I'm not a lord

Chapter 166 The New White Bear Territory
Lynn had many things to deal with and many people to meet in White Bear Territory.

The following day, having received advance notice, the Lowland tribes chief Soward rushed to White Bear Territory Castle and was warmly received by Lynn.

"My lord, the Gaoya tribe has begun its overall southward migration. It is estimated that their vanguard will reach the vicinity of the salt mine in another week."

After the start of spring, old Soward, who had rested all winter, got busy again.

He had to supervise his people in mining and refining salt while also guiding the Gaoya tribe to migrate south.

In early March, he even braved the cold spring winds to personally travel to the wilderness to once again promote Lord Lynn's preferential policies to the Gaoya tribe, so that the Gaoya tribe could move south with peace of mind.

Having put in so much effort, Lao Su's rewards were naturally astonishing.

Lynn generously rewarded the Lowland tribes who worked tirelessly and provided soldiers:

"You and the lowland tribes have worked hard these past six months. Once the people of the high cliff tribe take over the salt mines, you can lead your people to move to the White Bear Territory and the Shallow Beach Territory. The fields and houses are ready, and the farming tools and livestock are also readily available."

Although you can't plant rye in time, you can plant soybeans. You visited Manor No. 6 in White Bear Territory; they planted soybeans last year, and the yield was decent. Planting thirty or forty acres shouldn't be a problem to feed a family of five.”

Because the lowland tribes lacked seed serfs and livestock, they could only pay seventy percent of their harvest to Lynn in exchange for free aid.

It looked as if Lynn was ruthlessly exploiting them.

That is indeed the case.

But many destitute people would rather kneel than even have the chance to do so!
If you're not convinced, go ask the other lords in the North and see if they dare to accept the barbarians.
In other words, Lynn was able to put aside the past grievances between the two tribes and even took the lead in bringing the barbarian girl into the palace.

He even dared to recruit the deserters into his army! He even dared to let the deserters live among the southern immigrants!

Although the treatment of the barbarian archers was low, they were still happy to accept it.

Compared to the arduous life of hunting in the forest, living a life of constant hunger and fear, the days of being a soldier and farming were far more comfortable.

Because the returns are predictable and very stable, and there are even more surprises during times of war.

Old Soward jumped up from his chair and bowed respectfully: "On behalf of the Lowland tribes, I thank you again for your generosity, sir!"

In fact, old Soward certainly knew that Lynn deliberately separated the Lowland tribes into two different places in order to diminish his power as chieftain.

But he had no reason to object.

If they still lived in the forest, he, as the chieftain, wouldn't have any special privileges at all.

What's the point of being a clan chief when his wife and children can't even fill their stomachs?
What, you're saying that having multiple wives is a privilege?
I can still marry several wives even if I move to Baihe Territory!
At least in his generation, he was still able to maintain the authority and privileges of a lord.

As for his son, Xiao Suo, he wasn't worried at all.

Over the past six months, Xiao Su has grown remarkably and is now able to lead two hundred barbarians to fight for their lord on the battlefield.

Even if the people of the Gaoya tribe enlist in the army in the future, won't they still have to accept his son's teaching and command?

In the military, it's all about first come, first served.

Those who arrived first and made meritorious contributions naturally held a higher status than those who came later.

Old Soward planned to hold a wedding for his son after all his clansmen had moved to Baihe Territory.

Among the wild people, marriage means coming of age and starting a family.

Xiao Suo's fiancée was the daughter of an elder in the clan. After the marriage, he was considered to have gained the elders' approval and was qualified and capable of succeeding as the clan leader.

As for the generation after that, that's beyond Old Solskjaer's control.

In his generation, he believed he had a clear conscience.

He led his people away from the hellish wasteland and helped them find the best place to live, where they could enjoy a stable and comfortable life.

The son is about to grow up, and the two daughters have married the most powerful lord in the territory.

What else could he possibly regret?

After reuniting with his two daughters for half a day, Old Suo embarked on his journey back to the salt mine.

There were still many matters in the tribe that awaited his attention.

Lynn was also busy, and accompanied by little Albert, he toured White Bear Territory.

Over the past year, the territory of Bai Xiong has undergone tremendous changes.

The people moved out of their dirty, dark, and unsafe mud houses and into bright, clean, and sturdy stone houses.

The warehouse area inside the building has also been expanded several times, mainly to store various grains whose production has more than doubled.

Not only were the people able to eat their fill, but their livestock also received more food.

After last autumn's harvest, Lynn ordered his people to cultivate the land and rotate pasture crops.

The sown pasture grass has now sprouted new seedlings, which can provide livestock with sufficient feed in a timely manner.

In the past, 90 percent of the people in the White Bear Territory were serfs.

They lacked freedom and had to work for their lord three to four days a week, resulting in neglect of their family lands and very poor harvests each year, leaving them struggling to make ends meet.

Furthermore, they were not free to decide their own and their descendants' identities and occupations; the entire family was firmly bound to the land. Now, the vast majority of the inhabitants have obtained the status of free citizens, either through active labor or through relatives joining the military.

