I'm not a lord

Chapter 106 Elite Formation
October's military plan will not interfere with the White Bear Territory's territory construction.

The addition of 'free laborers' supplemented the shortage of corvée population caused by conscription.

Before his subjects could come out of the joy of the autumn harvest, old Albert began to levy corvee labor and mobilized manpower to repair roads and dredge ditches and rivers.

Silt dredged from ditches and rivers is one of the best raw materials for composting.

Nowadays, the serfs in White Bear Territory have realized the importance of composting.

Under the guidance of the lord, they transported the silt back to the village to dry. When it was half dry, it could be mixed with feces, straw, etc. to make high-quality compost.

All serfs from Manor No. 1 to Manor No. 5 participated in the corvee conscription, except Manor No. 6.

Manor No. 6 was established in May this year under rather special circumstances.

The population of the manor was composed of male escaped slaves and women and children of the barbarians. Most of them had little property, only strength and a desire for a new life.

Previously, they reclaimed land and cultivated soybeans according to Lynn's instructions, and relied on borrowed draft horses and farm tools from Manors No. 4 and No. 5.

Each household cultivated 30 to 40 mu of soybeans, all of which were early-maturing varieties, totaling nearly 7,000 mu.

After more than four months of growth, the stems and leaves gradually turn yellow and the pods gradually swell.

Lin En patrolled the soybean field and kept reaching out to pat the golden soybean plants.

Seeing the leaves falling in large numbers and hearing the pleasant sounds of the pods, he knew that it was time to harvest.

The serfs went out early in the morning, wielding sickles to cut off the bean plants at the roots and preserve the soybean nodules in the strips of fields.

Soybeans can fix nitrogen, allowing these nodules to rot naturally and replenish nutrients in the field.

The bean plants then need to be spread out to dry in the sun.

In the clear and cool autumn weather, the bean pods will automatically dehydrate in less than three days, grinning and revealing the golden beans.

The process after that is not much different from rye.

The grains are threshed with a stone roller, removed with a fan, and then dried and stored.

Since this was newly reclaimed land this year, the net yield of soybeans per mu was only 30 to 40 kilograms, which was enough for the serfs to survive the winter.

In the North, soybeans are still eaten by boiling.

Given the conditions of White Bear Territory, you can add some salt and pickles.

During the soybean harvest, the two merchants who accepted Lin En's mission returned to White Bear Territory by boat and brought nearly two hundred high-quality young draft horses.

Their boats are too small, with two boats for each person, and that's all the capacity they can carry.

Due to the transportation conditions on the Baihe River, only smaller-tonnage paddle boats can be used even in the flood season.

Lynn accepted all the offers and kept his word, paying a full Northern Gold Shield for each surviving draft horse.

The two businessmen were naturally smiling with joy when they received the glittering gold coins.

The only thing that made them regretful was that Lin En still did not intend to sell the grain, so they could only take a boat south to try their luck in other territories.

Lynn then ordered a batch of farm tools including heavy plows from the blacksmith workshop, and rented them together with draft horses to the serfs of Manor No. 6.

In order to repay the lord's kindness, these serfs had to cultivate 90 acres of public land for the lord for the next five years, and they could only own 30 acres of land.

If they could continue to work diligently during these five years, thirty acres of public land would be converted into their share of land, and the draft horses and farm tools rented to them would become their private property.

Lin En did not like the lifeless old serfdom system. All his policies were aimed at stimulating their enthusiasm for work.

His policies have proven to be very effective.

Since March, White Bear Territory has been completely transformed.

Every serf family lived a good life with enough food and clothing, and no longer had to worry about freezing to death in their sleep due to lack of heat in winter.

Even Manor No. 6, which had just joined the territory, could have a relatively prosperous winter.

The serfs of Manor No. 6 were naturally delighted with the lord's generous policies and were eager to prostrate themselves on the ground to express their gratitude.

Macko, who was originally a runaway slave, was naturally also allocated draft horses and farm tools.

He excitedly kissed the docile draft horse he had just separated from him, and felt that this child was more pleasing to him than the wife of the barbarian.

Oh, those strong, sturdy thighs, that smooth, silky coat, that powerful tail. Macko caressed the three-year-old mare from head to toe, wishing he could bury his head in her mane. After sucking enough from the horse, he immediately took the barren son and began building a stable. He also traded a few bags of soybeans for a few goslings and lambs.

Keeping these livestock at home in winter can effectively increase the temperature inside the house.

As for those terrible unpleasant smells, his nose had long been able to automatically ignore them.

However, Macko's happiness did not last long. He had just built the stable when he received a notice of conscription for labor service.

Since his estate No. 6 was newly built, a large number of ditches had to be dug in the surrounding fields to facilitate the cultivation of rye next year.

"Oh, I'm actually starting to miss life at the Three Rivers Pier!"

Macko was surprised to find that he had not stopped for a single day since May.

Oh, no, he had one day off for the August harvest festival, and that was his only day.

"Faster, faster!"

"Why are you so slow? Did you put all your energy into the woman's belly?"

From the northern forest came the angry roar of the Third Brother Yang.

Immediately there was the suppressed laughter of the soldiers and the wailing of an unlucky guy who was hit by two military sticks.

The third brother took over a hundred soldiers from the fifth brother. These soldiers were the first group of serfs to join the army. They were the strongest and had received the longest training time.

Compared with the boring formation training of the fifth brother, the third brother's training method is more special.

Taking into account the upcoming combat scenarios such as sieges, chases, and positional battles, he tailored a complete training plan for these soldiers.

At the same time, he also ingeniously set up a variety of terrains, such as trenches, villages, city walls, and bridges.

They even built a six-meter-high brick and stone wall to simulate a complex battlefield environment.

These terrains are scattered along a winding dirt road nearly three kilometers long. The soldiers need to be fully armed, wearing mail helmets, holding axes and spears, and carrying nearly twenty kilograms of weight to run the entire route.

If anyone falls behind, they won’t be able to eat that night.

Lin En watched the entire training of this group of soldiers and was delighted by the results.

All the soldiers completed the entire course and no one was left behind.

The good food and drink provided over the past few months, coupled with Lao Wu's rigorous training, have further improved the physical fitness of these soldiers.

Lin En could already see some of the elite infantry in these soldiers.

This was exactly the soldier he needed.

But it’s still not enough, far from enough!

It's time to give them some more intensity.

Lin En transferred the second brother and his ten bandit brothers over.

They are all excellent cavalry trained by Lynn himself. They are brave and fearless. With just one order, they even dare to confront the noble knights.

And now, these cavalrymen will put on freshly made plate armor and charge against these one hundred infantrymen.

The thundering and orderly sound of horse hooves and the cold light flashing on the plate armor all made these infantrymen tremble with fear.

They swallowed subconsciously, and their hands holding the training sticks trembled slightly.

Faced with this cavalry armed to the teeth, they remembered the afternoon when their lord led them to hunt the monster wild boar.

But unlike last time, this time Lin En stood at the front of the infantry formation.

He also held a long stick in his hand and personally taught these infantrymen how to deal with cavalry.

There is only one secret, and that is courage!

"Look forward, don't be afraid, and don't retreat!"

"Those who escape will be killed!"

(End of this chapter)