Otherworldly, Northland, rich and powerful.

Wild fields dig criss-cross fire ditches. More than a thousand farmers stood on both sides of the ditch.

One of the foremen shouted a few times to warn everyone to pay attention, and then threw a torch at the back of the fire ditch.

Behind the ditch is the land that grows with grass all year round. The grass stems are so thick that they can even exceed a person's height.

The grass is often a playground for snakes, rats and mosquitoes, and occasionally birds.

Zhou Qingfeng stood on a mound of dirt piled up behind a fire ditch and looked out over the surrounding area for several kilometers.

This land belongs to the borderlands, and there has been no clear home in the past. But from now on, it will erect boundary monuments and belong to the 'rich and powerful leaders'.

The reason why it does not belong is because it is a low-lying waterlogged area. It is neither cultivable nor inhabitable.

For agricultural civilization, it is not good to have less water, and it is not good to have more water.

For example, the real-world American continent has a large number of endless plains, which seem to have superior natural conditions.

But it was not until the advent of the Europeans with industrial civilization that it could not be exploited, and the indigenous Indians were left to hunt.

The reason is that the construction of water conservancy is also a technical work, and the level of civilization is too low to do it.

Fire ditches are also drainage ditches. Relying on the popularization of a large number of metal tools, the farmers of the 'rich and strong leaders' can efficiently carry out construction on the ground.

When the water in the low-lying areas is drained away, the wild grasses that were once thriving gradually wither.

A fire was lit in, and the grass burst into flames.

Countless snakes and rats fled in a hurry, and many farmers were busy catching them.

Zhou Qingfeng looked at it coldly and did not stop it.

Because the food of the 'rich and strong collar' has not been enough to eat, anything that can be eaten will not be wasted.

"Old Borg." Zhou Qingfeng turned around and shouted to the dwarf witch doctor, "Remember to prevent the epidemic." Things in the wilderness are always not so clean. ”

The dwarf witch doctor replied impatiently, "Got it, got it." You say this three times a day. ”

The mound was piled up from the reclaimed fields, and next to it was a newly built gravel road.

The road is about three meters wide, and the building materials are obtained on the spot, which is very rudimentary.

A few mules pulled rocks and rolled back and forth on the road, ensuring that the ground was strong and durable.

This road is the result of thousands of laborers of the 'rich and powerful leaders' in the past three months. It connects the territory to Coldwind and is one of the best roads in the area.

The road surface is slightly above the surface, and drainage ditches have been built on the sides to ensure that the roadbed will not be damaged by rain.

The mound on the side of the road is dedicated to maintenance.

New four-wheeled horse-drawn carriages run on the road, bringing tools and supplies to the road construction team.

Some distance north along the road, irrigation ditches are being built on the burned land and ridges are being leveled.

You think it's a field of happiness

Wrong!

The homeless people in the Northland have taught Uncle Zhou a good lesson!

He had always thought that he could do the work by gathering the farmers and equipping the animals with farm tools. But this is clearly wrong.

Agricultural knowledge also needs to be passed on. But the farmers of Coldwind City used to rely entirely on the sky for food, and they had no idea of intensive cultivation at all.

Many homeless people don't know anything at all, like the black uncle in Africa, who scatters seeds into the fields and waits for the harvest.

There are also homeless people who don't like farming at all. In their culture, being a farmer is a sign of unemployment, but being a robber is a serious profession.

The clash of cultures gave Zhou Qingfeng a headache.

At its peak, the 'Rich and Strong Leader' gathered more than 10,000 displaced people, but after three months, only four or five thousand were able to stay safely.

The remaining four or five thousand are still like the 'Three Harmony Great Gods', who like to work for three days a day and only accept short-term employment.

The rest of the wanderers are unstable, and if left unchecked, there are hordes of bandits.

It's hard to deal with these guys, even harder than the powerful people in Coldwind City.

For the adventurous homeless, Zhou Qingfeng can only promise a lot of money and encourage them to explore the Black Forest for 'love and dreams'.

Most of those guys will return to nature as the feces of gnolls and goblins.

As for those who are willing to do farm work, Zhou Qingfeng has to use whips and wolf dogs to teach them how to live like individuals.

Reclamation, ploughing, sowing, weeding, irrigation, fertilization, pest control, harvesting.

Zhou Qingfeng flipped through the agricultural books by himself, only to find that farming also contains a lot of knowledge and technology, which needs to be learned and accumulated.

