This time, the Devil's Moon lasted for nearly five months. When the cloudy clouds dissipated and the warm sunshine appeared over the Western Territory again, most of the spring had passed.
An urgent task was placed in front of Roland.
That is spring farming.
Launching a war to conquer the extreme south in Xie Yue, where other forces are unable to move, can save a lot of time, so that the next unified strategy can be carried out with ease, but the consumption of food is also very alarming.
With only going out and no entry, coupled with the rapid population growth, the granary in the frontier area has bottomed out for the first time. Roland secretly rejoiced that the first thing he did after he annexed Longsong Fortress was to hand over the seeds of "Golden No. 1" cultivated by Ye Ye to Pei Luo, ordering him to force the promotion of improved crops, otherwise this evil month would be really difficult.
The cement boats that travel between Border and Changge constitute the lifeline of the First Army, and the thick flour pancakes made from a large amount of wheat are distributed to the soldiers fighting on the front line by shipping.
So Roland held a spring ploughing meeting the day after the "Victory Day" celebration.
Not only the Ministry of Agriculture, but the entire city hall, including the second-level officials of Changge District, as well as the district governor Pei Luo, and the Falling Dragon Ridge governor Speer, were summoned to Neverwinter Castle by him. Among them, Speer Passy was directly flown in by Maisie. When he landed, his face was pale, and there were a few more words of complaint when he saluted him.
And Calvin Kant, the lord who temporarily ruled the North, was represented by his daughter Edith and second son Cole. I don't know if it was an illusion. Roland always felt that the Northland Pearl returned from Daxueshan had an extra share. With a dazzling look, Cole, who was following behind her, looked much weaker, and that outfit... was it too neutral
No matter what, the meeting has gathered all the representatives of Greycastle so far, except for the eastern border that has not yet surrendered, and the central region where the city hall system has not yet been established. This can basically be regarded as a national congress.
He looked around the hall with satisfaction, then tapped on the table.
The crowd suddenly quieted down, and Qi Qi turned their attention to the king.
"I know you must be wondering why the word war is used on the banner," Roland said, pointing to the red cloth banner hanging on the wall behind him, "because this is a war. It's not just about whether this year's strategic plan can The smooth implementation also determines the correctness of Neverwinter's rule! As early as the beginning of attracting refugees, I promised that as long as they were willing to work hard, they would never go hungry."
"I have done this for the past three years. The territory has expanded from a desolate border town to more than half of Graycastle. It makes no sense that it cannot be achieved this year. The kingdom will be stable only if the people of the territory are not worried about food and drink, so I ask everyone They all take spring ploughing seriously, and complete this year's cultivation in accordance with the regulations and sowing manuals formulated by the Ministry of Agriculture." He paused, "and from this year onwards, special assessments will be implemented for agricultural work, including the reclaimed area, the number of farmers and the number of agricultural workers. The output will become the standard to measure whether you are suitable to be in charge of one place!"
Looking at the bewildered attendees, Roland couldn't help raising the corners of his mouth, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand what these assessment items are, after that, Minister of Agriculture Saini will spend a day explaining it to you in detail. All in all, if it doesn't meet my requirements The standard can only show that the ability is limited and it is no longer suitable to continue to serve as the consul."
Although everyone didn't make a sound, it could be seen from their expressions that they were obviously nervous.
This is exactly the effect Roland wanted. The abolition of the aristocracy, in addition to being able to take back the fiefdom, is another point that the territorial officials are no longer hereditary for life. He doesn't mind that these people enjoy rights, but he doesn't allow them to drag down his development plans.
The agricultural assessment is just the beginning.
Roland lifted a curtain behind him, revealing the numbers marked in big red letters below, "Other standards for the first year can be relaxed appropriately, but in terms of agricultural output, I ask you to reach this number!"
Everyone took a deep breath, "Fifty thousand dendrobium?"
It is not surprising for him to react to this. After all, according to the average level of this era, the annual harvest of ordinary cities is about 10,000, and important towns such as the old capital can reach 15,000. When Border Town used "Golden No. 1" for the first time, it only collected more than 7,000 Dendrobium, which was already a shocking harvest at that time.
Of course, the actual harvest in various places has a lot to do with the area of farmland and the number of farmers. Unlike the development of high-yield agriculture in Border Town, the big city relies entirely on the barbaric cultivation of surrounding villages and towns and tens of thousands of farmers to obtain so much food, so he will put these two items into the assessment content.
After all, the fewer the number of farmers, the more workers the factory can accommodate.
Roland stretched out his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, "Actually, when you see the test field of No. 2 Gold, you will feel that this goal is not a fantasy. After repeated tests by Ye Zi, the unit output of No. 2 Gold can reach twice that of No. 1. times more, the ears of wheat in the fields are enough to overwhelm the stalks.”
This time, it was Pei Luo's turn to exclaim, "Your Majesty... can it really be more than double?"
Among the foreign officials, he was the only one who was most impressed by the amazing production of the Golden No. 1. During the entire Evil Moon War, the Changge District provided more than 50% of the rations for the First Army, because it appeared after the Golden No. 1 was replanted. Plenty of surplus food. If it was replaced by ordinary wheat, it could not even feed a city.
"That's true, but the Golden No. 2 is not without flaws," Roland looked at Ye Ye, "Next, let Miss Ye Ye from the Witch League tell you about its characteristics in detail."
After Ye Ye nodded and saluted, he walked up to him with a bag of ripened wheat grains, and began to show everyone "Golden No. 2", "It is different from all the wheat you have come into contact with before, it can only be planted once, so Every year, I have to come to Neverwinter to pick up new wheat seeds. I also greatly strengthened its root system so that it can absorb nutrients from deeper underground, but it also consumes a lot of fertility and needs to be planted with fertilization, otherwise it can only be Set aside three plots to rotate fallow. And…”
Roland looked at the leaves, which were a little restrained at first, but became smoother and smoother later, and touched his chin with satisfaction. Golden No. 2 can be said to be a new type of wheat with its own golden kelp. The root system can extend to four to five meters underground, and it strengthens The absorption capacity of fertilizers, except for the inability to reproduce continuously, almost surpassed the Golden No. 1 in other aspects.
The only disadvantage for Neverwinter City is that it is an advantage. It cannot keep seeds, which means that once other cities start to plant Golden No. 2, they will be inseparable from the supply of the new capital. At the same time, other low-yield wheat will be squeezed out of the market. This is of great benefit for him to monopolize grain sales and to attribute this resource to the state's control.
Roland believes that no farmer will go back to common wheat after trying to grow Golden II.
As long as the new and improved seeds are spread across the country, the shortage of food in various places can be greatly alleviated.
With food... Naturally, more people can be accommodated.
After all, just being a Graycastle can't satisfy him.