Throne of the North.

Chapter 482 Population Pressure, Food Pressure, and Baron Ryan's Cruelty

Surtur, who took over half of the dragons, launched an attack on the north of the world. The followers of Dusk enveloped everything in war. The dragons could no longer be spared. Almost every day, Llane could hear a huge amount of angry roars in the distant sky.

At first, he was nervous for several days, but later he gradually discovered that the dragon's battlefield was not close to humans, and it could even be said to be far away.

Their strength made their battles pass through, but it did not bring any further impact. The only change was the dusk sky.

Every time dusk comes, the followers of dusk will go berserk and launch a fearless war against the dragon.

Ryan found that he might need a boat.

There are not many dragons around the land where humans live, which also means that Ryan cannot collect more dragon blood. Dragon wars often take place far away.

The Frost Giant Tribe and the Ice Dragons did not come specifically to bring back dragon corpses for Llane. The Frost Giants were fine, as they also needed dragons as food, but the Frost Dragon Areris returned purely in rage, killing indiscriminately without ever considering the preservation of resources.

Ryan had no ship, and even no one under his command could build a ship.

Ryan could only write letters.

"My dear father-in-law, as a nobleman in the north, there is an ice-covered river in my territory. Whenever the snow melts, the ice-covered river can vaguely see its former glory. Such a wide river must have once been a prosperous river. I have always longed for it..."

Ryan wrote a lot of things with the purpose of getting a ship from Viscount Melendez.

But if you think about it carefully, it is probably impossible to use ships, because there are no rivers in between Viscount Meléndez in Calais Province and the northern border, only land.

It is impossible to transport it, no matter how many carriages there are. There is only one best way, and that is technology.

Shipbuilding technology.

Ryan was not sure whether he could succeed. The nobles had a severe blockade of knowledge and technology. Even Earl Clayton might not be able to obtain the ancient shipbuilding technology passed down by the Melendez family.

This is knowledge that is guaranteed to be passed down through the family.

Then it would be possible to send people to help Ryan build a ship.

It doesn't need to be too big, just enough to allow Ryan's soldiers to advance on the sea.

……

Humans were finally able to sow seeds successfully. It was already a little late, but fortunately all things were still reviving. Ryan personally inspected the outside of major cities, and looking at the seeds buried under the soil, he felt relieved.

After staying in Nidhoggr for half a month, the frost dragon Areris was finally not so nervous, and Ryan had the opportunity to return to the Frozen Territory.

Areris told Ryan some very bad news.

The origin of Nidhogg's world was not balanced and had suffered extremely serious damage.

It had already become fragile. The two great beings took advantage of the world itself to sleep, and the arrival of Surtur destroyed this fragile balance. The power of the Dusk Herald, the Fire Giant, caused a gap in the solid dam.

It is losing its origin, perhaps because the power of the Dragon Emperor has completely disappeared. This great existence is the will of the world of Nidhogg itself.

This caught Ryan off guard. Although Areris didn't know the countdown, Ryan had to be prepared for it.

A population of two million needs a fallback.

"The fortress defense line can accommodate a portion of people. Winter City and Rhinohorn Mountain can probably accommodate another 100,000 people at most. It's not enough, far from enough."

Ryan thought for a long time and realized that his current territory could only accommodate a fraction of Nidhogg's population.

"Zero Crossing City needs to be expanded, and there are swamps. More fields need to be reclaimed so that more farms can be built."

Ryan was planning, but the huge numbers were still too much to handle, so he called Etria.

"Is there any place in our territory where we can build a city?"

The Archon of Etria frowned. She was also panicked by such a large population. She was relieved when she heard Ryan said it was not immediate.

"It's impossible. The Frozen Territory is located in the mountains facing the North. We can't find another place like Winter City to build a city in such a place."

"Besides, even if it succeeds, a city can only accommodate a few hundred thousand people at most and it will be very crowded."

"With so many people, where will their food come from? We can't rely on you to distribute food every year."

"The cost of construction is also horribly high, and in the mountains, transportation between them and the rest of the territory is very problematic. The rugged road will kill any human who tries to conquer it."

“You can only choose land in the south.”

"Lingdu City, the swamp, and some places further away. The manors you have in the kingdom can accommodate 10,000 to 20,000 people. Dawn City can accommodate 300,000 people, but there will still be about 1.5 million left."

