I'm not a lord

Chapter 4 Only when you are in charge do you know that firewood and rice are expensive

While Albert was daydreaming about his possible miserable situation, Lynn had already completed the naming of the territory and arranged for the dispatch of his entourage.

In line with the principle of not wasting time, he threw the four horse bandit brothers who were killing people like crazy into the fields to work with hoes, contributing to the construction of the territory.

Only then did Lin En have time to look at the territorial steward who had a frightened look on his face.

"What did you say?"

Albert's scalp suddenly tightened, and his slightly hunched back instantly straightened. "Ah, sir, I mean, it's getting late. I think we should go back to the castle first. It takes more than an hour to walk from here to the castle."

"Not urgent."

Lin En had already planned the subsequent work arrangements while on the road.

According to the list of seized territorial assets, there are five manors in the entire White Bear Territory.

Manor No. 1 is directly owned by the Baron and occupies more than half of the population and arable land in the territory.

The remaining four manors belonged to four knights, each of whom owned about 300 serfs.

Under Lynn's arrangement, except for the second brother who was responsible for guarding, the remaining four brothers each took a few younger brothers and rushed to the four manors to count the population, livestock and farm tools, and to take over the houses and other assets left behind by the escaped knights.

It was certainly sad that the money and horses were taken away.

But in the sparsely populated northern region, population and farmland, especially population, are the most valuable "assets".

As long as there are people, there will be a steady supply of output from the land.

time does not wait.

In order to avoid being hunted all over the world by the Duke of the Swamp, Lynn needs to find out the population and agricultural situation of the White Bear Territory as quickly as possible and develop a feasible plan to increase agricultural production.

Food is the foundation of all industries. Without sufficient food, other industries naturally cannot develop.

The managers and heads of the four manors left with the four brothers under Lin En, and the number of people surrounding the intersection suddenly decreased by more than half.

Lin En looked at the respectful steward again and said, "What's your name? Ai Luo."

"My name is Albert, sir."

"Oh, Albert, can you ride?"

"know a little."

"Then stay with me. I have something to ask you."

"I will answer all my questions, sir."

Ruling and managing a territory is a complex and technical task.

Given the vast area of ​​White Bear Territory, it would be a county-level unit in the ancient East.

If Lord Lynn is the powerful county magistrate from outside, then the managers and village heads headed by Albert are the local clerks.

It takes three to make a hero. Without the help of these local tyrants who are familiar with the situation in the territory, it is difficult for the lord to manage the territory well.

Of course, unlike the ancient East, the lord's power is greater than that of a typical county magistrate, and he controls more powerful military force.

The lord's power within the territory can be considered almost unlimited.

Military, administration, taxation, and justice... everything is under his control.

More importantly, these powers can be inherited unless the family line is extinct.

This means that the lord has an absolute natural advantage when facing the lower-level managers in the territory.

Albert thought Lin En was a lord from the Cold Wind Family, with the prosperous Cold Wind Valley behind him, and a sufficient talent pool to replace the White Bear Territory's stewards and village heads. But Lin En knew full well that the twenty-odd people he brought with him were genuine bandits.

Everyone is an expert at killing people, but no one is good at farming.

On the well-maintained dirt road leading to the castle, Lynn asked Albert in detail about the population structure and agricultural production in the territory.

Albert really knew all the answers, and the numbers matched the list in Lin's hand.

The White Bear Territory now has over 3,000 people.

More than 90 percent of them were serfs of relatively low status.

The remaining less than 10% are the middle and low-level managers of the territory and their families, plus some artisans.

Craftsmen, including blacksmiths, leatherworkers, stonemasons, and carpenters, are the most valuable assets in the territory.

Its importance is even no less than that of the lord who protects the security of the territory.

It can be said that the number of artisans determines the level of development and prosperity of the territory.

The fleeing knights only took away some small fortunes, but left behind the most valuable "wealth" in the territory. This was the biggest surprise Lin En received today.

However, the backward agricultural development level of White Bear Territory made it difficult for Lin En to accept.

The average serf family in the territory had five people, and each family owned more than 60 mu of "share land". In return, they had to cultivate an equal amount of "public land" for the lord.

The climate in the north is extremely cold, and crops usually only harvest once a year. The main crops are cold-resistant rye and barley.

The per-acre yield of these two crops in White Bear Territory is very impressive. More than 15 kilograms of seeds need to be sown per acre, but in the autumn only 40 kilograms of grain can be harvested.

The ratio of sowing to harvesting is less than 1:3.

In order to protect the fertility of the soil, White Bear Territory implements a strict two-field system, and half of the farmland must be left fallow every year.

This meant that each serf could only live on the harvest from 30 mu of land each year. After deducting the rent paid to the lord, even in good weather, they could only barely fill their stomachs.

"Thirty mu of land has a net annual output of just over 700 kilograms, and there are still taxes to pay. Can this support a family of five?"

Although Lin En is the leader of the horse bandits, he is very sensitive to food consumption.

Only when you become the head of the household do you realize how expensive food and fuel are. How can you not be sensitive when you open your eyes every day to feed more than twenty mouths?

He had calculated precisely that in order to keep a horse bandit fully combat-ready, he would need to eat at least two kilograms of bread worth of food a day.

If we encounter a combat mission, such as yesterday's ambush in the forest, we will eat more.

Serfs usually eat less during the slack season, and children certainly can't eat so much, but more than 700 kilograms of grain is definitely not enough to feed a family of five.

"Master, the grain production in White Bear Territory is indeed not as good as in the south, but we have plenty of pasture here, and every year we plant grass on the fallow land. By grazing cattle and sheep, the serfs will not starve."

Albert happened to pass by a fallow field. Pointing to the vast expanse of empty land, he said, "Look, this piece of farmland is on rotation this year. The serfs are sowing grass seeds. They'll be sowing in early March, and we'll be able to start grazing by the last week of May."

"Is there a rough estimate of the number of livestock raised by each household?" Lynn looked thoughtfully at the serfs working in the fields.

The serfs in dirty sheepskin coats heard the noise and looked up at the troops with flags waving on the road.

"My Lord, every serf in the land has at least one draft horse, two or three pigs, and twenty to thirty sheep. As for chickens, geese, and the like, it's difficult to count."

In recent years, Albert has spared no effort to promote livestock breeding in the territory. When he mentioned this, his chest couldn't help but rise slightly.

This was the second surprise Lin En had received today, so much so that he couldn't believe it. "Are you sure every household has a draft horse?"

(End of this chapter)