Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 332 The Bountiful Harvest of Extraordinary Wheat Seeds

It is no exaggeration to say that the territory is now teeming with talent. After the Golden Harvest Statue tour ends and it is placed on the Maiden's Ring, the territory will welcome another champion-level church monk.

This is extremely rare! Although the territory already has four Chosen Knights, Champion-level knights are still extremely precious.

To be even more precise, every champion among the gods is extremely rare, especially the monks of the Church of the Dawn Goddess.

Currently, there is only one champion-level druid in the Black Forest Territory. That was because Su Li helped him improve at all costs through a fortuitous opportunity. He obtained the divine grace by using the Sun Descent Divine Spell multiple times to ensure the prosperity of the Lionmane Mushrooms.

It can be said that without Su Li's help, even if Fandall had wasted several hundred more years, he might not have been able to reach the champion level.

This soon-to-be champion-level high priest of the Church of Dawn will be the first champion-level priest of the Church of Dawn to enter the territory. Moreover, he was attracted from the entire border princely territory.

This reveals just how precious a champion-level existence truly is.

Su Li even seriously doubted whether the Church of the Dawn Goddess actually had any Chosen Ones. After all, their church wasn't known for its martial prowess.

Their church consists mainly of druids and nuns, both of whom place a strong emphasis on reproduction. It's unclear whether the monks who have arrived this time are druids or nuns. Su Li naturally hopes for a champion-level nun; among the many champion-level nuns in the territory, the number of females is truly negligible.

Apart from the knights, most of the female monks in the entire territory were nuns from the Church of Dawn.

Therefore, the gatherings and sacrificial ceremonies here today make the Church of Dawn appear particularly prosperous and vibrant.

Fandall, as the patriarch of the Church of Dawn, smiled broadly as he commented on Su Li, saying, "Our church's provinces have also benefited from your support, Lord. As the territory has grown, more and more villages and farms have Her Majesty Rhea's Ogan stele and monasteries, and the number of believers in the Church of Dawn is constantly increasing in the countryside. Of course, this has also made our territory's farming industry flourish."

Mentioning this, Su Li immediately perked up, turned to look at the farmland below Leia's wheat field, and asked, "My minister, how was the harvest this season?"

Fandall immediately replied excitedly, "My lord, this spring has been an exceptionally good one. There is no threat of war outside, and the weather is favorable within, so the entire territory is thriving, resulting in a great harvest."

“Our wheat fields have expanded rapidly, with the area dedicated to blood sacrifice alone reaching 2800 mu.”

A smile spread across Su Li's face, her face beaming with joy as she gazed at the thriving blood-red field: "I remember when you reported last time, this wheat field was 2500 mu?"

This is truly inspiring and boosts confidence! Even the number of sacrificial wheat fields is slowly increasing every month. This is no ordinary farmland; the yield per mu easily exceeds 2000 jin! It surpasses even the highest yield on Earth.

Fandall nodded, his wrinkled face beaming with a smile: "We have to thank the Goddess of Dawn for her generosity. We obtained the Goddess of Dawn's sacred relic, the Dawn Box, which allows us to summon a natural spirit once per cycle, so that he can preside over a blood sacrifice for us."

"Unfortunately, we do not have enough blood sacrifice materials, so the scale of the blood field can only be increased to a limited extent. Otherwise, based on the progress, we could have increased the scale to more than 3000 mu."

This is not a problem; on the contrary, it is good news for Su Li. It means that his territory will be peaceful and prosperous, and all directions will be at peace.

The materials for blood sacrifices are flesh and corpses; without war, these materials would inevitably become scarce.

Although the scale of blood sacrifices was affected, it meant that more civilians could focus on production without being disturbed by the war.

Furthermore, the Dawnbox can also allocate summoning slots to other nature spirits, such as the Hearth Mother, an old woman of ashes and smoke, wielding a clay spindle and adorned with numerous copper bells at her waist. She appears at night, sneaking into farmhouses to ward off plagues and viruses with hearth ash in front of the rooms and to protect the health of new mothers. She will also ring the bells if there is child abuse or marital discord, causing the fire in the fireplace to suddenly extinguish until the sinner repents.

This is more related to the teachings of the Dawn Church, which emphasize caring for children, cherishing love, and focusing on procreation.

Su Li had only seen this natural spirit once before. She was not in today's parade because the Black Forest Territory did not have a permanent presence of this natural spirit; it was only summoned once by the Dawn Box.

Her appearance alone caused a significant increase in the number of pregnant women among the local populace, a result worthy of the sacrifice of pearl wheat, and would also bring greater prosperity to the Church of Dawn.

Thinking of this, Su Li asked, "What are the yields of these fertile fields, and what are the effects of the pearl wheat sacrifice?"