One million and a half... This number is enough to make 99% of the nobles in the empire feel despair. It is difficult for a territory to arrange a settlement for such a large population.

"So, before Nidhogg reaches his limit, I must take over the Northern Province, right?"

Ryan took a deep breath and said that this matter was more troublesome than he had imagined. He couldn't do it alone, so he could only rely on the power of more people and more land.

"Even with the Northern Wind Province, it would be difficult. The total population of the Northern Wind Province is only a few million. After the war and winter, the population will only decrease. The sudden arrival of 1.5 million people will cause panic in the entire province."

Etria said that there is an instinctive xenophobia everywhere. When one and a half million people come in, this number is enough to cause racial exclusivity within the North Wind Province.

"Too much."

Etria also sighed. With a population of two million, he had previously complained about the small number of people, but now he had nowhere to put them.

"It requires a little bit of transportation. You need more territories so as not to arouse hostility from other territories in the Northern Wind Province."

"Also, with so many people really entering the frozen land territory, there is one more thing we need to consider."

“How do they survive?”

People who do nothing cannot survive, especially those human slaves, who need to farm, work as laborers, weave, etc.

In short, production is needed.

Only if they are busy every day can they survive in this cruel world, and Ryan has to think about this problem.

Two million people, so much cheap or even free labor, how much production energy can they bring to the Frozen Territory?

What Etria was most worried about was not so extreme for Ryan. He had many ideas, free labor allowed him to try them out, and a plan with a large population workforce had not yet been implemented.

"The planning of the Northern Wall can begin now. Let Mr. Rose prepare the construction plan."

"There should be enough space for a lot of people to be accommodated at the Northern Great Wall."

This is the only way for now. A population of two million is a huge impact on a place in any world, not to mention in this era.

It's the same even here in the Frozen Territory. Although there are several people from other worlds forming a new Frozen Territory, won't they reject the newcomers from Nidhogg?

It will definitely happen, because the arrival of Nidhogg's population is too large, which will impact the means of production they own. At the same time, it will make their competition more inward-looking, and the power in Ryan's hands will be distributed to more people.

Therefore, for the sake of balance and stability, it is impossible to migrate a large number of Nidhogg's population to Winter City or Rhinohorn Mountain. The control of power over the North Wind Province needs to be resolved.

The pressure brought by the population made Ryan pay attention to this political issue. Only by concentrating the power of the North Wind Province could he accommodate the large population that suddenly appeared.

"Viscount Walter, I heard that one of your children went to the southern land to meet a girl from Meyers."

Ryan invited Viscount Walter to Lingdu City and spoke with a smile during the banquet.

The marriage brought by the Meyers family was a temptation that the nobles could not refuse, and the same was true for Viscount Walter of Iron Mountain County.

Hearing Ryan's question, Viscount Walter was a little nervous, but soon became annoyed at why he was nervous. He relaxed his body and replied with a smile:
"Yes, Lord Ryan, that kid Peyton likes that girl very much."

"Is that so? I hope he can succeed, but I still have some doubts. Viscount Walter, you shouldn't need Meyers's connections."

Ryan looked directly at Viscount Walter. His calm eyes put Viscount Walter under great pressure.

The nobles of Iron Mountain County, led by County Governor Viscount Walter, provide a large amount of pig iron ore to the Frozen Territory every quarter. Half of the raw materials for the metal weapons sold by Ryan come from Iron Mountain County. He values ​​this land very much.

Although there are many iron mines in Beifeng Province, Tieshan County is the place with the richest iron mines in Beifeng Province.

Even deep inside some iron mines, there are precious veins of extraordinary metals hidden.

Ryan has never had a good temper. He has helped Tieshan County and these nobles enough. Even in the later stages of the war, he did not let Tieshan County directly participate in the war.

Their losses were too great, so Ryan simply asked them to send a few people to go through the motions.

This should not be a reason for these nobles to backstab Master Ryan.

"Baron Ryan."

Viscount Walter became nervous again, but gritted his teeth and said:
"Too many people have died in my territory. Moreover, after several years of war, there are no suitable young and strong people in my territory to cultivate the farmland. The grain production this year will be greatly reduced."

