Chapter 112: Midsummer

The battle that erupted in the northern frontier of the Empire, though unpredictable and fierce, had yet to stir significant waves across the entire Norman Empire.

After all… the transmission of information required time.

Due to the painfully slow intelligence-gathering methods of this era, Bruno was still completely unaware that war had already broken out in the Empire's northern borders.

It was precisely for this reason that Bruno was so eager to establish an intelligence network to compensate for the common lack of information access among noble territories.

He did not expect to uncover deep family secrets or imperial conspiracies in the short term, but at the very least, he needed to be informed of major events happening across the Empire as quickly as possible, particularly the latest developments from the northern front.

To meet Bruno's demands, Krell, as the head of the intelligence agency, had been accelerating the recruitment process and laying down the framework. If all went well, the Idar Intelligence Bureau was expected to become operational within a year!

After months of preparation, the first batch of candidates for Idar's intelligence agency had already been selected. The next step was systematic training under Bruno's directives.

Most of these recruits came from former Idar bandits, while others were drawn from the Idar guard and standing army. However, what was most striking was that over 30% of them were of serf origin!

This was not because Krell deliberately sought to promote serfs but rather a result of Bruno's series of reforms in Idar. His policies had deeply influenced both serfs and commoners, making them realize that Idar was unlike other noble territories.

As a result, they developed a special attachment to Idar, genuinely considering it their home.

Under Bruno's orders, a recruitment registration office was established at Idar City's southern gate. Any Idar citizen interested in joining the standing army, the navy, or the central intelligence bureau could register there in advance.

What pleased Bruno the most was that, thanks to his policies of liberating serfs and rewarding agricultural laborers, enthusiasm for enlisting in the Idar military and intelligence network was exceptionally high!

Already, more than 2,000 commoners and former serfs had signed up!

Considering that Idar's total population was just over 20,000, this was a staggering number!

Moreover, to ensure the registrations were valuable, the recruitment office adhered to the same enlistment standards as the standing army only qualified Idar citizens could register!

From any perspective, this was an incredibly promising start!

Unlike the war torn northern frontier, Idar was enjoying peaceful and sunny days. Its people remained unaffected by the flames of battle raging in the Empire's north.

Outside Idar City…

The fields were lush, heavy with golden wheat. The corn planted earlier in the year had grown strong, with large, tender ears forming on the stalks an especially promising sight.

Though sweet potatoes and potatoes lay hidden underground, the thick vines sprawling across the soil indicated their robust growth beneath the surface.

The insecticide made from pyrethrum had already been widely applied throughout Idar, finally eradicating the persistent pest problems that had plagued farmers for years.

Only a few stray pests remained, but they were no longer a significant concern.

At first, despite the Earl's assurances that the formula could combat pests, people were skeptical.

After all, pest infestations were commonplace across the entire continent, deeply ingrained in the farmers' understanding of agriculture.

To them, insect damage was simply unavoidable something that could only be controlled by handpicking pests from crops.

Furthermore, while the insecticide's price of a few copper coins was affordable, it wasn't exactly cheap. If it turned out to be ineffective, wouldn't that be a waste of money?

Earning a living was hard every coin had to be spent wisely!

However, these doubts didn't last long.

Within days, people were shocked to find that, after the serfs sprayed the insecticide on the Earl's farmland, the pests vanished almost instantly!

Some of the serfs who worked on those farms were then reassigned to other tasks, and if they worked diligently, they could even earn a few copper coins as wages!

So… the insecticide really worked!

If that was the case, then compared to its five copper coin price, it was actually a bargain!

Although commoners held low social status, they were not foolish. Idar had a constant demand for labor, with many job opportunities. If they could free up time by using insecticide on their own fields, they could take on extra work!

While they lacked formal education, they were strong and willing to work!

By utilizing the extra time for labor, they could easily recoup the cost of the insecticide and even earn extra money!

Money was a precious thing. Even if they only made one or two copper coins extra per week, over time, it would add up to a significant sum!

The greatest strength of commoners was their ability to endure hardship and willingness to work hard.

As the use of insecticide became widespread, more and more Idar citizens were freed from the burden of farming.

Since the fields still required some attention, they couldn't work all day elsewhere.

But there were many of them!

Even with just two shifts per day, their sheer numbers significantly accelerated construction projects across Idar.

As a result, Old Ford had to establish a new cement workshop just to keep up with the demand for road-building materials.

Speaking of road construction, months of effort had already seen over half of Idar's planned road network completed.

Aside from the Idar Highway, which connected Idar to Mann Fortress, two other major roads linking Idar City to the fishing port and Idar City to the Citadel of Namur were now finished.

Although Idar's roads weren't built to modern standards, they didn't need to accommodate automobiles or heavy vehicles in the near future.

Thus, for now, they were more than sufficient.