Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest

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Roman felt that this land should have been a forest in the past, but it was later cleared during the cultivation process and the stumps were never removed from the ground due to the lack of proper tools.

There was no need to clear them anyway, as there was plenty of land available, and there was no necessity to contend with those deep-rooted large stumps.

There could still be dozens or even hundreds of these stumps.

Roman would not tolerate any debris in the soil that could affect his harvest.

In theory, all the labor force in Sige Town, roughly about one thousand two hundred people.

In reality, Roman could utilize only a little over seven hundred people because the rest were needed to maintain the basic operations of Sige Town.

Composting was very important, and most of the laborers were now gathering manure.

According to Roman's estimation, this task would be basically completed in three days.

By then, as soon as the new heavy plow was forged, the laborers freed from the manure gathering would turn over the two thousand mu of land completely.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master." The farmers responded in various voices, many of them staring intently at the heavy plow, obviously very curious about this new plowing tool.

Roman waved his hand, setting them off to work.

Compared to the light plow, the heavy plow was heavier, moved more slowly, and needed two oxen to pull.

But the heavy plow could deeply plow half a meter wide in a single pass, and each day, two oxen could plow 6 mu of land — provided that the direction was not frequently changed, otherwise, it would delay time, so Roman chose such a flat, wide piece of land for collective labor.

Once all the heavy plows were forged, the two thousand mu could be harrowed in ten days.

But the Blacksmith Shop's production efficiency was low, Roman asked Lax, and at the quickest, the 40th heavy plow would be ready in seven days.

Therefore, as soon as a heavy plow was forged, it had to be put into use immediately.

Roman wanted to organize this land within the next thirteen days.

By that time, the manure would have pretty much fully fermented.

Deep plowing was just the foundation. The subsequent seeding and fertilizing were also very important.

This was also a race against time with nature, to avoid missing the most suitable time for spring farming.

The principle of intensive farming was not to fool the land, or the land would fool you.

But once the planting was complete, labor could be greatly saved — in the upcoming spring and summer, at least four-fifths of the labor force could be freed from the heavy fieldwork.

This was Roman's goal.

Generations after generations, their ancestors had been bound to this vast land.

They carried an invisible mountain on their backs, pressing them down all day long, engaged in endless heavy labor.

Day after day, year after year, through hundreds of generations, seeds sown on this land would sprout again and again, yet never breaking through the unseen barriers.

It was as if a dreadful magic spell shrouded this barbaric and dark era.

…

Until now, Roman hadn't told them that this year's spring plowing in Sige Town would only plant these two thousand mu of land.

If the farmers knew, they might rise in rebellion.

Because from their perspective, Roman seemed intent on starving them, as the yield from two thousand mu was far from enough to feed them.

In this era where food was above all else, farmers treated land cultivation with extreme caution and prudence — this was purely a survival instinct, for even a slight mishap in agricultural production could lead to major problems.

This matter could not be concealed either, as the farmers would soon realize it.

But it did not matter, he would suppress any disorder.

Even if hundreds of farmers died, gaining uninterrupted future development for Sige Town was deemed a worthwhile trade by Roman.

He was determined to enforce his will!

Roman had high demands on this group of laborers.

Because there would be more tasks awaiting them in the future.

The interface of Breathing Story was a grid-like large map, with Roman's Origin Manor situated at a corner of Sige Town.

Only the parts of the map that he had explored were lit up; unexplored areas remained dark. Roman was still unclear about all the resource points on his territory.

Roman, while in the mountains, had detected areas with iron and stone resources.

Yet, mining in the deep mountains was not feasible.

Roman needed to find more suitable and abundant resource points.

And all this required a significant amount of manpower and resources; he would not allow these people to be confined to this land, which to him was an intolerable waste.

However, surveying resources itself was a lengthy task. Roman would need at least half a year or even a year's time to traverse every corner of this basin.

Now, he did not have the time to pinpoint the map and had to set it aside for the time being.

Meals must be eaten bite by bite. Roman decided to first upgrade the level of the life skills.

For instance, the [Gathering] skill.

The way to upgrade this skill was simple: keep chopping trees, quarrying stones, and mining!

To the north of Origin Manor, there was a large forest of miscellaneous trees, extending to the foot of the mountain.

When Roman was developing and planting at Origin Manor, he had taken a dislike to that forest.

Chop it down!

Said and done!

Roman immediately handed over the plowing tasks to Moor, since the area that needed deep plowing had been outlined, and there was no need to remain there anymore.

Roman first glanced at the group of children, Hans and Geman were temporarily acting as the manor's teachers, and due to the large number of students, classes were conducted outdoors.

Then, they began teaching from the alphabet and numbers.

The foundational knowledge of these children was terribly poor.

Fortunately, Roman did not have high hopes for them, only required them to receive literacy education.

He fetched a sharp axe from the storeroom, holding it in his hand, then proceeded alone towards the forest north of the manor.

After having lunch in Sige Town at noon, Gwivelle was brought back to Origin Manor by Aaron and Green, and upon seeing Roman, she followed along.

"Why are you following me?" Roman turned his head and asked.

Gwivelle stood in place, somewhat flustered, "Master, didn't you say I am the chamberlain?"

Originally, Roman wanted to send Gwivelle along with the children to receive education, but then he reconsidered. Considering Gwivelle's special situation, Hans and Geman might not accept her, and if anything untoward happened, it would cause trouble.

So he said, "Then come along."

Gwivelle beamed with delight and ran toward Roman on her tiptoes.

She was considered a jinx, yet she did not fear bringing calamity to Roman.

The lower-tier inhabitants of this era were naturally indoctrinated into submission towards the noble class due to the environment.

While the witch's identity was filled with the unknown and fear,

The noble status, on the other hand, signified power and strength.

This made Gwivelle feel a strong sense of security under the shadow of power.