I'm not a lord

Chapter 10 The power of belief

The White Bear Territory Castle stands on a small hill on the west bank of the White River, on the eastern edge of the entire territory, far away from the five manors within the territory.

The reason why the previous barons chose to live here was mainly to facilitate business transactions.

Walk about a hundred meters east of the castle and you will find the only port in the territory.

In the vast northern territory with complex terrain, sparse population and poor transportation conditions, rivers are almost the only commercial routes.

The White Bear Territory has a single industry, and its main export commodity is only food.

After the autumn harvest every year, merchants would sail upstream along the Baihe River to buy up surplus grain in the territory and bring back daily necessities such as salt, iron, and cloth.

The lord only needs to control the external trade window, hold the purse tightly, and use irresistible powerful military force to easily control the entire territory.

There is also a small town called "White Bear Town" in the White Bear Territory. It is so small that it only has one street. It is located two kilometers west of the castle and is right in the middle of the five manors.

The town is home to most of the 'free people' in the territory, including blacksmiths, leatherworkers, carpenters and other craftsmen, as well as the only tavern in the territory.

Lin En's route today was to travel from the castle to White Bear Town and back, and to inspect the two serf villages along the way.

Heading west out of the castle, there are endless flat farmlands on both sides of the road.

The number of serfs in the entire White Bear Territory is about 3,000, which can be roughly estimated to be 600 households.

Even if we calculate based on the minimum quota of 60 mu of land per household plus 60 mu of public land, that is still a huge amount of 72000 mu of arable land.

In later times, this is equivalent to the arable land area of ​​a small county.

Not to mention that the White Bear Territory has vast grasslands that far exceed the area of ​​arable land, otherwise it would not be able to feed the tens of thousands of livestock of various kinds.

Although the cultivated land area is vast, the yield is appalling.

This was not because the serfs did not work hard enough in farming, but because their farming techniques and concepts were too backward.

The main crops in White Bear Territory are rye and oats, which are sown in early April and harvested in mid- or late September.

At first glance, it looks like there are only about five months of labor.

But the serfs worked for much longer than five months each year.

Except for the spring sowing and autumn harvest seasons, serfs had to perform labor service in all other seasons.

Summer usually lasts one to two months, while winter and spring last up to four months. Only in the coldest month of the year can the serfs barely rest.

Improve the roads connecting the farms, repair the castle for the lord, dredge the irrigation facilities, and transport the harvested crops.
All the hard work on the estate was included in the heavy corvee labor imposed on the serfs.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Lin En's inspection team passed by a field that had not yet been cultivated.

In the fields, hundreds of serfs were dredging drainage ditches under the supervision of the village head. Some were responsible for digging soil, some were responsible for carrying soil, and some were responsible for transporting soil with wheelbarrows.

Since unlocking the follower dispatch function yesterday, Lynn has spent all five dispatch frames on cultivating this life skill.

[Level 13 Planting: 1/100]

According to Lin's past gaming experience, at low levels, the experience points of life skills increase very quickly.

In less than a day, he gained a full 13 experience points and gained a deeper understanding of agriculture and soil.

Lin En sat on his horse, looking out at the farmland, and reminded: "We can't just repair the canal, we also need to pay attention to the river channel connecting to the Baihe River."

It is now the beginning of March, and the farming time in White Bear Territory is the beginning of April.

Just after sowing, the long rainy season arrives in May in the north. If drainage channels and rivers are blocked, waterlogging can easily occur, affecting the growth of wheat seedlings and, in severe cases, even resulting in a complete crop failure.

Albert was still riding on his horse and following Lynn's left side, just like yesterday.

He was already certain that the new lord had a thorough understanding of agricultural production and was not just a muscular lord who only knew how to hone his martial arts, or a nobleman who only knew how to enjoy himself.

"Master, the river was dredged as early as last December during the dry season. Repairing the canal is the last corvee before the spring plowing."

Facing a master who knew a lot about agriculture, Albert naturally did not dare to hide anything.

At the same time, this also shows that he, as the general manager, has precise control over the agricultural production of the territory, which can be regarded as a small self-boasting.

"So, as long as the canal is repaired, the serfs will not have to do any corvee labor until the first week of next month?"

When Albert heard Lin En ask this, he felt something was wrong.

Master, do you want to continue to conscript labor?

Did you not sleep well in the castle last night and plan to expand it?

This is absolutely not allowed!

Although he was worried, Albert still wore a humble smile on his face. "Yes, sir, but the serfs have been working non-stop for four months since December last year. They need time to rest and prepare for the heavy spring plowing."

Lin En didn't respond. He looked at the fields on the right side of the road and continued to ask, "How do you usually deal with the livestock manure in Bai Xiongling?"

The field was still covered with white snow and did not look tidied at all. It was obviously this year's fallow field.

Faced with this seemingly simple question, Albert was obviously stunned.

How else can feces be handled?

"Master, this livestock manure is usually spread directly on the fallow fields, or buried in a pit. This is beneficial to the growth of summer grass, and the wheat seedlings will be stronger next year."

Albert, or the agricultural experts of this era, were all well aware of the help that livestock manure provided to agricultural production.

With just a simple observation, you can find that for the same two pieces of rotation fields, the field that has been grazed with livestock will have a higher harvest in the next year than the field that has not been grazed with livestock.

There are two major benefits to spreading livestock manure on fallow fields. One is that it can maintain soil fertility, and the other is that it takes up to a year to digest the negative impact of the manure on the fields.

The downside is that a lot of fertility is wasted, either deposited deeper underground or absorbed by grass and weeds.

"Your approach isn't wrong, but it's too inefficient. Two years ago, missionaries from the southern border brought a new method for utilizing manure. After implementing this method in Cold Wind Valley, grain production increased by a full 40 percent."

The new method that Lin En mentioned is naturally composting.

"440? Master, what method can have such an effect?" Albert's eyes widened suddenly, eager to know this magical new method.

After two inspections, Lynn initially established the image of a lord who was well versed in agricultural production.

Coupled with the two golden signs of "Cold Wind Family" and Southern Preacher, Albert could not help but believe it.

Of course, Lynn could also skip all this preparation and directly use his authority as a lord to forcibly promote the new production technology.

He felt that would be even less efficient, as time was limited and everything had to be efficient and concise.

Compared to forcing people by force, it is always the most efficient to make them trust you willingly and do things for you.

(End of this chapter)