I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 183 Lawrence's Little Thoughts

……

……

The noble alliance has arrived at the battlefield on the southern border.

The scouts from the border town also brought the news.

"The reinforcements brought victory to the empire."

Durant reported the information to Rhodes.

"The noble alliance blocked the breach in the southern province, and the allied forces were held back."

"The Allied forces' offensive has been successfully halted."

Rhodes nodded. "And then?"

"Gone."

Durant explained, "Apart from that, there were no other results, and the war reached a stalemate."

"Not a single piece of lost land has been recovered?" Rod pressed.

"No."

Durant shook his head slightly. "It's said that the nobles have been arguing about which piece of lost territory should be reclaimed first."

"Haha, I understand."

Rhodes couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Stopping the Western Conference's invasion is everyone's common goal.

After achieving this goal, everyone had their own thoughts on the matter.

The occupied territories belonged to both royalty and lords.

Whose item should be retrieved first?

Then it comes down to whose noble network is deeper and whose wealth is greater.

The warm and bountiful southern provinces are not as straightforward as the northern wastelands.

The relationships among nobles were complex, with some being allies and others enemies.

More importantly, the royal family was also involved.

The nobles could ask for even more.

This is no longer the pioneering era of the past; the so-called aristocratic glory is all meaningless.

Gold coins, slaves, and land are what matter.

Without these valuable items, who would send their soldiers to their deaths in vain?

Therefore, it's normal for the noble alliance to quarrel.

What Rhodes couldn't understand was why the Western Alliance was able to muster 50,000 troops to work together to attack the Shattered Rock Empire.

But in any case, it's good news for Rhodes.

The longer their war drags on, the better.

That way, no one will have time to keep an eye on him, this remote wasteland lord.

He can act freely and do whatever he wants.

Otherwise, once those nobles have some free time, they'll eventually set their sights on us.

"Alright, I understand. Any further news?" Rhodes asked.

"The prices of salt, iron ore, grain, dried meat, herbs, and oils have all gone up."

Durant reported, "The rest are just some trivial matters concerning the nobility."

"The wife of Baron Ruta of Eagle Ridge was caught having an affair and ran away with her lover, a knight."

"The son of the Viscount of the Great Bear broke both legs while hunting; he was the Viscount of the Great Bear's only son."

"A band of robbers, the Blood Axe Society, appeared in the territory of Viscount White Deer. During a robbery, they killed Viscount White Deer's illegitimate son and a bounty has been issued on their head."

……

"Alright, that's about it. I'll keep the report for later when I have time."

Rhodes wasn't interested in these messy things.

If it weren't for the desire to "find gold in the sand," Rod wouldn't have bothered to listen.

The changes in prices were somewhat useful, and Rod knew the key points of his next preparations.

"Go ahead and get busy. Have the guards bring Otto to me."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant bowed and stepped back.

Not long after, as Rhodes was looking down at the trivial matters of the nobles, Otto waddled in.

He bowed and greeted the man with a broad smile: "My lord, what are your orders?"

"Is the land all turned over?" Rod asked.

"Yes, yes, everything is done as you instructed!"

Otto replied, "The manure is all ready. It was fermented in the summer and will be put into the fields soon."

"Well done, Auto, you're getting more and more efficient at your job."

Rod looked up at Otto and smiled, "The news about Xuemai hasn't spread far. I heard that the farmers who are working here have a lot of complaints."

"A bunch of idiots, sir, please don't be angry!"

Otto hurriedly said, "I'll definitely teach them a lesson when I get back!"

"It's okay, don't be nervous, I'm just praising you."

Rod gestured for Auto to sit down.

“Winter farming is inherently incomprehensible, and since I asked you to keep it a secret, I naturally won’t hold those farmers’ complaints against you.”

Rod pointed to the sealed wooden jar on the table. "That's Katie's newly brewed fruit wine. You have a low alcohol tolerance, so it's perfect for you. Take it back and try it."

"Yes, yes, thank you, sir!"

Although Otto doesn't drink alcohol, he was still excited.

Is this wine?

This is the lord's favor!
This is honor and power!

It's something to brag about!
Otto quickly picked up the wooden jar and hugged it tightly to his chest.

"Sir, is this all the business you summoned me for?"

"You stored Frost and Thunder's excrement separately, didn't you?"

Otto paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "Of course, of course! My lord, I will definitely handle whatever you have ordered me to do!"

"Your pet's poop is right in the middle of the manure yard outside town, and it's guarded by someone!"

Otto's words are not an exaggeration.

After the autumn harvest, everyone realized the value of manure.

Let alone the excrement of a wyvern.

Otto assigned dedicated personnel to supervise and collect all human and livestock excrement from the town.

They even bring back any bison or goat droppings they see when they go out to collect fruit and mushrooms.

The ashes from the wood and grass used for heating the kang (a traditional heated bed) in winter are all collected by designated personnel and stored in a unified manner.

How could something that increases crop yields not be a treasure?

Rhodes nodded and gave the instructions.
"Okay, go pick out the fermented wyvern dung from the bottom layer and mix it with regular fertilizer, at a ratio of twelve to one."

