The Thirst for Population (Combined)

Leon arrived quickly and left in just as much of a hurry.

He had arrived at White Bear Territory that afternoon, toured the town, eaten dinner, and slept, only to board a ship back to Three Rivers City at the crack of dawn the next day.

He was in a rush—anxious to see the mysterious salt mine that was worth its weight in gold, and equally anxious to bring his younger sister to White Bear Territory.

Countless Northern Gold Shields were on his trail, leaving him no room to dawdle.

He had gifted the crates of iron ingots and farm tools, worth thirty gold coins, to Lynn as an early investment in the salt mine.

As for the hide and skeleton of the white Demon Bear, he had purchased them at a high price, paying 110 full-value Northern Gold Shields and sacrificing most of his profit margin to show his absolute sincerity.

Accompanying Leon back to Three Rivers City was Lao San, who had just returned to White Bear Territory.

Lynn and Leon had reached a preliminary agreement on their partnership, and Lynn had successfully taken Leon on as a follower.

However, Leon's loyalty was still only hovering around fifty, and he was, after all, a Black Market Merchant who would call anyone with milk his mother.

Therefore, Lynn needed someone he could trust to monitor Leon at all times and serve as a liaison between the two parties.

This meant putting the burden on Lao San, the only one among his underlings capable of handling things on his own.

Lynn equipped Lao San with five elite Horse Bandits for this trip and gave him an additional, arduous task.

It was also a chance for these five underlings to relax in Three Rivers City.

"Lao San, on this trip to Three Rivers City, you aren't just watching Leon for me. You are also to recruit people for White Bear Territory. As long as they can work, even if they are nothing but runaway serfs with nothing to their names, find a way to drag them back to White Bear Territory."

White Bear Territory was now on the right track; they could produce high-quality heavy plows, and countless compost piles were ready for use.

Barring any accidents, White Bear Territory was bound to see an unprecedented harvest this autumn.

The merchant partner for the salt mine had been found, and once the road through the forest was completed, a massive influx of wealth and resources would flow into White Bear Territory.

With the problems of money and grain solved, the biggest challenge remaining before Lynn was 'people'.

White Bear Territory currently had a population of just over three thousand, and even including Shallow Beach Territory to the south, the total was only eight thousand.

How could he accomplish great things with so few people?

The peat mine and the salt mine in the north alone would likely consume over a thousand laborers.

Through the map function of his panel, Lynn knew he would discover countless more mineral deposits in the vast forest in the future.

Beyond mining, he also needed to build a formidable army to guard the territory as soon as possible.

All of this required a large population, and relying on natural reproduction was simply unrealistic.

"Big Brother, Three Rivers City regularly expels the unemployed from within its walls. Most of these people are runaway serfs from various territories. If Leon is willing to cooperate, it shouldn't be difficult to get these serfs to White Bear Territory."

Lao San was the first among the underlings to undergo a change in mindset, which allowed him to fully grasp Lynn's intentions.

When he had gone to deliver letters to Three Rivers City previously, he had consciously observed the city's internal ecosystem.

Three Rivers City was a large 'Autonomous City' that enjoyed a degree of autonomy on the Marsh Duke's land by paying an annual tax.

According to the city's laws, anyone who lived in the autonomous city for a full year could gain citizenship regardless of their status and had the right to reside there long-term.

Therefore, runaway serfs from surrounding territories made Three Rivers City their primary destination, hoping to obtain 'noble' citizenship and escape the slavery and oppression of their lords.

But the city did not support idlers.

Three Rivers City only welcomed young, beautiful women, craftsmen with specialized skills, merchants with their own wealth, and Horse Bandits or mercenaries who threw money around.

The unemployed who could not find work and were penniless were regularly driven out by the Three Rivers City Militia.

They either returned to the countryside to accept enslavement by their lords once more, or they died of hunger and cold in the dark corners of the city, becoming food for wild dogs or other runaway serfs.

Lao San's background was not noble, and he hoped to bring these serfs, who faced slavery and discrimination wherever they went, back to White Bear Territory.

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

"I have already spoken to Leon. Discuss the details with him; he will cooperate with you fully and provide the ships to transport the serfs."

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

This was also because Lynn could not get away.

White Bear Territory was about to enter the spring plowing and planting season.

