It's winter now. Although the lawns in the park have turned yellow, the trees are still green. After all, Naider City is not far from the sea. The wind blowing from the sea in winter regulates the city's climate very well, and even occasionally falls for a while.
drizzle.
The wind is only slightly chilly, and people in the city only need to wear a slightly thicker coat to resist it.
Piriank sat cross-legged behind a stall selling cheap jewelry, grinning and gossiping with the vendors next to him, complaining about the damn lockdown policy, soliciting young girls passing by, and talking nonsense in private.
Commenting on the passing young woman.
Pilianke has a clever mouth and speaks good words, and he is very smart in starting this small business. There is a constant flow of people in front of the stall. Half of the ordinary girls come to buy things, and the other half are not.
I came here to see this handsome guy.
There are still people coming and going in the park, but except for these young people, everyone else is in a hurry. Even the guards soldiers who usually like to drink some oil at the vendors are all following with their hands on their swords and their expressions solemn.
Walked on the street.
Epuli and Taurex walked into the park from one end of the long street with hurried expressions.
He was still dressed in pure black, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, which was pushed down low, covering most of his face.
Pilianke kept his head down and negotiated the price with the little girl in front of the stall. When Taurex walked past him, he didn't even look at it.
After Taurex walked into the park, he slowed down and looked around, walked around a small flower bed, and sat on a stone bench.
After about a few minutes, Taurex stood up again, dusted off his clothes, turned around and walked quickly along the long street. He looked like a passerby who was temporarily resting in the park.
Pilianke raised his head at this time and started chatting animatedly with a vendor next to him, his eyes never leaving the chair.
It wasn't until the sun set and the sky turned gray, with fewer and fewer pedestrians in the park and more and more cats coming out to look for food, that Pilianke and the vendors began to prepare to close their stalls.
When he finished packing his things and left, an unnoticed homeless man next to him was already wrapped in clothes that looked tattered but were actually extremely warm and squatting in a tree hole not far away.
After carrying a bag of copper coins and saying goodbye to the vendors, Piliank returned to his residence, threw away his things, and then made a fire to cook.
After completing the cover-up work, Pilianke returned to the headquarters of the venture capital company.
Pilianke pushed open the door to the conference room and called "General Manager."
Belen was holding a cup of hot tea and nodded to Piliank expressionlessly. Piliank could see that Belen's eyes were bloodshot, obviously he hadn't slept for a long time.
The old man in the portrait next to him was also there. He was holding a charcoal pen and writing on the white paper. When he saw Pilianke coming in, he grinned at him, then waved to him and said:
"Little friend, come here."
Pilianke walked up to the old man obediently. The old man dusted off the painting in his hand, blew off the crumbs and stuffed it into Piliank's hand, saying, "Here you go."
Pilianke took it over and took a look. It showed a naked bust of a young woman. He shook the portrait in his hand. Pilianke said in a dumbfounded voice: "Old man, you are my own grandfather. We don't treat you with such contempt."
Human, okay~!”
The old man rolled his eyes and said: "Look at your little potential, even a yellow-haired girl can't handle it. Old man, when I was as old as you, I was already among thousands of flowers."
Pilianke quickly waved his hand and begged for mercy, saying: "Okay, let's get down to business."
Belen picked up the document in his hand and said: "First of all, our people have just confirmed that the note left by Taurex has disappeared."
Pilianke was shocked when he heard this and said: "So fast!"
Belen nodded and said: "For us, this is the best news. It shows that our goals are still there."
Piriank nodded and said: "After Taurex left the note, a total of nine people came near the bench."
Beren hummed and said: "It seems that our people have not been missed. They have followed nine people."
Pilianke turned to the old man and said: "Old man, let's start. The first one is a middle-aged man, about five feet tall, with dark skin, a long pointed face, triangular eyes, and a bald head."
The old man nodded and began to draw on the paper with a solemn expression.
After working on it for several more hours, Belen took the portraits, spread them out one by one on the table, and waited patiently.
People walked into the conference room one after another. After carefully looking at the portrait, the people who came in nodded to Belen, sat down and began to introduce the situation of the person they were following.
Soon the conference room was filled with people. Belen lowered his head and talked to Mamos in a low voice, while everyone else sat silently.
Belen suddenly knocked on the table and said loudly: "Everyone, you did a good job today."
The people below said sparsely: "Thank you, Sir."
Belen sat up straight and said, "I know time is tight and everyone is under great pressure."
Mamos sighed and said: "Sir, we only have three days to deal with it. We used to take half a year to arrest someone. The eldest lady and the young master are both in front of us. We are afraid that we will not be able to explain to the old man.
"
Belen frowned and shouted sternly: "What are you afraid of? This is what we do in our business. The least time we are carrying a knife to kill people is what we do. These are trivial things. Observe, record, summarize, organize. In the last few days
Now, we are nervous. These people hiding in the city are more nervous than us. Being nervous will make mistakes. This is our opportunity."
"Yes, sir, we understand."
Belen hummed and said: "At the critical moment, none of us can make mistakes. I have identified four people with the greatest suspicions. A small number of people will then focus on the other five. The task of most people in the next two days is
Stare at these four people. Do you understand?"
