Chapter 17: Building the Territory - The Lake of Star Praye

天辉历 9720 年 5 月 27 日,十多公里外的营地搬到了这里,维林开始了建设工作.

 

最初领土中心的湖泊被 Verin 命名为星祷湖,象征着希望的光芒.

 

以河流为界,星祷湖南北两侧开垦了九千亩土地.水稻计划种植在靠近湖的地方,小麦种植在稍远的地方.

 

考虑到湖的旱季和雨季,特意选择了距离水边 600 米的农田进行填海造地.

 

此外,以农田为核心,南北两侧各建立了一个村庄.

 

由于目前人手短缺,维林打算将重点放在星祷湖南侧的建设上.他只有在有足够的人手之后才会考虑北侧.

 

他也很早就规划了他的城堡.它将建在星祷湖东北部一个容易防守,难攻的地方.

 

前期,由于没有足够的人手,这些事情都暂时搁置一旁.在村庄建设完成后考虑它们还为时不晚.

 

看着天空中的太阳,身穿衬衫的维林一边观察农奴开垦的土地进度,一边再次进行实时检查,寻找任何遗漏或不足之处,并修改他制定的计划.

 

他是整个团队中唯一一个知道如何处理这些事情的人.如果他不这样做,谁会这样做呢?

 

"现在应该是正常的用水期.在雨季,河流会上涨约 1 米,并蔓延到向河岸 300 米的区域.因此,在雨季,农田和星祷湖之间将有 300 米宽的可用区域.踏上河岸,维林看着这片区域,心想这里可以建几个鱼塘,养点鱼.

 

在他身边侍奉的贝尔德看着纸上维林规划的鱼塘,好奇地问道:"大人,您为什么要在这里建鱼塘?那些鱼不能给我们带来足够的经济价值.

 

"食物.如果建立起这片区域,可以从河流的上游引出一条支流,环绕这片 300 米的区域,另一端将与下游相连,形成流水.这样,我们养的鱼将提供更丰富的食物.

 

维林用铅笔指着上游的方向,在画上画了一条宽 200 米,深 3 米,长约 3.5 公里的河道.

 

"但是,我的领主,我们缺少人手."贝尔德想了想,直言不讳地说道.

 

"那就让骑士们去挖掘吧.这只是一个锻炼他们实力的好机会.在这个非常资源稀缺的地方,我们只能靠自己的努力.

 

贝尔德看着维林的眼睛,闭上了嘴.

 

如果他敢再提出建议,他的领主肯定会叫人拿来铁锹,让他就地开始挖河道.

 

This kind of thing should be left to the subordinates. He still had to train thirty professional soldiers and strive to make these talented and strong freemen awaken their fighting spirit and become novice warriors to serve as the fresh forces of the territory.

 

Compared with the difficulty of the knight awakening method, the warrior awakening method was much simpler.

 

However, correspondingly, a bronze knight could fight against three warriors of the same rank without being at a disadvantage.

 

But when the extraordinary level reached a certain height, the gap between the two would gradually narrow, and at the legendary stage, they would become evenly matched.

 

Verin looked at the sensible Baird and nodded in satisfaction. He hated it when others argued pointlessly. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't beat him, he really wanted to give him a good beating.

 

In the next five days, Baird actively devoted himself to the training of the thirty professional soldiers. The other eleven knights of the knight escort team were forced to carry shovels and start digging the river channel, which was euphemistically called training.

 

Orlando and Heber, along with the serf Kyle, taught him the knight awakening method and shared some experiences with him while immersing themselves in training, aiming to become the guardian knights that their liege needed, instead of being the ones being protected.

 

The remaining more than forty freemen, over a hundred serfs, and forty-three bandit slaves were reclaiming the farmland.

 

Even Verin was actively training. On the one hand, it was for the dignity of being a lord, and on the other hand, it was to better protect his hard-won territory.

 

...

 

On the morning of June 1st, in a room built with wood, everyone gathered together for a simple meeting.

 

"My liege." Baird, who was sitting in the first position on Verin's left, stood up and began to report, "Among the thirty soldiers, thirteen have awakened their fighting spirit and become low-rank novice warriors, and the remaining seventeen have all reached the threshold."

 

"As for the farmland, two thousand seven hundred and fifty mu of wasteland has been reclaimed. There are still two thousand two hundred and fifty mu left to meet the first-stage reclamation plan you set."

 

After listening, Verin nodded, satisfied with the progress of the tasks, and motioned for Baird to sit down.

 

At the very beginning, Verin had made a simple plan according to the existing population.

 

According to his plan, a freeman or a serf would be allocated twenty mu of land.

 

Unlike the serfs, a freeman had ten mu of privately-owned land on which they could freely decide what crops to plant. The other ten mu was tax-paying land, on which they needed to plant the crops specified by the authorities. All the harvest from this land had to be handed over as tax, and a certain quantity must be reached. The excess would belong to the freeman, and if there was a shortage, the freeman had to make up for it, ensuring that they wouldn't slack off.

 

A serf only had four mu of privately-owned land, and the grain harvested from it was just enough to feed themselves. The other sixteen mu was tax-paying land, with the same standards as those for the freemen.

 

Verin also made a detailed plan for the soldiers' salaries.

 

A soldier's salary consisted of three parts:

 

First, the grain harvested from two mu of tax-paying land.

 

Second, three silver coins per month.

 

Third, rewards for killing enemies in battle.

 

The last item was also applicable to the serfs who joined during the war.

 

Then, a knight with dark skin, sitting in the first position on Verin's right, stood up and reported, "My liege, eight hundred meters of the river channel around the Lake of Star Prayer have been dug, and there is still a workload of two thousand seven hundred meters."

 

"Good. You are indeed my knights. Keep up the good work. Once the river channel is completed, we can launch the second-stage construction plan." Verin showed an excited smile.

 

The other eleven knights present looked at their liege with bitter smiles on their faces.

 

However, they had no feelings of dissatisfaction or resentment. In fact, their liege had given them so much. Six low-grade magic crystals were enough for them to cultivate for three years. Just for digging this 3,400-meter-long river channel, what complaints could they have?

 

"My liege, we currently have the grain equivalent to six carriages and fifty-six mule carts, totaling eighty-five thousand two hundred jin of grain. We consume five hundred and thirty jin of grain per day, and it can still last for one hundred and sixty days, which is enough for us to hold out until the grain harvest."

 

After listening to Orlando's report, Verin began to summarize.

 

"In half a month, we will be able to launch the second batch of the construction plan. Before the end of the year, we will build two villages, complete the reclamation of eighteen thousand mu of farmland, drive away the goblins within a radius of thirty kilometers centered on the Lake of Star Prayer, and reach a population of one thousand two hundred people."

 

"This will be our future home. I hope all of you will do your best to build our territory."

 

"Yes, my liege."

 

Then, the meeting was adjourned. Those who were supposed to dig the river channel continued to dig, and those who were training the soldiers continued with the training, each performing their respective duties.