Chapter 51 Solving the Manpower Problem
Xiao Bai glanced at everyone and then said:
"Regarding the manpower issue, the capital city has its reasons for not sending out the entire legion."
If all the official troops are sent here, the losses will be too great. Even if the zombie horde is repelled, the government will not have enough troops in the future, so how can it make the local forces submit?
If the zombie horde fails to be repelled and instead breaks through the defenses, the capital will be in grave danger without sufficient troops to protect it.
If any one of you were the official head, I doubt you would be willing to send all the troops here.
However, without sufficient manpower, once the zombie horde breaks through Lindong City, it will inevitably create even more zombies, and then all cities will likely face the threat of a zombie overrun.
Therefore, we can propose to the capital that the official leader order major cities to send personnel to provide support.
After clarifying the pros and cons, I believe the city lords will not stand idly by.
Of course, if the city lords cannot mobilize enough manpower in the city, they can promise some benefits to the surrounding towns and villages and ask them to gather some manpower.
This concerns the survival of the entire planet; I believe these city lords, as well as the surrounding towns, will make the right choice.
After these words were spoken, everyone nodded in agreement.
In fact, Xiaobai's suggestion was just a method that their Green Algae Star had used for hundreds of years. Of course, this method was also summarized from many bloody lessons.
At first, the safe zones were all independent and only thought about protecting themselves. However, they later discovered that once the beast tide destroyed a safe zone, it would not stop there and would quickly move towards the nearby safe zones.
Gradually, some of the most powerful families on the planet gathered in the central area and then dispatched their most loyal subordinates to establish safe zones along the perimeter of the central area.
As more people gather in the safe zone, new safe zones will be established, and with more safe zones, the central area will become safer.
Of course, in order to ensure the safety of the central area, the authorities will also do their best to protect the surrounding safe zones. Once a large-scale beast tide occurs in a safe zone, the adjacent safe zone will send mercenary groups to provide support as soon as possible.
If the situation becomes serious, other safe zones will also send mercenary groups to provide support.
Although Silverwing Star does not have mercenary groups, according to Hua Jingyishu, major cities have their own city guards, and the towns surrounding the cities have many small-scale hunting teams.
These are all forces capable of fighting the zombies. And the zombies are not limited to any country or city. They can't fight alone in Lindong City while other cities stand idly by, can they?
There are historical reasons for this situation.
Since the metal walls were built in Lin Dong City and the zombie hunting grounds were established, hunters from other cities who want to enter the zombie hunting grounds have to pay them a certain fee.
This made the other city lords think that since you have benefited from the zombies, you should naturally bear the consequences of the zombies escaping, and they would not take the initiative to send people to help.
After listening to Xiaobai's words, City Lord Shi suddenly understood: "I understand! Since I took over as City Lord, I never thought that the zombie hunting ground would be breached one day."
Furthermore, because we had stationed people at the zombie hunting grounds for a long time, we naturally assumed that it was reasonable to charge hunters from other cities a certain entrance fee.
I've decided to make a promise to all city lords: any city that proactively sent people to help our Lin Dong City overcome this crisis will have their hunters free of charge when hunting in our zombie hunting grounds in the future.
Afterwards, they were exempted from transaction taxes when trading crystal cores.
"Wouldn't this result in a huge loss for Lin Dong City?" someone objected.
Qiu Jichuan, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "You can't say that. Although we in Lindong City have lost some income on the surface, the policy of waiving entrance fees and exempting taxes will surely attract more hunters to come and hunt."
With more people, the accommodation and entertainment industries will see increased revenue. Hunters who earn money will buy clothes, medicine, weapons, and other goods for their family and friends. Why would we, Lin Dong City, worry about not making more money?
"Mr. Qiu Ji is absolutely right. I hadn't even thought of these things before." City Lord Shi nodded repeatedly.
Bo Yiyan and Xiaobai couldn't help but look at Qiu Jichuan with new respect. It turned out that besides being a womanizer, this man also had some business acumen. No wonder he was able to become the head of the Lindong branch.
