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

Chapter 56 A Quarter Copper Coin
Of the elite army of 50 demon hunters, only 3 returned alive.

The sixth-tier Dawn Knight with silver armor and a golden sword also entered a near-death state.

"This kind of thing actually happened..."

Roman listened quietly as Agatha recounted everything he knew.

He realized that while he was still repairing dirt roads and building cowsheds in Sige Town, a small-scale but exceptionally fierce and brutal war had broken out in the north.

The extent of the tragedy far exceeded everyone's imagination.

The entire demon hunter squad was nearly wiped out.

The Nightmare Witch named Shasta was one of the factors involved.

“Go back,” Roman said to Agatha.

She left obediently.

The village woman had no idea what a Demon Hunter Knight meant.

Roman knew very well that it was one of the Church's strongest armed forces, comparable only to the Judgment Knights and the Templar Knights, and the Demon Hunter Knights had the most extensive combat experience.

Any Demon Hunter could easily kill Aaron or Green, and even if the two of them teamed up, they couldn't defeat any Demon Hunter.

They had fought countless battles and were renowned throughout the past.

However, they suffered a major setback in the northern lands, and the sixth-tier Dawn Knight almost failed to return.

The church is a behemoth, and any action it takes will have far-reaching consequences.

Agatha was merely an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of the church's actions, which were seen as exploitative and short-sighted.

Roman believed this was an omen.

This situation will only escalate, and more and more innocent bystanders will be affected.

The church will not let this go.

Those demon hunters were both a harbinger of their attack and a pretext for it.

The Papacy will likely add fuel to the fire in the long-standing turmoil of the northern lands, and the towering flames will illuminate the entire sky of the Kingdom of Winter in a fiery red.

When that time comes, will the three grand dukes of the Black Iron Kingdom sit on their thrones and watch coldly from the sidelines?

Or perhaps they will step forward again, forcibly coerce the entire Black Iron Kingdom, and command all the nobles of the various kingdoms to launch another "Silent Valley Bloodbath"?
Roman simply couldn't imagine the scene of the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor standing in front of the army.

Is his father still able to stand up?
Roman just found it funny.

The future is uncertain and unpredictable.

Without a doubt, the struggle has accelerated!

The struggle is accelerating!

The pirates of the north, the barbarians of the eastern plateau, and the forest barbarians of the west will all revel in this turmoil.

All the conflicts and wars on this land are about to enter a more intense and complex phase.

"An era even more chaotic than the one over a hundred years ago is about to begin..."

Green asked, "Roman, what do we do?"

Roman scoffed, "There's no need to care about their lives or deaths. History will tell everyone who the victor will be."

Green solemnly swore, "I will clear the way for you, be your shield, be your spear, and kill all your enemies!"

Aaron glanced at Green, speechless at his crazy colleague, and could only mutter, "Me too."

Green solemnly declared, "That's why I must train diligently, saving it for future battles!"

Aaron had no choice but to nod and say, "Me too."

Roman tilted his head and looked at Green. At first, he didn't understand what they were up to, but now he did.

With a slight smile on his face, he said, "The livestock shed is built, but things aren't finished yet. Green, don't even think about running away."

Green poured out his grievances: "I helped you build the house for half a month, please let me go." He really didn't want to do that hard labor anymore. Roman immediately put on a stern face: "No way! Tomorrow you're coming with me to burn stones!"

"Please, spare me!"

……

Making Green burn stones was a joke.

Roman needed professional soldiers to build up his army.

The town of Sig has more than 40 active guards, who are former guards and newly joined hunters.

Aaron has been training for over a month and is seeing initial results, with the formation now very neat.

Green is going to help Aaron.

Roman plans to expand his army before the end of this summer to facilitate his future plundering of people.

The arrival of these two hundred slaves barely alleviated Roman's need for labor.

To help them recover as quickly as possible, Roman provided them with three meals a day, with each person eating at least three kilograms of various grains and vegetables on average, and salt was added to their food without any expense.

The locals in Sige Town were very envious of this treatment.

Roman didn't care about these expenses at all; in his view, only a fool would let slaves go hungry.

He firmly believed that the resources created by slaves far exceeded the resources they consumed.

But if some slaves are lazy or not proactive in their work, then it's very simple.

Roman will hang him.

One by one they die! At worst, we'll kill them all!
Such a wasteful insect is not worthy of his rule!
After three days of rest, Roman also compiled a basic inventory of human resources.

成年劳力有103人——成年男女都算在列、十五岁以下的孩子38人、四十岁以上的17人、病弱者30人、五岁以下的孩子7人。

The reason for separating the sick and weak is that these people are severely depleted of their physical strength, or have been ill, or have been injured in the past. In short, they cannot do heavy physical labor and are considered defective. If they can be sold for the price of 6 or 8 copper coins, it is considered a profit.

Roman, however, accepted all offers.

Not all of his work involves heavy physical labor; there is also a shortage of manpower for some less physically demanding technical jobs.

For example, in the case of carpentry, if you don't know how, you can learn; if you don't study, you're doomed. In any case, you must be able to put something to use.

Even if two sick and weak slaves can only be used as one person, it's still a profit.

To conserve resources, Roman found 10 male slaves who were in relatively good physical condition to serve as temporary managers, each responsible for managing 20 slaves.

Roman's requirements are very low; he just wants to avoid causing trouble.

If he discovers that these people have damaged his property, he will teach these slave supervisors what cruelty is.

Correspondingly, he will also improve the treatment of these slave managers.

For example, they can receive a reward of one 'quarter copper coin' each month—this type of copper coin contains one-quarter the copper content of a normal copper coin.

A single copper coin was of little use to Roman.

For ordinary households, this is a valuable asset.

Gold, silver, and copper coins were the currency units used by the nobility.

Ordinary people used half-copper coins or quarter-copper coins, and in some backward areas, iron coins were even popular.

However, iron coins had inherent defects, so they did not become widely circulated.

A farmer earning a quarter of a copper coin a day is enough to keep his whole family from going hungry and to feed them well.

In their daily trade, they usually barter. They don't use currency at all.

There's no other reason than that metal currency is too expensive and we can't afford it.

(End of this chapter)