A Hunger for Population (Double Chapter)

Chapter 36: A Hunger for Population (Double Chapter)

Leon arrived quickly and left just as hastily. This article is free to search: Zhaowang

He had only arrived in White Bear Territory that afternoon, taken a stroll around town, eaten dinner, and slept for the night. Early the next morning, he was already boarding a ship back to Three Rivers City.

He was in a hurry—eager to see that mysterious Salt Mine worth as much as a mountain of gold, and eager to send his younger sister to White Bear Territory.

Countless Northern Gold Shields were chasing after him. How could he not be in a hurry?

He gave Lynn the several crates of iron ingots and farming tools worth thirty gold coins for free, treating them as an early investment in the Salt Mine.

As for the white Demon Bear's hide and skeleton, he purchased them at a high price, paying 110 full-value Northern Gold Shields and giving up most of his profit margin. His sincerity was unmistakable.

Lao San, who had only just returned to White Bear Territory, would be traveling to Three Rivers City with Leon.

Lynn and Leon had now reached a preliminary agreement for cooperation, and Lynn had successfully taken Leon on as a follower.

However, Leon's loyalty was still only a little over fifty. On top of that, he was a Black Market Merchant who would call anyone with money his mother.

Therefore, Lynn needed someone trustworthy to keep an eye on Leon at all times and pass messages between both sides.

That meant burdening Lao San, the only one among his underlings capable of handling matters on his own.

This time, Lynn assigned five elite Horse Bandits to Lao San and gave him an additional difficult task.

It would also give those five underlings a chance to relax in Three Rivers City.

"Lao San, when you go to Three Rivers City this time, not only must you keep an eye on Leon for me, but you also need to recruit people for White Bear Territory. As long as they can work, even if they are penniless runaway serfs, find a way to bring them to White Bear Territory."

White Bear Territory had now gotten onto the right track. It could produce finely made Heavy Plows, and countless Compost piles were ready to go.

If nothing unexpected happened, White Bear Territory would certainly see an unprecedented bumper harvest this autumn.

A merchant partner for the Salt Mine had also been found. Once the road through the forest was repaired, vast amounts of wealth and resources would flow endlessly into White Bear Territory.

With money and food taken care of, the greatest problem before Lynn was simply people.

White Bear Territory currently had only a little over three thousand people. Even including Shallow Beach Territory to the south, there were only eight thousand people in total.

How could he accomplish anything great with so few people?

The Peat Mine and Salt Mine in the north alone would probably consume over a thousand workers.

Using the map function of the panel, Lynn would discover countless mineral deposits throughout the vast forest in the future.

Besides mining, he also needed to quickly build a powerful army capable of defending the Territory System.

All of this required a huge population. Relying on natural reproduction alone was simply unrealistic.

"Big Brother, Three Rivers City regularly expels unemployed vagrants from the city. Most of them are runaway serfs from various territories. If Leon is willing to cooperate, it should not be difficult to bring those serfs to White Bear Territory."

Lao San had been the first among the underlings to adjust his mindset, so he could fully understand Lynn's intentions.

When he had previously gone to Three Rivers City to deliver a letter, he had consciously observed the city's internal conditions.

Three Rivers City was a relatively large Autonomous City. By paying an annual tax, it enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy within the Marsh Duke's Territory System.

According to the city laws of this era, anyone who lived in an Autonomous City for a full year could obtain citizenship regardless of status and gain the right to reside in the city long-term.

Therefore, runaway serfs from the surrounding territories all regarded Three Rivers City as their first choice for settlement, hoping to obtain the "noble" status of citizen and escape the Lord's enslavement and oppression.

But the city did not support idle people.

Three Rivers City welcomed only young and beautiful women, skilled craftsmen, merchants with their own wealth, and Horse Bandits and mercenaries who spent money freely.

Unemployed vagrants who could not find work and had no money would be regularly driven out by the Three Rivers City Militia.

They either returned to the countryside and accepted the Lord's enslavement once more;

or died from hunger and cold in some dark corner of the city, becoming food for wild dogs or other runaway serfs.

Lao San came from no noble background. He hoped he could bring these serfs, who suffered enslavement and discrimination wherever they went, back to White Bear Territory.

Although White Bear Territory also practiced serfdom, at least the serfs there would not go hungry, and the Lord who ruled them was by no means cruel.

"I've already spoken with Leon about it. Discuss the matter with him, and he'll fully cooperate with you and provide ships to transport the serfs."

Lynn intended to cultivate Lao San's abilities, so he directly entrusted the entire task of recruiting serfs to him.

This was also because Lynn could not get away.