Otto blinked, seemingly puzzled: "Are you going to use all this fertilizer on the newly reclaimed farmland?"

"It seems like you don't have enough of your pet's poop..."

Otto explained, "All the fertilizer combined is at most 3,000 jin, and I feel that the usable wyvern manure is at most 1,000 jin... maybe even less."

Otto counted on his fingers,

"In that case, the maximum amount of manure that can be prepared is probably 12,000 units, right?"

"It's only enough for six acres, my lord."

Otto cautiously suggested, "And..."

"You mean, and there's no guarantee that the snow wheat will even grow, right?"

Before Otto could finish speaking, Rod added.

Otto rubbed his hands together, his face beaming with smiles, and nodded.

"Your suggestion does make sense."

Rhode got a little anxious when he heard that monster dung was useful.

Looking back now, it seems that saving it for the truly mutated snow wheat would have been more beneficial.

"Then let's do this: configure the dosage for one acre of land."

Rhodes arranged,
"I will apply the fertilizer mixed with wyvern dung separately from the regular fertilizer, and mark the land where the wyvern dung was applied. I will see how much difference there is later."

"No problem, my lord, I'll arrange it right away!"

Otto nodded repeatedly and turned to leave.

"and many more."

Rhodes called him over, "And call Lawrence over here as well."

"Yes!" Otto replied and hurriedly left the hall.

A moment later, Lawrence ran into the hall, panting.

Lawrence wiped the sweat from his brow, bowed, and greeted them.

"What's wrong, sir?"

"Is Otto urging you?" Rod asked.

"Ah, yes."

Lawrence explained, "I was taking inventory of our goods and marking the items that had increased in price when Otto ran over and said you had something urgent to tell me."

“I didn’t say that, I just asked him to call you here.”

Rhodes quickly distanced himself from the situation, then said with a smile, "Actually, you should delegate many things to Eloi and Clementine. You don't need to do anything; just direct them."

"Yes, you're right."

Lawrence nodded, and before Rhodes could speak, he spoke first.
"We don't have much dried meat left, only 87 tons."

“After deducting the fifty tons reserved for the army and the daily food supplies, there is nothing left.”

Lawrence solemnly reported, "We still need to make some money from this upcoming price increase."

"But the hunting teams have been submitting fewer and fewer items lately, you have to do something about it!"

"I know this."

Rhodes nodded. "The hunting team is busy with other things, and there aren't many left to hunt in Black Pine Ridge. After all, we can't exhaust our resources."

What kind of fish are you talking about?

"It means draining the water to catch fish."

Rhodes waved his hand. "It's alright, I'll take care of it."

"Hehe, that's good."

Lawrence suddenly revealed a long-lost shrewd merchant's smile. "We'll sell the old, dried meat to the caravans and keep the fresh ones."

"Yes, it's a blessing for the people in our town to have you."

Rhodes gave Lawrence a thumbs-up, then changed the subject and gave an order.
"Remember to dispose of all the lizardman corpses that Gunle brought back."

Rod said calmly, "Everyone says that lizardmen's skin is warmer. Go ask the blacksmith if they need any of this leather for linings."

"If it's not needed, perhaps we could arrange for someone to make leather armor?"

Rhodes asked Lawrence, "Have you ever collected lizardman leather before?" "No."

Lawrence shook his head. "Why don't we keep it for now and see if any nobles are willing to buy it at a high price?"

"also."

Rhodes nodded. "Perhaps some people have this particular fetish."

In aristocratic circles, especially among some noblewomen, there is a tendency to collect unusual and quirky items to express individuality.

I wonder if a noblewoman would like a handbag made of lizardman leather?
"The lizardman's head must be cut off, pickled, and stored away."

Lawrence paused, a pained expression on his face: "What...why are you saving it?"

"Of course, it's paying taxes!"

Rod said without hesitation.

The empire is in such a mess now, I wonder if they'll actually come to collect taxes.

But no matter what, Rhodes has to save it up.

Let's not let the Empire need it and then Rhodes have to pay a fine.

"Oh, pay the tax!"

Lawrence slapped his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I almost forgot about that."

"And what do you think?" Rod asked back.

Lawrence chuckled twice, but didn't answer directly.
"I'll arrange it right away, don't worry, everything will be stored properly."

Lawrence then pressed on, "So, we'll compost the rest of the parts, as Gunther suggested?"

"Ask Luna if it has any medicinal value. If not, just arrange it however you like," Rhodes said casually.

"No problem, sir."

Lawrence answered without any hesitation.

Rhodes then ordered, "Also, gather all the children aged ten to sixteen at the manor; I need to test their aptitude."

"Everyone?"

Lawrence asked, "Including Aloy and Klein?"

"Yes, and all the children of the Snow Rabbit people, bring them all over."

Luo De spoke calmly, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes, "I want to see if there are any promising talents among them."

Lawrence scratched his head and stammered in a low voice, "Um... Eloi and Clementine are pregnant, can we get tested?"

puff!
Vivian, who was translating the classic texts next to her, suddenly burst out laughing!

