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

Chapter 336 This is forced conscription!
In April, Roman delivered a large quantity of grain to Blackburg. The granaries in both cities were more than half empty.

He also wanted to send elite troops to escort the grain transport team.

We had no choice but to do this, because the roads were full of bandits and outlaws.

Because the land was not unified, it was impossible to concentrate resources on doing things. King Iolion of the Black Iron was unable to quell the rebellion and could only rely on the noble forces to suppress it.

But if the nobles could really suppress them, then the problem of thieves would not exist.

Because these days, most people who become thieves have some fighting skills.

Their origins include mercenaries, free riders, sworn knights, and down-on-their-luck warriors, all of whom have fought in wars. Some displaced farmers also joined them.

In other words, thieves are also organized armed groups.

Although their equipment is inferior to that of the Conqueror Knights, their combat prowess is not necessarily much weaker.

Some of the grain being transported to Blackburg was intercepted by thieves, among whom the "wool thieves" were particularly rampant. They roamed around, plundering, extorting, and stripping the clothes off the dead; they were known as the sheep-stripping thieves.

The chief eunuch brought those messages and specifically instructed Roman to send some men to prevent the grain from being looted.

If those millions of kilograms of grain were truly lost, it would be unacceptable for both Roman and Io III.

Therefore, Roman dispatched two thousand veterans and three thousand auxiliary troops to escort them along the way.

Now the land is suffering from disasters and food production is reduced. Noble families have surplus grain, but many farmers at the bottom of society really have no way to survive—the only way to survive is to go out and rob.

Roman is also making the most of his time.

Construction and farming are both extremely important matters, and such foundational work cannot be delayed in the slightest.

The city of Plenty is in chaos right now. Every day, slaves are dispatched to various settlements, with wave after wave of people coming and going to where they are supposed to go.

Although the newly added slaves were not very motivated to work, each of them had two steel farm tools, so even if their efficiency was low, it wouldn't be too low.

Moreover, as the environment stabilizes, their labor efficiency will gradually increase.

This is essentially survival of the fittest.

Those who couldn't adapt were forced to do even harder and more tiring work. Apart from three meals a day, they were treated like slaves, and failing to meet their quotas would result in beheading.

This is forced conscription.

Roman didn't care how many people died because of it.

If cruelty is not demonstrated, then power becomes a paper tiger, and no one will care about it; in fact, they will trample on it.

Violence is the foundation of rule.

The soldiers who committed the killings also had something to say: the origins of the law and military discipline are clear, the army is to protect the human rights of the people.

But not everyone is one of the people.

Those who disobey the King of the Valley and fail to fulfill his demands have no human rights.

Slaves have no human rights, so there is no protection for them.

They have always deeply despised people who eat but do nothing.

Due to the operation of the corvée system, in April, Roman reclaimed 100,000 acres of new wasteland in the city of Plenty. The land that had been cultivated with a light plow during the time of Count Conde had been left uncultivated for only a year or two and had become wasteland again, overgrown with weeds and wild grass.

There's no time to plant spring wheat.

Based on the progress of land reclamation, Roman planted spring vegetables, cotton, and legumes.

Due to climate differences, Origin City produces more cotton than Plenty City. However, Origin City lacks arable land, and the scarce land is better suited for growing high-yield crops. Plenty City has a lot of arable land, and although the yield per acre of cotton is not high, one acre can still meet a person's clothing needs for several years.

Roman doesn't have high requirements; planting 20,000 to 30,000 mu is enough.

Iceland is a major wool producer. But Roman never expected to have a stable supply of wool, just as he never thought that maltose would bring him a stable fortune. Sure enough, after he became a major enemy of Gael and the Papacy, he could only produce and consume his own wool.

This unpredictable world is never reasonable.

Even farming doesn't guarantee a fixed yield. Do you think you can just bury the seeds and expect a harvest? In reality, it can encounter various disasters, leading to reduced yields or even total crop failure.

Of course, this is still the safest way to harvest crops; in an agrarian society, farming comes first.

In this region, extreme weather may occur once every four or five years, or even ten years or more—unlike war, which can happen anytime, just as humans can be in heat 24 hours a day.

Time flies, and it's already May.

The winter wheat harvested this month has given both cities a significant boost.

Origin City was not affected by this year's rainstorms.

On this desolate and bleak land, the golden wheat fields of Origin City undulate like an ocean, undoubtedly the most magnificent sight of the current era. The wheat ears are plump and full, the awns are dense like a forest, and the stalks are short and sturdy.

In spring, summer and autumn, Gweil blesses the rice, and in winter she blesses the wheat seedlings.

Her blessing was directed towards increasing tillering rate and dwarfing wheat stalks.

With so many breeding directions, it's difficult to bless Gavial in every way. Choosing just two directions can significantly increase yields.

Moreover, the soil has been well-cultivated over this period of time.

Fertilizer is applied twice a year, with 2,000 jin of fertilizer applied per mu. The peat manure is mixed with the native soil, decomposing to release a large amount of nutrients. The enormous fertility is buried deep in the soil, and over the years, the land has been cultivated into mature land.

Good soil quality naturally leads to a high harvest.

This year, the average yield of winter wheat was 300 jin per mu, with the highest reaching 400 to 500 jin. The farmers responsible for harvesting the wheat were all smiles. In their eyes, this was nearly ten times the yield of the past, which was simply a miracle.

This batch of staple grain greatly expanded Roman's granary.

If everyone eats a pound of wheat every day, they can last until this autumn.

However, this round of winter wheat is only one part of the entire production system in Lohmann, and does not represent all grains.

In fact, the 100,000 mu of land that Fengrao City cultivated last year will also have a bumper harvest this year, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

……

While singing, dancing, and celebrating in Origin City.

Káo, leading his guards and auxiliary troops, also escorted the supply convoy to Blackburg.

The Black Iron Lands are situated in the most fertile and richest central valley. Blackburg is a magnificent city in this land, with walls as high as twenty meters. It is built along the river, and the wide Whitehorn River flows mightily into the entire Black Iron Lands.

Two days without rain, the long rainy season is coming to an end, and the gloomy clouds linger in the sky, unwilling to disperse, so there will be very few days when we can see the sun.

Khal was somewhat surprised when he saw the magnificent city in the distance. Even more surprised was Sanna—she begged Roman to let her go with Khal—she couldn't bear the loneliness any longer, and Roman also felt it was time to give her some experience. The grain transport route was fraught with danger, and Sanna, skilled in both reconnaissance and combat, was the best choice for scout.

And indeed, thanks to Sanna's usefulness, the grain transport team repelled several large-scale bandit raids and even arson attacks.

Khal realized that someone didn't want the Black Iron King to get the grain.

He took strict precautions, and under Dick's guidance, nothing unexpected happened.

(End of this chapter)