Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

In order to maintain morale and basic stability, the news agencies controlled by Therese would certainly not say that they were blown to their wits by the enemy's heavy weapons, but instead portrayed them as a large and powerful mob with no manners whatsoever, who would wreak havoc on several provinces once they entered the south, causing widespread suffering.

Originally intended to intimidate people from communicating with or relying on the Yankees, even claiming that the Yankees were slaves who were worked to death in factories or thrown into the battlefield as cannon fodder.

This certainly prevented a considerable number of ordinary people from joining the PhD's side. After all, in an era when most people's education level was not high, whatever the authorities said was believed, and such rumors spread very quickly.

However, this propaganda campaign was then used against them. The Yankees were just a bunch of bandits and rioters, and they ended up driving the lords' army back from the north. So, they figured that the Yankees themselves were no match for those bandits.

But perhaps by uniting, they could really resist the siege of the lords? After all, the lords also have to guard against those barbarians, don't they?

As for the "happy life" of the northerners, it was purely a fabrication based on news from the front lines and Therese's propaganda; it was basically the happiest state he could imagine in his entire life.

After all, Theresis couldn't really say that the Doctor's side was eating chaff and drinking thin gruel, because that wouldn't explain the fact that she had been beaten black and blue. Nor could she really say that the living conditions there were bad, otherwise half of her troops would probably defect to the enemy on the spot.

Therefore, by downplaying the economic development of the North and attributing it to the shameless aid from foreign powers such as Ursus, these slightly educated lower-class people quickly imagined the lives of Northerners based on these news reports. Inevitably, a few with peculiar thinking interpreted this information from another perspective.

"We are Sarkaz too. We are born warlocks. The Northerners can easily defeat the gentlemen with sheer numbers, and we can do the same if we unite enough people!"

In reality, it's very difficult. The one that truly relies on numbers is Theresis's side. The Doctor's side only has two armies with a total of seven divisions so far. Including reserves and new recruits in training, the total strength will not exceed 15 divisions. Moreover, almost all of them are tied down in the occupied areas to restore order. The only combat power that can be used for offensive operations is less than two divisions.

Finally, stimulated by this information, the numbness on the villagers' faces was gradually replaced by fervor and excitement.

After all, a lot of information can be obtained even in relatively isolated rural areas. Which family doesn't have a few young people who have been conscripted to fight?

Soon, they found their farm tools and cooked the grain they had set aside for tax payment. After a hearty meal, they regained some strength and, following the "despicable and cunning tricks of northerners" reported in the news, dug pits and built roadblocks all over the village, preparing to violently resist the tax.

Then, they didn't hold out for long before being suppressed by the regular army that was brought in. However, the defeat did not frighten more people.

On the contrary, it gave hope to many people, perhaps those who were desperate or those who were ambitious.

If a village's rebellion and resistance require the use of the army, it means that the local security forces or the lords' personal guards are already overwhelmed.

Elsewhere, an even greater force is growing in power that is causing headaches for grain merchants and factory owners: the real bandits. They make a living by robbing merchants and by collecting protection fees from certain villages.

However, now a problem has arisen: these villages are completely penniless, and some have even resorted to seeking refuge with bandits.

With fewer and fewer easy prey to hunt, while their own numbers are growing, they will inevitably turn their attention to more valuable targets: the farms of large landowners and small towns, as well as the large caravans on the transport routes.

"Boss, I've found out. The convoy will pass through here in three days. It's all top-quality wheat!"

"Very good. Have everyone lie in ambush. Give food to the able-bodied men, and give half the amount to the women."

The looted supplies were opened and food was distributed to all the able-bodied men who participated in the war. The wives and children who were imprisoned or coerced were given half a portion of food, which kept them alive and gave these cannon fodder who were fighting a little morale.

Both crossbowmen and sorcerers have limited energy. As long as there are enough able-bodied men to exhaust their ranged attacks, the remaining men can swarm in and take down the guard team without any tactics. As for the loss of manpower, just find a few villages with large populations and destroy them.

After these bandits and refugees joined forces, they naturally began to use this tactic of encircling and spreading, which has been very effective since ancient times, especially when the lords' armies were still fighting against the northerners on the front lines.

