Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 306: Territory's New Extraordinary Farming Achievements and Flourishing Development

After Su Li returned from Maleburg, he began a comfortable pastoral life in the territory.

The crisis in Lan Jingling has not yet broken out, so Su Li is naturally happy to be idle and will not take the initiative to trigger it.

He is now in the position of time. Any territory that can continuously reap a large amount of wealth from various fields can remain calm.

The later the war breaks out, the greater the advantage of the Hessian Territory, and of course he can be content.

Especially after gaining the support of Phyllis's Surander Province, Su Li's pastoral life during this period can be described as extremely perfect.

Just by raising fish, growing vegetables, and opening up new fields every day, you can gain great wealth.

During the bright spring days, he stayed by Lake Rafflin. This year had been a rare period of peace and stability for the entire territory. Since the Green Dragon Crisis, while there had been some thrilling upheavals in the upper echelons, the territory as a whole had not encountered any major unrest or invasions.

The people took advantage of this peaceful and quiet time to open up more fields and grow some food. After all, the more food they stored during this period, the more confident they would be when facing crises in the future.

The entire area surrounding Bjorn Bay teemed with life. Hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land lay level and neatly planted, lush green crops flourishing in patches, and the serfs diligently tilled the fields. Construction of the Maiden's Ring, the territory's sacred site, had been completed. Atop a high slope, a statue of Rhea gazed upon the vast farmland below. Water, imbued with spiritual energy, flowed down hills dotted with blossoms. Spirals of Rhea's divine patterns formed through grassy paths, gradually forming clear streams that irrigated the entire valley.

Su Li and his Minister of Agriculture, Fandral, stood beside the embankment on the shallow bay, looking at the holy land. He then asked, "My Minister, it has been more than ten days since we returned to the territory. How is your research on the extraordinary seeds that Phyllis sent back?"

Speaking of this, Fandral immediately became excited and said, "Thank you, Prince Phyllis, for your support. With the addition of two more magic pearls, the fertility of our Lake Ravelin has been further enhanced. Now, the water flowing down through the divine runes of the Maiden's Ring is imbued with divinity and spirituality, bringing a lot of good news to the territory."

"First of all, the steel wheat seeds we planted have successfully germinated and are growing vigorously. There is no doubt that we will harvest a large amount of steel wheat in this harvest season!"

"Haha!" Su Li laughed happily upon hearing this. "My Minister, this is indeed good news. How many steel wheat seeds have we planted this year?"

“我们第一批试验使用的麦种是80斤，按照每亩消耗15斤麦种的情况播种，总共是5亩地多一些，不到6亩。预估能收获1400～1500斤之间。”

"What a pity, we were a bit conservative at the beginning." Su Li couldn't help but sigh. The original plan was still conservative, but there was nothing he could do. No one knew whether this steel wheat seed could survive. He couldn't just take a gamble and throw all the wheat seeds in.

Moreover, as long as this wheat seed can be sown in the territory, there is not much difference between three months earlier and three months later. It can be promoted on a large scale in the next quarter.

Su Li was in a good mood and said, "With these iron wheats, our army's consumption and supply problems can be greatly alleviated. Even the most voracious knight can be full after eating half a pound of bread made from this iron wheat."

This bread also has an additional effect: it can increase the knight's strength by at least 4% for a short period of time. This short period of time is about 6 to hours, which is actually more than enough to fit in between meals, and can be considered a permanent effect.

Su Li was very much looking forward to the horrified expressions on the faces of the knights of Blue Mirror Lake and the knights of Hessen when they came into close combat. It was bound to be very exciting.

"By the way, can the mill for grinding this steel wheat seed keep up?"

"I can keep up, absolutely." Fandral said with a smile: "My Lord, do you still remember Mr. Beaver Biberg?"

Su Li thought about it carefully and found that he still had some impression: "It seems that you, the Dawn Church, call him the Guardian of the Lakeshore?"

"Yes, he became the patriarch of the Liuba clan of the Beaver Clan this year, and he can lead the Beaver Clan in forging a magic waterwheel for us. He also reproduced with his lover this year, bringing the total number of the Liuba Clan to 16, and they have forged two magic waterwheels for us."

The territory's guardian beasts have also reproduced? Spring is indeed a season full of vitality.

Fandral continued, "Of course, the increase in the beaver clan will have certain effects. Excessive water storage may threaten our irrigation system, and the dam may block fish migration channels. In addition, they will gnaw on trees and affect fish, which may have some impact on our sacred land. However, we have already talked to Mr. Biberg, and they have promised to build the dam under the guidance of our Sisters of Dawn."

