"No matter what, we had to try. You understood the kingdom's current predicament too. Internal circulation would only drain us dry; without supplies from outside, we could starve to death at any time..." Roland said gravely. The only reason the Lagrange Kingdom had not fallen into famine was because the Northern Territory's grain was sustaining it. But that support could not last forever. The Northern Territory's reserves were also running low. On top of that, Roland had been using points and Gold Coins in the system to buy food and support the army, barely keeping the kingdom above its fragile famine threshold.
"The kingdom was facing famine again?" Apophis Breo's eyes narrowed. As the Northern Territory's nominal and actual leading figure, the Lagrange Kingdom's national security concerned not only itself, but the safety of the entire Lonely Mountain Alliance. Without Lagrange's long defensive line holding the enemy back, the Lonely Mountain Alliance would have almost no strategic depth. History had already proven that point. In the end, humans and dwarves could only make their last stand at Erebor.
"Not exactly. Marquis Al-Teglang-Franz brought supplies from the Eastern Realm's 14th Legion, and the amount was enormous. But the other kingdoms in the Northern Territory did not have much surplus grain left. We were living off our reserves!" Roland said, shaking his head.
"Impossible! With the Eastern Realm 14th Legion's supplies in hand, shouldn't you be able to hold out for several years?" Apophis Breo asked doubtfully. Even if Roland kept hundreds of thousands of pigs at home, they could not possibly burn through supplies that fast!
"That was true, but judging by the current harvest, the kingdom's food could remain above the safety line if we stopped supplying the army. But I could not keep the army outside the kingdom's circulation