What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

In desperation, Fran had to open a new level of education and let the gray dwarves take over to teach the reading and writing of the common language.

Free teaching of reading and writing, even meals included!

Fran thought that with such favorable conditions, there would be many people signing up! However, to her surprise, there were only a handful of people who signed up, not even enough to form a class.

After asking around, Fran found out that the craftsmen felt that it was better to spend more time on improving their skills than spending time on learning. In their opinion, ironwork and manufacturing require experience, so what is the use of knowing how to read?

Fran was speechless after hearing these words, and for a moment she didn't know how to refute them.

Under the current primitive productivity, it is indeed unnecessary for craftsmen to master the ability to read and write. Moreover, the incentives in the workshop are so good now that working one more hour means earning a little more money! They are obviously unwilling to spend their precious time learning to read and write.

Since persuasion doesn't work, Fran has no choice but to use administrative orders.

First of all! The original workshop R&D team and military officers must enter the academy to study until they master reading and writing skills. Otherwise, they will be demoted on the spot.

Second! For all future promotions and salary increases, reading and writing skills will be given priority.

In this way, we finally had a full class.

Of course, coercion alone is not enough, and Magic Crystal Coins must be used as bait. The stick will only be more effective if it is accompanied by a carrot.

Fulan stipulated that those who performed well in each academy exam would receive a considerable reward, and once they successfully graduated, they would receive another reward. At the same time, he also opened a night school, so those who could not spare time during the day could choose to study at night!

With various policies implemented at the same time, the college finally got its feet under way.

During this process, Catherine led the soldiers and the construction corps into the mine in the third area. With the help of muskets, they quickly cleared out the monsters around the mine. Taking advantage of this gap, the construction corps quickly followed up and built high walls based on the terrain to protect the mine tightly.

In this way, they only need to send a small number of troops to garrison fortifications to defend against monsters, and the miners only need to mine with peace of mind without worrying about monsters attacking at any time.

With the fortifications in place, the efficiency of mineral mining increased by more than three times compared to before. Afterwards, Fran sent some of the captives to work in the mine, and soon the entire mine was filled with the sound of work.

Judging from the current rate of raw ore production, Fran will soon have to worry about insufficient warehouse space.

After finishing most of the things at hand, Fran finally made some time, so she couldn't wait to go to Vienna.

It’s not that anything major happened in Vienna.

Mainly because my dreams have been getting weirder and weirder lately!!

In the first few days, she only dreamed of being intimate with beautiful girls like Christina, Beelzebub, Margaret, etc. Although it was a bit troublesome to change clothes when she woke up during the day, it was still a good thing. However, as time went by, the number of girls who were intimate in her dreams increased.

For example, the big-breasted and short-legged Gorronil, the dark elf queen Naranissoya, and even her maids Catherine and Fandi. Fran was so scared that she didn't dare to look directly at them.

And if this goes on for a long time, her body won't be able to bear it! The beautiful thing will become a beautiful passing!

She already felt that her weight was starting to drop slightly. Although losing weight was a small matter, if her breasts also shrank... Don't tell me that there is a limit to the steel plate.

Of course, this is not what worries Fran the most!

What worries her most is that some strange races begin to appear in her dreams!

Such as ogres, orcs, goblins

Although she would be awakened in time when such a scene was about to happen, she could not guarantee that she would accept such a setting one day. When she thought of this, Fran felt a chill down her spine.

Fran once suspected that she was under the spell of a succubus, but there was no succubus around her. She was too embarrassed to tell the people around her about this, and the only one who could help her was Christina!

Thinking of this, Fran left Orila City without stopping with a group of guards.

During her absence, Vanessa continued to serve as Fran's stand-in, which made Vanessa very reluctant, after all, to pretend to be Fran she had to bind her chest every day. Of course, she didn't dare to vent this annoyance.

After several days of traveling, Fran finally saw the woman she had always dreamed of, Christina.

Looking at her sister's beautiful face, Fran remembered that she had not met Christina since the end of the war.

"Really? I thought you won the battle and forgot about me because you felt that your sister was of no use." Christina immediately hugged Fran and whispered in her ear.

"How is that possible! You are so beautiful, I will never forget you in my life." Fran buried her face in Christina's chest, feeling the scent of her sister.

"Then why don't you even write me a letter?"

"Um... I've been busy dealing with post-war issues lately." Fran said, "I've done a lot of big things recently! I'll tell you about it later!"

"Okay, okay!" Christina nodded, then asked curiously, "But why is your body so hot? Did you catch a cold on the way here?"

"Ah...I...Flan said quickly: "Isn't this because I see my sister is excited?"

