"Dad, that big brother who saved us last time is a good man. Why do you and mom hate him so much?"
Five-year-old Jane blinked her big innocent eyes and asked her parents.
Ophelia looked at her husband Devin, who snorted and said, "Because he is a consul, and there are no good people in consuls!"
"Why are there no good people in the consul?" Jane looked curious.
"Because the consul, like those hateful nobles, bullies us people."
"Why do the consuls bully the people?"
"Because...because he wants to benefit himself."
"Why does he want to gain something?"
"...Jane, it's time for you to sleep."
Devin put Jane on the small wooden bed and coaxed her to sleep.
But the little girl's stomach was growling with hunger and she couldn't sleep at all.
Ophelia sighed, rummaged in her pocket, found a piece of dry scone, handed it to her daughter and said, "Eat it."
"Mom eats too." Jane is very sensible. She knows that her parents haven't eaten for a long time.
"Mom is not hungry." Ophelia smiled lovingly and pushed the scone to her daughter's mouth: "Eat quickly and go to bed after eating."
Devin felt uncomfortable on the sidelines. He knew that this piece of scone was the last food for the family.
What to do next? he does not know.
Originally, Devin was an excellent farmer and had a piece of land of his own outside the small town. His family relied on growing crops for a living.
Although he was exploited at all levels by the consuls and nobles, he could at least survive.
However, the player suddenly came.
They committed murder, robbery, and all kinds of evil.
In order to protect his wife and daughter, Dewen had no choice but to abandon his house and fields and flee to a small town for refuge.
But life in the small town is even more difficult. There is no food and no money, and the family cannot even afford food and clothing.
Thinking that the crops in the field should be mature by this time, he decided to take the risk and take his family back to harvest food and solve the urgent need.
Unexpectedly, I met a player on the road. If Zhang Ze hadn't rescued him in time, their family of three would not have survived.
"My daughter is asleep."
Ophelia came over, hugged her husband's arm, and said with a sad face: "There will be no food tomorrow, what should I do?"
Dewen gritted his teeth and said, "Tomorrow, I will go out of the city again and bring back some food from our fields."
"But, it's too dangerous!" Ophelia shook her head firmly: "What will happen to my daughter and I if something happens to you?"
"But we have no better way." Devin looked at his sleeping daughter and sighed: "We can't let you go hungry!"
"Otherwise, I will go begging on the street tomorrow. Maybe I can get some food."
When he heard that his wife was going to beg, Dewen couldn't accept it even more: "No, I would rather risk my life to go back than let you be humiliated."
"Oh, no one can live anymore, so face doesn't matter." Ophelia is open-minded, and she is willing to do anything for her daughter.
While the two were talking, they suddenly heard someone outside the door shouting: "The Archon has an order: Anyone who wants food should gather in the city square immediately!"
The couple looked at each other, and Dewen cursed in a low voice: "Humph, what kind of conspiracy is this dog official doing? We poor people only have one life left, does he want to take it away too?"
Ophelia opened the door and looked around. She found that many people were gathering towards the square.
After thinking about it, she said to Dewen: "You look after the children at home, and I'll go to the square to check on the situation."
"You, a woman, should stay at home while I go!" Devin grabbed his wife and warned, "Remember, if I don't come back, you will leave here and go to Storm Town to join my uncle Joseph."
In fact, Dewen knew that there were many dangers along the way from the Misery Wilderness to Stormwind Town.
Without anyone to protect them, the mother and daughter are likely to die on the road, but there is nothing that can be done about it. They will eventually starve to death if they stay in the city, so they might as well go out and try their luck.
"I understand." Ophelia nodded tearfully, and the couple said goodbye.
Devin put on his ragged clothes, walked among the crowd, and walked towards the center of the square together.
On the way, he heard the people next to him talking in low voices.
"Say, do you think there's really going to be food?"
"The devil knows, but now we can only trust the Archon."
"But the Archon doesn't have a good thing..."
"I heard that this one is different. He took care of Viscount Cromwell. Maybe he is really a good official."
"Really or not? Consuls and nobles have been wearing the same pants since ancient times. They are working together, how can they attack each other?"
"I also think this is fake news, so don't be fooled."
"Don't believe it, they said that Viscount Cromwell's residence has been sealed off. We will find out when we pass by later."
