I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 10 Trapped in Feces

Making an iron smelting furnace was a very time-consuming task. Even after two townspeople were brought in to mix the clay, it still took more than five hours to complete.

Since this was Rod's first time making such a furnace, his speed was naturally slower than the blacksmith's.

Once the blacksmith's furnace was completed, Rhodes immediately used the system to check on it.

【Name: Fragile Iron Smelting Furnace】

[Grade: Green, Excellent]

[Enchantment: Fine Forge]

"really!"

Rod breathed a sigh of relief and excitedly shook the yellow mud off his hands.

As long as the people follow one's orders, one considers oneself to be involved.

This way, Rhodes won't have to build the furnace himself every time he needs to smelt iron!

However, Rod likes to finish what he starts, and once he starts something, he finishes the furnaces under his command.

Unsurprisingly, Rhodes' furnace also came with enchantments.

"The pig iron produced by these two furnaces can only be used to forge weapons and equipment, and cannot be sold."

Rod gave orders to the two blacksmiths in a serious tone.

As for forging and repairing farm tools, only the existing iron materials can be used.

Rod did not participate in the charcoal making process afterward. Otto had already reported that morning that the town's excrement had been cleaned up.

Rhodes made a thorough inspection of the town to see if the rich farmer had done his job properly.

Punishment is not the point.

Rod needs someone to do things right now, and if Otto isn't up to the task, they need to replace him as soon as possible.

"If I remember correctly, Martha is a widow, isn't she?"

After leaving the blacksmith's shop, Rod suddenly remembered his promise to Hammer and said to Durant, "Try introducing her to Hammer."

"Will this work...? The age difference between these two people is quite large."

Durant commented cautiously.

Hamo is only 24 years old, while Martha, a mother of three, is already 36.

"You don't understand, Durant."

Rhodes chuckled and said, "That's called meeting the most formidable person at the age when you're most eager."

As he spoke, Rod suddenly realized something and whispered, "Durant, you wouldn't happen to have a crush on Martha, would you?"

Although Martha is a mother of three, she is voluptuous with wide hips and exudes the charm of a mature woman.

The people of the Shattered Rock Empire are known for their fierce and open-mindedness, and they do not discriminate based solely on whether someone has been married.

If Martha weren't carrying her infant son who was still breastfeeding, a woman like her who could bear children would be very popular.

Faced with Rod's teasing, Durant lowered his head and remained silent.

Rod keenly noticed that Durant glanced at his severed hand.

It seems that this knight is insecure because of his own shortcomings.

But Rod doesn't think that Durant is worse than others because of this.

“Durant, as the chief knight of my territory, you will serve me better if you have a woman to take care of you.”

Rod suddenly looked at Durant seriously and said solemnly, "So you'd better choose a wife yourself as soon as possible, otherwise I'll have to assign one."

Since you're insecure, I'll resort to the lord's methods.

Actually, Rod doesn't like forcing couples to be together, but Durant is such an excellent Cavalier, he should have children.

Then, in sixteen years, Rhodes' territory will have one more knight.

"Your Excellency..."

"Gunner, do you have a wife?"

Rod interrupted Durant and looked directly at Gunle.

Durant understood that this meant the lord was no longer giving him room for negotiation, and he had no choice but to give up.

"Hey, we're always on the go with our brothers, it's not a good time for us to have women and families."

Gonner grinned and said, "Let's talk about it when we're tired."

Rhodes nodded in agreement, then said, "You could consider settling down here with me."

"My noble sir, we don't have the money to buy land and build houses, hahaha!"

"These are not problems for you."

Rod looked ahead. "Gunner, I'm inviting you. You can think it over before you reply."

Gunther was a powerful warrior who, despite not having practiced any breathing techniques, was able to go toe-to-toe with Durant in battle.

Although he ultimately lost, he was still the best among everyone, including his guards.

It's worth mentioning that in this world, being a knight not only signifies honor, but also power that surpasses that of ordinary people.

Knights would practice breathing techniques to improve their physical attributes, including strength, stamina, and reaction speed.

Based on strength from lowest to highest, knights are roughly divided into squires, junior knights, intermediate knights, senior knights, top-tier knights, and legendary knights. Durant is an intermediate knight, so even with one hand missing, he can still defeat Gunle.