The hug just now caused an uncontrollable throbbing in Fran's body. She spent a lot of effort, even using her mental strength, to suppress it.

What happened to me recently? Even if I haven't seen my sister for such a long time, I shouldn't be like this. Am I really under the spell of a succubus?

Fran felt increasingly uneasy.

Chapter 59: Vienna

It was noon when they arrived in Vienna. Because the time was not right (they did not arrive at night), Fran had to go to the restaurant with Christina to have lunch.

Fran was very familiar with the restaurant they went to because it was here that she came up with the Tulip Storm plan the last time she came here.

Unexpectedly, in just half a year, he had gone from being a poor lord to a powerful man with a large army and actual fiefdom. Thinking of this, Fran puffed up her chest with pride, but soon she put it down in frustration.

Some places remain unchanged.

Like Fran's breasts, the streetscape of Vienna has not changed much. Several ancient houses stand silently on both sides of the road, and below are various stores.

It’s just that…both the pedestrians on the street and the customers in the stores are much less than the last time Fran came.

So Fran asked, "Sister, why are there so few people on the street? It's almost New Year, shouldn't the streets be more prosperous? The impact of the Tulip Storm can't be that big, right?"

"This has nothing to do with the tulip storm." At this point, Christina sighed and said, "There will be a war."

"Fight? Who and who?"

"Margaret declared war on the grand dukes around Vienna," Christina said.

"What!" Fran was so surprised that she almost knocked over the cake in front of her.

"You didn't know?" This time it was Christina's turn to be surprised: "Really, what have you been busy with recently? It's fine if you ignore your sister, but why don't you even collect intelligence?"

"Sister is more important." Fran shook Christina's hand and said, "I took over the dwarf mines. I also founded the academy and research institute. I put all my energy into it! You called Vanti back, so I naturally didn't pay attention to the news from Vienna."

"Okay, okay, it's all my fault for calling Vanti back," Christina said. "After you captured Count Tilly, I told Margaret that this might be the Yellow Four Wolves teaming up with the Grand Dukes around Vienna in an attempt to harm her, the newly appointed queen."

"So, she believed it so easily?" Fran asked in surprise.

"Of course she won't believe it so easily!" Christina said, "But since the failure of the attack on Orila City is irreversible, she can only try to use this failure to recover some losses. And those grand dukes are the best excuse."

"I captured one third of Catalina's elite troops, and the top general, Count Tilly, is gone!" Fran said, "With her strength, how can she start another war? Two thousand people may be able to defeat the duke's troops, but it is impossible to occupy such a large area."

Christina said: "But don't forget, there are 40,000 troops directly under the Imperial Army stationed around Vienna."

"But aren't these troops only mobilized when foreign enemies invade?" Fran said, "The emperor has no right to mobilize them on ordinary days, let alone send them to deal with other nobles in the empire."

"So last month, she invited many important military officials and generals under the pretext of a palace banquet. Then, at the banquet, she accused the dukes and produced evidence of their collusion with the Four Yellow Wolves."

"Well, this should be forged by Huang Silang. The people in the military are not stupid. They agreed to send troops based on these so-called evidences."

"So, when accusing those archdukes, Count Wallenstein appeared in the banquet hall with a large number of spirit-clad knights." Christina said

"Directly force them with force?"

"It was even worse than that. She went straight to the knife," Christina said.

Fran knew Margaret was brave, but she didn't expect her to be this brave.

"She killed three senior military officials and two army commanders at the banquet, and produced evidence that they were trying to harm the queen. After the banquet, she sealed off the city for another seven days and arrested a large number of people who opposed her."

This queen really doesn't play by the rules. Others thought she would stop after the disastrous defeat, but she came up with a bigger wave right after. But who can be an official in Vienna without the support of a big family? If she did that, she would not be retaliated.

As if she knew Fran would have such doubts, Christina explained: "She was very particular about killing people, and did not anger those big families. The most important thing is that she quickly convinced the military to support her."

"Can this convince you? Continue killing people?"

"No, this time it's money." Christina said, "The expenses of the imperial army come from the imperial treasury. But the empire has been financially empty for a long time, which means that the army cannot get enough support. In order to raise military pay, they even have to take on some mercenary work. Margaret promised them that once they conquered those dukedoms,

The lord would put most of the income from the fief into the national treasury and give priority to supplying the army.

"Take future spoils and promise today's army. It's like getting something for nothing." Fran said with a smile.

"That's right." Christina said, "Under normal circumstances, the military would never agree to cooperate. But because of her extreme behavior, the military had to agree. If it really works, it will be a good thing for the military and the Ministry of Finance. If we fight to the end with Margaret, both sides will suffer in the end.

