You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 37 Turmoil
That day, Roman chopped down five trees.

This added 10 points to his gathering experience.

Because of the strain on his arms, when the fifth pine tree fell, Roman felt extremely sore and weak in his arms. Although he could still hold on, he felt there was no need to force himself.

As it was getting late, Roman took Gweil back to Origin Manor.

Bob, the chef, prepared dinner.

Buttered bread, grilled lamb chops, fried ham slices, radish and vegetable soup, and a large jug of milk.

After Roman sat down, he poured himself and Gweil a glass of hot milk.

Suddenly, Seth said, "Sir, today some farmers came to me, hoping that you would allocate land to them as soon as possible. Even if the tax is higher, they can accept it if the tax is reduced from 50% to 60%."

Roman picked up a fragrant lamb chop and slowly began to bite into the meat.

He said, "Why should I allocate land to them?"

Seth responded, "Those farmers say you have violated the land rent agreement."

Roman didn't deny it: "Well, so what if I disobeyed? He can go to the Black Iron King to punish me."

He has now consolidated all the resources of Sig.

If the land is divided, it's equivalent to dispersing the labor force as well.

Those farmers all went to cultivate their allocated land according to the old traditional methods.

That's a unit of measurement calculated in tens of thousands of acres; if everyone in Sige Town were scattered across it, not even a shadow could be found.

Who would still cultivate his land?

Seth felt this was inappropriate; he was Roman's retainer and knew that Roman was not one to disregard his own life.

Roman, as one of the most outstanding illegitimate children of the Grand Duke, went to great lengths to come to Skye Town, not to destroy it, but to build it.

After all, he is the lord of this place.

This matter always carries significant hidden dangers.

He felt that Roman should proceed step by step, first using the methods of other nobles to govern, making his subjects feel secure, and then gradually changing past traditions.

For example, we can first cultivate and fertilize 100 acres of land. If it works, we can expand the scope next year.

This is the safest way.

But what Seth didn't expect was that Roman would flip the table right away.

Going all in without any precedent is something that would be hard for anyone to understand.

Roman was very persistent about this matter and refused to listen to anyone's advice.

After dinner, Roman went back to his room to rest.

Nothing happened all night.

When dawn broke, Roman woke up.

He ate a few slices of white bread in his mouth, then went to the storeroom, hoisted the axe onto his shoulder, and continued his journey to the forest to the north to cut down trees.

I haven't fully recovered from yesterday's fatigue.

So Roman only cut down three large trees and two smaller ones this morning.

Gweil watched Roman chop wood with rapt attention, sitting on the tree trunk, chin in hand, watching with great interest and not at all bored.

……

[Gathering Experience +1] Roman glanced at the [Gathering] experience points. He had accumulated 20 experience points, and he was 80 more experience points away from leveling up.

In that case, after chopping down trees for another four or five days, he can level up his [Gathering] skill to level 2.

Roman places great importance on the [Gathering] skill, which is related to quarrying and mining.

The difficulty of leveling up from level 1 to level 2 is relatively low, but it takes 380 experience points to level up from level 2 to level 3. It can be predicted that the required experience points will increase. It will take Roman several dozen days to level up to level 3, and it will take a long time to level up from level 3 to level 4.

Therefore, Roman plans to first improve his various level 1 life skills.

Level 2 [Planting] skill is sufficient for now.

boom! boom! boom!
boom!
Another tall tree has fallen.

Roman let out a heavy breath, and Gweil immediately offered him a handkerchief.

Just as he was about to rest for a moment and continue cutting down trees, he vaguely heard commotion coming from Origin Manor.

A male slave ran anxiously from the manor towards this place.

"Sir, something has happened! You must go and see!"

Roman returned to the estate and saw hundreds of farmers gathered at the bottom of the slope.

Guards armed with spears formed a line of defense. Aaron and Green stood in front of the guards, while two fully armed knights stood on either side like guardian deities. There were bloodstains on the ground, indicating that a bloody incident had occurred.

Moore and his stewards hid in a safe spot, not daring to approach and speak.

Seth stood tall and straight in front of the two men. Facing a crowd that far outnumbered him, the deacon was not afraid. Instead, he sternly rebuked the crowd for their offensive behavior.

Because they were too far away, Roman couldn't hear what they were saying.

When he appeared, the already excited crowd became even more agitated, and they surged forward together.

Aaron stepped forward, shielding Seth behind him. The round shield he raised stood like an unyielding rock, blocking the crowd's advance.

Roman shouted, "What are you doing!"

The crowd fell silent immediately, all eyes fixed on the distinguished lord.

He stood on high ground, his long, dark brown hair cascading over his shoulders, like a young adult male lion. His shoulders weren't particularly broad, but his strong physique gave him an imposing presence. His expression was calm, and when his crimson eyes focused, they held a powerful, eagle-like sharpness that made people afraid to look directly at him.

When he arrived, there were more than a dozen old farmers standing at the front of the crowd. They stammered, "Lord, we wish to be allocated land."

Roman raised his chin and said, "I won't allow it!"

The crowd behind these elderly farmers began to stir again.

The old farmer said, "The land you've given us to cultivate is too little; we need more land."

They were clearly aware of the exact boundaries of the land from the lines drawn by Roman, and the implication was clear: Roman forbade them from cultivating land outside of those boundaries.

The farmers who participated in plowing the fields yesterday have also calmed down from the joy of seeing the heavy plow.

Based on their past farming experience, they knew that this land alone could not feed everyone.

After a day of buildup, the farmers, unable to bear it any longer, finally gathered and launched this large-scale riot.

The old farmer's voice was weak and humble, yet unusually firm: "We need to divide the land so that we won't starve. Even if you raise the taxes, we will agree."

Roman, seemingly oblivious, asked, "Have you done what you were supposed to do today? How much fertilizer did you pile up? How much land did you plow? Did you take the newly forged heavy plow from Lax to use?"

The old farmer shook his head and said, "My lord, please have mercy. We see no hope of survival."

Roman said impatiently, "Tell me! How can I get you to obey me?"

(End of this chapter)