"Excuse me, Your Excellency, please continue."

Vivian covered her mouth.

Rhodes' eyes widened as he stared at Lawrence.
"You're really not being polite... Didn't you say you weren't interested in women?"

"I had no choice, sir, I was forced into it..."

Lawrence sighed, "They said they would feel more at ease having children, and then I don't know how it happened, but they got pregnant after just a few times."

"alright."

Rhodes sighed.

"Since you're pregnant, don't let them test you. We can talk about it later."

"Go ahead and make the arrangements."

"Yes, sir."

Lawrence responded and quickly ran out.

Rhodes then summoned Gunther, ended Gunther's leave, and ordered him to lead the army out again.

In addition to the mission to destroy the lizardmen's burial pits, Gunle is also responsible for escorting Raine's hunting party.

……

……

Rod intends to seize the last days of winter.

While the prey is still fresh, let Raine lead the hunting party to hunt in the neighboring Razor Plains.

That was Avril's territory.

It's now essentially Rhodes' territory.

So Renn can hunt freely there.

The main thing to watch out for is the lizard people.

However, with the falconers of the Eaglewing Tribe, the hunting teams could generally know the lizardmen's movements in advance.

Therefore, hunting is also safer.

As for the prey in Black Pine Ridge, Rod planned to let them rest and recuperate for a while.

This isn't an online game where monsters can spawn infinitely.

Excessive hunting will ultimately harm Rhodes himself.

The outposts on the northern border have been initially established.

The transport team can also rest there, and provide timely support in case of emergencies.

In this way, transporting supplies is not too difficult.

It's time to put the resources of the Razor Plains to use.

……

……

The manor's knight camp.

On the training field, Cavaliers team captain São was sweating profusely.

He brandished his sword at the dummy with a serious expression, extremely focused.

Slash, thrust, sever neck.

Parry, deflect, block the sword.

The heavy training sword, unsharpened, struck the dummy with a thud.

Sweat streamed down his forehead, but São didn't care and continued practicing his basic sword techniques.

"Sao! Stop training!"

My companion beside me was panting, "You've been practicing all morning, and besides, the dummy won't fight back, it's pointless."

"Okay, you'll practice with me."

São remained expressionless, continuing his sword training until his partner finished. "You won. This month's salary is yours."

"Forget it, I don't have that ability."

His companion waved his hand repeatedly, "You continue, I'm going to go find something to eat."

"it is good."

Like a machine, Sao turned around again and stared at the dummy.

Just as he was about to draw his sword, a guard entered the training camp.
"Everyone, assemble at the manor for a qualification check!"

São stopped what he was doing and looked at the guard.

What qualifications are being checked?

"Do we knights also need to be inspected?"

The guard shook his head. "This is the lord's order, perhaps to have you demonstrate the results of your training."

"Oh well."

Upon hearing that it was the Holy Lord's order, Sao immediately put the training sword back into its rack and casually wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He quickly grabbed his coat and put it on.

"Knight Squad, assemble!"

São's voice echoed through the knight camp, and the people inside quickly ran out and lined up.

"Target: Lord's Manor, on the run!"

At São's command, he immediately led his troops toward the manor.

The courtyard of the manor was already packed with people.

More than 400 children lined up in a long queue, densely packed, like a winding river standing at the entrance of the manor.

Rhodes sat at a wooden table in the center of the courtyard, on which sat a large white pearl.

Pearls refract a faint halo in the sunlight, mysterious and dazzling, very beautiful.

One by one, the children stepped forward and placed their hands on the pearls.

The pearls were lit up one after another, and Rhodes kept shaking his head.

Vivian kept shouting,

"next."

This process is very quick, even faster than the first urination in the morning.

Soon, over a hundred people had passed by, and Rod's head was spinning, so he started using his hands instead.

"next."

As soon as Vivian finished speaking, the girl behind her was about to come up when the guard ran over.

"My lord, the knight squad has arrived."

"Then let the Knights team do the testing first."

Rod gave the order without hesitation.

The Knights squad consists of carefully selected elites, and their time is precious; they cannot afford to waste it waiting here.

"Yes, Lord Lord."

The guard waved to the knight squad.

Sao understood and immediately led his team into the courtyard.

The others were also very sensible and made way for the Knights' team.

"Great Lord, may your glory last forever."

São bowed in greeting.

"Hmm, I remember your name is Sao Greystone, right?"

Rhodes nodded in response and instructed, "Come on, put your hand on it."

"Yes, my lord."

Sao bowed again and placed his palm on the pearl without hesitation.

He couldn't help but close his eyes, and a row of light spots on the pearl lit up one after another.

Rod's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Finally, a qualified child has arrived."

Rhodes let out a long sigh and looked at the nearly eleven points of light above with a sigh.

São's mental strength is 10.8.

He wasn't exactly a genius, but he was certainly capable of becoming a wizard's apprentice.

Rhodes also knew that he worked very hard in the Knights Camp, training all the time except for eating and sleeping.

“Very good, São.”

Rhodes looked at Sao and asked, "What illusion did you see?"

(End of this chapter)