearby tribes can temporarily solve the food problem, this kind of
This approach will completely destroy our long-established good reputation, quickly turn against other tribes, and even affect internal stability!"
Todd smiled and gave her a "don't worry" look: "I do want to attack the surrounding tribes and neighboring countries, but not in the way of war, but... trade."
"trading?!"
Rachel and Deirdre shouted at the same time.
"You should know that the Froststone Camp can't produce any decent specialties at all, so how can we talk about trade..." Rachel said this, and suddenly an idea came to her mind: "No, there were so many products that could be used to build the camp.
Site selection, why did you choose this place?"
Todd took out some dry grass blades from his body and placed them in front of Rachel and Deirdre: "The reason why I chose this place as a camp is because of this thing - tobacco leaves."
"The terrain of Froststone Camp is a basin, with higher altitude and better sunlight. The soil is red soil, which is rare in the northern region and is rich in iron oxide. There is abundant precipitation and the soil has strong water storage capacity. These three conditions contribute to this place.
It can produce the best tobacco leaves."
Deirdre picked up a piece of tobacco leaf and looked at it carefully: "I know this thing. The old people in the tribe often chew it to refresh themselves. I tasted it once and it was bitter and choking. Would anyone really trade food for this?
?”
Todd crushed the dry tobacco leaves in his hand, put them in front of his nose, smelled them, and said, "Tobacco leaves cannot be used directly. They have to go through a series of processes including selecting materials, removing impurities, fermenting, grinding, adding aroma, and sealing."
Rachel was a little confused: "It sounds very complicated, so what is the use of this thing called 'tobacco'?"
"It's similar to alcohol. It's an expensive consumable." Todd recalled that he relied on cigarettes to get through the countless nights at the institute. Later, after he got a girlfriend, he finally gave up smoking again.
Already.
"Due to technological issues, tobacco products cannot be made into advanced processed products such as hookah, dry tobacco, and cigarettes at the beginning. We can only think of ways to tinker with snuff." Todd held his chin with his hand, thought for a while and said: "I
We also need Muxi Kingdom to temporarily produce a batch of exquisite crystal snuff bottles. I will leave this to Huggins in the soul space later..."
Deirdre's eyes shone with admiration: "You know a lot..."
Todd was a little embarrassed: "Back then, I studied tobacco mosaic virus, and I also liked to smoke a few cigarettes. So, I had a rough understanding of the history and technology of tobacco, but I didn't expect that it would come in handy now."
Rachel first glanced at the two men, then looked at the inconspicuous blade of grass, and asked suspiciously: "How much is the snuff you mentioned worth, and is it worth our effort to make it?"
"value?"
Todd thought back to the documents he had read.
Snuff entered China in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, in the market in Beijing, the price of a good bottle of snuff ranged from 300 to 800 yuan, which is between 90,000 and 240,000 yuan when converted into RMB.
After doing some conversions in his mind, Todd gave Rachel an answer: "50 grams of good snuff costs about three hundred silver moons."
After hearing this, the latter opened his mouth slightly and froze there.