"Before the advent of vassalage, when our human realms were confronted by foreign enemies, it was often the situation where the lords and ecclesiastical armies fought at the front, while the people fled. When the army withdrew to the castle to rest, there was not even a hot soup, and the soldiers had no way to rest, because there was no militia in the castle to help defend it, and the withdrawn people had to continue to defend the city walls. Without logistics, without support, the outcome of the battle can be imagined. ”

"The vassal system solves this problem by uniting the populace and the lord to face the threat together. In fact, if he is able, the lord would prefer all the people to be his own people. The essence of vassal system is to allow the lord to give the people more private property and higher status, only then will the people support their lord, and the richer the more determined to defend their homeland. ”

"The biggest difference between a lord and a freeman is that they can rent the land of a vassal or liege. A lord can rent up to 50 acres of arable land, of which 10 acres of the harvest belongs entirely to him. However, cultivating 50 acres of land requires at least four strong laborers, plus the young children and elderly parents in the family, how can this consular family have eight people. The people do not need to bear the burden of seeds, but in the best of the year, the grain produced on 10 acres of land will not exceed 3,000 pounds. 3,000 pounds of food is enough for a family of eight for 150 days, and they rely on hired employment to settle part of the rest of the ration, and gather and hunt to settle the rest. Victor, did you find that the people didn't save their private property!"

"Yes, where does the property of the people come from?"

Victor was at a loss, his people had been eating the big pot of rice, but the disadvantages of the big pot rice were gradually revealed, the members of the division of labor system were fine, after all, there was still the carrot of vassal status hanging in front, and the new freeman hired farmers had already shown passive slacking, and they preferred to spend their time on their own land. Victor realized that it was time for the big pot to die, and in order to prevent the loss of population, he had to begin to transform the freedmen into more stable lords. But Victor never thought about how the families of the people accumulated wealth, and the village chiefs did not mention this question, obviously this is common sense that does not need to be reminded, but Victor does not know.

Master Edwin did not sell it, explaining, "Those wheat stalks are the main source of income for the lords' families. ”

"Wheat straw?!"

"Hehe, isn't it just wheat straw?" Edwin laughed, "The lords store wheat in preparation for war, but you see that there is a nobleman who eats wheat porridge and bread as his staple food, and we eat more meat, milk, vegetables and fruits. Compared to these cheap grains, cattle and sheep were the main wealth of lords and vassals, and those wheat stalks were the food for cattle and sheep to pass through the water season. The price for which the lord buys straw is about 1 copper sol per pound, and the wheat straw produced per mu of wheat field is 400 pounds, and ten acres is 4,000 pounds, and the income of the lord family from selling wheat straw is 3 gold soles per year. In order to encourage the lords to plant wheat, some lords will count more wheat stalks on the heads of the lords, some are twenty acres, and some are all, and the lords call such lords benevolent and generous masters, and vice versa, they are called stingy adults. ”

Victor was stunned for a while, and said hatefully: "My village chief never reminded me!"

"Well, it's the cleverness of the populace. The church hopes that the lords are benevolent and generous masters, not stingy adults, so there is an unwritten agreement that if the lord does not explain, then all 50 acres of wheat stalks will be counted on the heads of the lords, which is also a common practice of most lords and vassals, after all, it will be more convenient to get the favor of the church and the lords. You don't want to be called a stingy adult, do you?" Edwin teased.

Victor shook his head with a wry smile and said, "So, the farming and pastoral system I designed cut off the financial resources of the people. ”

Edwin nodded and sighed, "If you graze cattle and sheep in the wild, the wheat straw becomes worthless. And wild boars don't eat wheat stalks, and wild boars are not as valuable as cattle and sheep, so what lord will use copper sol to buy food for wild boars?"

Victor thought for a moment and asked, "Why will my people lose patience in three years?, and Sylvia is also promoting my farming system, it is impossible for her not to be unaware of this flaw, why don't you remind me?"

"Another unwritten rule is that people can follow their lord to open up new territories, and after three years they can obtain the status of a lord. Without this rule, no one would want to come to the Pioneer Territory. ”

"That's as it should be. Victor's jaw head agreed, not to mention that the life of the pioneer lord is more dangerous, and he still needs to bear heavy labor, and the savings of the pioneer lord have to be invested in construction, and the people can only mix food and clothing, and it is really unreasonable to work for nothing for three years without giving a lord status.

Victor is not growing much wheat at present, less than 10,000 acres, and this year is also mainly breeding, and it doesn't matter if the freemen hire farmers to work for Victor for three years, but when they find out that they have no income when they become a lord, most of them will leave, and smart people may find their own way out in three years.

Edwin continued: "Of course Sylvia knows about the problem, and regardless of the problem, your method is perfect for the current situation in terms of efficiency. Raising wild boars in captivity, so that cattle and sheep have more abundant food, and replacing beef and mutton with pork, the number of cattle and sheep can increase exponentially, and after three years, the cattle and sheep in the hills can return to the pre-war size, and even greatly exceed. ”

"It's not too late to change it in three years, is it?, but why didn't Sylvia remind me?" asked Victor dissatisfied.

"Huh. Master Edwin laughed dryly twice and said, "You are Sylvia's baby bump now, she doesn't want people to interfere with you, maybe you can solve the problem yourself....... anyway, even if you fail, the Yorks will support you." ”

The corners of Victor's mouth twitched, Edwin said nicely, the York family is not using him as an experimental field, if he succeeds, the York family will follow the experience, and if it fails, the York family will open their arms to him. Of course, this is also the environment that Victor needs, it turns out that there is no power, and there is only a dead end to develop behind closed doors, if it were not for Sylvia's support, Victor has become the queen's puppet. And the manpower and material resources of the York family were originally an important part of his plan. Thinking of this, Victor has nothing to complain about.