White Bear Territory was about to enter Spring Planting. Once the sowing was finished, large-scale projects such as road construction would begin without pause. He had to remain in the Territory System and truly could not split himself in two.

"Big Brother, I promise I won't disappoint you."

Lao San knew this trip's task was arduous, but he still accepted the burden with confidence.

He knew that Big Brother and White Bear Territory were his strongest support.

Lynn reminded him, "Also, don't focus only on serfs. Find ways to recruit more craftsmen, especially Blacksmiths.

Migrants from the Southern Border occasionally appear in Three Rivers City. Most of them possess skills and are precisely the talents most lacking in the Territory System. Find every possible way to bring them all to White Bear Territory. Money is not a problem."

At this time, more than a century had passed since the large-scale migration wave from the Southern Border to the Northern Border.

Yet even now, small groups of migrants still came by sea to the Northern Border, then traveled up the Quiet River deep into the Northern Kingdom's interior.

Most of these later arrivals had some sort of trade—in plain terms, they were various craftsmen, small merchants, and mercenaries who came to the Northern Border seeking opportunities with dreams of getting rich.

Once the Salt Mine opened, money would be the one thing Lynn lacked least.

As long as someone could work, he was willing to pay, and there would definitely be enough money.

The only Blacksmiths currently in White Bear Territory were Qi He's family, and their skills were truly terrible. They could not even earn the panel's one-star certification.

They could barely make farming tools, but crafting fine weapons was out of the question.

Lynn's future plan for a strong army required a large number of excellent Blacksmiths, so he could only recruit externally.

After giving Lao San his instructions in the study, Lynn personally went to the docks to see him and Leon off.

"My lord, I will bring my sister here as soon as possible. I also hope that when we meet again, you will be able to give me an even greater surprise."

Although Leon's face was piled with smiles, he was undoubtedly somewhat disappointed inside.

Last night, he had talked himself hoarse, yet he still failed to persuade Lynn to marry his precious younger sister.

But he had no choice. The profits from illegal salt were simply too tempting, so he could only obediently return to Three Rivers City and bring his sister over.

Lynn asked with a light chuckle, "What, is this Demon Bear skeleton still not enough to fill your appetite? Leon, you have more than a dozen large Magic Beast skeletons in your villa west of Three Rivers City. This skeleton is larger and more valuable than any of your collectibles."

"My lord... How did you know about that? This... I..."

Leon's expression changed drastically, leaving him too flustered to speak clearly.

This obscure hobby of collecting skeletons had never been mentioned to outsiders. Only his closest family members and old servants knew about it.

"I told you not to underestimate my intelligence network, Leon. I can grant you wealth and power, and naturally, I can also cast you into an abyss of fear. Understand?"

As Lynn's words fell, the Horse Bandits beside him suddenly revealed murderous expressions. Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!

A series of chilling sounds rang out across the docks as Longswords left their sheaths, and Leon's face instantly turned pale with fright.

Lynn understood very well that when dealing with a slick merchant like Leon, he needed both reward and intimidation.

It was like training a dog—you had to strike it with a stick before giving it food.

As for intelligence that seemed confidential, it was actually not difficult to obtain at all.

Lynn had merely sent two nimble horse bandit underlings to climb into the villa and take a look around.

In fact, before he had even come to White Bear Territory, he had already set his sights on Leon. Naturally, he had prepared all sorts of relevant intelligence in advance.

"Understood, understood, my lord! I will never entertain any thought of betraying you. I am your eternally loyal and dependable servant!"

Leon bent over like a shrimp and nodded furiously. He was truly

afraid.

He finally remembered that this seemingly gentle Lord before him was actually a horse bandit leader who acted without restraint and even dared to impersonate a baron.

A ruthless man like that naturally would not fear Leon's betrayal.

Even if Leon secretly reported the Salt Mine to the Marsh Duke, the Duke would certainly be unable to catch this group of Horse Bandits who came and went like the wind.

Instead, Leon and his family would become targets of the Horse Bandits' frenzied revenge, and their deaths would surely be horribly tragic.

At this moment, Leon completely understood that the instant he had stepped onto White Bear Territory yesterday, he had been destined to board the Horse Bandits' pirate ship.

And there was no longer any possibility of jumping off.

Either he would pursue wealth and power with the Horse Bandits, or they would all be smashed to pieces together.

No, even if they failed, it seemed that only he himself would be smashed to pieces?

The Single-masted Galley carrying Leon, Lao San, and the others gradually sailed away, becoming a tiny black dot on the White River.

Lynn led his subordinates back to the castle.

He could not stop, and naturally, he would not let the serfs in the Territory System stop either.

They had rested for a full week. There were now five days before Spring Planting officially began, so it was time to find some work for the serfs.