They only need to pay the full amount of taxes on the land they own, and then they can arrange their own time freely.

They can do anything as long as it's not prohibited by law: farming, odd jobs, apprenticeships.

Thanks to a large influx of high-quality labor, the handicraft industry in White Bear Territory has developed rapidly over the past six months.

The scale of industries including blacksmithing, carpentry, leatherworking, and papermaking has increased exponentially.

The area of ​​New White Bear Town, north of the castle, has rapidly quadrupled.

The paper mill's output is sufficient to cover the official needs of the entire Shirakawa Territory and can also supply schools with five times the number of students.

Although agriculture has lost some of its workforce, this year's grain output is bound to exceed last year's.

Because the property tax collected by Lynn is fixed.

Tax officials determine the amount of tax payable per acre based on the area and fertility of the land, rather than by adjusting the tax based on the actual annual output of each acre.

This method of taxation is also impractical; it's impossible to calculate taxes acre by acre during the autumn harvest.

In other words, apart from the fixed land tax, the remaining output belongs to the people.

The more meticulously they tend to their land, the greater their autumn harvest will be.

This will fully mobilize their enthusiasm for production, thereby significantly increasing the total grain output of the entire territory.

Lynn followed Albert on his inspection tour, arriving at an abandoned village on the western side of the territory.

Before spring planting, Albert the Younger had already redivided the farmland, reducing the acreage of farmland for all the people in his territory and freeing up several villages to accommodate the soon-to-arrive refugees.

After riding around the empty village on horseback, little Albert explained:

"My lord, this village and the land it is attached to will be allocated to the lowland tribes, including 30 percent of the cultivated land, and the rest will be public pastures and wasteland that need to be cultivated. In addition, a forest has been allocated to them so that they can gather firewood and hunt."

Each household will be allocated eighty acres of land, most of which will be wasteland and will require strenuous reclamation.

If the people of the wilderness could endure the hardships of mining, they could certainly endure the hardships of land reclamation as well.

Although the people of the wilderness did not have livestock manure to provide fertilizer, they could dig peat from the swamp twenty kilometers away to use as a substitute.

With the thawing of the Baihe River, they will even be able to transport peat in large quantities by waterway.

Moreover, soybeans are not very demanding in terms of soil requirements; in the first year of land reclamation, only a little fertilizer is needed to achieve a certain harvest.

Upon reaching the edge of the village, Lynn dismounted, tested the softness of the ground with his foot, and pointed out:

"Starting next year, we will promote soybean cultivation in White Bear Territory. This crop can effectively improve soil fertility and is suitable for crop rotation with rye and pasture."

Soybeans have a wide range of uses. They can partially replace staple foods, be pressed for oil, and when dried, they become high-quality military rations that are easy to carry. They can also be made into various soy products to enrich the dining table, and their roots and stems are excellent livestock feed.

Moreover, soybean roots also have nitrogen-fixing properties, making them an excellent crop for crop rotation.

Lynn plans to promote crop rotation of wheat, soybeans and forage in White Bear Territory, increasing the area planted with food crops from one-half to two-thirds.

While grain production has increased significantly, the amount of feed available to livestock has not decreased considerably.

Once we achieve success in the White Bear Territory, we can then promote it throughout the entire White River Territory.

Over the course of two years, the population and livestock numbers that the entire territory can support will increase significantly.

Lynn was naturally able to accept more immigrants and continue to expand the size of the army.

Since the master had given instructions, young Albert naturally wanted to share the master's burden. He immediately said, "Master, this year we can try three crops in rotation in White Bear Territory. Soybeans have a shorter growth cycle than rye, so planting in May is still possible."

If it weren't for the master's support, Xiao Ai would still be working as an assistant to his father, Lao Ai, and wouldn't have the chance to manage the entire territory.

Now, Xiao Ai has put away his unrealistic knightly dream and, under the master's leadership, is wholeheartedly building the new White Bear Territory.

"Okay, you can arrange the crop rotation. I'll wait for your good news."

Lynn was still at ease with Albert and his son; at least the father and son were extremely loyal.

Moreover, their family traditions are well preserved, and Albert's younger brother is also doing very well at school, being able to communicate fluently in the basic language of the Wilderness.

Now, little Albert has completed his studies and is working as a Wildling language teacher at the school, responsible for teaching Wildling language to the students who come after him.

After touring the village, Lynn went to the workshop area north of the castle.

After spring arrived, the armor workshop doubled in size, the number of water-powered forging hammers also doubled, and the number of apprentices naturally increased significantly, including some apprentices brought from the shallows to the south. As a result, the foreman Eric became even busier.

However, since the lord himself was visiting, he had to stop what he was doing, no matter how busy he was.

“I have discovered a high-quality limonite mine in Chixi Territory and I plan to relocate the entire armor workshop there.”

Lynn's trip was naturally to discuss the iron ore issue with Eric.

(End of this chapter)