Red Ginseng Serf Inspection

Victor inspected the fortifications of Red Ginseng Territory, and Holmes reinforced both Red Ginseng Castle and Red Ginseng Wharf.

"Viscount, look here. This room was originally the castle's storeroom. I found the location to be excellent, so I enlarged the windows and added several shooting positions."

And here, I also connected several rooms and widened the cavalry passageway inside the castle.

And these other spots, I also...

Victor was on tenterhooks when he saw Holmes's modifications to the two strategic locations. Fortunately, the Baron Red Ginseng and his family were not coming back; otherwise, they probably wouldn't have been able to accept seeing their territory transformed like this.

"Holmes, you've done a great job, but this is fine for now. There's no need to invest any more manpower and resources in making further modifications."

"By next year, these three territories should be combined, and I will rebuild several defensive fortresses."

Holmes listened to Victor's words with a regretful expression and said in a tone that seemed to say, "Since you've said so, sir, then I'll stop here. It's a pity that I was planning to widen the moat and build a water gate in the castle to connect it to the dock."

After hearing this, Victor was very glad that he had stopped Holmes in time. If that had happened, the remaining 4,000 serfs in Red Ginseng Territory would probably not have been able to rest for the entire winter.

Victor reassured him, "Don't worry, Holmes. When it comes time to build new fortresses and defenses, you can offer your suggestions and let the construction team carry them out."

Holmes' eyes lit up when he heard this. "Is that so? Thank you, Viscount. I will do my best."

After comforting Holmes, Victor left Red Ginseng Castle. Holmes wanted to follow him, but Victor refused, arguing that the defense of the Red Ginseng Territory needed him more.

Victor left his infantry at Red Ginseng Castle and took only his personal guard and two Cavalry squadrons to the border of Red Ginseng Territory.

During his visit, Victor also inspected the two existing farms in the Red Ginseng Territory. The farm managers had been replaced by people sent by the Golden Sunflower Territory, each with a small team of 50 militiamen and a large amount of supplies.

Fortunately, the serfs in any noble territory were all very similar; they generally didn't care who their lord was and lived numb lives.

However, the farm management style in Golden Sunflower Territory is quite different. Victor has always valued efficiency, so he is willing to share some of the harvest with the serfs.

In the farms of the Golden Sunflower Territory, in addition to the harvest that is handed over according to regulations, serfs may retain one to two percent of the harvest, depending on the circumstances. These harvests can be disposed of by the serfs themselves, and they may sell them to the territory or even use them for their own consumption.

Therefore, the serfs were highly motivated. In addition, Victor would conscript Serf Soldiers, who could free themselves and their families from Serf Soldiers after earning military merit. The serfs had hope for the future, which naturally boosted their motivation. Furthermore, the advanced agricultural technology of the Golden Sunflower Territory resulted in significantly higher yields per acre of farmland.

These two stewards naturally brought this management method to the Red Ginseng Territory. Although they were only cultivating winter wheat at the moment, and the serfs were still skeptical, Victor knew that as the harvest came next year, the serfs would understand the benefits of the policy and their enthusiasm would be mobilized.

Victor also inquired about the difficulties the two stewards faced, and the two stewards raised some requests. The farm in Red Ginseng Territory lacked everything: livestock, farm tools, and even improved breeds.

"We also asked these serfs, and they said that in previous years, the wheat yield per mu was generally only about 150 kilograms, and only in years with particularly good weather could it barely reach 200 kilograms."

Victor was also taken aback when he heard this. Two years after he started participating in the management of the territory, the wheat yield per mu in the Golden Sunflower Territory could reach 260 kilograms. With the development of agricultural tools and the selection of improved varieties, the best plots now yield wheat per mu of about 300 kilograms.

"This shouldn't be the case. After we took Red Ginseng Territory, we collected at least tons of wheat and wheat flour from various granaries."

According to the yield you mentioned, the arable land in Red Ginseng Territory is no more than 100 square kilometers, which is practically only a few acres. Based on a one-year crop rotation system and the yield you described, the annual yield per acre would only be around one ton. It would take at least two years to accumulate that much grain, and that's assuming the serfs don't eat or drink.

The two stewards exchanged glances, and one of them said, "It is like this, Your Excellency, the Red Ginseng Family is very good at squeezing grain from the serfs. In winter, when these serfs are not working, each person is only given half a catty of wheat a day to fill their stomachs."

Moreover, we learned from the former steward that Red Ginseng Territory already had this many serfs fifty years ago, and the serf population has remained unchanged over the years.

Red Ginseng Territory restricted the birth rate of serfs. Adult female serfs were sold off in large numbers, and only one-fifth of the male serfs were retained in the territory. Only the strongest serfs were allowed to have children.

Serfs over 40 years of age, or those unable to work due to injury or illness, were considered a waste of food and were executed in groups.

"Wait a minute, even if the young and strong male slaves are the most docile, there will be some who can't stand this number!"

"Yes, sir, every few years, a serf uprising breaks out in Red Ginseng Territory. However, Baron Red Ginseng has several hundred standing troops, so dealing with these unarmed serfs is not too difficult."

Furthermore, since the serfs are scattered across various farms, even if there were an uprising, the largest number would only be one or two thousand people, which wouldn't have much impact at all!

Victor was speechless after hearing this. Perhaps the intelligence gathering on the hostile territories in the past was not detailed enough. If he had known that the serfs in Red Ginseng Territory were living under such a high-pressure state and that there was a rebellion, he would definitely have sent people to deliver weapons to these rebellious serfs.

However, from now on, the Red Ginseng Territory will belong to the Golden Sunflower, and there's no need to do these things anymore. The Baron Red Ginseng's entire family has been arrested. If Count Colt succeeds, even if these independent nobles of the duchy don't die, the best outcome for them will be that they become new Court Noble, which won't affect him much.

"In that case, our work will be much simpler. As long as you improve the living conditions of these serfs, they will be easy to manage!"

"Yes, Your Excellency, we plan to add performance evaluations during the winter wheat planting season. Once we receive the rewards, it will definitely boost the enthusiasm of these serfs."