On May 27, 9720 of the Radiant Calendar, the camp more than ten kilometers away was moved over, and Velin began construction work.
The lake at the center of the initial territory was named Lake of Star Prayer by Velin, signifying the light of hope.
Using the river as a boundary, nine thousand mu of land would be reclaimed on both the north and south sides of Lake of Star Prayer. Rice would be planted near the lake, while wheat would be planted farther away.
Taking into account the lake's dry and flood seasons, the farmland was deliberately reclaimed six hundred meters from the water's edge.
In addition, with the farmland as the core, a village would be established on each of the north and south sides.
Since manpower was currently insufficient, Velin planned to focus on developing the southern side of Lake of Star Prayer. The northern side would only be considered once they had enough hands.
He had also planned out his castle long ago. It would stand northeast of Lake of Star Prayer, in a location easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Without enough manpower in the early stages, all these matters would be set aside for now. It would not be too late to consider them after the village construction had been improved.
Looking up at the sun, Velin wore a shirt as he monitored the serfs' progress in reclaiming land, conducting another on-site survey to fill in gaps and revise his plans.
He was the only one in the entire group who knew how to handle these things. If he did not do them, who would?
"This should be the normal-water season. During the flood season, the river will rise by about a meter and spread three hundred meters toward the riverbank. That means there will be a three-hundred-meter-wide usable area between the farmland and Lake of Star Prayer during flood season." Standing on the riverbank and looking over the area, Velin felt they could build several fish ponds and raise fish there.
Belder, who stood beside him, looked at the fish ponds Velin had planned on paper and asked curiously, "My lord, why build fish ponds here? Those fish cannot bring us enough economic value."
"Food. Once this area is built up, we can divert a branch from the upstream river and have it circle this three-hundred-meter area before connecting back downstream, creating flowing water. That way, the fish we raise will provide us with more abundant food."
Velin pointed upstream with his pencil and drew a river channel two hundred meters wide and three meters deep on the blueprint, with a total length of roughly 3.5 kilometers.
"But, my lord, we lack manpower." After thinking it over, Belder spoke bluntly.
"Then have the knights dig it. It will be a good way to train their strength. In a place so lacking in Transcendent Resources, we can only rely on our own efforts."
Belder looked into Velin's eyes and shut his mouth.
If he dared make another suggestion, his lord would definitely have someone bring over a shovel and make him start digging the channel on the spot.
This sort of thing could be left to his subordinates. He still had to train thirty professional soldiers and strive to awaken Battle Qi in these talented, strong Freemen, turning them into Apprentice Warriors and the territory's fresh fighting force.
Compared to the difficulty of the Knight Awakening Method, the Warrior Awakening Method was much simpler.
However, correspondingly, one Bronze Knight could fight three warriors of the same rank without falling behind.
But once their Transcendent levels reached a certain height, the gap between the two would grow smaller and smaller. By the Legendary stage, they would be evenly matched.
Velin looked at the tactful Belder and nodded in satisfaction. He hated people arguing with him. If Belder were not stronger than him, he really wanted to beat him up.
Over the next five days, Belder actively threw himself into training the thirty professional soldiers, while the other eleven knights of the Guard Team were forced to carry shovels and begin digging the river channel, supposedly as training.
Orlando and Hebrew took Kyle, the serf, and taught him the Knight Awakening Method while sharing some experience. At the same time, they trained with their heads down, determined to become the Guardian Knights their lord needed rather than people who needed protection.
The remaining forty-odd Freemen, more than a hundred serfs, and forty-three Bandit Slaves reclaimed farmland.
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Even Velin trained diligently, partly for the dignity of being a lord and partly so he could better protect the hard-won territory he now possessed.
On the morning of June 1, everyone gathered in a wooden room for a simple meeting.
"My lord." Belder, seated first to Velin's left, stood and began his report. "Of the thirty soldiers, thirteen have awakened Battle Qi and become Apprentice Low-Tier Warriors. The remaining seventeen have all touched the threshold."
"As for the farmland, two thousand seven hundred and fifty mu of wasteland have been reclaimed. We are still two thousand two hundred and fifty mu short of the first stage of the reclamation plan you set."
After hearing this, Velin nodded. He was very satisfied with the progress and gestured for Belder to sit.
From the very beginning, Velin had made a simple plan based on the population they currently had.
According to his plan, each Freemen or serf would have twenty mu of land.
Unlike serfs, Freemen possessed ten mu of private land and could freely decide which crops to grow. Another ten mu would be tax fields, where they had to plant crops designated by the territory. All harvests from those fields would be handed over as taxes, and they had to meet a certain quota. Any excess would belong to them, while any shortage had to be made up by the Freemen themselves, ensuring they would not cut corners.
Serfs, on the other hand, had only four mu of private land, whose harvest barely kept them fed. The other sixteen mu were tax fields, held to the same standards as the Freemen.
Velin had also drawn up a detailed plan for the soldiers' pay.
A soldier's pay consisted of three parts:
First, the grain harvested from two mu of tax fields.
Second, three Silver Coins every month.
Third, rewards for killing enemies in battle.
The final point also applied to serfs who joined them during wartime.
Afterward, the dark-skinned knight seated first to Velin's right stood and reported, "My lord, eight hundred meters of the river channel around Lake of Star Prayer have been dug. There are still another two thousand seven hundred meters left."
"Good. As expected of my knights. Keep up the effort. Once the river channel is completed, we can begin the second stage of the construction plan." Velin revealed an excited smile.
The other eleven knights present looked at their lord with bitter smiles.
However, they felt neither dissatisfaction nor resentment. Their lord had simply given them too much. Six Low-Grade Magic Crystals were enough to support their cultivation for three years, all for digging this three-thousand-four-hundred-meter river channel. What complaints could they possibly have?
"My lord, we currently have six carriage-loads of grain and fifty-six mule-cart loads of grain, for a total of eighty-five thousand two hundred jin. We consume five hundred and thirty jin per day, so it can last another one hundred and sixty days—enough to hold out until the harvest."
After listening to Orlando's report, Velin began to summarize.
"In another half month, we can begin the second batch of the construction plan. Before the end of the year, we will build two villages, reclaim eighteen thousand mu of farmland, drive out the Goblins within thirty kilometers of Lake of Star Prayer, and bring our population to one thousand two hundred."
"This will be our home in the Future. I hope everyone will give their all to build the territory that belongs to us."
"Yes, my lord."
The meeting then ended. Those digging the channel went back to digging, those training soldiers went back to training soldiers, and everyone returned to their duties.
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