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

Chapter 237: Make enough food and clothing by yourself
The "Spring Rain Battle" had a profound impact; if we look at history, we will find that it was a crucial turning point.

This involves factors related to the times and the system.

Without the influx of foreign population, the Roman Empire would not be able to recover from each war for at least two or three years.

Because the beating was too brutal.

Without the benefits of war, it would take Roman at least ten years to gradually recover from a war of the magnitude known as the "Spring Rain War".

But other nobles were not like that.

Whether I win or lose, it seems to make no difference.

Social systems are part of the reason.

For example, after Lord Owen of Stag Heights died, Owen's sons bowed down to Duke Gael and promised that if they did not make any more mistakes, they could return to succeed him, and that if their father rebelled, the sons would not be implicated.

Be a man to stay on the line and meet each other in the future.

Of course, this bottom line will be constantly crossed.

Sima Yi was well-qualified to speak on this matter.

Another reason is that the nobles of this era were unable to achieve the effect of annihilation warfare.

This is related to the military system.

The military system is also closely related to social and economic development.

If economic development is weak, the organization of the military will be weak, and it will be unable to fight decisive battles.

Therefore, the war mode is very low-level and not very intense; it's a mild, low-stakes game, like a period of relative calm.

Even the Warring States mode doesn't play like this anymore.

Once a stronger military emerges, we should fight to the death, to the point of national annihilation and racial extinction. Mass graves would be considered normal operations.

What does the "Spring Rain Battle" mean now?

Roman gave all the nobles of this land a small, high-level shock!

In the last battle against the noble alliance, Roman's troops were poorly trained, resulting in a very poor outcome.

At that time, most of the army consisted of new recruits who had only been trained for two or three months before being hastily sent to the battlefield.

Therefore, the casualties were relatively high, which is understandable.

But this time was different. Most of the soldiers had been trained for six months and could be considered elite troops, which was why Roman dared to fight in the field.

After all, if they were all new recruits, Roman would definitely be overwhelmed.

But it was precisely because of his reliable military organization that he, in turn, used sheer numbers to wear down all the conquering knights.

The results were also extremely fruitful.

For the first time, an army of 10,000 men was completely annihilated!

From a historical perspective, this is something worth remembering.

Because war drives the progress of human civilization.

In the future, this progress will be more obvious and more intuitive.

Those who don't follow the rules will be crushed by those who do, like putting your bare hand into a meat grinder.

Roman was the one who started the trend of curling.

He spent two years building up his reputation as the King of the Valley.

The pace of development is by no means slow.

Only the conquerors of a century ago could be compared to Roman.

Roman had no idea how the former had managed to do it.

All Roman knew was that he had cheated and was doing everything he could to develop the business.

The hardships and toil from Sig Town to Origin City are something only those cattle and horses can truly understand.

There are hardly any days off throughout the year.

Admittedly, this is a group of people who can endure hardship.

Therefore, these people will have to shoulder more work this year.

Because they adapted to the past labor intensity and processes, their work efficiency was greatly improved.

What used to take five hours to complete can now be done in four hours.

Roman could comfortably increase his workload. Of course, only after he had reaped the benefits of the "Spring Rain War".

He will also offer some benefits appropriately.

Improving living standards, enhancing the living environment, and building infrastructure—of course, these things must be created by their own hands.

After all, self-reliance leads to abundance, so we should share some of the wealth they create with them.

Isn't this the great kindness and virtue of the master?

Yay! (Makes a V sign with both hands)

……

Dick carried a keg of beer to the prison.

"We really can't let him out?"

He asked the jailer.

The jailer seemed a little hesitant, "Master Roman said no..."

Dick explained, "I promise nothing will happen."

In the brief pause in his speech, the jailer's expression hardened.

"Instructor...Deputy Commander Dick! Lord Roman's word is no! This is what you taught us! Military orders are absolute! No one can disobey!"

The jailer was a bit agitated, so his voice was loud.

Dick was at a loss for words.

“You…are fine!”

What was once a place for slaves has now become a prisoner-of-war camp.

The Blood Salt Knight Frant sat in the haystack, his limbs chained to four hundred-pound iron plates. He was the only one with this honor. When he saw Dick, he smiled and said, "I thought you were someone important here."

