Throne of the North.

Chapter 16: Territory Development

"Compared to the frozen land, the cold wind in the Northern Wind Province is nothing."

In the fortress on Rhino Horn Mountain, Ryan wrapped in a deerskin cloak and felt much warmer.

He looked at the thriving village at the foot of the mountain. After he brought back food, the entire Frozen Territory was filled with jubilation.

Food is the key, but more importantly, they did not expect that the lord would be so kind as to give them half of the food without asking for any reward.

“Sometimes, free things are the most expensive.”

"Master, the food is ready."

A maid's gentle call came from behind, and soon Ryan was sitting in front of a large wooden table, enjoying the service of three or five maids.

He finally lived this kind of life, and Ryan liked this evil rule very much.

The steaming, melt-in-your-mouth venison leg, especially the aroma of jam in his mouth, made Ryan unable to help but call out to Brand.

"Brand, your jam-making skills would sell well in the capital."

Brand said respectfully:

"Mr. Ryan, every follower of the Deer Spirit is the best bard and brewer, and jam is just a by-product."

"It's brewing wine."

There was a look of longing in Ryan's eyes.

“But that would consume a lot of food.”

He knew very well that he had also tasted the stag wine that had been stored for hundreds of years and brought by the Luling villagers. It was not wine, but countless gold punks.

But brewing requires grain, and grain, even in the south, is the most important strategic material for the nobles. As for the north?
It is a miracle that there is enough food and drink in a place where there may be excess food to make wine.

Even the most dissolute and immoral nobles did not dare to brew wine on a large scale, because more slaves would die than if they were to work fourteen hours a day in the mines.

Let’s take it step by step.

"How is the cultivation of orchid berries going now?"

Ryan looked at the old butler Beard. The gray-haired old man showed the vigor of an eagle at this moment.

"The blueberry seeds brought from the other plane are growing very well. According to Arnor and his team's speculation, we can harvest a batch of berries in just three months. If Master Ryan wants to make wine, the sales of fruit wine in the empire will not be low."

Old Beard suggested that as a steward, he would not care about the lives of the slaves, and the enjoyment of the lord was his first priority.

"One crop per three months, at least two or three crops per year, four crops per year is fine in the first few years, plus the meat from hunting, it's still not enough for more than 2,000 people in the frozen land."

"You still have to have a field."

As a time traveler, Ryan has a great obsession with farming. He can't just go around "borrowing" all day long, right?

After finishing his meal, Ryan asked the old butler to call a group of villagers from Luling Village, as well as Brand and the knights' attendants, and started heading towards the surrounding foothills.

The frozen land is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only a few flat areas for entry and exit, just like a big wrist with many cuts in it.

Going south would naturally mean entering the Borean Province, but if he didn't go south, the nobles of the empire would not care where Ryan expanded.

Strictly speaking, every lord on the border of the empire is considered a pioneer lord, who can freely open up those territories without owners.

If Ryan wanted to have fields to grow wheat, he could only find a way from the surrounding foothills.

"The northern border from the North Wind Province to the north is full of frozen soil. The further north you go, the deeper the frozen soil becomes. In the northernmost place, even the surface soil is permanently frozen, and it is impossible to grow food." "My requirements for you are not high. If you find an acre of land that can be planted, I will give you one silver coin. If you find an extra acre, I will give you 25 copper coins."

Ryan said loudly. He knew very well that rewards were indispensable if he wanted to motivate the people.

Moreover, his reward was extremely generous. The only problem was that money was useless in the frozen land.

But the villagers obviously could not have imagined this. After hearing about the reward of silver coins, everyone became excited.

They have even overlooked the fact that the real overlords in these foothills are the ferocious beasts that are so hungry that they have to come out to look for food.

Watching a group of people leave in high spirits, Ryan looked at Rosen.

"Take your men to patrol the area and drive away the wild animals."

By doing this, he could only protect this group of civilians to a certain extent.

For civilians who don't even have the strength of an apprentice knight, the fact that they can survive in such a primitive foothill is the result of their adaptation to the harsh winter of the past hundred years. It is actually not easy to find fields to grow wheat.

Otherwise, there would be no lord who would be interested in the Frozen Territory. Even when there was no lord here, no one would bother to develop here.

Baron Ryan’s silver coin reward is not that easy to get.

"birch."

As a lord, Ryan did not go into battle himself. He came to a tree whose surface was white as snow and could not help but marvel at it.

The birch tree is full of treasures. Even the bark that falls off naturally is a hard-earned good thing. Not only can it be used as medicine, but it can also be made into various accessories, and the effect is no worse than leather.

Even for the nobility, it is still a high-end device for writing and sending messages.

Looking around, there are many birch trees at the foot of the mountain, which are all Ryan's wealth.

The entire northern territory is full of wealth, quietly waiting for you to develop it.

Thinking of this, Ryan also began to have some expectations for the North.

"Go back and tell everyone that birch trees like this cannot be burned, not even for their bark, and certainly not cut down for firewood or to build houses."

Ordinary trees can be used to build houses, and if you want to burn firewood, you can use pine trees if you are more extravagant. The value of birch trees lies in the future business landscape.

"Follow your will."

Old Beard said that he didn't quite understand why Master Ryan valued these white trees, he just needed to obey orders.

Thinking of this, Old Beard couldn't help but feel deep resentment towards those civilians and even slaves.

Master Ryan was kind enough to let them cut down trees belonging to the nobles to build houses, and he didn't charge them any money. However, this group of people really didn't know how to be grateful at all.

"You have to understand that free doesn't mean no cost."

Every time, Ryan said this to the old butler who was educated by the Clayton family.

On exploitation? In Ryan's opinion, the nobles of the empire are too uncreative.

About an hour passed and someone in the distance returned screaming.

"My Lord, we have discovered a large area of ​​land that can be used for planting!"

(End of this chapter)