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

Chapter 352 Military Fortress
Sanna was an exceptionally healthy child. She was as flexible as a cat, as explosive as a leopard, and possessed extremely keen senses and more stamina than the average person. However, she lacked the stamina to be a proper warrior knight.

Sanna's body is completely different from that of Shasta and Margaret. The latter two are no longer true girls; they are mature and lack that vibrant sense of life force bursting from their bodies.

Naïve, lively, and shy – even Roman finds it difficult to describe these qualities precisely.

But there is no doubt that he loves her very much, so checking her health has become a very important matter.

In less than an hour, Sanna's skin was flushed and she was drenched in sweat.

She persisted for a short time, which may be related to the fact that it was her first time undergoing a physical examination.

She squinted and lay on the table, looking as satisfied as a cat that had just eaten fish.

This was a minor incident. Roman took her to the bedroom to rest, and then spent another half an hour making a fuss in the bedroom.

He was still somewhat unsatisfied and wanted to play a few more times. Anyway, it wouldn't break her skin; the girl's skin had great elasticity and resilience.

But unfortunately, I have other things to do now.

……

The War of the Kings had a profound and far-reaching impact.

The most obvious consequence was that Lohmann lost its stable wool supply base.

Iceland is an island inhabited by millions of people.

The previous King of Iceland, Yarman, was a loyal ally of Óo III—although they had only met twice in decades, the alliance had been established over a century ago.

Yarman was nearly fifty years old and in good health; his subjects believed he could remain king for at least another twenty years.

Because of the Conqueror's Order, His Majesty Yarman also recognized Roman trade privileges—exemption from commercial taxes, customs duties, tolls, and other fees.

Despite opposition, the King of Iceland allocated a portion of Iceland's wool exports to the City of Origin.

Over the past year, Roman's fleet has purchased more than one million kilograms of cheap wool from Iceland, which has become the main source of raw materials for the textile mill.

Such nationwide commercial trade cannot proceed without the king's approval.

After all, such large-scale trade would not be possible without the cooperation of local governments and nobles.

Even if Origin City has the money and can buy, they still have to negotiate one by one.

This process involves constant wrangling and haggling, and there are no guarantees—a deal that you've worked so hard to negotiate can be reneged on by the other party at will, or the price can be raised as they please.

Because the Icelandic nobles were not afraid of the King of the Valley.

This would require a capable and authoritative Icelandic king to oversee the matter.

But the new king of Iceland had just ascended the throne when the Axe Guard suffered heavy casualties in the War of the Kings. The Axe Guard was the royal force of Iceland, and its members were all from royal noble families. Of the more than two thousand who went out, less than a thousand returned.

The significant weakening of the royal family's power is tantamount to an increase in the influence of other nobles.

Roman couldn't even imagine how chaotic things would be when Yarman's remains were returned to Iceland.

He just hoped the situation in Iceland would calm down quickly.

Price is not an issue; he can make a profit no matter how much he trades for steel.

He was very worried that the new King of Iceland would not give Roman the opportunity to trade.

However, this year's wool trade ended in the fall, giving him enough time to recover, which should be more than enough to last him a year or two.

After all, the two cities together only had a population of about 200,000, and the finished textile products had been distributed very early on.

Each year, farmers receive two sets of clothes for free, suitable for both summer and winter – the summer clothes use far less material than the winter clothes.

Self-sufficient farmers had to buy on credit to get thick clothes.

One copper coin can buy a pound of clothes, and four copper coins can keep a person warm through the winter.

The method of buying on credit was very simple: take out the household registration book of the place of residence and make a mark on it—if a family took ten catties of clothes, they would mark it with ten copper coins. When it was time to pay back the debt, they would cross out the mark. At the same time, the book also showed the farm tools, kitchen utensils, furniture and other items that they had bought on credit.

An ordinary self-sufficient farming family, consisting of three to five members, would owe Roman anywhere from 20 to 50 copper coins—this was the family's starting capital, hence the relatively large initial amount.

Since Roman redefined the yeoman farmer, excluding citizen farmers, skilled workers, livestock farmers, and textile workers, the two cities had approximately 120,000 to 130,000 yeoman farmers, with the city of Plenty having 90,000 of them.

These 100,000 self-sufficient farmers owed Roman a total of 30,000 to 40,000 gold coins.

Because of interest, I owe 20 copper coins this year, which will become 24 next year, and 28 the year after.

