Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

This was a further blow to Ursus's economy. However, the emperor himself was already prepared to force those nobles and warlords to their deaths.

So, it's not a problem if things get worse, since neither side will treat ordinary citizens and the lower classes as human beings. The only difference is whether they are treated as valuable tools or as a bunch of waste.

Consuming population and plundering wealth ultimately achieve the same effect and purpose. As for how many Ursus people will die needlessly in the trenches, and how many Ursus villages will go bankrupt in this official plundering, that is not something the emperor or any noble warlord would consider.

For the emperor, he had a large amount of resources at his disposal, and he only needed to expand his army to reduce unrest.

Because as long as he recruits all the able-bodied young men and strong women into his new army, the remaining elderly, children, and women won't cause trouble. [Ancient Wisdom of the Song Dynasty]

This is truly the ultimate way to approximate a peasant uprising. If you have the wealth or sufficient provisions of the Song Dynasty, you can so easily quell a peasant uprising.

Bring everyone into the army for meals, so that the rebels lack young men who are not capable of fighting and thus cannot start a war, and then drag them to the battlefield to be killed off, and that will be the end of it.

Once most people have died, land will be vacant, and people can settle their own factions on that vacant land. As for the further land annexation that might result, that's a matter for later.

Moreover, in addition to dealing with these rebellious lower-class people, the unreliable private armies of nobles and warlords that are brought in can also be dealt with in the same way.

The only cost is a significant decrease in population, which poses no problem for Ursus, whose population exceeds the environmental carrying capacity.

Anyway, the wailing and stench of corpses in the front-line trenches wouldn't drift into the palace of Saint-Germain, much less disturb the emperor's sleep or meals. At this time, human lives were less important than the numbers on the reports.

After all, numbers need to be glanced at, right? But these young Ursus men who died in the trenches are not even worth mentioning.

Who would bring up this matter at a time that would upset everyone? Ministers wouldn't, bureaucrats wouldn't, nobles, preoccupied with the economic crisis, certainly wouldn't, and even the people on the northern farms wouldn't—

Of course, they wouldn't mention it because they were constantly and quietly concealing and absorbing those deserters as human resources for the farm, so naturally they wouldn't publicize what they were doing.

I can't think of a title for Chapter Thirteen, so how about I call it "Transition" for now?

Chapter XIII

"Artillery fire!" Another round of artillery barrage rained down, with countless railgun shells falling. Buildings and urban areas trembled amidst the bombardment, and even alloy-cast pipes and steel beams crumbled bit by bit in the violent explosions. The wreckage of carbon-based buildings burned fiercely in the fire.

The dark gray ashes fell like a snowstorm, filling everyone's nose and mouth with a terrible stench of burning and death, and toxic smoke enveloped every street and building ruin.

The shelling, which lasted for three days and three nights, made every Sami and Colombian soldier feel as if they were struggling in purgatory. Water, food, and sleep became luxuries. Hundreds of thousands of shells almost flattened the entire superstructure of the city, exposing the jagged skeleton below and the pipes, cabins, and collapsed sewers protected by the skeleton.

Finally, the shelling stopped. The Ursus had almost used up the last shell that could be sent to the front lines, and almost every Ursus general believed that the enemy had been wiped out by the unprecedented intensity of the shelling.

"Hurrah!" Ursus assault ships carrying a new wave of assault troops charged toward the city.

This time, they encountered no further obstacles. The springboard was successfully placed on the side of the city, and groups of Ursus assault soldiers, carrying scimitars and old crossbows, ran over the rubble of the battlefield toward the city center.

"Whoosh... Crack!" A nightmarish sound rang out, followed by a muffled thud as arrows swept past at high speed, tearing apart the front row of Ursus soldiers. However, more Ursus soldiers ultimately stepped onto the moving city.

The surviving defenders were unable to organize a large-scale defense, and after leaving behind thousands more corpses, the Ursus finally occupied the capital city of Sami.

However, the scenario they imagined—that the war would end immediately after capturing the enemy's capital and everyone could go home to rest—did not materialize. The Sami government-in-exile in Colombia called on every Sami to take up arms and resist the brutal rule of Ursus.

