Chapter 1078: Chapter 258: War Without Gunpowder (Part 2)
Antitina nodded to Brand, holding a stack of parchment documents as she walked out. In one sense, she was still that calm and serene girl who Brand first met, as composed as a serene pond, yet her once pale cheeks now had a healthy flush. Her fine eyebrows slightly furrowed, giving her a mature look.
She turned around, her eyelashes slightly raised, and glanced lightly over the other attendees in the assembly hall, holding a fist to her lips and coughing softly: "Since repelling Count Rangdenier’s unreasonable invasion—" Some amusement rose from below, causing Antitina to lift her head and stare pointedly at the troublemakers. Unlike Qian, who would exaggeratedly roll her eyes, her silent gaze left people feeling awkward, "Everything in Lengshan Domain, Griss Port, and Mintai Region remains fairly normal, with all plans and work proceeding smoothly..." Once the hall quieted, she methodically outlined the situation of the Territory and Erune.
Overall, Lengshan Domain is on a path of healthy development. The urgent grain issue has been effectively resolved by purchasing grain from Ambeser; currently, the grain in Fir Castle’s warehouse is enough to sustain until April of the Sword Year, with hopes resting on the winter wheat crop, though more purchases might be necessary. When the young girl mentioned this issue, she shared her perspective on the current situation: with clouds of war looming in the North, grain prices are likely to rise consistently in the coming months, so she suggested that the Territory should act early if there is a need to procure grain.
The few members involved in internal affairs—such as Master Buru, Romantic, Audem, and Char—expressed agreement, and naturally, Brand did not oppose. He planned to head to Ambeser soon, conveniently allowing for buying a batch of grain. Now, the southern and northern nobles were gathering at Ambeser, this permanently neutral trade port, under the Holy Temple’s arrangement, ready for final negotiations about the Kingdom’s future. To ordinary people, this is the last hope to prevent civil war, with merchants still observing, grain prices having fluctuated but only a few secretly hoarding.
Yet Brand understood, there was no room for maneuver between the North and South. The overt negotiations were to maintain peace in Erune, but behind the scenes, both sides were engaged in a final contest for control over the Kingdom. The Regent Princess would use this opportunity to meet Anlek and reach a marriage agreement. From the limited news Brand had gathered about the North, he knew that the Royalist and Anlek’s envoy had already arrived at Ambeser ahead of the northern lords’ and Crown Prince’s envoy.
The intrigue isn’t clear to outsiders, but having experienced history, Brand was well aware. The future Elder Princess and Duke Anlek himself very likely were part of the envoys, albeit not announced publicly. Although Tonyger now rarely has agents north of Ambeser, and all information sources rely on those merchant fleets that established brief connections with Lengshan Domain, even without these insights, Brand was aware of the underlying truth.
Because it was nothing less than a reenactment of history.
He still had some time.
At this time, Antitina continued discussing agricultural matters, mentioning spring farming. Anyone could see Brand intended to expand significantly, but increasing Tonyger’s agriculture scale demanded substantial labor for the ensuing spring cultivation. In normal years, apart from the homeless, few would want to relocate to such remote areas. Thankfully, the Black Rose War produced numerous war refugees; Master Buru had already instructed his students to organize these refugees to migrate to Tonyger.
The main issue was the loss along the way, a lamentation tinged with heaviness for Brand. The idea of living human life being calculated like commodities and goods reminded him often of the historical slave trade in the past world. However, the harsh reality was, if left to their own devices, these displaced farmers and craftsmen would only face decimation in their war-ravaged homes in Viero, Karasu, and Golan-Elsen, leaving few survivors, with hardly any chance for the elderly and children to survive.
