You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 413 Finally, the harvest is in sight.

"The people are the people, and the king is the king; everyone has responsibilities they must fulfill!"

A year later, his father's words echoed in his ears once again.

'We cannot choose our fate, Tana, hold fast to your post. The son of Ionus must save this land!'

At that moment, she promised herself: 'I will, Father. I am invincible, and this land will surely be saved by me. What you could not do, I will do. No one can stop the Daughter of the Black Iron…'

……

Tashina sat on the horse, holding the reins with one hand.

Her body swayed with the divine steed's advance, no longer resolute, but somewhat frail.

The divine steed is called Shadow of Calamity, a descendant of the Pegasus, and she also possesses the blood of a wondrous hero.

'Ionus's prophecies all come true, but why hasn't fate beenfallen me...' she pondered all the way. The Shadow's steps shifted from nimble to hesitant, as if stepping into a quagmire, as if a traveler contemplating destiny.

She returned to the support camp. The Son of Oak stood at the camp entrance, his handsome features resembling an elf prince.

"Your Highness Tana, what did Lord Roman say?"

“He’s holding back,” Tashina said expressionlessly.

Enya said, "But if we take this opportunity, we can definitely take Lion Territory."

Tashina shook her head: "He believes that even if they manage to break out, they will be forced back quickly, and all the territory they occupy will have to be returned, forcing them to re-contract their defenses."

Enya exclaimed in surprise, "Even if the pirates and the Vatican are overwhelmed?"

Tashina nodded, now was a good opportunity, but Roman firmly rejected it, believing that the Black Iron was not dead yet, and he wanted the dragon to fly a little longer.

Now is not the best time to break through the blockade.

This is a protracted battle.

The Black Iron Lands are forced to fight on two fronts, which is bound to be short-lived.

drag!
Developing through procrastination.

When Macol is unable to maintain the blockade, that will be the time for them to strike.

When that time comes, Roman will fulfill his promise to Princess White Steel and hand over Lion's Territory to her.

Tashina had no doubt about the truth of the promise.

She possesses a kingly vision, an ability bestowed upon her by her noble lineage, an innate quality that allows her to see the true nature of everyone; no one can conceal their true self from her.

The King's cowardice, Payne's passion, Gale's desires, Lane's conservatism... as well as Markel's corrosive influence, Roman's ambition, and Enya's purity...

Enya undoubtedly possesses some ancient bloodline, proud and stubborn, gentle and brave, always adhering to the fine traditions of her race, her heart as pure as an emerald—if the Grand Duke of Oak were willing to arrange a marriage with someone from another kingdom, the princesses of all the kings would be tempted. But the Grand Duke of Oak forbids anyone from touching their bloodline.

Roman, on the other hand, was different. He was deep and passionate, ruthless and cruel, and quietly pushed forward a plan unknown to anyone, like an unfathomable and unpredictable black pearl.

She couldn't understand him; she could only sense from subtle details that Roman's strategies and plans were superior to everyone else's.

She never doubted his judgment or his strategic plans.

Tashina could see that Roman harbored a fierce determination. He was passionate inside, but outwardly remained calm and composed, methodically pushing forward his various decisions without being affected by external or internal fluctuations.

She had a vague feeling that when Roman made his move, the scene would be earth-shattering.

Before this, she and Enya could only stay temporarily in the City of Abundance.

There's food and drink here, and we can train our troops; life here is actually quite comfortable.

The daily consumption of Black Iron and Oak Elite Soldiers is a terrifying number. Not everyone can afford to support a superhuman unit of five hundred people. They eat and the horses chew, but they do nothing.

Moreover, she recruited several hundred slaves as new soldiers and trained them according to the methods of the valley, requiring them to consume tens of tons of food and supplies every day.

Even a great earl couldn't afford to maintain an army of that size.

But the city of Plenty managed to withstand it. Roman built a support camp for her and, while supporting the Valley Army, would send a large amount of supplies to the camp every now and then. Every time fruits and vegetables were harvested, they would be transported by the truckload. Apart from not paying military pay, the other treatment was excellent.