The city lord immediately requested the capital to send reinforcements from the major cities, and explained the advantages and disadvantages of the request.
Upon hearing this, the official leaders also thought the proposal was feasible. As long as the main fighting force of the official army could be preserved, the existing rule could be maintained.
The leader immediately instructed his secretarial team to relay the orders to the city lords.
At first, the city lords were reluctant, but then a few city lords who were on good terms with Lord Shi received his advice and used the lure of exempting them from taxes for the next three years to summon hunting teams from nearby villages and towns.
As for the city's garrison, they naturally wouldn't go. Those scattered soldiers who were willing to go and provide support would also be exempt from the poll tax for three years.
The instructions issued by the various city lords differed slightly, but were generally similar.
This led to the scene where the mayor of Soren Town had to gather thirty people to provide support.
After receiving promises from the various city lords, City Lord Shi and all the leaders attending the meeting breathed a sigh of relief.
The city lord said, "Now that the manpower problem has been solved, I have no more worries. I have decided to enter the battlefield first thing tomorrow morning and personally command this battle."
"Gentlemen, all of you except those in charge of logistics, the rest of you, both A-level and B-level, are coming with me."
Most of these people were used to a life of luxury and had no desire to go to the front lines, but since the city lord had taken the lead, how could they dare to say no?
Someone muttered, "Lord Bai is really having a relaxed time. He's an S-rank combatant, so why didn't he assign himself any tasks? Does he intend to just stand by and watch from beginning to end?"
"Shut up! With Lord Bai bringing us this strategy and solving the manpower problem, we have a more than 70% chance of winning this battle in Lin Dong City," City Lord Shi roared.
They argued for a long time but didn't come up with any useful strategies. Instead, they all thought about abandoning the city and fleeing in the face of danger.
Now that the big problem has been solved, instead of being grateful to Lord Bai, they are making sarcastic remarks.
Xiao Bai glanced coldly at everyone and said calmly, "Everyone, I've always had a question."
The zombie hunting ground in Lin Dong City has been built for so many years, and in theory there should always be people stationed there. Why was there suddenly a breach?
Moreover, as soon as the breach appeared, the zombie horde followed.
I suspect that a more intelligent or higher-ranking zombie king has appeared, so I plan to take my men into the gap tomorrow to find this intelligent zombie king.
Otherwise, it will inevitably breed another zombie horde sooner or later.
"Higher level? Could it be SS or SSS? Impossible! I've never heard of a zombie reaching that level. Don't try to scare me!"
The person who made the sarcastic remark immediately turned pale and began to tremble.
However, most people felt that Lord Bai's words made a lot of sense, and suddenly everyone felt insecure. The ease they had just felt after solving the manpower problem disappeared.
If Lord Bai's guess is true, the crisis in Lin Dong City will likely be endless.
Some people even want to escape from Silverwing Star.
However, they also knew that with their A-level or B-level combat power, once they left Silverwing Star and lost their connections and family background, they would become insignificant figures on other planets.
"Lord Bai, if he is truly an SS-level Corpse King, what are your chances of winning against him?" City Lord Shi asked.
"It's hard to say. I have my own strengths, but when I get to the zombie hunting grounds, it's like I'm on their home turf. They can use sheer numbers to wear me down."
"So I beg you, city lord, to eliminate as many zombies as possible, only then will I have a chance to win," Xiao Bai said.
"Lord Bai, S-class combatants are already rare. Before you are absolutely certain of victory, please take good care of yourself. Our Lin Dong City, and even the entire Silverwing Star, cannot afford to lose an S-class combatant."
"If necessary, even if it means the sacrifice of everyone present, we will do our utmost to protect you," Lord Shi said solemnly.
"I'll be careful." Xiaobai nodded, touched, but didn't say anything more.
He felt no sense of belonging to this planet, but he genuinely respected the city lord of Lin Dong City.
He had a selfless wife, and he himself took the lead in battle, not letting others protect him just because he was the lord of a city.
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