I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 26

EP.26

A month after the punishment of those who exploited the farmers under the previous lord.

In my office, I received and read the farming reports from the village chiefs, who were like the village heads of each territory, and was expressing my distress at the lack of measures, holding my head in my hands.

My dignity might have been diminished if the soldiers saw me like this, but it was okay since I was the only person in this office anyway.

But just in case, I opened the door, looked around, made sure no one was there, closed the door again, and shouted.

“It’s a fucking fantasy world, so we managed to survive even though we did some farming. “If farming had been done in the Middle Ages in Europe, everyone would have starved!”

And I can say this:

‘If we go back to the Goryeo period in our country’s history, we would have farmed more efficiently than these children!’ That’s it.

To put it this way, you might think that this would not be possible in a country with a system for centralization, such as a modern educational institution such as an academy or the separation of lords and the military.

In fact, this empire’s farming method was like a farming chaos 5 minutes before it was opened.

That’s also why when farming, you have to plow the field, dig furrows, make raised beds, plant the seeds at the right intervals, and provide water and fertilizer well to have a good year’s farming.

The farming method of this era was to roughly plow the field, sow seeds without making any furrows, and add straw to cow dung as fertilizer and roughly rotten fertilizer.

I didn’t want to farm using the four-rotation cropping method that saved Britain, but wouldn’t it be unconscionable to farm in this way and hope that there won’t be a disaster like a bad harvest?

So, I began to recall memories written in the past when I read an introduction to military science and in books I read to understand medieval and modern history.

As a result, they succeeded in creating a farming method that was better than expected.

Now all I have to do is teach them the good farming methods I came up with and order them to implement them. I wish they would come quickly…

And as the old saying goes, even a tiger will come when told, I thought I should come quickly, and the local officials of the territory suddenly appeared and came into my office and greeted me.

“I meet Sir Peter Jaeger, lord of the Bruno estate.”

“It was hard to come from far away. “Okay, sit comfortably.”

In fact, since the territory is not that big, it can be reached in about 4 hours by horseback, so it is not that far by fantasy world standards.

However, I wonder if my words had a big impact on those people who had been abused and harassed excessively by their former lords.

Among the landowners and village chiefs, some were already in tears.

I reached out to them and calmed them down, then spoke.

“How is life these days? Let a representative among you come forward and answer.”

When I said that, the landowner in his 50s, who had gained weight and was easier to see than a month ago, came out and answered.

“The lives of the serfs have improved beyond words. Until a month ago, we, and all of us, were on the verge of starving to death. However, since the lord took office and reduced taxes and lent us flour to eat immediately and oxen for farming, everyone is slowly regaining their strength. “All of this is because of the grace and merits of the new lord, so all the serfs living in the village are praising the lord.”

In fact, even in the face of a crazy lord who enjoys the reigns of the lord, unless he is a tyrant, local officials have no choice but to reply like yes men that the lord is doing everything well.

Therefore, even if you praise me as the lord in front of everyone, it cannot be considered 100% sincere.

However, I can see sincerity in the eyes of the landowner in front of me right now.

Other landowners and village chiefs nodded their heads incessantly at the words of the landowner who came out and spoke as their representative, and they continued to say, ‘Yes, we are like that too.’ A word of sympathy came out.

So, I was able to feel a little more clearly how my support policy for the territory residents and the execution or forced labor of corrupt soldiers were received by them.

“A month has passed since I rationed food and lent cattle, and what are the serfs doing now?”

“Most of the time, on weekdays, I work as a laborer and receive food to survive, and on Saturdays, I work on clearing new fields from dawn until late. “This was unthinkable in the days when no household had a cow.”

From then on, I received reports from the landowners about the current state of the estate and the economic status of the farmers for about 30 minutes.

As the report neared its end, I handed them a booklet containing instructions on how to use agricultural tools for farming and innovative farming methods to increase yields.

“The reason I called you today is partly to look into the situation of the territory and the public sentiment of the serfs. This is to order that new farming methods be introduced into our territory. The details are in the booklet I gave you, so just follow them.”

The faces of the landowners and village chiefs who heard that said, ‘Are you crazy? ‘A new farming method?’ It crumpled as if in protest.

If I turn around, they’ll hit me… He began to criticize me, even forgetting that I was a lord with the authority to execute him.

“No matter how much favor we have received from our lord, this is too much. For us, the lives of our families depend on the success or failure of our crops each year, so asking us to change the farming method overnight, which is such an important issue, is like asking us to die!”

“I completely understand that you are anxious to rebuild the territory. “So, we will go back immediately and tell the serfs to go to work right after worship on Sunday, so please take back what you have ordered.”

“My lord, please save us humble creatures.”

Just as they were protesting without realizing how precious their lives were, changing farming methods in this era and using new, untested farming methods was the same as risking one’s life.

This is because if a new farming method is introduced and the harvest falls, many people will starve to death in this era where there was little food to spare.

So, rather than getting angry and reprimanding them for making a protest that is close to the worst, my priority would be to reassure them by saying that I will compensate them so that they will not suffer any losses even if they fail.

“What you say makes sense. So, if the new farming method fails, I will take responsibility for providing food for the people of this territory for a year. I swear I will never ask you to farm like this again. “So, do you want to give it a try now?”

The local officials nodded as if relieved when they heard that, and I ordered them to open their books.

“First of all, there is something seriously wrong with your farming methods. Looking at the report you sent, it is difficult to distinguish between wheat and weeds in the spring and summer because the seeds were sowed roughly, and the seeds are not buried properly in the ground, so the seeds remain on the ground, so you have to set up a scarecrow to keep the sparrows from pecking them until they sprout. I think it’s going to look like this. “How is it?”

It’s a simple deduction that anyone who has lived in modern times can think of.

Because, just as if you give grain to a pigeon, it picks it up and eats it all, it is natural for the birds to eat up the grains if you roughly sow seeds in the field.

Even elementary school textbooks say that removing weeds when farming is most important, so anyone can understand this as long as they don’t fall asleep during class.

However, the person listening here said, ‘The High One has studied farming up to this point.’ With this thought, trust will increase.

“So, before you plant seeds from now on, roll the frame I made on the previously plowed field to mark the outline, then dig into the ground where the cross intersects, about the size of a thumb joint, and plant the seeds. Then, even if there are weeds, it will be easy to pull them out because grains such as wheat are planted regularly. “Please open the next page.”

At those words, they turned the page and opened the page with different farming methods written on it, and I watched them and continued talking.

“In addition, instead of letting weeds grow on land that has been left fallow and grazing livestock on it as before, soybeans should be planted on it. In addition, each person should collect the poop from the cows I rented, mix it with human poop straw according to the method written in the book, store it for a certain period of time, let it ferment, and then use it as fertilizer. In addition, all animals should be raised in barns next to each household, but taken out and used only when farming.”

Only then can we collect cow dung and grow soybeans so that people can eat them and the bean stems and leaves can be fed to cows.

“Also, it will be difficult due to time constraints to make fertilizer the way I mentioned before we start farming this year. Instead, before starting farming, scrape the surface black-brown soil from nearby forests or mountains, spread it over the entire field, and then use a plow to plow the field. “Other than that, do everything else as written in the book.”

See next episode