Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 355 - 28: This is Forced Conscription!

In April, Roman had transported a large amount of grain to Black Castle. The granaries of both cities were emptied by more than half.

And he needed to dispatch elite soldiers to escort the grain transport teams.

This was necessary because the roads were filled with bandits and vagabonds.

Because the land was not unified and there was no concentrated effort, the Black Iron King Iolion could not quell the rebellion and had to rely on the noble forces to suppress it.

But if the nobles could truly suppress it, then the scourge of thieves would not have arisen.

Because those who could become thieves nowadays generally possessed some martial prowess.

Their ranks comprised mercenaries, Free Riders, Oath Knights, and Fallen Knights who had seen battle; some displaced peasants also joined their numbers.

In other words, the thieves were also organized armed groups.

Although their equipment was not on par with the Conquest Knights, their martial strength was perhaps not much weaker.

Some of the grain being sent to Black Castle was intercepted by these bandits, among whom the "Wool Thieves" were rampant; they roamed everywhere, plundering, extorting, and stripping the clothes off those they left dead, earning the name of thieves who sheared wool.

The eunuch steward brought this news, and specifically asked Roman to send more men lest the grain be seized.

If these millions of pounds of grain were really lost, it would be an unacceptable event for both Roman and Iao III.

So Roman dispatched two thousand veteran soldiers and three thousand auxiliary troops to escort all the way.

Now that the land was struck by disaster and grain production had decreased, noble families had surplus grain, but many lower-class farmers truly had no way to survive—the only way was to go out and plunder.

And Roman was also rushing against time.

Construction and cultivation were extremely important matters that could not be delayed in the slightest.

Now Fertile City was in chaos; slaves were being dispatched to various settlements every day, with waves of people coming and going to their designated places.

Although the newly added slaves were not enthusiastic about their labor, with two pieces of steel farming tools in hand, even if their efficiency was low, it wouldn’t be too terrible.

Moreover, as the environment stabilized, their labor efficiency would gradually improve.

This was essentially survival of the fittest.

Those who could not adapt could only do tougher and more exhausting work, limited to three meals a day; besides that, their treatment was truly that of slaves, and not completing task quotas genuinely meant beheading.

This was the coercive imposition of forced labor.

Roman did not care in the least how many people died because of this.

If cruelty was not demonstrated, then authority would become a paper tiger which no one would care about, even trample on.

Violence was the foundation of rule.

The soldiers who killed also had their own justifications; the laws of Origin and military discipline were clear, the army was to protect the human rights of the people.

But not everyone constituted the people.

Those who did not obey the River Valley King, those who did not fulfill the demands of the River Valley King, had no human rights.

Slaves had no human rights, and naturally, there was no talk of protection.

They had always vehemently despised those who ate without working.

Due to the operation of the conscription system, in April, Roman cultivated an additional hundred thousand acres of new wasteland in Fertile City—it was land once plowed with a light plow during Earl Kant’s time, but having been left unplanted for a year or two, it had reverted to wasteland, overgrown with weeds and wild grasses everywhere.

It was too late to plant spring wheat.

Roman, according to the pace of reclamation, had planted spring vegetables, cotton, and legumes.

Due to the climate, the cotton yield in Origin City was higher than in Fertile City, but Origin City lacked sufficient farmland, and it was better to use the scarce land to plant high-yielding crops.

The cultivated land in Fertile City was quite plentiful. Although the yield per acre of cotton was not high, one acre could satisfy a person’s clothing needs for several years.

Roman’s demands were not high; planting twenty to thirty thousand acres would suffice.

Ice Island was a major wool producer. But Roman never expected to obtain wool steadily, just as he never thought that maltose could steadily bring him wealth. Sure enough, since he had become an enemy of both Gael and the Church Court, he could only produce and sell locally.

This unpredictable world never made sense.

Even farming wasn’t a guaranteed output, do you think you get a harvest just by burying seeds? In reality, it could face all kinds of disasters, resulting in reduced yield or even complete failure.

Of course, this was still the most reliable way to harvest, first and foremost, in an agricultural society.

On this piece of land, every four or five years, or perhaps every decade, one might encounter extreme weather—unlike war which could happen at any time, much like how humans can become aroused twenty-four hours a day.

Time quickly advanced to May.

The winter wheat harvest this month had given both cities a hefty shot in the arm.

Origin City was not affected by this year’s flood disaster.

On this bleak and somber land, the golden waves of wheat in Origin City rolled like an ocean, definitely the most magnificent scene of the current era. The wheat ears were full and plump, the awns dense like a forest, the stalks short and sturdy.

Gwivelle blessed the rice with water in spring, summer, and autumn, and come winter, she would bless the wheat seedlings.

Her direction of blessing was to increase the tillering rate and dwarf the wheat stalks.

With so many directions in breeding, it was difficult for Gwivelle to fully bless everything, but choosing just two directions could also greatly increase the yield.

Moreover, during this time, the soil had been well cultivated.

Fertilizing twice a year, with two thousand pounds per acre, a mixture of peat manure and native soil released a large amount of nutrients, a vast fertility buried deep in the soil, and after a few years of work, it had become well-cultivated land.

With good soil quality, the harvest was naturally extremely high.

This year, the average yield of winter wheat reached three hundred pounds per acre, and the highest yield was up to four or five hundred pounds. The farmers responsible for cutting the wheat couldn’t stop smiling; in their eyes, this was nearly ten times the yield of the past, a true miracle.

This batch of staple food significantly expanded Roman’s grain storage.

Each person could eat one pound of wheat per day and it would last until the fall of this year.

But this round of winter wheat was just one link in Roman’s entire production system, not all of it.

In fact, Fertile City, which had deeply cultivated a hundred thousand acres last year, would also have a bountiful harvest this year if nothing unexpected happened.

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While Origin City was singing and dancing, celebrating.

The Guard brigade led by Kao, along with auxiliary soldiers, had also escorted the grain transport team to Black Castle.

Black Iron Land was located in the most fertile and rich Central Valley, and Black Castle was the most magnificent and imposing city in the land. The city walls stood twenty meters high, built along the river, with the broad White Corner River flowing mightily through the whole Black Iron Land.

Two days without rain, the long rainy season was about to pass, and the gloomy clouds above clung to the sky, unwilling to disperse, with few days to see the sun.

Kao saw the imposing city from afar and was somewhat astonished. Even more surprised was Sanna—she had pleaded with Roman to let her accompany Kao on his journey out—her heart couldn’t endure the solitude anymore, and Roman also thought it was time to give her some experience. The route transporting grain was fraught with danger, and Sanna, capable in far-off scouting and close-up combat, was the best choice for a Scout.

Indeed, Sanna proved to be useful, having repelled several large-scale bandit looting attempts and even arson.

Kao realized that someone did not want the Black Iron King to get this batch of food.

He took strict precautions and, following Dick’s advice, had not encountered any mishap.