"yes!"
"Very good," Belen nodded, then reached for a report on the table and said, "Let's take a look at the first one, an accountant from the warehouse..."
—
Adele pushed open the office door and hurried in with a gust of cold wind.
She casually took off her long coat and threw it on the sofa next to her, and then said hello to Catherine.
Catherine's long hair was tied up and fixed with a crystal hairpin. She lowered her head slightly and stared at the document in her hand, revealing her slender and graceful neck. If Lorraine was confused here, she would pounce on it and take a bite.
Catherine raised her hand and pulled a strand of hair behind her ears. While reviewing and approving documents, she said without raising her head: "How was the meeting?"
Adele is also dressed like a mature woman, with her long hair combed neatly behind her head, a dark long skirt, dignified and elegant.
After stroking her clothes, Adele sat on the chair next to Catherine and said: "According to Angus' report, all residents within a hundred miles outside the city have been evacuated, and all the food and materials that can be transported nearby have also been transported.
After entering the city, everything that could not be transported was put on ships and headed upriver. Although many people objected to this, in general, it went smoothly."
Catherine gave a slight "hmm" and said, "It's a pity that the villages outside the city can be preserved after this battle."
Adele also sighed and said: "There is nothing we can do about this. The worst thing is, after the war is over, we can allocate funds for reconstruction."
When Catherine heard this, she couldn't help but smile bitterly: Rebuilding? It sounds simple, but how can it be such an easy thing?
Not to mention the huge military expenditures, after this battle, the treasury of Naian Province was empty. Where did the funds come from?
Even if you raise money, you still have to be careful whether dog officials with consciences that have been eaten by dogs will take the opportunity to embezzle the money. Then the people will still get nothing~!
But if you do nothing, you will be sorry for your own conscience.
She rubbed her smooth forehead and said, "Let's do our best."
As he spoke, his voice changed and he said: "By the way, Beren just sent news that they have a clue about tracking down the traitor."
"Oh?" Adele was delighted when she heard this and said, "That's good news. How are you preparing for that matter?"
Catherine shook her head worriedly and said, "I've been waiting for news too."
"Not here yet?" Adele was stunned for a moment and said, "It's been a few days."
Then both Catherine and Adele fell silent.
They all knew that the incident planned by Lorraine was extremely important.
If it is used well, it can support tens of thousands of elite soldiers. Even if the orcs come with thirty to fifty thousand soldiers, they can be wiped out all under the city, and the number of enemies killed will be kept safe.
But if preparations are not done well, then the situation in Nidel City will not be optimistic. You must know that the city defense of Nidel City is now empty. Although the city defense is strong, the soldiers are outnumbered, and it is simply a hot dog delivered to the mouth.
meat buns.
Adele hesitated for a moment, then suddenly said: "How about I go and see for myself?"
Catherine reached out and patted Adele on the shoulder, comforting: "You don't understand these things, so what's the use of going there. Believe Lorraine, since he said that, he should be able to do it."
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and then General Philip opened the door, strode in, and then bowed to the two of them.
Catherine and Adele raised their heads at the same time, looking at General Philip eagerly.
Catherine clenched her hands and asked nervously: "How is it?"
General Philip smiled and said: "Lord Lorraine's idea is very good. The people in front sent back the news that everything went well and the first step of the plan has been implemented."
Adele breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest gently with her white hands, and said repeatedly: "That's good! That's good!"
Catherine slowly leaned back in her chair, took a long breath, and said, "Okay, then you can tell the people below to prepare for the challenge."
General Philip saluted and said in a deep voice: "Yes, Your Highness."
That afternoon, all the military and political officials in Naider City were summoned by Angus for a meeting.
When Angus said the news that "more than 20,000 orcs will attack Nidel in three days", it can be described as earth-shattering.
Everyone in the entire venue was stunned.
Fortunately for the officers, after so many days of intense preparations, they had already seen that Nadel City was about to fight a big battle, but they did not dare to make random guesses until they had firm information.
Otherwise, in this tense moment, pretend to be a smart boy and make random guesses. If you guess wrong, it's okay to say it. This can show the foresight of the leader, bird raw fish soup or something like that.
If, like classmate Yang Xiaoxiu, he guesses correctly and is charged with arrogating his own ideas and shaking the morale of the army, he will be beheaded directly.
All the civil servants were stunned. No matter what time it is, it is common practice for civil servants to be fearless. Even Brother Da Fei said back then: Civil servants are not greedy for money, and military officers are not afraid of death. The subtext is that civil servants can be afraid of death.
, generals can be greedy for money.
Even though the Ruman people use force to conquer the country, they are no exception.
Naider City has not experienced war for more than a hundred years, and most civil servants are accustomed to living a life of feasting, singing and dancing.
Normally everyone is corrupt, corrupt, corrupt and so on, but they have never seen what war is like. The biggest battle I have ever seen was a fire in my own backyard, and the eldest wife came over.
Catch the adulterer and get into a fight with the mistress.