"Boss, if we do it this way, the Northerners won't be..." The well-informed second-in-command had obtained some information about the security situation in the North.

"When the time comes, we'll hide the valuables, cash them out, and then go to Victoria or Rembitox, leaving these worthless things here for the Yankees to worry about." The third leader said there was no need to worry at all; all they had to do was make enough money and run away.

"Besides, even if something goes wrong, we can just help the Northerners control the refugees. No matter who's in charge, there still needs to be some people to manage these peasants, right?"

The leader waved his hand, "Besides, we had no choice. If the Northerners have complaints, let them produce enough food to feed so many people. Can they afford it?"

"I heard..."

"Alright, brother, stop saying such demoralizing things. You actually believe the Yankees' boasts? Have you never farmed before?" The eldest brother interrupted the second-in-command. "The Regent is even boasting that they've made a victorious retreat, and the Yankees are saying they can harvest three seasons of wheat. You really believe that?"

"Uh..." There aren't many pure bandits left. Most of the bandits nowadays are farmers who couldn't make a living and switched professions.

Therefore, most people, regardless of their character or education level, have at least seen farming even if they have never farmed, and they don't believe a word of the Northerners' propaganda.

"Hurry up and get the men moving! Even if the Northerners have wheat, it won't reach your dog's mouth. If we let this fat sheep escape, we brothers will all go hungry!" Soon the bandits were in position, waiting for the grain transport team to arrive.

"Damn it!" *Crash!* A teacup shattered on the wall. "Two out of three convoys were intercepted! What were you all doing? Not a single clue? Do you know how much money I've lost?!"

"Didn't Captain Lister of the city defense team offer any indication?"

"The city defense team said they need this to send troops..." The subordinate gestured as if counting money. "Without money, you can't mobilize anyone for this bandit suppression, but the mayor also said he has no money and asked everyone to donate."

"Donate money? Donate it to fill the dog hole of those parachuted northern barbarians?!" The old man took a few deep breaths. He had to admit that the interception of the two convoys had finally made him take the matter more seriously. "So, what do the other families say? And what about donations? How should they be donated?"

"The mayor has asked you and several others to take the lead. In the end, your donation will be returned in full, and he will take 50% of the rest."

"Fifty percent? Why doesn't he just rob us? At most, he'll get two... never mind, thirty percent!" Thinking of the convoy that was intercepted outside the city, his heart was bleeding, but in the end, he still raised the price by one percent.

"Besides, it wasn't just my family's convoy that was intercepted; the others should at least offer some thanks."

As the saying goes, people always have a sense of wishful thinking; they hope that others suffer greater losses and have to bleed money, so that they can pay less and get more.

Chapter Seventy-Eight Year-End Meeting

Chapter 78

"The fiscal results for this year are in, and our current deficit is around 2%. At present, the fiscal situation looks very optimistic, but..."

Xuezhi looked at the attendees and slammed the documents in her hand onto the table. "This does not include the newly occupied areas. If we include the expenses there, our financial situation is extremely dire. To give you a concrete example, we might still be able to hold on in terms of foreign exchange reserves and budget allocations, but our material reserves have run out."

This finance minister is simply unfit for the job; it's impossible to say that he has no business sense.

However, having an economic mind does not equate to being good at financial work; these are two different things. This is similar to how accounting is more of a humanities subject than a science subject.

To put it bluntly, their daily work is not simply about calculating whether there are any problems with the numbers, but about analyzing what the numbers reflect, whether the expenditure is necessary, whether there are any problems with the expenditure, etc., which are more inclined towards social and humanistic aspects.

"The autumn harvest yielded a total of 1.66 million tons of staple grains, and then you immediately allocated 6680 million tons of staple grains within two months. This doesn't even include the portion of commercial grains reserved to maintain foreign exchange reserves. We've lost almost a third of our entire autumn harvest, and there are still six months until the summer harvest! Aren't you all going to eat?"

"Regarding this issue, we must ensure that there is a sufficient food supply in the occupied areas during the coming winter. This will help restore production, and the influx of cheap food will also contribute to the chaos in the South."

