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

Chapter 152 One Year

Roman suddenly realized that he had been in Sig Town for a year and several days.

When he arrived in this land, there were fewer than two thousand people living in poverty, hunger, and cold, leading a backward and miserable life.

Of course, life isn't exactly great right now.

He forcibly conscripted laborers, and anyone who dared to resist would be killed.

They are never idle.

But they will definitely have enough to eat and wear.

For farmers, having enough to eat and wear is the most important guarantee; everything else has to take a backseat.

But these four words are incredibly difficult to achieve.

Having enough to eat and wear means having a stable life.

After the wedding boom and the winter's rest, there are about two hundred more pregnant women in Sige Town.

After spring ends, it is estimated that there will be another four or five hundred pregnant women.

Fortunately, those pregnant women were only one or two months pregnant, so it was okay for them to do some physical labor. In the following months, Roman gradually reduced their work duties to avoid any accidents.

More importantly, the population has increased fivefold.

This means he can mobilize more people this year, cultivate more land, raise more livestock, and train more professional soldiers.

During Roman's reign, their productivity increased tenfold or even ninefold compared to the backward production methods of the past!
……

The winter hunt lasted for five days.

During the reign of Count Condé, an envoy was sent to try to find out the details of the town of Sig.

But they were kicked out.

There's nothing more to say now; the two have become mortal enemies, that's beyond question.

Since they are enemies, there's no need to waste words.

Either you call me, or I'll call you back.

The ice and snow melted on a large scale.

As early spring arrived, this operation brought over 100,000 jin of game to Sige Town.

They killed every wild boar, deer, and hibernating bear they could find, and their catch of small and medium-sized prey was plentiful.

The salvage team also caught a lot of fish.

Roman returned in triumph with his soldiers, and Seth led his men to meet him.

The prey underwent initial processing, but for long-term storage, it needed to be transported to the main kitchen for safekeeping.

This meat is paired with soybeans. A healthy and well-balanced diet should last until this summer.

There will be no more food problems this year or in the future.

Seth said to Roman, "Sir, I have recruited six hundred new soldiers."

Six hundred new recruits is a bit too few.

These soldiers were mostly conscripts captured by Roman, who had a natural advantage and were easier to train.

Roman's army currently numbers around 1,200.

This is just the initial recruitment phase. There will be a second round of recruitment later.

Roman plans to squeeze two thousand professional soldiers out of this population of ten thousand this year.

On average, four people have to support the food, clothing, housing, and daily training of one professional soldier.

Even for Sige Town, which has seen its breeding scale expand and its farming methods change, it is equivalent to hellish difficulty.

Not to mention that there are over a thousand children who are also unable to work; it would be good enough if they could take care of themselves.

Therefore, this is just the expected task.

The future town of Sig will be replenished with labor, either through the plundering of people or the purchase of slaves; in short, the labor shortage will be filled.

We must train two thousand professional soldiers!

In other words, everyone in Sige Town is still keeping busy this year.

At this point in time, Roman is about to conduct his fifth recruitment of apostles.

The population of Sig Town has exploded this time.

After a short period of digestion, they should have some basis for naturalization.

The noble lords of Kande do not enjoy the same level of comfort as those in the Capitol of Kande, who are provided with food, clothing, and housing for free.

Even if Roman disregards their wishes and plunders them, he will surely be able to distinguish who is superior and who is inferior. Therefore, Roman plans to increase the number of recruitment attempts to 150.

But before that, he needs to have a good talk with Gweil.

……

She was very pretty, with eyes like a fawn's. She didn't dare to look up and could only twist the hem of her clothes with her fingers.

She did something wrong.

She had done many wrong things in the past, but they were all forgiven.

This time, however, she was a little unsure.

She nearly murdered her friend. When she woke up from a terrifying dream that day, she saw Sanna lying next to her. She hugged her and cried and laughed, but in her heart she thought she had fallen into another dream.

"Gervais".

She heard him call her name; she still remembered that at this time last year, he had called her that too, which had terrified her.

"come over."

Gweil took a step forward, feeling as uneasy as when she first arrived at the manor, and felt a hand land on her head, gently stroking it.

“You’ve grown up, Gweil.”

Grandpa Jialin said the same thing, and he would pinch her arms and legs every time.

Her body, which had been thin and frail, became full and robust.

But she's not as tall as Sanna; she's just over 1.4 meters tall, while Sanna is nearly 1.5 meters tall, even though they're about the same age—luckily, Jimmy isn't even as tall as her.

His fingers gently traced her cheek, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He then placed his palm on the back of her head, leaned in, and kissed her forehead and eyes, making her want to laugh.

He asked, "What are you afraid of?"

Gweil felt no longer uneasy. She looked him straight in the eye and said softly but firmly, "I'm not afraid."

Roman sighed softly, "No, you're afraid."

A hint of confusion appeared in Gweil's innocent, doe-like eyes; she couldn't understand what Roman was saying.

“You have never answered my call even once,” Roman said softly.

He felt there must be something wrong.

Gweil became a close attendant to Aaron and Green, and their relationship became very close.

Theoretically speaking, it would be reasonable for Roman to pull the Witch of Misfortune as a single character.

But the result was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Either the witches are very difficult to recruit, or the witches are not even in the recruitment pool.

He had many theories, which bothered and worried him, until he heard about the accident that had happened to Sanna.

He was shocked to realize that Gweil's hidden power was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

“No, I remember every time you call me perfectly,” Gweil said, dissatisfied, swearing she had never done so.

"Then why are you hiding your power?"

Gweil was taken aback at first, then fell silent. Her head drooped, her eyes and brows clearly showing disappointment and sadness, like an ugly scar that she had tried so hard to hide being exposed to the air and to the gaze of others.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," she said painfully.

Roman's eye twitched, secretly annoyed.

Just because of this?

He fought a fierce battle with the Nightshade Witch for her, but after more than a hundred attempts, he still couldn't get her. He was almost giving up hope and was thinking of just raising a pet instead.

He made many guesses, but he didn't overlook Gweil's psychological problems.

And all because of this bullshit "I don't want to hurt others"!
He now wished he could punch Gevil twice and then kick her to the ground to unleash her power.

angry!
But no way.

She was still just a child.

She was unaware of her importance as a witch.

Shasta traveled a long way to Sig Town for her sake, only to ignite a tense situation in the northern lands.

Roman simply couldn't believe that someone like that was only acting out of so-called sisterly affection.

Where do idealists come from?
Because a complete stranger dared to lay a knife on a nobleman?
Reality taught Roman that there was nothing that money couldn't solve.

There must be something of value in Gweil that she needs.

(End of this chapter)