When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 521 Nagmi's Doubts (Part 1) (Free Chapter)

On the vast plain, the autumn wind rolled up the scorching clouds. Between the scorching clouds and the fields, a team of dozens of knights were marching north along the road.

They were wearing dirty leather armor, each riding a small mountain horse or even a mule, and the armor under the leather armor was patched.

Some people even had the look of starvation on their faces.

Those were the knights who had just returned from the battlefield of Mende. Considering the amount of exercise they had done on the battlefield and the rations provided, they were indeed not full.

The two people walking in front were Sechinger, who had a small braid on his beard and wore a greasy leather robe, and Murat, who was dressed in a smart woolen jacket.

"How far is it to Suangua Town?" Sechinger asked Murat who was leading the way.

Murat looked at the nearby landmarks and houses, and pointed further ahead: "Over there is the former Taunton Manor, now called the Taunton Hundred. Go over that mound and you'll be close to Sour Melon Town."

"You've taken down all the fences and cut down the forests. I can't recognize where this place is anymore." Sechinger couldn't help but sigh.

Murat was stunned by what Sechinger said: "Not really, the change is not that big."

Of course, for Murat the changes were minor, but for Sechinger the same was not true.

When he arrived in Suangua Town three years ago, he could still see signs and fences of various manors along the way. The village heads would get the news in advance and greet him at every intersection, offering water and gifts.

Although they may be just some simple local specialties, they can at least be regarded as a token of thought and respect.

But now, they were just like an ordinary group of businessmen, strolling on the dirt road, and the working farmers didn't even raise their heads.

Although he was prepared, Sechinger still felt a little uncomfortable.

On the one hand, the discomfort came from the fact that the title of Earl was no longer useful, and on the other hand, it came from the envy and hatred towards the Salvation Army.

As the most important lord in North County, the Savior Army has not contacted him so far, and he has to contact the Savior Army himself.

These peasant armies took away the spoils that originally belonged to him - half of the town of Ibe, which was promised to him by Meliati.

According to the original promise made to Meliati, these mountain earls would move their territories to the Plains County, and move all outsiders into the mountains to work as miners and lumberjacks.

As long as they can defeat the church army of Mound County, Langsand County will sooner or later belong to the North Mountain People.

But now the roasted pork on the plates of the Norse nobles was snatched away by a group of farmers who came out of nowhere.

If he defeated the Duke of Kush, or just occupied Jeanne d'Arc, then Sechinger would have some say.

But now, this group of farmers and small citizens have broken three imperial companies in a row and defeated the coalition forces of Nidsal and Jinhe Township.

No matter how hard he tried, Sechinger couldn't figure out how these farmers and citizens who worked the land and tanned leather had defeated the knights.

The facts were right in front of him, and he had to admit it.

Of these two forces, the former goes without saying, and he has fought against the latter several times and is very clear about their strength.

If even they were defeated by the Savior Army, then there would be no chance for me to fight anymore.

Fortunately, the land in the four plain counties is sufficient and fertile, so it should not be difficult to find a fiefdom in other counties in the future.

But before that, he wanted to see how real the Savior Army was and whether it was really as magical as it was hyped up to be.

Dozens of knights climbed over the bare earth hill in the wind that smelled of wood smoke, and the dark orange roofs of Suangua Town shrouded in smoke came into everyone's sight.

"Dad, look over there, there are so many soybeans." Nagmi, the youngest daughter of Sechinger, pointed in a direction excitedly.

Looking in the direction my daughter pointed, in the fields outside the town, tall bean stalks swayed in the wind, and dark yellow bean pods collided with each other, making a rustling sound like the waves.

The soybeans planted at the end of August have finally reached maturity after 8 days of growth. Under the setting sun, a large number of farmers are still bending over and busy harvesting soybeans.

The artificial irrigation river and the water diversion canal reflected the red light of the setting sun, and the jumping waves almost ignited the clear river water.

The sound of the river flowing, the farmers singing while working, and the sound of soybean stalks colliding, although they were clearly miles away, Sechinger seemed to still be able to hear them clearly.