Old Albert had finally received another summons from the Lord and eagerly ran into the castle.

As for his son, Little Albert was now supervising the construction of Heavy Plows in White Bear Town in his place.

The manufacturing of Heavy Plows was now nearing its end.

Over the past twenty-odd days, the Blacksmiths and Carpenters of White Bear Town had worked at full capacity and produced more than 240 Heavy Plows.

During practical use, Old Albert discovered that having two horses pull a plow at once was more efficient, allowing them to plow ten mu of land in a day.

White Bear Territory currently had more than six hundred Draft Horses, all tall, sturdy, and hardy Northern Kingdom horses. They could plow three thousand mu a day, and within ten days, they could plow all thirty thousand-plus mu of farmland in the Territory System. Half of it was left fallow.

"There's a new technique. You will be responsible for promoting it."

The moment Lynn spoke, Old Albert felt as if he had heard heavenly music.

"My lord, what new technique?" Old Albert urgently asked.

"Seed selection."

Ever since exploring the Northern Forest, Lynn's [Planting] skill had risen to level two and unlocked more agricultural knowledge.

Among it was a complete set of seed-selection techniques that could be applied in White Bear Territory.

Seed selection meant choosing high-quality, healthy, plump seeds before sowing and removing relatively poor seeds.

For one mu of land, even with the same fifteen kilograms of seeds planted, selecting the seeds first could increase the final yield by at least ten percent.

"Seed selection? My lord, the seeds in White Bear Territory have always been carefully selected. During the previous Autumn Harvest, we set aside the strongest and plumpest wheat seeds."

Old Albert was somewhat confused. Hadn't seed selection been passed down for several centuries already?

Could there have been something wrong with the old method?

After Lynn's guidance, Old Albert now dared not hold even the slightest doubt toward the Lord.

Whenever there was a disagreement, he would definitely first search for the problem in himself.

In short, the Lord had to be right. If anyone was wrong, it could only be him.

"Your seed-selection method isn't exactly wrong. It's simply far too inadequate and has plenty of room for improvement."

Lynn found verbal explanations too troublesome, so he simply ordered the two sturdy maids to fetch a sack of Oats seeds from the warehouse, then instructed them to prepare a large vat of clean water outside.

He personally demonstrated the process while explaining to Old Albert how to select seeds scientifically.

The main food crops in White Bear Territory were Rye and Oats. The former was for people, while the latter was for horses.

Both crops could use the liquid seed-selection method.

Liquid seed selection meant adding roughly twenty percent impurity-free soil to a vat of clean water, then stirring it repeatedly so the water and soil mixed thoroughly into evenly colored muddy water.

The seeds were then poured into the muddy water and stirred again until they were completely soaked.

After letting it sit for around ten minutes, the seeds would separate into layers according to how plump they were.

The plumpest, highest-quality seeds would sink to the bottom, while unfilled seeds and impurities would float on the surface of the muddy water.

While Lynn personally demonstrated, Yagna, who had nothing better to do, also came over to watch.

"They're floating! They really floated up!"

She witnessed the entire process of liquid seed selection. When she saw the seeds automatically separating into layers in the muddy water, she cried out in surprise.

Old Albert stared thoughtfully at the densely packed layer of seeds floating on the muddy water's surface.

"So we've been planting inferior seeds that couldn't germinate in our fields all this time. That's why our harvests have always been so poor."

Many seeds appeared fairly plump on the outside, but during a winter of storage, their insides had already become diseased and shriveled, or suffered insect damage.

Lynn took the towel handed over by a maid, wiped his hands, and continued explaining.

"This is only the first step. After selection, the high-quality seeds need to be shade-dried and kept out of direct sunlight. Once they have dried, they must be screened again to remove damaged or diseased seeds. Only what remains at the end are superior seeds suitable for planting."

"My lord, I'll promote this technique throughout the entire Territory System immediately! I'll make sure every serf household follows your instructions!"

In truth, after that seven-meter-tall Demon Bear had been killed, Old Albert's work had become several times easier.

The serfs all knew that the new Lord was wise and mighty. To protect the Territory System and its local residents, he had personally hunted the terrifying Magic Beast despite the enormous danger.

Old Albert only needed to say that the new technique had been brought back by the Lord from Cold Wind Valley, and the serfs would not feel much resistance.

To put it plainly, the serfs only wanted hot porridge to eat and warm clothes to wear, so that they could survive and multiply in the cruel Northern Border. That was enough.

Whoever could protect them, they were willing to listen to.

Many thanks to Amethyst Count, Little Shrimp in the Stream, and the other readers for their support and tips!

(End of Chapter)