.

  "Don't you want to give those scoundrels who framed us a big surprise? Don't you think we can still create another prosperous Jiangnan in the desolate Danube wilderness?" Liu Zhen asked.

  "What is it that allows nobles to build armies? Is it money? Does having more gold coins enable one to build a stronger armed force? That way, we can take back justice for Helen, punish all those who have been disrespectful to us, and make everyone who has looked down on us swallow their pride. Is that right?" Liu's words were filled with incendiary flavor.

  "That's it, go be a bandit then." Liu Zhen said with a careless tone.

  "But Richard, you're a noble... why become a bandit?" Helen's head suddenly felt dizzy.

  "Richard, some things are still not suitable for you to do." Jingyu also advised him.

  "You don't have to give up on yourself because of the injustice of the temple and the prince's frame-up!" Eve also said.

  "Who would have abandoned himself? I never thought of that." Liu Zhen was shaken and laughed heartily.

  Although they said so, everyone's face was still filled with confusion, mainly because his words were too obscure and difficult to understand.

  "We are now facing the biggest predicament, do you know what it is?" Liu Zhen looked around at all the gazes and said: "That is how we survive? This time, where did all the livestock, grain, and warm bedding come from? It was all because Jing Yu sold her jade pendant! The long winter is about to arrive, even the bandits on the vast plains know to stockpile resources. And us? Even if we get through this winter, what about afterwards? Have you guys ever thought of that?"

  "We don't have a castle, no turrets, no fences, and we can't even gather enough weapons and armor for the militia! These things cost money. Are we going to pawn our jewelry again?" Liu Zhen asked with a cold smile.

  "We can rely on animal husbandry..." Helen's voice grew smaller, now with two hundred more bear-like Jie slaves to feed, relying solely on the affiliated tribes for herding was indeed a bit unreasonable.

  "What other ways are there to increase our territory's income besides animal husbandry?" Liu Zhen looked at Jingyu.

  "There's nothing left, no mineral deposits on the vast plains, and no magical forests where magical beasts roam. We can't obtain benefits within our territory by mining or hunting for magical beast cores." Jingyu had been thinking about this matter for the past two days, but couldn't get her thoughts in order.

  "There are fish and shrimp in the Sanggan River, we can weave some fishing nets. Catching fish and shrimp, every year during the spring tide, the surface of the Sanggan River is full of salmon going downstream to spawn, a lot of them." The old Andurin who had not spoken for half a day finally spoke up, pointing at a large pile of dried salted fish in the corner: "When winter comes to the vast wilderness of Donau, food will be extremely scarce. We ascetic monks rely on these salmon caught in spring to get through the snowy season every year."

  "You ascetic monks also eat meat?" Liu Zhen looked up and down at Anduril's bald head.

  "Of course I ate. What's wrong?" The elder was puzzled, as the ascetic monk had only one restriction, yet the lord seemed to be in a state of shock.

  "It's nothing, just asking casually." Liu Zhen was always getting the ascetic monk mixed up with the Buddhist monks from his previous world in his mind. There was some confusion.

  "The elder's idea is great!" Evele exclaimed in agreement: "Our mermaids' singing voices have a special attraction to the fish and shrimp in the water, we must be able to make a big harvest!"

  "That's in the sea, it may not be useful in fresh water, right?" The little fox said with a sarcastic tone.

  "It's definitely useful, the mermaid's 'Tidal Seduction Song' I've long heard of its great name." Jingyu's furrowed eyebrows suddenly relaxed and she happily recorded this not bad suggestion on the grass paper.

  "Not a bad idea." Liu Zhen looked at Eve with an approving gaze and nodded.

  "Salmon roe is delicious, didn't we have some at Governor Wetherby's banquet last time?" Evie said happily, hugging Liu Zhen's arm.

  "It's a pity we can't exchange these fish seeds and big mahata for money. The road here is indeed a bit far from the city." Liu Zhen shook his head with a smile: "However, this proposal is good, worthy of praise!"

