There is no doubt that the magical plague and the awakening of the creator race that occurred in Neverwinter are not a threat at all to Zuo Si today, and can only be regarded as a minor trouble at best.
After the local residents, adventurers and mercenaries in the towns and villages in the North completed the almost cruel enclosure expansion movement, although they have been nominally included in the territory of the West Coast Empire, in fact most areas still maintain a semi-autonomous state.
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Especially in towns that originally had legal lords, political deals were basically reached in private.
The empire publicly granted these people titles of nobility, recognized the land and property they possessed, and allowed them to retain lordships and some powers.
In exchange, they would recognize the land under their rule as part of the empire, accept administrative, judicial and taxation officials sent by the cabinet, and voluntarily hand over a series of powers such as military and diplomacy.
Obviously, it is not difficult to see from the contents of these transactions that the high-level strategy of the West Coast Empire towards the annexation of the Northland is to be prudent. They are not in a hurry to get it done in one go, but intend to assimilate it bit by bit with the help of economic and cultural power.
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After all, the people of this place have always been fierce. For example, the ten towns in Icewind Valley often fight over fishery resources. Every year, dozens to dozens of people die, and barbarian tribes of all sizes add to this.
There must be hundreds of thousands of people together.
They are not goblins, gnolls, lizardmen, ogres, trolls, orcs and other monsters that can be slaughtered at will without worrying about the pressure of public opinion, but a group of primitive human tribes who make a living by fishing, hunting, and nomadic herding.
Although these guys are not essentially different from monsters, they also like to rob towns and caravans, forcibly turn captives into slaves, and perform bloody and cruel sacrifice rituals.
It is obviously unrealistic to want the barbarian tribes to accept the rule of the empire immediately.
To bring them into the sphere of rule, we must first fundamentally change our thoughts, values, and living habits.
In other words, it is to be integrated into the empire's economic system, to get rid of the barbaric life of chasing prey and constantly migrating, and gradually learn to farm, settle down, and establish small villages and towns, so that most people have their own land and property.
In order to achieve this, on the one hand, we must strengthen the defense of all towns and villages in the North, ensure the safety of every trade route, and deter those barbarian tribes who want to grab something when they have nothing to do, and on the other hand, through transactions
Guide these barbarian tribes to make changes themselves.
As a modern man who pursues pragmatism, Zuo Si has always scorned traditions and ancestral methods.
He believed that the reason why the barbarians in the North became what they were now was ultimately the result of the harsh living environment.
If they had remained as brutal and ferocious as monsters, they would have died out long ago. There would be no way they could continue to this day, and they would have become a force that cannot be ignored.
Once there is a better and more comfortable life, the barbarians will soon abandon those useless traditional habits and embrace civilization.
At this time, those lords who are local snakes can play a role.
Because anyone who can make a name for themselves in the Northland has basically learned how to deal with the surrounding barbarian tribes.
They were sometimes hostile, and the lords needed to guard against barbarian invasions and plunder;
Sometimes it is an alliance, and they will unite to deal with large-scale invasions of orcs and other monsters.
After all, barbarians are also members of the human race.
Compared to monsters, they obviously still prefer to cooperate with their own kind.
Many barbarians relied on doing business with nearby towns in exchange for fabrics, salt, needlework, spices, steel products and other supplies necessary for life.
Therefore, the situation in the North is not a simple binary opposition between civilization and barbarism, but is much more complicated than many people imagine.
The strategy of the West Coast Empire is to first draw the lords and upper ruling class who are on the side of civilization into its own huge economic system, and then use the connections they have at hand to continuously induce the barbarian tribes to turn from barbarism to civilization, and finally achieve control.
Complete domination of this vast and sparsely populated land.
At this moment, Aribes was ordered to lead a team full of supplies and appeared on a river bank near the Neverwinter Forest.
Today is the day of the monthly trade with the Black Lion Clan, the barbarians of Uthgard.
Their biggest feature is that they have black hair and blue eyes, and are unusually tall and muscular. They have extreme hatred and hatred for orcs.
Although there is currently a plague in Neverwinter City, Aribes still brought what the other party urgently needed as agreed.
After all, the Black Lion Clan is different from other Uthgard barbarians who are still in a state of eating raw hair and drinking blood. Due to their long-term influence on civilization, they have already abandoned their past traditions and converted to the God of Guards, Heim, and the God of Suffering, Ilmat.
, Tyr, the god of justice, and Thom, the god of loyalty and courage.