Self-employed farmers can calculate that if they work hard, they only need to repay Roman 400 catties of wheat next year to wipe out the debt.

It is very difficult to pay off the debt in one lump sum.

A self-sufficient farming family cultivated twenty mu of land this year. The harvest from ten mu went to Roman's taxes, while the other ten mu were theirs. If the yield per mu was two hundred jin, then the annual income would be two thousand jin—this is the ideal situation.

Good farmland is fine, yielding two to three hundred catties of wheat per mu, but wasteland requires soil improvement, and a harvest of one hundred and fifty catties in the first year is considered good.

Furthermore, they can't work in the fields every day.

They farm during the busy farming season and serve in the military during the off-season.

The self-sufficient farmers of Origin City are working hard to reclaim wasteland and fight against the cruel nature, so they are unable to serve in the military and will not be mentioned for now.

During the off-season, the self-sufficient farmers of Fengrao City must mobilize at least 20,000 laborers to engage in infrastructure construction.

The downside is that there are loopholes in management, but Roman thinks it's normal for there to be loopholes; what political system doesn't have loopholes?

He can effectively curb the bad practices by periodically eliminating a few managers or agents of residential areas who exploit loopholes.

This is also one of the effects of his long-term presence in Fengrao City.

As long as Roman continues to travel this land, he will greatly deter the evil spirits deep within people's hearts.

……

Roman made another round of tours in Plenty City, planning the infrastructure construction schedule for the winter.

Winter is a major off-season for farming. At its peak, Fengrao City can mobilize 50,000 to 60,000 laborers for infrastructure work, while the rest are responsible for providing logistical support.

Because the self-sufficient farming families had very little wealth and no stored grain.

During the busy farming season, everyone eats from the same pot, but if you want to have enough to eat during the off-season, you have to serve in the military and eat work meals.

The soldiers can enjoy oil and fat every day, even better than they eat during the busy farming season.

After two years of frantic infrastructure construction, Fengrao City is now taking shape, at least in terms of the seamless connection between each residential area.

Everyone has a brick house to live in, everyone has winter clothes to wear, and there is no shortage of honeycomb briquettes and iron stoves, nor is there a shortage of food.

But Roman was still not satisfied.

He said to himself, "This city alone is not enough."

Shasta and Margaret followed behind Roman, feeling that Plenty was doing quite well now. Despite the heavy debts borne by all the independent farmers.

Having debt indicates a stable ability to repay it.

Moreover, lending money is also a way to win people's hearts. The more farmers borrow, the deeper the relationship becomes, because the lord cannot easily abandon them—he could not repay them even if he sold them into slavery.

Resident stability +5.

Therefore, in their view, the happiness level of Plenty City was second only to Origin City in this land.

They had no idea what Roman was thinking. Shasta rarely responded to their questions. She and Roman only made similar sounds in bed; otherwise, they had nothing in common.

Shasta: I'm just a heartless assassin witch. Asking me to participate in administration and planning is a bit much, isn't it?
She glanced at Margaret, who seemed lost in thought.

She thought about what had happened today, the whispered words Sanna had said to Roman. An ordinary person certainly couldn't hear them, but they couldn't escape her ears. The little witch was declaring her ambitions, hoping to gain more favor, and then the two of them became intimate…

She suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. Sanna was very proactive, but she wasn't as proactive. If she hadn't accidentally wandered in that day... to this day, she still treats that matter as a task or a job.

Margaret could also do this job; she has a dull personality and also serves as a close attendant, and there's no reason for her to compete with Margaret for the job, so they can take turns each day.

But this was the first time she had ever met such a proactive girl, and she was immediately shocked and felt a strange sense of crisis.

She wondered if she should say something else instead of standing there like a statue, so Shasta said, "Isn't Plenty City enough?"

Roman glanced back at her: "The Vatican will soon send troops to attack this place."

“Then let’s send troops to meet the enemy, just like before,” Shasta said, but she found Roman looking at her like she was a fool, which deeply hurt her.

She pursed her lips, her expression cold, thinking that she should just destroy it as soon as possible.

Roman said, "This wasn't our territory before, so we could fight however we wanted, but not anymore. I need a stable rear area for production."

"Why not just let the army hold off the enemy?" Shasta continued, forcing herself to speak. She had spent the last thirty years studying magic and was a qualified witch. She had a deep understanding of one-on-one combat, but was a complete novice in other areas.

“No way.” Roman shook his head. Plenty City was a desolate wilderness with no natural defenses.