Fandral replied with great pleasure, "My lord, our production has increased significantly. Because this harvest season we selected the Harvest Breath effect on our Leyline Compass, the magic of the Jiren Wind is concentrated, so the fertile farmland and vast pastures will usher in a huge harvest. The Blood Field has also been affected, and its yield is estimated to increase to 2400 catties!"

That is to say, these fertile farmlands after the blood sacrifice alone can produce 3300 tons of grain?

This is an incredibly impressive number. The output from just these 2800 acres of blood fields is enough to sustain the Black Forest army for half a year.

Fandall continued, "However, although the blood field yielded a bountiful harvest, the blood sacrifice greatly increased the yield of ordinary grains, so extraordinary grains are almost never produced here."

"Our pearl wheat is mainly produced from Quessfield Estate and ordinary farmland."

"Ordinary farmland can also produce crops?" Su Li's eyes lit up.

"Yes, this pearl wheat is similar to the tranquil flower, and it can produce one plant every few miles. Around our sacred land of the Maiden's Ring, it is widely planted on more than ten acres."

"We estimate that we will be able to harvest between 4600 and 7000 jin of pearl wheat this harvest season."

This number is truly remarkable!
This level of extraordinary wheat can greatly increase the strength of a territory.

Su Li asked, "After this harvest season, will the offering for Leia be pearl wheat?"

“That’s right. Last year, we used pearl wheat as a sacrifice and obtained seven [Children of Dawn]. These newborns are born with pupils that can sense the winds of Jilun, and they can certainly be nurtured into monks of the Church of the Goddess of Dawn. Our church has already adopted four of them and is raising them near the Holy Pool of Mother Earth, the church’s sacred site.”

The commoner parents would certainly be very happy to have the Church of Dawn adopt these children. As long as they can become extraordinary cultivators, they can earn at least 20 to 50 silver coins per month.

This income will fluctuate somewhat; knights who go to war will earn slightly more, generally up to a maximum of 50 silver coins. Monks in ordinary churches will earn slightly less, but regardless, the income of 2-3 gold crowns per year far exceeds that of ordinary commoners and farmers. This is the best way for them to rise in social class.

Su Li naturally hoped that there would be as many Sons of Dawn as possible, since these cultivators were different from knights; they were truly capable of improving farming and production.

Su Li then asked, "Will these pearl wheat be offered as sacrifices again this year?"

Fandral shook his head decisively: "We will offer a maximum of 100 catties of Pearl Wheat to Leia. Leia is not a greedy deity; a limited offering is sufficient to demonstrate the believer's piety. The remaining Pearl Wheat will remain in the territory. This extraordinary wheat variety has many uses. Bread made from the flour will be exceptionally refined. This high-grade white bread is not only more filling but also, like pearls, will not decay for a long time. In addition, due to its inherent healing glow, it can accelerate wound healing. It's somewhat similar to medicinal cuisine."

Upon hearing this, Su Li nodded. This item was indeed an important resource for disaster relief and military operations.

All you need to do is store it. Accumulate tens of thousands of loaves of bread every year, and once you have hundreds of thousands stored in the warehouse, you'll never have to worry about it expiring. Then, in years of disaster, you can take it out for disaster relief, greatly alleviating the situation.

This item is also extremely convenient in military warfare. It facilitates rapid transportation and storage, and can greatly aid in the recovery of wounded soldiers after major battles when medicines are scarce. Even when medicines are available, they cannot immediately heal serious injuries; soldiers recover much faster by consuming this pearl-white bread during their rest period.

"Of course, the effects of pearl wheat go far beyond that. In fact, the wheat ears themselves are the most valuable part of pearl wheat. The nuns of the Church of Dawn can weave pearl wheat ears into the Crown of Abundance, which can be worn on the heads of pregnant women to pray for a smooth delivery. At the same time, hanging a bunch of pearl wheat ears on the lintel of the village granary symbolizes the gaze of the goddess. Those who steal grain will inexplicably feel dizzy and vomit."

Hearing Fandral say this, Su Li suddenly remembered that women and pregnant women in this world did indeed like to wear a flower wreath on their heads when they were about to give birth. However, most nobles wore a crown made of olive branches, symbolizing "the victory of life".

Farmers in villages and country folk in the suburbs usually wear headbands made of wheat ears, since Rhea's teachings are more widely spread in these areas.

From the very beginning, this pearl wheat has been closely associated with the Church of Leia's emphasis on reproduction and the protection of pregnant women during childbirth.

Actually, this stuff isn't uncommon within the empire. If a pregnant woman in a village is about to give birth, the midwife or the village hedgehog wizard will instruct the men of the household to find a stalk of pearl wheat in the fields. As long as the family is willing to search, they can usually find this pearl wheat by walking through several wheat fields. After pulling it up by the roots, they bring it home for their wives to use as a headband, which is believed to effectively improve the safety of their wives during childbirth.