Once the planting was finished, he would have to immediately start large-scale projects like road construction. He had to remain in the territory; he truly could not spare himself.

"Big Brother, I promise I won't let you down."

Lao San knew the task was arduous, but he accepted the heavy burden with full confidence.

He knew that his Big Brother and White Bear Territory were his most solid backing.

Lynn reminded him: "Also, don't just focus on serfs. Find a way to recruit more craftsmen, especially blacksmiths. Three Rivers City sees immigrants from the Southern Border from time to time. Most of them possess skills and are the talent the territory currently lacks most. Do everything in your power to get them to White Bear Territory. Money is no object."

At this point, over a hundred years had passed since the massive wave of migration from the Southern Border to the Northern Kingdom.

But even today, small groups of immigrants still arrived in the north by sea and traveled along the Quiet River deep into the interior of the Northern Kingdom.

Most of these latecomers possessed some skill—craftsmen, small merchants, and mercenaries—who came to the north seeking opportunities with dreams of striking it rich.

Once the salt mine opened, money would be the last thing Lynn lacked.

As long as they had skills, he was willing to pay, and there would be plenty of money to go around.

The existing blacksmith in White Bear Territory, that is, Qi He's family, had such poor skills that they couldn't even earn a one-star rating on the panel.

They were barely passable for making farm tools, but crafting fine weapons was out of the question.

Lynn's future plan for a strong army required many excellent blacksmiths, so he had to recruit from outside.

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

"My Lord, I will bring my sister as soon as possible. I hope that when we meet again, you will have an even greater surprise for me."

Although Leon's face was full of smiles, he was undoubtedly disappointed inside.

Last night, he had exhausted his eloquence, but he had failed to convince Lynn to take his precious sister as a wife.

But he had no choice; the profits from illicit salt were too tempting. He had to obediently return to Three Rivers City to fetch his sister.

Lynn asked with a light laugh: "What, is the skeleton of this Demon Bear not enough to satisfy your appetite? Leon, you have over a dozen large magic beast skeletons in your villa west of Three Rivers City. This one is larger and more valuable than any of your other collections."

"My Lord... how could you know about that? This... I..."

Leon's complexion changed drastically, leaving him stammering.

This niche hobby of collecting skeletons was something he had never told outsiders; only his closest family and old servants knew.

"I said, do not underestimate my intelligence network. Leon, I can grant you wealth and power, but I can just as easily cast you into an abyss of terror. Do you understand?"

As Lynn finished speaking, the Horse Bandits beside him suddenly revealed their killing intent. Shing, shing, shing, shing.

The chilling sound of longswords being drawn echoed across the dock, and Leon turned deathly pale with fright.

Lynn knew very well that to deal with a slippery merchant like Leon, one had to use both kindness and force.

It was like training a dog; you had to give it a stick before you gave it a treat.

As for this seemingly secret information, it was actually not hard to obtain.

Lynn had simply sent two nimble Horse Bandit underlings to climb into the villa and take a look around.

In fact, he had been eyeing Leon even before he arrived at White Bear Territory, so all relevant intelligence had naturally been prepared in advance.

"I understand, I understand, My Lord! I will never harbor any thoughts of betraying you. I am your forever loyal and reliable servant!"

Leon bowed like a shrimp, nodding like a chicken pecking at rice; he was truly terrified.

He finally remembered that the seemingly amiable lord before him was actually a ruthless bandit leader who acted without restraint and even dared to impersonate a baron.

Such a vicious man would certainly not fear his betrayal.

Even if he secretly reported the news of the salt mine to the Marsh Duke, the Duke would never be able to catch these Horse Bandits who came and went like the wind.

Instead, he and his family would become the targets of the bandits' insane retaliation, and their deaths would surely be miserable.

At this very moment, Leon understood completely: the moment he stepped onto the soil of White Bear Territory yesterday, he was destined to board the bandits' ship.

And there was no possibility of jumping off.

Either follow the bandits in pursuit of wealth and power, or be crushed to pieces together.

Wait, even if they failed, it seemed only he would be the one crushed to pieces?

The single-masted galley carrying Leon, Lao San, and the others gradually drifted away, turning into 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 stop either.

After a full week of rest, with five days left until the official spring plowing, it was time to find some work for these serfs.

Old Albert finally received another summons from the lord and trotted into the castle.

