The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 693 Conversation Under the Moon
"I'll take care of part of the ship issue. It's not much, but it should be enough," Roland said to Yu Modran. There were still some ships in the system space.

"Then I'll have to trouble you!" Yu Modran nodded. It would be even better if Roland could solve the problem. That way, they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of transporting food from Swiftstream City every day. They could live off the fish they caught. After all, there were a lot of white fish in the Swiftstream River, and they tasted delicious. It wouldn't be a problem to eat them as a meal.

"No trouble at all, it's what I should do as king. The kingdom still needs you to provide dried fish to fill the granaries!" Roland encouraged. With the kingdom's current harvest and grain reserves, it would be difficult to last until the autumn harvest next year, which is 2945. Naturally, the fish from the Swift River are of paramount importance!

"I will try my best to get the people to stockpile fish!" Yu Modran naturally understood Roland's meaning. It was no secret that the kingdom was facing a severe food shortage. Anyone with a certain status knew this, and many intelligent people could guess it as well. Therefore, increasing revenue and reducing expenditure were the only two solutions.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, we can manage for now!" Roland patted Yu Modran on the shoulder. The reason Roland was so confident was that wheat had been added to the market: 1000 tons of wheat for 1 honor point! Roland immediately went all in with all 6 honor points. 6000 tons of wheat was enough to feed about 24,000 people. However, since Roland had a large number of soldiers and warhorses, this amount of grain was just enough to feed the soldiers. There was no need to worry about military rations. The remaining issue was the food supply for the civilians.

Although food supplies are still tight, it's not as dire as it was a while ago, when even military rations were running out! Roland even considered breaking through the Misty Mountains to buy food directly from the Shire! While leading the dragon knights across mountains and rivers to the Western World to buy food is dangerous, it's much better than his entire family starving to death in the North. (The main danger lies in the prolonged lack of high-level combat power; the kingdom might face upheaval.)
However, Roland no longer needs to risk leaving the kingdom to purchase supplies in the Western world. The problem of military rations has been basically solved. The next issue is the people's food supply. This is not a big problem. The people can just suffer a little. Mixed grains with dried fish and meat will do. People in this era live a very hard life, especially the people in the North. Their only wish is to live peacefully. They have truly mastered the art of hard work and endurance.

……

After leaving Palembang, Roland and his party headed towards Lulong Fortress. The gravel road along the way was well-maintained, and Roland's original plan was beginning to show results. The road from Swiftstream City to Palembang to Lulong Fortress had been successfully connected, and the kingdom's dominance had been greatly enhanced once again. However, the eastern territory still had little presence, since the kingdom did not even have a stronghold there.

Upon entering the Lulong Fortress, Renault warmly welcomed Roland and his group. Since it was already late, Renault arranged a dinner for them. Knowing that Roland didn't care about extravagance, Renault was very practical, serving large chunks of roasted meat and whole roasted fish. With hot bread and thick soup, everyone enjoyed the meal immensely. Although it lacked the refinement of a royal banquet, it was definitely enough to fill them up.

……

"Does Your Majesty have something to say?" When no one is around, Renault would address Roland as "Your Majesty." In Renault's mind, Roland was the supreme emperor of Lagrange!
"You've worked hard!" Roland looked at Renault with a mix of emotions, and could only sigh and gently comfort him.

"It's my duty, there's no hardship involved!" Renault shook his head, denying Roland's words.

"The situation in the Middle-earth is unpredictable and constantly changing... Everything is moving towards the unknown, and we need to make plans early, Your Majesty!" Renault said, as if speaking to Roland but also to himself, as if explaining to Roland why he had taken it upon himself to recruit those barbaric goblins.

“I haven’t denied your vision and decisions, and I’m not here to reprimand you, but simply to see the true state of my kingdom!” Roland shook his head, indicating that Reno was overthinking things and that he didn’t mean to blame him. “What do you think of those goblins?” After thinking for a moment, Roland decided to change the subject.

"Aren't they high-quality cannon fodder?" Renault chuckled and asked rhetorically. Everyone knew this, including the person involved. The role of the pig riders had never changed since ancient times. They were just inferior replacements for human riders and death riders. In the earliest days, the wild goblins served under humans and undead respectively. The title of the three riders was earned through countless battles throughout history!
"I meant the specific plans!" Roland rolled his eyes and said helplessly. Everyone knew that goblin knights were high-level cannon fodder; this had been a widely accepted fact for thousands of years...

"How about we take them to attack the Black Gate?" Renault deliberately probed.

"Do I look like a money-grubber?" Roland said with a dark face. He wasn't even drunk yet, and he was already trying to take on the Black Gate? Did he really think Mordor was a joke?

"Then why ask again? Since you have no desire to attack, you only intend to defend. So what happens to them is not of much concern to you?" Renault smiled. Offense is all about strategy. What are you expecting if you're just passively defending? Just leave them there and deal with whatever comes your way. Don't do those stupid micro-management maneuvers that involve commanding the corner flags. Otherwise, it'll just be a Middle-earth version of the game. The soldiers below know better than you how to fight, because they will try their best to survive. You just need to tell them the objective and the bottom line, and they will do their best to complete the mission.

“That makes sense!” Roland nodded, having to admit that Renault had convinced him. His skill level wasn’t up to the level of the headmaster’s micro-management, and the environment in Middle-earth was more primitive, with less advanced communication than on Earth, making micro-management even more difficult. So Roland went straight for the main attack!
"My request is simple: don't let the orcs appear in front of Swiftstream City again!" Roland sighed, gazing at the dark night to the south.

“I can’t bear the cries of those civilians separated from their loved ones, nor can I bear the questions of women and children searching for their families. I hope the militia will always be busy in the fields, not on the city walls and battlefields… Let all this pass. I don’t want any more enemies to appear before the people before all the soldiers are dead!” Roland sighed softly. The cries of women and children echoed in Roland’s fragile heart. He was just a young man, unable to bear the pressure of thousands of civilian casualties. He couldn’t face those people asking him about their families. It was at his command that those civilians were thrown into battle…

"I can only say that I will do my best to delay any enemy that tries to move north..." Renault looked at the sad Roland and remained silent for a moment before cautiously speaking, after all, he could not guarantee that "Old Six" would not appear again to flank them.

“You’ve done very well. I’m the one who’s wrong…” Roland shook his head with a wry smile. This trip to Lion Territory had once again touched a nerve with Roland, and made him realize once again that war could also kill Lagranges…

"Don't be too stressed, Your Majesty! The war in Lion Territory has nothing to do with you. Even without His Majesty Darion's accident, there would have been others. That huge orc fortress is there to protect us from the wind. They will come out of the mountains sooner or later; it just so happens that we ran into them." Renault comforted him. If you don't go looking for trouble with them, they will come looking for trouble with you. There is no right or wrong here; it's just a difference in stance and racial demands.

(End of this chapter)