Chapter 138: Chapter 79: Bjorn Shallow Bay’s Grand Farming Enterprise: Ten Thousand Acres of Fertile Fields

After the Summer Solstice ended, the territory shifted all its focus to the construction of Jorn Shallow Bay.

The slaves sent by West High Merchant greatly aided the territory’s farming endeavors.

When the cultivation activities began here, the population reached a thousand!

With such a massive population, the territory managed to cultivate over seven thousand acres of fertile land in just three days.

This means each person could cultivate two acres per day!

This efficiency is undoubtedly astonishing, thanks to the widespread use of various farming tools in the territory.

In this bay area, the territory assembled over a hundred oxen and draft horses, utilizing more than fifty heavy plows.

The feudal lord system is not entirely useless; compared to the self-sustained smallholder economy, large estate owners are more willing to invest.

Especially since these vast farmlands belong entirely to Su Li, without a land division system, he can organize large-scale mechanized production.

It truly is mechanized, without exaggeration.

The Half-Elf sent three heavy-duty plowing machines, large machines pulled by combat rams, with plowing efficiency several times higher than the Nord heavy plows.

In the vast fertile Bjorn Plains, as long as they charged forward, they could plow an acre of land without needing to turn around.

These heavy-duty plowing machines cleared all dense tree roots and weeds on the plain in one pass.

Shrubberies that could stop humans and oxen seemed like nothing in front of the heavy combat rams; thorns, vines, and shrubs were all shredded into pieces by the plow blades.

Then the serfs would simply follow to clear the vegetation, equipped with farm tools, quickly turning the soil after removing the vegetation, throwing out the underground rocks and hard soil, and breaking up the clods to make the land more suitable for farming.

What followed was the most delightful part—after turning the soil, the serfs began leveling the land, making thousands of acres of farmland flat and orderly.

On the third day, when Su Li stood on the high dam of Jorn Shallow Bay looking down, the tens of thousands of acres of fertile land had already taken shape.

On the green plain scorched black, nearly ten thousand acres of soil-yellow farming platforms stretched wide, with neatly arranged furrows, crisscrossing between forest belts, all forming a vibrant pastoral landscape.

Every expansive farm looked fertile and full of life, the freshly turned soil exuding a moist earthy scent, with serfs working diligently on it.

Su Li seemed to already see that in the near future, this land would be covered in lush green crops, golden waves of wheat rolling in the wind, the heavy ears of wheat hanging low, full of the joy of harvest.

As Su Li admired this beautiful scenery, the Minister of Agriculture, Vandar, came alongside.

Su Li looked at him and immediately asked with concern, “My minister, tell me about the outcomes of these past few days. When can we achieve the feat of tens of thousands of acres of farmland?”

Vandar looked at the magnificent scenery below, where patches of farmland had been cultivated and formed, stretching fertile farmland to the far end of the plain, and responded with a smile, “Lord, actually the scale of our newly cultivated land may have already exceeded ten thousand acres.”

“Really?” Su Li raised an eyebrow, this is indeed good news.

The more land that is reclaimed, the more impressive the scale of farming will be during the summer planting season.

If there could be twenty thousand acres of farmland, with a yield of 300 jin per mu, that would total six million jin of grain.

Enough to feed 3,000 people for a year, and still have some reserves.

Even considering the planting of some cash crops like flax, beets, olives, and soybeans, it would be enough to sustain the territory for half a year, with some left over to produce beer for trade with the Dwarves.

Vandar explained, “Our territory’s development includes more than just this one place, Jorn Shallow Bay; in fact, our territory now already has two subordinate territories, four villages, and seven farms!”

The two subordinate territories need not be elaborated; they are the Balan Autonomous Region of the Half-Elf, and the Golden Lion Territory of the Frederick Clan.

They have their own citizens and serfs. William also bought a dozen slaves from Su Li for their family to farm and graze.

On the fertile, expansive Bloody Highlands, their family could gain good returns even relying solely on grazing.

The Half-Elf’s Balan Autonomous Region’s population is actually not small; along with the Balantangborne Clan, they total five families, nearing five hundred people.

Though most work outside as merchants, servants, or traders, the number staying in the territory is still two to three hundred.

The scale of farmland they have cultivated is equally impressive.

They are not required to pay direct taxes to Su Li, but their territory’s mayor needs to pay vassal taxes to Su Li based on the previous year’s income.

This is an obligation every territory and every free village in Hesse Territory must bear.

The territory’s current free villages include Jiejia Manor, Iron Oak Village, Gray Stone Village, and Silver Spring Valley.

