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

Chapter 356 Since we're already here, we should at least plant something.

Roman felt that Tashina had a tendency towards war fanaticism.

This project meant connecting origins and abundance into a unified whole. He was already planning this project in his second year on this land.

Construction didn't begin until almost the end of the fifth year.

But good things come to those who wait, and Roman believes this project will bring unimaginable development benefits to both cities.

Why does this White Steel Princess only focus on the advantages of war?

Sigh, that woman has no taste at all.

The enormous benefits come at a huge cost.

Therefore, the construction period is calculated in years.

The mountain, which is thirty to fifty meters high, sounds and looks extremely thick. The terrain is steep, about twenty to thirty meters high, overgrown with weeds, and desolate in winter.

From this year to next year, all available laborers will have to come and dig into the mountains.

The first thing to do is to build settlements where a group of people will serve for an extended period.

From issuing the order to starting construction immediately, the notification process took no more than half a day, and the laborers got to work without hesitation, which gave Tasina a small administrative shock.

She thought to herself, no wonder the King of the Valley could win so many battles; his management system alone surpasses that of the kings of the earth.

Tashina knew that Roman was also simultaneously building five military fortresses.

Both the cities of Abundance and Origin are fully supporting these constructions, doing everything they can to improve efficiency.

But is it because the other men don't want to speed up?

of course not.

The only way to improve efficiency is to improve compensation.

It's possible, but unlikely.

Productive forces determine the relations of production.

When farmers are doing heavy physical labor, their dietary requirements are about three times higher than usual.

Where would a noble lord get three times the rations to feed you?

If these labor services increase, the required logistical supplies will be astronomical.

They couldn't even manage to repair bridges and pave roads normally, let alone undertake larger corvée labor projects.

You eat grain, but we gentlemen lose our lives. That grain can be exchanged for weapons, armor, warhorses, and to train knights. If we didn't have knights, what would we use to suppress you if you rebelled? (Angry)

There were reasons why productivity was low in the Middle Ages.

The construction of some castles took an extremely long time because of the allocation of resources.

Of course, simply changing resource allocation without improving productivity will not increase production efficiency.

Because all resources are used for labor and construction, there is no money to improve military strength, and therefore no way to protect the fruits of labor.

But this land is well protected and can be described as orderly and vibrant.

Tashina thought to herself: With such powerful rule, even without her troops, Lord Roman would hardly be defeated.

The laborers were completely obedient to him, doing whatever he told them to do. They had developed a certain degree of organization through their past cooperative work, and were practically the prototype of conscripts.

On the other hand, they are also unreliable opportunists, always siding with whichever side offers better treatment, showing no loyalty whatsoever.

Iotashina was not angry about this.

After the battle on Tianma Plain, she had seen through the thoughts of these people at the bottom of society.

They'll help whoever is stronger.

Tashina has a dog-eat-dog mentality, which is understandable, so she wants to be the strongest forever.

She felt that Roman was also a strong person, otherwise how could he have won the love and respect of the lower classes?

She squinted as she watched Roman carry out his development plan—his idea was to develop this place into a town, a transit point, to guard the future gateway to Origin City.

Roman rode his horse back and forth, scattering lime and planting flags, slowly planning out residential land.

This one task alone took an entire afternoon to complete.

"Your Highness Tashina, I'm not going back today," Roman said to Princess White Steel in the evening, implying that she should go back alone.

His reason for not going back was simple: the round trip was too much trouble.

Iotashina said, "I want to stay here too."

"Whatever you want," Roman said, ignoring her completely.

Winter nights come very quickly; the sun has just disappeared, and in the blink of an eye, the sky darkens.

Roman went to the temporary canteen and got a dinner.

Seeing this, Tashina followed him and took a plate to serve herself rice.

The main dish for dinner was brown rice—rice that has only been hulled and has undergone minimal processing.

The dish is pickled vegetables with tofu—a large amount of vegetables pickled in autumn, which can supplement vitamins during winter.

The soup is unlimited, containing broth to replenish calories.

Roman ate with great relish. After being busy and exhausted, everything tasted delicious.

Tasina is not fussy about manners and is clearly not spoiled, but she is very particular about dining etiquette.

The laborers didn't go home either; they slept in temporary shelters made of coarse hemp and wooden planks, which unfortunately offered very little protection from the cold. The construction team and the laborers had come prepared, using iron stoves and honeycomb briquettes for warmth. Every night, they consumed tens of thousands of honeycomb briquettes, and the warmth they released sustained them through one cold winter night after another.