In the western and southern parts of the Sami capital, more Sami towns are on high alert, ready to fight to the last inch of land.

However, Ursus no longer has any extra propulsion capability, and both groups are almost completely crippled.

However, they did gain access to the agricultural production area in eastern Sami, which they could use as a base and a frontline rest area.

The Ursus-Sami War ultimately ended on paper, though towns in the southwest continued to resist.

Although the sounds of Sami may still emanate from every forest and every snowdrift, there will ultimately be no more large-scale resistance or fighting.

This war was merely the prelude to a world war, much like Germany's blitzkrieg against Poland—just a beginning, not an end.

However, before the real war broke out, there was a very short period of respite. Colombia retreated to its own country to regroup and prepare for war. During this war, military strategists throughout Terra witnessed the destructive power of heavy artillery groups against urban blocks that were previously thought to be almost impossible to suppress with long-range attacks.

The battlefield would inevitably extend to the suburbs outside the city, and in the trench warfare in the suburbs, the trenches and various concrete fortifications showed extremely tenacious vitality, which meant that Colombia did not cause much casualties to the Ursus people in the initial shelling.

Colombia's array of automatic rapid-fire weapons fully demonstrated that without trenches and earthmoving operations, the previous concentrated assaults were no different from suicide missions. Ursus proved with the lives of an entire division that flesh and blood cannot withstand the torrent of steel.

Small anti-vehicle weapons, simple and easy-to-deploy mines, rapid roadblocks for boarding defense, and various high-speed automatic weapons have all become key points of the war, and as is well known, Kazdel is clearly ahead of everyone else in this regard.

At the Northern Farm, the Sami guerrillas did not fight in the Sami mountains as the Ursus command had planned, as their supplies and resources had long since run out.

Instead, they went against the grain, venturing deep into Ursus territory and arriving at a place the Ursus people called the "Northern Duchy."

Indeed, as part of the cooperation agreement with Kazdel, and also as a fig leaf, the Emperor, with a heavy heart and a sense of humiliation, designated the area of ​​the farm as an independent duchy, nominally belonging to Grand Duke Black Serpent.

This is also a kind of exchange, because since the Black Serpent's duchy is now in the north, the rich territories near the Great Yan must naturally be given up.

Of course, just as this duchy nominally belongs to Kosichie, the territories near the Great Yan also nominally belong to the emperor.

Riding the wave of victory in the Sami War, even if the victory was not particularly significant, the emperor began issuing commemorative coins and started exchanging them. Just as previously planned, the private armies of the nobles, though not melting away like spring snow, turned into a pile of smelly, hard dung heap stones.

Neither nobles nor royalty could mobilize these troops. Nobles couldn't afford to pay military salaries, and the old currency had depreciated so much that it was almost worthless.

However, as mentioned before, the currency under a monetary system will not truly become worthless, so the military is observing the situation.

To get them to fight, you need to provide real, hard currency. Once the currency is completely changed, it becomes worthless. Faced with such worthless military pay, any army, except those built on ideals, will quickly disappear.

Even an army united by ideals will see its combat effectiveness decline exponentially, since this type of army often enjoys better pay and food benefits due to the unified structure between superiors and subordinates.

[That's right, my grandfather joined the Communists after receiving a gun because they had better food and pocket money!]

For a country's economy, currency exchange is tantamount to a complete blood transfusion, a major operation. Even if everything goes smoothly, the country will be weak for a long time. Under normal circumstances, no country would make this decision lightly.

However, things were different for Ursus. The emperor had reached his limit in dealing with the various warlords and separatist nobles throughout the country. In Mengsk's words, "If I cannot rule Ursus, then I would rather watch it turn to ashes!"

Sami guerrillas gradually entered the territory of the Northern Farm. They took off their uniforms, put on farmers' clothes, and hid their families and wounded in this land where there were no Ursus informants. As a result, the young and strong could attack Ursus's supply routes and destroy their military strongholds in the mountains and snowfields without any worries.

However, Talulah gave them a bottom line: they were not allowed to attack immigrant and civilian villages in Ursus, but military outposts and military transport routes could be attacked at will. Since they had launched a war of aggression, they had to be prepared to bear the consequences.