  "How about this? Although there aren't any large-scale monster-producing areas, the coniferous forest at the foot of Snow Mountain isn't bad either. We can chop wood and hunt! Occasionally we can also go to the Southern Cross Star Forest to hunt for monsters, although it's a bit far." Helen also spoke out her own opinions in a string of words, not willing to concede.

  "Wood can be used to build castles and stables, we have slaves, no need to pay wages, so we can build castles without spending a single penny." Jingyu happily wrote down another note on the grass paper.

  The atmosphere suddenly changed from dullness to fervor.

  Even the mantises burning water nearby chimed in: "Although the soil quality of the Donau Great Plains is not good and cannot be planted with human oats, sweet potatoes can still grow. If we use a little bit of thought, we can eat sweet potato bread soon."

  "Halt! You've been talking and talking, but I haven't found a single way to make money." Liu Zhen stunned the excited crowd by pouring cold water on their enthusiasm: "Why are your eyes still fixed on how to fill your bellies? I need ways to make money, don't worry about filling your bellies, that's not my concern."

  "But you can't become a bandit just to make money!" Helen was dissatisfied: "Richard, I know you've always wanted to help me find the desert humans to take revenge, but I don't want you to lose your way for this."

  "If you want to make money, go find Foxes, they say the Fox tribe has the best business minds. Helen, let's not talk about avenging you for now, tell us how we can make some money." Liu Zhen took out a cigar and threw it on the table. Avril skillfully bit into it, lit it up, took a puff, and then stuffed it back into Liu Zhen's mouth.

  This detail made a few monks on the side extremely envious.

  "In the vast wilderness, we are the only outpost of Falun Dafa. If we can provide protection to traveling merchants, drive away bandits and collect corresponding money, our place will soon become prosperous." Helen thought for a moment and said: "However, it's a bit difficult, I just heard those two bear demons say that there are too many bandit gangs here, far exceeding the strength of our village militia."

  "I don't have a very good impression of human merchants, let's talk about this later." Liu Zhen nodded: "But eliminating bandits is indeed necessary, otherwise we can't do anything with our herding and farming, the bandits will just cause trouble for you every day."

  "Many years ago, a large tribe of hill dwarves had migrated from afar to the Donau Steppes, only to migrate again because they could no longer endure the endless raids by bandits." Elder Andurin thought this lord spoke well.

  This is also why Liu Zhen was sent here.

  If it weren't for the numerous bandits and robbers in the vast wilderness, this place should have become a territory of the Mongols long ago. This is an old problem that has been going on for a long time, the Donuo Wilderness is too big, the endless wilderness provides too many places for bandits to hide, the adjacent Southern Cross, Taemu Raya Snow Mountain foot of the pine forest and salt alkali forest can be used as hiding places when necessary. Such a large area cannot be surrounded by troops, and the wide Sanggan River also makes it difficult for logistics to bear.

  Liu Zhen's heart was as clear as a mirror.

  "Our territory has a sparse population. Moreover, the militia's armor and weapons are incomplete, so for now, let's focus on defense... what do you think, Richard?" Jingyu stopped writing and looked up to ask.

  "You're wrong! The best defense is actually an attack!" Liu Zhen shook his messy hair: "Passive defense is unacceptable, we'll launch a preemptive strike against the bandits! If we allow the bandits on the wasteland to rob others, why can't we rob the bandits?"

  "According to our strength, dealing with bandits, as long as we defeat them one by one, I think we shouldn't lose. But this is too costly and exhausting. What about our development and construction?" Helen looked a bit uncertain: "Besides, war is very expensive, and we simply don't have the money."

  "War is the main theme of our development!" Liu Zhen said, tapping his hand on the table: "Why build? I think it's all about destruction! The blood flowing through the veins of Mongol warriors is all about being warlike! Herding and planting sweet potatoes are things that vassal tribes do. If I let my warriors do these things, I myself would be ashamed."

  "What does this have to do with being a bandit?" Helen vaguely understood what Liu was trying to say.

