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

Chapter 42 Gold Mines and Seeding

According to the large map, the salt mine is only 40 kilometers away from Sige Town as the crow flies.

It is not impossible to quickly clear a mining and transportation route, regardless of the cost.

The important thing is that the salt mine has a very shallow layer, so it is not necessary to dig to a depth of 100 meters; at most, digging to a depth of 10 meters will be enough.

It's basically an open-pit salt mine, which is quite rare.

……

A salt mine was discovered, but Roman was not entirely satisfied.

He is a lord, and to develop his territory, he needs a lot of resources.

Because he lacks capital, he doesn't even have the confidence to go out and rob people. He needs to continuously develop and raise a professional army.

Resources come from labor and production.

If there is no salt, then look for other resources:

If the mineral veins are barren, then hunt wild animals and use their fur to accumulate initial capital;
If the fur business cannot last, then develop light industries—textiles, animal husbandry, handicrafts, winemaking, shipbuilding, and cash crop cultivation.

We must boost the economy, because only with an economy can we transform it into military power.

Only with military power did he dare to go out and rob. Bangbang punched them twice.

All of these industries require a sufficient workforce to operate.

While farming is the foundation of everything, it cannot bring more wealth.

Roman hoped to find a large gold or silver mine that was easy to mine, or at the very least a copper or iron mine; he wasn't picky at all.

The world's most extraordinary resources come from these mineral veins.

If you want to get rich overnight, the only way is to mine!

Nothing is more important than mining, except farming.

The three then continued their journey.

Roman found another coal mine, but it was located in the middle of a mountain, making it difficult to mine and requiring too much labor, so he chose to abandon it.

This entire land belongs to him.

Roman felt he had the right to be picky and choose the best mining location.

Advancing through the wilderness was difficult; sometimes it was sparse plains, sometimes steep valleys, and sometimes damp swamps. They traveled on horseback and could only cover seventy or eighty kilometers a day.

Roman's goal was clear: to find places with steep terrain, high plateaus and valleys, where the probability of finding mineral veins is extremely high due to the geological structure.

Before nightfall, Roman temporarily set up a campsite by the stream, lit a campfire with a flint and steel, and roasted the wild boar meat he had caught during the day. His attempts were still atrocious; his limited cooking experience couldn't turn Roman into a master chef.

Green chose to eat dry rations.

He thought to himself: This isn't a picnic, it's clearly a trip to create some culinary disasters.

……

As night falls, the campfire remains lit.

The bright and warm flames dispelled the darkness and the beasts.

Roman covered Gweil with a wool blanket, and he and Green slept against the tree trunk, fully clothed.

The two were physically fit and wearing thick clothes, so they weren't worried about catching a cold.

At dawn the next day, they set off again.

On this day, Roman kept lighting up the map and resource maps.

Ultimately, three stone mines and one gold mine were discovered.

Yes, a gold mine!
Roman stared at the gold mine marker on the map.

This gold mine may not produce much; it's just a small vein. It's located in a rugged, valley-like area, making it difficult to mine... but it's still a gold mine.

The mining of these veins requires a large amount of manpower and resources.

Roman let out a soft breath and calmed himself down.

Taking too big a step can easily lead to trouble.

There's plenty of time in the future.

Having achieved their goal, Roman returned home with Green and Gweil.

They finally returned to Origin Manor on the afternoon of the third day.

The maids who had been waiting immediately stepped forward to help them unload all their belongings.

At the dinner table, Roman told Seth about the salt mine.

This unusually excited the old, rigid deacon. He had thought much more deeply than Green had.

The main output of Sige Town is the sale of grain. If a salt mine is discovered, it will be like adding another pillar industry to Sige Town.

This is no longer development; it's simply getting rich overnight.

The coastal areas of this land lack sufficient sunlight to produce salt, while salt-producing areas inland have always been scarce.

The successful exploitation of a salt-producing area is often the result of a power struggle among several powerful nobles.

But now, a salt mine has been discovered in Sige Town... the profits from it are immeasurable.

