The Central Group Army had their vacation, then replenished their ranks with new recruits from the training camps to make up for losses sustained in the battles in the Green Valley Region, and set off for the Eastern Provinces.
Their actions were very smooth.
The connections between the Eastern Provinces and the Central Three Provinces as well as Revival City were very close.
The situation there was completely different from the Green Valley Region.
The food production capacity of the Eastern Provinces was rather weak, even weaker than that of the Central Three Provinces.
This was mainly because, in the pre-war era, the Eastern Provinces were the core urban areas on the main continent of Rage Owl Star, especially closer to the coastal areas. Unlike the Central Three Provinces with only one urban relic, ‘Tower Ruins,’ such relics were ubiquitous in the Eastern Provinces.
Although there was still some flat plains soil suitable for agricultural production, the overall amount was not quite sufficient.
The main food supply for the five to six million people living in the Eastern Provinces actually also depended on the Green Valley Region.
After the unrest in the Green Valley Region, it was not surprising that a famine spread in the Eastern Provinces, leading to upheaval.
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The Union still had a kind heart.
Gu Hang had always valued the population greatly, he did not want an uprising in the Eastern Provinces, leading to a great number of deaths from starvation, and then more deaths from fighting over food.
A serious famine could even be more terrifying than the reduction of population caused by war.
In this situation, under Gu Hang’s direction, Bradford, who was effectively in charge of the Alliance Commerce Department, followed the governor’s ideas and continuously supplied food to the Eastern Provinces.
Initially, driven by his merchant nature, Bradford wanted to take this opportunity to sell food at a high price, which would surely lead to huge profits.
However, this merchant instinct was fiercely criticized by Prime Minister Oseina.
Amidst the criticism, Bradford finally remembered that he was no longer a merchant. He was in charge of the Commerce Department, true, but he was a politician now, and he needed to act according to political rather than commercial logic.
For a long time in the past, the food supply provided to the Eastern Province was maintained through large import orders from the Western Desert; recently, there were also increased imports from grain produced in the Beiqing Valley Province.
The Green Valley Region had conducted their autumn harvest a few months ago, and despite the yield not being as high as in the bountiful years, it was at least sufficient to support the fourteen million populations of the Union.
And the abundant cleared jungles and trees, as well as the Aberrant Beasts that had been killed in previous wars, were all fed into the synthetic starch factories.
About half a year ago, the Union had mastered the self-researched technology for producing synthetic starch. Every production line completed, a set would be sent to Beiqing Valley.
Currently, the Beiqing Valley Area had put into operation many large and small synthetic starch factories.
The output of these synthetic starches was increasing.
Including this not-so-tasty, but definitely life-sustaining food, the Green Valley Region could produce more food than in the high-yield years.
That was enough.
The various food items exported in large quantities to the Eastern Provinces were mainly exchanged for various industrial raw materials on the business front.
Industrial raw materials were the most important basic output of the Eastern Provinces, a traditional output.
To put it bluntly, it was similar to the production mechanisms at ‘Tower Ruins,’ it relied on garbage collecting.
Supplying food at fair prices in exchange for industrial materials was a basic business not for profit, or rather, for normal profit.
But as mentioned, since there were political considerations involved, it was essentially a political deal.
Besides maintaining the millions of population in the Eastern Provinces from uncontrollable widespread famine and warfare, the extra profit not made from the business side needed to be earned back in other ways.
Through increased trade actions, the Union established very profound influences in many settlements in the Eastern Provinces.
Only the Union could provide abundant food supply, which forced many settlements to sell raw materials at fair prices to the Union. Of course, strictly speaking, this wasn’t coercion, since food wasn’t sold at inflated prices and raw materials weren’t underpriced; it was a fair trade.
However, some associated conditions, such as propagating the Union’s system and reiterating that their own settlements were members of the Union, were mandatory.
Don’t underestimate these, for the will of the people is subject to change.
In their own settlements, if one couldn’t have enough food or clothing, had to pick garbage every day, faced wasteland mutant beasts, and worried about raiders; whereas in the Union, as long as one became a Union Citizen, secured a rank, one would at least have no worries about food and clothing. As for work, could it be more arduous than picking garbage?
Not to mention, as per Union propaganda, every rank had basic healthcare benefits, leaves…
Compare the two, and it becomes clear which is preferable.
And with the second point of propaganda, that one’s own settlement is also a member of the Union.
Wouldn’t the low and even middle-class residents think: Why is our standard of living so poor when we are all part of the Union?
So, if one day the Union arrives, saying it wants to take over the entire settlement under its direct governance. Then, how strong could the resistance of the entire settlement be?
Forget resistance, there would probably be welcoming parties everywhere.
Beyond the minimal requirement of allowing Union merchants to promote the Union, there were other deeper cooperations as well.