"Victor, you are very special, you have not received an orthodox lord's education, and there are many novel ideas that are very similar to my views. Being a White Tower Scholar is all about being able to solve problems, but I'm too old to have the patience of Sylvia, and I'd love to hear more of what you think. Master Edwin smiled heartily.

Victor also smiled, Edwin, as a master scholar of the Silver and White Tower, and the uncle of the Duke of York, did not have to be subject to Sylvia's constraints. Sylvia didn't ask the question, not because she had any bad thoughts, but because she was afraid that Victor would be afraid to stop and become a cautious mediocre lord. But how would they know that Victor comes from a world of information explosion, and there are many successful experiences to learn from.

Victor pondered for a moment and said, "Master, the problem of the income of the people is not difficult to solve. I can increase the area of rented land and the proportion of income from the people from 50 mu to 70 mu, and from 20 percent to 30 percent. ”

Edwin was stunned for a while, and said in disappointment: "This is your solution? What about the vassals? This is to the detriment of the vassals and the lords themselves, you must know that the lords and lords provide the seeds for farming. ”|

"Of course I do. If you knew that I planted 70 pounds of wheat seed per acre and expected to harvest 350 pounds, I wouldn't have been so disappointed. Victor said lightly.

"What are you talking about?!, this can't be!" Edwin shouted in disbelief.

From the perspective of income, the vassals prefer to grow more pasture, but it is mandatory for the lord to plant wheat, and the first seeds of the vassal are also provided by the lord free of charge, because when castles and villages are besieged, wheat that is easy to store is an important material for human survival.

However, the world's agricultural technology is very backward, and the annual harvest is not good. In a good year, the harvest is only three times as much as the sown, and in a bad year, it is at most twice as much. Based on 50 acres of land, 120 pounds of seeds per mu, and 300 pounds of harvest, the vassal put in a total of 6,000 pounds of wheat seeds, and the income was 15,000 pounds of wheat, deducting 3,000 pounds of income from the lord's family, and the vassal harvested 12,000 pounds of grain, and the net income after deducting the seeds was 6,000 pounds, and then half of it was handed over to the lord, and the vassal only got 3,000 pounds of grain, which was the same as the lord's family. If the income of the vassal is increased from 20% to 30%, then the vassal will not earn as much as the vassal. Therefore, the ratio of crops to harvest is the main reason that restricts peasants' incomes.

Throughout the history of human development on the earth, it is not difficult to find that raising the income of the people is something that the rulers diligently pursue, and violating this law will collapse any kingdom. This world is no exception, without the support of the people, the lord becomes a bare-knuckle commander, and even a castle cannot be built, and the family cannot have a golden knight from generation to generation. Victor understands this and has the ability to solve problems.

In the modern society of China, the seeds of wheat per mu are about 20 catties, the harvest is 900 catties, and the seed-harvest ratio is 1 to 45. In addition to the factors of chemical fertilizer and good wheat seeds, using the methods of deep cultivation, frequent irrigation, and frequent fertilization, Victor thinks that it is possible to achieve a harvest ratio of 1 to 5.

According to the calculation of 70 acres of cultivated land rented by the lords, 4,900 pounds of wheat seeds were put in, 24,500 pounds were harvested, and the lord's family took 7,350 pounds of three, and the remaining 17,150 pounds of wheat were deducted from the wheat seeds, and the vassals and lords each got 6,125 pounds of wheat. On the surface, the income of vassals and lords is not as good as that of the lords, but the actual income per mu has increased by 17 pounds compared with the beginning, and the deep cultivation has reduced the input of seeds, but it has greatly increased the labor cost.

Edwin counted on the ground with a branch for a long time, and when he came to the result, he was stunned for a long time, and then asked, "Victor, how can you be sure that there will be a 1-to-5 harvest?"

Victor laughed, "I guessed. ”

Edwin: "......"

"Won't you know when we harvest this year? Even if we don't have such a harvest, it's not too late to change it back." ”

Edwin stared at Victor for a long time, and said in a deep voice: "Victor, I don't ask how this farming method came about. If there is a 1-to-5 harvest, you are not a generous and benevolent master, but a great lord. I'm looking forward to this day. ”

Victor said, "Master, it's okay to tell you, didn't you notice that the roots of the purple cane are very long? Anyway, I have fewer people and more land now, and my territory has not been formed, so I have no loss by trying, right?"

"Victor, daring to try is your greatest strength. Edwin sighed

Victor continued: "Actually, internal defects are easy to solve, but deep cultivation is inseparable from fertilizer, and wild boars are an indispensable part of the farming and pastoral system. So, external defects are the problem. ”

"Definitely. Edwin frowned and said: "Cattle and sheep have no ability to resist wild beasts in the wild, if this problem cannot be solved, your farming and animal husbandry system will not be able to be implemented." Sylvia even planned to wait for the beast to appear, then slaughter all the wild boars in captivity and re-raise the cattle and sheep. ”

Victor did not speak, nor did he rush to recommend the artificial river plan. As long as the harvest ratio of 1:5 or even higher is achieved this year, the York family will definitely not give up the new farming and pastoral system, and it will not be too late to guide them slowly at that time. What needs to be done now is to convince Edwin to dig up the reservoir and ditch.

"Master, let's talk about it later. Let's go see how Nicole is doing. ”