Early the next morning, sunlight pierced through the windowpanes of the wooden house, waking Art.
He lifted the fur blanket and got off the wooden bed.
Ron had already placed a wooden bucket full of clean water on the table, and a large bowl of hot meat soup was warming by the fireplace in the room.
Art washed his face with clean water, then picked up the meat soup and drank it all in one gulp.
“Ron, Ron!”
Ron was in the stable feeding black beans to the green mule and warhorse.
Hearing Art’s voice, he quickly put down the bag and ran in, “My Lord, did you call me?”
“Go find Old Butler, then saddle the horses and prepare food.
We are going to Valley Land to the south today,” Art said while getting dressed.
Ron went out to find Old Cooper, and soon Cooper came in.
“Good day, My Lord.”
“Cooper, today is a rare good day, and I plan to go to Valley Land to the south again to take a look.
You have three tasks today: first, register everyone in Wood Fort; second, inventory all our supplies, including grain, weapons, livestock, farm tools, land, and miscellaneous items; I know nothing about farming, so you can have Odo and the others assist you.
Therefore, the third task is to draft a plan for reclaiming Valley Land.
You can call Scott and Lawrence together to discuss it, and I will hear your results tonight when I return.
Additionally, the old Master Craftsman we brought back will be handed over to you from now on to help with some carpentry work; his old wife and little granddaughter will help in Emma’s kitchen.
Now that we are starting everything, we must make good use of everyone: children as women, women as men, and men as livestock, but tell Emma that it’s cold these days and everyone still has to work hard, so ensure everyone gets enough to eat.
We don’t have much grain, so tell everyone to gather more wild vegetables and fruits when they have time.
I will also take Odo and the others hunting, and we will occasionally stew some meat soup for everyone.”
After speaking, Art returned to the bed, took out a quill pen wrapped in broken parchment and a small pot of ink from a wooden box under the bed, and handed them to Cooper, saying, “The ink is too precious, use it sparingly.
If you run out of parchment, use birch bark instead.”
After instructing Cooper, Art left the wooden house and pushed open the door of the small wooden house opposite.
Odo, Bas, and Kazak were sprawled out on the wooden bed.
Art walked over and patted Kazak on the side of the bed.
Kazak wiped the sleep from his eyes and looked at the newcomer with blurry vision.
It took him a while to react, and he quickly woke up the two beside him.
“My Lord, we drank a bit too much yesterday and overslept.
We’ll get up right away, right away.”
“Odo, how is the wound on your arm?”
“My Lord, after you applied those medicinal juices yesterday, the wound stopped festering, and it feels cool.”
“Good, that’s good.
I’m going south today.
You don’t need to come with me; you can rest at home.
Go eat early; the kitchen won’t save food for lazy people.”
Ron came in carrying Art’s weapons and leather armor, telling Art that the horses were ready to depart.
Art took the leather armor from Ron, put it on, fastened his belt, hung his longsword, walked out the door, and mounted his horse.
Ron rode the green mule and followed him.
The two rode south along the stream in front of Wood Fort, passing through dense forests and valleys.
Before noon, they emerged from the valley and arrived at the northern edge of Valley Land.
Before them lay a trumpet-shaped open area.
Where the stream exited the valley, Valley Land was less than one hundred feet wide.
To the right was a low, gentle slope, with a flat area on top of it.
Less than two miles further south, the terrain suddenly opened up, reaching a maximum width of one mile.
On both sides, the series of mountains from the Bore Mountain and Carmel Mountains gradually rose, until they were level with the main range.
After entering Valley Land, the stream became gentler, and its surface wider.
The river flowed through the middle of Valley Land, winding its way southward.
Six miles to the south, it curved around a gentle hill near the right-side mountain range before continuing south.
Valley Land had been unmanaged for hundreds of years, and wild grasses grew everywhere, with some areas of cogongrass growing taller than a person.
The two rode out of the Valley Mouth and walked south along the riverbank into Valley Land.
On the right bank, the weeds had clearly been cut to form a small path, and every few dozen steps, there was a small path leading deeper into the wilderness—these must have been left by Cooper and Scott during their previous survey.
After about a mile, the previously cleared path ended, and the two rode slowly and with difficulty through the tall grass.
“My Lord, there’s movement in the tall grass.”
Ron, riding the green mule, looked into the half-human-high wild grass; the clumps of grass were shaking.
