In Victor's territory, Bruce always sees a lot of new things, and at first he just satisfies his curiosity and just looks at it. Now, Bruce is watching, asking, and listening with a learning attitude, because this is his job, and he is also a lord.

"Victor, do these farmers grow sweet potatoes?" asked Bruce, pointing to a farmer not far away, in surprise.

Even when he wasn't farming, Bruce knew that arable land was extremely valuable, especially when it was close to a water source and should be full of crops. Here, however, he saw the farmer burying the round potatoes in deep holes. Bruce felt that although sweet potatoes were edible, there was no need to occupy fertile arable land.

Victor nodded and smiled, "It's indeed a sweet potato." If it weren't for the 500,000 pounds of seeds you supplied, I'd be going to plant all the potatoes here. ”

It turned out that there were not enough seeds. Bruce said apologetically: "Victor, we don't have enough seeds, we can only give you 500,000 pounds this year, I'm afraid that in the next few years, we won't even be able to sell you food." Fortunately, you don't have a large population, so growing some sweet potatoes should be enough to meet the needs of the people. ”

Victor said that he understood, and the Yorks were not having a good time, after all, they had a population of 120,000, and Sylvia was able to squeeze out 500,000 pounds of seeds for him, and she had indeed done her best. However, if Sylvia can send him seeds, Victor can surprise her.

"Bruce, how much arable land do you have? How many acres of barley can you plant this year?" asked Victor.

"My territory can reclaim at least more than 400,000 acres of arable land, and this year I plan to reclaim 40,000 acres of arable land first, because I only get 1 million pounds of seeds, about 10,000 acres of barley, and the other 30,000 acres of arable land, I am ready to plant alfalfa, raise cattle and sheep. ”

After Bruce was promoted to Grand Knight, he was canonized as a baron and owned more than 7,000 square kilometers of territory. Bruce was pleased with his territory, the Black River ran through the entire territory, and he could not only build castles along the riverbank, but also reclaim hundreds of thousands of acres of arable land. Although Bruce is now poor and there are more than 4,000 people begging for a living under him, the family will support him for three years for free, and he will need to give back to the family after three years, which is the advantage of being backed by power.

"Bruce, I suggest you plant 20,000 acres of potatoes as well. Victor suggested.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be as cost-effective as growing alfalfa to grow potatoes. After all, cattle and sheep are worth more. Even if there is not enough food, the kingdom will provide some of it, and we will buy some more, and it will be enough. Wouldn't it be better if in three years we'd have enough seeds, and herds of sheep and cows?" Bruce said euphemistically, he couldn't understand why Victor was still growing these worthless sweet potatoes because of his small population.

Victor sighed, and from Bruce's words, it was clear that the Yorks' agricultural planning was still an established pattern, and they were completely unaware of the changes that the ant tide had brought to the territory. If the York family fails to seize this rare opportunity, one of Victor's grand plans will not be realized.

"Bruce, you have so much land suitable for reclamation, and it doesn't matter if you have 20,000 acres of sweet potatoes, doesn't it?" Victor laughed and said, "A year ago, no lord knew that poisonous sweet potatoes could also be used as food. Although, you have tasted sweet potatoes, but you don't know the true value of sweet potatoes.

This crop has many advantages, one acre of arable land planted 50 pounds of sweet potatoes can harvest 300 pounds of sweet potatoes next year, and its yield is one to six, while barley is one to two.

In addition, sweet potatoes grow in the ground, so they are not pecked by birds. In fact, with the exception of wild boars, almost no animals spoil sweet potatoes. I've heard from my farmers that even if you look closely, about 10 percent of your wheat will be spoiled by birds every year. In order to preserve the harvest, the farmer had to guard the wheat field at all times, otherwise the flying thieves would eat the wheat to the fullest. This can be manpower-intensive. The potatoes do not need to be cared for, and the farmer only needs to water and fertilize them regularly.

Of course, sweet potatoes also have disadvantages, after all, it is slightly toxic, and we humans cannot eat it for a long time, so we still need to grow barley and wheat. In addition, sweet potatoes are more damaging to the soil, so they need enough fertilizer.

These disadvantages of sweet potatoes are nothing compared to its advantages of high yield and labor saving. Now that we have land, water, and farmers, it is the seeds that really constrain us from sowing seeds. In that case, why not plant some sweet potatoes?"

