The Empress's Will to Live: System Help Me!-Chapter 22: The Plan to Feed the People.

A fucking pigeon... all of it depending on a fucking pigeon... Daisy thought as she just realized that if the pigeon doesn’t make its way there or something happens, who knows, a fucking eagle might hunt it down, then she is fucked, and used an item for nothing.

[System: That’s how it works, but don’t worry, it is not one pigeon but three.]

Ohh, so backup pigeons with the same message. How good is that? She sighed, though it wasn’t just the pigeons themselves that were a bit worrying, but what Zarah and Böring said to her.

Those soldiers were fucked up, both physically and mentally. They had lost many of their comrades, had just come down from a fucking mountain in the middle of a snow blizzard, and in the end, all of that suffering had been for nothing.

In short, there was a real chance that those soldiers wouldn’t give a shit about her. They might not even follow her orders and could instead join the rebellion, feeling abandoned and neglected... though, as with everything, it was only a possibility.

Still, this was only one percent of the situation she had to deal with, and there was a question that had been in her mind from the very beginning.

In the game, if the people were starving, you just bought hundreds of kilos of flour to make them food or the empire was built in a way where there was no shortage of flour. But not in this reality... it was different.

"We need food. A lot of it." Daisy said as she looked at the nobles. "How much flour, harvest, or any type of food do the houses have?" she asked, but the answers that came back were far from what she hoped to hear.

"Your Majesty, uhm... we have maybe enough to feed hundreds of thousands of people, but a million is impossible." One of the nobles answered.

"Why is that?" She asked, as she hadn’t listened to the tutorial nor knew the background of the world, sounding like an Empress completely disconnected from the reality around her and, in truth, she was.

"Well... to gain the biggest profit, all of our fields are outside the capital, and our workers are the ones who are—"

"Starving..." Daisy finished the noble’s sentence, only now realizing how fucked up they truly were. "Where is the rest? Everybody here has vast fields, not even talking about those I just executed... where are their harvests?"

"Sold it..." One of the nobles whispered.

"What...?"

"Daisy, how should I say it..." Orsen began, his eyes fixed on the ground. "Uhm, nobody believed in you..." He looked up. "So... every single noble, farmer, and anyone with large fields and harvests sold them to our neighboring countries, to make sure they had the wealth to run."

That look on her face... she looked like she was about to explode, because what Orsen said was the worst fucking thing that could have happened. Those motherfuckers had sold their harvest, every last bit of it, because they didn’t believe in her, leaving the starving even worse off.

And sadly, she knew why it happened. Not just because the nobles didn’t believe in her and thought the empire would crumble, so they made profit to escape, no... she knew the other reason too.

"Let me guess... they offered unbelievable amounts for it?" She asked, her gaze locking onto the nobles like a demon’s, her eyes making it clear she was ready to fucking slay them on the spot.

"Y-yes." Another spoke, his voice stuttering.

No fucking way... what the fuck... she thought as she just closed her eyes in her anger, because the same thing was an event in the game, a tricking event.

Basically, out of nowhere, one day while you were logged in, neighboring country nobles and rich men, merchants offered unbelievable amounts of money for your harvest, crops, flour, and every type of food that is harvestable and of course you take it, because with that money you can spend it on a lot of things... but then... comes the reality that all of your food is sold... and if all of your harvested food is sold, it means... you are fucked.

One, the Empire is alone. There is no alliance or trade deals, especially right now when a war is on the brink of breaking out. And second, the harvest season is over and winter is coming.

Yeah, it was a trick event, more like to show the greed of players, but now in this reality, and with the consciousness of these motherfucking NPCs, they sold their harvest not out of greed, but out of safety.

"So... on the brink of a war... all of you sold the harvest, which means we can’t provide our own people with food because you cared about your own safety rather than the safety of the Imperial...?" she asked, looking into their eyes, and they could look nowhere else.

That look was death. That look was faith.

"Y—"

"Don’t even speak!" She shouted as she grabbed the hilt of the sword but didn’t pull it out, but it was enough to get all of them on their knees to beg for their lives.

"Please, Your Majesty, we—"

"She said don’t speak!" Albert shouted as he pulled her sword out, because it angered him more and more as he thought about it.

But what was more dangerous than Albert was Daisy and her silence, as her eyes were closed, just thinking, her hand slightly shaking from the pure anger. Even Orsen didn’t speak, nor Zarah or Böring. All of them were in silence because they knew the weight of all of it.

But then she spoke.

"Böring, send out a battalion of soldiers to the nearest forests, lakes, rivers, and hunt every single animal they can find. Cut every single edible mushroom and herb they can find. Be sure to find experienced hunters and herbalists!" She stared at him, and Böring, with one nod, turned and started running in the hallway.

"You, Zarah, go and map out routes to all the villages and towns. Make it efficient and fast. After you’re done, gather all the wagons we have, even ask the people for theirs to be ready to pick up the food!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"And you fuckers!" She shouted as she looked at the nobles on the ground. "Call upon all of your mercenaries and workers, and get every bit of leftover harvest ready to be moved. If it’s already gone, send them to nearby villages, towns to hunt for food for the people!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" All of them shouted and just turned and started running, just like Zarah and Böring, while Orsen was mind-blown by Daisy’s plan.

What she had just ordered them to do was the fastest and most practical way to secure food for a large number of people, at least for those who were within reach. It wasn’t a perfect solution, nor a long-term one, but in this moment, speed mattered more than anything else.

"Fern, you sold too?" She asked as she looked at him.

"I didn’t." he answered. "I have enough corn, wheat, potatoes, other vegetables, and meat to provide for at least fifty thousand people, if it’s done properly and well organized."

Pastries... that is the fastest option, isn’t it?

[System: Be careful with hunting too. If they hunt too much, they can—]

I don’t give a fuck about that right now.

"Then Orsen and Fern, after Böring has given out his orders, go and take control of the biggest bakeries in the city... and not just that, everybody who can bake, get their names on a list and be ready to start immediately. Once we have our numbers and the hunters return, we’ll begin organizing the food supplies and preparing them. If anyone asks, say we’ll pay them, but we need every single hand to help!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Orsen replied, bowing slightly, his heartbeat racing. What Daisy had just ordered wasn’t just about gathering help, it would unite a vast number of people.

What began that day was the largest and most ambitious order Daisy had ever given since her arrival to the Imperial, since she had taken over as Empress... and she had no idea it would work even more flawlessly than she had imagined.

But, of course, she knew that three days weren’t enough; it was simply impossible. Yet if everything went well, she could at least get food to the outer regions, and at the very least spread the word that the Empress was keeping her promises, that the food was on its way, and that the worst of the starvation and suffering was finally coming to an end... at least to some of them.

The rest, the ones too far, too isolated, or too distrustful to believe in promises, would have to wait. Some would never believe the food was coming until it arrived at their doorsteps. And for those already murmuring rebellion, already plotting against her... words would not sway them. They could only be reached through action, through the undeniable proof that their Empress was capable of moving mountains to feed her people.

This was more than a strategy to feed the starving, it was a test, a demonstration of her power, and a signal to the doubters and rebels alike. Daisy knew it was risky, perhaps reckless, but there was no other way.

The survival of her people and the authority of the Empress depended on it.