You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 14 Are You Going to Disobey My Orders?
The town of Sig has an agricultural official, 16 stewards, and 30 guards.

Those in charge could only understand and convey rudimentary laws; they themselves had not received much education and only possessed basic management skills.

The guards are a semi-retired group and are the source of order and stability in Sige Town.

Roman felt that Moore would not let him down.

So he rode his horse with peace of mind, leading the group of ignorant and clueless children back to the manor.

Roman named this estate Origin Estate.

It takes nearly 20 minutes to walk from Sig Town to Origin Manor, but only a few minutes by horseback.

Before leaving in the morning, Roman told Bob to prepare rations for 300 more people at noon and to hand over command of all the maids and male slaves in the manor to Bob—that was how it was on the first day, and things would be easier from then on.

In addition to their studies, these three hundred children can also take on most of the labor at Origin Manor.

If you don't understand, you can learn; once you learn, you'll understand. If they don't listen, beat them until they obey.

Roman asked himself if he was being harsh on them.

It's currently the land reclamation phase, and due to spring planting, he has basically filled all available manpower positions.

He summoned the two clerks from the manor. One was named Gehrman, and the other was named Hans.

They came from the city school of the Grand Duchy of Cracked Armor.

There are basic educational institutions in this world.

Church seminaries and monasteries are not mentioned.

The children of royalty and nobility acquired their knowledge through court schools.

The knightly class also had a corresponding education system. However, most knights did not focus on cultural knowledge. These warriors only needed to be literate and understand commands. Green and Aaron had been influenced by Roman since childhood and were both capable of working as civil officials, but they were special cases.

Finally, there were the middle class, including merchants and gentry, who acquired knowledge through urban schools, mainly in reading, writing, arithmetic, and business.

It can barely be considered a vocational school.

The two clerks that Roman recruited came from such schools; although they were commoners, they came from wealthy families.

They are the second sons or illegitimate children of a merchant or gentry, and will have to support themselves in the future, without any family assistance.

Roman paid a considerable price to find these two clerks.

Reclaiming uncharted territory is an extremely arduous and challenging task.

Roman offered 1.2 gold coins per year and paid three years' salary in advance, thus signing a ten-year contract.

This hiring fee is undeniably high, exceeding half of the fees for the same period.

Furthermore, wages are only the main part of their income; they also receive in-kind compensation.

Even with over a thousand acres of land, a knight-errant's average annual income, including war and robbery, is only 10 to 20 gold coins, not counting daily expenses.

Saving up one gold coin a year is considered a good life. Most knights without territory struggle to even support themselves, and they can't even repair their broken equipment.

Roman said to the two men, “Listen, Gehrman, Hans, I need you to teach those children every day, the way your teachers taught you. Be patient with them, start with math, then literacy and writing…”

Gehman suddenly said, "Sir, I came to this land with you not to become a teacher."

Gehman preferred a position equivalent to that of the agricultural officer, such as a judge or housekeeper, and then to manage the estate.

Instead of leading those dirty farmer children in a word guessing game.

"Is that what you think too?" Roman noticed that the two were standing side by side, and he turned his gaze to Hans.

The somewhat thin young man nodded slightly. His grandfather was a judge for a great lord, helping the nobles to formulate laws and punish any farmer who violated them, thus perfecting the rule.

But on Roman's side, all they've done during this period has been conduct population statistics.

That was just a boring arithmetic game; there was no chance to really show off one's skills.

They came from the middle class and were eager for advancement, hoping to obtain positions that would benefit their descendants. They accepted Roman's invitation to come to this secluded place. Before they came, Roman promised them that they would work on land flowing with milk and honey, and declared that their future social status would be greatly improved—it was practically a decree that they would be the future managers of the plantation.

On the other hand, they felt that they were employed by nobles, were the elite of the city, and were a completely different group from the children of farmers.

Now, however, Roman has kicked him into the mud, forcing him to live among the poor, with no hope of rising in social class.

"So you're going to disobey my orders?" Roman's voice turned icy.

Hans swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and, drawing courage from who-knows-where, puffed out his chest and said, "We have the right not to carry out unreasonable orders. If Lord Roman insists, I will file a lawsuit with the royal court. The king's judicial power is superior to yours as a lord..."

Under Roman's increasingly terrifying gaze, his voice grew softer and softer until, after all the protests had subsided, Roman's gaze became more intense than ever before, like a burning flame. It was a terrifying sharpness, and whenever Roman stared at one of them, that person would feel as if they had a thorn in their back.

Roman began, “I’m hiring you at above-market rates. Don’t talk about any of your rights in front of me. Your commissions are enough for me to order you to do these things.”

In these calm words, the two deeply felt a tranquil power, like the sea before a storm, calm on the surface, but this premonition was enough to make them tremble.

Even if they die in this godforsaken place, their families won't receive any news for three to five years.

"Once you sign the contract, you have to work for me, and you have to obey your master, right?"

Seeing the two nodding nervously, Roman's expression softened slightly.

"Don't think too highly of yourselves, don't overestimate my patience with you, and don't try to question my decisions, or I will execute you on the spot!"

Roman walked right through the two of them, and the last words he uttered as he passed by were uttered with blood between his teeth—they were not empty words.

……

Roman arrived in Sig.

He saw that the farmers who collected manure had returned at this time and were lining up to get their meals.

Roman glanced at the pile of excrement.

In just one morning, they should have collected about ten tons of material, but more hasn't been delivered yet.

It includes not only human excrement, but also cow, horse, sheep, and pig excrement. A strong adult ox can produce 20 to 30 kilograms of excrement every day.

These decomposed manures have a strong effect on improving soil quality.

But that's far from enough. Roman needs at least 100 tons of fertilizer to meet his most basic needs.

However, before decomposition, the excrement only has a terrible stench.

Roman was very satisfied with Mohr's efficiency.

Moore was also very good at handling some of the minor details that he hadn't arranged.

The common land was filled with tableware and chairs salvaged from farmhouses in Sige Town, all for the common use of the same people. Otherwise, it would be impossible to satisfy so many people eating at the same time. Behind them was a simple hearth made of stones, with earthenware pots and pans still cooking on it.

After Roman dismounted, he walked straight over. As soon as he got close, he smelled a strong stench—the farmer who had been collecting manure all morning was also covered in the stench, making this open-air canteen feel like a public toilet.

But Roman remained calm.

This is nothing; he still has to deal with that mountain of dung himself later.

Along the way, farmers would make way for him, their eyes filled with fear.

The newly appointed lord did not redistribute land to them, nor did he mention increasing taxes, nor did he tell them when they should start farming.

This made them uneasy and very anxious, because now was the perfect time to plow the land and they couldn't afford to delay.

But Roman's attitude was very firm, and they had no choice but to wait and see.

However, they were also shocked by the quality of the food provided at noon.

Could this be the legendary last meal before execution?
Normally, these things would be enough for their whole family to enjoy a delicious day with other complementary foods.

(End of this chapter)