The cold stone pillars, the unchanged palace, and the gray sky all day long.
Facing this almost unchanged life, Dennis looked at the small window and sighed. The little girl who once longed to go out and be free has now locked herself in another cage. Is this right or wrong?
But, if you think about it carefully, everyone living in this world is not living in a cage? How many people can truly act according to their own preferences and wishes? Most people are not repeating what they did yesterday every day, following the rules.
And living under the law? This is order and civilization?
Dennis shook his head. He should not think about it any more. Right now, there are so many things waiting for him to deal with. The civilians in Kislev are still suffering and starving. He should not be passive and neglectful, but should continue to work hard. Dennis told himself
Cheer up.
She walked to the familiar cold stone bench and sat down. Today there will be a meeting of ministers. Moreover, the content will be very important and very confidential. Compared with the previous meeting of ministers, only a few people attended the meeting today.
They are the few people the queen trusts. Virgil, the captain of the imperial army, Caroline, the dean of the magic academy, Vladimir, the minister of military affairs, and Tolichka, the minister of finance. As the important members left behind by his father, Virgil was very important to him.
I am absolutely relieved. The loyalty of the knight has been tested. At first, my father Rhodes went north to lure the greenskins away, let Virgil guard Blackhammer Castle, and take over the army of Blackhammer Castle. When everyone thought that Rhodes had died in the north,
Vergil was still holding on, waiting for his lord to return. He had every chance to take over Blackhammer Castle, but he didn't. In the end, he waited for Lord White Bear to return, and as a reward, he sat in the position he is today.
As his father's wife, Caroline is equivalent to his stepmother. Dennis also has a lot of confidence in her. As one of the most important institutions in Kislev, the Magic Academy, since her father arranged for her to be the principal, Dennis has great confidence in magic.
He never interfered with the affairs of the college. According to his father, they came together during the most difficult times, let alone now. However, Dennis still couldn't treat her as his stepmother. Of course, his father
He didn't force her to do this. In the eyes of her father, there was only love and love to the point of doting.
In fact, there is a possibility of betrayal by other people. But Dennis had to reuse them. According to his father's words - since you want to use people, you must trust. Without trust, there is no loyalty at all. If everyone is wary
, then, in the end, you will not gain anyone’s loyalty.
Dennis placed his bet on these people. Of course, what they wanted to do was not to rebel, but to do something for the sake of Kislev. The worst case scenario was that some people would obstruct it and falsely accuse the Tsar.
There, the office of ministers was disbanded, and he no longer interfered in any political affairs of Kislev. The worst result was this.
Let go and do it boldly. Dennis said to himself...
"Five people, I'm glad you all came on time."
The door of the hall was pushed open, and several ministers came in almost at the same time. Dennis sat on the stone bench in the middle, counted the number of people present, and couldn't help but have a somewhat satisfied smile on his face.
"How could we neglect the Queen's news? We must respond immediately."
Finance Minister Torichka returned with a smile.
Several people walked in with familiarity and sat at the long table. They were still in the same position, with the same chairs. Still with the same status.
"If you ask me, if only a few of us participate every time, let's just call it a five-person council."
Interior Minister Antonovich joked.
"This is your fault, Antonovich. The Parliament is an institution that only exists in the empire. We in Kislev don't do that. If His Majesty Tsar Pavel hears this, I'm afraid you won't be able to sit in your seat.
It’s warm.”
Minister Tolichka retorted with a smile.
"Okay, let's get down to business first."
Caroline, the dean of the Academy of Magic, interrupted the chat between the two.
"OK, all right."
Antonovich returns to—
"Queen, I saw your letter and I have thought about this issue. However, it is not easy to achieve the goal you set."
"So we need to work together to solve several problems. Population, money, resources and technology are what Kislev urgently needs at the moment."
Dennis flipped through the manuscript and said seriously. The notebook wrapped in cowhide is something she must carry with her. It records her daily work, as well as the topics and progress of the meeting.
"First of all, we must first sort out the order of these issues. In your opinion, which one comes first and which one comes last, population, capital, resources and technology?"
Dennis asked.
"In my humble opinion, it should be the population. I have calculated that since the three-year civil war in Kislev, the country has lost nearly a quarter of its population. And this data is only for towns and cities. How many villages and remote places,
It’s impossible to count.”
Antonovich replied.
"You are wrong, Antonovich. You have to know that although population is important, technology and resources are equally important, even more important than population. The amount of resources determines the limit of the population a country can carry. You know
The green-skinned tribe, with the reproduction speed of these beasts, could have been much larger in number. However, it is because of the scarcity of resources and food in their territory that they can only fight each other in order to survive, which prevents their population from exploding.
growth of."
Finance Minister Torichka said.
"Everyone, I don't think you understand what the queen means."
Vladimir stood up and said——
"If I guess correctly, what the queen means is, if you want to develop Kislev, which one should be developed first? Population, resources, technology or capital."
After Vladimir finished speaking, Dennis smiled and nodded. Obviously, this was indeed the purpose of her question.
"So, what do you think? General Vladimir."
Dennis asked.
"Population, His Excellency Antonovich just said that the civil war has caused the entire Kislev to lose at least a quarter of its population. Without the backing of the people, this kingdom will not be able to withstand wars in the future. We cannot count on a group of
Veterans in their 50s and 60s took up arms and went to the front lines to fight against those monsters."
Vladimir said.
"That's right."
Dennis first gave a positive tone.
"But, what I want to say is that you have only seen the surface data. Yes, after three years of civil war, nearly a quarter of Kislev's civilians died. But, you have not seen the data behind this set of data.
Data. Among the tens of thousands of civilians who died, only a small part died due to fighting. The real reason why most civilians died was the famine caused by the war and the shortage of materials. They died of hunger and cold..."
"The North is competing for supplies and food, and the bloody Catalina is also doing the same, and is even more cruel. Both sides are doing this at the same time, and in the end, only civilians are sacrificed. Materials are in short supply, and prices are soaring. Food is hoarded and requisitioned, and all clothes can be
Things to keep warm were also forcibly requisitioned. Far more people died from cold and hunger than died on the battlefield. In fact, many people joined the legion just for a good meal. Am I right?
General Vladimir."
Dennis suddenly asked. This left the old general speechless. Indeed, I had to admit that the young queen in front of him was right. This made Vladimir admire him even more. He did not expect that
, a person who lives deep in the palace is actually so clear about the situation in the outside world.
"Population is certainly important, but if there are no resources and money to protect it, many newborns will not survive the first winter after birth."
Dennis told a cruel fact, which made everyone present feel heavy.