She would also provide protection when the city of abundance was in trouble, and sometimes she would even personally don armor and fight to repel the raiders.

This is also the significance of the reinforcements being stationed here.

……

In the medieval world, the lag in information was astonishing, and wars also had a lag. The effects of some wars would not be apparent for half a month, or even a month or two.

The Battle of Tiehua County was a war of faith, a clash between the faith of the dragon race and the faith of the gods. The two sides fought to the death, with five figures dying in the battle. More than one dragon alone perished, and most of the surviving dragons were wounded.

The pirates, having lost the battle, were seething with anger.

The Vatican was also angry, even though they didn't win.

As autumn drew to a close, both sides regrouped and fought another decisive battle in the wilderness. The battle was even more intense and terrifying than before, turning the entire battlefield into scorched earth, littered with corpses, and rivers of blood.

Roman was not surprised, as religion has always been more effective at mobilizing people than secular regimes.

As far as he knew, both the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Crusades in his previous life were extremely large-scale, and when the cannon fodder was used up, new people were called in.

The difference is that most believers in the original world were just there to create a buzz and had little combat capability. But in this world, there are supernatural units, and the believers' faith is more fanatical, resulting in far more devastating casualties.

Because the intensity of the war in Tiehua County was too high, the Black Iron Alliance reduced the frequency of its attacks on Fengrao City.

In the past, they would launch attacks once a day, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, causing destruction everywhere.

Now, the attacks happen every few days, and the routes have become more regular, showing a subtle tacit understanding with the city of Plenty.

……

The winter of the sixth year.

Snow fell on the earth, and all things were silent.

"It gets colder every year..." Roman reached out to catch a snowflake drifting in from the window. His palm felt cold, and the snowflake melted instantly.

He closed his eyes in deep thought, contemplating the consequences of this harsh winter, and his face grew increasingly grim.

This is not a good sign. Winter has just begun, and a heavy snow has arrived, causing the temperature to drop at an alarming rate. The river is already showing signs of freezing over.

"We need to increase the production of honeycomb briquettes this year," Roman thought to himself.

This thing is easy to manufacture, and the stone arch bridge was completed in the fall, with extremely low transportation costs.

Moreover, the population of Plenty City is already dense. If enough fuel cannot be provided, people will freeze to death, or even worse.

But giving it away for free is also out of the question; that would be too foolish.

Roman planned to implement some marketing tactics, such as offering a referral fee of 20 briquettes to anyone who could recommend a farmer to buy 100 briquettes.

That should be enough to squeeze some money out of those idiots.

"Your Highness, Lady Neliel has sent you a letter." At this moment, Shasta handed the letter sealed with whale oil to Roman.

The city of abundance and the sea fortress are far apart, and the witch of the monsters is to provide vigilance for the city of abundance, so she cannot act as a messenger. Therefore, Roman sent her to train ravens to be messenger birds.

Roman glanced at it twice, and his cold face softened slightly.

“Nier built me ​​another batch of ships.”

Shipbuilding is a long process that requires shipwrights and a supporting system.

Roman wasn't planning on a small-scale operation; he always wanted to manufacture ships on a large scale and in large quantities.

Dozens of ships are not too few, and hundreds of ships are not too many.

We need small boats, large boats, and even super-large ships capable of crossing oceans.

Roman has invested considerable resources in the Sea Castle for this purpose, selecting dozens of apostles and bringing with them various ship cabin manufacturing skills and blueprints. It has been two or three years since then.

After planting seeds, watering and fertilizing them, we finally saw a harvest this year.

There are now hundreds of finished ships in Haibao, and mass production has begun, with plans to double that number next year. Thanks to advanced technology, the ships are reliable, with sturdy hulls, and have all undergone testing and sea trials.

However, the external environment is not good now, and it is not easy for Haibao to survive. Large-scale fleet mobilization will definitely attract the attention of all parties.

Moreover, Roman has no room to receive it now.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

Just because it doesn't work this year doesn't mean it won't work next year.

These boats were extremely useful to him, meaning that he could extend his reach wherever the river flowed.

(End of this chapter)