Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

Between taking risks and playing it safe, only to have everything burned to the ground by the sun 50 years later, the doctor had no choice but to take military risks.

Although the risk is somewhat high, the cost is barely acceptable at present and will not affect the long-term timeline.

The Gallo-African Dominion was the final concession made by Letania during the Lycan War, allowing the Gauls limited autonomy.

Of course, now that they have autonomy, the Letanians are no longer responsible for various aid work for the Gallo-Gallic Autonomous Territory, which in a sense reduces their burden.

The Gauls, their faces blank, lined up in long queues at the relief point. Relief trucks from Kazdel dumped bag after bag of relief flour into the collection point below. This relief flour was what was called industrial starch—not the toxic kind, but starch intended for industrial consumption.

The main ingredients are corn and potatoes, mixed with synthetic starch, using whatever is cheapest. In order to detoxify, it also undergoes some processing.

In short, it tastes strange, not just bad, but also very coarse, belonging to coarse flour rather than refined flour.

However, among a whole bunch of things with added sawdust, it was already considered one of the best items among the relief food.

Therefore, the Gauls and even the Letanians simply made do with what they had to eat as bread, and as for vegetables and meat, they had to find their own way to get those.

In contrast, the summer harvest in Da Yan was much more joyous. Although the introduction of improved varieties and investment in hydroponic factories cost thousands of times more than the actual price, completely draining Da Yan's annual tax revenue and even accumulating huge debts, the harvest statistics still made it seem like a worthwhile investment to everyone, from the government to the people.

The wheat turned yellow, but due to the fire damage caused by the toxic heat, and the fact that Da Yan bought the lowest grade of wheat, the average yield per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) was no more than 350 kilograms. The good news is that even the worst harvest yielded this much. The bad news is that even the best fields that could have yielded 400 kilograms only yielded this much.

However, for the soldiers and officers who had rendered meritorious service to the king and were allocated land, it was a complete relief. Piles of wheat were stacked on the threshing ground, trying to dry them before the rain and put them into storage. Meanwhile, the relatively modern mill of the Great Yan Dynasty was ready to open for business.

The millers had assumed this season would be the off-season, but to their surprise, the Great Yan court actually did something unusual. This year seems to be worse than in previous years, with various levies and miscellaneous taxes increasing considerably, but they should still be able to get by.

As Kazdel had instructed, the locals completed the hulling process and collected all the bran to dispose of, even though they were very reluctant to part with it.

However, even though people and livestock had already been poisoned to death, the remaining people still obediently handed over the bran.

It's one thing if people are poisoned to death, but it's a big deal if the cattle rented by the family are poisoned to death. Given that several cattle and more than ten pigs were poisoned, the locals finally gave up their plan to cheat and swindle.

"We've managed to get through this year. I never expected the imperial court to actually do something worthwhile."

Walking along the edge of their assigned merit fields, former subordinates kept greeting them, and strong young laborers could be seen everywhere busy harvesting. With their own merit fields, these loyalist troops finally regained some loyalty to the Great Yan Dynasty.

If the subsequent conferment of titles and ranks based on military merits can also be implemented, then these loyal armies will be the emperor's most reliable troops, and their morale and combat effectiveness will be significantly restored.

"However, this wheat doesn't taste very good."

"As long as it's edible, who can complain about so much?" Even if it tastes bad, it's better than eating chaff and drinking thin gruel. It's good enough to be full, what more could you want?

"However, if the imperial court really intends to continue distributing meritorious lands in this way in the future, then we military men can no longer continue to live in such a muddle-headed manner!"

After all, war is not a good look. Without military merit, not only is the land for meritorious deeds scarce, but the location is also poor. Once this important matter of passing on one's legacy to one's children and grandchildren is delayed, it is hard to say when the next war will come and one will have the opportunity to obtain enough military merit to ensure that one's descendants will have enough to eat and wear.

It may be good to receive a salary without working, but how can a little bit of ill-gotten gains be compared to fertile land passed down through generations?

Besides, even if I can get enough salary without working, the others aren't stupid either. There will always be a few hard-working people in a group who ruin everyone's peaceful and carefree experience.

At that time, those few particularly capable fighters, even if they're just drawing salaries without working, will still get more food than me, which would be a huge loss.

Given this situation, the officers gritted their teeth and only ate one-third of the pay they received this time, while the remaining two-thirds were distributed obediently. They even took out some money from their own pockets to replenish the key weapons in the camp's armory.

This allowed the artisans and military factories in the capital region to also have a decent living. As for the elite border troops, they didn't receive salaries without working or need to replenish their weapons—because the demon doesn't recognize people, doesn't care about your network of connections, and can't surrender anyway.

Therefore, the border troops have maintained the consistent combat effectiveness since the founding of the Great Yan Dynasty. The personnel are basically in full and the weapons are basically complete. As long as the logistics officials of the court do not embezzle, the accounts are basically in line.