Roman said, "The salt mine matter isn't urgent for now. Shall we prepare to sow the seeds tomorrow?"

“Yes.” Seth was somewhat lost in thought, still considering the significance of the salt mine and the corresponding consequences.

It's fine in the short term, but in the long term...

Should the intervention of the Armor-Splitter Duke be necessary when required?

Roman didn't know what Seth was thinking, and simply nodded.

……

It was his 19th day in Sig.

Before the sun had fully risen, Roman summoned all the able-bodied men, stewards, and guards of Sig.

The selected high-quality seeds and fermented fertilizer were transported to the fields by oxcarts and horse-drawn carts.

Finally, in full view of everyone, Roman personally demonstrated to them the specific details and steps of sowing.

Manure is a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer that can improve soil structure, making it loose, soft, and well-aerated. This is not only beneficial to the growth and development of crop roots, but also helps to improve the soil's water and fertilizer retention capacity.

Roman uses strip fertilization and fertilizer-supported seeding—burying fertilizer 9 centimeters deep in the soil and then sowing the seeds 3 centimeters deep, using the fertilizer to support the wheat seeds.

The fertilizer below will provide some of the nutrients needed for these wheat seeds to germinate and take root.

Roman demonstrated to them the approximate amount of seeds and fertilizer.

100 tons of fertilizer may seem like a lot, but when spread out, it only amounts to about 100 kilograms of fertilizer per acre, which is actually not enough.

Good steel should be used where it's needed most. Using strip sowing and strip application can maximize the use of humus fertilizer and avoid waste.

Five pounds of fertilizer is barely enough to provide nutrients for one and a half pounds of wheat seeds, according to Roman. In modern planting proportions, at least dozens of pounds of compost are needed to nourish one pound of wheat seeds, but he doesn't have time to compost and can only hope that this fertile soil can support those wheat seeds.

Of course, during the wheat's growth period, Roman would apply a top dressing of fertilizer, about 50 to 80 kilograms, depending on the growth rate, to ensure that the wheat would not starve during its subsequent growth.

There's no rush. After Roman provided the standard steps for sowing, he had Moore and the stewards oversee the process—it's really not difficult, it just depends on how diligently you put your heart into it.

The standard is 30 jin of wheat seeds and at least 100 jin of fertilizer per mu.

It took most of the day to finally notify everyone.

First, tasks were assigned: some carried fertilizer, others transported wheat seeds, and these were placed on each acre of land in advance. Each person was responsible for a certain number of acres of land. This allocation method was not complicated and was similar to the previous deep plowing. Everyone was a link in the collective labor.

Simply ensuring basic execution capabilities can greatly improve efficiency.

Under the orders of Seth, the steward, Aaron, and Green.

These seven or eight hundred people began to operate in an orderly manner.

This mode of production is something that farmers of this era have never experienced before.

Roman himself had already gathered the 80 farm women responsible for lunch and personally led them to prepare lunch in the fields.

They also chopped over 200 jin of previously smoked, dried, and preserved wild boar, wolf, venison, and bear meat into large chunks and threw them all into a large iron pot.

Those large iron pots were forged by the blacksmith Lax using leftover iron ingots at Roman's request, taking several days to complete.

More had the slaves bring over a hundred pounds of salt from their homes.

After learning that Roman had found a salt mine thirty or forty kilometers away, the agricultural official readily donated all the salt he had stored at home.

Roman was in charge of chopping meat and vegetables, and he generously sprinkled in plenty of salt.

The flames at the bottom of the pot burned fiercely, gradually releasing a rich aroma of meat that wafted far and wide, making the farmers, who were toiling away planting and fertilizing, salivate and quicken their pace.

After these few days of getting used to it, they also know who the lunches are for.

Around 1 p.m., Roman announced that the morning's work was over.

Everyone lined up to get their food.

At this moment, the second batch of meat was also cooked, emitting a steaming aroma.

Everyone received a large piece of meat and a spoonful of bacon gravy in their wooden bowl, along with plenty of whole-wheat bread.

(End of this chapter)