Rationing System
The journey of over a hundred miles took Hudson almost half a month before they finally arrived at their fiefdom.
The team grew from over 600 people at the start to over 3,000 people at the end, and the additional 2,400 people were the reward of this trip.
Unfortunately, there are fewer young and strong men. Even if you include teenagers of fourteen or fifteen and middle-aged men under forty, the number is still less than eight hundred.
Most of those remaining were the elderly, women, and children who were in relatively good health; those who were weak had either been eliminated during the previous famine or had collapsed along the way.
Of course, this definition of "old" is based on the standards of the Aslant Continent. People over thirty are considered middle-aged, and those in their forties are considered elderly.
To truly live to be a hundred or eighty years old, one must be born into a noble family. For serfs living in harsh conditions, those who manage to live past sixty are as rare as Giant Dragon scales.
Human beings are vulnerable in the face of disaster. Even though Hudson deliberately slowed down, many people still failed to keep up.
It's already quite an achievement that so many people were saved. If Hudson hadn't intervened, and a new lord had arrived, probably less than half of these people would have survived.
Settling in was very simple; all it took was allotting a plot of land, and the serfs would build their own houses. Everyone was very conscientious, and it was such a small matter that Lord Hudson didn't need to worry about it.
After a brief inspection, Hudson planned five settlements around the mine. These were mostly existing sites; once the refugees were distributed, the task was considered complete.
The cost was a reduction of forty cartloads of grain, and that was the result of deliberate restrictions. If people were to eat to their hearts' content, the consumption would probably be even greater.
Needless to say, we must continue sending people back to Dadir City to transport grain. Otherwise, the little grain we have on hand will only last for twenty days at most.
With over three thousand mouths to feed, even with the most frugal measures, the daily food consumption would still be at least two to three thousand pounds.
There was no need to rush, and the labor was not too strenuous; ordinary serfs were content with being five or six tenths full. If there wasn't enough grain, they would make do with wild vegetables, tree leaves, and grass roots, but the soldiers could not go hungry.
Hudson didn't want to ruin the veterans he had painstakingly built up because of malnutrition.
Besides, shouldn't those who have made great contributions be given some preferential treatment? There's no money to pay military salaries, and if they can't even feed themselves properly, who will fight for Lord Hudson in the future?
Even though they had harvested a lot of food during the war, Hudson still felt the pressure of feeding so many people.
After a brief calculation, he realized that with the food he had, at the current rate of consumption, it would only last for two or three months at most.
Moreover, most of the grain was stored in Dadir City, with a family knight hired to watch over it, so transporting it over would be a troublesome matter.
Due to the limited number of carriages, at least two more trips would be necessary. Although the war was over, quite a few mountain bandits had become outlaws. For safety reasons, sending troops to escort them was still essential.
"Pass down the order: from now on, the territory will be subject to a rationing system, and the daily rations must be strictly followed. Gil, you will be in charge of distributing the rations daily, and I will conduct random checks from time to time."
Specific standards.
Soldier's ration: 1.5 pounds of wild vegetables and rye bread per day, 1 pound of oats and legumes per day, 0.5 pounds of salt per month, 2 pounds of meat per month, and a certain amount of wild or dried vegetable soup. (Note: 1 pound is approximately 1 jin (500 grams). Cooked grains will expand and are not the same as the original grain.)
Officers, based on their rank, receive a 15% increase for each rank above that of soldiers, and are exempt from adding wild vegetables to their bread.
For young adults aged 16 and above: 0.8 lbs of low-quality rye bread per day, half a lb of oats, beans and other grains per day, 0.3 lbs of salt per month, 0.5 lbs of meat per month, and some vegetable soup.
Healthy women, children over ten years old, and middle-aged men will receive 80% of the standard ration for young adults; the remaining elderly, weak, women, and children will receive 70% of the standard ration for young adults.
The army's food was distributed to centurions for unified preparation, while serfs' rations were distributed to their families. Thirty soldiers were stationed at each assembly point to maintain order; anyone who violated order was demoted to slavery.
Hudson said seriously.
The standards couldn't be lowered any further. In an era when there was no oil or fat in our stomachs, everyone was a big eater. Everyone ate a lot and got hungry quickly.
Hudson did in-depth research before setting the standards. Even rye bread is divided into different grades.
The best is naturally whole wheat bread; the second best is rye bread with wild vegetables, usually with 10% to 30% wild vegetables, which is also passable.
Next is rye bread with wild vegetables and tree leaves added, usually 30% to 50%, and some unscrupulous ones even add sawdust, bark, and sand.
Commonly known as inferior bread, it has only one principle: it won't kill you. It can be used as a weapon if held in your hand, and it can injure your foot if dropped.
Hudson wasn't that heartless; he certainly wouldn't add sawdust, bark, or sand, but wild vegetables and leaves were essential.
They were forced to do this because of food shortages. Only by implementing such low standards could they ensure that the food they had would last for three months.