The impact will be very limited. The willows and poplars they gnaw on will not affect the vegetation along the shores of Lake Rafflin. Nourished by the lake water, thousands of willow trees along the shores of Lake Rafflin are growing lushly and can continue to expand at any time.

Speaking of fish migration, Su Li instructed the fishermen in the leading area to conduct three fishing trips this spring, and then asked, "How is the fish population in our Lake Rafflin?"

"Thanks to your guidance, Lord, the fish population in Lake Ravelin has increased significantly, primarily due to the three fish migrations this spring. Unlike previous years, we were more prepared this year, deploying 20 large fishing boats and casting hundreds of nets. We caught six light-scaled fish alone, and over 6 other fish. I estimate there are at least 4 adult fish in Lake Ravelin right now."

"Estimate?" Su Li asked curiously, "Doesn't your Dawn Church know how many fish there are?"

Fandral shook his head. "Lake Ravelin is now enormous. It's over 20 miles long and 10 miles wide. Add in all the fish, shellfish, river crabs, shrimp, and the like, and there are probably millions of living creatures. No one except the Sage of Algae Heart knows the exact number of creatures within."

Without waiting for Su Li to ask, Fandral took the initiative to explain, "The Algae Heart Sage is a natural spirit of our Dawn Church in the lake. It is made of lotus roots and algae into a humanoid torso. It can float on the water, with an old face emerging on its surface. Its roots are made of entangled luminescent worms, emitting minty methane."

"It's an extremely obsessed with cleanliness, strangling anyone who dumps garbage into the lake, even those from the Church of Dawn. However, it will generously reward those who offer high-quality fertilizers (such as magic pearls and fermented acorn pulp). It attracts numerous lake creatures with its minty scent and worms, then continuously tosses them onto the shore as a reward for the sacrifice. Its presence also makes the lake's creatures more active and prolific."

Su Li immediately understood and asked, "Is this the natural spirit you summoned using the Dawn Secret Box?"

Fandral nodded. "Indeed, we have summoned the Father of Grain and the Sage of Algae Heart in the past two cycles to promote the development of the territory."

That's great! Su Li smiled and asked, "How many acres of fertile land do we have for blood sacrifice now?"

"Now there are exactly 2500 acres."

If calculated based on a yield of 2000 jin per mu, that would be 500 million jin of grain.

Even if the territory has a population of 500, this can still provide kilograms of food every year.

What a concept! This means that these 2500 acres of blood fields alone can ensure that the annual per capita grain consumption of all people in Hessen Territory far exceeds that of my third brother.

The gods' nuclear-powered farmland really has no basis in science.

Of course, in this dark and desperate world, it is impossible to achieve real per capita reduction.

The territory's large amounts of food and grain are needed to feed war horses and griffins, as well as provide the knights with various meats.

While the extraordinary world certainly provides extraordinary production capabilities for the territory, the majority of this is also used to maintain the extraordinary power system. Everything exists at a price and cost. Otherwise, how could a single barony support over 1000 elite knights?
To solve this problem, we still have to start from the extraordinary system.

Su Li then asked, "Then tell me about the growth of other extraordinary crops. Have we made any progress on our extraordinary vegetables?"

超凡蔬菜，也就这次菲丽丝让骑士贝特朗送给苏离的礼物，包括10斤的幽蓝之穗、5斤的旅人洋葱种子、5斤的月光卷心菜种子、5斤的霜语豌豆种子和5斤的石肤南瓜种子。

It has to be said that as an Elector Prince territory in the province of Surland, even if it is already in ruins, anything found in the ruins of the treasury is a wealth that the Hesse Territory may not be able to collect in more than ten years.

These extraordinary seeds greatly enriched the farming content of Su Li and Heisen Territory.

There is no need to say much about the Blue Spike. It is a seed of a higher level than the Emerald Spike, the highest level seed Su Li currently has.

Moonlight Cabbage is closely associated with professions like rural healers and night watchmen. Its leaves are silvery-blue, with veins resembling flowing moonlight, and its central stamens emit a faint fluorescent glow. It must be planted near pristine streams and relies on the lunar cycle for its growth rhythm. Overfertilization can lead to a loss of magical power.

Crushing the leaves and applying them externally can accelerate wound healing (equivalent to a low-level healing spell), but it must be used within 1 hour of picking. The Night's Watch also hangs them under the eaves, believing they can dispel Chaos Corruption and prevent vampires, beastmen, or Chaos Demons from paying attention. Fandral said, "We have already planted the Blue Spikes in the new purple spiritual fields, so there is no need to worry. It just so happens that you guided us to find a new batch of rainbow hail crystals this year, providing the territory with a purple spiritual field of approximately 100 square meters. When these Blue Spikes mature, they will provide the Chosen Knights with surging spiritual energy, allowing them to directly activate the God General state at any time during battle, and the God General state will last for more than 10 minutes. With long-term consumption of this Blue Spike, the probability of the Chosen Knight breaking through to the Legendary level will gradually increase. However, the energy limit provided by this Blue Spike cannot be exceeded."

