A group of well-armed cavalry made their way slowly along the field road north of Storm's End.

They were tall and contemplative, in groups of two, neck to neck, with the double-headed eagle coat of arms on their fine iron plate armor.

The white dragon swirled and flew in the sky, causing the farmers working in the fields to kneel and bow down.

Samwell rode at the front of the line, waving to the farmers as he listened to the report from Superintendent Gavin Mander:

“…… In your direct territory in the Stormlands, there are more than 300,000 people, 186 knights, and more than 3,600 standing troops, but most of them are still in Dorne.

There is an abundance of food in the territory, and the bastard hoarded a lot of flour, oats, and soybeans in order to defend the castle, so we don't have to worry about food for the time being.

As for the income of the territory, it mainly comes from animal skins and wood, especially the century-old hardwood unique to the Royal Forest, which can be sold for a high price, and with the taxes paid by the vassals, it is estimated that the annual income can reach 7,000 gold dragons.

In addition, I have brought brewing equipment and a group of skilled workers with me to Wind's End, and I am going to set up a brandy brewing base in Wind's End. There is also plenty of land to grow grapes, which could be a new source of income for the territory in the future. ”

"Viticulture can be done, but you have to pay attention to the scale." Samwell began, "It's more important about the food. Storm Lands shouldn't have been producing a lot of food, right? ”

"Yes, Your Majesty. The stormlands are not yet self-sufficient in food, and often need to buy food from the riverlands. ”

Samwell frowned:

"The climate here is suitable, and the land is not barren, so would the people of the Stormlands prefer to be hunters and lumberjacks rather than farming?"

"Not so, Your Majesty. I learned that there are still a lot of displaced people in the Stormlands, and even if they want to farm, they have no land to plant. Gavin explains, "There's no shortage of land in the stormlands, and the climate is suitable, but the problem is water. The only major river, the Wende River, is in the Imperial Forest, and the rest of the small rivers and streams are difficult to support large-scale arable land. ”

Samwell understood immediately.

The reason why the inter-river and the bay land became the bread basket of Westeros was because of the Trident River, and the bay land was covered by the Mandeb River and its tributaries.

Although the climate of the storm land is suitable and there is no shortage of fertile land, the only major river in the territory, the Wende River, is in the imperial forest all the way.

This is the biggest problem restricting the development of agriculture in the stormlands.

And Samwell immediately thought of a solution -

Water conservancy facilities.

However, he is also aware of the enormous difficulties faced by the programme.

Small water conservancy facilities cannot play a big role, while large water conservancy facilities are a long-term and arduous project, even in ancient China, which had a high degree of centralization, it was easy to cause public resentment, let alone Westeros under the feudal system.

However, once a large-scale irrigation system is built, the grain production in the storm land will increase dramatically.

The importance of grain production in the Middle Ages is self-evident and can almost be equated with war potential.

King Qin was able to rely on the land of Guanzhong to sweep the world, and a very important factor was the construction of the Zhengguo Canal.

was originally a "strategy to fatigue Qin", but instead it helped Qin lay the foundation of hegemony.

Samwell knows that if he wants to dominate Westeros, he must also have a solid and solid fundamentals.

The current stormlands are not yet able to take on this heavy responsibility.

First of all, the war potential of the Stormlands is not strong enough to stand out from the crowd.

Although Samwell can use the power of the Riverbend Horse Party now that it is in power, the experience of previous betrayal has taught him that this borrowed power may not be reliable.

He needs the power that he can really control.

Although the nobles of the Stormlands have all embraced him as the Storm King and have sworn allegiance, Samwell is well aware that their loyalty may not stand the real test.

If everything goes well, it's fine, but if there are setbacks in the future, these Storm Land nobles may not be willing to risk their lives to serve him.

In the final analysis, it is still his lack of prestige.

And prestige takes time to precipitate, which is what Samwell lacks the most.

Don't look at this way, the stormlanders in the field will bow down and salute when they see the procession, and call out to His Majesty Caesar, but in their hearts, the weight of the word Caesar may not be as heavy as Baratheon.

The Stormlanders are also more familiar with the banner of the Crowned Buck than the Double-Headed Eagle.