There's only one problem: anyone with even a slight connection wouldn't want to go to the northern border and stare at the demons.

Therefore, they were mostly exiles, disillusioned officers, and even more so, the sons of border soldiers.

There was no other way; nothing could be grown on the land contaminated by evil spirits. The only option was to join the army to earn a living. Fortunately, there was no issue of receiving a salary without working here, so earning a living wasn't too difficult.

This means that the Northern Army of the Great Yan has a firm fighting will, good military training and skills brought by young junior officers who are unwilling to compromise their principles, better supplies and pay than other troops, and complete armaments. The only problem is that heaven knows who they are truly loyal to.

If it weren't for the fact that the northern border couldn't grow enough food, it probably would have become a separatist warlord territory long ago, and the local soldiers wouldn't even know who your imperial court is.

After all, in their eyes, the people in the imperial court had done nothing but cut off their supplies and military pay, and sent over a bunch of troublemakers and scoundrels.

Instead, they fought against evil under the leadership of their own generals, saved money to bribe eunuchs to obtain sufficient military equipment, and their positions, passed down from father to son, did not require the court's approval.

For this reason, when the imperial court actually made a personnel change, everyone in the border army was shocked and incredulous, and many generals even thought it was some kind of conspiracy by the imperial court.

It's really strange that a bureaucratic group that doesn't do anything related to people has suddenly started to care about the frontier.

The fact that these seeds actually grew on the land contaminated by evil spirits after they were sown made it even more damn strange.

"So, this thing doesn't show any signs of mutation?"

"No" in the North, the makeshift fields were crowded with people, an entire battalion of men and their families were here, this was a matter of great importance, about food.

"It hasn't withered either?"

"No, not at all..."

"So, these things that are stored away are really edible?"

"I've tested it on dogs, and they really can eat it." Moreover, the yield is quite promising, as if the dark soil contaminated by evil spirits has had no effect on these seeds and the crops that grow from them, and of course, the wheat that ripens.

Well, it can't be said that it had no impact at all; it was actually growing slightly better than before.

"So, the stuff the imperial court sent this time is actually real?" This is unbelievable. Even if the dog used to test the poison suddenly stood up and started talking, it wouldn't be as unbelievable as this.

How many seeds are left?

"There's not much left. Should we take advantage of this time and quickly plow a few more acres of land? Maybe we can harvest another round of wheat before winter?"

"The climate here... never mind, let's talk about it next spring." The climate in the North is not ideal. You can only plant one crop a year at most. Planting two crops is too risky. It would be a pity if these seeds were wasted.

"However, I heard this wheat is not very tasty."

"Then let's eat together with the others. At least this winter will be easier to get through than last year. But I still can't believe it. Have those people in the court changed their ways? Or did His Majesty kill them all and replace them with a new group?"

"Who knows? Anyway, let's grab these benefits while we still have them, because next year we might have nothing left and still have to pay taxes." Everyone had no disagreement about whether the court was acting ethically, and in fact, they were quite confident in it.

Meanwhile, in Kazdel, as the summer harvest ended, a new round of busy farming began. Almost all manpower had to be prioritized for production support. Metal, carbon materials, fuel, and food processing all had to resume operations quickly, and some factories that had switched to military production also needed to be restored. The entire country was incredibly busy.

Another problem brought about by the war was the exponential increase in immigrants and refugees. This problem was not only present in Kazdel, but also in Letania and Victoria. In fact, compared to Kazdel, which had a less-than-stellar reputation, the number of refugees in Victoria was truly terrifying.

These two countries acted as a wall, blocking most of the refugee influx into Kazdel. Perhaps the refugees were not there voluntarily, but they certainly exacerbated Kazdel's manpower shortage problem.

"The last trainload of fermented grape juice has been loaded and is heading to Victoria." At the border between Syracuse and Kazdel, a train slowly started moving, carrying fermented grape juice made from Syracuse grapes—well, it's red wine.

Even if famine is rampant among the common people, it cannot stop the nobles from drinking red wine and eating steak, can it?

It just required a little disguise. So, it was imported under the guise of fermented grape juice, which allowed Syracuse to make a profit.

Because Victoria ultimately did not engage in combat with Kazdel, Syracuse, which had almost been engulfed in war, began to slowly recover, and their vineyards, wheat plantations, and pastures gradually returned to operation.

What's in this vehicle?

"Aid supplies sent by Kazdel to Kazimierz..."

"Armaments?" The security inspector opened the cargo box, which contained packets of pale green, unidentified powder that looked like some kind of industrial raw material.

"Healthy seaweed powder, food..."

"Can this stuff be eaten?" The security inspector asked skeptically, piercing the packaging with a sampling needle and extracting some powder to conduct a test. The test results showed that it was indeed plant powder.

