Chapter 514: A went up, and the sudden tense situation (there will be more updates today, please vote for the monthly ticket at the beginning of the month)
The snow fell softly in the wind.
For some reason, even at such a close distance, Rand couldn't smell the barbecue flavor that should have come from the White King's mouth.
Originally, Rand didn't want it to turn out like this, so he chose barbecue.
My brother-in-law and brother-in-law ate barbecue and drank wine on the top of the mountain, and they also had a heart-to-heart talk.
Rand had known for a long time that Borland was about to leave, so he didn't want to do anything at the end that Borland would not accept for the time being.
But now the atmosphere is a little different.
Bolan stood up, looked back, and was so close to Rand.
So close that Rand could see the curve of Berlan's eyelashes.
A nearly perfect face.
Rand thought for a moment.
Then stretch your neck without hesitation.
But it wasn't soft lips that came into contact.
But solid ice.
Berlan put a finger to Rand's lips.
A thin layer of ice covered the fingers.
Slightly cold but not enough to make Rand feel pain, a perfect rejection.
Rand was somewhat helpless and straightened his forward leaning posture.
He has never been the kind of person who is always conservative and passive, otherwise he would not have whipped Lisa in the first place.
But it looks like the time has not come yet.
Bolan was not angry either. She melted the ice on her fingers, then looked into Rand's eyes again, and stretched out her beautiful fingers like jade shoots again to wipe the frost on Rand's lips.
Then Bolan chuckled: "Why, Grand Duke Rand of the Moon Phase, do you still like men?"
Rand also relaxed a little. He did not answer Bolan's question, but just said, "Then are you interested in watching the moon together?"
Bolan looked up. It was snowing today, but there was moonlight, which was rare.
Although she didn't want to have anything more to do with Rand, she was not someone who didn't understand romance.
She sat down on the cliff and looked up: "What a rare full moon."
Rand then uttered his often inexplicable words expertly: "May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together even though we are thousands of miles apart."
The word is not appropriate here and does not fit the original meaning, but Rand's meaning is actually very clear.
However, Bolan definitely wouldn't understand.
…
The White King left in the early morning.
Ellie glanced at Rand and said, "You can't even handle this. You're such a loser."
Rand grabbed Ellie's cheek and said, "We're making fast progress!"
Ellie didn't avoid Rand's hand. She crossed her arms, snorted, and said vaguely, "Keep up your performance. I think you have great hope."
"I know, I know." Rand said helplessly.
Afterwards, the two of them stopped discussing this topic as they both had a lot of things to deal with.
Now let’s put the issue of vampires aside for now.
But there are still many things that have not been resolved, whether it is Grand Duke Vladimir, whose true identity has not yet been revealed, or the false king who possesses the power of thunder.
These matters have not yet been investigated, and Rand cannot relax at all.
However, since the things have always been with Rand, even if Grand Duke Vladimir can still perform the sacrificial ceremony, many things will probably have changed.
The logic is simple. If what Rand has is not important, then Grand Duke Vladimir and the Blue King would not be so desperate to snatch it at all costs.
Unfortunately, Rand had made his judgment long ago, and took advantage of the information gap until a situation was created where all the heroes in the world joined forces to attack the Blue King.
The biggest enemy was eliminated.
After that, Rand planned to continue developing the territory according to the plan to deal with what was to come.
Only with sufficient strength can you seize the initiative in the events that are bound to happen in the future.
Rand sat back in his lord's chair. Next to the huge lord's chair was a half-kneeling giant in power armor. From a distance, it looked like a knight guarding the throne.
"What's our next plan?" Rand asked Olenna, who had been waiting for a long time.
Olena flipped open the file. "In addition to routine matters, our next direction is to try to challenge the status of the Kingdom of Borun in terms of fleet strength. If our fleet does not have to pay taxes to the Kingdom of Borun, then the income will be five times what it is now. In the long run, the income will be more than ten times."
"So what is the current gap in fleet strength between us and the Kingdom of Bolen?" Rand asked again.
"If we only look at the fleet's strength, the Kingdom of Bolen is twenty times stronger than us." Olenna gave a cold number, "and unlike the forces on land, we cannot get support from our allies on the sea. Before you seized this coast, the Frost Moon Kingdom was a landlocked country, and there were no nobles in the country with fleets that could support us."
