If I let you farm, will you become the emperor of the empire?

"Your Highness didn't say it would rain today." Think tank Yu Lun said.

"Because the dark clouds came out of the earth." A layer of haze covered Ed's face.

Their Highness has the ability to predict the future. No matter it is windy or rainy, he will give reminders and adjust the agricultural production progress of the day in time according to the climate.

The most profound impression he has is the flood three years ago, when His Highness led them to dig canals and divert water in the heavy rain.

That experience was too profound, deeply engraved in their bones, and they will never forget it for a lifetime.

"Something more terrible than natural disasters has happened." The soldiers all said so.

They may not understand what Roman's definition of the army is, but they certainly understand what a feudal army is like.

Those bandits like locusts passing through the border will basically rob everything they can, leaving nothing behind, because no one will blame them for this.

"What they are doing is to cut off their descendants." Yu Lun spitted.

There is nothing more evil than this.

He had heard of the scorched earth policy. His Highness was keen on production and construction, and hated all acts that destroyed production. He also hated war, but now he had to go to the battlefield in person.

Ed climbed to the top of the hill and looked out, vaguely seeing the flames several kilometers away.

But the purpose of their trip was definitely not the burning village.

The 13th Brigade walked for more than two hours and saw that many manors and villages had been destroyed, and the air was filled with the smell of burning.

In the past, some of those manors belonged to the Shane Territory, some belonged to Baron Leicester, and some small villages were under the jurisdiction of the expedition knights, but those lords were killed by the Valley Army, because the Valley Army only respected a real lord, a real king.

Not all the poor were willing to be plundered to the City of Plenty. Some people would flee to the forest to hide. Those who were caught would rather die than go. There were also many people who said that the blasphemers were demons. Asking them to obey the blasphemers was equivalent to falling into hell, and they could not go to the kingdom of the gods after death.

The reason why they didn't forcibly capture everyone was because the land carrying capacity of Fengrao City was limited. It was impossible to rob everyone, which would be a thankless task.

Use intimidation to take away those who are afraid of death.

Anyone who goes to Fengrao City stays for a few days and adapts, no one wants to come back.

During the march, Ed encountered a small group of enemy troops, about a hundred people, who didn't look like scouts, but more like a grain collection team, escorting the looted supplies.

This was an unexpected encounter, but the River Valley Brigade reacted more quickly and surrounded them. Thirty or forty mercenaries on horseback saw this scene and turned around and fled.

Their companions were either killed or captured.

"Where did you get these supplies?"

"We collected them, adults, you can take them all, we don't want a penny." The captives replied. They had a swamp-like wet smell on them, wearing chain mail and half helmets, and were dressed as mercenaries.

"Why are you here?"

"We are paid for our services," they said in a rush.

"Where's the money?"

The captives pointed to the sacks on the cart, which were still stained with blood, and said, "Whoever robbed them will own them. His Majesty the King hired us to suppress the rebellion with these things to ensure that this land will not be desecrated...by Lord Roman."

"What did you protect!" Ed beheaded them coldly.

There was thick smoke everywhere, which was choking and pungent. He saw from afar that the burned villages had turned into ruins. The fences of the manor were quite strong, but they were not good enough for professional robbers. The sharpened wooden stakes of the wall were scorched with corpses.

It has only been a few days?

How many shocking massacres have these robbers committed along the Black Iron Road?

They plundered, massacred villages, set fires, and looted food and money everywhere. Only the strong castles could survive.

The Origin City and the Valley Army robbed people to make them work and create higher value, not to destroy their value, so that they can eat the food they grow themselves. The Valley Army never makes unnecessary massacres.

The Origin Code has such laws.

Only those who violate the law will be punished and sentenced to death.

Anyone who is alive must do some work within their ability, and as long as they can work, they can get three meals a day.

But there is also a reason for these bandits to kill people, because food is limited, and the bandits' team is too large, and the demand for food is never enough.

Not to mention the four-way advance, just talk about the road.

Forty thousand laborers transporting baggage to support thirty thousand combat forces, which means that the army must obtain food supplies from the areas they pass through. Large-scale looting by soldiers is inevitable.

Moreover, this wilderness has long been regarded as Roman's front garden by outside forces.

So it is normal for the attackers to attack the City of Plenty and to burn, kill and loot here. There are many specific reasons, such as undermining the morale of the Valley Army, distracting the attention of the City of Plenty, and reducing the war potential of the blasphemers.

So the biggest sin of these dead people is eating the food they grew themselves.

Ed wanted to ask. Is this fair?

He never dared to think so in the past, but now, those doubts popped up in his mind one after another.

Does His Highness know these things? Of course he knows, and that His Highness is afraid that he knows it earlier than him. When the army is approaching, someone will suffer.

But it is impossible for that His Highness to ignore the huge threat in the middle road and turn to the upper road to save the villagers scattered everywhere.

Is the City of Plenty more important, or are those old farmers who refuse to submit to the King of the Valley more important?

The answer is beyond doubt.

The families of his soldiers all live in the City of Plenty.

The Thirteenth Battalion marched forward for another half an hour and encountered more small enemy forces, all cavalry, without baggage, and were obviously scouts.

And Ed quickly contacted his own scouts.

He learned that Captain Weimar had joined the guards of other fortresses and was now rushing here.

But the bad thing was that the main force of the enemy was also advancing at full speed, and sent elite cavalry to rush over at full speed.

In half an hour at most, they would face the Thirteenth Battalion head-on.

The mercenaries in the swamp knew that the bottom lane was defeated and the blasphemers were rushing towards the middle lane with all their strength. Taking advantage of the empty defense in the City of Plenty, they quickly took Roman's crystal.

"We can't let them get close to the City of Plenty!" Ed said.

This instantly became the consensus of everyone. Otherwise, no one knew what these beasts would do. They must be intercepted, no matter what the cost.

Of course, the army on the road is mercenary in nature, and most of them will not fight them to the death. As long as they find it difficult to bite off, they will definitely retreat.

A few hundred deaths will be worthy of the King of Black Iron.

"We will wait here." Yu Lun suggested.

"What if they bypass us?"

"The brigade guarding the Shane Fortress is our third special brigade. They also have cavalry, which should be able to help us plug the gap." The think tank drew a simple map on the ground.