Release that Witch - Chapter 139

[Chapter 138 Formation of the Ministry of Agriculture]

As the forest land on the south bank of the Chishui River is gradually cleared, the day for farming is getting closer.

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In order to make it easier for people to go to and from the banks of the Chishui River, Roland ordered people to build a pontoon bridge nearly 100 meters above the river.

The lower part is dozens of rafts built by carpenters, connected with thick hemp ropes.

He also specifically told the carpenter that the two ends of the raft should be surrounded by sharp corners, so that the resistance to the impact of water will be smaller.

The two ends of the hemp rope are wound layer by layer on four round wooden stakes driven into the bank to make the position of the raft as fixed as possible.

Four long wooden planks are laid in the middle of each raft as a bridge deck, and they are about two meters behind each other, allowing four people to pass side by side.

The raft pontoon bridge is very simple to build, and its service life is not low. As long as the river water does not rise or fall and cause the hemp rope to be pulled, it can still be guaranteed for two or three years. The pillars and pavement of the trestle bridge are made of giant wood in the forest, and their lifespan is almost as long as that of a small town.

Even though it creaked from walking on it, it showed no sign of collapsing.

Crossing the pontoon bridge to the west, the first reclaimed land is Ye Zi’s experimental field.

Now it is surrounded by wooden boards, and soldiers from the First Army guard the entrance.

In addition to eating, attending classes and sleeping these days, Ye Zi spends the rest of her time in the experimental field.

From the window of the office on the third floor, Roland could vaguely see the scene in the wooden enclosure—the wheat there was growing crazily. In the morning, the ears of wheat were still green, but in the afternoon, they had turned into a golden ocean.

Gold One, which grows by magic power, is accumulating seeds almost once a day. If an outsider sees it, they might kneel down and shout miracles.

Seeing that the land, population and seeds were all ready, Roland decided to add the last link: the supervisor.

He recruited Assistant Minister Barov who has been busy recently.

“Your apprentices should be able to take care of themselves,” Roland asked. “I need to form two new departments in the city hall.”

“Your Highness, there are… not enough manpower.” Barov said apologetically.

In the past, you always agreed first, and then slowly discussed the details, but now you have learned to complain first.

Roland slandered inwardly, but remained indifferent on the surface, “How could it not be enough? Didn’t I just allocate a group of knights to you?”

Roland selected more than 50 knights who met the requirements and could read and write in the first round of review.

Teachers could not have so many people, so they selected the best among the best, and finally selected nine knights as junior teachers, and the rest were assigned to the city hall to start as apprentices.

“Your Highness, those people are procrastinating, lazy, and unresponsive. They can make several mistakes in copying materials. As apprentices, they are not qualified at all.”

“How to discipline them is your business,” Roland knocked on the table, ” If you don’t obey the arrangement, you can just go with the North Slope Mine. But I must build these two departments.”

“Well, Your Highness, you have the final say.” Barov said helplessly.

Roland said: “The first one is the Ministry of Agriculture, which is responsible for supervising the planting and production of crops in the territory.”

Barov was taken aback for a while, obviously it was the first time he heard that the city hall even managed the farming, “Your Highness, this Isn’t it up to the serfs to figure things out, how they grow and how they collect has nothing to do with us, we just need to receive the full amount of tax.”

“So you… no, I mean that the harvest of crops in the past was so low. “Roland picked up his glass and took a sip of water to cover up his slip of the tongue, “A responsible city hall should even be in charge of people’s eating and drinking.”

“Eating and drinking… aren’t you joking?”

“Of course not , not to mention the importance of eating and drinking, it is the dereliction of duty of the city hall and mine to not be able to feed the citizens. As for the second half, isn’t the public toilet project built for this purpose?” He accepted With a relaxed tone, he said to Barov seriously, “I don’t know how the city hall in the capital works, maybe the life and death of the common people doesn’t matter to them at all, but in Border Town, what I want to build is an almighty A type of political organization, it must be well aware of the situation of the territory and the people, so that it can gain the wholehearted support of the people, and the government orders issued can be effectively implemented. Let me now talk about the composition of this department and the tasks it needs to undertake. You remember.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Barov wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“You go to the archives, find three or four people who have done farm work, and bring them into the Ministry of Agriculture. Transfer two more apprentices to be responsible for records and statistics. Six people are almost enough.”

“Wait…you want Let civilians serve as city hall officials?” Barov looked shocked.

“They are not only obedient, but also highly motivated to do things. Why can’t they be officials? Officials are not equal to nobles, and the Ministry of Agriculture also needs some professionals to guide future farming.”

“But most of them don’t even know how to read…”

“That’s why You need to send two apprentices to help with the clerical work first,” Roland interrupted, “and this situation won’t last long, I will soon implement an education popularization plan in the territory, the purpose is to let everyone You can read and write, and then you won’t have to worry about not having enough manpower.”

Apparently, this news surprised Barov even more than letting civilians enter the city hall. He opened his mouth slightly, but was unable to utter a word for a long time.

Roland didn’t care whether he could accept it or not, and continued to say: “Back to the Ministry of Agriculture, when serfs cultivate their own land, there will inevitably be uneven levels. For example, some people dig the soil deeper, and some This is an excellent opportunity for observation. The six people from the Ministry of Agriculture need to number the divided fields and record every step of the serfs’ farming, how deep the soil is dug, and the interval between sowing. There are detailed data. I will give them measuring tools and teach them how to use them.”

“You mean…comparison?” Barov may be rigid in some respects, but he still has a quick brain.

“That’s right, you don’t need to pay too much attention to the harvest for the first time farming. Continue to maintain food imports and… use some new varieties of wheat seeds, enough to ensure that everyone is not hungry. I need to find the most suitable one among these methods, write It will be recorded in the handbook. In the future, wheat planting will be carried out in this way, and the Ministry of Agriculture will be responsible for promotion, guidance and supervision.”

Roland didn’t know much about farming, but this didn’t prevent him from summarizing a set of optimal solutions with a scientific way of thinking.

With this set of plans, whether it is expanding the cultivated area or adding new agricultural population, the average output of the land can be maintained at a relatively high level.

Barov nodded, then hesitated before saying, “Your Highness, I don’t understand one thing. After the serfs were promoted to freemen, why did you only charge 20% of the crops as land tax? Even if you asked to pay 50%, UU Reading www .sonicmtl.com can leave 50% to them, and it seems that you are extremely kind.”

“Because there is no point in piling up coins in the basement,” Roland explained, “After paying 20%, I will buy them at a fixed price The remaining grain in hand – in Border Town, the grain trade is the exclusive project of the lord. In this way, the castle gets grain, and they get paid. After they have a certain amount of savings, they will want to buy some things… such as cattle , iron farm implements, beef, cotton clothes, and good brick houses, and these only I can provide. The residents of the town want to buy food, and they can only buy it from the castle. Therefore, the coins will still flow back to me in the end. pockets, but in the circulation, it can continuously improve everyone’s living standards, so you understand?”

Barov frowned and didn’t answer for a long time, obviously in a state of being puzzled.

Roland smiled and shook his head, “If you don’t understand, you can go back and think about it slowly, first follow what I said.” The

minister’s assistant stood up in a daze, and suddenly turned around when he walked to the door, “By the way, Your Highness, you It was said just now that there are two departments to be established, what is the other one?”

“The Ministry of Education,” Roland replied, “I will be in charge of this myself.” (To be continued.)

[End of this Chapter]