This means that by consistently consuming the Blue Spike, the Chosen Knight can increase their chances of reaching Legendary Knight. For example, if their original chance of reaching Legendary Knight is 25%, consuming the Blue Spike regularly can increase that chance to 40%. However, the Blue Spike's energy only guarantees a 15% increase; it can't consistently increase the chance to 20%, 35%, or even 100%.

Of course, Fandral himself didn't know how much the probability could be increased. The rank of the legendary knight was too high, far beyond the ability of a champion-level druid like him to guess.

He is now actively performing, hoping that he can also break through to the God Chosen level under Su Li's guidance. After all, Dietrich, the Medical Knight, broke through to the God Chosen level entirely with Su Li's help!

To be honest, when the Knights of the Sun Goddess broke through in the past, Fandral didn't really feel anything.

He always felt that the knights and the monks of their church were on two different paths. It was natural for the knights to fight and break through, and it had nothing to do with the monks. He didn't feel envious, as long as they improved step by step.

However, the Hospital Knights often interacted with the monks of the Church of Dawn. In urban areas, deliveries were usually performed by members of the Church of Sharya, while in rural and suburban areas, by members of the Church of Rhea. The two churches would even join forces to provide aid and eradicate plague in impoverished communities.

It can be said that their two churches overlap to a great extent, so the Patriarch of Shalya was directly promoted to the level of God's Chosen, while Fandral still remained at the champion level, which deeply stimulated the entire Dawn Church.

Their church believes in hope and that life will improve as long as people keep working hard with their own hands.

Therefore, Fandral led the monks of the entire church to be extremely active, and Moonlight Cabbage was one of their achievements.

Fandral continued, "We planted the moonlight cabbage under the slope of the Maiden's Ring, replacing some of the lawn and ornamental plants. After all, the moonlight cabbage itself is very beautiful."

"This extraordinary plant doesn't require high soil fertility. It mainly accumulates energy through the lunar cycle. Short-term overfertilization and magical stimulation will actually lead to a decrease in yield. This is why it is called an extraordinary plant. It cannot be catalyzed like ordinary grains."

"Its economic value lies primarily in three areas: first, it can directly treat civilians; second, it can be used to create rudimentary potions; and third, it can serve as extraordinary food for the knights. We've already planted three acres, and we expect a good harvest in the fall, which will greatly alleviate the territory's food pressure. It will also allow us to become a true granary on the border, saving a large amount of grain for sale and improving the living standards of ordinary people in the territory."

Su Li nodded slowly. The so-called farming means that everyone can benefit from its development.

Once there are enough extraordinary plants, the demand for ordinary food will decrease.

But as a lord, he also had to worry about another aspect, that is, "poor people are wearing only thin clothes, worried about the low price of coal and wishing for cold weather." Low grain prices hurt farmers. If the harvest is too good, the civilians in the territory will not be able to sell their grain at a good price, and they may go bankrupt and become slaves in large numbers.

Su Li then asked, "With a large amount of extraordinary food replacing ordinary grains, will civilians be affected?"

Fandral was quite open-minded about this and said, "But abundant grain harvests and extremely developed agriculture are precisely the prerequisites for us to free up manpower and develop industry. These ordinary farmers and serfs can be transformed into stonemasons or craftsmen to grow stone-skinned pumpkins."

"No wonder this stone skin has a surface as rough as granite. It makes a metallic sound when struck. The flesh is so hard it needs to be cut with iron tools, and it automatically cracks when ripe. It's not a grain, but a cash crop. After being ground into powder, it can be collected and used as a strategic reserve. It's extremely useful whenever we need to conduct field fortifications, build outposts, barracks, or even city walls. It can increase the hardness of city walls by at least 3%."

"With this Stoneskin Pumpkin, we can begin large-scale construction in our territory in the second half of this year. We can quickly build walls around our strongholds, farms, and villages. Even if we just apply a layer of Stoneskin Powder to the fences, it can be made as strong as a wooden wall. If the carpenters and stonemasons in the village are diligent and build a wooden wall around the village and then cover it with Stoneskin Powder, it can be used as a stone wall to resist the threat of large numbers of Beastmen."

"In this way, tragedies like the one that occurred in Green Vine Village last cycle can be avoided to a great extent."

The tragedy of Green Vine Village is indeed a sad story.