This means that they will abide by the rules and laws, and will not be capricious and dishonest like other savages.
Precisely because of their similar beliefs, the Black Lion Clan has always had a good relationship with Neverwinter, and will even help it resist threats from the depths of the forest and wilderness.
When Luskan was still ruled by the Arcane Brotherhood, they helped repel the armies sent by the former on more than one occasion.
Relying on the traditional friendship and the matchmaking of the Church of the God of Justice, the trade volume between the two parties began to increase rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Especially furs, herbs, gems, animal bones and various animals that can be used as pets have brought huge wealth to the Black Lion Clan, and they have built their own city on the edge of the forest, trying to cultivate farmland or
Carry out grazing and breeding.
From a distance, it looks like a civilized scene.
When the sentry standing on the arrow tower noticed the arrival of the team flying the flag of Neverwinter, they immediately sounded the alarm.
After a while, a strong man carrying a double-edged battle ax and wearing a piece of hard leather armor on his upper body walked out of the walled city, followed by dozens of male warriors.
The reason why there are no women is that there is no concept of gender equality among barbarians. Whoever has a bigger fist can speak louder.
And women are obviously far from men's opponents in terms of strength, brutality and cruelty.
This also means that most barbarian tribes have a disdainful and discriminatory attitude towards women, believing that women should stay at home, give birth to children, do housework, and serve men.
Unless some talented female barbarians can defeat male warriors of the same age in a one-on-one duel, they can win status and recognition from all their tribesmen.
However, this tough man obviously recognized Aribes and did not look down on her because she was a beautiful woman. Instead, he beat his chest according to etiquette to express his respect.
The other barbarian warriors also imitated the leader's actions.
The reason is also very simple!
This tribe belonging to the Black Lion Clan was basically beaten from top to bottom by the half-elf paladin during the competition.
Uthgard barbarians have always admired the truly strong men.
After scanning these familiar faces, Aribes said straight to the point without any nonsense: "The supplies you need are all here, with a total value of 25,000 gold coins. As before, we accept items including furs, herbs, wood and
Anything else of value in exchange."
"No problem, I'll have someone go check the warehouse right now."
The barbarian leader nodded to his men, and soon after, piles of simply processed furs, ores, gems, and herbs were brought out.
The accompanying merchants immediately began to appraise these things and load them into trucks, while the Uthgar barbarians who had money happily purchased the daily necessities brought by the caravan.
Among them, salt and ironware firmly accounted for the majority.
The former is not only a condiment and an essential element for the human body, but also an indispensable raw material for curing meat and fish. It is definitely much more important than gold coins for barbarians who lack salt-making technology and are not close to the sea.
As for iron tools, it is directly related to the quantity of weapons and armor, and is directly linked to the tribe's war capabilities and survivability.
In this way, no matter how much we hoard, the two strategic materials will never be too much.
Seeing the piles of grain, salt, weapons and armor being transported back to the warehouse of the camp, the barbarian chief quickly showed undisguised joy and said with a smile: "I thought there was a plague over there. This month
The deal may be ruined."
"Oh? Have you also heard about the plague in Neverwinter?"
Aribes showed a surprised expression.
She couldn't believe that the other party could get news from the outside world so quickly even though he lived in such a remote place.
"um, yes.
Not only me, but also several nearby Black Lion clan tribes know about it.
Because a group of mysterious guys came to the forest not long ago, widely publicized the news that Neverwinter City was about to be destroyed, and then invited all tribes to join them.
At present, some tribes such as Black Crow, Gray Wolf, and Grass Moss have chosen to accept the invitation. Many gnolls, trolls, and orcs are also among this group. It is said that there are also dragons and giants.
In addition, a hunter claimed to have witnessed a terrifying monster deep in the forest. It looked a bit like a frost giant, but it led an undead army.
Be careful, I can feel that this plague in Neverwinter may not be as simple as it seems."
The barbarian chief revealed everything he knew.
Based on this alone, it is not difficult to see that he has long regarded Neverwinter as an out-and-out ally.
After all, the huge benefits generated by the transactions between the two parties have made the tribe very wealthy. They cannot afford to lose this important ally, and they do not want to return to the previous hard life where they had to be careful even when eating salt.
Aribes's face suddenly changed after learning the bombshell news, and she immediately asked in a hurried tone: "Who are these people? Is their purpose to destroy Neverwinter?"
The barbarian tribe chief smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Sorry, ma'am.
To be continued...