After childbirth, mothers can slowly recover and heal their bodies by eating bread made from milled wheat ears. It's like a different kind of postpartum confinement. After all, in this dark and hopeless world, there's no way to give women much maternity leave. It's common for them to go back to work the day after giving birth, and having milled wheat bread can allow them a few days to recover, replenish their energy, and get back to health as quickly as possible.

After hearing Fandral's introduction, Su Li raised an eyebrow and said, "Then isn't this pearl wheat a treasure from head to toe?"

This plant, which effectively protects pregnant women and newborns, is the favorite crop of the Church of the Dawn Goddess. Speaking of this, Fandall smiled broadly: "Yes, although the value of pearl wheat cannot compare to that of the extraordinary grain, Emerald Ear, which supplies the chosen ones, it is valuable in every part. The refined flour it produces can exist like pearl powder, which means that a decent bakery will almost always have several pearl-white breads displayed prominently in the window. We call this bread 'Precious White Bread,' and it generally sells for around 10 silver coins."

“Some generous lords would reward these ears of wheat and stalks to the commoners of their lands. A stalk of wheat with an ear of wheat attached would sell for between 25 and 40 copper coins.”

It truly lives up to its reputation as extraordinary pearl wheat; its price is much higher than that of ordinary grains. 6000 catties of ordinary wheat would only cost around 60 silver coins.

However, 6000 catties of pearl wheat can easily produce a value exceeding 600 gold crowns. Moreover, this extraordinary wheat variety is much easier to transport and store!
Su Li had to take this seriously and asked, "Is it possible for us to promote the cultivation of this pearl wheat variety, even if each village can only plant a few acres? That would greatly improve the income of all villages and commoners in the Black Forest Territory."

Isn't that the point of farming?

If he can lead the entire territory to prosperity and enable ordinary people to grow this extraordinary wheat variety, how could the people not support his rule?
Fandall immediately shook his head and said, “My lord, you shouldn’t even dream about it. Even if these pearl wheat seeds are improved, they can’t be produced on a large scale in ordinary farmland. This is because its growth requires a large amount of Jilun wind, and gathering a large amount of Jilun wind is a very dangerous thing. If civilians are directly exposed to and come into contact with this Jilun wind, there is a very high probability that it will be affected and corrupted.”

That is indeed a very serious matter. In this world, what represents the purity of humanity? That's right, it's the human skull.

One important reason why humanity attaches so much importance to this matter is that ordinary people are far too easily corrupted and distorted by various chaotic forces.

Even the relatively more peaceful Jilun wind is extremely dangerous for ordinary people to come into direct contact with it.

Just as Su Li was about to lose hope, Fandall continued, "However, there is another way to increase the yield of Pearl Wheat. To directly cultivate Pearl Wheat on a large scale requires the guidance of the Dawn Church's holy sites and priests, which is inaccessible to ordinary people. If we want to increase Pearl Wheat production, we can have the manor's knights and nuns utilize the irrigation system, using the water from the Emerald Stone and Jade Pool to irrigate the manor's farmland. There's a chance the farmland will absorb more Gironian vitality, resulting in one or two Pearl Wheat plants per acre. However, the problem lies in how to increase the seed's water absorption."

One or two plants per acre. Don't underestimate this number!
It's important to understand that the current territory size is still similar to the original state in nature, with only one plant possibly existing within a radius of several miles.

If we can narrow this range down to producing one or two plants per acre, it means that there will be hundreds more plants within a few miles!

This is a 1:100 scale increase.

Su Li decisively said, "You don't need to worry about improving the wheat varieties. I will fund a team of scholars to obtain the [hybrid wheat blueprints] from them and gradually improve the wheat varieties in our territory. Your Dawn Church can just be responsible for promoting the projects and water conservancy in this regard."

Su Li's desire to have all the land planted with this extraordinary wheat variety is currently unlikely to be achieved. Most villages do not meet the conditions for its cultivation.

However, it is quite possible to get all of this implemented in the various manors.

The reality of this world is indeed as Dean Oliver said: the manor system is the foundation of the entire empire.

Ordinary villages lack the resources to build jade pools, but various knightly manors and lords certainly do. Su Li sold over 40 jade stones last time, prompting many manors to build irrigation hubs as a result. These jade pools are not only beautiful but also rich in spiritual energy. Clear streams flow from the pools, containing the energy of the Jilun wind, slowly irrigating thousands of acres of farmland within the manors.

到时候如果这数千亩农田里每亩都长出1～2株珍珠麦，那产量就等于每个庄园都能产20斤左右了。如果算上一年三季甚至四季的话，一个庄园产出50～100斤是不在话下的。

Su Li couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement and said with a smile, "If that's the case, our territory will have a number of extraordinary manors."