Greenvine Village is a village in the Bloodpine Forest near the western hinterland, adjacent to the [Corrupted Rift]. This is a canyon corroded by chaotic energy. Before the elves withdrew from this old continent, they established a colony here. In the center of the village stands a thousand-year-old green-crowned oak tree, its roots deep into the underground dwarven ruins. A thorn vine barrier has been set up on the periphery, which needs to be watered with the blood of the villagers every month to maintain it.

Inspired by the development order, the civilians of Hessen came here and built a village of about 75 people, 60% of whom were humans, 30% were dwarf miners, and 10% were wandering knights and adventurers.

Most people believe in the goddess of dawn, and a small number of people believe in Kunos, the elven god of hunting.

As a result, three of the hunters were bewitched by the Beastmen [Black Horn Clan] while they were out. The Beastmen shaman drugged them and made them deliberately not pour blood into the thorn vines, resulting in a loophole in the defense. The entire village was attacked and looted by the Beastmen.

Most importantly, Su Li did not receive any intelligence alert.

This is indeed a pity, but it also means that with the development of the Hesse Territory, intelligence can no longer take care of so many small villages scattered around.

Compared with the rich and critical information contained in the massive amount of daily intelligence, the casualties of more than 10 people and the loss of dozens of gold coins are not worth a special reminder from the valuable intelligence columns.

This made Su Li feel a little emotional. With the growth of the territory and the expansion of power, the Taoyuan life with its past roads and paths connecting the fields and the sounds of chickens and dogs could no longer be maintained.

However, he had anticipated this. He couldn't wait until he became an earl, duke, or even emperor before the daily intelligence system would refresh him with low-value intelligence such as which village was attacked by a group of beastmen, or which two caravans had a conflict, resulting in the deaths of more than 20 people.

The system can remind him in time that large defensive fortresses such as White Castle and Storm Shadow Fortress are about to be raided, which is already the limit.

In the end, the various strongholds and villages scattered across the vast territory still need to rely on their own defense.

To this extent, the value of this Stoneskin Pumpkin is even greater than that of Moonlight Cabbage or even Emerald Ear!
Su Li felt that this thing was a bit like... a fantasy version of cement?
Don't look down on cement. Until Su Li traveled through time, cement was the first prize in the National Science and Technology Progress Award and the second prize in the National Technological Invention Award.

High-strength cement and concrete are extremely resistant to gunpowder and artillery fire! Even nuclear bombs have difficulty destroying large amounts of cement and reinforced concrete buildings.

Of course, in this world, magic is more dominant, but even if many powerful fire magics and dwarf artillery bombard together, a strong concrete fortification can provide extremely strong defense.

If the villages in the Hessen Territory had enough Stoneskin Powder for defense, it would be difficult for ordinary Beastmen to break through the stronghold walls with swords and axes.

Thinking about it this way, Su Li felt that what Fandral said made sense.

A large number of farmers were freed from their farmland to cultivate the Stoneskin Pumpkin, a bit like a large number of workers entering a cement factory. However, the way it was presented was more in line with the pastoral style of the Knight Empire in this world.

So Su Li asked with concern: "How is the planting of this stone-skinned pumpkin?"

"Stoneskin pumpkins are very demanding to grow, only growing in the cracks of abandoned castles, ancient battlefield ruins, or mining areas with abundant earth elements. If you, my lord, don't use the earth vein compass once, our current planting scale is quite limited, only a small amount planted in an ancient ruin in the southeast of the territory, covering an area of ​​less than one acre."

"But fortunately, this stone-skinned pumpkin is very productive. Ordinary pumpkins can produce up to 5000 kilograms a year, but stone-skinned pumpkins are even heavier for the same volume, with a yield of over 8000 kilograms per mu."

After hearing what Fandral said, Su Li finally felt relieved.

He knew that the yield of pumpkin per acre was very high. He had heard that the yield of pumpkin per acre on some parts of the world could reach tens of thousands of kilograms.

He is very satisfied that the stone-skin pumpkin can produce 8000 kilograms per mu, and he does not require the highest output.

As for Fandral's suggestion of changing the earth's leyline compass, that was no longer possible. He wanted to increase the ore elements through forging fire resonance, so as to plant more stone skins.

But after Su Li returned to the territory, he had already used the compass effect of this season, and he chose Breath of Harvest.

It is spring now, and the entire territory is booming. There are vast fertile fields and thousands of acres of fertile land. Naturally, he gave priority to the Breath of Harvest, allowing all the farmland and pastures to bathe in the wind of Ji Lun, ensuring that the territory will usher in a huge harvest next month.

(End of this chapter)