…
Devin listened to people's discussions and was secretly surprised: "The consul has dealt with Viscount Cromwell? Is this impossible?"
"However, that consul saved our family of three, and he really doesn't look like a bad person..."
Passing by Viscount Cromwell's mansion, many people looked over there, and sure enough they found that the door of the mansion had been locked with chains, and several guards were standing in front of the door to guard it. It seemed that it had indeed been sealed.
"I didn't expect that the rumors turned out to be true!" Devin's eyes widened, and a glimmer of hope arose in his heart: "Perhaps this newly appointed consul is really a good man who is not seen in a century!"
As people flowed to the city square, it was already dark and filled with people.
Devin looked towards the end of the square and saw Zhang Ze, Hardy and Morgan talking about something on the high platform. Then Hardy cleared his throat and shouted to everyone in front of him: "Everyone who has arrived should be quiet. Please invite the new consul." Speak!”
Everyone shut their mouths and looked at Zhang Ze with countless pairs of eyes.
"Ahem." Zhang Ze cleared his throat and said, "Hello everyone, I am the newly appointed consul. My purpose here is mainly to attack players and save the Misery Wilderness."
"But I found that besides the players, there is a bigger threat here, and that is the nobles!"
Zhang Ze's face was serious, his voice was sonorous and powerful, and he said: "Viscount Cromwell, a complete bastard! For his own benefit, he colluded with previous consuls, exploited you, and made the people miserable. I have all the evidence of these crimes! "
"Next, I will make him spit out everything he took from you and return it to everyone, and then I can convict him and execute him!"
"So, I hope everyone will believe me. I am not here to be an official to enjoy the glory and wealth. I just want to get rid of bad people and let everyone return to their previous lives."
After Zhang Ze said these words, the scene was quiet, not even a person applauded, and the scene was awkward for a while.
In the end, it was Hardy and Old Morgan who led their men to applaud Zhang Ze.
But the sporadic applause made the atmosphere even more embarrassing.
However, Zhang Ze can understand that these people have been tricked to the point of being callous.
No matter how beautiful your words are, no matter how impassioned you are, it is not as practical as giving each of them a piece of bread.
Therefore, Zhang Ze decided to cut the nonsense and get straight to the point.
"Now, I'm going to take you to find food, but the process may be somewhat dangerous, and you must obey my instructions."
As soon as they heard that there was food, the dull eyes of the people suddenly lit up.
"My lord! Where is the food?"
"We are going to starve to death, give us food quickly!"
"Sir, we all listen to you, give us something to eat quickly, our family will starve to death!"
…
Zhang Ze stretched out his hands and pressed down. After everyone was quiet, he continued: "The food I am talking about is not here, but..."
He pointed his finger outside the city and said: "Player camp!"
The whole place was in an uproar!
"What? Player camp? Isn't that looking for death?"
"Oh my God, those terrible players kill everyone on sight, I don't dare to go!"
"I can survive a few days without food, but if I go to the player camp, I'm looking for death!"
"Sir, what a joke! We are not soldiers, how can we beat the players?"
"Everyone, please disperse. I think this guy is as ill-intentioned as those previous consuls!"
"Yes, he wants us to sacrifice our lives for him! He uses food as a cover to trick us into beating up players. If he wins, he gets the benefits, but if he fails, he doesn't lose anything!"
…
Looking at the commotion in front of him, Zhang Ze knew that the credibility of this kingdom was zero, and the people did not believe it at all.
There was no way around it. It was not possible to freeze three feet in a day. These were all caused by the nobles and corrupt officials in the past. It would be difficult for him to reverse it for a while.
However, there are always more solutions than difficulties, and Zhang Ze came up with a good idea.
"Everyone, please be quiet. I know you don't believe me, so I'll show some sincerity."
Zhang Ze waved his hand and ordered his people to prepare a hundred bags of grain and a small box of gold coins, which were piled in front of everyone.
"Today, whoever is willing to follow me to the player camp to grab something will get a bag of food and an additional 10 gold coins! You can take it away on the spot!"
"And when I get back from the player camp, I will reward you based on your merits!"
He looked around at the crowd and said with a serious expression: "I will keep my promise and I will never break my promise!"
Yes, this is what Zhang Ze came up with: imitating Shang Yang of Qin and building trust.