It is neither a strategic choke point nor a fortified city wall.

This is the legendary place that no military strategist would have contested; otherwise, Count Condé wouldn't have had the chance to occupy it.

To defend against foreign enemies, we need to build city walls and fortresses... The cost of protecting the entire city of Plenty is too high.

It is called a city, but it is actually similar to a modern city. The only one with real city walls is the Plenty Castle, but even the Plenty Castle can only accommodate two hundred people.

Once the enemy forces press in from all directions, Roman will have to divide his troops to defend against them; otherwise, the enemy will be able to advance unimpeded and directly storm into the city of Plenty.

Every settlement and every piece of farmland will face the threat of war.

Even if they split their forces, they couldn't stop them. That fan-shaped defensive line stretched for tens or even hundreds of kilometers.

Once a full-scale war breaks out, Plenty City will become the front line, not the rear, and all construction will be exposed to the enemy's blades.

Roman explained these concepts to Shasta, who could understand them but couldn't grasp the deeper meaning.

A conflicted expression appeared on the mature woman's face, which was also the reason why she didn't want to talk. She knew nothing about war, production, or management.

If Roman were to strike up a conversation, he would only need to explain, while she would have many more things to consider.

"So what are you going to do?" Margaret asked.

Roman thought she was a bit simple-minded, but she never wasted words and often got straight to the point.

He replied, "By building castles in Coldwind Town, Leicester Castle, Blackbird Forest, Shane Territory, and Apple Town, and by placing five hundred elite soldiers in each of those places, I can keep the enemy at bay and prevent them from venturing deeper."

Margaret wasn't aware of these things either, but seeing his confident demeanor and radiant expression, she said nothing more. If Roman were defeated, she would protect him during his retreat; if she couldn't, she would die with him—that would be a wonderful thing indeed.

Roman didn't care about Margaret's whimsical ideas; defeat was impossible, absolutely impossible.

He did not lose the War of the Kings. The Valley Army withdrew because the Iron King was dead, the Conqueror Order had collapsed, and there was no need to continue fighting. It would be better to prepare for a second war.

The military fortress he mentioned was one of them.

The places Roman mentioned all had noble castles, which were generally located on high ground with treacherous terrain, making them impregnable even for a large army.

The distance to Fengrao City can be as short as forty or fifty li, which can be reached in half a day. The distance can also be as long as a hundred kilometers—meaning they would stretch their supply lines very long.

Apart from Apple Town, the rest of the territory is too small and needs to be expanded and improved.

Or rather, the forces in this area are all like catfish or carp—there's not a single one that can really fight.

Any faction in the War of Kings is a Great White Shark, capable of easily sweeping them away.

Roman, whose headquarters are located here, is like an orca; it would be very easy for him to swallow up small fish and shrimp.

Once these nails are in place, let the Papacy's army attack.

If you dare to come, the military fortress behind will quickly send troops to punch them in the back.

Cut off supply lines, commit murder and arson, and launch night raids on enemy troops.

These actions could easily lead to the collapse of an army.

……

Roman always held castles in contempt because they were defensive fortifications with significant flaws.

Count Condé was defeated in the ravine but escaped unharmed by hiding in the castle, while Roman didn't care at all how difficult the castle was to breach.

You have a castle, but those poor farmers don't.

If you're going to protect them, protect them all; otherwise, don't protect them at all.

Building the Great Wall is also not an option.

Roman expansion is very rapid. The wall built this year will be expanded into his territory next year. The speed of construction cannot keep up with the speed of expansion.

Moreover, in the medieval era, the cost of a Great Wall of this scale was equivalent to building the Maginot Line during World War II.

The workload for building military fortresses is much smaller.

Two or three thousand laborers can build a fortress in two months, and five fortresses together would require a maximum of more than ten thousand people.

Roman plans to complete the military fortress this year and store large quantities of military equipment and food in preparation for next year's war.

He was a man of action; he immediately sent people to pull convoys and dispatched laborers to various places.

Three hundred think tank members followed the project throughout its entire process. The think tanks not only monitored the project's progress but also surveyed local resources, such as which industries were suitable for developing in the area, which areas were suitable for intensive cultivation and land reclamation, and which areas were suitable for building brick kilns. These factors were related to future construction plans.

In the middle of winter, Roman received a letter from Oak Collar.

Princess Iotashina of the White Steel is about to arrive in this land.

(End of this chapter)