Of course, apart from legendary knights, all other knights are in a "human" state.

Even the strongest warrior cannot defeat a well-trained and well-equipped legion on his own, especially one with skilled archers.

But the legendary knights are an exception.

Legend has it that the legendary knight could kill ten men with a single sword strike and take the head of an enemy general amidst a vast army.

However, this is all written in the history of the empire. The real Shattered Rock Empire does not have such a legendary knight, and the whole world has never heard of him.

"Sir, don't you look down on me for my humble origins, for being a mercenary who fights for gold coins?"

Gunther lowered his head, his smile somewhat forced.

"You're not just fighting for gold coins."

Rod looked at Gunle and asked, "Weren't you a squad leader in the border garrison before? And you dreamed of becoming the commander of the garrison."

Gunther's smile faded, somewhat surprised.

This happened in the past, and he hasn't mentioned it since retiring. He only mumbles a few words about it when he's drunk.

It seems this nobleman investigated me beforehand.

No wonder they were so generous.

"Those were just things I said when I was young and didn't know any better. I've long forgotten them."

Gunle scratched his head, then came to his senses.

"But I will seriously consider this suggestion."

"Don't think too long. I'm not always short of people."

As he spoke, Rod quickened his pace.

While they were talking, they walked around the town and found no excrement. The ground was covered with signs of having been shoveled.

In some places, there is still a urine smell, which is because the soil has been marinated with old urine over the years.

Rod didn't nitpick and punished Otto for the smell of urine.

Once outside the town, you can see piles of manure.

[Two tons of manure fertilizer collected, unlocking the entry: Master of Humus]

The moment Rhodes approached the dung heap, a notification appeared indicating that the entry was complete.

Rhodes then opened it to take a look.

[Master of Humus (Blue): The composting pits you personally built or helped build will ferment tenfold faster.]

[Next entry: Cultivate 5,000 acres of land within your territory to unlock: Crop Lord]

No wonder he's a master of humus!
Fresh manure cannot be used directly in the fields; it must be left to stand or composted, otherwise it will "burn" the crops.

Hot weather is more conducive to composting, which takes about two to four months.

In places like the Northern Wilderness, where the nighttime temperature is close to zero, it often takes seven to ten months to ferment. Even if the spring is a bit warmer, it still takes at least six months.

However, with the "Master of Humus" trait, Rhodes was able to complete the fermentation of feces in less than a month.

For the northern border region where spring planting begins in May, there is still plenty of time.

"But this amount of fertilizer is not enough to cultivate 5,000 acres of land."

The pile of manure in front of Rod was not large, weighing about three tons.

There are fourteen such manure piles, and the total amount of manure is estimated to be more than forty tons.

Composting also involves adding other organic matter such as hay, sawdust, wood ash, and soil, in proportions that are about two to three times that of the excrement.

After accounting for water evaporation, only about 80 tons of fertilizer remained.

In this era without chemical fertilizers, each acre of arable land requires 1-3 tons of organic fertilizer.

Even if only one ton of fertilizer is used per acre, five thousand acres would still be an astronomical number, and the excrement from the people of Shuangye Town alone would not be enough.

"Otto, tomorrow find thirty men in town to dig holes, and thirty women to gather grass and rotten leaves from the mountains and forests, the more the better."

If there isn't enough manure, Rhodes can only increase the amount of humus.

Perhaps my own "Master of Decay" entry can also make ordinary dead leaves decompose faster.

"Tell them to work hard. This time, not only will they get work points, but they'll also get lunch!"

"No problem, they'll definitely be happy to do this job!"

Otto readily agreed, as he was not punished for defecating.

He's now immune to Rod's strange orders; he'll do anything as long as he's not scolded or beaten.

Rhodes turned to Durant and instructed, "Have Lawrence select ten slaves to dig mud from those nearby mud pits, the more the better."

Durant nodded and turned to relay the order.

Without enough manure, Rod could only choose a portion of the farmland for intensive farming.

While calculating in his mind how much fertilizer would be needed to produce 300,000 jin of grain, he also considered where to get more manure.

Rhodes never imagined that he would one day be trapped in feces.

(End of this chapter)