Author: Arion's Dolphins

It is said that sailors are somewhat superstitious. I don’t know if this is true in modern times, but in ancient times, it was basically the same way both at home and abroad.

The person responsible for explaining Tang Zhao was also a sailor, and he seemed to be a very talkative and storyteller. He talked about the legend of sea wolves vividly, as if he had actually seen similar creatures.

But to summarize the information, this story is just like that to pre-modern people like Tang Zhao. In his previous life, he had seen many more bizarre and terrifying stories.

Apart from anything else, when he grows to his maximum size, he looks much scarier than the sea wolf that "has fins, webbed claws, and a fierce look."

Now it is just to take care of the emotions of the human crew, not to grow so big, which will bring too much oppression to them. These are just sailors of merchant ships, not loyal soldiers, Tang Zhao only controls them

I have confidence in the ability of the ship and never hope in anything else.

【How credible is this legend?】

Hearing this, the sailor shrugged: "We don't dare to talk about this. The sailors on these ships are only active in the west of Oran and don't know much about the situation near Yintao City. This is all the news we just heard. It's true.

We didn’t even have time to verify it.”

[Understood, you continue the investigation. By the way, help me pay attention to whether there is a slightly wider sewer entrance and exit. 】

Tang Zhao actually didn't believe much in this legend, but he believed that it was not groundless and that it had some source. He wanted to know what the source was and where it came from.

The sailor agreed twice and then retreated into the crowd.

Discuss a few words with everyone and start assigning the next tasks.

A small group of people went to the coast and river banks to check to see if they could find any traces of sea wolves. A group of people searched for clues in the market. A group of people used the goods in the merchant ships as a springboard to prepare for the meeting with the well-informed local businessmen.

On the line, Tang Zhao's life was more difficult, because the sewer environment in Yintao City was very harsh, and no one on the ship had learned magic such as breath holding and cleaning, so this task still fell on him.

It sounds quite grand, but in fact, these people together are less than twenty people. It is not a big problem for Yintao City, which is very lively now. Even the Sterling family may not be able to pay attention to them.

Most of the fleet were lizardmen. Tang Zhao was confident in the education level of civilians in this era. They would definitely regard these scaly creatures as demons or other dangerous creatures, and would still let them stay in the compound.

It's better to stay peacefully. Anyway, with the lizard people's social skills, they probably won't be able to ask for anything. The time to use them hasn't come yet.

Judging from the research results of the druids, the traces of the Berserker Demon were left recently, and neither the Church of Helm nor the merchants and civilians had heard of the recent appearance of demons in Yintao City.

Either the demon has been secretly eliminated by someone, or the demon is still active somewhere underground in Yintao City. Obviously the latter is more likely, but it is not certain.

In any case, it's not time to alert the enemy yet. We need to observe the situation quietly now. When we understand what is going on in the city, it will not be too late to take action.

Their mission is to obtain evidence of the collusion between the Sterling family and the devil, not to eliminate a specific monster. Unless the mastermind behind it is eliminated, there will always be monsters.

Without letting anyone follow him, Tang Zhao began to explore the city alone. He had a very keen sense of smell and might be able to find some unexpected things in the city.

…

[This is probably unexpected...]

Tang Zhao looked at the scene in front of him and felt slightly relieved.

In front of the Sterling family's mansion, many civilians were queuing up to receive food.

The amount per person is not much, just enough for an adult to eat half full, but it is said that the Sterling family has been distributing food during this period, which is not a small expense in the long run.

This is not the point. The point is that the civilians of Yintao City do not have to worry about starving to death. There are wars in various places this year, and the food production is not good. The Oran royal family has not yet opened its granaries to help the people. If the civilians resist on their own, the result will not be good.

Very beautiful.

Perhaps these people in the Sterling family were putting on a show in front of others in order to maintain their status, but Tang Zhao always believed that deeds should be ignored, and objectively they had done a good deed, that is, they had done a good deed.

However, whether it can offset the mistakes made in the past is another matter.

[Remember to ask someone to check whether there are any tricks in these foods. By the way, let’s take a look at who is the decision-maker of the Sterling family now]

Tang Zhao is now on the roof of a private house opposite the Sterling family mansion. He has a good view, and his eyesight is also very good. Now he can barely see, behind the food distribution point, the interior of Sterling Manor.

