Lynn did not stop. He immediately set out to inspect the territory once more.
This time, his entourage included Second Brother, several Horse Bandit underlings, and Little Albert, Old Albert's son.
Old Albert did not accompany them this time. Supervising the construction of Heavy Plows in White Bear Town was already enough to keep him busy.
Although Old Albert had solemnly sworn that both Compost and Heavy Plow production were progressing in an orderly manner, and that the compost was nearly complete—enough to cover the Public Land belonging to his lordship—
Lynn still needed to inspect the territory himself.
Who knew whether the stewards and Farm Managers below were slacking off?
All of Lynn's plans rested on an ample food supply.
Without food, he could not gather people to build roads and open mines, nor could he settle more outsiders.
Without sufficient funds and population, expanding the army would naturally be out of the question.
A journey of a thousand miles began beneath one's feet. He had to ensure the success of this Spring Planting.
After leaving the castle, Lynn headed south along the smooth road to inspect the territory.
No. 1 Manor, directly administered by the Lord, occupied more than half the territory's farmland and population.
Within the vast No. 1 Manor were more than a dozen small villages.
Lynn's first stop was a serf village south of the castle, home to around two hundred people.
Before entering, he did not send anyone ahead to announce his arrival. Instead, he conducted a surprise inspection, giving the village farm manager quite a fright.
Fortunately, the inspection results satisfied Lynn greatly.
Over the past ten days, all the village's excrement had been made into compost. Even the mysterious village dirt roads had been forcibly scraped down by a layer.
The price was that the serfs had been forced to work overtime for ten days, from dawn until dusk.
Looking at the dense piles of compost beside the Strip Fields, each one like a burial mound, Lynn could not help sighing inwardly. Serfdom was not entirely without its merits.
Although its productivity was low, this powerful ability to mobilize people at the grassroots level was indeed a major advantage of serfdom.
The defining feature of serfdom was the personal dependency between serfs and their Lord.
In principle, serfs were the Lord's private property.
Without the Lord's permission, they could not freely leave the villages to which they belonged.
During the busy farming season, they had to work for the Lord at least three days a week in exchange for the right to use Allotment Land.
During the slack season, they still had to obey the Lord's arrangements and undertake all manner of heavy Corvée.
More than that, every aspect of the serfs' lives—birth, aging, sickness, death, marriage, and funerals—was closely tied to the Lord.
They had to pay a tax to register a child, pay another for the child to inherit land, and even seek the Lord's consent before the child could marry. Even burial after death required the Lord's approval.
The so-called "right of the first night" was, in truth, merely a distorted version of the Marriage Tax. If it was not paid, the Lord had the right to annul the marriage.
In fact, any Lord with even a little taste would be unlikely to fancy peasant girls who spent all day scratching out a living in the fields.
It was precisely through this personal dependency that Lynn needed only give an order for farmers across the entire territory to gather that foul-smelling excrement.
The shortcomings of serfdom were also obvious: low productivity.
Even in the relatively obedient White Bear Territory, the Baron still had to establish an entire management system to supervise the serfs' work.
Human laziness was carved into the marrow.
Especially when someone was made to do something that had almost nothing to do with his own interests.
When serfs farmed the Lord's Public Land, they received nothing but a simple lunch. They had to spend at least three days a week on it, and even had to bring their own tools and Draft Horses. Under such circumstances, their efficiency was easy to imagine.
The village Lynn was currently inspecting had managed to gather all its excrement within ten days mainly because the stewards and Farm Managers had pushed them harshly.
"My lord, during the week you were away from the territory, I came to this village every day. These serfs are stupid, lazy, and greedy. If they are not driven forward with whips, they will never obediently follow orders."
Little Albert was eager to display his achievements before Lynn. He even had a male serf remove his shirt on the spot, revealing the dark red whip marks across his back.
Explaining the necessity of making compost to every serf with words was an almost impossible task.
Compared to words, the whip was the best teacher.
Once the whip came down, whether he understood or not, he would understand.
Besides, ordinary flogging was not enough to make serfs abandon their homes and flee.
A few beatings would not kill anyone. Crushing taxes were the invisible weapon that truly killed.
In Little Albert's view, the taxes in White Bear Territory were already light enough—at least lighter than those in neighboring Shallow Beach Territory.
Aside from farming the Public Land, the serfs barely had to pay any additional taxes. They could even save a little money every year.
A few whippings in exchange for such superior living conditions were an absolute blessing.
Lynn neither praised nor criticized Little Albert's work. He simply continued his inspection southward.
The next two villages he inspected were much the same. All the excrement that could be found had been gathered and made into compost.
Lynn even specifically checked the quality of the compost. The piles were all very well sealed and clearly generating heat.
Besides that, Heavy Plows had gradually begun spreading throughout White Bear Territory. He saw them in the homes of several serfs.
At noon, Lynn's inspection party stopped briefly at a farm manager's house.
He specifically called Little Albert over and praised him. "Well done. You are as outstanding as your father."
"My lord, this is merely my duty. It is my honor to serve you."
Little Albert was ecstatic inside, but he kept his expression under control, perfectly inheriting Old Albert's bearing.
As the son of the current Territory Steward, Little Albert's greatest dream was to inherit his father's position and continue his family's influence in White Bear Territory.
Lynn greatly appreciated this father and son, who seemed cast from the same mold, and would continue employing them in the future.
People could not be judged outside the context of their era.
Within a feudal manor, the Alberts already counted as outstanding grassroots management talent. The Lord panel had given them ratings of two stars and one star respectively.
With their help, they could save Lynn an untold amount of trouble.
Seeing Little Albert receive praise from his lordship, the farm manager present was filled with envy and jealousy. He hurriedly brought out the carefully prepared lunch.
"My lord, please try the roasted leg of lamb and Pea Porridge my wife made. Her cooking is the best in the village."
To please his lordship, the farm manager had slaughtered the fattest sheep in his household, brought out the Dried Peas stored last autumn, and even added two spoonfuls of expensive wheat flour to the porridge.
Just as Lynn picked up his spoon, intending to warm his stomach with the porridge, Old Albert's urgent voice suddenly came from outside.
"My lord, my lord! Are you inside?"
"I am. What is it?"
"My lord, this is bad! A Magic Beast has appeared in the west of the territory!"
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(End of Chapter)
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