Master of Drawing Cakes

Of all the things under heaven, spring plowing is the most important.

In the agricultural economy era, all political and economic activities had to give way to food production.

With the arrival of the spring planting season, the previously turbulent situation in the two counties instantly calmed down.

Hudson didn't have time to stir up any more trouble. In fact, from beginning to end, he had only set up a stage; the rest of the performance was up to everyone to improvise.

The less involved, the fewer problems are exposed. Unless someone is paying close attention, they probably wouldn't even notice that Hudson was involved.

Aside from adding "Swamp Brand" fertilizer, Hudson didn't try anything new. Mainly, he was unfamiliar with farming techniques and didn't dare to give unsolicited instructions.

Having already reaped the benefits of fertilizer, Hudson is clearly preparing to continue. It's worth noting that during the last spring harvest, the average yield of rye per acre reached an astonishing 203 pounds.

This figure, in an era when the average yield per acre was only 140 to 150 pounds, was an exceptionally bumper harvest.

If the serfs hadn't had limited knowledge, only knowing that their territory had a bumper harvest but not the specific yield, the news would have caused a sensation throughout the entire Alpha Kingdom.

Spring grain yields were already low, yet they still broke records. Who would believe it if it weren't for divine blessings?

Hudson prefers to keep a low profile and make a fortune quietly; he's not about to do anything that requires him to show off.

If everyone's grain harvest were to be abundant, it wouldn't be a good thing for the nobles of the Southeast Province.

When those guys in the Northern Frontier are freed from the constraints of food supplies, the balance of the kingdom will be broken, inevitably triggering a new round of political struggle.

With the kingdom in disarray and no system of rules to protect it, the fledgling Mountain Territory could not withstand the storms of war.

Two mere infantry regiments might be able to rule as kings within a prefecture, but if placed in the eye of a storm, they would be pulverized in an instant.

The plains are planted with rye and potatoes as staple crops, and a small amount of wheat. The only difference is this year's seed, which is selected from larger grains.

Breeding superior varieties was far too difficult, completely beyond Hudson's comprehension, so he could only use the most rudimentary method for selection.

How effective it will be depends entirely on the blessing of the Lord of Dawn. Hudson's expectations are not high; an increase of three to five pounds per acre would be considered a bonus.

The newly reclaimed wasteland was used entirely for planting oil crops such as peanuts, soybeans, and flax.

Even with the use of Swamp Brand fertilizer, Hudson still had no yield requirements for the newly reclaimed land; he would harvest as much as he could.

The Mountain Territory currently suffers from a severe imbalance between its population and arable land, and will have to rely on large-scale external grain purchases to supplement its food supply for the next few years.

This year's annual plan is to increase the food self-sufficiency rate to one-third.

It's not that it can't be higher, it's just not worth it. Originally, Hudson wanted to rely on fertilizer and abandon land fallow, but after weighing the pros and cons, he was forced to give up.

If the grain yield is slightly higher than expected, it can be concealed. Even if people notice something, no one will care.

After all, the Southeast Province are renowned for their high grain production. Apart from Hudson, who is an exception, the other territories do not experience food shortages as long as they are cultivated normally.

Even though a large amount of grain was sold to the northern lands every year, after meeting their own needs, everyone still had a considerable surplus.

They've long been used to bumper harvests and wouldn't care if their neighbors harvested an extra three or five pounds.

Breaking the fallow system would change everything. It would instantly attract countless eyes, and once a method to maintain yields without fallowing is discovered, Hudson can't even imagine the scene.

The sowing went very smoothly, and everyone was focused on their own fields, so no one had time to do anything else.

Even when Baron Cayo entered the Fallen Leaf Territory during the spring planting season, it did not cause any ripples in the outside world, as if everything was going smoothly.

After more than ten busy days of sorting out affairs in the territory, everyone's attention finally turned to Baron Cayo.

For a time, it was a place where guests gathered in droves, and nobles came to visit in an endless stream every day.

All of this had nothing to do with Hudson. While everyone else's territory was finished with their work, the Mountain Territory's work was just beginning.