Although flour has flammable and explosive properties, this is not a problem since flour has these properties.

As for the taste, those who tried it said it was actually quite good, even slightly savory, and compared to sawdust bread, it could be considered a delicacy.

"Let them through!" Train after train carrying grape juice and seaweed powder entered Victoria. Some were sold in Victoria, while others were sent to Casimir, becoming the only external food aid that Nearl and Marna had, even though it entered under the guise of humanitarian aid.

[PS]

I've seen people say that aside from ceding territory and paying reparations, it's simply impossible for a project to require two years' worth of tax revenue, unless the emperor is an idiot.

There are probably no people in Chinese history who aren't idiots, and every single feudal ruler in world history is an idiot!

Why? In order to conquer the Mongols, the Ming Dynasty invested at least one or two decades' worth of taxes at once. The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Nanjing Ministry of War alone invested more than 1800 million, nearly 1900 million taels of silver.

At this time, after Zhang Juzheng's reforms, the annual tax revenue reached 400 million taels, compared to 200 million taels previously.

So where did the money come from? It came from loans and the money Zhu Di earned during his voyages to the West – his own money for his coffin.

Not every feudal or even modern state had a budget and final accounts system. Living within one's means was rare; spending several years' worth of total fiscal revenue at once was a common occurrence, and even accumulating massive debt was a regular occurrence.

By the way, that's where the idiom "piled up in debt" comes from. So, there are countless examples of this kind of "absolutely impossible" throughout history.

Why do some people always use the petty-bourgeois mentality of buying things when discussing such a huge topic as national economy and finance? Compared to using money for serious things, such as introducing improved varieties or building industries, there are other truly ridiculous approaches.

Some people borrow money at exorbitant interest rates to buy cakes and jewelry for the Queen—don't you think so, Mr. Gaul who wishes to remain anonymous?

Chapter 81 Authentic American Style

Chapter 81

In Kazimierz, on the western plains, trains rumble across the land. Terra's trains come in two types: one is the kind with regular tracks, which Old Xia uses, and if conditions are right, they can even be maglev; the other type doesn't require tracks.

To put it simply, it's like an integrated land-based vehicle's power unit towing a long string of carriages and running directly over the ground, at a much slower speed than a real train.

However, its advantage lies in spreading the weight significantly across the ground, allowing for the transport of large quantities of goods at once.

This type of train has only been around for less than two years. Everyone has seen the Kazdel people's ability to quickly replenish supplies to the front lines using train tracks. The Terrans are not NPCs, so they naturally learn from them whenever possible. In times of war, no one cares about patent laws.

Combining Terra's traditional land-based ship technology, this strange train was developed. Although its speed was only a few kilometers per hour faster than Old Xia's warhorse, it was cheap, cheap, cheap!

During wartime, these cheap machines, which could be easily found in graveyards with a few old power units, plus crudely made carriages and dilapidated running gear, naturally became very popular.

And as a result, entirely new professions and trades have emerged, namely...

"They're taking so long. Do we really have to do this?" Maria observed the trains refueling and replenishing their cooling water at the station through her binoculars. These trains had varying power sources—electric, steam, and even those powered by advanced Kazdelta furnaces. However, judging from the need to replenish cooling water, they seemed to be the oldest type of Originium steam furnace.

"Rather than let those cowards take us into their castles, we should use us as military supplies."

Lin Guang, leaning on her spear, said that she wasn't foolish enough to target the nobility, since half of her junior officers were noblemen. However, targeting the cowards among the nobility and the manor nobles would be a different story.

As a group, the nobility also had its own classes and groups. Radical young noble officers and those politically minded courtiers could not get along.

Moreover, Lin Guang's statement did not violate the values ​​of the aristocratic class—as a military noble, what reason did she need to despise and target those court nobles?

No need! Not to mention, half of the Kazimierz wouldn't object to targeting the newly rich in the business consortium, it's just...

"Are we really going to steal our own people's cars?"

"They're not one of us, so put on your masks." Lin Guang wrapped his spear with cloth, and the cavalrymen, who were composed of noble sons behind him, also concealed their armor and insignia, as well as their weapons and warhorses.

"We'll make our move once they leave the station." However, plans are subject to change. Just as Lin Guang and his team arrived at the ambush site, they saw two other groups of people approaching from two different directions, bringing with them billowing dust.

The "Ursus and highway robbers" scouts quickly discovered who these two people were, and who had their eyes on the same target.

"The plan has changed. Remove the disguise and go for reinforcements!" Lin Guang pondered for a few seconds and issued the new plan order.

Meanwhile, the Ursus soldiers driving fast assault vehicles had approached the train. Their grappling hooks, activated by ballistae, were attached to the carriages. Although these trains were slow, once they started moving, they were difficult to brake using conventional methods. Therefore, the Ursus soldiers chose to use the grappling hooks to hold onto several carriages, pulling themselves closer.