Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 307 - 13: Double Rook Checkmate (Bonus Update Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Chapter 307: Chapter 13: Double Rook Checkmate (Bonus Update Seeking Monthly Tickets)
This year, Origin City experienced a light snow in October, and two major snowfalls in early and late November.
Even so, Origin City maintained a relatively fast development speed.
During the light snow in October, everyone’s work went on uninterrupted despite the snowfall.
They tirelessly cut trees, plowed fields, built houses, paved roads, repaired waterworks, transformed pastures, and sowed seeds for next year’s grass.
But when it came to the heavy snow in November, it was no longer feasible.
Development encountered obstacles.
For instance, the slaves sent out for reclamation, wearing thin clothing, had to be recalled to prevent them from freezing in the snow.
Moreover, with roads blocked by snow, the transportation of resources became very difficult.
Despite having already stored winter supplies, it was still necessary to ensure smooth communication.
Roman had no choice but to arrange personnel to clear the snow to ensure the roads remained open.
...
December.
The snow-covered ground showed no signs of melting.
Roman gathered last year’s Origin City residents who received winter clothing for reclamation.
The slaves in thin clothes, on the other hand, stayed inside the brick houses, warming themselves around the iron stove.
Worried about losing the labor force to the cold, Roman increased their supply of honeycomb coal to eight pieces, otherwise, it wouldn’t be enough to burn.
As for the residents reclaiming land in Origin City?
Who told you to have clothes to wear, if you have clothes, you can work.
They couldn’t even muster resentment, should they resent having a high standard of living?
Furthermore, the officials from the Residents’ Department and Ministry of Agriculture kept emphasizing that their labor this year determined their treatment next year.
If the harvest next year is good, then the rationing system will be canceled.
If the harvest is bad next year, then the rationing system will continue.
When it comes to the crucial matter of food, residents who managed to get brick houses were generally not the lazy or slippery types, and they could only hurry and work in the snow.
In agricultural technology, there is a concept called winter plowing.
Winter plowing has numerous benefits and can accelerate soil maturation.
The land reclaimed in winter is often easy to cultivate.
Although the snowfall is extremely heavy, this is not a snow disaster.
The cold currents of the Northern Land don’t reach here, and the temperature of the basin is still within an acceptable range.
Under such circumstances, the thicker the snow layer, the better the harvest next year.
Gwivelle would also pull Roman, who had nothing to do, to the wheat fields to bless them.
The dormancy period for winter wheat is extremely long, with 2.2 times more growth time than spring wheat—spring wheat can be harvested in 100 days, whereas winter wheat takes 220 days. The long dormancy period is to accumulate nutrients for the next year—just like Origin City now.
The blockade by the Holy War Army continues, like the snow layer, unable to kill the wheat seedlings under the heavy snow.
...
At this time, a fleet broke through the Holy War Army’s blockade and arrived at Origin City.
The visitor was Sir Damian, the Finance Minister of the Black Iron King.
Roman met with him in the conference hall.
"Lord, we meet again." Damian smiled brightly.
His cloak was even more ornate than Roman’s, colorful like a peacock. A premium red agate was worn on his chest, and the power of the gemstone maintained his body temperature even in the winter season.
Roman also had agate, but he never wore it.
He believed that thing would erode his will.
Roman mocked sarcastically, "I thought the King had long abandoned this place."
"You made such a big mess, our His Majesty the King is also in a difficult position..." Damian said, "Lord, you should know the purpose of my visit."
Roman snapped his fingers, and five Conquest Knights carried in a wooden box.
Damian opened the wooden box, and the dazzling, enticing shine of gold filled his pupils.
"You are a man of your word!" Damian exclaimed.
It was a full thousand pounds of gold.
Roman said, "Sir Damian, if I bring out more gold, would His Majesty the King deploy troops for me?"
Deploy troops? Against whom?
Damian told Roman: "Isn’t the Holy War Army of the Church Court here for the witches? What does it have to do with you?"
Throughout history—at least up until now, humanity has not had overly complicated political struggles.