In the mining area, people are busy all year round. Ordinary workers only get two or three days off a month, and they basically have to take turns working every ten days.

Even the busiest spring planting season did not affect production in the mining area. With a sufficient labor force, Lord Hudson had no intention of having the workers go to the fields to plow.

The biggest change is in land reclamation. Last year, after several months of hard work, only 33,000 mu of mountain land was reclaimed, which was clearly not enough to satisfy Lord Hudson's appetite.

This year's goals are much more ambitious than last year's. As early as the beginning of the year, Hudson shouted the slogan of "reclaiming 100,000 acres of wasteland".

At the command of a nobleman, his servants would run themselves ragged.

In order to prevent the reclamation of 100,000 acres from becoming a joke, Hudson also made corresponding plans.

The task allocation to each unit was necessary. After the turmoil of the previous few months, the serfs had become accustomed to the task assignments.

Most importantly, there are rewards for exceeding the task targets. To motivate everyone, Hudson generously announced that one-third of the land reclaimed beyond the target would be designated as "public land."

The property rights naturally belonged to Lord Hudson, but the profits generated from this "public land" could be shared among the serfs who were "protected".

It's certain that specific portions of land designated as public land won't be allocated. How could the cunning Lord Hudson possibly discriminate?

People take better care of their own land than others. If it were truly divided up, the grain yield of the public fields would undoubtedly be outstanding.

Therefore, the income from public fields is calculated based on the average yield of all mountain lands, and after deducting the cost of cultivation, the extra income is then distributed to everyone.

Such a complex calculation method was clearly somewhat difficult for the serfs. However, as the lowest rung of society, everyone understood one thing—they would receive a larger share of grain.

Most importantly, this doesn't mean receiving an extra portion of grain, but rather receiving a portion of grain in addition to the regular food rations at each harvest.

A year of hard work, a lifetime of grain rations. Such a good thing is rare.

Those who had initially thought Lord Hudson was the most greedy vampire instantly lowered their heads in shame. It was truly inappropriate; how could they criticize the most generous lord in the world?

Although everyone has been busy all year round since following Lord Hudson, the food standards have been rising steadily!

In particular, Lord Hudson never added pebbles, sawdust, dirt, or other unpalatable things to his bread.

Eating well naturally leads to higher expenses. Doing more work is therefore justified.

Besides, the work in the fields is ultimately limited. Clearing land is nothing new; it's a story passed down from generation to generation, and most people have heard of it.

The noble lord's territory is not unlimited. Anyway, he will only be busy for a few years. Once the land is cultivated, he will naturally be able to relax.

People all yearn for a better life, and Hudson's successful promises quickly calmed the restless hearts of the serfs.

They were all dreaming of a better future. But they subconsciously forgot that Lord Hudson's territory was clearly abnormally large.

These are minor issues; once the extra food is distributed, it will be enough to appease everyone's discontent.

Hudson would never be stingy in this regard. The more he gave to his underlings, the more he, as the boss, would get.

Not only were pie-in-the-sky promises made to the serfs, but even the miners and blacksmiths in the mountains received similar incentives.

As long as you exceed the task requirements, the rewards will be substantial. As for the difficulty of the task, as long as the rewards are plentiful, is that even a problem?

The only ones who couldn't be promised a happy ending were probably the Beastfolk slaves. Even after months of training, only a few Beastfolk had mastered a few simple words.

"Time to eat," "Time to work," "Time to sleep," "Time to get up"...

To communicate, one would have to play the piano for a group of animals. Their intelligence isn't necessarily higher than...

There's no example to give. Animals aren't very intelligent, but once they become monsters, their intelligence skyrockets.

Just look at the bear you raise at home; its intelligence far surpasses that of humans of the same age.

The bear cub, not even three years old, was able to direct people to milk cows and sheep, and even falsely relay Hudson's orders to have soldiers find honey for it.

Finally, with no other option, the Mountain Territory had to start a beekeeping business to feed the Young Bear.

Hudson admires his own courage for going into beekeeping without any prior experience or technical skills.