, some people are watching the situation outside the manor.

Originally, he planned to go shopping again, but time did not allow for it. He returned to the location of the Heim Church and followed the other party's people into a car, which was bound for the municipal official residence.

Merchant ships must register if they want to enter the city, and all registration data will eventually be reported to the city official. The passengers on Tang Zhao's ship are very conspicuous, and they are reported separately in the statistics table. It is absolutely impossible to avoid them.

Impossible.

Rather than letting the other party take the initiative to investigate, it is better to take the initiative to meet with the other party. This is the best way to avoid making the other party suspicious.

——

The mayor of Yintao City is a middle-aged man who looks to be in his forties or fifties. There are many traces of age erosion on his face. It can be seen from the calluses on his hands that this man has endured hardship before.

, and 80% of them have taken weapons.

"Hello, Nita introduced you to meet me and said there was something important. Can you help me clear up my doubts?"

Nieta is the abbreviation of Iniesta, which is the name of the commander of the Church of Heim. Generally, only two people who are very familiar with each other will use this abbreviation. It can be imagined that the personal relationship between the two parties is definitely not bad.

The mayor used to be a mid-level commander in the troops directly under the royal family. Later, he was injured in the war with the orcs, so he was assigned to the rear as a civilian employee, and then came to Yintao City in circles.

Logically speaking, he would not have climbed to the high position of alderman, but after the rebellion of Marquis Stirling, the current Earl of Stirling promoted him to alderman.

On the one hand, his ability is indeed passable, and on the other hand, he was originally from the army directly under the royal family and was a war hero who fought against the orcs. The royal family will not have any objection to this kind of personnel transfer, but will feel quite satisfied with it.

[You should know that three special merchant ships entered Yintao City today. I want to say hello in advance. After all, my identity is relatively sensitive.]

The city official remained calm when he heard the words, as if he was meditating and recalling: "I have an impression, it is indeed very special. If you don't come, I'm afraid I will have to ask."

Judging from the current situation, the city official's attitude towards him is beyond normal. This is not an elf who has been dealing with forest creatures all year round. This is a former human soldier who is either plotting something behind his back or has some objections to Tang Zhao.

What you want.

[The best impression is that the purpose of our coming to Yintao City is to deliver goods, and the recipient is Iniesta, the commander of the Helm Church. In addition, the Hermes Chamber of Commerce under me also wants to deliver goods in Yintao City.

A branch meeting will be opened in Taocheng. Yintao City is also one of the largest port cities in the country. We want to import some goods.】

"I understand. Although you have brought a lot of strong sailors, considering the special value of the goods, it is not incomprehensible. My old friend Iniesta and the respected Mr. Burke also approve of you.

So I believe your explanation. Someone will be watching you in the military camp. Those lizard sailors cannot move around freely in the city. I am worried about causing further panic."

【I can understand, that was the original plan.】

"Besides that, I have some personal requests. You are from Luford, which is a famous grain distribution center in the country. I also know that the Hermes Chamber of Commerce is also based in the city of Luford. Now Yintao

The city is short of food, and I would like to buy a batch of food from you for emergency use, is that okay?"

[Surrounded by thousands of hectares of fertile land, the various nobles below have a large amount of grain in their hands. It would be countless times more convenient to buy from them. It would take half a month for us to come back and forth, and the price of grain there is not as cheap as in the place of origin. 】

This obvious pretense of stupidity made the city official tighten his fists, but he finally breathed a sigh of relief and explained to Tang Zhao: "The cultivated land now belongs to Count Castei's family, and we have no right to harvest it.

And those nobles are now avoiding Earl Sterling and Yintao City. There is no problem buying grain from them, but the price is very high, several times higher than shipping grain directly from Luford."

There was a slip of the tongue and the Marquis was called a Count, but Tang Zhao was too lazy to dwell on such a thing.

[Actually, it’s not impossible, but there should be additional conditions, right? Otherwise, you can just find any chamber of commerce in Yintao City to do it. If you ask me for help, it means that you really have no good solution. 】

This time the city official did not refute: "The request is simple. Don't let anyone know. Just transport the food to Yintao City safely. Someone will take care of you. You don't need to worry about the rest."