These villages include freed slaves, migrants who moved here, Fiery Sun Goddess worshippers, refugees from Sulande Province, and some other refugees.

These villages have as few as thirty to forty people, and as many as thirty to forty households, totaling over a hundred people.

According to the initial agreement, Su Li provided them with the land free of charge for three years, during which no rent would be collected, but a high Nineteen Taxes would still be levied.

Thus, these people were desperately cultivating farmland, striving to meet the tax quotas.

The nobles in this world are not so easy to deal with.

Within the Empire, any farmer who fails to pay sufficient taxes will have all his wealth taken by the ruthless tax collector, possibly even including his status as a free person.

Many slaves, vagabonds, and peasant rebels ended up losing their original status, identity, and wealth due to insufficient tax payments.

Once fallen into the ranks of slaves or vagabonds, the chance of returning to normal society is nearly negligible.

And the Border Prince’s Territory is the last piece of land where these people attempt to grasp a glimmer of hope.

These people are desperately farming, and on a scale, they should at least be equivalent to one-third around Jorn Shallow Bay!

They are actually quite numerous, but as free people and farming families, the scale and technical level of their farming fall far short of the Bjorn Shallow Bay, fully supported by Su Li.

Their greatest advantage lies in their higher enthusiasm and meticulous cultivation.

Su Li attentively asked, “How is the enthusiasm of the serfs?”

Speaking of this, Vandar was somewhat solemn, saying, “The new serfs certainly have a high level of enthusiasm. With the existence of the Power Field Technique, they dare not slack off at all.”

“But the enthusiasm of the previous batches of serfs is not as high. They have a season’s harvest behind them, so it’s basically impossible for them to be at the bottom, and some have already started slacking off.”

Su Li nodded; this was within his expectations.

No law can solve problems once and for all.

Besides, although the Power Field Technique sounds harsh, it only executes the bottom three.

When the number of serfs is only in the hundreds, its deterrent effect is relatively high.

But when the number of serfs reaches thousands, the deterrent effect significantly decreases.

A probability of three out of a thousand, what kind of concept is that?

Under the current medical conditions, the mortality rate of childbirth is even higher than this.

The mortality rate of any disease is higher than the penalty rate of the Power Field Technique.

So Su Li thought about it and said, “Let the court expand the coverage of the Power Field Technique, increase the number of those rewarded to twenty people, and those punished to ten people.”

Rewarding filial piety in farming is the most effective method of cultivating and battling.

However, in this Fantasy World, rewarding farming is just a conventional method; to improve productivity, one must rely on some extraordinary abilities.

Su Li asked with interest, “My minister, does your Dawn Church have any methods to improve farming?”

Vandar shook his head and said, “Our church’s main ability is in increasing the output of fields and grains after the farmland is developed.”

“For instance, the ability of our new nun, ’Reya’s Abundance,’ can sing of midsummer and the Goddess’s glory in the summer, bringing abundance and clearing all impurities. Stored food and uncooked ingredients will slowly swell and split, doubling in number. Molds, pests, insects, and other sources of spoilage will disappear, and long-stored food will become fresh again. Each round can touch a barrel, a box, or a basket of food.”

“But in terms of reclaiming wasteland, we don’t have any special divine magic. It requires the believers to do it themselves; only after a certain amount of effort will Reya’s Divine Grace descend.”

“However, I think on this matter, you might want to consult with the dwarves.”

“The dwarves?” Su Li raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Vandar nodded, “Their engineers can help the half-elves make more engineering devices, like harvesters and plows. With enough equipment, the arable land in our vast fields could be quite considerable.”

Speaking of dwarves, Su Li remembered that Dorglin and the others should be returning soon.

Dorglin promised to return within a cycle; it’s been three days from their departure to the Summer Solstice, and three more days have passed since the Solstice.

Counting the schedule, they shouldn’t be too far from the territory.

Dwarf engineers excel in crafting waterworks and powerful machinery, like catapults, ballistae, cannons, and even helicopters.

Of course, their helicopters aren’t like human ones; they are rough and heavy iron products, similar to a landship or organ cannon, more like a flying iron lump.

They have unparalleled talent in engineering constructs. If they could help the half-elves create a batch of plows, it would naturally greatly enhance farming efficiency.

These equipment, pulled by Combat Rams like chariots, indeed outperform ordinary human serfs in efficiency.

This is a special troop type of the half-elves, somewhat akin to the Jieya Evil Bandit War Chariot, possessing unparalleled value.

Su Li didn’t think about this for long; by evening, Lauren arrived at Bjorn Shallow Bay and said, “Lord, the Redbeard Clan has arrived. And they’ve brought a massive army!”

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