Roman's accommodations were much better, with two iron stoves inside. He didn't sleep on a straw mat, but on a proper wooden bed covered with a thick wool blanket, and the quilt was his soft, large fur cloak that he used during the day.

"Your Highness, why are you suffering here?" Shasta was not referring to Roman, but to Iotashina.

Tashina's residence was much the same standard as Roman's, and Olay, upon learning of her identity, had specially prepared it for the princess.

The former has very low requirements for accommodation, but this is a neglect to the latter.

The princess said, "This is not suffering; the journey of marching and fighting is much more arduous."

Shasta does not deny this; Princess White Steel is an anomaly, and the bloodline of the former king endowed her with a strong will.

Night deepened. Outside, the cold wind howled, carrying with it the faintest, most subtle sobs of people.

The two tents were very close together; Roman and Margaret were in one, and Iotashina and Shasta were in the other.

Shasta felt a little embarrassed, imagining the intense physical battle between the two next door under their cloaks and blankets. Young people are full of energy, especially after they've tasted the sweetness... She was preparing to find another place to stay, but Princess White Steel dragged her here. She was sure the latter had heard everything.

The princess then asked, "Why don't you go?"

The witch whispered, "One person to serve you in bed is enough."

Princess Stainless Steel listened intently for a moment, and the plaintive voice, like a kite with a broken string, grew increasingly ethereal in the cold wind.

She said, "One might not be enough."

Shasta thought to himself, "That's enough, anyway, no one's going to die."

She became even more shy, her delicate face flushed slightly, and she pursed her lips, trying her best to maintain a cool and aloof demeanor.

Tashina could tell at a glance that she was a conservative witch. Even if she weren't, it wouldn't matter; if you disregarded her witch status, she was just one of two prostitutes accompanying the army, and even if both of them attacked her, they wouldn't pose a threat. But if you took her witch status into account…

"Witch, would you like to help me with something?"

Shasta felt she had heard those words many years ago; Roman and Tashina were remarkably similar. She sighed and said, “Your Highness, if you had said those words to me five years ago… no, four years ago, I would have certainly agreed.”

The princess added, "I wasn't in power then." She pointed out, "You resent the Black Iron royal family for not helping Witchwood?"

“No…” Shasta paused for a moment, then whispered, “The situation was like that at the time, and His Majesty the Black Iron also had his difficulties. No one can be blamed.”

Seeing that she was not being sincere, Tashina said, "There is still a chance to salvage the situation. I will re-appoint you as court witches, whether you are prophets or seated witches. I can accept your loyalty and swear that I will never betray you. I will let you live in the sunlight as you did a hundred years ago, and we will create the future together. What do you say?"

She exuded a powerful charm and charisma at that moment, and she condescended to sleep side by side with the witch, determined that the latter would be completely captivated by her.

But Shasta said, "Your Majesty, we have been taught by the court witches that only witches raised in the court have honor and nobility, while we are just a lowly, dishonorable outcast..."

“I give you honor!” Tashina said.

"Alas, it's too late, Your Highness." Shasta felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

The Black Iron royal family and the court witches had an inextricable relationship. In the past, they both longed for this promise, but now she said, "I already have someone to serve for life."

Never go back.

Shasta recalled the day he accidentally wandered in, and the suffocating feeling was like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

Living under someone else's roof is not a good life.

She actually wanted to rebel.

But then she remembered her sisters and was forced to give herself to them, being helplessly posed in various positions, V+M+V!

Sigh, it's so frustrating; we're not in control of our own lives.

Tashina saw that Shasta appeared distressed, but that wasn't what she truly felt inside, and she couldn't help but feel annoyed that these witches were weak-willed and didn't keep their promises.

She was desperately short of fighting power, and the Witch Forest, though weakened, was still a formidable force, a great help to her. But someone had struck first… My damned father! Tasina cursed inwardly.

Although she and Éolien were in the same camp, their political ideologies were completely opposite.

She hopes to join forces with Witchwood to launch a blitzkrieg against Sinnoh, dragging the entire land into the hell of war, reshuffling all the power dynamics, and re-establishing the authority of the conquerors.

But Iolion remained appeasement-oriented, believing that the Black Iron royal family should not be the first to break the rules.

He is the king, she is the princess; even the strongest arm cannot twist the thigh.

Now that all the cards are gone, there's nothing left to lose, so the only option is to rebuild from scratch.