  "What's the point of keeping these slaves? Do you think I really want to support them?" Liu Zhen shook his head in disdain: "These bear-like creatures are familiar with the environment around the wasteland, whether it's the man-eating demon tribe or the wildman tribe, or their own kind, they all know it very well." Liu Zhen sneered: "These bear-like creatures will be the first batch of cannon fodder, we'll take them to the battlefield together, to plunder those bandit tribes. Those bandit tribes must have some fat to skim off, right? The more bandits there are on the wasteland, the better our business will be. They will be our inexhaustible treasure!"

  "Take these robbers and then go rob other robbers?" Jingyu smiled.

  "So, we are also robbers. Of course, it can also be said that we are the army of justice!" Liu Zhen's cigar was tightly clenched between his teeth: "Abandon unnecessary identities, I can give these slaves the best food, but on one condition - they must bring the heads of other robbers to collect."

  "What if they resist? Or run away? These robbers without any ethics or morals have no burden at all." Helen asked.

  "When there are more people, it's harder to manage, this is a must." Liu Zhen was taken aback and smiled: "This is simple, the number of bandits is too large, let them go directly to attack Duoluo, don't worry if they can win, just consume a batch."

  "Lord Richard, I don't want to pour cold water on your plans." Elder Anduril couldn't help but speak up: "But these bandits of the wasteland are not fools. I just mentioned that hill dwarf tribe that migrated a long time ago, they had the same idea as you, using offense as defense. That hill dwarf tribe had over two thousand people, and even had some of their close relatives - the hill giants. You know the strength and ferocity of dwarves, but in the end, the bandits joined forces to drive them out. The dwarves' constant attacks provoked the bandits on the wasteland, tens of thousands of fierce bandits united as one, and the power of their combined organization is terrifying! There are no stone mountains on the southern shore of the wasteland, so there's no way to build a stone castle, but relying solely on wooden palisades is fundamentally unable to withstand the large-scale raids of the bandit alliance!"

  "Oh?" Liu's eyebrows furrowed together: "There's still this matter"

  "Although these robbers are just a mob, many ants can still bite an elephant to death! Over a thousand adult dwarf warriors, plus the hill giants, were also driven away by their might. I've taken a look at your strength, and you currently don't have a castle or towers, with only a few dozen adult mammoth warriors and some vassal tribes as your basic military power. Of course, the women, children, and elderly of the mammoth tribe can also be considered qualified warriors, but in total, there are only about fifty or sixty people. I don't think your strength is comparable to that of the hill dwarf tribe back then." Elder Andurin continued: "If you insist on doing this, it will inevitably lead to a large number of wasteland robbers gathering together and repeating history."

  "The largest gang of robbers in the vicinity, the Blade Scarred Hill Goblins, have a population of over 3,000 and occupy a steep hillside. Our strength can't even compare to theirs." Jingyu flipped through the records handed over by Xiongdi Goblin, a bitter smile on his face.

  Liu Zhen was stunned and didn't say a word. He took off the blood jade ring on his thumb and threw it onto the table.

  Helen also smiled and took off her Medusa badge and put it on the table.

  Two people exchanged a smile.

  Anduril was laughed at by them until he was bewildered.

  "You don't need to worry about these things anymore!" Liu Zhen shook his leg onto the table, stretched out a big lazy waist: "As for the castle, it's not necessary to build it at all. I'm too lazy to have time to chop wood, and it's better to bask in the sun. I think this red earth slope is pretty good... Three or four hundred feet high, two hundred feet wide slope, just the existing cave on top is enough for us to live in. Who says nobles must live in castles? Living in a red earth cave is not bad either! Turret? Hehe... those red earth pillars outside, each one is four or five arms thick, twenty or thirty feet high, and making a rope ladder to climb up isn't just a turret?"

  "You're really a unique lord." Anduran was thoroughly speechless, such an unrefined lord was indeed rare.

  "I will overturn everything you have thought was right for five thousand years." Liu Zhen said with a smile.

  It was a rather arrogant statement, but Elder Anduril had a faint premonition.

  What this guy says he will definitely do.