Roman won against the Church Court and Gael in the Battle of the Spring Rain.
The Black Iron King bestowed upon him a series of titles such as River Valley Guardian, Lord, and War Hand.
In this game of power, the stance of confrontation between the owner of the Black Iron Throne and the Grand Duke of Dragon Castle was obvious.
"Lord, the situation is tense enough now, you might not know it up here in the mountains, but His Majesty the King and Sir Pine have quarreled about this many times in Black Castle, and neither convinced the other, and we are all terrified."
Who wouldn’t be afraid if the Black Iron Lord and the mightiest Grand Duke went to battle?
Roman asked, "Arguing over what?"
Damian looked at the instigator, with an expression like he had seen a ghost: "Do you know how much trouble your act of sheltering the witches has caused us?"
"Oh?" Roman looked forward eagerly.
"No...but Lord, don’t you have any informants in Black Castle? That’s the Conqueror’s Capital, after all."
Roman said calmly, "I rarely pay attention to the development of the land’s situation."
Oh, dear! Such misfortune! Damian rubbed his cat’s eye stone ring.
This young king wore amber, a kind of wisdom gemstone that could conceal his thoughts.
He didn’t know whether what the young man said was true or false, so he assumed it was true.
Such a person, such an armed separatist force, influencing the entire Black Iron Land’s situation, yet not caring about others...
What can you do with him? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
When he arrived, he saw with his own eyes twenty thousand Holy War Army troops blockading the entrance, yet they were helpless against him.
Not to mention twenty thousand, even if forty thousand came, they’d just stare blankly.
Alas, Alster, you’ve made a fine mess.
Damian sighed, "Lord Gael let the Church Court run wild in our land, and His Majesty the King is very dissatisfied; now, it’s like you’ve directly given the Church Court an excuse to deploy troops, and our King can’t even stop it."
"Can’t the Grand Duke of Fury stop it?"
The Finance Minister looked at Roman for a long time and said, "Sir Pine is a supporter—a supporter of the Church Court, not many people know this; otherwise, it would scare people to death. The Church Court originally planned to dispatch more Holy War Army troops, but His Majesty the King swore that if Pine dared to let so many cross borders, he’d revoke the Nu Chao family’s inheritance, so they are still arguing now."
That’s not the Divine Mysterious Army, but the Church Army.
The Divine Mysterious Army is locked in a life-and-death battle with the Cangyue people, and the power of the Church Court has only revealed the tip of the iceberg to this day.
This information is truly terrifying, and Roman had long suspected this.
Power struggles have always been like this. It’s not the hidden arrows behind the curtains but the swords and spears on stage.
A development chart of the relationships between the Black Iron king and the Black Iron dukes floated in Roman’s mind.
Alster and the Black Iron King were in the same camp, Pine had no objection to sealing off the Divine Mysterious and Church Courts; even if he did, it wasn’t allowed, so he fumed.
Then, the Guardian Family was wiped out, Alster lost his Guardians and also died.
Gael, who succeeded to the throne, and Pine were in the same camp, so the situation instantly reversed, like being checkmated by two cars.
The frightening thing is, this pair of rooks originally belonged to our side’s camp.
The Black Iron King got caught, faced with the Church Court, Divine Mysterious, Riptide, and Fury’s four-sided forces. Overpowered, completely overpowered.
"Why does the Fury Family do this?" Roman crossed his hands, placing them on his abdomen.
"His Majesty the Conqueror sees the Church Court as a human enemy, as do Lord Alster, His Majesty the King, and a host of ministers, including me. That’s why the Fury Family blocked the Divine Mysterious for a hundred years, but now, Sir Pine no longer thinks that way. He sees the Church Court as an ally and wants to let them out...
"But, Lord, the Church Court now holds far greater influence than ever, the Fury Family opposed them for a hundred years. We don’t know what happened during this time, but they were supposed to be mortal enemies, and now, Sir Pine can casually utter something like ’All Gods above’ without surprising me. That’s the most powerful Duke in the Black Iron Land, the front line against the Church Court."
...
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PS: Monthly ticket request at the end of the month.