"So do we have a chance of winning?" Rand asked again.
"Of course." Olena smiled, "At least I think our chances of winning are not small."
"The fleet of the Kingdom of Bolen is indeed powerful, but most of them are scattered at the passes of various ocean routes to collect taxes. After all, if we don't do this, no one will pay taxes to them. We also have many followers of the Naga tribe. More importantly, the enemy is in the open and we are in the dark." Olenna analyzed one by one.
"So, my dear, how do you think we can win?" Rand continued to ask.
Olenna was certainly a smart person, having become a top-level professional at a very young age, and graduating from the White Country National University and qualified to be a professor.
When his mind was still easily changed, he came to the Duke of the Moon and was influenced by Rand.
Olenna has strong logical ability and as a secretary she can always help Rand find the gaps and fill them in.
Rand actually already had the answer, but he still planned to ask Olenna for her opinion.
"First, there are many countries that are dissatisfied with the taxation of the Bolen Kingdom, and there are many pirates in the inland sea. We can secretly connect with each other to gain many allies. If there is a head-on conflict, we also have the advantage of Greek fire and iron warships.
“Second, we have the advantage of the Naga tribe. In other words, we have ocean scouts. Our fleet can see farther and react faster than the enemy. We can strengthen the training of the Naga tribe, recruit soldiers, and bribe more Naga tribes to work for us.
“Third, the enemy is in the open while we are in the dark. We can launch a surprise attack at any time. And because of our selfless support for the Kingdom of Bolun and the Kingdom of Lensa before, even if we launch a sudden raid on the Kingdom of Bolun now, it will not reduce our international reputation too much.
"Finally, although the Borun Kingdom is far superior to us in terms of fleet power, we can invite allies to harass the Borun Kingdom on land, and then the Borun Kingdom will naturally be unable to take care of both."
Snap, snap, snap——
Rand applauded: "Well said!"
Olenna smiled helplessly.
These were just the "king and minister" games that cooperated with Rand's sudden whim. In fact, these strategies had already been implemented in the arrangements of the two.
Rand looked at his "Minister of State" Olenna, and raised his head to see that there were no guards or maids in the lord's hall at this time today.
He reached out and pulled Olena into his arms, then breathed on Olena's chest.
Olenna panicked and pressed her palms against Rand's face, twisting it a little, but still couldn't stop Rand.
Finally, he had to look back at the lord's hall, and after confirming that there was no one there, he let Randhu come.
Rand didn't do anything more. He quickly let go of Olena amid her complaining eyes and prepared to deal with the next matter.
And at this moment.
The shadow in the Lord's Hall twisted.
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Then a gray figure appeared in the empty and magnificent hall.
This was obviously Elsa. She glanced at Olena who was sorting her clothes and said slowly, "The intelligence department has sent back the news."
Rand rubbed his brows. This was obviously not good news. "Tell me about it."
"The last time the Borun Kingdom attempted a surprise attack on Crescent Harbor, it was forced to withdraw its troops because of the incident with the Azure King. The intelligence departments stationed in the Borun Kingdom all agreed that the Borun Kingdom would not give up, so they have been paying attention to related matters." Elsa reported.
"So, they're planning to restart the attack on Crescent Harbor?" Rand asked.
"Yes, but according to the intelligence department's speculation, it will take until the beginning of spring or even summer next year." Elsa said.
"That's not far away." Rand knocked on the handrail. "We must be prepared for it. This is also an opportunity."
"I also urgently need a naval battle to prove that we are qualified to be the enemy of the Kingdom of Borun and that we are qualified to gather some strength, such as recruiting some pirates to resist the...tyranny of the Kingdom of Borun." Rand smiled.
Olenna and Elsa were not surprised by this, nor did they think there was anything wrong with it.
Indeed, the fleet of the Kingdom of Bolen is twenty times stronger than that of the Dukedom of the Moon.
But it is obviously impossible for all the troops from the Kingdom of Bolen to come and attack Crescent Harbor.
And this fleet strength comparison is only on the surface. The crew's fighting will, the ship's technical advantages, special arms and weather will all become nodes that change the situation of the battle.
And Rand is still confident about this.
