Winter Reclamation

Reiner lay on the bed like a lump of rotten meat, bored out of his mind as he looked at the Knight Novel in his hands. He had to admit that the nobles' lives in this era were truly dull. There were no phones or computers, and even this Knight Novel had already been read by him more than ten times.

Irritably tossing aside the novel, Reiner put on a cotton-padded coat and left the warm room, where the fireplace burned brightly. He came to the open space inside the castle, which was also the training ground for him and the others on ordinary days.

Reiner took a wooden sword from his room and left the castle interior. His breath condensed into strands of ice crystals in the cold air, forming a cloud of mist.

The snow in the open space had already been cleared away by the servants. Although it was impossible to say that not a trace of snow remained, there was at least not enough to make anyone slip and fall.

After entering the training ground, Reiner discovered that he was not the only one training at this hour. His younger brother, Little Wend, was also wearing a set of heavy padded armor and swinging a wooden sword at the wooden man in front of him.

The little boy wielded the wooden sword, which was almost as tall as he was, with tremendous force, hacking it against the wooden man in a flurry of clattering blows.

Reiner's current body had left him with powerful physical abilities and excellent combat instincts. Watching Little Wend's movements, he could not help nodding. Although he was only thirteen, his body was already as sturdy as a young calf's. It was clear that ever since he had become old enough to understand things, he had never neglected his martial training.

Reiner strode forward and said, "Very good. Well done, Wendell!"

Wendell was so absorbed in his practice that he did not notice Reiner right away. When he heard his voice, he could not help being startled.

"Oh!" Wendell took two steps back and instinctively assumed a swordsmanship starting stance toward Reiner. When he turned and saw that it was his brother, he lowered the Longsword in his hand and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Brother, it's you. Why did you suddenly appear? You scared me!"

"What, am I not allowed to come and watch you train?" Reiner's face showed no trace of a smile as he spoke in feigned sternness.

"Ah... That's not what I meant. I just... I just..." Wendell rubbed his head and stammered.

It was clear that Wendell both respected and feared his elder brother. Although the two had shared a close relationship as children, the previous owner of Reiner's body had left home to travel when he was thirteen. In other words, Wendell had been separated from his brother since he was ten, so some distance between them was unavoidable.

Reiner burst out laughing. "I'm just joking!"

He waved the Longsword in his hand in front of Wendell and said, "Come and attack me. Let me give you some pointers on your swordsmanship!"

Five minutes later, Wendell stared dejectedly at the wooden sword resting against his neck and said helplessly, "I lost..."

Reiner smiled when he heard that. Retrieving his Longsword, he said to Wendell, "It's all right. You're still young. Isn't it perfectly normal for you to lose to me? Ahahahaha!"

Reiner laughed smugly, while Wendell's expression grew even more dejected. Seeing the boy's little face scrunched up, Reiner patted him on the shoulder and made him look into his eyes.

"Listen, Wendell. You're my own brother and the person I rely on most. You have to grow up as quickly as possible. In the future, you'll become my right-hand man. For now, follow Sir Valas and learn swordsmanship. Later, I'll arrange for the best tactical instructor for you. You, my little brother Wendell, will surely follow me and let your brilliance shine!"

At those words, the dejection on Wendell's face immediately turned to excitement. He asked, "Will it really be like that? Will I follow you the way Grand Duke Raven followed His Majesty the Emperor?"

That was an old story from the founding of the empire. Back then, Grand Duke Raven had also been the current emperor's younger brother. He had followed the emperor through countless campaigns and helped unify the entire empire, becoming a highly renowned figure within it. However, he had died of old wounds not long after the empire was founded.

Reiner naturally knew what was going through the boy's mind. Young boys always had some impractical ambitions. Once they passed through that stage, they would naturally abandon such ideas and feel embarrassed by their own childishness.

"You will. You'll become a man like Grand Duke Raven, I promise!" Reiner swore that he absolutely was not deceiving a child. The system's quest had already been issued. Leaving aside the empire's current turmoil, even if the emperor recovered from his illness and regained control of the situation, Reiner would still have to rebel and become emperor because of this quest.

The two happily trained together on the practice ground, and at the same time, Reiner strengthened his bond with his young brother.

Meanwhile, the residents of Morland Castle had finally taken up their farm tools again and begun reclaiming farmland in the fields. This was an order issued by Reiner. All the land they cultivated belonged to the Moreland Family, and they themselves were also the Moreland Family's private property.

Therefore, they had to obey any order Reiner issued.

Although the farmland around Morland Castle was considered sufficient—there were a full thirty thousand mu of arable land, with the Moreland Family possessing twenty thousand of them—the number looked larger than it really was. The amount of grain it could produce was not particularly high.

Because the soil in the North was fairly fertile, its yield was somewhat higher, reaching roughly fifty kilograms of grain per mu. However, land needed to lie fallow in rotation.

Under the current rotation system, only ten thousand mu of the Moreland Family's farmland could be cultivated each year, producing no more than five hundred tons of grain. The number might look large, but the Moreland Family directly controlled a population of more than fifteen hundred. Averaged out, that was only a little over three hundred and thirty kilograms per person. Sixty percent of even that grain had to be handed over to Reiner, and Reiner's taxes could by no means be considered high. From this, it was clear how miserable the serfs' lives were.

Reiner desperately hoped to reclaim more farmland. Next year, he planned to use manure and other methods to increase the grain yield, at least so the residents would not have to go hungry while allowing him to collect more taxes as well.

With Reiner's current grain output, he would not even count as a daimyō of ten thousand koku in the island nation of his former life. At most, he would be a local strongman in the countryside. On the continent, there was even less to say—he was merely a small rural landowner. His goal was the sea of stars, the throne of the emperor. He had to start working hard now.

The residents had previously stopped reclaiming the land out of fear of war, after obtaining Reiner's approval. But now that the war had been won, they finally took up their farm tools again and began reclaiming farmland, all while worshiping and praising Reiner's bravery and wisdom.

It had to be said that being exposed in the wilderness during the frigid winter was an excruciating experience. Even though exercise generated tremendous heat, the biting wind still left their faces bright red. Their noses ran from time to time, and they casually wiped them away.

The vigorous reclamation campaign had progressed quickly. In the more than two months since winter began, they had already reclaimed over four thousand mu of farmland. Reiner estimated that by the end of this winter, the total might increase to between thirty and forty thousand mu.