Make the Serfs Suffer

Make the Serfs Suffer

Agriculture was the necessary foundation for a territory's development, while commerce was the catalyst that allowed it to soar.

Neither could be absent, nor could either be neglected.

White Bear Territory did have commerce now, but there was very little of it.

At the very least, there were no merchants permanently stationed in the territory.

White Bear Territory was a typical feudal, self-sufficient manor. Each year, it only needed to import a certain amount of salt and iron ingots.

Cloth was optional.

Flax had high yields and was extremely cheap. A finished linen shirt was usually worth five or six copper coins.

If necessary, White Bear Territory could grow a certain amount of flax itself, and the Female Serfs generally knew how to weave cloth.

If any merchant foolishly decided to settle permanently in White Bear Territory, he would probably either starve or go broke.

In fact, the serfs of White Bear Territory could afford Draft Horses and Light Plows, and they did not go hungry in winter. Clearly, they had some savings.

They simply had no need to spend money.

Though both serfdom and slavery contained the word "slave," the two systems were worlds apart.

Slaves belonged entirely to their masters.

Serfs, on the other hand, merely had certain restrictions on their personal freedom, and they could own private property.

Or rather, they had the right to accumulate private property.

For example, in White Bear Territory, every serf household had its own Allotment Land. After a certain percentage of the annual harvest was paid as tax, and after next year's seeds and food rations were set aside, whatever remained was their private property.

If a Lord wanted to "plunder" that portion of their property, he could not simply seize it by force. He could only cleverly take it through higher taxes.

The serfs also had a way to resist unreasonable taxation.

They could run away.

The Northern Border was far too vast. It did not lack land; it lacked people to farm it.

If you, the Lord, gave your serfs no way to survive, other Lords would naturally be willing to take in more serfs.

In fact, for Lynn, it was absolutely a good thing that the serfs possessed private property.

He did not need to worry in the slightest about finding buyers once the Heavy Plows were made.

With the financial means of White Bear Territory's serfs, buying a Heavy Plow was more than affordable.

It was equivalent to Lynn creating new demand out of thin air, directly driving the development of commerce within the territory.

But a new problem arose along with it: Blacksmith Qi He did not have enough iron ingots in stock.

In an agricultural manor where time had practically stood still, annual demand for iron ingots fluctuated very little.

The iron ingots Qi He had purchased last year were only barely enough to make three hundred Heavy Plows.

But the merchants who sold iron ingots would not arrive until after the Autumn Harvest, making the iron needed for other farm tools a major problem.

For instance, the sickles needed for the Autumn Harvest and the hoes used to prepare the land.

Toward evening, Old Albert finished handling his work and came to Riverside Castle, taking the initiative to ease Lynn's concerns.

"My lord, I know several merchants in Three Rivers City. Perhaps I can try asking them to bring over some iron ingots in advance."

Old Albert had spent decades in White Bear Territory and had built up quite a few connections both inside and outside the territory.

Three Rivers City lay downstream along the White River. It was filled with merchants and travelers, the largest trade hub in the White River Basin, and also the seat of the County Governor of White River County.

A "county" in the Northern Border was a military unit. The County Governor's main responsibility was to assist the Duke in recruiting and training knights.

The letter of appointment Lynn had stolen granted him the status and authority of a baron, while also defining his obligations as one.

Every August, he had to send five knights and no fewer than fifteen knight attendants to Three Rivers City for two months of military training.

This was to prove that he was capable of answering the Marsh Duke's call. In a sense, the County Governor was also responsible for monitoring the Lords of various territories, though he could not interfere in their internal administration.

The Marsh Duke was not running a charity. Since he granted land to Lords, he naturally needed corresponding measures of oversight and control.

"There's no need to worry. I'll handle the iron ingots."

As Lynn spoke, he set down the quill in his hand and lowered his head to blow dry the ink on the parchment.

As a Horse Bandit who had roamed the Northern Border, if he could obtain Baron Roman's exact whereabouts, then he naturally would not lack such connections.

The merchant he summoned would certainly be more reliable than any Old Albert could call upon.

At the very least, he would not expose Lynn's identity as a fake Lord.

Old Albert tactfully changed the subject. "My lord, I've arranged matters concerning Compost and the Heavy Plows. But time is limited, so I cannot guarantee that every field will use these new methods. Still, I promise you that your Public Land will be given priority."

Every year, the serfs had to bring their own tools and livestock when tending the Lord's land.

After all, the Lord could not possibly keep several hundred plows piled up in his warehouse just to lend them to the serfs.

"If they are willing to trust these new methods, it would not hurt to use them on their own Allotment Land as well."

To be honest, Lynn did not care much about the meager profits from farming.

The reason he had made increasing yield per acre his top priority was mainly so that more surplus grain could be produced.

The more surplus grain there was, the more Labor force could be freed from the land, allowing manufacturing, industry, commerce, and other sectors to develop.

As for who the grain belonged to, that was unimportant. As long as there was enough grain on the market, that was all that mattered.

The invisible hand of the market would find suitable mouths for that grain.

"How can that be? Without you, my lord, how could White Bear Territory possibly use these new methods?"

As Old Albert said this, he wore the expression of a loyal hound determined to let the serfs suffer while he bore the blame.

But he was not thinking solely of his lord's interests. He wanted to use the lord's Public Land for a large-scale public experiment, so the serfs would believe that the new methods truly worked.

Promoting the Heavy Plow would not be difficult. They only needed to make one and demonstrate it in the fields, and the serfs would surely rush to buy them.

The difficult part was Compost.

Its main raw material was livestock manure.

The serfs all knew that livestock manure could burn young crops, so there would certainly be people skeptical of Compost.

Using it on the lord's Public Land placed the least psychological burden on the serfs.

After all, it was a new method brought by the Lord himself. Even if the lord's Public Land produced not a single grain, presumably the serfs would not be blamed.

"Handle it as you see fit."

Lynn saw through it but did not say so.

As for matters in the fields, he had already decided to delegate authority to Old Albert.

After all, he was a two-star administrative talent certified by the panel. Managing this little bit of land was beneath his talents.

Night fell, and candlelight flickered in the dining hall on the first floor of the Castle.

The Six Horse Bandit Brothers gathered once more, raising their cups and drinking deeply in celebration.

Yesterday, Lynn had sent four of his brothers to the various manors to count the serfs and take possession of the properties left behind by the fleeing knights.

The brothers had been even more efficient than he expected. In just one day, they had completed all the work, and the numbers of people and properties matched the inventory of seized goods.

It was only after seeing those serfs and properties, and receiving the enthusiastic welcome of the local stewards and Farm Managers, that the brothers realized just how great a fortune they had gained and truly experienced the authority of knightly lords.

Now, they admired Lynn's decision-making to the utmost.

Living as Horse Bandits with their lives on the line truly was not as comfortable as being lords.

(End of Chapter)