New plans and the evolution of livestock

"So, the Church isn't planning to send anyone to the Sera Kingdom for the time being?"

Ryan was somewhat surprised that they hadn't come at all. Surely they weren't scared? If Elves were that scary, they wouldn't be hiding in the Woodlands.

But the Elves are very powerful.

What Ryan couldn't understand was why the Elves would target a clergy member of the Church of Dawn, especially a bishop, whose status was no less than that of a nobleman with titles like Baron or Noble Title.

Ryan and Sera King were originally trying to get the newly arrived Bishop Eric to accept the differences in this land, such as the transfer of wealth and war power.

Now everything is fine, all the trouble is gone. I'm afraid that Pope still doesn't know what the faith in the Sera Kingdom has become.

He's too far away.

"Elves..."

On his way back to Northwind Province, Ryan ran into a team from the Imperial Capital.

Emperor Flor sent an envoy to the Woodlands to reach some kind of agreement with the Elven Royal Court, and it is expected that he wants to invite the Elves to join him in declaring war on the Church.

The emperor acted swiftly, likely having just heard the commotion in the Woodlands before dispatching the mission.

Ryan did not make contact with the delegation, but upon hearing that there was a high-ranking noble in the group, he left Zero Crossing City and returned to the Frozen Earth Territory.

The empire's political mysteries left him somewhat puzzled, and he didn't want to get involved without proper preparation.

For example, Ryan didn't understand why Emperor Flor, or rather the policies of the Empire and the Imperial House, would allow the three Elector to divide the Emperor's power.

Ryan was not referring to the tasks assigned to the Elector, but rather to the three Elector and the three grand dukes who were not so closely associated with the emperor.

The Imperial House and the Four Grand Dukes families are the most impenetrable foundation of the empire; it can be said that the empire was divided into five because of them.

With the three Elector accepting the challenge, it was inevitable that the thoughts of three grand dukes would begin to shift from the emperor to the Elector.

This shift will reduce the cohesion of the empire, which will be directly reflected on the battlefields in the South and the Church. If the emperor and the Four Grand Dukes cannot work together, how can they defeat the Church of Dawn?

But that's exactly what they did, Emperor Flor...

"He probably really wants to centralize power, right?"

As the lord of the Frozen Earth Territory, Ryan has already wielded considerable influence, exceeding all the visible power of the nobles.

He once divided the gloom surrounding him and over his head into five large nets.

The problems with the nobles and Orcs in the Northwind Province have now been resolved.

There was nothing in the kingdoms of the Sera Kingdom and Andara Kingdom that could stop him.

The Elector cannot affect him for the time being, and the faiths in the lands he can influence are already distinct; Dawn or light are merely means for the rulers.

All that's left is Meyers ' troubles.

And the vast web between the empire and the Church, between divine right and Royal Authority, from which no noble could escape.

He crossed out the three things on the paper bit by bit, and looked at the two remaining things. It seemed that the great web of divine right and Royal Authority was the most troublesome, but in reality, he could not affect anything about it.

This net is too big; Ryan can only go with the flow.

Because it was too macro-level, it wasn't a problem for a nobleman like him.

Going with the flow also has its advantages.

On the other hand, Meyers is the most crucial and fatal factor for Ryan.

With the presence of the Marquis of Northwind, Meyers was destined to have a foothold in this land. In addition, there were those arranged marriages, which Ryan could not stop from any of the nobles.

Meyers hasn't stirred up any trouble lately, and Ryan has no way to take any hostile actions against Meyers. After all, there are no more Meyers in the Northwind Province, and the Marquis of Northwind is still primarily a member of the Imperial House.

Feeling helpless at having no outlet for his power, Ryan gently drew a question mark behind the remaining two large nets: divine authority and Royal Authority, Meyers and the Northwind Province, Ryan put the paper away.

He needs to develop a new plan; these troubles are troubles, and the troubles within the Frozen Earth Territory are also troubles.

Ryan has already begun to gradually relocate people from Nidhogg.

"The Swamp to the south need to be developed; the sheer size of these the Swamp is astonishing."

"There's also the Great Wall project in the the North. The Orcs can grow a thicket of it in three to five years, and it will pose a threat within ten years. After ten years, the Orcs will be able to launch another large-scale attack on human territory."