“It might be wild boars or rabbits, startled.
We need to be careful.”
He took out the riding bow from his saddle and held it in his hand.
They traveled south, and aside from the difficulty of navigating through the human-high wild grass, they were safe and sound.
Any wild animals that occasionally appeared were startled and scattered.
As the sun began to set, they finally reached the small hill near the right-side mountain range in Valley Land.
They tied their mule and horse to a small tree and began to climb to the top of the hill.
The hill was not high, and they reached the summit in no time.
At the top of the hill was a flat area of about half an acre, with a few sparse dwarf pines and birch trees growing there.
To the west of the hill was a steep cliff, while the eastern slope gently extended towards the river, surrounded by water to form a small peninsula on three sides.
Art stood on the hilltop, his right hand shielding his eyes as he looked south.
The river continued to flow southwest, passing through a patch of overgrown wilderness and entering a dense forest.
As far as the eye could see, further south of the dense forest was a large area of hills and basins intertwined, extending all the way to the southern canyon.
In the far distance, beyond sight, the mountain gorge continued south, following the Carmel Mountains all the way to the plains north of Lombardy…
This was Art’s first in-depth exploration of the entire Valley Land.
“My Lord, it’s amazing.
Who would have thought there would be such a wide expanse of land amidst these mountains and forests?”
Ron was astonished by the vast land before him.
“Yes, I didn’t expect it either.
It is said that hundreds of years ago, this was a trade route connecting north and south.
But now, it’s a forgotten corner of God.”
At noon, they ate some bread with clean water at the foot of the hill before starting their return journey.
Before dark, they returned to Wood Fort.
In front of the kitchen, people held wooden bowls and utensils, gathered around the iron pot and clay jars, waiting for Emma to serve porridge.
Kazak, standing at the end of the line, saw Art returning from his outing and quickly went forward to greet him and take the reins of his horse.
“Kazak, how was your rest today?”
“My Lord, we all rested well.
This morning, we helped Old Butler register everyone and inventory supplies, and this afternoon, we joined everyone in the dense forest to cut a lot of firewood.”
“Good, go eat.”
Art handed the horse to Ron and walked directly into his small courtyard.
Cooper was still discussing the land reclamation and farming with Scott, Lawrence, and several farmers.
“My Lord (Sir), you’re back,” everyone greeted Art.
“Go eat first.
After dinner, Cooper, Scott, and Lawrence come to me.
I want to hear the results of your discussion,” Art said, returning to the wooden house.
Ron had just finished clearing the tableware from the wooden table when Cooper brought several people, carrying low stools and wooden blocks, into the wooden house and found seats.
Art put down the wooden cup in his hand and said to Cooper and the others, “Let’s take it one thing at a time.
Cooper, you first tell us about the registration of the displaced people and the inventory of supplies.”
Cooper picked up several flat pieces of birch bark and said, “Alright, My Lord, after clearing and registering, there are thirteen households with thirty-four people in Wood Fort, including thirteen adult farmers, eleven farmwomen, six children over ten years old, and four children under ten years old; one Master Craftsman, and his old wife and two small granddaughters.
Additionally, there are Ron, four Soldiers including Odo, and you and I, totaling forty-three people.”
Cooper then took out another piece of birch bark and read, “Regarding supplies, in addition to all items brought by the farmers themselves.
We currently have two acres of land, over twelve hundred pounds of stored grain, twenty-one farm tools, one four-wheeled cart, one mule and one horse each.
In addition, there are some miscellaneous items such as axes, wood saws, iron pots, and cooking utensils.
In terms of weapons, there are eleven short spears, ten spearheads, three longswords, seven shortswords, five battle axes, four bows, over fifty arrows, three sets of leather armor, one set of iron armor, two iron helmets, one round shield, three sets of saddles, eight sets of clothing and other items, as well as some blankets, water bags, whetstones, and other miscellaneous items.
The grain and weapons are temporarily stored in Odo and their room, and the farm tools are in the stable.
I manage all daily withdrawals.”
Cooper handed the birch bark to Art.
Art took it, glanced at it, and handed it back to Cooper, “Regarding supplies, it’s enough for you few to know.
Don’t let it spread, especially the amount of stored grain.”
“Yes, My Lord, currently the minimum daily consumption is thirty pounds of barley, and after land reclamation and farming, the average daily consumption will exceed forty pounds.
Our stored grain can last at most about a month.
