Territorial Expansion Strategy
As for the material rewards given in the bounty, they are nothing to Victor, as they are all products from the territory's factories and farms, and the cost is very low for Victor.
However, the amount of land consumed was what surprised Victor the most. He thought that after deducting the reserved 40 square kilometers of industrial construction land and the 50 square kilometers of unsuitable land for development, the remaining 190 square kilometers of land could be used to reward the army and rent to Freemen. Unexpectedly, 140 square kilometers were used up this time, leaving only 50 square kilometers.
Currently, there are still more than 50,000 contract slaves in the territory. Even if the number of contract slaves in the territory does not increase in the future, after these 50,000 contract slaves are converted into Freemen, the territory will rent land to them. According to the standard of 5 mu for adults and 3 mu for minors, the Two Rivers Territory will have to prepare nearly 200 square kilometers of land.
At the same time, in order to ensure the reserves of food and fine feed for the population and livestock of the territory, at least 400 hectares of farmland must be prepared for crop rotation, which means that the farms of the territory must increase the cultivated land area by 280 square kilometers.
At that time, the territory will adopt a two-year cycle of farming, ensuring that at least hectares of land are used to grow wheat and oats each year, and that the annual wheat yield is not less than tons, so as to guarantee the food security of the territory's population.
After all, the territory raises a large number of horses, especially warhorses that need to be fed concentrated feed to ensure their healthy development and sufficient stamina for combat. According to Victor's future plans, the territory's horse herd needs to be doubled. In order to ensure the supply of concentrated feed for these horses, at least 20,000 to 30,000 tons of wheat and oats need to be prepared.
To ensure that the people of the territory can eat their fill, an average of 500 kilograms of wheat per person is essential. The vast majority of the people in the territory are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry and are mostly manual laborers, so food security must be guaranteed.
The farms in the territory must use indentured slaves to participate in labor. Considering that the indentured slaves after the second batch will be released from serfdom after working for five years, the Two Rivers Territory must continuously introduce slaves.
Fortunately, as the territory developed, the Freemen could solve their own food problems. Victor only needed to ensure that the arable land he had could produce enough food to meet the standard of 500 kilograms per person.
Because the territory currently has insufficient arable land and insufficient grain production, Victor's long-desired grain liquor project can only be produced in small batches.
For these reasons, the territory of Two Rivers Territory must also be expanded, with at least an additional 500 square kilometers of land available for development.
Fortunately, Victor was able to continue expanding his territory. When he obtained the right to develop the Two Rivers Territory from the Iron Birch Territory, Victor had the right to develop 1,000 square kilometers of land. After being promoted to viscount, he obtained the right to develop another 1,000 square kilometers, for a total of 2,000 square kilometers of territory.
The territory currently has a total area of just over 1,140 square kilometers, which is more than enough to expand by another 860 square kilometers, enough for Victor to use.
However, the direction of territory expansion needs to be carefully chosen. The more than 400 square kilometers of new land newly expanded on the Great Fish River is basically the limit for the territory to expand northward.
As for why the river wasn't developed on the north bank of the lower reaches of the Great Fish River, the main reason is that the downstream current is relatively fast and turbulent, and the difference in elevation between the two banks is significant, making it very difficult to cross the river.
The Great Fish River in the Wood Fort Town section has many tributaries, making the river level gentle and the river surface relatively narrow. Two pontoon bridges have been built to connect the north and south banks, making Victor's northward expansion possible.
If they continue to expand the land Great Fish River, they can only cross the Lime River to the west or advance along the Lime River to the Supply Station Number Two and Supply Station Number Three, but that would be detrimental to the defense of the territory, so Victor is not considering it for the time being.
Victor plans to expand along the Great Fish River. The lands of the Two Rivers Territory on the Great Fish River are currently shaped like a gourd, with the western territory being larger and the eastern territory smaller, and a narrow strip in the middle, which is mostly covered by forest.
The southwestern border of the territory is the Red Soil Wasteland, where Red Soil Village is located. To the west of the border are large areas of red soil with sparse vegetation, suitable only for growing Iron Bean, and not suitable for expansion there.
To the south lies the border with James's Green Valley Territory. However, James is expanding his territory westward to develop the Iron Mountain, which will not conflict with the Two Rivers Territory. Therefore, Victor plans to expand southward, using the narrow strip of land from Riverside Village to Green Field Village as a base, and developing along both sides of the forest.
Sea Song Town is 30 kilometers away from the nearest village, Green Field Village. Victor has already moved the shipyard to Sea Song Town and will relocate a large number of people there in the future. For the future development of Sea Song Town, it is necessary to provide these people with enough land for production and living.
Riverside Village and Green Field Village will serve as the starting points for the expansion. These two villages are located on opposite sides of the Great Forest. The Two Rivers Territory will begin building roads southward from these two locations, establishing settlements, and expanding the surrounding land within a radius of 10 to 15 kilometers from these settlements. In other words, the area of a settlement is approximately 80 to 180 square kilometers.
This time, Victor plans to expand southward by about 800 square kilometers of land, with the forest serving as a natural boundary. He plans to develop 500 square kilometers along the eastern coast, which will require the establishment of 4 to 5 settlements, and develop 300 square kilometers inland to the west, which will require the establishment of 3 settlements.
After the next batches of indentured slaves regain their status Freemen, they will all be moved here, and the land rented to them will also come from here.
Victor planned to send out reconnaissance troops before winter arrived to survey the east and west sides of the great forest, and then formulate specific road construction and development plans after obtaining geographical information.
Victor also had Number One use the Calculation Module to design it in advance, and then make modifications after obtaining the geographical information.
The remaining idle land in the territory will only be used for rewards for military achievements. Fortunately, the territory will not launch large-scale military operations in the short term, and the remaining 50 square kilometers of land will be enough for a period of time.
Victor also sent the important symbolic spoils and chieftain heads of the Blazing Fire Tribe and its vassal tribes obtained during the raid to Iron Birch Territory, hoping that Count Colt could help him exchange them for some military merits with the duchy. If he could obtain one or two major merits, he could exchange them for the right to establish a settlement.
A major merit can be exchanged for the right to develop 300 square kilometers, and a Baron-level war merit can be exchanged for the right to develop 1,000 square kilometers. Victor does not plan to continue accumulating merits, but will exchange them directly for development rights when the time comes.