However, civilians are a different story, and Ursus has not yet begun to relocate Sami.

If the Sami guerrillas did such a thing, then all aid from the farm would be cut off.

This wasn't just for a metaphysical reason like morality or humanitarianism; another reason was that the farm's main population consisted of civilians from the northern regions of Ursus.

If the Sami begin burning villages and launching attacks, they are essentially going against 80 percent of the ethnic groups that make up the farms.

After all, not everyone is a saint. When faced with a wave of opposition from the bottom up, even if Talulah doesn't want to stop the aid, she will have no choice but to stop.

Without the aid provided by the farm, Sami's guerrillas would really only be able to fight against Ursus's elite troops with wooden spears. Even with the advantages of terrain and environment, they would only be trapped in the mountains and forests and starve to death little by little.

With a clang, a large wooden bowl was placed on the table, its contents—a venison and vegetable soup—swayed slightly, the thick layer of fat cracking and releasing a puff of steam. "I really don't know what kind of spell those Ursus people cast on them; only half, or even fewer, are willing to continue following us back."

"That's normal," the forest ranger said, glancing at his adjutant before slowly stuffing the small piece of bread into his mouth. "The war is over. We lost."

"boom!"

"We haven't lost yet!"

“At least in other people’s eyes, we have already lost. They feel that they have fulfilled their obligations and responsibilities to their country. And now, you can’t ask them to give up their stable lives and go back to that forest with us,” the forest ranger said calmly.

“Not everyone is an avenger like us. They won’t abandon everything for revenge that doesn’t belong to them, and neither can we.”

The forest ranger put down the bread and tapped the table. "They are also loyal warriors. They have never complained or retreated for a single day in the snow forest. But now they believe they have done everything they could, so there is nothing to be angry about in giving them the peace they deserve."

"I just……"

Former comrades-in-arms parted ways. Some felt that the war was over and they had done everything they could for their country. So, staying on the farm as a farmer, tending to the giant deer and cabbages just like in Sami, was a good ending.

Some felt that since Ursus had not been driven out and none of the Sami had lost, they could continue fighting.

The former are mostly young people with families, or those who have met their true love during the war and decided to get married. They can throw themselves into the war, but they don't want their children to be born in the cold forest where they can't even get a bite of bran.

The latter are all avengers whose villages were destroyed or whose families were killed by Ursus; they have nothing left.

Therefore, without any scruples or concerns, the only way to gain some peace was to kill those Ursus invaders.

This is a contradiction from the very beginning. In essence, not everyone is fighting for those vague and intangible things. They were simply rebelling because they didn't want their children to live under a more brutal and cruel rule. The meaning and purpose of their fight is for their children to have a better life in the future.

Now that they have obtained this hope, they naturally will not pick up their guns and return to that snow forest for a pointless battle.

Moreover, even if we take a step back and say that the Sami government's rule was no more enlightened or better than that of the Ursus people, it's not the Sami nobles' desired outcome that they shed blood for.

"And this isn't a bad thing," the forest ranger said, not seeing it as a betrayal or weakness. "If the warriors have a way out, a way to live a peaceful life when they can't fight or don't want to fight, then they will only become more valiant. What's the difference between using fear and killing to force people to follow us and those Ursus black dogs?"

"Alright, stop complaining here. Eat more, and then go and count the number of people who can still fight. I need the specific number and list by tonight, as well as our remaining equipment, vehicles, and supplies."

The forest ranger paused for a moment. "Leave all the wounded, disabled, and elderly behind, regardless of their wishes. Tell them that our next battle will be even tougher, and we can't afford to carry burdens. Remember, make it clear to them that they are a burden, that they are being abandoned by us, not that they have betrayed us. Do you understand?"

If we don't do this, those who stay will inevitably feel guilty, and then continue fighting with us out of guilt. But would that make any sense? No, they've already wavered, but they're just too embarrassed to do so because of their guilt.

Rather than continuing to deal with Ursus with these hypocritical people, it would be better to give both sides a reason. That way, they wouldn't have to suffer from the torment of their conscience, and we wouldn't have to worry about these people who have already wavered wavering again.