If you think about it carefully, there are only two parties that can do this - the elves and Karak Solma.

The surrounding nobles could not count on them, or they were just helpless people. They had already changed their direction and followed Marquis de Castei. The remaining nobles who still had feelings for the Stirling family did not dare to do anything. Now they are being attacked by countless people.

Keep an eye on them, and any action you take will be discovered. The old nobles who were left behind from the purge are not very strong and cannot avoid surveillance, so they are naturally powerless.

Large chambers of commerce basically have some background, and they all choose to sit on the sidelines. There are some people in small chambers of commerce who are willing to take risks, but it is really a drop in the bucket.

Elf and Tang Zhao are relatively independent, and there is no way to know how to mobilize food to others, so they are the only two possible candidates.

However, the elves and others are facing the Oran royal family and have no concern for the affairs of the Sterling family or Yintao City. After excluding them, the only ones worth counting on are Tang Zhao and the others.

Although the city official looked a little older, his eyes were as sharp and clear as a young man. He was staring at Tang Zhao, hoping that he could make a favorable decision.

[Actually, it’s not impossible, but I need to know the use of your food. In addition, the remuneration and smuggling fees should not be less, and they should be based on market prices.]

The city official breathed a sigh of relief. Now that Tang Zhao is willing to agree, it will be good. Doing business with the Sterling family involves huge risks. He can be cautious or harsh, because there is really no one else who can cooperate.

"The price issue is easy to discuss. We can discuss it in detail. There is still a lot of deposits in Yintao City's treasury, even if it doesn't use the Sterling family's money.

The food problem is mainly for winter use, and some is used to relieve the poor. Earl Sterling was granted a land in Yintao City. In fact, there is not much arable land in this area. There are 130,000 people in the city, and the surrounding areas

The number of farmers is only 30,000. They have always relied on other territories to supply food. As trade developed, there was no big trouble. But now, the situation is different."

It turns out that these territories belong to the Sterling family and their vassals, and it doesn't matter who is left or right. Now that other families are avoiding it, they have lost their main source of food, and it is simply not enough to produce and sell it themselves.

It must be said that the Marquis of Casdeil was very damaged. First he allowed the Sterling family to take away some of the people in the territory, under the pretense of helping them adapt to the new territory, and then suddenly decided to run out of food, and the food pressure increased sharply.

Maybe it was to eradicate the roots, maybe it was to create famine and undermine the prestige of the remaining members of the Stirling family. In short, the current Earl of Stirling turned out to be just an inconspicuous small branch, with no money or food on hand, and the Marquis's family property had been confiscated

As military pay and rewards were given to nobles and warriors, the current Sterling family is simply not equipped to deal with this kind of crisis.

[If you can provide relevant evidence, I can nod to help. I am not responsible for the specific details. I will discuss it with my businessmen.]

After some hesitation, Tang Zhao agreed.

The Sterling family had indeed committed many mistakes in the past, especially colluding with the devil, which was unforgivable, but Tang Zhao was a modern man and would not attribute the crime to the entire family.

Most of the people who colluded with the devil have been directly executed. Now the remaining members of the Sterling family are basically innocent. The task given by Tang Zhao is to find the remnants of the devil among them, but they have not been found so far, and Castiel

There is no evidence, otherwise he would not be approached by an outsider to do anything.

Even if there is evidence, these civilians in Yintao City are innocent, and there are many poor people among them. If no one helps them, they will not be able to survive this famine year. Regardless of whether it is charity, show or atonement, at least the Sterling family

Food is indeed being distributed.

Tang Zhao was not considered noble, and he could use any means during the war, but he did not want to watch a large number of civilians starve to death. It was better to help when he could. He also suffered a lot when he first traveled through time.

Hungry, I know how uncomfortable this feeling is.

However, one code leads to the other, and by taking advantage of the opportunity of cooperation, he will investigate the inside of the Sterling family more deeply. After discovering the problem, he will never show mercy.

Anyway, by uprooting the Sterling family and assigning the territory to the Marquis of Castelui, the food problem in this area has been largely eliminated. Castelil is not stupid and will not waste this commercial port.
Chapter completed!