Moreover, during spring planting, a large amount of seeds will be needed, and after spring planting until autumn harvest, we will still need to supply a large amount of grain,” Cooper said, organizing the birch bark in his hand.
“Hmm, Cooper, don’t worry, I will find a way to deal with the grain and supplies.
Your main task is to manage the land reclamation and farming, and matters within Wood Fort.
Scott and Lawrence, you two must share the burden with Old Butler,” Art said to them.
“That’s enough about supplies.
Now let’s talk about land reclamation.
Cooper, you speak first, and the rest of you can add to it.”
“My Lord, land reclamation and farming is a big undertaking, and many problems will have to be solved as we go, but today I invited Scott, Lawrence, and some farmers to discuss a general plan.”
Art looked at Cooper and nodded, signaling him to continue.
“Some time ago, Scott and I carefully surveyed Valley Land to the south.
Valley Land is generally quite fertile, especially near the river where most of the soil is black.
However, the entire Valley Land is overgrown with weeds, and their roots are deeply embedded in the soil, making reclamation very arduous.
Our plan is this: first, reclaim two plots of wasteland, each three hundred yards on both sides of the river and extending half a mile south, bounded by the river, totaling about one hundred acres of land.
These two plots are the most fertile and are also close to the river, making irrigation convenient.”
“Hmm, reclaiming the most fertile land along both sides of the river first is acceptable.
Cooper, when designating the reclamation area, designate more as my military farmland, initially set to supply enough grain for fifteen Soldiers.”
“Yes, My Lord.
Regarding the specific steps for reclamation, we think the simplest method is burning the grass.
To prevent the fire from spreading too much, we can first cut a firebreak thirty feet wide along the boundaries, then set fire to the wild grass within the firebreak.
This way, we won’t have to spend a lot of effort cutting grass, and the ashes from the burned weeds can also increase soil fertility.”
“Hmm, that works.
The weather is good these days, the snow is almost completely melted, and the dry weeds will be easy to ignite.”
“Yes, My Lord.
Once the weeds are burned, we will organize everyone to quickly plow, level, and harrow the land before it freezes,” Cooper explained the reclamation steps one by one.
“Alright, Cooper, I said I don’t understand farming.
The matter of land reclamation and farming is your responsibility.
Scott and Lawrence, you two will assist Old Butler.
If there are any problems, tell me, and I will do my best to solve them for you.
Cooper, I trust you.”
Art had great confidence in this former Master Craftsman and farm owner.
“Is there anything else to add?” Art asked the others.
Lawrence stood up and bowed to Art.
“Lawrence, don’t be constrained.
You can say whatever you think.”
“My Lord, I want to ask you, how will the reclaimed land be allocated, what about the wheat seeds, and—and will there really be no rent or tax for the first year?”
Lawrence’s questions were also concerns for all the farmers.
“I said I would give everyone enough land to cultivate.
Just now, Old Butler said he planned for a hundred acres of land.
This is how I intend to do it: once the land is reclaimed, each adult man and woman will be allocated three acres, and each child over ten years old will be allocated two acres.
There will be no tax for the first year, then one-fifth tax thereafter, and after five years, the land will belong to you.
Farm tools will be lent to you free of charge, and I will also lend you wheat seeds for both spring and autumn seasons in the first year; you will return them to me after the harvest.
As a condition, you must cultivate my military farmland well.”
“Cooper, how much grain do you estimate that land can produce?”
“For the first year, one pound of wheat seeds can produce at most three pounds of grain.
In subsequent years, it is estimated to produce five to six pounds.”
“Ah? But your wheat field this year produced five hundred pounds of grain from fifty pounds of seeds—”
“That’s because the land was too small, and I was in the field every day, personally watering and weeding every wheat seedling, so of course, the yield was higher.
With such a wide expanse of land now, it’s impossible to cultivate it like that.
Moreover, we currently lack heavy plows and draft horses, so we cannot deep-plow to bring up fertile soil with just iron hoes and light plows.”
Due to the lack of sufficient farm tools and livestock, the newly reclaimed land could only be shallowly plowed, preventing its fertility from being fully utilized.
It was estimated that the harvest after spring planting in the first year, after returning and reserving seeds for the following year, would barely be enough for everyone to make a living, with no surplus.
The people in the room discussed the land reclamation and farming for most of the night, roughly planning the division of labor, use of farm tools, food supply, and many other matters.