In fact, this is only a theoretical state. The reason why a low standard can be implemented now is because the serfs did not engage in high-intensity labor and their energy consumption was not high.
Once production resumes, food consumption will increase dramatically. Miners definitely need to be fed, otherwise they won't have the strength to work. Women and children tilling the land also cannot go hungry.
"Yes, sir!"
Gil answered calmly.
No one objected; they were all Lord Hudson's trusted followers, and all they had to do was obey orders. As long as they didn't go hungry, the standards didn't matter.
Although Baron Redman promised to send their families over, that would be next year.
Sending people over prematurely without first settling them in and building up their infrastructure would only create more trouble.
After a pause, Hudson suddenly remembered his livestock. Although he had slaughtered many to reward his heroes and hold a banquet in Dadir City, he still had quite a few left over.
Because the warhorses were quite expensive, Hudson kept eight for himself and traded the rest.
Including the family knight in Dadir City who helped look after the provisions, Hudson hired him at a high price for a warhorse.
On the way to the territory, three sheep were unfortunately injured, and Hudson had no choice but to help them.
At this point, the remaining livestock seized include 28 cattle, 167 sheep, and 187 cavalry.
The slow horse escaped disaster not only because it could pull the cart, but also, most importantly, because its meat was unpalatable.
We can't continue slaughtering them; most of the remaining cattle and sheep are females, and we need to keep them to produce offspring.
In fact, the fact that so many cattle and sheep were spared is largely thanks to the Young Bear. By adhering to the principle that meat can be consumed in moderation, but milk production cannot be cut off, the Young Bear successfully rescued their milk source from the Hudson's slaughter.
Hudson's voluntary reduction of food standards is not a breach of trust.
From then on, the Young Bear's diet was reduced from one sheep and thirty pounds of beef per day to the same amount of meat as Hudson, and he lived a miserable life relying entirely on coarse grains to fill his stomach.
Fortunately, the Earth Bear is an omnivorous magical beast. It can thrive on anything, from grains to bamboo and leaves. If it were to raise a Giant Dragon with an even larger appetite, it would probably bankrupt Hudson just from eating.
"Tom, you're in charge of organizing the able-bodied men to build the animal sheds. You need to be quick; it must be finished before the rainy season."
Let any serf with experience in raising livestock volunteer. If they take good care of the animals, their rations will be increased to 80% of those of the soldiers.
Livestock are more valuable than people; this is no joke. Warhorses, needless to say, have always commanded high prices.
As the second most prized ingredient at the banquet after monster meat, beef is also quite expensive. Depending on the breed and weight, it generally costs between three and seven gold coins.
This is because the Alpha Kingdom does not use oxen for plowing and prefers horses; otherwise, the price of cattle would have gone even higher.
A strong adult male was worth only five or six gold coins in the slave market, less than a good ox.
Children are priced at about one-third the price of adult men. The elderly and infirm are even less valuable and are basically ignored.
The price of women is magical, depending mainly on their looks and talents. Cheap ones can be bought for two or three gold coins, while expensive ones are sold at auctions, and some have even sold for thousands of gold coins.
Of course, there are exceptions with special status. For example, elven women typically start at four figures, five figures are the norm, and higher figures are not impossible.
Special races among the Beastfolk can often fetch high prices, though not as dramatically as the elves.
The main reason is that things are rare and therefore valuable. Elves are not to be trifled with, and they live in the Elf Forest. Before you can even capture a slave, you'll lose your life.
In comparison, Beastfolk are easier to capture. Count Pierce has a troupe of dancers composed of Beastfolk fox spirits, cat women, and more.
The conflict is mutual; Beastfolk frequently raid the Northern Frontier. Human slave-hunting teams also frequently venture deep into Beastfolk territory, capturing certain high-value races to serve as slaves.
As a major mine owner, one is destined to deal with slaves. Especially when there is a labor shortage, slaves are the main force in mining.
The fact that Hudson didn't disband the army shows that he was determined to become an unscrupulous mine owner.
"Master, if we hand over the livestock to them for management, we'll suffer huge losses if something goes wrong."
"How about we have the soldiers responsible for looking after the livestock keep an eye on them as well? If they're doing a good job, then we can hand it over entirely to them."
Tom suggested, sounding slightly hesitant.
On the Aslant Continent, the gap in status between nobles and serfs was so vast that it was almost an insurmountable chasm.
As was customary, it was always the nobles who gave the orders, and the serfs who carried them out; the serfs never had the opportunity to object.
If Hudson hadn't frequently encouraged them to express their opinions, and if they hadn't been punished for being wrong, Tom really wouldn't have dared to speak up.
"Um!"
"We should definitely be careful. Let's do as you say."
Hudson said with a smile.
It's rare to have someone under your command who's willing to use their brain and whose suggestions are decent; naturally, you should encourage them.
Having a certain foundation and starting with innovation, Hudson still encountered so many difficulties. If he were to start completely from scratch, he seriously doubted that he would perish halfway through before even leaving the beginner's village.