So, Samwell needed a legacy, a legacy that would benefit millions of people in the Stormlands.

A large-scale irrigation project is an excellent opportunity for Caesar's name to quickly penetrate into the hearts of every Stormlander.

The people of the Stormlands who have been blessed by him will also be more willing to fight under the leadership of the Double-headed Eagle Banner.

This is the fastest way for him to gain prestige.

After some thought, Samwell finally made up his mind.

"Gavin, when you go back, bring me all the bachelors and craftsmen who know how to build hydraulic engineering in Stormland."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gavin habitually responded, but then frowned again, "How big of a water project are you going to build?" ”

Samwell pointed to the crimson mountains looming in the distance, then turned to the northern horizon, and said with pride:

"I'm going to build an irrigation ditch that runs through the north-central part of the stormlands."

"Through the north-central part of the Stormlands?" Gavin's eyes widened.

"Yes. There is no shortage of water in the stormlands, and the storms from the Narrow Sea blow moist air over, which is blocked by the Crimson Mountains and rains, which turn into streams and groundwater, but cannot irrigate the farmland.

So, we can build a large reservoir at the foot of the mountain, which will soon be filled by mountain streams and rainwater, and continue to build ditches behind the reservoir until it joins the Wende River.

Along the way, small reservoirs can be built at suitable locations, and branch ditches can be built as hubs.

When this water conservancy project is completed, we will get tens of millions of acres of fertile land!

Gavin, tens of millions of acres of fertile land!

Do you know what that means? ”

Gavin was also shocked by this grand plan, but he quickly came to his senses and said in a complicated tone:

"Your Majesty, your idea is wonderful, but such a gigantic project...... How much does it cost to complete? ”

"It's man-made." Samwell said, "Three years ago, could you believe that we could carve out a territory like Hawksbill Island in the Crimson Mountains?" ”

Gavin shook his head and sighed, "That's a miracle!" ”

"Yes, miracles. Gavin is a miracle we have created together. Samwell looked at the young steward who had followed him first, "And in the future, we will do many more miracles." ”

Gavin was infected by the attitude of the feudal king, and finally stopped objecting:

"Then we have to solve the manpower problem first."

"It's not difficult." "We're going to have a strong workforce soon." And let's not forget the division of work, which has proven to be more effective than whipping people to get them to work. ”

"But it's also more expensive than a leather whip." Gavin reminded.

Indeed it is.

In Hawksbill Island before, in order to cash in on the huge amount of work, although Samwell used the "real estate plan" as a weapon to harvest wealth, there are still many people who do not choose to have a house, but insist on copper plates.

As a result, Samwell nearly lost his trust to his subjects, but fortunately, he was able to get engaged to Margaery, and with the help of the Tyrells, he was able to pay off his debts.

If such a huge water conservancy project continues to be built in Stormlands this time, one can imagine how terrible the amount of work that the Caesar family will have to pay will be.

Even if you use the "real estate plan" to harvest some of it, I am afraid that the remaining debts will still be difficult to repay.

"That's the price you have to pay." Samwell wasn't worried.

Although he can be forced into hard labor, this is a great damage to his reputation, and Samwell does not want to be the next "black-hearted" Heron.

In contrast, the division of work system is more moderate and more motivating to workers.

He knew that the division of work system was actually an act of overdrawing the future, and for this, he had no mental burden as a businessman in his previous life.

Reasonable debt is actually the best way to develop.

"In addition, we can also transport young people from Eagle's Beak Island to Fengxi Fort." Samwell had already planned to do a mass emigration, "You can contact Count Tath and ask him to coordinate some ships for you." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gavin responded, but his face was still full of concern, "If you want to build an artificial canal through the northern part of the stormlands, I'm afraid you'll need to negotiate with the lords......"

"I'll get them to agree." Samwell Road.

At this moment a horseman arrived and handed a letter to Samwell.

Samwell glanced at it quickly and said to Gavin:

"The Martell family has sent the Stormlands army to the bone road, I'm going to preside over the prisoner exchange, you can help me find some bachelors and craftsmen who understand water conservancy first."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

(End of chapter)