...

...

In the manor hall.

"Lord, the White Frost Prophet has sent word back, requesting you to prepare more housing and food supplies."

Us respectfully reported, "He found quite a few people this time."

"Oh? How many?"

Luo De looked at Us with some anticipation, "Three hundred or five hundred people?"

Us shook his head slightly and answered seriously, "The White Frost Prophet said it's over a thousand people."

"A thousand people?"

Luo De was taken aback, staring at Us in surprise,

"Are there that many people in the Blade Mountain Range?"

"I don't know about that either..."

Us hesitated a little and cautiously said, "But the White Frost Prophet wouldn't be lying, would he?"

"Such things can't be fabricated..."

"Hmm."

Luo De nodded in agreement.

The White Frost Prophet hadn't sent any news back for a while.

Of course, before this, the White Frost Prophet had consulted Luo De, suggesting not to send out other wildlings temporarily.

Because besides the Eagle Feather Tribe, the other wildlings are ordinary wildlings, and many tribes are deep in the Blade Mountain Range, quite some distance from Black Pine Ridge.

The journey is long, and movement is inconvenient.

The White Frost Prophet decided not to send those wildlings out yet, letting them deplete their food supplies first.

Moreover, not all wildling tribes would kneel at the mere mention of the Saint Master's name; those who submit are left to handle the unsubmitted wildling tribes.

Due to this, Luo De had even dispatched two additional teams to assist the White Frost Prophet.

For more than a month now, Luo De had been somewhat curious.

Now, suddenly receiving news of over a thousand people, it was Luo De's turn to be astonished.

You know, the Blade Mountain Range isn't a place with proper farmland; supporting over a thousand people is really not easy.

"If this is true, we definitely need to prepare in advance." Luo De remarked.

"Indeed, my lord,"

Us chimed in, "otherwise, if a thousand people flooded in at once, the whole Frost Leaf Town would be in chaos..."

"Hmm, Lawrence will be kept busy."

Luo De immediately instructed a guard to summon Lawrence.

Lawrence came running over, gasping for air, and almost choked upon learning that a thousand wildlings were about to join the town.

"A thousand people?"

Lawrence's face turned pale, he opened his mouth, his voice trembling a bit: "My lord, our food supply... I'm afraid it's not enough!"

"How could that be? With your capabilities, the food should be plenty."

Luo De said to Lawrence, "One thousand three hundred tons of grain, Rein is still hunting on the Razor Plain, the meat is being transported back continuously."

"But only a thousand tons of rye, my lord, those three hundred tons are wheat, your provisions!"

Lawrence shook his account book vigorously, "Wheat can't be wasted on those slaves!"

"And do you know how many people we have now?"

"Two thousand nine hundred and eighty people!" Lawrence said solemnly.

"Ah, is it that many now? But that's still enough."

Luo De couldn't help but smile at the serious look on Lawrence's face.

When discussing food issues, Lawrence seemed to forget his fear, always daring to speak up loudly to Luo De and argue with reason.

But Luo De wasn't angry.

Logistics management should be strict to prevent wastage.

"It's enough..."

Lawrence sighed, "But we can't live every year gambling that the warehouse won't be emptied..."

"Don't worry."

Luo De waved his hand, indicating for him to calm down: "I allow you to slightly reduce rye consumption, didn't we eat dumpling soup for a long time last year?

Additionally, I will write to the Dawn Society and Man Xiu, asking them to send some food over."

Lawrence looked distressed as he mumbled, "The west is at war, is food easy to buy there..."

Luo De raised an eyebrow, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth, "Use dried meat to exchange for rye, the army at war finds dried meat more practical than rye, they won't refuse."

Without cold chain technology, fresh meat can't be preserved.

The south isn't as cold as the Northern Wasteland.

Meat needs to be smoked, dried, or salted for preservation.

Plus, dried meat is high in caloric density and easy to carry, often regarded by the military as a strategic reserve, also known as military provisions.

Luo De happened to have a large stockpile of dried meat.

"That's true..."

Lawrence nodded, but still looked at Luo De with worry in his eyes: "But my lord, you have to send more people to hunt... I had intended to exchange for other supplies..."

"Alright, alright, I promise you, I'll immediately increase the hunting team's manpower."

Luo De loudly promised Lawrence.

"Then I'll make the arrangements, my lord."

Lawrence bowed, turned, and walked out of the hall, still muttering,

"How much food this is going to take..."

...

...

A week later.

The sun had set, and the wind was still a bit chilly.

Luo De, along with Lawrence, Durant, and others, stood on the hill by the town gate, with their backs to the sun.

Luo De crossed his arms, looking ahead.

In the distance, a grand procession slowly advanced along the road.

Beside him, Lawrence wiped the sweat from his forehead and murmured in amazement, "There truly are a thousand people."

The dense crowd, like a surging tide, was quite magnificent, stirring some emotions.

Only Luo De and Durant calmly observed everything.

The wildlings, in tattered clothes, carried rough bundles on their shoulders, faces weary yet curious as they gazed at the Frost Leaf Town on the hill.

For these wildlings who had never seen a small town from the Empire, the high fence and wooden houses were novel structures.

Luo De's gaze swept over the crowd of wildlings and saw the White Frost Prophet at the front.

The White Frost Prophet sat on a sedan chair made of wooden frames and animal hides, carried by four strong wildlings.

——It was a very popular chair among nobles.

At this moment, the White Frost Prophet leaned against the animal hides, holding a wooden staff carved with bizarre patterns, eyes half-closed and leisurely.

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