Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 296 - 2: Twenty Thousand Slaves?

She had used up all her strength again.

She hadn’t fully recovered to begin with, and now she felt like she was overexerting herself, weak as a young animal.

That feeling was not good at all; no one liked being weak, which was even worse than having a cold or a fever.

She fell into a deep sleep, waiting for the next time she would wake up.

Shasta took her from Roman’s hands again, wanting to say something, but gave up.

What was there to say? Complain or rebuke?

She was not completely ignorant about the current situation in Origin City.

As a chamberlain, she had a relatively high degree of freedom and had seen firsthand what this place was like.

A brick house, a few masons could build its walls in just one day.

A hundred-meter-long road, a few dozen road workers could pave it in one day.

A hundred-acre forest, a few hundred farmers could clear it in half a month.

A regional flood, over ten thousand laborers managed to subside the floodwaters in just a few days.

Their efficiency was higher than anyone outside, and in that positive and uplifting atmosphere, hardly anyone slacked off.

Anyone caught slacking would be reported and then sent to the mines.

She had never seen the conditions in the mines, but knew that the workload there was definitely no less significant than that in Origin City.

After all, she couldn’t imagine how those mines could support everyone’s steel needs.

Now, everyone was undertaking efficient and clear labor tasks, and with such swift construction speeds, it was unknown how many people were making sacrifices.

She had lived nearly thirty years and was witnessing for the first time what collective power was.

Everyone had their responsibilities... including Gwivelle.

In this era, there was no concept of child labor; some apprentices to bakers, stable boys, and even knight pages had been working from a young age, responsible for various miscellaneous tasks.

Moreover, she wasn’t young anymore; she was no longer the quail-like little witch from two years ago.

Development was a lengthy and arduous task, often requiring the efforts and struggles of generations to push forward the progress of an entire civilization.

And in such a process, it was unknown how many people’s blood and sweat were crushed under its wheels.

Shasta didn’t understand these things.

Roman could understand Shasta, but he never expected Shasta to understand him.

...

He tirelessly went to the grassland that he had originally chosen to be a pasture.

A pasture was absolutely necessary.

Although grazing increased the breeding cycle, it could expand the scale of breeding and reduce the number of management staff.

Yaki greeted Roman as soon as he saw him, "Master, I’ve done the calculations, if this land is well developed, next year we should be able to graze two thousand horses, three thousand cattle, ten thousand pigs, and twenty thousand sheep," he stated his projected goals.

Since his leg healed, his movements had quickened, greatly improving his work efficiency.

"How many people do you need?"

"One thousand!" Yaki replied, "Master, give me a thousand people, and I guarantee I’ll take good care of them."

When the breeding farm was first established, it had the same number of staff; but now the livestock had increased tenfold.

This was the advantage brought by grazing.

"Can it be completed this year?"

"It’s a bit difficult." Yaki admitted awkwardly; the goal was set, but the process to reach it was challenging.

"How many people do you need?"

"We need to plant tens of thousands of acres of alfalfa, scatter seeds for over a hundred thousand acres of pasture, at least seven thousand people."

This was not just a number; behind it were the food, drink, and logistics of seven thousand people, making logistical support extremely difficult.

Roman pondered for a moment, then spoke, "Let’s fix the roads first."

The pasture was fifty kilometers away from Origin City, situated beside the road leading to Coal Iron Town.

But the Coal Iron Road was unusable; it was a rudimentarily built mud road that had worn out beyond recognition in just two years.

Demolishing it and replacing it with a good quality stone road could effectively increase the efficiency of transporting building materials.

Contrary to common belief, the fertile grassland was not suitable for planting staple foods; slight changes in the weather could easily lead to total crop failure, its ecological environment more suited for developing grass industries.

It was suitable to develop into a separate stock breeding town and also helped to divert part of the increasingly large population of Origin City.

Roman stayed here for five days, discussing specifics with Yaki and writing down a detailed development plan with pen and paper. He arranged every possible step meticulously.

On the seventh day, he returned to Origin Manor, sore all over, and his horse was exhausted.

Before he could catch his breath, he heard from the maids, "Sir, Lord Finn has been waiting for you for two days."

Roman wanted to rest, but upon hearing this message, he had no choice but to meet with the scarred man. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

There were no other pirates with him; evidently, Alex had learned from last time and didn’t wish to suffer another humiliation.

"Your Highness, it is an honor to see you; it is good that there is no disaster here," the scarred man knelt on one knee.

"Just state your purpose," Roman said.

"You are still so straightforward. To be honest, there was a flood in the Pirate King’s territory recently, so many people are now homeless."

Roman looked coldly at Finn.

Were they made homeless by the flood, or by you?

He didn’t ask this question.

This is what chaos brings, human lives are as negligible as grass, easily fallen with a gust of wind.

Origin City welcomed those homeless slaves who couldn’t survive, as long as it did not exceed its capacity.

"How many people?"

"Ten to twenty thousand," Finn said obsequiously.

Ten to twenty thousand...? Roman frowned deeply, "I’ll take all of them, but the price needs to be forty percent lower."

Finn hurriedly said, "Your Highness, the Pirate King sincerely wants to do business with you."

"I am sincere too, otherwise I would cut the price by half—previous rates aren’t applicable anymore."

Finn had to admit that the River Valley King was right.

The price of any goods changes with the situation.

The pirates couldn’t sustain so many people now; after the flood, having half the usual amount of food was considered good. Instead of letting them starve or cause trouble for the pirates, it was better to exchange them for benefits.

In blunt terms, massacring villages also takes effort.

A North Ice Battle Axe becomes dull after slashing too many times.

"...You make sense, but there’s a small issue—some people might carry some diseases... nothing serious, though..."

Roman interrupted him, "Those sick slaves will be priced at twenty percent of a regular slave’s price; if you agree, send them here."

"May the Dragon King bless them to live under the auspices of the River Valley King," Finn spoke in an old Yige language.

He was sincere!

Damn it, who knows what it feels like for a merchant to encounter a buyer who wants everything!

If he weren’t worried about offending the young king before him, he would have loved to give him a few big kisses!

Then, following the Pirate King’s command, Finn tentatively suggested trading slaves for food to Roman.

But Roman looked at him coldly.

That look and expression said it all.

Get lost!

...

The pirates were extremely efficient, thanks to their special longboats that could travel upriver; as long as the rowers could endure, a normal pace of a hundred kilometers a day was normal, stretching to two hundred at the limit.

In Roman’s view, the Yige people’s shipbuilding skills far surpassed those of Black Iron Land.

No wonder Gael, despite having superior equipment and organizational advantages, and even by building low bridges and blocking channels forcing pirates into direct combat, still failed to achieve a significant victory.

This time, over three hundred longboats from the pirate fleet arrived at Origin City, and because of the large number of people, Roman had to deploy his army to assist residents in receiving the slaves.

This war might end this year.

After all, it had dragged on long enough, both sides were fighting a terribly bad battle.

Now with the flood, they couldn’t drag it out any longer and were forced to settle it in a final battle.

Previously, it was uncertain for Roman,

but now, the pirates had a greater chance of winning.

However, Roman didn’t care about the outcome of the war.

All he knew was that this year, there would be workers for the pastures.