"Lord, this year we have integrated a total of 13,000 hectares of cultivated land, including 10,000 hectares of Arda and 3,000 hectares of Bairdin. We will speed up the progress next year and plan to use two to three years to integrate the remaining 60,000 hectares in the two places."
In the hall of the castle, Department of Agriculture Chief Hansel was reporting the results of his work.
The so-called integration of cultivated land is to piece together the scattered small pieces of cultivated land from the homes of gentry and landlords in various places into a large area of cultivated land through replacement, transfer, etc., and this large piece of cultivated land is managed by only one family.
Or connect small pieces of farmland held by homesteaders, and the newly established Farmers' Association will conduct intensive management and guidance, such as raising funds from each household to carry out some public affairs.
By establishing large farms one after another in this way, landowners will be willing to spend money to build large-scale Water Conservancy and pave roads and bridges on their own large arable land, without having to worry about being taken advantage of by their neighbors after spending a large amount of money.
"So slow?"
Paul When he slapped the table, he thought it would be done in half a year, but he didn't expect it would still take several years.
Obviously, the lord is quite dissatisfied with the work progress of Department of Agriculture.
"Uh...Lord Greiman Please listen to my explanation..."
Hansel started to complain to Paul with an embarrassed face.
"It's hard to do this kind of work! Both landlords and farmers are afraid of suffering a slight loss when the land is exchanged, but they are obsessed with how to take advantage of it. There are intrigues between landlords and fights between farmers and farmers, and even large-scale armed fights between entire villages. These are things we often encounter."
"And we are short of manpower, so we can only carry out land replacement work in one village. I hope we can allocate more Affairs Officer to us in the coming year."
Paul angrily said, "Why do these people have such no idea of the overall situation? Isn't it just a matter of a few meters of land, a little more or a little less?"
"Hoho, Lord, let alone a few square meters, even if it is missing a few inches, it will cost them their lives. Moreover, the quality of farmland varies from place to place, which makes it even more difficult to measure."
"Okay, anyway, you should work harder and try to finish it for me next year!"
Hansel took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat.
"This... we will try our best..."
Paul asked again, "How is the promotion of new farming technology going?"
"This is going very well. Farmers' Association from all over the country have introduced Crop Rotation System to various villages and towns, and the landowners have responded that they will start testing it next year. However, the homesteaders are not very enthusiastic. After all, they have little land and always need to grow some edible crops to produce food for the family."
"These small households don't have to force themselves. When grain production increases and they have money to buy rations from the market, they will naturally have the courage to experiment."
"Yes, Lord Lord."
Hansel continued to report, "Due to the promotion of harvesters, everyone has spare labor to open up new farmland. Next year we estimate that the farmland area will increase by about one-sixth, including Arda and Bairdin."
Paul nodded with satisfaction. "This is good, but the new farmland must also follow the large farm model."
"Of course, Lord, we will strictly monitor it."
After reporting on the agricultural matters of greatest concern, Paul went on to listen to business, finance, immigration, military and other matters.
Overall, the situation satisfied him.
Since the introduction of a series of measures to support business, a total of 23 factories of various types have been built in Arda and Bairdin, producing cans, paper, porcelain, salt and other items.
Now products from the two places have begun to be marketed in Northwest Territories, and a small amount has even been sold near Crystal Radiance.
Paul believes that after the southbound route is fully opened, trade will grow more rapidly, and without layers of tariffs, the profits will be even greater.
When profits rise, more businessmen will be attracted to invest in building factories.
Thanks to the establishment of various private factories and the sales of various new products, Government Affairs Council's tax revenue this year reached 23,000 silver coins, while Greiman Family's industrial income reached 25,000 silver coins. The total total is close to 50,000 silver coins.
After going out for various expenses, there was still a surplus of 10,000 silver coins.
"Spend it! Spend it all! Next year I hope the surplus will not exceed two thousand silver coins!"
Paul waved his hands and said words that made everyone in Government Affairs Council stunned.
"Only when coins are flowing can they be considered wealth, otherwise they will just be a pile of metal lying around and gathering dust!"
"I suddenly thought of an idea. Why don't we invest more money in education next year? There is such a shortage of talents in the territory. It is always good to invest in education."
This idea received a response from everyone, especially Female Advisor Diaz Miss, who was particularly concerned about Ves Institute.
In terms of immigration, Government Affairs Council has accepted a total of 1,563 refugees so far. Most of these people are young and middle-aged men and women. They are basically too old or too young to survive in Northwest Bay.
Most of these people were placed in various newly opened factories.
"More refugees will arrive tomorrow."
Hansel said to everyone.
"Now that Arda Earl Territory is recruiting immigrants, it has spread in all directions, and refugees will automatically flock to us. In addition to Rebellion Zone in the south, those in the northeast who were robbed by Orcs will also come to us."
After everyone at Government Affairs Council finished reporting, the military headed by Schroeder began to report on military aspects.
The size of the army has not expanded much, but it has made great progress in weapons and equipment.
For the Army, with the successful development of Flintlock Gun, small batch production has begun, and First Army Battalion has accepted the task of equipment testing.
The Navy accounts for the bulk of military spending. This year, the Navy took over three new Sailing Warship ships. According to Austin and 666 Plan, the other three ships are also being built intensively.
However, Navy Commander is still not satisfied with this batch of ships. In order to equip them as soon as possible, many of the wood materials have not been fully dried, which makes this batch of Sailing Warship destined to have a short service life.
Therefore, he proposed that the construction of the next batch of warships must follow formal procedures and allow the wood to be fully dried to build a batch of qualified warships.
"Austin, my next plan is to develop private merchant ships and sell them to merchants to go south to do business. But as you know, the shipyard's production capacity is limited."
Paul's words made Navy Commander extremely depressed.