Developing the Territory - Lake of Star Prayer

On May 27th, 9720 of the Glorious Calendar, the camp was moved from over ten kilometers away, and Velin began construction work.

Velin named the lake at the center of his initial territory the Lake of Star Prayer, symbolizing the light of hope.

Using the river as a boundary, nine thousand mu of land were to be cultivated on both the north and south sides of the Lake of Star Prayer. Rice would be planted near the lake, and wheat in areas further away.

Considering the lake's dry and flood seasons, farmland was specifically chosen to be cultivated 600 meters from the water's edge.

In addition, two villages were to be established on the north and south sides, centered around the farmland.

Due to the current lack of manpower, Velin planned to focus on developing the southern side of the Lake of Star Prayer. He would only consider the northern side once sufficient manpower was available.

He had also long planned for his castle, positioning it in a strategically defensible location northeast of the Lake of Star Prayer.

Without enough manpower in the early stages, these matters were temporarily set aside, to be considered after the village construction was perfected.

Gazing at the sun in the sky, Velin, wearing a shirt, observed the progress of the serfs' land reclamation while simultaneously conducting real-time inspections, identifying and rectifying any shortcomings in his plans.

He was the only one in the entire group capable of such tasks; if he didn't do it, who would?

"It should be the normal water period now. During the flood season, the river will rise by about a meter, inundating an area extending three hundred meters towards the riverbank. This will leave a usable area of three hundred meters between the farmland and the Lake of Star Prayer during the flood season." Velin stood on the riverbank, looking at the area, believing it could be used to build several fish ponds for aquaculture.

Belder, who was accompanying him, looked at the fish ponds Velin was sketching on paper and asked curiously, "My Lord, why build fish ponds here? Those fish won't bring us enough economic value."

"Food. This area, once developed, can have a tributary diverted from the upper reaches of the river, encircling this three-hundred-meter area and connecting to the lower reaches to form a flow of fresh water. This way, the fish we farm will provide a more abundant food source."

Velin pointed towards the upstream direction with his pencil, drawing a river channel two hundred meters wide and three meters deep on the blueprint, approximately 3.5 kilometers in length.

"But, My Lord, we lack manpower," Belder said frankly after some thought.

"Then let the Knights do the digging. It will be good practice for them. In this place where transcendent resources are scarce, we can only rely on our own efforts."

Belder looked at Velin's eyes and closed his mouth.

If he dared to offer another suggestion, Velin would surely have someone bring him a shovel and make him start digging the river channel on the spot.

Such matters were left to his subordinates. He still had to train thirty professional soldiers, striving to awaken the Battle Qi in these talented and robust freemen, turning them into Apprentice Warriors to serve as the territory's fresh troops.

Compared to the difficulty of the Knight Awakening Method, the Warrior Awakening Method was much simpler.

However, correspondingly, a Bronze Knight could contend against three warriors of the same rank without being at a disadvantage.

But once the transcendent level reached a certain height, the gap between the two would gradually narrow, becoming evenly matched at the Legendary stage.

Velin nodded with satisfaction as he looked at the sensible Belder, who knew when to stop arguing. If he could defeat him, he would have loved to give him a good beating.

For the next five days, Belder was fully engaged in training the thirty professional soldiers. The remaining eleven Knights of the Knight Guard were forced to carry shovels and began digging the river channel, under the guise of "training."

Orlando and Hebrew, along with the serf Kyle, taught him the Knight Awakening Method and shared some experience while diligently training to become the Guardian Knights their Lord needed, rather than being protected.

The remaining forty-odd freemen and over a hundred serfs, along with forty-three bandit slaves, worked on reclaiming farmland.

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Even Velin was actively training, partly for his dignity as a lord and partly to better protect his hard-won territory.

On the morning of June 1st, in a wooden room, everyone gathered for a simple meeting.

"My Lord," Belder, seated first on Velin's left, stood up and began his report, "Of the thirty soldiers, thirteen have already awakened their Battle Qi and become Apprentice Low-Tier Warriors. The remaining seventeen have all touched the threshold."

"Regarding the farmland, two thousand seven hundred and fifty mu of wasteland have been reclaimed. We are still short of two thousand two hundred and fifty mu from your initial reclamation plan."

Velin nodded upon hearing this, satisfied with the mission progress, and gestured for Belder to sit down.

From the outset, Velin had made simple plans based on the existing population.

According to his plan, each freeman or serf would have twenty mu of land.

Unlike serfs, freemen would have ten mu of homestead land where they could freely decide which crops to plant. The other ten mu would be tax fields, requiring the planting of officially designated crops. All harvests from these fields would be submitted as taxes, and they must reach a certain quantity. Anything exceeding this quantity would belong to them, while any shortfall would be made up by the freemen, ensuring they did not slack off.

Serfs, on the other hand, would only have four mu of homestead land, with the grain harvested barely enough to fill their stomachs. The remaining sixteen mu would be tax fields, with the same standards as freemen.

Velin had also made detailed plans for the soldiers' stipends.

A soldier's stipend consisted of three parts:

First, the harvest from two mu of tax fields.

Second, three silver coins per month.

Third, rewards obtained from killing enemies in battle.

The last point was also applicable to serfs who joined during wartime.

Subsequently, a dark-skinned Knight, seated first on Velin's right, stood up and reported, "My Lord, eight hundred meters of the river channel around the Lake of Star Prayer have been excavated, with another two thousand seven hundred meters of work remaining."

"Good, you are worthy of being my Knight. Keep up the good work. Once the river channel is completed, we can initiate the second phase of our construction plan," Velin said with an excited smile.

The other eleven Knights present looked at their Lord with wry smiles.

However, they harbored no dissatisfaction or resentment. It was simply that their Lord had given them too much. Six Low-Grade Magic Crystals were enough for them to cultivate for three years. For the sake of excavating this three-thousand-four-hundred-meter river channel, what grievances could they possibly have?

"My Lord, we currently have six horse-drawn carriages of grain and fifty-six mule-drawn carts of grain, totaling eighty-five thousand two hundred catties of grain. With a daily consumption of five hundred and thirty catties, we have enough for another 160 days, which will suffice until the grain harvest."

After hearing Orlando's report, Velin began his summary.

"In another half a month, we will be able to initiate the second batch of construction plans. By the end of the year, we will have built two villages, reclaimed eighteen thousand mu of farmland, driven out the goblins within a thirty-kilometer radius centered on the Lake of Star Prayer, and our population will reach one thousand two hundred."

"This will be our future home. I hope everyone will do their best to build our territory."

"Yes, my lord."

Following this, the meeting was adjourned. Those tasked with digging the river channel went to dig, and those tasked with training soldiers went to train. Everyone performed their duties.

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