On the contrary, with these people on the farm, it will be much easier to hide the wounded, obtain supplies, or get more manpower in the future. Guilt, if used well, can yield several times the benefits, rather than being used crudely to gain uncertain loyalty.

The agricultural production tasks at the Northern Farm remain heavy, but all industrial production tasks have been transferred away. The workshop street has not expanded and is now not responsible for producing power frames or chassis. Apart from occasional agricultural machinery repair and agricultural implement production tasks, it has become very deserted.

It gradually turned into a commercial street and expanded towards the Ursus march route further north. To expand, they even built a low-standard road, and it was common to see Ursus officers picking out the cheapest goods in the shops.

Meanwhile, the poorer Ursus soldiers traded their meager military pay for services in the markets of the valley, including haircuts and mail delivery. Normally, mail needed to be censored by the military before it could be delivered, but the postmen of the northern farms didn't care about that.

The black-skinned dogs of the Inspectorate didn't dare to mess with these tough guys from the former snowfield guerrillas. Besides, this place was far from the battlefield and was the last stop before entering the real battlefield. Most of the soldiers who came here didn't have anything that would affect their morale or the mentality of the rear to write in their letters, so there was no need for censorship.

On this street known as "Lumberjack Street," you can buy almost everything, from essential needles and thread to local specialties and gifts to send to girls back home. Due to the demand from black bees, a large quantity of dried flower specimens and floral essential oils are also sold here, which are the most popular items among junior officers and soldiers with sweethearts.

In addition, various canned berries and oils that are not part of the military rations are also key purchases for the quartermasters. Compared to transporting them from the rear, it is more economical to purchase fresh vegetables and canned goods here, which can save a lot of logistical transport time.

Under normal circumstances, such villages would hardly be able to meet the needs of a large army. However, the Northern Farms are different. Their production efficiency is far beyond that of a normal Ursus village. They can supply the needs of four army groups at the same time. It should be noted that the Helag Army in the south also relies on them for supplies.

They would quickly spend their depreciated military pay and then come here to purchase all sorts of necessary consumables, from flour to giant deer meat. This improved species of Sami giant deer is suitable for raising in cold regions and has become a flagship product of northern farms.

Deer antlers, deer hide, venison, and even deer blood are all good products. Deer liver, which can be used to make metabolism accelerators, is acquired and arranged by the group. The substances in the liver of giant deer can be used to extract Originium metabolism accelerators, which are important materials for the group to manufacture Oripathy inhibitors.

Originally, Lao Xia planned to synthesize it artificially on a large scale, but the doctor persuaded him against it. That would mean that thousands of employees who relied on deer liver processing would lose their jobs, and the huge reserves and output of deer liver would have nowhere to go.

In the end, Lao Xia had to swallow his words, "If there's nowhere to bury them, then bury them." After all, if he did that, the income of the deer farmers would decrease, and their lives would become visibly more difficult.

Moreover, using bio-based materials can greatly reduce the difficulty of the process, while increasing manpower consumption and reducing efficiency, thereby providing Kazdel with a huge number of jobs.

In Kazdel, it's common for a pharmaceutical factory to employ tens of thousands of people, along with its supporting facilities such as refrigeration, flour (pill additives), and equipment maintenance plants, to become an appendage of the population of one or even several cities.

The extent of Oripathy's devastation directly correlates to the potential consumer base for Terra, meaning that orders for blockers, inhibitors, and rapid detoxifiers (which rapidly degrade oripathic crystals but cannot cure the disease, though they can quickly relieve the damage and pain to the body) are already piling up for years to come.

Moreover, it can be predicted that the war will not only not affect this order, but may even increase it dozens of times due to the needs of the battlefield.

At this moment, Lao Xia suddenly laid off half of the employees, leaving the Doctor with no choice but to hang himself. For Terrans, having more people than positions is the norm, while for Covenant members, having more positions than people is the norm.

The latter's ingrained mindset is that if a position can be filled by only one person, then there should be no need to fill two; if something can be cut, then it should be cut.

Otherwise, they couldn't even find enough people to expand the population, and a bunch of Soul Eaters forced them to maintain a large number of inexplicable positions—making it an instinct for Lao Xia to cut unnecessary positions and improve efficiency.

Chapter Thirteen: Masterpieces

Chapter XIII