"So, she used this trick to force the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Military Affairs to get on her chariot?" Fran said, "But the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Ministry of Finance are already having a hard time. It's not bad to be on the chariot of a tyrant. After all, if Margaret loses, they won't lose much. If she wins, they will get a lot of money.

Where is it?"

"Yes! Margaret has a firm grasp on their hearts." Christina said: "Half a month ago, Margaret declared war on those dukes in the name of the emperor! Recently, she has been raising supplies and troops. She doesn't even plan to let these dukes have a good New Year."

War.

No wonder the streets are so deserted.

As soon as she finished speaking, Fran saw a group of armored imperial soldiers slowly crossing the street. Citizens on both sides rushed into nearby stores and every household closed their doors. It was obvious that they were deeply afraid of the imperial soldiers.

Fran took a quick look at the soldiers and found that most of their armor had been in disrepair for a long time, and their weapons were also missing. The marching team was even more disorganized, and everyone's face revealed numbness and fatigue, and they seemed to have no fighting spirit. It was hard to imagine how much combat effectiveness such a unit could still have.

"These are the Empire's standing army." Christina said, "That's terrible, isn't it? I don't know how Margaret will use them and coordinate with her elite troops."

"Speaking of Margaret's number one, Count Tilly is still lying in Thermopylae." Fran said: "At this time when I need someone, should I blackmail Margaret?"

"That's a good idea!" Christina chuckled, covering her mouth. "But what do you want to blackmail her for?"

"Why not let her be our maid for a day?"

"Tsk! What a frivolous person!" Christina scratched Fran's nose.

Just as the two were thinking about how to blackmail Christina, two figures hurriedly came to their table. Fran looked and saw that they were Katherine and Vanessa.

"Vanessa? Aren't you supposed to be the mayor of Orila City? Why are you here?" Fran asked in surprise.

Vanessa glanced at Katherine.

Catherine said, "Let me tell you. Not long after you left, we received a letter from Huang Silang. He said something like, 'Margaret asked me to bring you a message.'"

"What words?"

"Margaret hopes to meet with you and discuss a deal in person that will satisfy you." Catherine said

Chapter 60 Today's Persecution of Vanessa

After hearing this, Fran and Christina looked at each other.

They just talked about how to blackmail Margaret, and the next second Margaret stuck her head in. There are such good things in the world.

Catherine continued, "I didn't know how to restore her, so I brought Vanessa here with me. Considering that you have already shown your face in front of Margaret, if you want to negotiate, you must let Vanessa continue to pretend. So I took the initiative to bring her here. If you don't plan to negotiate, I will send her back."

After Catherine finished speaking, Vanessa pouted in grievance.

You just know how to bully me! What do you mean you brought me here first and then sent me back when you don't need me anymore? Am I just a tool?

Obviously, the new dwarf loli can also pretend to be Fran! Can't you find someone else to persecute her?

Besides, I just pretended to be Fran and showed my face before! This time I have to go for negotiations! How would I know what to negotiate about?

Christina looked Vanessa up and down, then said, "It's still too dangerous to pretend to negotiate. Margaret is very perceptive, it would be bad if she was found out."

Yes, yes! Vanessa nodded repeatedly! The Saint Sister is more reasonable.

"Don't worry about that, sister." Fran said confidently, "Vanessa is a professional when it comes to pretending to be me."

Vanessa rolled her eyes cautiously.

"Besides, even if she finds out, what can we do?" Fran said, "Now she is the one who needs me, not me. Margaret can't chop off Vanessa's head."

"My Lord City Lord! Please say less. This crow's mouth is too scary." Catherine said immediately.

Chop, chop off the head!

Vanessa's face was also filled with fear. This substitute was too scary.

Fran said, "Anyway, just let Vanessa pretend to be me."

"Then...then what should I say!" Vanessa was anxious and quickly jumped out and said, "You gave me the script for the speech on the city wall before and asked me to recite it. How can I perform without the script? I don't want to be beheaded! In comparison, I would rather go to work somewhere else and return you 100,000 magic crystal coins."

"One hundred thousand magic crystal coins?" Christina looked at Fran suspiciously.

This vampire seems to be an inexperienced girl who is very easy to deceive. There is no way she can owe Fran 100,000 magic crystal coins! Based on Christina's understanding of Fran, she must have used some dishonorable means.

"Well... at worst, I can go with you as your maid." Fran said, "I'll stick some fur on my face and pretend to be a furry. Perfect.

Christina was about to interrupt Fran's ridiculous remarks when the door opened again and Vanti came in.

"Lady Saint, this is a letter from Margaret."

Christina took the letter and began to read it, but soon she put it down and said, "Margaret invited me to her place tomorrow night."