I'm not a lord

Chapter 44 Asphalt Mines and Seeding
Before sending the two barbarians away, Lin En reminded them:
"Go back to your tribe, Thorward. Remember, I am Baron Lynn of the White Bear Territory, the most trustworthy ally of your lowland tribe. Also, be sure to tell your father everything I say."

"I will, of course."

Thorward nodded seriously. He was about to confide in his father.

Everything that happened today was completely beyond his understanding.

Even though it was late at night, he couldn't wait to start his journey home.

He and his companions turned around and walked towards the forest in the north with the gifts. After walking about ten steps, he turned back and found that Lin En was still standing there, even waving to him in a friendly manner. He suddenly felt a sense of relief for surviving the disaster.

When they reached the edge of the salt mine, Thorward turned around and shouted, "Lynn, how can I find you?"

"Go south to the White Bear Territory. Show me the sword and the mail, and someone will bring you to me. Or you can wait for me here in the salt mines. I'll come back soon."

Lin En always carried the sword with him when he inspected the White Bear Territory. The stewards and village heads in the territory could recognize it, and many serfs had also seen it.

The mail tunic he gave to Thorward was embroidered with the family crest of the Cold Wind family, which could also prove his identity.

Thorward, the 'Prince' of the lowland tribe, is gone.

The second son was confused alone in the cold night in the north.

He also didn't understand Lynn's behavior.

But he knew better than to question his eldest brother.

At times like this, just believing is enough.

Big brother is always the most trustworthy person in the world.

But after waking up from a sleep, the second child still couldn't get over the doubts.

After packing his luggage and setting off on his journey home, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother, why did you give the mail armor and sword to that barbarian?"

"There's a saying in the South that goes, 'You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child.' The barbarian I let go was the son of the tribal chief." Lin En was in a very good mood as he sat on his horse.

He hadn't explained much to Thorwald last night about the benefits of their collaboration.

There was too much explanation, and even with Soward's intelligence, he couldn't understand it.

After all, it's just the first contact. It's enough to let the person go and give some gifts to show goodwill.

Given the lowland tribes' current situation, they can't go anywhere.

As long as the two sides have more contact, Lin En will be able to get them into his pocket sooner or later.

He didn't believe that the lowland tribes could refuse sophisticated armor and weapons, let alone fertile farmland and abundant food.

Just looking at the thin body of the clan leader's son, it's clear that these barbarians can't fill their stomachs at all.

The northern wasteland is at least a plain. Although it is barren and cold, it can still be used to grow crops.

How much food can there be in the forest? Apart from the smelly meat of animals, there is not much food to be found.

In the absence of staple food, the more animal meat they eat, the thinner they become. It is no wonder that the lowland tribes want to return to the wilderness.

The second son pondered for a long time on his horse, then asked, half-understanding: "So this mail and sword are the child? And what about the wolf?"

"The wolves are naturally the entire lowland tribe. I will bring them to the White Bear Territory to plow the land, fight, and reproduce for me."

Finally, Lin En added, "If you can't feed it well, just beat it to death."

When returning to White Bear Territory, Lin En still wanted to explore the triangular fog area.

This area is so vast that it takes a round trip to get a rough idea of ​​it.

After walking on the road for a day, Lynn found an open-pit asphalt mine with the help of a map.

Like the salt mine, this asphalt mine was also barren. Just dig a little deeper into the soil and you'd see the dark asphalt ore. Lin En roughly estimated that this asphalt vein stretched for over 300 meters, and its reserves were astonishing.

According to the information provided by the second-level [collection], there is a probability that oil is contained deep in the strata beneath the asphalt mine.

However, his current [Collection] level is too low, and he cannot detect deep mineral deposits.

But discovering an asphalt mine is already a huge gain.

Asphalt can be used to pave roads, and with the level of handicrafts at that time, burning asphalt was not difficult.

In addition, asphalt is an excellent waterproofing and sealing material.

When applied on the roofs and walls of masonry buildings, it can form a waterproof coating, effectively solving the problem of rainwater penetration.

Asphalt is also needed to build large ships to prevent water from seeping into the bottom of the ships.

As far as Lin En knows, there are two small-scale asphalt mines in the southern part of the Northern Kingdom. Most of the ore produced is exported to the southern part, and the price is quite good.

The purchase price at the source of one ton of asphalt ore is roughly equivalent to about 500 kilograms of rye or barley.

Although its price is far lower than salt, it is also a very good economic mineral.

After all, it is just a basic ore, and actual use requires a lot of man-hours and fuel.

Lin En examined the markings of the stone mine and asphalt mine on the map and found that the two mines were not far apart, only about five or six kilometers.

So he took a detour to the stone mine and took the opportunity to conduct a detailed survey of the road conditions and natural environment along the way.

When he arrived at the quarry, he did not return along the same route, but instead walked in an 'S' shape, exploring the last bit of white fog in the triangular area.

When he returned to White Bear Territory, five full days had passed since his departure.

Under the command of old Albert, the task of cultivating nearly 20,000 acres of public land has been completed.

The more than 3,000 acres of land that were plowed at the beginning entered the last process before sowing - harrowing.

There is not much room for improvement in the 'rake' used by the White Bear Leader, and it is basically the same as the 'rake' provided by the panel.

The main frame of this thing looks like a rectangular wooden photo frame, with three wooden strips in the middle, three in the horizontal and three in the vertical, and "rake teeth" embedded under the wooden strips.

Rake teeth are usually made of iron or hardwood, which can effectively break up large pieces of dried surface soil and make the field smoother.

A strong draft horse can harrow more than ten acres of field every day.

After the fields are harrowed, sowing can officially begin the next day.

After a short rest for one night, Lynn immediately started sowing.

He personally demonstrated the specific details of sowing to old Albert and the stewards.

The compost prepared earlier finally came in handy.

Lynn used the row sowing method, burying the fertilizer ten centimeters deep in the furrows, and then sowing wheat seeds wrapped in wood ash on top of the fertilizer.

Fertilizer supports the wheat seeds and provides sufficient nutrients for their rooting and germination.

The wood ash wrapped around the seeds can also provide nutrients and effectively inhibit pathogens in the soil, helping the wheat seeds grow better.

For every acre of land, about 500 kilograms of fertilizer should be applied and 15 kilograms of seeds should be sown.

After the demonstration, Old Albert immediately led the stewards to convey the lord's latest instructions to the entire territory.

The serfs followed the instructions of the steward and the village head and completed the sowing task of more than 3,000 acres of land in one day.

(End of this chapter)