I'm not a lord

Chapter 5 Vigorous Vitality
Albert shuddered at the sight of Lin En's sharp gaze. "Master, how dare I deceive you? At least in this manor, I'm sure every serf has a draft horse."

After unlocking the territory function and gaining planting experience, Lynn's mind suddenly gained a lot of agricultural knowledge, and his understanding of agriculture and land was greatly deepened.

He was naturally well aware of the huge role that draft horses played in agricultural planting.

He had thought that this territory in the northernmost part of the North was a bad place.

But if it is true as Albert said that every serf household in White Bear Territory owns a draft horse, then the agricultural potential of White Bear Territory needs to be re-evaluated.

In order to verify this, when passing by a small village where serfs lived, Lin En insisted on going into the village to investigate in person.

"Master, this place is very dirty."

"It doesn't matter."

As soon as Lynn, Albert and several estate managers entered the village, the children playing in the mud on the street immediately scattered.

He walked along the muddy road that emitted a faint stench and randomly knocked on the low door of a mud house. A young woman in a sheepskin coat opened the door.

Although her body was rather dirty, one could see that the woman's cheeks were still rosy, indicating that she had not been hungry during the past winter.

Lynn lowered his head and walked into the dark and damp house. The stench of livestock hit him in the face, and he could hear the lowing of draft horses, pigs and goats.

In the North, serfs generally lived in the same house with livestock during the cold season, mainly to keep the house warm.

In this case, one can imagine the sanitary conditions in the house.

Although this mud house built of mud, hay and stones is low and dirty, the furniture inside is also extremely simple.

But the docile black draft horse grazing with its head down and the simple plow placed in the corner proved that what Albert said was true.

Lin En then visited several serfs in succession. In addition to the draft horses that every household had, he also saw two female serfs with slightly bulging bellies.

In the winter in the north, the only entertainment for the serfs was to stay indoors and create people.

Outside, a thousand miles of ice and snow drifted across the land, but inside the mud house, a fire burned brightly, and the warmth was like spring. Draft horses neighed, goats bleated, children played, and two serfs nurtured new life.
When Lynn walked out of the village and looked back at the chimneys where curling smoke was rising, a beautiful scene of vitality and flourishing things inexplicably emerged in his mind.

In the agricultural era, people basically followed the habit of working from sunrise to sunset.

In the north of March, it would be completely dark just after 5 p.m. Now the sun was setting, and the orange-red light poured down, covering the village with a dreamy veil.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Albert couldn't help but shrink his neck: "Master, it's really late. I have asked the kitchen to prepare dinner. Please go back to the castle first."

Lynn jumped on his horse and quickened his pace towards the castle in the north.

Not long after they left, he suddenly praised: "Albert, you are very good."

Albert didn't react for a while: "Ah? Master, you mean..."

"I'm saying that you've done a very good job as the Territory Manager. In this vast, sparsely populated, and harshly cold White Bear Territory, you've been able to ensure that every serf has enough to eat, and even that every household has draft horses and other livestock. This is enough to prove your competence and excellence."

Lin En had "visited" dozens of territories of varying sizes in the north as a bandit leader.

Only one-tenth or one-twelfth of the serfs' living standards can match or exceed those of the White Bear Territory.

Most of the serfs in the territory were barely struggling to make ends meet.

This is either due to the lords' policy of sustainable overfishing or to poor management by the territorial administrators.

For the past six months, White Bear Territory had been without a lord, and the knights responsible for protecting the territory had absconded with the money. Despite this crisis, Albert managed White Bear Territory in an orderly manner, and the serfs in the territory survived the winter safely.

This is enough to demonstrate his outstanding ability in territory management, and also directly confirms the ability of the "Territory" system to identify people.

Albert truly deserves a two-star rating, and the [An Min] attribute is certainly correct.

"It is my duty to guard the territory for you, Master. As long as you continue to trust me, I will never let you down!"

Albert's old face flushed red when he received the direct praise from the new lord.

God have mercy on me. Old Ai has been working diligently for the development of White Bear Territory over the years, but he has never received even a word of praise from the lord.

Every time the lord summoned him, he would most likely ask for money and ask him to collect additional taxes from the people.

If Old Ai had not found ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and urged the previous two lords to care for their people, the White Bear Territory would have been doomed to fail.

"Of course you can continue to serve as the steward of the territory, but remember that all matters, big or small, must obey my orders. I am the lord."

Lin En didn't mind continuing to employ middle and low-level managers in the territory. After all, the horse bandits under his command only knew how to chop people.

But as long as he firmly controls the military force, he has the most absolute authority in the territory.

Albert nodded vigorously: "Of course, sir, you are a baron, even the birds flying over the territory must obey your orders."

As the team continued to move forward, Lin En looked at the farmland on both sides of the road and repeatedly chewed over the new agricultural knowledge he had acquired today.
In his opinion, the current level of agricultural development in White Bear Territory is not even satisfactory.

With the current per-acre yield, it is more than enough to feed more than 20 horse bandits and a group of territory managers.

But only there.

Even if Lin En wanted to support fifty more full-time soldiers, it would be extremely difficult.

But if he doesn't increase his troops, how can he protect his status as a lord that he has seized?

What can we do to resist the possible liquidation of the Duke of Moor?

What else can we use to defeat this backward and outdated country?

He didn't want to be like the other lords in the North, just clinging to his territory and waiting to die.

Do what you do and love what you do.

If you want to be a bandit, you must be a big bandit who roams the North. If you want to be a lord, you must be the lord with the biggest fist in the North.

From Lin En's perspective, although the serfs in White Bear Territory could have enough food and clothing and had usable animal power, they could only be described as "sisters with good foundation."

She is still a hundred Photoshop masters away from being a real 'beauty'.

Lin En suddenly asked, "When do they usually plow the land and sow seeds here?"

Albert quickly replied, "Sir, the fields are still frozen. Ploughing is scheduled for the last week of March, and sowing is generally scheduled for the second week of April."

In other words, there is still a full month before sowing.

Lin En must come up with a feasible improvement plan within this month to increase the per-acre yield of White Bear Territory as soon as possible, otherwise he will have to wait until next year.

(End of this chapter)