"What a nice field this is." Sechinger didn't know what kind of mood he was in when he said this.

His hometown was just a piece of cold, dry land and a trickle of water that came and went, barely enough for grazing and farming. In the five mountainous counties, any flat land suitable for farming would be occupied by densely packed farmland.

But their annual net yield per acre is only about 70 pounds. When the weather is bad, if it is too cold or the river is blocked, the harvest may be completely lost.

A large number of mountain people become mercenaries, not because they don't love their hometown or because they are born brave and aggressive, but because they can't get enough food to eat in the mountains.

Even though the territory had a good harvest in previous years, a large number of mountain people still starved to death or froze to death during the winter.

At this point, Sechinger had to do Horn a favor.

If he had not discovered how to eat potato roots, and if there were not the abundant vegetation and snow in the mountains, a large number of people would have starved to death when food prices skyrocketed during last year's flood, not to mention having enough energy to go to war with Mound County.

"Yes." Murat's eyes became confused, but he quickly regained his composure. "This field is an experimental field, planned by the agricultural director of the Holy Hoe Monastery. If he is sure that the yield can be increased, then he will have a chance to enter the Senate. Can you guess who that person is?"

Sechinger was stunned for a long time by Murat's question: "Who? Do I know him?"

"Hahaha, of course you know him. The agricultural director's name is Enrico Alco."

"Little Enrico?"

"Uncle Enrico?!"

Both Sechinger and his daughter screamed at the same time. Enrico's mother was Sechinger's aunt, so the two should be cousins.

Previously, Sechinger occasionally came to Longsand County to spend the winter, and basically stayed at Enrico's estate.

But isn't Enrico a count? According to the Salvation Army's policy, even if you didn't go to jail, you should have become a civilian. Why did you become the director of agriculture?

"Isn't Uncle Enrico a civilian?" Nagmi couldn't help but ask.

"Can't a civilian be an agricultural supervisor?"

"Can I ask what his planting plan is?" Sechinger was also concerned about agricultural matters.

Nagmi then asked, "Are his family still there?"

Murat ignored Nagmi's aggressive questioning and answered Count Sechinger's question directly:
“I don’t know much, but it seems that Mr. Enrico intercropped these fields with rice and wheat, and then planted soybeans at the end of August. After the harvest in December, he burned the ash to cover the fields.

Plant sweet potato flowers in the spring of next year and till them into the soil when you till the soil... "

"Oh, damn it!" Sechinger's vulgar cry interrupted Murat's narration.

Murat looked at Sechinger, whose face was red and his neck was thick, in surprise, not understanding what he was doing.

"Enrico! You're a dung collector!" The more he listened to Murat's stories, the more familiar they became to Sechinger. When the sweet potato flowers appeared, he couldn't hold back any longer. "The guy in the ditch learned my method of growing sweet potato flowers and claimed it as his own!"

Taro flower is a crop unique to the mountains. It was originally just a wild grass and was later cultivated artificially.

Since arable land in mountains is scarce, discontinuous planting is likely to result in famine. In addition to competing for water and bird droppings, the other thing to do is to ensure that fertility is not lost as much as possible.

After hundreds of years of development and experimentation, the mountain people finally discovered and cultivated a green manure that can prevent the loss of soil fertility - sweet potato flower.

Sechinger had always been proud of this secret, but he never expected that it would be so easily discovered by Enrico and sold to the royal family of the Church.

"Is this your method of growing plants? He said this is his secret..."

"He's the only one who can be the director of agriculture? Then I can be the director of agriculture too!"

"Well, Mr. Enrico said that it looks simple but is difficult to do. There are many steps and details. No one can do it except him at the moment." Murat stroked the gorgeous sword at his waist awkwardly.

"Is he in Sourmelon?"

"He should have been here today. He was originally ordered to come with me to receive you, but he said he had a headache so he didn't come." Midway through his speech, Murat suddenly realized.

"Let's go quickly to Sour Melon Town!"

After marching for more than two weeks, Sechinger and his party finally arrived at Suangua Town on December 12th.

(End of this chapter)