Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 1102: Chapter 610: You Can’t Outplay Her_2

"Let’s calm down a bit. These are just our assumptions, just like her identity, which hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Moreover, she hasn’t shown any substantial threat, and we can’t just convict her based on a few words."

Lance wasn’t some detective who could convict someone with just a few words.

"So how do we handle her?" Grendel, though unwilling to let Sofia go, knew it was best to listen to Lance’s opinion.

"Render her harmless, let her do some busy work with no real significance, but she can’t be involved with our internal matters anymore."

Lance outlined a rough plan, paused for a moment, and couldn’t help but ask.

"Do you know what she’s good at, or her hobbies or something?"

"She once mentioned that she likes perfumes during a casual chat, asked me a lot about it, and she has quite some knowledge about these luxury items."

"Let her research new wines then. It’s a good task, even Boudica can’t get that opportunity."

Lance made the decision directly. He had no time to waste on a woman and immediately got to the matters at hand.

"How’s the situation with the autumn harvest?"

"Here are the detailed data for the autumn harvest." Grendel, familiar with the situation, wasn’t surprised and immediately pulled out the files from the desk to report.

"Although there was no natural disaster this year, there were man-made problems like bandit invasions and wilderness pollution. Compared to years without such disasters, we estimate this year’s harvest to be only seventy percent in the areas surrounding the towns, even with the farm owners’ protection.

Our predictions for agriculture outside the town are even more pessimistic, due to external factors like refugees, deserters, robbers, barbarian tribes, and heretics loitering around.

Many small villages have disappeared, leaving behind unkempt fields, and large villages and towns have had their productivity significantly damaged due to these reasons.

The yield is estimated to shrink to sixty percent of previous years, even with our organized effort to rush the harvest, but unfortunately, those fields might become neglected.

In this era, land cultivation is done without machines, relying only on human and animal power. The cost is even greater for remote small villages, which don’t even have metal tools or draft animals.

It’s no exaggeration to say each plot of land is soaked with farmers’ sweat and blood.

But abandoning them now only implies that their flesh truly seeped into the land; otherwise, they would never abandon their fields and the grains on them.

This is the chaos of the era, where sometimes the threats of nature are far less effective than those brought on by internal human issues.

We call it efficiency...

Lance flipped through those situations without showing surprise, as he was already mentally prepared for it.

Luckily, the Hamlet region has always produced enough grain, so even with reduced output, it can meet its needs.

Even with a population of more than ten thousand in the town, there’s more than enough, and even room to export.

Hamlet is truly fertile; otherwise, it wouldn’t have supported a giant city here in the past.

With land already cultivated, and with proper care under compost and various operations, next year’s planting can proceed without the usual two or three years of preparation.

Under his control, Hamlet absolutely won’t face starvation. As for the regions outside lacking Hamlet’s support, what then?

What does it have to do with him?

"The Empire now lacks food supply from the central part, and in our severing of ties, food will likely become more expensive.

The matter of the ruins still needs time to unfold, but it’s certain that many will come here, bringing about huge consumption as well.

We must have a contingency plan, establish a stable food supply to control the situation, and maintain the basic foundation."

Lance made his deductions and pointed out the next policy direction.

"Continue as much as possible with grain procurement, storing grain for the winter."

However, Grendel mentioned another matter.

"Walter has a plan to maintain supplies with the Empire’s army and seeks your opinion."

Mentioning this, Lance couldn’t help but fall into contemplation.

At this time, food is absolute hard currency, even more practical than the gold coin.

The more food, the better, but you also have to consider storage costs, loss, and other complex situations.

After all, food expires, but gold coins don’t...

"With the Michel Family down, the new head of logistics must be having headaches. If we step in now, it’s like giving coal in snowy weather, and the bargaining power is in our hands, and they have to thank us.

Let Walter go all out; the Empire can’t fall now, and letting them continue fighting aligns with our interests.

Meanwhile, our hands can take the opportunity to reach in as well; Ovando has significant political backing in the Empire."

Lance is willing to use a bit of food to shift the Empire’s focus away from Ovando.

After all, it’s ostensibly Walter who overthrew the governor with Empire background along with a list of nobility, slapping the Empire Emperor in the face.

To stabilize things, you have to show a willingness to cooperate; otherwise, it’s too troublesome.

"But we need to get the money when doing this, or at least get something good. No accepting credit, and don’t give us some bullshit noble titles. If needed, I can even grant him an Emperor honor, which is useless."

The handover was very quick, even after some time away, Lance was very familiar with those matters, having planned them himself.

After completing the handover, Grendel hesitated a bit before speaking up.

"I’ll go tell Sofia; let me end what I started."

"No~ we can’t just reveal everything to her." Lance shook his head in denial, "On the contrary, pretend to be clueless and shift the blame onto me. I’ll be the bad guy and transfer her to the winery."

Grendel looked conflicted. This was a mess she caused, and she wanted to resolve it herself.

But how could Lance not see through her thoughts? He instantly threw out a line.

"She survived court intrigues, you’re no match for her."

Hearing this, Grendel couldn’t hide a tinge of bitterness in her expression.

"Let’s leave it at that. You’ve been too exhausted lately, so take a rest, and then do something you enjoy."

In saying this, there was another implied message beneath the seemingly caring words from Lance.

That was to let her relinquish her power and return to her identity as a Pharmacist.

"Mm~" Grendel nodded in agreement, with a touch of helplessness and fatigue on her face, yet also a sense of relief.

She understood the meaning of that message, and she didn’t cling to power, making it easier for Lance.

Because she indeed violated the rules that had been emphasized countless times, even conveyed through her own words.

And yet she inadvertently got deceived and exploited by a scheming woman.

Grendel knew she wasn’t suited for such matters. She never liked them; she preferred basking in the sunny days and enjoying nature.

Once Grendel left, Lance’s expression fell into contemplation.

Some things, if not weighed, surpass thousands of pounds.

This matter was typical. Lance could easily pretend not to see, but instead, he laid it all out in the open.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Grendel; quite the contrary, he was protecting her. Her lack of political acumen made her susceptible to manipulation.

Previously, when there truly was no one else, Grendel was forced to step up, and now using this to step her down provides a safe landing.

Otherwise, if a mess arose, he couldn’t truly cut ties with her, making things even more troublesome.

However, this matter also made Lance realize that if even Grendel habitually broke the rules, those below might not be much better.

Not to mention he’s been busy across the wilderness, Beast Lair, and Bay, running around mopping up for the ancestors, while building an army, taking time away from Hamlet’s own developments.

It’s been a while since the last major clean-up, and many probably take his words as mere talk. It seems it’s time to remind them of his presence...