Chapter 960 [0951] Reasons for the Welcome

When the front troops of the Northern Expedition sailed west along the Yiming River and arrived at the Green Tooth Peak, many people were already waiting eagerly on the border of Demacia.

Those waiting here were not greeted by the official organization, but merchants who invested in the construction of Yiming City. These people showed quite amazing enthusiasm for the returning Northern Expedition Army. Although they were not allowed to board the ship, they still held various banners and cheered loudly by the river.

The Northern Expedition soldiers who saw this scene were somewhat confused. Before they set off, the construction of Yiming City had just begun, so they had no idea why there were so many people coming to greet them at the Green Tooth Peak, and it seemed that it was not officially organized.

But Lux, who was also on the boat, read a lot of interesting information from it.

"It seems that the construction of Yiming City is going smoothly." She said to Kalya with a smile, "Otherwise there wouldn't be so many merchants gathered here, and there are many brands that I haven't heard of before."

"They have a keen sense of smell." Kalya nodded, "Whether it is the sensation caused by the return of the Northern Expedition Army or the Northern Expedition Army itself, it will definitely lead to the market trend of Demacia for a long time in the future. It is indeed a good choice to leave a good impression first."

"They are well-informed." At this point, Lux also hesitated for a while, "I hope it is not leaked, but they learned it from the old gatekeeper."

Kalya nodded when he heard it.

Lux reacted quickly. This is indeed a more important thing at the moment.

If the news of the merchants came from the old gatekeeper, from Nokmochi, it would be a good thing, because it means that the Demacia merchants in Yiming City have successfully extended their tentacles beyond the borders of Demacia.

If the merchants' information came from the clerks of Yiming City or even the army of Green Tooth Peak, then the Ministry of Internal Affairs will probably be busy for a while, and the subsequent construction of Yiming City may also be affected.

Preventing problems before they arise means curbing them when they are just signs. Although it is now the time for the Northern Expedition to return victoriously, it does not mean that the route and itinerary can be revealed to merchants. This is a matter of principle.

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The Ministry of Internal Affairs acted quickly.

It took them less than half a day to figure out where the merchants who went to Green Tooth Peak to welcome the Northern Expedition got the news from - this news was already a big hit in Yiming City. As early as when the Northern Expedition arrived in Nokmochi, merchants who had discovered the whereabouts of the Northern Expedition rushed back directly and planned to sell the news for a good price.

As a result, when they were in Nokmochi, there were quite a few downtrodden nobles who tried to make friends with the Northern Expedition soldiers, and there were also quite a few Demacia merchants who wanted to sell this news. It didn't take long for this "precious information" to become commonplace. When the Northern Expedition returned victoriously, more than one-third of the investment merchants in Yiming City either went out in person or sent people to greet them at the border, which created a scene of loud gongs and drums, firecrackers, waving red flags, and huge crowds of people.

After receiving this news, Lux finally felt relieved - it seemed that during the time when she was away, although the business of Demacia developed rapidly, it did not lead to the expansion of the merchants' power and thus affect the clerks.

Great.

It happened that with the return of the Northern Expedition, many retired Northern Expedition soldiers would be transferred from the military to the civilian sector, and the clerks should also be injected with some fresh blood.

……………………

In Yiming City, which had not yet been fully completed, the Northern Expedition was officially welcomed by the people of Demacia for the first time.

When the army entered the city, merchants and hired workers gathered on both sides of the street, craning their necks to look carefully at these heroes who were praised in the newspapers and defended Runeland.

On this day, the flowers in Yiming City were sold out.

Then, before the investors in Yiming City could find an angle to take advantage of this wave of popularity, the returning army continued to move westward along the Yiming River, through the water network in the northern border, and went south to Xiongdu.

The return journey was smooth. Wherever the Northern Expedition Army went, they were warmly welcomed by the local people. The enthusiasm even made Lux a little confused.

It is true that the Northern Expedition Army was really fighting for Runeland and was a real world savior.

However, since the problem of the void is really hard to say openly, the newspapers could not clearly state what specific enemy the Northern Expedition Army defeated - at most, they made some indirect descriptions through the sufferings suffered by Freljord, such as Anivia had to be reborn frequently and the civilization of Freljord could not rise because of this.

Under such circumstances, the people still welcomed the Northern Expedition Army, which was somewhat beyond Lux's expectations.

As for why this happened, when Lux met Ino and got a lot of newly sorted information, she suddenly realized it.

Lux's judgment was correct. The Demacians did not quite understand the significance of the Battle of the Howling Abyss.

But they understood the significance of the Battle of the Black Forest.

In fact, long before the Northern Expedition Army officially entered Freljord, Demacia's eastern trade had become much more active. After the Battle of the Black Forest, the principalities and city-states that had previously maintained a neutral attitude turned to Demacia. Since the political leaders of Demacia were leading troops to the expedition at this time, the principalities and city-states that changed sides adopted an economic-first strategy to get closer to Demacia first.

In the past, the relationship between Demacia and its eastern neighbor has always been "allies against Noxus". Although Demacia is the boss of this alliance, due to the equal strength of Demacia and Noxus, Demacia has to provide some help to these allies in addition to ensuring their opposition to Noxus.

For example, affordable agricultural products.

For example, military security services.

For example, arbitration of internal disputes.

Demacia is the boss of an alliance. The younger brother must listen to the boss, but the boss must also provide tangible benefits. Although the two sides are unequal, they also get what they need.

Even after the failure of Tobysia, Noxus fell into division and its power shrank. In the eyes of many Valoran principalities and city-states, the balance between the two sides has not been completely overturned-in the past, the king of Demacia died on the battlefield, and now Noxus has only lost a general. Is it a big deal?

However, when the Black Forest War ended with Demacia's complete victory and the Noxians completely gave up their hegemony, the principalities and city-states that could sit on the fence before suddenly became embarrassed.

If it was a two-power hegemony, then the younger brother would still be qualified to ask for benefits.

But now that one company is the only one in power, Demacia dares to give, do they dare to reach out and take it?

In this case, why don't everyone run to Demacia quickly, and continue to wait for the price?

So, in the aspects that Lux didn't spend too much energy on, as the Northern Expedition went north, the scale of Demacia's eastern trade began to grow rapidly at a quite astonishing speed.

So, these Demacia people who came to welcome, what they welcomed was not "the hero of Runeland who saved the world".

But "the Demacia hero who brought prosperity to the eastern trade".

After figuring out the reason, Lux had to shake his head helplessly.

"Sure enough, it has to be the most immediate interests!"

Why didn't you update yesterday?

It was because I took a 12-hour nap—yes, I took a nap in the afternoon, and when I woke up it was already late at night. I was so confused when I got up, and I really experienced what it means to feel like I was in another world.

It turns out that sleeping too much is not necessarily a good thing. I was not very energetic all day today…