When they thought that there were not many soldiers in the city now, and tens of thousands of ugly and ferocious orcs were about to kill them on the opposite side, these civil servants became anxious, wishing that there were three to five million powerful men around them to protect them.
They simply jumped up and yelled at Angus.
"Why are the orcs coming?"
"What's the Governor doing in the south? That's tens of thousands of troops."
"Tell Mr. Lorraine to come back as soon as possible to provide support. Hurry, maybe it's still too late."
"..."
Angus watched them making noise there with cold eyes.
When they had shouted enough, Angus said with a straight face: "Her Royal Highness the Princess has sent a message to the Governor, but the army is hundreds of miles away, and it will take at least half a month to return for rescue.
time.
During this half-month period, His Highness ordered the city to be defended.
All officials must stick to their posts, and those who leave their posts without authorization will be severely punished.
All gatherings will be cancelled, and a curfew will be imposed throughout the city immediately."
He paused, looked at the faces of the civil servants below, and said solemnly: "Anyone who dares to disobey will be killed without mercy~"
All the officials suddenly fell silent.
Angus looked at the stupid look of the people below, cursed "waste" in his heart, then stood up, turned around and left.
In less than a meal, the entire city of Nedel knew that the orcs were about to attack the city.
Although the atmosphere in the city has been very solemn these days, in the eyes of the Nedel people, war is still very far away from them.
Before this, they would never believe that there would be half-orcs who would penetrate six to seven hundred miles into Naian and fight all the way to the gates of Nedel.
At first, people were panicked. After reacting, the residents of Nadel gathered in front of the grain store to buy food and various daily necessities.
Almost in an instant, the entire supply of grain in Naidel's market was sold out.
When the people asked again, all the merchants unanimously said, "There is really no food."
Of course Catherine knew what they were paying attention to. When an order was issued, it was strictly prohibited to hoard and drive up food prices. Once discovered, people would be arrested immediately and property confiscated.
The bosses behind each grain store are nobles. Although they are very dissatisfied, under martial law, the entire city is under military management. If you disobey orders at this time, it is disobeying military law. The city guards, guards, and even the militia are all
Caught in Catherine's hand.
There are 800 guards and more than 100 magicians in the Governor's Mansion. Anyone who wants to dissatisfy must first weigh his weight.
What's more, everyone in Naidel City can see with their own eyes that Catherine has hoarded a large amount of food in Naidel City in the past few days. At that time, the convoy transporting food blocked the streets for two days. Now Naidel's
The food storage is enough to last two months.
After giving the order, the tense atmosphere in the city relaxed a little, and all the shops that were about to be closed and half-closed reopened.
After people were panicked, the Nedel people began to become impatient and angry again, and even cursed in public, "That boy Lorraine grew up eating shit, and more than 20,000 orcs came to attack us with such arrogance."
Complaints abounded in the city, all accusing Lorraine of his incompetence in fighting. Although there were some people who understood the situation who defended Lorraine, they were quickly drowned out.
However, looking at the patrolling soldiers walking up and down the street, these angry people still retained their rationality and dared to vent their resentment, and quickly shut up when the soldiers came over.
Unlike the common people who could only hold back their resentment, the nobles and officials in Nadel City were all thinking hard at this time and began to think of ways to leave this city that was about to encounter war.
They first asked Angus and others for detailed information about the orcs. When they learned that there were still two days before the orcs could reach the gates of Nadel City, this group of dignitaries began to jump up and down.
Because there was a traitor in the city, in order to avoid leaking any information, Catherine issued an order to close the city early. Except for soldiers performing tasks, no one is allowed to leave the city now.
These powerful people went to the homes of Angus and other important officials, and sent them heavy gifts, begging them to be more generous, and to intercede with Catherine and Adele to let them leave the city.
Angus roared angrily at that time and said: "As a Naian people, we all have the responsibility to defend the country. I want to see who dares to escape from the battle."
Thinking that he was so capable, he even tried to seek employment with Catherine and Adele, but they were both kicked out by the Guards.
They were so soft-hearted that they decided to be tough. They took their families and servants directly to the city gate, showed their identities to the gate guards, paid huge sums of money for bribes, and finally went to each city gate.
Hundreds of people gathered around the guards and made a lot of noise.
The officers and soldiers guarding the city gate had received orders from above. If they dared to open the door privately, they would be executed under military law and beheaded with a single word.
Money and connections were not as important as his own life. The officers at the city gate pushed back the big shots with a cold face.
Seeing that the crowd was excited and the situation was about to get out of control, Philip ordered the praetorian guards to rush to each city gate for reinforcements.
The Guards didn't care whether those people were hereditary nobles or wealthy. They saw that these fat pig-like guys actually dared to resist the orders of Her Royal Highness the Princess. The leading Guards officer yelled: "Suppression."
!”
The Imperial Guards rushed into the crowd with sticks and beat them violently, and dispersed all those who were blocking the door.
After a while, people from the venture capital company sent a list of the big names who made trouble at the city gate to Catherine's desk. Catherine just sneered, drew a big red cross on the list, and said to herself: "You guys