Fortunately, we don't have to do it ourselves, otherwise we won't see any honey, and the bees will be wiped out first.

The reality was much the same; Lord Hudson was inexperienced, and so were the serfs. Everyone was used to eating wild honey and had no idea what beekeeping was all about.

However, due to the Young Bear's appetites, we had to start from scratch and gradually accumulate experience through practice.

If it succeeds, it will create a new industry; if it fails, it will just be a waste of a few workers, since "Bear" will be responsible for paying their salaries anyway.

This is a special cooperative model that Hudson developed after constantly interacting with Young Bear and summarizing countless experiences.

Beldens works for him and has to pay him wages; conversely, Bear has to be responsible for his own daily expenses and training needs.

No one suffers a loss, and no one gains an advantage.

As of now, Lord Bear has accumulated a five-figure debt to Hudson. And this number continues to rise.

According to the rules agreed upon by both parties, with a fee of one gold coin Lord Bear, it would take tens of thousands of slaps to pay off the debt.

If a protracted war doesn't break out, this debt will likely become a lifelong burden.

However, Beldens Stearns has no problem at all. The reason they're offering such a low price now is because he's not yet an adult. Once he comes of age, the fees will be different.

Unfortunately, although the Young Bear's strength was rapidly increasing, its physical development remained at the level of a normal bear. And the unscrupulous Lord Hudson, being a man of principle, insisted on following the rules of the Earth Bear clan in everything.

Physical size represents strength; anything exceeding that is not recognized. In all these millennia, Beldens has been the only exception, so there's no need for special treatment.

With his masterful persuasion, Beldens, in a daze, signed a new cooperation agreement in a muddle, and from then on became a wage slave.

If it weren't for his pride, Lord Bear would have quit long ago. The mutual aid agreement they signed back then was so much better—it included food and lodging and offered a high degree of freedom.

Now the relationship between the two sides is truly equal. It's just that everything—food, clothing, and daily necessities—has to be paid for, and calculated according to prevailing market prices.

Of course, the ultimate reason why he didn't back out was that Xiong Sheng's life hadn't changed much.

Eat, drink, and sleep as usual. As long as you don't think too much about it, the debt is just a bunch of numbers.

Working to pay off debts? That's out of the question. Beldens isn't a hardworking bear; its greatest contribution is providing security for its creditors.

Regardless of how the debt changes, it's impossible for him to mistreat his bodyguards; Xiong's standard of living is guaranteed.

Even Warcraft players understand the pros and cons and choose the lifestyle most advantageous to themselves. In comparison, the intelligence of Beastfolk is truly worrying.

Of course, this is also because Hudson's forces consisted of a bunch of trash Beastfolk, representing the lowest level of Beastfolk.

Beastfolk are a highly intelligent race representing the pinnacle of intelligence, no less so than humans. Unfortunately, these highly intelligent Beastfolk races are not only clever, but also incredibly strong.

In Dadir City, Baron Ciss, having finished dealing with matters of his territory, finally had some free time to consider how to handle his relationship with the Mountain Territory.

While playing with a pair of Golden Horse in his hands, he accidentally used too much force, and the Golden Horse revealed their true colors.

It turned out that it was just plated with gold on the outside, but the inside was actually cast iron. No wonder he felt something was wrong when he held it in his hand.

"Hudson, you stingy bastard! You can't even be a little more generous with gifts, giving people this junk, aren't you ashamed of yourself..."

Enraged, Baron Ciss couldn't help but curse. It was outrageous! Covering iron with a layer of gold and sending it as a gift—clearly, they didn't take him seriously.

"Young master, please take a closer look at the Golden Horse to see if there are any mechanisms or writings or anything like that."

Baron Hudson is no frivolous man. Whether he's trying to curry favor with you or to provoke you, he wouldn't send such a meaningless Golden Horse.

Butler Feren reminded him.

These are lessons learned over the years. Hudson and the Ciss each represent the interests of different factions, and their identities make it inappropriate for them to form a private relationship.

Whether you want to ease tensions or stir up trouble, you should at least send something symbolic, something that people can understand.