"You're right, I'm idle anyway, I'll plant 20,000 acres of potatoes. Bruce laughed and said he really didn't like sweet potatoes, but since it didn't take much manpower to grow sweet potatoes, it didn't matter if he planted some.

Victor shook his head and said, "I planted this batch of potatoes not only to supplement the lack of food, but to breed. In three years, I will plant 100,000 acres of potatoes. ”

"What? So much! You just said that sweet potatoes will destroy the soil? Victor, I suggest that you better plant some alfalfa, because cattle and sheep are wealth. Sometimes, cattle and sheep can even be used directly as a kinsol. Bruce was startled and hurriedly persuaded.

Victor didn't explain, only said, "Let's go, I'll take you somewhere." ”

Bruce followed Victor in confusion, and not long after walking, he saw a large area of sheds. Before Bruce could get closer, he heard the snorting of a wild boar coming from the shed. There are hundreds of wild boars in the shed. Bruce couldn't help but ask, "Are you still raising wild boars in captivity?"

"The taste is a bit big. ”

Since awakening the Moon Elves' talent for popularity, Victor's five senses have become extremely acute, and the stench emitted by these wild boars has made him a little unbearable.

After using X-3 to dilute the smell, Victor said, "The wild boar is not as valuable as cattle or sheep, but it eats almost everything, acorns, worms, termites, sea buckthorn fruits, blue core grass, these things that are useless to us can be used as food for wild boars." Raising a wild boar can produce about 500 pounds of meat and lard a year, while a sheep can provide more than 100 pounds of mutton at most, and cattle need three years to slaughter, but it is only about 1,000 pounds of beef. Are you saying it's worth raising pigs?"

"Victor, I can't agree with you. ”

Bruce shook his head and said: "Cowhide, tendon, and sheepskin are worth more than meat, not to mention that cows and sheep also produce milk." As for wild boars, our Yorkie family knows them too well to raise them at all, they are everywhere in the wild. You may not know that the lord generally allows the lord to hunt wild boars in the territory, and as for us nobles, it doesn't matter if we eat wild boar once in a while, but if we eat more, we will lose our identity. Now that you keep wild boars in captivity, your lords will probably think that you are a stingy lord, after all, wild boars are the main source of meat for your lords. ”

In the territory, all resources, including wild boars, are the property of the lord, and Bruce mistakenly believes that Victor keeps pigs in captivity to prevent the lord from poaching, which can be called harsh.

Victor frowned, he really hadn't thought about it. For a long time, Victor's subjects have exchanged labor for work, and labor for food, which is equivalent to eating a big pot of rice. But whether it is a vassal, a vassal, or a freeman, they all want private property. The reason why the lords are willing to eat the big pot of rice is because they are in the system of exchanging labor for land, and Victor's current subordinates are either members of the labor division system or alchemy militia. The question is, what about the later freedmen when they see that Victor is even a wild boar in captivity, will they still want to stay and settle down?

"Bruce, I think raising wild boars is the best option. ”

Victor decided to put this issue aside and first recommended his farming system to Bruce, "Have you noticed, after the ant tide, all the beasts in the Centaur Hills are gone, only herds of wild boars remain. These wild boars have no natural predators, or they will be flooded in a short time. By that time, do you think the lords will still be able to collect berries and wild vegetables in the wild?"

Bruston was stunned, he was no stranger to the food sources of the people, in addition to growing crops and livestock, hunting and gathering accounted for a large part. In the green and yellow season, the people usually need to collect all kinds of wild fruits, nuts, mushrooms and wild vegetables to serve as food, but these important wild crops are also the food of wild boars, if the wild boars eat all of these, what will the people do? You can't eat pork all at once, right? Moreover, wild boars are fierce and not easy to hunt, and there are not a few hunters who die under the fangs of wild boars every year.

"Bruce, if the wild boars are left alone, they will not only eat up wild crops, but also threaten the survival of yellow sheep and bobtail deer. A few years later, only wild boars remained in the wild of the Centaur Hills. Therefore, before the wild boar is overflowing, we need to control the wild boar population. Now, you have two options, either kill all the wild boars or keep them in captivity. ”

"My choice is to keep wild boars in captivity, uncontrolled wild boars are pests, and wild boars in captivity are valuable assets. These wild boars can turn what we don't eat into meat that we can eat. Wild boar manure is a very good fertilizer that can increase food production. And without wild boars in the wild, there will be more delicious yellow sheep and bobtail deer, wild fruits and wild vegetables, and people who go out to gather and hunt will be safer. I grow so many sweet potatoes just to raise more wild boars. ”

"Bruce, if I manage the territory the way I do, the total amount of food will increase at least three times. Victor said impassionedly.

