From where he stood, Chen Rui could not see any farmland.
This meant that Zong Shen had enough Denar and the necessary channels to purchase grain from the natives.
A territory on such a scale had a population of at least tens of millions.
Before its agricultural system had become self-sustaining, relying on purchases to supply food for the entire territory was undoubtedly very difficult.
The first issue was the cost.
The natives were not exactly short on food.
But purchasing it in large quantities over a sustained period was extremely expensive, with Denar flowing away like water.
Second, there was the food consumption of a population numbering in the tens of millions.
A single Great City-level market would not be enough.
At the very least, bulk purchases would have to be made simultaneously in five or six Great Cities to meet the demand.
After all, a single Great City itself only had a population of several tens of millions.
Even if it had a surplus of food, feeding an additional ten million or so people would not be a problem. But supplying the consumption of tens of millions more would be beyond its means.
All things considered, for such a large territory, feeding so many people without farming was no easy task.
For ordinary Lords, food supply was likewise one of the constraints on development and expansion.
Yet Zong Shen seemed not to take this difficulty seriously at all.
His rate of development was astonishing, and in many respects, he never played by conventional rules.
Before setting out, Chen Rui only had wealth worth three or four million Denar.
That already counted as immense wealth.
Later, the [World Channel] updated its likes-and-tips system.
He had seized that opportunity to make another fortune.
He was still fairly well-off now.
But