It seems that under his rule, the territory has made great progress in becoming more divinely blessed and more fantastically powerful!
As he spoke with Fandral, a commotion gradually arose below Bjorn Bay. It was the sound of knights' commands. Under the supervision of a large number of knights gleaming in gold, the serfs in the steel wheat field lined up and walked out of the field to remove their armor by the ridges.

The armory officials, with their teams, began a detailed inventory of each suit of armor, rigorously checking for any slaves who had secretly kept chainmail parts.

Without a doubt, this is the first wheat field in the territory to be harvested.

The slaves then diligently carried the ears of wheat to the threshing ground and began collecting the wheat.

The planting area of ​​the steel wheat seed is not large. Around noon, Sister Dawn, who was in charge of the area, quickly came from the threshing ground of the farm to the vicinity of the Maiden's Ring and reported to Su Li: "Lord, we have completed the harvest of all 5 acres of steel wheat seeds this year. The wheat seed harvest this year is bountiful, and the yield is even higher than we expected, reaching 1860 catties!"

1860 jin! The yield per mu is over 300 jin, close to 400 jin!

This is truly an extremely bountiful harvest!
Su Li beamed with joy and said, "The effects of the Maiden's Ring and the Breath of Harvest are truly amazing! Our yield per acre has almost doubled since we first arrived in Black Forest Territory!"

When Su Li led his knights and serfs to clear the land and cultivate the fields, the first harvest season's grain yield was only around 190 jin per mu.

Now, the yield per acre of grain in the same shallow bay of Bjorn has nearly doubled. How could Su Li not be overjoyed?

Based on this figure, this harvest season may see a huge bumper harvest, with the scale of grain production far exceeding the expectations of Su Li and the ministers.

There's not much to say about this type of wheat, which is the most important food supply for the army.

If soldiers ate coarse steel bread for all three meals a day during wartime, their strength would increase by about 20%.

Therefore, it is necessary to continue to expand the planting area in the next quarter. Su Li instructed: "In addition to keeping one-third as a reserve, use the rest as wheat seeds to increase the scale as soon as possible."

He didn't plan to sell these wheat seeds; instead, he intended to provide them directly to the army.

He felt he was quite reliable, especially compared to those lords and kings with bizarre ideas.

The things the lords of this world have done are enough to send chills down your spine just by hearing about them.

For example, there was Duke Farn Powell, the greedy one who sold water and firewood. When he led his army to a great victory in the invasion of Arabia, his more than 30,000 soldiers were exhausted in the desert. When they finally came across an oasis, this greedy duke not only prevented his soldiers from approaching, but also took control of the water source and sold water and firewood to the thirsty soldiers. In just half a day, he amassed a huge fortune.

There are certainly various background reasons for such things. For example, they may have just won a great victory, looted the tomb of an ancient tomb king, and their knights, soldiers, and mercenaries may have amassed a huge amount of looted wealth. Or, the greedy one may be more like a merchant, returning from a great victory and becoming arrogant and domineering.

But no matter what, this kind of thing is enough to make people's jaws drop.

Compared to these oddballs, if Su Li were just a normal person and generous, why wouldn't the knights support him and serve him bravely?

Fandall also greatly appreciated Su Li's arrangement, saying, "Lord, this plan is very farsighted. There is no serious war in our territory at the moment. Expanding production as soon as possible is our top priority. We still have about 1200 catties of steel wheat seeds in reserve. We will take out another two-thirds of them to increase the scale of planting."

"During this summer planting season, we aim to increase the planting area of ​​steel wheat seeds to over 100 mu (approximately 6.7 hectares). Then, in the next harvest season, we expect to harvest at least 30000 jin (approximately 15,000 catties) of steel wheat seeds!"

"Yes," Su Li nodded in satisfaction. This number was quite considerable. Another advantage of Steel Wheat was its ability to provide a great deal of satiety. As a superhuman wheat variety, one pound of Steel Wheat bread was enough to sustain a powerful elite knight for 4 to 6 hours.

These 30000 catties of wheat seeds are enough to support 1000 elite knights in a fierce battle for 10 days. Currently, the number of secular elite knights directly commanded by Su Li in the territory is less than 1000.

Black Forest Territory's strategy is to stockpile grain and train troops. With this scale of food reserves and 1000 elite knights, Su Li is highly confident in dealing with the Night Wandering Corpses even if they arrive.

Then Su Li looked into the distance and said, "My ministers, you should try to spread these extraordinary wheat seeds as widely as possible and let the people try them. Just like how Quessfield Manor was able to grow pearl wheat, the wisdom of the people is boundless. I hope that more manors can grow extraordinary wheat ears, and strive to have 2 to 3 manors able to grow extraordinary wheat fields on a large scale this year. Just like last autumn and winter, many church monks used their wisdom to create a number of small holy sites of various kinds."

(End of this chapter)