“It does have some status, but the rules here are different from other places,” Dick replied.

“I can see that,” said the Blood Salt Knight. “Otherwise, how could I have become a prisoner?”

He never imagined he would end up like this. It was dark and damp, the thatched roof smelled terrible, and every night fleas feasted on him—it was awful.

Dick couldn't improve his situation either, knowing that Frant was a first-rate knight.

They had faced off before; back then, Frant wasn't young, but he was.

Now he saw Frant again. His face was somewhat aged, with brown hair mixed with white hair, but Frant was still the renowned Blood Salt Knight of the Berchtesgaard family, maintaining a sturdy posture even in adversity.

"After we parted ways in Halburg, I thought we'd meet again someday, but then I heard about your accident, and I thought we'd never see each other again in this life. Now I know you're hiding here..."

“I’ve been hiding here for years,” Dick said calmly, setting down the barrel and taking out a glass. “They won’t tolerate me.”

“This is a good place. Lady Kate wants this valley,” Frant said.

“It wasn’t a good place before. There were few people, and it was poor. We could barely make ends meet. The only advantage was that there were no nobles. But when Roman came, that advantage became a disadvantage,” Dick said, lifting the lid of the bucket again. “But they think that this land will become powerful once it has a master? Humph, Lord Frant, some people’s power doesn’t come from the land. It’s just that people often misunderstand and think that a good fief is everything.”

“That’s not what you said back then,” Sir Frant pointed out. “During the dispute over the Hartart Salt Mine, you vowed to win ownership of that mine for Lord Warwick, competing with Berchtes for it. Although I defeated you, everyone acknowledged your bravery. Who knew that you would go back and murder Lord Warwick…”

Dick stopped moving and said, "I was so naive back then."

"Why did you kill Lord Warwick? Your colleagues all called you 'Clean Dick' and 'The Clear Man.' There are no wrong nicknames on earth, so I admired you from the first time I saw you. But you killed them all. Dick, I believe there was a reason for it."

"...My wife asked Lord Warwick when I would return. She was seven months pregnant and very anxious, longing for my return. I had lost the war and wanted to make amends, so I participated in a tournament hosted by the Duke of Oak. The winner would receive a mithril necklace, which I hoped to obtain to atone to my lord. But when I returned, I learned that my wife was dead, in Lord Warwick's castle. They said she was carrying a girl...I strangled her with that necklace..."

He didn't continue, his handsome yet weathered face radiating sorrow. He took out the blackened silver necklace and gently stroked it.

This is another necklace, specially commissioned by a silversmith to be made for his wife. He longs to personally put the necklace around her neck, or to give it to his unborn daughter.

Frant remained silent and said, "It's not your fault, but is that why you're loyal to Lord Roman? That man's reputation is almost as bad as yours now. If you hadn't stopped me, he would have broken my arms and legs himself, just like those Judgment Knights."

"That's because you hurt Green and Aaron. Luckily, you knew your limits and didn't kill them—even if you had killed one of them, even if I pleaded for you, I couldn't save your life. You would have been chopped into mincemeat and fed to the dogs."

"Isn't that how we knights are? We always have to show mercy when we encounter important figures. I bet those two aren't even twenty-five years old, and they're already third-tier knights! How can we really kill such promising young people?" Frant remarked.
"So what are you going to do by following him? I don't want to say, but don't you still have hatred? You still have unvented killing intent, but there are too many nobles like that, you can't kill them all."

He had encountered nobles like this in his fifty or sixty years of life.

There's a nobleman who doesn't treat nobles like nobles, and there's also Dick who kills nobles...

I can't even imagine what kind of big things those two can get up to together.

“No, that grudge is long gone. Go and talk to my commander about it.” Dick smiled sadly as he poured the Blood Salt Knight a glass of wine.

"Lord Frant, you know, I used to really hate, but then I met a little girl, tiny and thin, who ran away in panic to the mountains. At that moment, I thought that if my daughter were alive, she would be about the same age as her. When I thought that, my hatred disappeared without a trace... We have to accept reality and look forward, don't we?"

(End of this chapter)