Money leads the way, and the purchase of grain was very smooth at the beginning. The food in the neighboring countries was quite rich. Even if they were sold to Eugen at an average price, other countries could earn a lot of benefits.

But after only two days, the situation changed. It turned out that the nobles of all countries had noticed the food shortage of the Holy Roman Empire and even issued orders to force the reduction of food exports.

All the merchant ships that traveled to various countries to purchase grain from the Holy Roman Empire were detained by them, and the funds used to purchase grain were also taken away. They were obviously a group of nobles, but they were more shameless in doing things than robbers.

The food cannot be brought back, the money is gone, and even the people sent out are detained.

A series of news reached Eugen's table, Eugen was furious and slapped the table and shouted loudly: "What do these guys want to do? We have helped them stop the Black Death. If we had known it, we would have let the Black Death rage in their country."

Of course, these words are just sayings, and Eugen can't do such things as heaven and earth rage.

Eugen had just finished his trade fair in San Marino. The day after returning to Leber City, he heard such news, which naturally made him very angry.

Parma and Allen, who participated in the meeting, looked at each other, and they could see that Eugen was really angry, but in this kind of business game, the most important thing is to stay calm.

So Parma stood up and said, "Sir Eugen, don't worry about this matter. It's better to send someone to envoy the surrounding countries to see what they mean."

After Parma finished speaking, Alan on the other side also stood up, and then Parma said: "Yes, and we are not qualified to send envoys. Even if we send them out, the weight may be insufficient. It is best to contact Vienna for this matter and send envoys from the royal family. In this way, it can represent the majesty of the royal family, and the weight will naturally be different."

Hearing the words of the two, Eugen calmed down and pondered for a moment. He nodded and said, "Yes, yes, but I don't know how many days our food can last. If these things are delayed for too long, some unexpected problems may arise."

Parma has always been the management of grain storage. When he heard Eugen's problem, he spoke: "Although there is some shortage of food, as far as the current situation is concerned, it should be enough to maintain normal supply for about half a month. After half a month, the price of grain will rise sharply, but it can be barely maintained. Judging from the current situation, it will take a month to break out."

One month is not long or short. It is not short. Now it is only mid-July, and it is still about three months before the autumn grain harvest. In other words, if this problem is not solved, the entire empire will fall into a famine of two months.

In this era, the terrible famine is second only to the Black Death. But in my opinion, the impact of famine on ordinary poor people may be greater.

If the poor die because they have no food, the population of the empire will be sharply reduced. Population, no matter which country, is a crucial resource. Without a population, there will be no sufficient labor and production will naturally slow down.

Only after a long period of time can the population gradually recover.

"Well, one month should be enough. Then I will write a letter to explain the situation to Emperor Charles VI and ask him to send an envoy." Eugen nodded and agreed to the plan proposed by the two of them.

But on the other hand, he spoke again: "Even if this is the case, we must be prepared for the second hand. Allen, how big is the current army in our city of Leber."

Although Allen retreated from the army due to injury to his left arm and started a paperwork, his current work still has a lot to do with the army. When he heard Eugen's question, he directly replied: "Sir, there is only one of the Longxiang Army in Leibir City. If the garrison soldiers in various places are included, the total number should be around 17,000."

After a pause, Allen continued: "But it is not convenient to draw the garrison soldiers from all over the country, so the soldiers who can fight freely remained at around 10,000 as before, and all of these 10,000 people were the Dragon Xiang Army. After many battles, their combat effectiveness was guaranteed."

"Well, ten thousand people?"

Eugen spoke softly, with a look of thought in his eyes, and after a moment he spoke, "It's not enough, far from enough, so you will start to recruit soldiers and increase the benefits of soldiers again. The number of Dragon Hidden Army must be maintained at least 50,000 people in order to cope with the next thing."

Hearing Eugen's words, Allen looked puzzled. He hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Sir, 50,000 people, will the number be a little too much? At present, all our departments are in the development stage, and there is really a shortage of manpower. If 50,000 soldiers are recruited, problems may arise in other aspects of development."

Allen said the truth. Although he had absorbed some refugees on the Berhe River defense line before, the number of people in Leber City is still relatively small. Even if the population in other surrounding cities and rural areas is included, the total number is only about one million.

Although there seems to be a lot of numbers, it can only be achieved by counting children, women, elderly, etc.

Among them, the number of young and middle-aged people who can become soldiers is only 300,000, and young and middle-aged people are the necessary labor force for all industries.

In this case, it would be too difficult for Lebour City to draw one-sixth of the number of soldiers even with sufficient financial support.

Hearing Allen's words, Eugen also showed a contemplative look on his face. He knew some of these situations, but he also had his own concerns. In fact, in his opinion, the number of 50,000 soldiers was somewhat insufficient.

After all, if the situation continues to worsen, Leber City is likely to go to war with all the surrounding countries at the same time. Whether it is the French Empire or the British Empire, they are difficult opponents.

Moreover, Eugen predicted that it would be difficult for him to get support from other nobles. After all, the Wittelsbach family was crippled by him before, and there were very few Holy See coalitions left.

As for Habsburg, there is no way to expect it. After all, after experiencing the previous war, Habsburg's military strength is still far from recovering.

The only thing that can be counted on is the scattered nobles in the southwest.
Chapter completed!