Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 248 - 17: The Third Year

How to reclaim a swamp? Roman could only use primitive methods.

Dig a big pit, divert the accumulated water.

Level the swamp, dig ditches and canals.

Construct dykes and dams, build water conservancies.

This project was massive.

Gather all resources, integrate all forces!

The future benefits were boundless!

Firstly, pits could be used for fish farming.

Raise fish naturally, barely manage to make fish one of the sources of meat, just scoop up some nets periodically. Even if you get only tens of thousands of jin, it would still be profitable.

Secondly, the flattened swamp was best used for rice cultivation.

The climate of most of this land was not suitable for rice cultivation, but not all lands were unsuitable; this area had a subtropical climate, warm weather, sufficient sunlight, and rainfall.

Thirdly, constructing dykes and dams could improve natural conditions.

The swamp itself was situated in a low-lying area.

Every summer, with violent storms and floodwaters flowing horizontally, mosquitoes would breed, turning it into a marshland.

It was time to put an end to this phenomenon.

How could human-settled territories allow natural disasters to wreak havoc?

Subdue it!

Just like Yu the Great subdued the Yellow River, subdue it!

Of course, there was no need to insist on reclaiming certain impossible swamps.

Most low-lying swamps had very low water levels, just a dozen or so centimeters. Some were simply wetlands, intermittently covered by shallow water.

For such lands, Roman only required digging drainage ditches to drain the water, and after being sun-dried during the summer, the swamp mud would be dried.

That would make it qualified arable land.

However, some swamps had deep water levels, up to several meters or even tens of meters, which was not typical of swamps but more akin to lake water.

In such cases, Roman would keep his distance.

Using silt and stones to pile up dykes and create a barrier was sufficient.

Reclaim those that could be reclaimed, and build soil for those that could not, then plant a large amount of soil-conserving grass, which worked extremely well.

Roman estimated that once this project was completed, he could gain at least tens of thousands of mu of good arable land.

This wouldn’t be ordinary land, but extremely fertile land.

At that time, he would cultivate rice all over.

Rice yielded more than wheat, with a guaranteed yield of 150 jin per mu, and after planting for two years, increasing yield per mu to three to four hundred jin was straightforward.

With proper cultivation and domestication, rice could achieve two harvests per year.

It was known that winter wheat would yield only once a year, and another yield would require cultivating cereal crops such as leguminous plants.

...

So, Roman came here to survey the terrain.

He was the most suitable in the whole Origin City.

Using the manor pixel perspective from the large map, he looked straight down, all the terrain was in full view, making planning convenient.

What Roman had to do was simply draw lines, turning a disorderly marshland into defined patches of good land.

This would consume a massive amount of manpower and physical resources.

But if there were no people, he would capture them, bringing all the lowly commoners from the outside to serve labor, for him to dig channels, excavate riverbeds, and clear waterways.

Salted vegetables and tofu in the morning, meat soup and bread at noon, rice and stewed vegetables in the evening.

Guaranteed to fill them up!

Work them to death!

Roman walked along the edge of the swamp, sometimes by boat, probing the depth of the water with a wooden stick, and sketching the maps on white paper.

After about ten days, he finally finished this task.

He ended up filthy, with mud caked on his trouser legs.

During this period, to save time, he slept outdoors, with someone specially delivering his meals.

Fortunately, as a Conquest Knight, he was physically strong and encountered no major problems.

The winter season was when mosquitoes lay dormant, and water levels dropped, even forming thin ice, making it a suitable season for planning.

He returned to Origin Manor, enjoyed a comfortable hot bath, and during this time, he heard from the maid about things that had happened recently—nothing major, just that Gael had declared war on him.

Roman changed his clothes and went to the hall for a meal, and called for Morry.

"Are you ready? I’ll send you off now."

It wasn’t to send him away, but rather, spring had arrived.

A war was about to erupt here, and it would be inconvenient for Morry to leave then.

"Thank you for your care during this time," Morry bowed.

After dining, Roman personally escorted Morry to the dock.

The ship was already prepared, and the guards were Roman’s ten veteran soldiers. They weren’t very strong, but they were sufficient to kill a Second Rank Conquest Knight.

These men were once slaves brought over by Morry, naturally inclined to be favorable to him, unlikely to harm him.

"I won’t ask how you plan to find the Witch. Safety first, keep a low profile, and if the Witch refuses to come back with you, then just look after yourself," Roman said while standing at the dock,

"Remember, if you encounter any dangers, come back here. Only on this land can I make sure no one can touch you."

The sense of security that a powerful Monarch provided was always abundant.

What humanity seeks all their lives is peace of mind, an instinct of the genes.

In these turbulent times, just standing in front of others was enough to awe them, due to his magnetic extraordinary charisma, like a brilliant sun to those in distress.

Morry felt an impulse to kneel at his feet, like a newborn puppy seeking his protection,

Holding back tears and feeling moved, he boarded the ship and bowed again toward Roman.

The guards rowed the oars, heading toward the distance.

Morry watched as the dock grew further away, his ample sense of security disappearing gradually like sand in an hourglass.

At that moment, he suddenly felt intense anxiety and fear.

He fearfully clutched at his sleeves, like a drowning person grasping at a straw, his body trembling with fear.

His heart wanted to turn back, but his body didn’t act, a phrase echoing in his mind.

"Indecisive, no great achievement!"

"Father, I will not disgrace the life motto you gave me! If it comes to seriousness, I won’t lose to anyone!" Morry let go of his hands and opened his eyes.

His young face regained composure.

His dark brown eyes were now filled with resolute determination!

...

Roman watched as Morry sailed away.

He lifted his head, gazing at the vast sky.

It seemed it would not snow this year.

It also meant, it was his third year since he had come to this land.

He was somewhat satisfied with the developmental speed of last year.

And this year, he had even more tasks than last year.

He had made a preliminary plan—

For instance, build two more towns, and construct five large breeding farms in those towns.

The population of Origin City must exceed seventy thousand.

Increase the army to 7000 men.

Clear fifty thousand acres of land.

Construct a rudimentary waterway network.

Plant all the crop seeds that Albert had brought, preparing for next year.

...

The development goals were too many to be written down on a single planning sheet.

Roman turned around.

He looked at the broad dock, and further away, a market, but at the moment there were not many traders because commerce had not yet revived.

Economically speaking, it never stops but becomes more costly.

In an era of shortages and low production exacerbated by war, it leads to even greater shortages and even less production.

Roman knew.

To develop, to farm.

Only a stable order, a good system, a stable society could ensure his people’s benefits.

And some people... were destined not to be his people!