Princess White Steel lay upright on the bed, with Shasta beside her, her eyes full of fighting spirit!
……

the next day.

Roman walked out of his residence feeling refreshed.

Breakfast consisted of pea porridge, wheat bread, and leftover brown rice from last night, which was stir-fried with diced meat in oil.

After breakfast, all the laborers rubbed their hands together, exhaling white smoke, picked up their pickaxes, axes, and other tools, and continued yesterday's work—cutting down trees and digging foundations.

The land here in Plenty City is not like that in Origin City. In winter, the land is as hard as ice, and the soil is incredibly compact.

But there was no other way. Lord Roman had set a deadline, and they had to finish it within that timeframe.

We cannot give up on doing it just because it is difficult.

As the laborers' bodies heated up with physical activity, they began to transform this barren land with great enthusiasm. The heat surging from their veins could melt the earth... but that's impossible.

Winter weather is harsh, and starting construction is a case of diminishing returns; this is an undeniable fact that enthusiasm alone cannot change.

Roman ignored this.

Are you kidding me? With so many laborers not working, are you suggesting we just let them all go home and sleep?
How can anyone sleep at this hour?!
Development requires seizing every minute; without speed, there is no efficiency.

He personally oversaw the work starting yesterday, and the efficiency of the laborers immediately increased by more than 10%.

Roman began a comprehensive survey of the land.

"What are you doing?" Tashina asked.

The princess would sometimes ask him questions.

Roman replied, "Find land where we can grow crops."

Tashina's beautiful face was full of confusion: "This place is too barren."

She doesn't understand farming, but the facts are obvious.

The terrain here is unfavorable, with steep slopes and long-term soil erosion. The shallow soil is reddish, highly acidic, and has almost no fertility. In some areas, the rock strata are exposed, and desertification is severe, making it a veritable hell for agriculture.

This is the result of years of accumulated effort.

Roman, however, said, "Even on the most barren land, wild grasses can grow."

Tahithina is right, this land is indeed a barren place.

But... since we're already here, we should at least plant something.

Roman pondered for a moment, then squatted down, picked up a pickaxe, and pried up a hard clod of earth. He then crushed it with his fingers, letting the red dust fall from between them.

His brow relaxed slightly. "Let's plant pasture for a year first."

Red clover, ryegrass, and tall fescue are the most suitable. Alfalfa is also possible, but soil improvement will be troublesome. You need to spread lime to reduce acidity, and then add organic fertilizers—peat and manure. Organic matter can buffer acidity and provide rich nutrients to the soil.

It will take at least three to five years to improve this barren land into arable land, and its cultivation potential is incomparable to that of truly fertile land.

Two thousand catties of lime, peat, and manure are enough for one acre of land. After natural rainfall, use a heavy plow to till the soil three to five times for deep tilling and loosening. This will effectively improve the soil and at the very least, allow the pasture to grow.

The problem is that construction on the pass has just begun, and transporting peat still requires a long detour.

Using oxen, horses, and people as animal power, they pulled carts weighing over a thousand kilograms from dozens of kilometers away to this land. A cart of this size would have to pull at least several thousand carts.

Farming is difficult, especially in terms of fertility.

Let alone barren land, even on fertile land, Roman would apply one or two thousand kilograms of fertilizer per acre every time he sowed.

Otherwise, once the soil fertility is depleted, it will be difficult to achieve a high harvest in the next season.

But where in Fengrao City can you find fertilizer resources?

Although the excrement of the residents of Fengrao City could fill part of the gap, when combined with withered branches, leaves, wood chips, and wheat straw, and fermented into fertilizer, it only amounted to a little over 30,000 tons.

It’s simply not enough!
Therefore, this year, over 100,000 tons of peat were transported from the Origin Basin, which barely ensured the completion of the planting task.

This shipment of over 100,000 tons of peat required several thousand boatmen and tens of thousands of human-shaped livestock to transport, and it took more than two months to complete.

If even the closest city to Origin City, Plenty, is like this, it would be even more difficult to transport peat to more distant places like Apple Town, Coldwind Town, and Baron Leicester's Castle.

Roman doesn't have that ability at this stage.

Even if he conquers those fiefdoms this year, at most he will only popularize manure and change farming methods... It can only be said that the combined arable potential of Plenty City and the other five territories is far inferior to that of Origin City.

Moreover, the shadow of war is looming.

Farming is even more difficult.

(End of this chapter)