"Let's go, let's take care of things. We'll go to Crescent Moon Harbor next." Rand stood up and then looked at the power armor next to the lord's chair. "Take this thing with you, too. It makes me look more handsome."
Olenna and Elsa were both a little helpless. Rand seemed to like using his magic weapon very much, although Rand actually had few opportunities to use it in actual combat.
The Sanctuary's top brass did not want Rand to have to enter the battlefield himself.
Although they also knew that Rand was actually very, very difficult to kill.
…
Rand, Olenna, and Elsa went to Crescent Moon Harbor.
Ellie and Lysa will stay in the Duchy of the Moon Phase.
The current strategy is to contact the predetermined target before the Kingdom of Borun takes action, and then gain sufficient results in the attack of the Kingdom of Borun. Then, we can try to form an "Anti-Borun Maritime Alliance".
If everything goes well, then in about three years, there will be an opportunity for a decisive battle with the Kingdom of Borun. If victorious, then Rand will, to a certain extent, take over the position of the maritime overlord of the Kingdom of Borun.
After that, Rand can try to annex the land of the Kingdom of Bollen.
As for the Kingdom of Lensa, the Dandelion Family gained enough face in the vampire incident, but suffered heavy losses in reality. Although the lost territory of the Dandelion Family can be recovered soon, the dead people and destroyed buildings and industries cannot be recovered in a short time.
All of these require Rand's funding, and Rand will also be able to gain a say in the Kingdom of Lunsa.
Everything is going on the planned track.
As for the current population of the Holy Land.
Today, in the winter of the 336th year of the Holy Calendar, Rand has been in this world for nearly nine years. The population of the Duchy of the Moon has reached 42,000, an increase of 16% compared to 36,000 at the same time last year.
This growth ratio is extremely exaggerated, with the population brought about by childbirth accounting for a relatively small proportion and the immigrant population accounting for a relatively large proportion.
The majority of the population growth comes from refugees from outside, and the rest include adventurers or high-quality people who come from outside to settle down.
As for why there is such an exaggerated growth, it is naturally because the shipping routes have been gradually opened up. Although they have to pay very expensive taxes to the Kingdom of Bolen, the sea transportation connects various countries. In addition, Rand promotes the Dukedom of the Moon as a land of hope with gold and wealth everywhere. More and more people have an idea of this "utopia" in the propaganda and are interested in taking a boat to Crescent Harbor.
It can be predicted that as long as RAND does not encounter any problems in its subsequent ocean strategy, the rapid population growth will continue for some time.
And this kind of population growth is different from newborns.
It takes fifteen years for a newborn to grow into a qualified labor force or soldier, but for a family with immigrant population, there will definitely be several adult laborers.
Relatively speaking, the monetization speed is much faster.
Now, with the growth of population and steady economic development, Rand has naturally expanded its military simultaneously.
Today, the number of troops directly under the Sanctuary Force that are registered has exceeded 4,000. If intelligence personnel and special forces are included, the number of troops can reach 4,500.
Among them, 2,000 are fully full-time professional soldiers. This part of the army will not engage in any production. With sufficient material supplies, they will hone their will and physique, and receive supporting military training.
The rest are part-time military personnel who will engage in some farming affairs, and their main job is garrison and emergency response.
It didn't take long for Rand's boots to step into the salty sea breeze of Crescent Moon Harbor.
Crescent Moon Harbor is an ice-free deep-water port. Even in winter, it is quite lively. You can constantly see ships coming from afar, bringing goods or travelers in the blue waves.
Tanr, who was stationed here, came to greet Rand.
"Is the Ice Phoenix ready?" Rand asked.
The Ice Phoenix was a return gift from her eldest brother-in-law, Bolan. It was built according to the model of the small wooden boat that Rand gave her. It was a flagship and was also equipped with frigates and transport ships.
It can only be said that the White King Borlan is wealthy and powerful, and having a powerful brother-in-law who is the king has really benefited Rand a lot.
Of course, the economic and political advice that Rand gave to Bolan, as well as the technology he provided, also enabled the White Country's originally somewhat single industries to undergo a certain degree of transformation and obtain considerable benefits.
"Ready." Taner was as reliable and trustworthy as ever.
"Then let's set off today. I want to communicate with my friends who 'drive longboats.'" Rand said with a smile.
(End of this chapter)