The fire in the fireplace was burning, dispelling the chill that had penetrated from the gap between the doors and windows.At the top of the fireplace is hung with a deer with a large horn, and under the reflection of the fire, the projection of the horn on the back wall is like a huge minion.

Opposite was a long wooden table of dark red, covered with parchment rolls and books, mostly executive orders waiting to be signed.Usually, Roland is here to deal with official business - since he changed the third floor of the castle into an office, he gradually liked it.

Through the floor-to-ceiling window behind him, he could see the town extending in front of his view, and at the end of the endless mountains.It is a desperate mountain range that almost penetrates the continent, separating the kingdom of the Grey Fort and the barbarous land on both sides of the east and the west.And the north slope is just a branch of the desperate mountains.

At the foot, you can see the garden surrounded by wooden fences.The wooden shed for Anna's training has been removed, and the brick pool has become a long table for easy to place tableware for afternoon tea.If the weather is good, he will go down to soak up the sun, or lie in a specially designed rocking chair to take a nap.

Although the castle is not large, it is also a medium-sized villa with a separate garden.In my previous life, I wanted to sit in a real stone castle, which was almost a night, and just to visit it had to pay for tickets.But now, he not only owns the castle, but also owns a town.

“Your Highness, the recent recruitment of craftsmen and handymen has been considerable, and the money has been taken out of your pocket, so that I may not survive until next spring.”Barov pinch a stack of parchment and reports to Roland on his recent financial situation.

The original income expenditure of the border town is very simple, and one line is the trade of ores and gemstones.The line was monopolized by the long-singered fortress, which traded the output of the North Slope mine for wheat or bread, with no tax in the middle, and the fort's side sent to host the exchange of resources.In layman's terms, the North Slope Mine is a joint-stock project of the great nobles of the Changge Fortress.Those nobles stationed in the border town can be regarded as the supervisors sent by the shareholders, most of their fiefdoms are east of the fortress, and they only stay here temporarily, and the people who come here every year are different.

In fact, the history of the border town is less than 30 years, compared to nearly two hundred years of long song fortress, is almost a newborn baby.Originally, the Duke of Lane only intended to set up an outpost here to provide an early warning of the evil beast invasion.But the unexpected pioneers found rich mineral resources in the North Slope Mountains, so they simply set up a town here and named it the border town.In a sense, it is the North Slope mine that has created the town.

In order to prevent the concealment of the concealment, the duke did not adopt the advice of the nobles to send their own personnel to mine, but to hire the local residents and nearby displaced people, and even criminals, to act as miners, and the output of the ore was distributed in proportion to the amount of resources invested by each company.The fort’s side only needs to provide the employee with food and a small commission for the whole year, which are fixed and will not change because of the output of the mine.Most of the more than 2,000 residents of the border town are serving the mining area.

The other line is other industries in the town—such as blacksmith shops, taverns, textiles, and so on.The meager tax revenue of the border town mainly comes from here, and it is difficult to save how much is left at the end of the year.The lord did not take this barren place seriously, and since Roland was sent here by the king of Fort Grey, he simply stayed in the fortress.

Therefore, if Roland wanted to hire someone to repair the wall, he could only pay out of his own pocket.If it had been the four princes before, it would certainly not have been willing to say anything, but for Roland, as long as he could stand on his feet in the border town, it would be worth spending all his property.In any case, the future ore trade will no longer be settled in grain, and if it is settled in currency, this input is a drizzle.

The only problem is whether the long-going fortress is willing to give up the monopoly and carry out normal trade with the border town - this is a bit like a tiger's mouth, but the list data provided by Barov shows that it is limited to inefficient and transportation is inconvenient, and in fact, the ore value produced by the mining area every year is not more than a thousand golden dragons, which is only a dime for the entire revenue of the fortress.The only benefit is the aristocracy who invests in partnership.

For the long-term development of the border town, this line must be recovered.Roland knows that even if the investment of those people is fully recovered more than a decade ago, they will not let go easily.Mosquitoes are also meat, not to mention this kind of good thing that they can make money while lying down.He is willing to give previous investors certain benefits and compensation, such as half-price purchases.But hauling a boat ore back in exchange for only half-ship grain such a thing, is not allowed to happen again.

As Roland stared at the list, Barrov was also watching him.

In the last three months, in fact, in the last month, some ineffable changes have taken place in the four princes.The outsider may not be clear, but he followed the prince every day, and this change could not be hidden from him.

As early as the Grey Fort, he had heard of the notoriety of the four princes Roland Wimbledon.I do my own thing, act recklessly, have no aristocratic style... and so on.In short, big mistakes are not made, small mistakes are far worse than his two brothers.

When his majesty was sent here, he was disappointed, and had not been appointed as the official Minister of Finance after his majesty had promised to be the king of war, he would have done it.

In the first two months of the first two months of the border town, the four princes, as always, showed extreme childish behavior and offended all the local nobles who could be offended.Fortunately, the scale of the town itself is very small, and even if all the administrative positions are vacant, he and the dozen civilian staff he brings can be filled.

Later, some things became different.

When did the change begin?He thought, probably, from the rescue of the witch.

Barov did not have no doubt that the demon possessed, or that the prince himself was manipulated by another hidden witch.But this possibility is very small, if the devil and the witch have such power, why to find the four princes?Is it better to control your majesty or the pope directly?Another thing that dispelled his suspicions was that he had seen the prince hold the lock of God’s punishment.

This is the church's killer against witches, and any demonic power will be dispersed in the face of the lock of divine punishment, but Roland directly grasps it.In other words, if he is not the four princes, but the demon king who does not have to fear the divine power, is it necessary to expose it?Saving your life is the first.

The prince's style is still self-indulgent and reckless, but the two do not give him the same feeling.No, Barov thought, it must be the opposite.

The biggest difference should be purpose.He perceived what Roland was planning, and in order to achieve his goal, he had to use some means that were difficult for ordinary people to understand.Just as the other party tries to convince himself why he wants to save a witch, the plan may not be mature and the loopholes are full of loopholes, but the prince is indeed moving forward to the plan and is convinced of the result.

This is the most deluded place, the throne may be born in any of the Roland brothers and sisters, but it will not be the four princes themselves.Should he be very clear to himself that he talks about development in such a small place as the border town?Even the gods can't do it!Roland is really conceivating a crazy plan, crazy enough to make a town built outside the border line better than the Golden Ear City, but also to make himself fully convinced that the plan will succeed?

If it is only the delusion of the madman, the wall built by Roland shows that this does not seem to be the case.He really intends to stay here, relying on the "cement" of the alchemy products, to build a common sense in the almost impossible to complete the wall.

Barov's family had alchemists, but he had never heard of the alchemy workshop doing such a thing.Building the wall plan on something that no one has ever seen, is it self-confidence or haphazard?In the whole plan extended to Roland, how many things did the four princes still hide that they did not know?He found himself vaguely interested in the days ahead.