What's the big deal about giving a pair of Golden Horse as a gift?

Swords and spears?

Examining the iron horse carefully, Baron Ciss finally discovered a few lines of small writing under its belly. His previously gloomy expression gradually softened.

"You guessed right, Hudson does want to ease tensions with us. But it's not a normal easing of tensions; it's about maintaining a tight exterior while relaxing the interior."

According to him, on the surface, our two families will continue to quarrel. However, we need to control the scale of the conflict and keep the disputes to themselves.

It seems that the arrival of Baron Cayo has put him under considerable pressure. Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of putting on an act with us.

Theoretically, this should be a good thing. But now I'm hesitant about whether to cooperate with him.

Of all the clever people in the two counties who have been making a fuss for months, the only one who has never suffered a loss is this Mountain Baron.

Looking at his every move, it seems that he was forced to do it, but in reality, wasn't he deliberately guiding it?

Although easing tensions between the two families will greatly reduce our pressure, being led by the nose by him forever is probably...

It wasn't that the Ciss lacked decisiveness; it was just that he had suffered too many losses before, and now, facing Hudson, he couldn't help but be more cautious.

Siluke

"Young master, it doesn't matter whether Baron Hudson has other plans. The key is whether easing tensions at this moment is truly in our best interest."

As long as it aligns with our interests, we don't need to delve into his other schemes.

Baron Cayo's arrival diminished his appeal to the local nobility. This might not have a significant impact on Hudson's military strength, but the political consequences would be considerable.

Taking retaliatory action is a logical next step. As for Baron Cayo, his Dalton Family lineage destined us to be on opposite sides.

The old man calmly analyzed the situation.

After all, he had served under Grand Duke Cavadia. Perhaps his abilities weren't outstanding, but his vision was unmatched by ordinary people.

The human heart is the most unpredictable thing; it is extremely difficult to fully understand someone else's schemes.

Instead of blindly speculating, it's better to ignore it. If it aligns with our own interests, we can cooperate; otherwise, we must sabotage it.

The ability to make decisions without basing them on personal preferences is an essential quality of a mature aristocrat.

After a moment of silence, Baron Ciss slowly nodded. "You're right, I really shouldn't have thought too much about it."

It seems that my trip south was the right one. If I hadn't encountered so many rivals and suffered so many setbacks, I wouldn't have realized how many shortcomings I actually have.

This Mountain Baron is no ordinary man!

Just a few days ago they were having a huge fight with us, but now that the situation has changed, they can turn around and try to make amends as if nothing ever happened.

I am ashamed of myself for my ability to change faces so easily.

With that kind of temperament, coupled with his terrifying luck, it would be difficult to subdue this person.

A deep sense of dread was palpable, a lingering effect of the Beastfolk slavery incident. Despite Hudson's best efforts to minimize his presence, the sheer number of serfs entering the Mountain Territory couldn't be concealed.

Without spending a single gold coin, he opened up a new market, acquired the labor force he desired, and consequently divided the Northern Aristocrats faction. Such an opponent made Baron Ciss unable to help but be wary.

"Young master, if you can't suppress it, then don't suppress it! Luck can't always be with you, and some things are destined to be rushed."

Years later, when you look back, you'll find that most of the once-prominent figures have faded into the dust of history, while a group of seemingly ordinary people have stood the test of time.

The Grand Duke had encountered similar opponents in the past. But these lucky ones could enjoy their glory for ten or twenty years, but it was difficult for them to remain so for a lifetime.

Dealing with this kind of person requires a gradual, deliberate plan. If the young master is willing, we can arrange it now.

The rise of minor nobles is most hampered by a lack of talent. Within their own circles, it's simply impossible to gather enough capable individuals.

Therefore, once we reach a certain level of development, we will inevitably need to bring in external talent, and we can certainly arrange for people to go there.

In the short term, it's difficult to gain the trust of these people. But if you extend the timeframe to ten or twenty years... the situation will be different.

Time is most deceiving, and constant success is most likely to lead one astray. When all one's luck runs out, that's when one's foundation collapses.

..."