Chapter 195: Chapter 194: Consecutive Achievements

The next morning, Galier set off for Wushan Castle with the prisoners in tow.

Now that there were witnesses, Reisen’s crimes would be irrefutable.

However, it was foreseeable that using Reisen to eradicate the Skull Society would still be very difficult.

Although Ridder had interrogated Philton over the past few days and learned that Reisen had contacted the Skull Society through Taini Viscount of the Purple Thunder Territory, it was unlikely that Philton’s confession alone could implicate the Purple Thunder Territory.

First, the Purple Thunder Clan was of high standing. Taini Viscount himself was a powerful Knight, and his daughter had married Barrington, making his grandson the heir to the Hyde Clan.

Second, a verbal accusation was not very convincing. Without other evidence, Taini Viscount could simply claim it was slander from Philton and deny everything.

This would hold true unless Reisen could provide evidence that Taini Viscount absolutely could not deny.

However, in his communications with the Purple Thunder Territory, Taini Viscount had not left any tangible evidence in Reisen’s hands.

Even for the assassination attempt on Ronin, the message was only passed verbally through Philton. Moreover, the verbal message was just a single sentence and involved no specific details.

Ronin merely gave Galier a friendly reminder about the Purple Thunder Territory.

As for how to try Reisen and investigate the Skull Society, those were now matters for Wushan Castle to consider.

After Galier left, Mas from Pasture City and Baron Tarren also announced their departure.

Their mission had actually ended when Ronin arrived at Swamp Castle. Their staying for two extra days was purely a gesture of friendship from the Ironhoof Clan.

Now that Ronin’s men had taken over the defenses, they had no reason to remain.

After seeing off both groups of guests, Ronin spent the better part of the next two days inspecting his new territory, which gave him a much better understanding of the land.

The Sain Territory was, in effect, a vast swampland.

It was surrounded by mountains and forests of varying heights on its southern, western, and northern sides. As for transportation, aside from a road in the southwest corner leading to the outside world, there was only a small path to the north leading to the Black-collar Tribe.

The terrain to the east of Swamp Town was flat, but the damp ground, combined with numerous lakes, rivers, and mires, as well as dangerous creatures that often appeared, made travel nearly impossible.

Even if one managed to cross the swamp to the east, they would only reach the sea, where there were no human cities.

Therefore, over the years, the area of activity for Reisen and his subjects was likely limited to a hundred-square-kilometer radius around Swamp Town.

Swamp Town was located in the southwestern corner of the Sain Territory, a location that made accessing the outside world much more convenient.

The residential areas for the town’s subjects were also concentrated in this spot.

On one hand, the land to the south was relatively dry, making it more suitable for living than the damp marshlands.

On the other hand, all of Swamp Town’s only 67,000-plus *mu* of arable land was also concentrated in this area, making it convenient for the farmers who lived there to work.

When Ronin heard that Swamp Town had nearly 70,000 *mu* of cultivated land, he was pleased for a moment.

After all, Mountain Forest Town had only just surpassed 30,000 *mu* of cultivated land to date. Swamp Town had more than twice that.

But as he considered Swamp Town’s population and this world’s grain yield per *mu*, the smile vanished from Ronin’s face.

Over 60,000 *mu* of arable land sounded like a lot, but in reality, even if all of it were cultivated, the harvest would barely be enough to feed Swamp Town’s population of over ten thousand people.

The root cause was simply that the grain yield was too low.

In all the years Reisen had managed Swamp Town, although he ran a Black Water Buffalo industry in the swamp and supplemented it with aquaculture and fishing, ensuring he never lacked money to buy grain from outside, the problem of insufficient arable land always remained.

Moreover, if Reisen wanted to rapidly grow Swamp Town’s population, this problem had to be solved.

But he hadn’t found a solution. Or rather, he had never thought of converting the swampland into arable farmland.

Perhaps for Reisen, it was better to raise fish and shrimp directly rather than convert the swamp into farmland. They could serve as rations when hungry and be sold for money to trade for other resources.

So, after many years of indecision, he turned his gaze beyond the Sain Territory, which led to him collaborating with Princest to seize Mountain Forest Town’s grain and subjugating Joffrey to occupy the Black-collar Tribe’s lands.

Ronin sat atop his Cloud Stepper, gazing out at the vast, flat swampland, and couldn’t help but sigh, “Reisen, oh Reisen, you truly don’t know a treasure when you see one.”

Many areas in this swampland were low-lying marshes.

The surface of this type of marsh is flat and low, with a relatively thin layer of peat rich in nutrients. This peat could be extracted and used as organic fertilizer.

To Ronin, this vast swampland was like a huge, natural organic fertilizer factory.

Moreover, once drained, low-lying marshes like these could become fertile farmland.

Reisen had completely failed to realize this. Instead, he risked danger to invade the territories of other nobles, a classic case of chasing the trivial and neglecting the essential.

Ronin believed that with the proper use of this organic fertilizer, combined with the planting techniques he had taught Wilson and the others, Swamp Town’s grain production would definitely increase compared to previous years.

’Before the spring planting, I’ll have Wilson organize people to mine peat and apply a round of fertilizer to the fields.’

Ronin turned his horse around, ending his inspection of the territory, and returned to Swamp Castle in the twilight glow of the setting sun.

“My lord, Wilson has been waiting in the study for a long time.”

The butler, Chahar, had already adapted to his new environment. In the past two days, he had gotten Swamp Castle in perfect order and had even begun training the newly recruited servants.

“How do you like the new castle?” Ronin asked casually.

Chahar praised without reservation, “It’s more spacious, grander, and sturdier than Mountain Forest Castle! My lord, perhaps this place is more befitting of your status.”

The Viscount of Wubei Territory needed a respectable castle to live in, after all. Mountain Forest Castle was truly a bit shabby in comparison.

“I will consider the matter of relocating.”

Ronin understood his butler’s meaning, but many of his artisans and industries were based in Mountain Forest Town. Besides, when it came to living environment, he still preferred Mountain Forest Castle.

As they spoke, the two arrived in the spacious living room, where Civil Servant Wilson and his assistant were already waiting.

“My lord, you’ve finally returned!” Wilson and the others quickly stood up and bowed.

Ronin smiled and gestured for them not to be so formal. “You came to see me. Is the census complete?”

“Yes, my lord!”

Wilson picked up a stack of sheepskin parchments from the table and respectfully handed them to Ronin. “All 9,856 people in Swamp Town have been registered. Please take a look, my lord!”

Ronin’s eyes lit up. The population of Swamp Town certainly didn’t disappoint him.

“Well done, everyone!”

As Ronin took the sheepskin parchments, two lines of text appeared in his vision:

[“Population Prosperity” achievement unlocked. Attribute Points +100, Energy Essence +200]

[“Population Prosperity” achievement unlocked. Attribute Points +150, Energy Essence +300]

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