The soil in the Northland is actually very fertile, and the area around Coldwind City is a typical black soil.

Although there is little temperature and sunshine every year, only one crop can be grown. However, as long as the cultivation is done well, the yield per mu can also be increased from 60 or 70 kilograms to more than 200 kilograms.

Such a good land has never been put to good use in the hands of the local aristocracy.

The city's magnates would never come to inspect the farmland. They will only send soldiers and tax collectors at harvest time and do nothing else.

"What a waste." Zhou Qingfeng walked forward along the road that had just been repaired. Looking at the busy farmers in the vast fields, he felt both satisfied and regretful.

"You have to teach the local natives how to grow the land, they're too lazy. Plant a crop of soybeans first, and let the farmers practice their hands. Next year, you will be able to plant more productive wheat. ”

Soybeans are easy to grow and don't require much field management, but they have low yields per acre. Wheat is the opposite.

Rubio followed behind Zhou Qingfeng and nodded to write down his master's orders.

Get off the road and go along the ditch. A dam is beginning to take shape. Heavy-duty wagons brought in stone and were used specifically for the construction of the dam.

This is a very simple water storage project, which can only raise the river level by about 1.5 meters. But with this drop of one meter and a half, it is enough to irrigate thousands of acres of newly cultivated farmland in the surrounding area.

An aqueduct and a mill were built next to the dam, and a large waterwheel lifted the river up another three metres and flowed to the core estate of the 'Rich and Powerful Lords' with the help of an overhead canal under construction.

These monumental projects have never been done before. The construction of these things alone required half of the craftsmen of the entire Coldwind City, plus the repeated training of Sheilly and the Strange Maids.

This is a challenge for everyone in the territory.

Anyone involved in the project will be amazed from the bottom of their hearts, lamenting that ordinary people can do things that are difficult for nobles and even wizards to do.

Wherever Zhou Qingfeng walked, the farmers and craftsmen naturally knelt down and bowed. Since following this strange lord, people have seen a different path in life.

The lords of the past always liked to manage their slaves with whips and shouting, and it was actually a mess.

Lord Hugo likes to be reasonable, and there are perfect rules and rewards and punishments.

The foreman cannot dispose of his subordinates at will.

The safety of ordinary farmers can be guaranteed at a minimum.

The inhabitants did not have to be terrified at the sight of the lord, for fear that the lord would be unhappy and kill himself.

But whips and wolf dogs must not be missing, and if they are missing, one day it may be 'the emancipation of the turned serfs and the welcome of the workers and peasants' family'.

The bottom layer here is such a contradiction. They are the lowliest, they are the most foolish, and they are the most hateful.

"Master, our food consumption this month has exceeded the standard by two percent. However, the volume of trade has tripled. Rubio saw that Zhou Qingfeng was in a good mood and reported a few words.

"Our heavy-duty wagons are very good, bringing in more cargo with less manpower and time. Everyone is willing to do business with Harmony Firm. ”

In commodity trade, transportation costs often account for 50 to 90 percent of the total cost.

Heavy-duty carriages with bearings, springs, and metal axles can reduce transportation costs by at least half.

The advantage in this regard is even to the extent that 'quantitative change leads to qualitative change'.

The merchants of Coldwind City both love the cheap goods that the Harmony Chamber of Commerce keeps coming, but they are also terrified of the terrifying transportation capacity of the Rich and Powerful Lords.

"Is there any news from the Longlegs family?" asked Zhou Qingfeng.

Rubio shook his head, "Nothing special.

The Longlegs were extremely wary of us at first, but it didn't take long for them to open up for trade. Because they themselves can't stand the severance of goods brought about by the border blockade.

Some merchants say that the Longlegs are hiring adventurers to reorganize their army. But this information has not been confirmed in any way. ”

Zhou Qingfeng circled around the construction site of the dam and returned to the road with a whistle.

'Swift Shadow' staggered over from the other side, carrying his master back to the Territory Manor.

A water-powered sawmill and a water-powered blower are being built near the estate, and a taller and larger iron-making furnace is mostly being repaired.

The second hydraulic forging machine was built first. The main reason is that its key components are provided by Zhou Qingfeng, which saves the craftsmen a lot of trouble.

The hammer has been increased from 20 kg to 100 kg, and the stability has been much better. The forging machine will no longer move and will have to stop for maintenance.

This is all thanks to the efforts of the Book Charm and the Mechanical Maggee.

The development of the territory is thriving, and Zhou Qingfeng has the energy to think about others.