One in the south, one in the north; the south is farmland, the the North is security—both are massive projects.

"The Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild has been showing signs of fatigue lately, and its fortunes are declining. This is most likely due to the Southern War. The nobles are all focused on the tense situation in the South and naturally won't be thinking about the wealth in the Northlands anymore."

"The nobles are complacent and never strive to make any progress, drifting along with the world."

"The Northern Territory Merchant Guild... War is the guild's best weapon. The fiercer the war in the south, the more market the Northern Territory Merchant Guild can seize from those southern merchants."

"Due to the war, many merchant guilds in the south are no longer able to conduct trade throughout the entire South region, are they?"

Ryan thought for a long time, then took out the note again.

Three of the five "big nets" above have already been crossed out. Based on the remaining two, Ryan wrote down two more directions.

Three major projects, two visionary ideas.

These two events, along with Meyers and the conflict between Royal Authority and divine power mentioned above, form a new fourth dimension.

The three major projects are naturally the Swamp and the Great Wall of the Northlands, as well as the resettlement of Nidhogg's two million inhabitants. These two visions come from the Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild and the Northern Territory Merchant Guild. If Ryan wants to extend his reach into the South lands, he cannot avoid these two visions. They will become Ryan's eyes, allowing the Baron in the Northlands to keep an eye on every move in the South lands.

Ryan sent some men to the South, where many industries began to flourish with the arrival of the war, including the slave market.

Those slave-hunting groups saw war like sharks smelling the scent, and they always managed to reap huge profits.

Ryan needs artisans, Ryan needs all kinds of artisans. He needs the help of artisans to build the Great Wall of the Northlands and to build settlements.

Ryan allocated funds to his steward Bilder, allowing him to use up to a million Gold Coin to purchase slave artisans.

Immediately afterwards, Ryan began to arrange for Alchemist and Mages to explore the Mountain Forest within his territory.

That is, starting from the Swamp in the south, it extends to the boundary in the the North where the mountains leave Snow Plains begin.

Ryan is going to build a road that will start from Rhino Horn Mountain, connect to the the North Fortress Defense Line, and then cross the Thorny Jungle, the site chosen to connect to the Great Wall of the Northlands, that Snow Plains where the Spiritual Plant are located.

Such a road already exists, but what Ryan needs is not just one, but a dense network of roads, like a spider web, connecting every mountain peak and every Mountain Forest.

Between the two mountain peaks, a road needs to be built around them; on the foothills, a winding road, no matter how many bends, is needed.

The purpose of building these roads was not only to make them accessible in all directions, but more importantly, to allow for the construction of villages and houses on both sides of these roads.

Wherever the road was built, houses were built there, one house representing one family, to alleviate the pressure on Nidhogg's two million inhabitants.

It's impossible for Ryan to dump two million people into the Northwind Province.

A road of this size is destined to be arduous and many people will die. Ryan made this decision not without the idea of using this road to consume even more people.

Once Nidhogg falls into ruin, Ryan really can't support so many people. The Northern Territory Merchant Guild and the Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild will also serve such a large population. The more prosperous they are, the more production needs they can bring to the population of the Frozen Earth Territory. In this way... the people of the Frozen Earth Territory will be able to support themselves.

As for further places, the dream of the Great Wall of the Northlands remains at the bottom of the list. Surplus labor will be sent there to develop, but there's no chance this year. The winter in the Northlands is freezing cold, and Ryan's idea of resource depletion cannot be achieved through such means.

Besides these, expanding the housing area can also improve the living environment. There is no room for more people around Rhino Horn Mountain. If there are any more, the sanitation problem alone will give Ryan a huge headache.

Livestock can roam freely across the mountains and fields.

Yes, livestock. In the time when Ryan wasn't paying much attention, the most talked-about topic in the Frozen Earth Territory wasn't speculation about what Lord Ryan was up to, nor was it whose child was chosen to join the patrol guard; it was livestock.

Thanks to the subtle influence of the Divine Essence within that giant wild boar on the smaller wild boars following behind it, the pork exported from the Frozen Earth Territory has gained widespread recognition among the nobles for its unparalleled deliciousness. The nobles of the Northwind Province now often reminisce about the taste of that pork leg meat.