"In the entire Beifeng Province, all nobles need to buy food when the Chamber of Commerce goes north every year. Even those nobles in Yinchuan County who claim to be self-sufficient, if they are really self-sufficient, then they will not be able to use food to gain wealth."

"Every year, the nobles of Yinchuan County would sell food to other nobles to gain more profits."

"Yinchuan County and the Chamber of Commerce have allowed the nobles of the Northern Wind Province to have enough food, but this year, no, it has been impossible since last year."

"The losses suffered by the nobles of Yinchuan County in the war have made it impossible for them to sell their excess food. We can only buy it from the south."

"But... the cost is too high."

"So, what's the price?"

Ryan took over his words, asking and speaking out at the same time.

"The cost is that the more food you buy from the south, the higher the price."

"Because for every pound of grain, even if it is transported from the Danube Province, which is closest to the North Wind, one-tenth or two-tenth will be burned, but the grain from the Danube Province cannot pass through the Flying Wing Canyon."

Ryan has recently had a close relationship with Legion Commander Farel, the commander of the Wing Canyon, so he was able to buy some food from the nobles of the Danube Province. Before, Count Pascal, who was also rejected by the emperor, was a target of vigilance, and the nobles were worried that Count Pascal would betray the empire.

Therefore, Wing Canyon is open to both the outside and the inside.

"Farther away, the Volga Province is known as the granary of the empire. There is enough grain there to make strong liquor that can be sold to every corner of the world. However, transporting a pound of grain from there still requires three or four tenths of it."

"For places farther away, when the grain is delivered to the Northern Province, there may only be three-tenths of a pound left. This results in the grain sold to the nobles in the North by the Chamber of Commerce usually being traded in gold coins."

“It’s expensive, but you have to buy it.”

"Marrying Meyers will allow you to buy food at a lower price, right?"

Viscount Walter remained silent. He was in the wrong in front of Ryan, but silence also represented consent.

"This shouldn't be the reason. It seems that after the arrival of the Emperor Chosen, the income from the iron mines in Tieshan County has decreased, right?"

Ryan was not surprised. The Emperor Elector Volvo arrived with the Emperor's order. The nobles of the North Wind Province needed to provide metal for the reconstruction of the West Sea Fleet at a low price, which inevitably led to a decline in the income that the iron ore brought to the nobles.

The nobles were feeling nervous as the price of essential food was rising while the wealth they depended on was decreasing.

Moreover, this is happening in the midst of a tense military competition.

The tense atmosphere between the Empire and the Vatican caused the price of food to rise further, because the Chamber of Commerce would take the opportunity to make a fortune, and more food needed to be transported to the south where war might break out.

In such an atmosphere, it stands to reason that the price of iron ore should also increase. However, due to previous events, the revenue from iron ore has decreased instead of increased.

The nobles responded by marrying Viscount Walter and Meyers.

"That's not a reason, anyway."

Ryan shook his head and said with some sigh and regret:

"Mr. Viscount Walter, we agreed before that even though there is no war now, you still shouldn't betray the agreement between so many of us."

"This is not a despicable quality that a qualified noble should possess."

"The honor of Viscount Walter should not be tainted in this way. I think your child does not have the integrity that a noble bloodline should have."

"Even if the food is sent to your territory because of Meyers, the price must be very high, right?"

"The inconvenience of transportation will always increase the unit price. It will never be as good as purchasing food directly from the North Wind Province."

"You should have seen the farmland in the swamp. You can actually grow food there, and the swamp is huge."

"This fall, I will sell you some food, hoping to help you get through this difficult winter."

Ryan said this sincerely, which surprised Viscount Walter, and then Ryan turned and left.

It wouldn't be good if we stayed any longer.

As soon as Ryan left, Viscount Walter's servant ran in in fear.

"Master, Master, something bad has happened!!! Master Peyton is dead!"

"He was killed by wolves on his way through Wing Canyon."

Viscount Walter's face was filled with shock and anger. He was about to grab the servant's clothes and question him loudly, but he suddenly thought of something, looked at the direction Ryan left, and slumped in his chair.

There was fear in his eyes.

Ryan was very powerful and terrifying. One war after another proved this to all the nobles. Even the extraordinary armies of the two earls suffered in the war with him, and the previous Earl Weiss was even worse off.

However, when this fear faced the nobles directly, Viscount Walter still felt the suffocating pressure.

(End of this chapter)