As for his son, Little Albert, he was currently in White Bear Town overseeing the construction of the heavy plows.

The production of the heavy plows was nearing its end.

Over the past twenty days, the blacksmiths and carpenters of White Bear Town had been working at full capacity, producing a total of over two hundred and forty heavy plows.

In actual operation, Old Albert discovered that having two horses pull the plow simultaneously was more efficient, allowing them to plow ten acres of land in a single day.

White Bear Territory currently had over six hundred draft horses, all of them tall, sturdy, and resilient Northern horses. They could plow three thousand acres a day, meaning they could finish the territory's thirty thousand acres of farmland (half of which was fallow) in ten days.

"There is a new technique. I want you to be responsible for promoting it."

As soon as Lynn spoke, Old Albert felt as if he had heard the music of the heavens.

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

"Seed selection."

Back when he was exploring the northern forest, Lynn's [Planting] skill had already reached level two, unlocking more agricultural knowledge.

Among these, the one applicable to White Bear Territory was a complete set of seed selection techniques.

Seed selection meant choosing high-quality, healthy, and plump seeds before sowing, and weeding out those of relatively inferior quality.

If you sowed fifteen kilograms of seeds per acre, after performing seed selection, the final yield would increase by at least ten percent.

"Seed selection? My Lord, the seeds in White Bear Territory are already carefully selected. We save the strongest and plumpest wheat seeds during the autumn harvest every year."

Old Albert was a bit puzzled. Hadn't this technique been passed down for hundreds of years?

Was there something wrong with the old method?

After Lynn's training, Old Albert no longer dared to harbor the slightest doubt toward his lord.

Whenever a disagreement arose, he would certainly start by looking for the cause within himself.

In short, the lord must be right; the one who was wrong could only be himself.

"Your method of seed selection isn't wrong, but it is far too lacking. There is still a great deal of room for improvement."

Lynn felt that explaining it with words was too troublesome, so he simply ordered two sturdy maids to fetch a sack of oat seeds from the warehouse and told them to prepare a large vat of clear water outside.

He demonstrated it himself while explaining to Old Albert how to scientifically select seeds.

The main food crops in White Bear Territory were rye and oats; the former was for people, the latter for horses.

Both crops could be processed using liquid seed selection.

Liquid seed selection involved adding about twenty percent impurity-free soil to a vat of clear water and stirring it multiple times until the water and soil were fully mixed into a uniform, muddy liquid.

Then, the wheat seeds were poured into the muddy water and stirred again until they were completely soaked.

After letting it sit for about ten minutes, the seeds would separate into layers based on their plumpness.

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

As Lynn demonstrated, Yagna, who was bored, ran over to watch.

"They're floating! They're really floating!"

She witnessed the entire process of liquid seed selection with her own eyes, and when she saw the seeds automatically separating in the muddy water, she shouted in surprise.

Old Albert stared at the dense layer of wheat seeds floating on the surface of the muddy water and said thoughtfully:

"So, we have been planting inferior seeds that couldn't sprout into the fields all this time, which is why the harvest has always been so dismal."

Many seeds looked plump on the outside, but inside, they had already become diseased or shriveled during a winter of storage, or had been damaged by pests.

Lynn took a towel from a maid, wiped his hands, and explained:

"This is only the first step. After the selection is complete, the high-quality seeds must be air-dried in the shade, avoiding direct sunlight. After they are air-dried, they must be screened again to pick out damaged or diseased seeds. Only what remains are the excellent seeds that can be used for planting."

"My Lord, I will promote this technique to the entire territory immediately! I will make sure every serf household follows your instructions!"

In fact, after that seven-meter-tall Demon Bear had been killed, the difficulty of Old Albert's work had dropped by several orders of magnitude.

The serfs all knew that their new lord was wise and martial, having risked great danger to hunt down the terrifying magic beast himself to protect the territory and its people.

Old Albert only needed to claim that the new technique was brought by the lord from Cold Wind Valley, and the serfs would not harbor much resistance.

To put it simply, the serfs just wanted to eat hot porridge, wear warm clothes, and live and multiply in this cruel north; that was enough.

Whoever could protect their safety, they were willing to listen to.

A thousand thanks to book friends like Earl Amethyst and Little Shrimp in the Creek for their generous tips and support!

(End of chapter)