The doctor explained the reason, but Miss Snow Pheasant was not so easily fooled. "I understand the reasoning, but everyone, I really can't conjure rice and flour from an empty warehouse, nor can I feed people with scraps of paper and silver coins."

"Therefore, budget adjustments this year are urgently needed. We must start restricting these impromptu allocations and increases in funding, otherwise no matter how much material resources and revenue we have, it won't be enough for you to squander..."

"Hmm, regarding the agricultural budget..." Old Xia scratched his head, "It shouldn't be cut, right?"

“No, actually we should focus on agriculture. As Snowstalker said, the premise for supporting the factory and our current advantage is that we have enough food to feed everyone, and also to prepare for the more difficult situation to come.” The doctor thought for a moment.

"Then let's cut military spending. Don't add any new equipment this year. Also, we need to phase out the old Titans and other equipment that consume huge amounts of manpower and resources as soon as possible. If we can only rely on several times the resources and advanced firepower to win battles, we won't be able to fight any more battles."

"Furthermore, regarding the medical aspect, I believe there should be restrictions on the current distribution of Originium anti-pharmaceutical agents..." Kal'tsit continued, "I investigated the recent distribution situation, and it has been increasing almost every month, even more than the actual growth rate. In fact, because it is provided cheaply or even for free, there has been a phenomenon of reselling. It is only through the large-scale distribution of drugs that the infected people at the grassroots level can be guaranteed to receive inhibitors and blockers."

Blockers are used to prevent infected individuals from infecting others, while inhibitors are used to suppress the progression and pain of Oripathy attacks. Both are fundamental to enabling infected individuals to enter the front lines of production and to avoid discrimination.

“In other words, even though the number of infected people has not increased significantly, we have seen a large increase in drug consumption, which is a considerable expense,” Kal'tsit said, glancing at the data in her hand.

"According to the current investigation, because of the availability of cheap or even free drugs, not only have infected individuals been abusing the drugs, but even normal workers have become careless at work, not prioritizing self-protection. In order to avoid creating new infections and getting infected themselves, they use large amounts of drugs."

"Therefore, medical reforms should be carried out, changing the original equal treatment of all patients by providing medication to some high-risk positions with free or low-cost medication, while the rest will be charged a certain price, based on the current minimum wage and average wage."

Kal'tsit did not hesitate to remove these necessary medicines from the health insurance. Previously, they were free because most infected and ordinary Sarkaz could not afford them. Now that everyone has savings, this would not only lead to a large number of speculators, but also cause them to gradually disregard the danger of Oripathy infection, resulting in all sorts of haphazard operations.

"The security department also needs additional funding. Fortunately, some of the cut military and reconnaissance equipment can be given to the security department. Also, there's the issue of resettling the Deep Sea Hunter unit; we'll discuss that later..."

The Deep Sea Hunters were sent by the Agorians as part of their cooperation, mainly because of Haisi. They all used Haisi's biological tissue. As the saying goes, "When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked." Now that Haisi can no longer get up, what to do with these hunters is a big problem.

It just so happens that Lao Xia's biotechnology here looks very advanced, and he has previously demonstrated his understanding of Hai Si and his combat capabilities. Sending these "dangerous units" to such a professional institution for storage is a good idea—just like how a pimple on someone else's face is the least worrisome thing.

In return, the hunter force will participate in military and combat activities here.

However, the doctor felt that they were really useless on the battlefield—they might be able to hunt down a whole squad by themselves.

However, it is absolutely impossible for one person to occupy a city or a position—real warfare is not a child's game of one-on-one duels.

Therefore, they serve two purposes: first, as special forces, and second, as special police units. The former is used for operations deep behind enemy lines, while the latter is used to deal with troublemakers. It must be said, these hunters are extremely… adept at this kind of mopping-up operation.

"The budget for agriculture needs to be increased further this year. On the one hand, the mountain transformation plan is being promoted continuously. We can't see the output in the short term, but it helps us control the mountainous areas."

"Ahem, actually there was some output. I successfully produced nitrifying fiber by utilizing the nitrifying bacteria and the characteristics of the mountainous area with its many rocks and inorganic salts..."

"So that means gunpowder weapons can be used?"

