Winter Cultivation

Reiner lay on the bed like a rag doll, bored, staring at the knight novel in his hand. He had to admit, aristocratic life in this era was incredibly dull. There were no cell phones, no computers, and even the knight novel he held had been read at least ten times.

Annoyed, he tossed the novel aside, put on a padded coat, and left the warm room with its roaring fireplace. He headed to the open area within the castle, which also served as a training ground for him and others on normal days.

Reiner grabbed a wooden sword in his room and stepped out of the castle. His breath condensed into icy wisps in the cold air, forming a misty cloud.

The snow in the open area had been thoroughly cleared by the servants. While it wasn't completely snow-free, it was clean enough to prevent anyone from slipping and falling.

As he approached the training ground, Reiner noticed he wasn't the only one choosing to train at this hour. His younger brother, Little Wend, was also there, clad in heavy training gear, swinging a wooden sword at a dummy.

The small boy wielded the wooden sword, almost as tall as himself, with impressive force, striking the dummy with loud thuds.

Reiner's current body provided him with robust physical capabilities and excellent combat awareness. Watching Little Wend's movements, he couldn't help but nod. Though only thirteen, his body was already as sturdy as a young calf. It was clear that he had never neglected his martial arts practice since he was old enough to understand.

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

Wendell, deeply engrossed in his practice, didn't immediately notice Reiner. He was startled when he heard his voice.

"Oh!" Wendell instinctively took two steps back and adopted a sword fighting stance towards Reiner. When he turned and saw it was his brother, he lowered his sword, a little embarrassed, and rubbed his head, saying, "Brother, it's you. Why did you suddenly appear? You startled me!"

"What, am I not allowed to come watch you train?" Reiner's face showed no smile as he feigned seriousness.

"Ah... I didn't mean that, I just... just..." Wendell mumbled, rubbing his head.

It was clear that Wendell held both respect and awe for his elder brother. Although they had a good relationship when they were young, Reiner's predecessor had left to travel at the age of thirteen. This meant Wendell had been separated from his brother since he was ten, leading to an inevitable distance between them.

Reiner burst out laughing. "Just kidding with you!"

He brandished the long sword in his hand before Wendell and said, "Come on, attack me. Let me guide your martial arts!"

Five minutes later, Wendell looked disheartened at the wooden sword his brother held to his neck. He said resignedly, "I lost..."

Reiner smiled at his words, retrieved his sword, and told Wendell, "It's fine. You're still young, isn't it perfectly normal to lose to me? Ah ha ha ha ha!"

Reiner laughed triumphantly, and Wendell's expression grew even more despondent. Seeing Wendell's little face crinkled in a frown, Reiner patted his shoulder and made him look into his eyes.

"Listen, Wendell, you are my own brother, the one I rely on most. You must grow up quickly. In the future, you will be my right-hand man. For now, follow Sir Valas to learn swordsmanship. Later, I will arrange the best tactical teacher for you. You, my brother Wendell, will certainly show your brilliance by my side!"

Upon hearing this, Wendell's previously crestfallen face immediately brightened with excitement. He asked, "Will it be like that? Will I follow you like Grand Duke Raven followed His Majesty the Emperor?"

This was ancient history from when The Empire was founded. Grand Duke Raven, the Emperor's own brother, had followed the Emperor in conquering lands and unifying the entire Empire. He was quite famous within The Empire, though he had died of old injuries not long after The Empire was established.

Reiner, of course, knew what was on his little brother's mind. Boys always harbored unrealistic ambitions in their youth. Once they passed that phase, they would naturally abandon such ideas and feel embarrassed about their childishness.

"Yes, you will become a man like Grand Duke Raven, I promise you!" Reiner swore that he was absolutely not deceiving a child. The System's task had already been issued. Setting aside the current turmoil within The Empire, even if the Emperor's health recovered and he regained control, the existence of this task meant Reiner had to rebel and become Emperor.

The two continued their pleasant training session at the training ground, and Reiner also used the time to bond with his young brother.

Meanwhile, the residents of Morland Castle finally picked up their farming tools again to cultivate the fields outside. This was an order Reiner had issued. All the land they tilled belonged to the Moreland Family, and even they themselves were private property of the Moreland Family.

Therefore, they had to obey any command Reiner issued.

Although Morland Castle's arable land was still sufficient, with a total of thirty thousand mu, the Moreland Family owned twenty thousand mu. However, despite this seemingly large number, the amount of grain produced was not much.

Because the land in the North was relatively fertile, the yield per mu was higher, reaching about fifty kilograms of grain per mu. But it was important to remember that land needed to be rotated.

According to the current rotation method, the Moreland Family only had ten thousand mu of arable land that could be worked each year. The harvested grain amounted to only about five hundred tons. While this number might seem large, the Moreland Family directly controlled over fifteen hundred people. This averaged out to just over 330 kilograms per person. And of this grain, 60% had to be paid to Reiner in taxes. Reiner's taxes were by no means high, which showed how miserable the serfs' lives were.

Reiner very much hoped to cultivate more land. By next year, he planned to use manure and other methods to increase grain production, at least enough to prevent the residents from starving and to allow him to collect more taxes.

With Reiner's current grain output, if he were in his previous life's island nation, he wouldn't even qualify as a Man-goku Daimyo; at most, he'd be a local strongman. On the mainland, it was even less impressive—just a small local landlord. His goal, however, was the stars and the sea, the Emperor's throne. He couldn't achieve that without starting to work hard now.

The residents, fearing war, had previously ceased cultivating the land after obtaining Reiner's permission. But now that the war was won, while they admired and praised Reiner's courage and wisdom, they finally took up their farming tools again to cultivate the fields.

It must be said that being exposed outdoors in the cold winter was an extremely painful experience. Even with the great heat generated by their labor, the biting cold wind still turned their faces red, and snot constantly ran from their noses, which they casually wiped away.

The fervent land reclamation efforts had progressed rapidly so far. In the two-plus months since winter began, over four thousand mu of land had been cultivated. Reiner estimated that by the end of this winter, the cultivated area might increase to between thirty thousand and forty thousand mu.