As the woodland on the south bank of the Redwater River was gradually cleared, the day of plowing was approaching.
In order to facilitate people from both sides of the Redwater River, Roland ordered people to build a pontoon bridge nearly 100 meters across the river. The lower part of the bridge was made by carpenters, connected by thick hemp ropes. He also specifically told the carpenters that the two ends of the rafts should be placed at a sharp angle, so that the resistance of the water would be smaller. The hemp ropes were wound layer by layer around four round stakes on the shore, so that the position of the rafts was as stable as possible. In the middle of each raft, four long planks were laid as a bridge deck, which was about two meters long, allowing four people to pass side by side.
The raft pontoon bridge was very simple to build, and its service life was not low. As long as the river did not rise or fall sharply, causing the hemp ropes to break, it could be guaranteed to last for two or three years – the trees in the Concealing Forest were of excellent quality, for example, the piers and pavements of Border Town's pier were processed from giant trees in the forest, and their service life was almost the same as that of Border Town. Although it creaked when walking on it, there was still no sign of it collapsing.
Across the pontoon bridge to the west, the first piece of land to be reclaimed was Leaf's experimental field. Now it was surrounded by wooden planks, and the entrance was guarded by the soldiers of the First Army. These days, besides eating, attending classes, and sleeping, Leaf spent 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 behind the wooden fence – where the wheat was growing crazily. In the morning, it was still green, but in the afternoon, it had already turned into a sea of gold.
The Golden Ones, which relied on magic to grow, had a ripening speed of one seed a day, if it was seen by outsiders, they would probably kneel down and call it a miracle.
Seeing that the land, population, and seeds were all ready, Roland decided to add the last link: the supervisor.
He called Barov, the Minister's Assistant, who had recently been very busy.
"Your apprentices should be able to handle things on their own, right?" Roland asked, "I need to set up two new departments in the City hall."
"Your Highness, this … we don't have enough manpower." Barov said awkwardly.
In the past, you would agree first, and then slowly discuss the details, but now you have learned to complain first. Roland criticized in his heart, but on the surface, he was indifferent. "How could it not be enough? Didn't I just give you a batch of Knight?"
Roland's first round of inspection selected more than 50 Knight who met the requirements and could read and write. There wasn't a need for so many teachers, so only the best of the best were selected. In the end, nine Knight were chosen to be primary teachers, and the rest were assigned to City Hall to start as apprentices.
"Your Highness, those people are slow, lazy, and slow to react. They even make a few mistakes when copying the information. They are not qualified to be apprentices."
"How to discipline them is your business," Roland knocked on the table, "If they don't obey the arrangement, they will be directly sent to the North Slope Mine. But I must establish these two departments. "
"Alright, 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 stunned, apparently it was the first time that he heard that City Hall even managed the farming, "Your Highness, isn't this kind of thing for the serfs to deal with? How they plant and how they harvest has nothing to do with us, as long as we receive the full amount of taxes."
"That's why you … No, I mean, in the past, the crop harvest was so low." Roland picked up the cup and drank a mouthful of water to cover up his slip of the tongue, "A responsible City Hall should take care of the people's food and drink."
"Food and drink … Are you kidding?"
"Of course not, the importance of food and drink is not to mention, if the people can't eat their fill, it would be a dereliction of duty of City Hall, as well as my dereliction of duty. As for the second half, isn't the public toilet project built for this purpose? " He put away his relaxed tone and seriously said to Barov, "I don't know how the City Hall of King's City operates, perhaps the life and death of the civilians is of no importance to them, but in Border Town, I want to establish an all-rounded political organization, it must know the situation of the territory and the people like the back of its hand, so that it can obtain the wholehearted support of the people, and the decrees issued can also be carried out efficiently. Now I will tell you the composition of this department and the tasks it needs to undertake, you must remember it well. "
"Yes, Your Highness." Barov wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Go to the Archives, find three or four people who have done farm work, and bring them into the Ministry of Agriculture. Also transfer two apprentices, who will be responsible for recording and statistical work, six people will be more or less enough. "
"Wait … You want the civilians to serve as City Hall officials?" Barov was shocked.
"Not only are they obedient, but they also work hard, why can't they serve as officials? Officials are not equal to nobles, and the Ministry of Agriculture also needs some professionals to guide the future farming. "
"But most of them don't even know how to read …"
"That's why I need you to first send two apprentices to help with the paperwork," Roland interrupted, "and this situation won't last too long, I will soon implement a universal education program in the territory, the goal is to let everyone be able to read and write, when the time comes you will no longer have to worry about a lack of manpower."
Obviously, this news surprised Barov even more than letting the civilians into the City Hall, he slightly opened his mouth, but for a long time he couldn't say a word.
Roland didn't care whether he could accept it or not, and continued: "Back to the matter of the Ministry of Agriculture, when the serfs cultivate their own land, there will inevitably be a phenomenon of uneven levels, for example, some people plow deeper, some people sow more densely. 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, the depth of the plow, the sowing interval and so on. I will give them measuring tools, and teach them how to use them. "
"You mean … comparison?" Barov might be old-fashioned in some aspects, but his brain was still relatively fast.
"Yes, for the first time farming, there is no need to care too much about the harvest. Continue to maintain food imports and … use some new varieties of wheat seeds, enough to ensure that no one will go hungry. I need to find the most suitable method among these methods, write it into a manual and record it. In the future, the planting of wheat will be carried out according to this method, and the Ministry of Agriculture will be responsible for promoting, guiding and supervising it. "
Roland didn't know much about farming, but this didn't prevent him from using a scientific thinking method to summarize an optimal plan. With this set of plans, whether it was to expand the area of farming or to add new farmers, the average output of the land could be maintained at a relatively high level.
Barov nodded, then hesitated and said: "Your Highness, there is one thing I don't understand, after the serfs are promoted to free people, why do you only collect 20% of the crops as land tax? Even if you ask for 50%, you can leave 50% for them, which shows that you are very generous. "
"Because there is no point in piling up the coins in the basement," Roland explained, "After 20% is paid, I will use a fixed price to buy the rest of the grain in their hands – in Border Town, the grain trade is the exclusive business of the Lord. In this way, the castle will get food, and they will get paid. After a certain amount of savings, they will want to buy some things … such as cattle, iron farming tools, beef, cotton clothes, and good brick houses, which only I can provide. If the town's residents want to buy food, they can only buy it from the castle. So in the end, the money will still flow back into my pocket, but in this cycle, it will continue to improve everyone's living standards, do you understand? "
Barov frowned, and didn't answer for a long time, apparently he was in a state of puzzlement.
Roland smiled and shook his head, "If you don't understand, you can go back and think about it slowly, but for now, just do as I say."
The assistant minister stood up in a trance, but when he reached the door, he suddenly turned around, "Your Highness, you just said that you want to establish two departments, what is the other one?"
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