The scene suddenly became quiet, and everyone stared at the one hundred bags of grain and swallowed their saliva.
Gold coins are second, food is precious, because you may not be able to buy it now if you have money.
However, no one came forward, everyone was waiting and watching.
Some people are even warning others in a low voice: "Don't move around, I will arrest you when you get out!"
Hardy and Morgan Sr. believed that Zhang Ze's actions were meaningless and that no one would come forward because the common people were so scared.
Zhang Ze looked calm. He believed that someone would definitely come to receive food and gold coins.
Because no one left the scene, this shows that the people's hearts have begun to waver. They are just waiting for the first person to come forward.
"As long as one person comes out, the situation will open up!"
Zhang Ze is full of confidence in this.
Another ten minutes passed, and there was still no movement in the crowd.
Just when Hardy and Old Morgan gave up hope and were about to persuade Zhang Ze to give up, a man slowly squeezed out of the crowd.
"I go."
Devin stood in front of Zhang Ze. He took a deep breath and said, "Can I get food and gold coins now?"
"Can!"
Zhang Ze smiled and nodded: "Do it yourself."
Devin looked at the guards standing on the left and right, stepped forward and took a bag of grain and 10 gold coins, then turned and left.
"Hey! You..." Old Morgan wanted to stop him. He thought that Devin wanted to run away after taking something.
Zhang Ze waved his hand to stop him: "It doesn't matter, he will come back."
Devin rushed out of the square under the eyes of everyone. He ran all the way home, knocked on the door, and stuffed grain and gold coins into his wife's arms.
"Here, this food and gold coins are enough for the two of you to survive."
Ophelia was surprised and delighted: "These things are..."
Devin nodded: "It was sent to me by the consul who saved us. I didn't expect that he really fulfilled his promise."
After saying that, he turned around and left. Ophelia grabbed him and asked doubtfully: "What else are you doing?"
"It's my turn to fulfill my promise!"
…
In the square, people still didn't move.
Because they didn't know what happened to Devin who had taken away the food and gold coins before.
Maybe the body would be carried back soon.
"I'm back, Lord Archon!"
Devin ran back to Zhang Ze sweating profusely, and said firmly: "Now, my life belongs to you!"
Hardy and Old Morgan were both stunned. They thought that Devin would never come back after taking the things. Unexpectedly, they were both wrong.
Zhang Ze laughed, jumped off the high platform, patted Dewen on the shoulder, and praised: "You are a man of your word, very good!"
Seeing this scene, many people gave up their worries, and people began to come forward to get food and gold coins.
Soon, one hundred bags of grain and gold coins were robbed.
There are many people who are also willing to go to the player camp with Zhang Ze, and Zhang Ze welcomes them all.
Of course, Zhang Ze wouldn't force anyone who didn't want to go, but the food wouldn't be for them.
Finally, Zhang Ze gathered more than a thousand people, including Hardy's guards, about 1,500 people, and they were ready to set off.
Hardy asked Zhang Ze: "Sir, tell me, how to fight this battle?"
Zhang Ze looked at him and said with a smile: "What are you doing? We are not going to die, so don't look too serious."
"My plan is this. First, I will attack the amethyst in the center of the player camp and attract all the players there."
"Then, you rush to snatch their food and resources while there is no one around."
"Remember, don't leave any of it to them, take it all away from me!"
Zhang Ze raised the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "This is called, without food or clothing, the enemy will come forward!"
…
Kingdom of Elterra, capital city.
While enjoying a sumptuous dinner, Howard opened the green light curtain as if no one else was watching.
Since he obtained this magical ability, he can summon this light curtain at any time, and only he can see it, no one else can.
"The mission has been released for so long, so many people must have completed it, right?"
He chuckled: "I wonder what the expression on the Queen's face will be when she learns that all the consuls she sent have died?"
As a result, he was surprised to find that the number of people who completed the task was actually 0!
"What's going on? Has no one completed the task? How is this possible?"
He angrily smashed the teacup in his hand, making the servants around him turn pale.
"Hmph! Is it because the rewards are too small? No one is willing to do it? These greedy guys!"
With a gloomy look on his face, he reopened the operation interface and began to redesign the task.
"I set the task reward to the highest level, and I can't believe no one has done it yet!"
