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

Chapter 945 Timely Rain - Franz!

"Alright...alright!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso nodded to Roland. Although he didn't understand why Roland was gritting his teeth, it seemed that those nobles had greatly displeased King Roland. Look! The veins on his forehead were bulging!

"Alright, is there anything else?" Roland raised his eyelids and casually asked Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso.

“My men…” Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso hesitated.

"It's up to you. If you like, you can let them stay anywhere in the Kingdom of Lagrange. If you need them, you can take them out to make a living. After all, Apophis Breo is pioneering in the Misty Mountains. If you're willing to do that, you can too!" Roland waved his hand.

"Expansion? Wait a minute? Apophis Breo? Apophis? The Lion King's House?" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso's eyes widened.

“Yes, we didn’t expect there would be survivors from this family! Much of the history of this land has been erased! An invisible hand is trying to erase the traces of the empire’s existence. We have no idea how many families from before have survived!” Duke Joelster sighed.

"Tsk! It's really unpleasant to be outmaneuvered!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yasso spat.

……

A month later.

"Everyone, give it your all! Lift these things up! Now that the land has been distributed, everyone can live a peaceful life!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso shouted as he ran through the crowd, conveying his voice to everyone.

"Please rest assured, citizens of the Empire, although the Empire has fallen, the Kingdom's flag still flies over the Lagrange Plain! The Kingdom will not abandon any citizen of the Empire!" Roland said as he stood on the temporary platform, noticing countless people quietly wiping away their tears.

"The kingdom will distribute land and farming tools equally according to the number of people! And will distribute seeds and grain free of charge! No citizen will be allowed to suffer from hunger!" Roland continued, a look of solemnity flashing in his eyes. After all, 70,000 people was no small number! Add to that the newly added troops, especially those two and a half knightly orders, who were major consumers of grain! The kingdom's granaries were feeling the pressure they hadn't felt in a long time!

"Your Majesty... can we hold out for this food supply?" Darian Nightblade, standing behind Roland, knew the kingdom's situation all too well. As Roland's personal guard and commander of the hidden guards, he was the first to know all kinds of intelligence about the kingdom, so he knew better than Roland how much food the kingdom had!

“It should be enough! Acquiring some should be sufficient!” Roland said in a low voice.

"Is it possible that this isn't enough? The shortfall of 7 people is no small amount! And the allocation of grain seeds is also a huge expense! Are we going to feed the people and horses until next year? This is terrible, Your Majesty! You have to find a solution!" Darian Nightblade said solemnly.

Roland turned to look at Darian Nightblade, and when he saw his serious expression, he also stopped smiling.

"How much is the shortage?" Roland asked, then silently began to calculate, thinking about where to find some food.

"The shortage is huge, at least tens of thousands! Don't forget we're raising a flock of wyverns in the Lagrange Plains! The sheep that feed those wyverns need a lot of fodder, and those sheep will crowd out farmland and manpower! Even under normal circumstances, our food demand increases year by year, let alone now!" Darian Nightblade looked at the dense crowd below, his heart pounding. A population isn't a bad thing, is it? A population is wonderful! But if we can't support them and things go wrong, then cannibalism won't be just a metaphor…

“That’s wonderful… Can’t we go south to buy grain? Our enchanted weapons are unparalleled… The Southern Kingdom should really need them!” Roland remembered the method he had used to solve the kingdom’s famine.

“…” Darian Nightblade looked at Roland, sighed, and did not reply.

"Your Majesty Yunfeng works tirelessly every day, yet the kingdom's soldiers still haven't received their full enchanted equipment... You..." Duke Joelster bowed slightly to Roland, his eyes clearly conveying the message, "Spring has arrived, and I see you're lovesick, aren't you?" "Ahem!" Roland immediately coughed a few times to change the subject, but soon he frowned again. After all, the arms trade was the most profitable; other goods could easily be replaced in Gondor and Rohan. The wealthy South was far superior to the impoverished North!

“Your Majesty… Marquis Al-Tegran Franz requests an audience!” a royal guard announced.

"Let him come over!" Roland waved his hand, wanting to see what kind of trouble the sole heir of the Franz family would cause after a month of quiet.

“Perhaps His Excellency Marquis Al-Tegran Franz has a solution, after all, the Franz family are all business geniuses!” Darian Nightblade’s eyes lit up.

"Go to hell!" Duke Giorstedia covered his face and swore, a rare occurrence for him.

“This guy is really good at exploiting the lower and middle nobles! But the problem is, where in the kingdom is there anything for him to squeeze out right now?” Duke Joelsteria shrugged.

Currently, only two people in the kingdom actually have fiefdoms: Duke Apophis Breo (Grand Duke) and Baron Ismir. Duke Apophis Breo has a decent foundation, and Baron Ismir is already grateful that he doesn't need any subsidies from the kingdom! As for plundering the common people, let alone Al Tegrand Franz, who would do such a thing, the kingdom's nobles also have their pride!

"Your Majesty!" Duke Al-Tegran Franz bowed respectfully to Roland, placing his hand on his chest.

"No need for formalities! Marquis Franz, what brings you here?" Roland asked curiously. After all, in Roland's impression, the Franz family was more like royal lackeys, and their actual abilities had not been demonstrated.

“Your Majesty, the kingdom is certainly short of supplies for its reconstruction. These are the supplies of the Imperial Eastern Border Guard Legion. I hope they can help you! It can be considered as returning them to their rightful owner and repaying the kindness of the late emperor!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz solemnly took off a bracelet from his hand and handed it to Roland with both hands.

"Hmm?" The group exchanged glances, all noticing the surprise in each other's eyes. Roland then took the bracelet without ceremony and probed it with his spiritual power.

“This is…” Roland stared incredulously at Marquis Al-Tegran Franz, his voice trembling slightly.

"Hehe, Your Majesty, these are the supplies for the 12th, 13th and 14th Legions of the Empire! The supplies for the three legions in the northeast of the Empire are all in my hands. I am the chief quartermaster!" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz looked at Roland and smiled bitterly. It was a pity that these supplies stockpiled in the space equipment would never be used by their original owners.

"Thank you so much, Marquis Franz! This batch of supplies has arrived just in time! The kingdom is newly established, and everything requires investment of money and resources. We're having a real headache!" Roland's eyes regained their sparkle. With these supplies, what's there to fear about famine? Tomorrow, the Northern Expedition! The Northern Expedition! The Northern Expedition! (The King of Talk is Online)

“Of course, this is the legacy of the Empire, and it rightfully belongs to Your Majesty!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz said calmly.

Roland couldn't help but look at Marquis Al-Tegran-Franz with newfound respect. No wonder he enjoyed such favor; his family's upbringing was truly excellent. Just listen to how well he put it! Otherwise, how could he have become a hereditary royal lackey?

“By the way, I see that the kingdom’s current business…” Al-Tegran Franz hesitated, wanting to say that it was better than nothing, but he held back for the sake of Roland’s reputation.