Gradually, the people of the Frozen Earth Territory stopped being afraid of these wild boars. Because they were used to living with the wild boars, they were also less afraid of the humans around them.

As time went on, some wild boars started to stay with some farmers, specifically those who guarded the terraced fields.

By feeding the wild boars with a variety of foods, especially after the wheat harvest, the straw was crushed into powder and fed to them. The wild boars did not refuse and gradually became domesticated livestock.

Initially, the farmers hid their wealth, fearing that the guards of the Frozen Earth Territory would discover that they were hiding Lord Ryan's treasure.

Later, it became clear that the farmers had become landowners because they had gained Lord Ryan's favor, and many people were watching them. Over time, discussions about it became inevitable.

After being exposed, they were naturally punished. Many families were stripped of their right to guard the terraced fields, and some were even reduced to slavery.

However, the domestication of wild boars has also kept pace with this progress.

This process reached 100% completion this summer.

It's still because of Nidhogg.

Nidhogg's countless fertile fields meant that for the first time, Ryan didn't have to worry about food for the winter. There was also an abundance of chaff that humans couldn't eat, which made the wild boars grow fat and stronger, and more dependent on humans.

So, after discussions at Rhino Horn Mountain, the government officials began to issue orders that a family could purchase a piglet for three silver coins to raise at home.

They will grow plump in about ten months, at which point they can be sold for fifteen to eighteen silver coins.

It's close to a Gold Coin, which makes many people's eyes light up. They can earn a profit of five to ten silver coins from it.

After all, those pigs eat just as much as people.

Ryan also wants to focus on the high-end market, after all, how can the pork eaten by noble lords be the same as the pork eaten by ordinary people? Butler Bilder directly arranged for people to start taking care of the little wild boars that followed behind the big wild boar.

They are covered by Divine Essence, and each one is a top-quality wild boar that can be offered as a sacrifice.

As for the price... it will naturally be settled in Gold Coin. Anyway, the nobles of the Northwind Province have made a lot of money selling mines recently, so they won't care.

Currently, there are four types of livestock in the Frozen Earth Territory. One of them is deer, which are sika deer brought back from the Forest Otherworld and raised there. Their meat is delicate and they can survive on leaves.

The second type is the goat, a rare breed brought back from the Forest Otherworld. Along with chickens, it is considered by the Frozen Earth Territory to be the most suitable livestock.

The last one is pig farming, which has recently become popular.

As for raising horses and cattle, those are not included; these are not things that ordinary people can easily afford to do.

Livestock farming is developing, Ryan intends to control its scale because these things cannot form an effective competitive product. In the South lands, which noble family doesn't raise some livestock to sell?

Only large-scale meat consumption can eliminate concerns about transportation pressures, but the Frozen Earth Territory do not have such conditions.

Horse meat in the Wilderness World cannot be harvested on a large scale.

Therefore, we had to abandon this option and focus on transportation, specifically the ice cellar warehouse that had existed for several years. It still contained a large amount of meat and food stored there for the nobles of the entire Northwind Province, and a large number of carriages would come and go every week.

On the desk, new sheets of paper recorded Ryan's detailed plans and needs, without being described too strictly in terms of timelines and specific plans.

Just kidding, all Lord Ryan has to do is provide a general direction. The specifics will be discussed and tallied by the political officials like Eteria. In the end, all he needs to do is give him a result.

Ryan felt that his Frozen Earth Territory was far more advanced in this respect than the methods of other noble territories in the world.

The advanced system brings about a significant improvement in efficiency, allowing him to avoid having to deal with many trivial matters.

He also doesn't need to worry about the problem of power not being able to be taken back after being delegated. First, this is an extraordinary world, and second, the class system in this world is extremely rigid.

Even with the Andara Royal Family in such a state, no strange noises have emerged within the Andara Kingdom itself.

The efficiency of the Frozen Earth Territory is exactly what Ryan needs to turn time into strength.

Similarly, the efficiency brought about by such an advanced system will allow Ryan to find what he wants.

For example, coal.

(End of this chapter)