"Then don't you raise cattle and sheep? Without cowhides, we can't make leather armor! We can't just produce grain. Bruce woke up from the scene Victor had sketched for a long time and said slowly.

Victor smiled: "Bruce, after the ant plague, are there still beasts in the territory? Of course, cattle and sheep can graze in the wild!"

Bruce's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "yes! Why didn't I think of it! Victor, you are really a different yellow sheep!"

"I'm a yellow sheep?!"

Bruce smiled awkwardly and explained Edwin's assessment to Victor.

Victor shook his head and smiled, "Master Edwin's analogy is really vivid. Then he said, "In a few years, the beast will eventually return." So, I plan to set up settlements in the wilderness and let people specialize in herding cattle and sheep. As for the problem of water sources, it can also be solved. I plan to build a cistern out of grey bricks to collect rainwater for the use of settlements. As long as there is no drought, the problem of drinking water in the settlements can be fully satisfied. ”

"Wait, what are you talking about?cistern??," Bruce asked excitedly.

Victor knew the reason for Bruce's excitement, water was an important factor that limited human production activities, and some territories were very vast but could only feed a few thousand people, because of the lack of water. Digging pits to store water is not new, but the water in the pits can easily seep into the ground and cannot be stored for a long time. Pools made of blue bricks can do just that. However, to expand the village with a cistern is wishful thinking.

Victor explained the characteristics of the brick cistern to Bruce, saying, "The rainwater collected in the cistern is only enough for cattle and sheep to drink, and there is no way to use it for farming. ”

"It's a shame. Bruce shook his head regretfully, and then said excitedly, "However, it is good to be able to herd cattle and sheep. ”

Victor secretly rejoiced that as long as the York family tasted the sweetness of the cistern, they would not refuse his offer.

"Bruce, I have a treasure for Sylvia. Victor smiled mysteriously.

Bruce saw that it was a wooden tool shaped like a giant bow, and the bottom of the wooden tool contained a ploughshare made of fine iron, and he asked suspiciously, "Is this a plow?"

"That's right, this is the plough I designed. Victor nodded

Victor had seen his farmers plough the land, using a kind of ox-powered hook plough to plough the land. He only saw the farmer driving the oxen, ploughing once horizontally, and again vertically, and only ploughing a shallow layer of soil. Victor's face was dark at that time, and even those who didn't know how to farm only cultivated the importance of intensive cultivation, and it was only hell that shallow cultivation like this could grow food. From then on, Victor wanted to build a mouldboard plow, but what happened later made him no longer have time to worry about it. It was only now that Victor had built a new plough.

"Ploughing the land with this kind of ploughing can double the grain yield!"

Bruce is gone. He came with 500,000 pounds of wheat seeds, and as he went, he clung to the plough that Victor had given him, as well as 12 sheepskin scrolls, which detailed Victor's entire agricultural production system. Bruce treasures.

In fact, even if Bruce doesn't come, Victor will have to sell his idea to the York family, because Victor has a grand plan to build a giant water project.

After the ant plague, the fish-man population on the bank of the Jinshui River was hit hard, and without the interference of the fish-people, it was a good time to dig an artificial river. But it would take at least tens of thousands of laborers to build such a mega-project, and Victor didn't have that many people, and by the time he had so manpower, the fish-people had already recovered. So, Victor was playing the idea of the Yorks.

There were 120,000 people in York's house, but it was hard to imagine that someone who was busy gathering food all day would have the time to complete such a project, let alone build three forts. Therefore, in order to liberate the productive forces, it is necessary to first fill the stomachs of the people so that they do not have to worry about food. Only in this way can these ordinary people create miracles.

Victor was not prepared to tell the York family about his plans in advance, and speaking with facts was more convincing than anything else. When the lords of the House of York were freed from their fields, it was almost impossible for them to refuse the plan to build an artificial river. The artificial river could irrigate tens of millions of acres of arable land, and Victor would be the first to benefit, and by that time, his territory would be enough to feed 200,000 people.

Victor took a sip of purple cane wine, and he calculated that the project should start in four years, and if it was too late, the fish-man would be a big problem.

"Maybe it's time to send someone to keep shooting those cute fishmen"