"No," Old Xia glanced at the doctor. "Although what is collected and processed from the field is generally pure, can you guarantee that Originium dust will not be mixed in during the subsequent granulation and passivation processes?"

"So, what's the use of this?" The doctor was taken aback. What was the use of this thing?

"Because of the lack of soil, if nitrogen is fixed by air, these nitrocellulose fibers will not have a high nitrogen content. They can be used as PVC foam to manufacture inks, films, artificial leather, etc. I think these should be useful, right?"

In addition, these products can be used in spray paint, plastics, waxed paper, and so on.

However, the price certainly won't be high, and there's no way you can expect to break even on the mountain management project; it's more like a slight reduction in expenses.

Besides its high nitrogen content, which makes it suitable for manufacturing explosives, low-nitrogen cellulose fiber actually has many uses and is quite common in everyday life...

"Talulah, is there anything you want to say?"

“Well, how should I put it…” the silver-haired dragon girl thought for a moment, “We really need a professional law enforcement agency. I’ve found that the job of a police officer doesn’t actually require much force.”

However, more professional investigators and people who know how to deal with ordinary citizens are needed. The situation on the front lines is manageable, but in the rear, the issue of escalating conflicts due to rough treatment must be addressed…

"Not now," the doctor shook his head.

"Although the rear is relatively stable, this is only because our front lines are relatively stable. I also know that this brutal approach has created a lot of..."

Excessive actions, such as minor crimes like theft, could result in someone being beaten to death in the street. This gradually creates a sense of oppression and discontent among most people, and also makes grassroots law enforcement officers more arrogant and unwilling to explain their reasons.

"However, that won't work now. While it's true that some innocent people are suffering unnecessary harm, without such high-pressure measures, our public security will quickly deteriorate due to the influx of refugees. The first priority for public security and the judiciary is to maintain order, followed by upholding justice, and only lastly can we consider social atmosphere and morality..."

Now it is wartime, and the result of not being able to maintain order is that anything that seems reasonable, warm, and within reach will vanish in an instant.

Secondly, it is about upholding justice and maintaining a generally fair and just state, so that people are willing to fight in public but afraid of fighting in private. Only when these two conditions are met will we consider things that are more far-reaching, such as more humane law enforcement, gentler persuasion, and a focus on healing and saving lives, as well as promoting morality.

Given the large number of refugees moving towards this area and continuously entering society, the optimal solution now is to focus on deterrence and setting a bad example.

As for the possibility that the elderly and innocent people might be harmed under such brutal law enforcement, then it really is a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.

"While you're pleading for those whose crimes aren't punishable by death, or who just strayed from the right path, you should know that many more people who would otherwise go undetected, who could escape punishment by exploiting legal loopholes, inciting others, or using moral blackmail, are also being hanged. Hey, Yelena, even though you're in the Ministry of Agriculture, you're still in charge of the Yeti Squad. Tell me about what you discovered last time."

"What? Are you talking about those villages or those entertainment venues?" Yelena was taken aback. "If it's about those villages, there's nothing to say. It's our usual land acquisition process. We reclaim a portion of the land and turn it into a new farmland. Then a group of people started making a scene in the fields, demanding exorbitant prices, and then people from the surrounding villages helped drive our staff away."

How did you handle it?

"Should we focus on the result or the process?"

"Tell me the result first?"

"Half of them were hanged, and after the investigation, the other half were also hanged. To put it bluntly, they were all hanged."

"How could you do this!" Talulah was furious. How could someone do such a thing? It was certainly morally questionable for the other party to ask for such an exorbitant price.

But since no laws were violated, how is this any different from Theresis and his gang forcibly seizing people's property?

"So, what about the process?"

"Oh, at first the plan was to simply redraw the boundaries. You know, there's nothing on the wasteland except for lots of land. But then some people realized something was wrong. The little bit of wasteland those villages had cleared wasn't enough to feed themselves. And they weren't working on farms, so how were they supposed to eat?"

Yelena slowly pulled out her terminal and transferred a large amount of data to the player in the conference room. "Here, this is the result of our investigation, and the charges against the guy who was hanged. To be honest, he didn't deserve to die, but to avoid another group, hanging him is still the best option."