Being a lord in another world begins with farming

Chapter 23 Serfs

The goods Owen brought were enough to exchange for one hundred and fifty serfs, which shows how cheap serfs were.

This was mainly because the serfs had no cost at all. As long as they came to the northern border alive, they would make money, so Viscount Marat thoughtfully gave them three hundred straw cakes as a gift.

Palm-sized grass cakes were the main food of serfs. They were made from grass seeds, tree bark and a small amount of coarse grains. The finished product was as hard as a clod of soil, but eating it would bring a strong feeling of fullness and be difficult to digest. Many The weak old and young died from this straw cake.

The serfs were deeply impressed by the straw cake, full of resentment and desire, because it was their hope for survival, even if it was just a false hope.

Because eating this food cannot meet the needs of the human body at all. In addition to fooling the stomach, daily activities rely more on one's own reserves. Therefore, people with weak bodies cannot survive to the Northland. Even if they do, their bodies will almost collapse and fall. There are many root causes of diseases, so the northern lords regard serfs as consumables, because the cost of keeping them healthy is too high, which is far less troublesome than replenishing a batch after consumption.

As for issues such as cruelty or inhumanity, this is not a civilized society. Besides, regardless of the empire or Owen's previous life, the only difference is that one is a bloody bite, and the other is processed and served on the table. In addition to the eating appearance becoming more elegant, in essence But it makes no difference.

Directly naming one hundred and fifty serfs, Owen did not stop at Mara Town, but left Mara Town with the serfs like a flock of sheep. The next time he comes back will probably be next year.

Because the serfs were too weak, which slowed down the team's speed, they didn't get far even after half a day's walking.

Irving had anticipated this and asked the farmer who followed him to set up a pot and light the fire.

As soon as the water boiled, the whole bag of semolina was poured into the pot, sprinkled with a handful of salt, and then stirred vigorously with a wooden stick picked up casually. At the same time, all the wild vegetables collected on the road were thrown in to make the original monotonous color thicker. The soup became colorful.

Although the color is weird and the taste is unacceptable, it is a long-awaited delicacy for the serfs, because they can only eat something that can barely be called food before setting off on the road.

Holding the wooden bowls issued to them, they queued up to receive a bowl of thick soup while being whipped by the soldiers, and then found a place to sit down.

The bowl of wild vegetable soup in their hands at this time was like the whole world in the eyes of the serfs. There was nothing else. They ate so seriously and carefully, chewing every bitter wild vegetable fully, with expressions on their faces. It was so greedy that Owen had a creepy feeling when he saw it. At the same time, he understood why the empire would continuously force the refugees in the empire to die in the north, because once these seemingly humble and inconspicuous serfs gathered, they would It will be like a spark, completely igniting the already decayed empire. That's why we made this decision to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause. We just don't know how long it can last.

But this has nothing to do with Owen. His territory is thousands of miles away from the core of the empire, so there is no such thing as leisure.

After a night's rest, another bowl of wild vegetable soup in the morning made the serf's face look a little brighter.

Owen was not too surprised by this. Human beings in this world have very strong vitality. Otherwise, how could they have migrated hundreds of miles just by eating grass, and survived a winter in a hole without food and clothing?

In order to take care of these weak serfs, Owen deliberately slowed down his pace and had three meals of wild vegetable soup a day to slowly fill the extremely depleted bodies of these serfs. However, he would go out with the cavalry every day, and he would bring something every time. , so when they returned to the castle, the convoy was not only full again, but there were also six more scout cavalry and ten more oxen in the team.

I chose to add scout cavalry instead of the more cost-effective cuirassiers, mainly because although the scout cavalry has little combat effectiveness, it is really useful for patrolling and exploring. In addition, the territory is so large, and the devil horns need to be taken into account. In the forest, Owen specially expanded the number of scout cavalry. At present, ten scout cavalry just meet the daily patrol needs of the territory.

As for farm cattle, they are an important production tool. Even if the exchange price is not cheap, Owen still specially exchanged some for better spring plowing.

After delivering the carriage to Maya in the castle, Owen ordered the soldiers to bring the new serfs to the village.

When he first built the village, Irving deliberately built it larger and reserved enough open space to accommodate the new serfs. After seeing the village and thatched huts, these serfs' originally numb expressions became a bit brighter. Hope, because this means that they will no longer be treated as cheap consumables. Although they cannot become civilians yet, at least they see a glimmer of hope, so they work very hard, not to mention that their first job is in the village. They will build themselves a thatched hut in the open space. Before winter comes, they will also have a simple but cozy thatched hut.

When it comes to survival, no one will be lazy, so Owen can safely leave the affairs here to the soldiers. Anyway, he only needs to watch them work.

In the castle, Maya carefully and responsibly registered the goods that Owen brought, and then transported them to the warehouse for storage or immediate distribution. This was something that Owen could not handle in a timely manner because he lacked management skills and could not always distinguish between priorities, so he Just leave all these things to Maya, and she does a great job.

Now Maya has figured out some of Ram's abilities, such as timing, recording, calculation, etc. It's like carrying a computer with her, which greatly improves her work efficiency, so she takes it with her wherever she goes. Owen is happy to see the results, after all The mechanical puppet maid can also be a means for him to prevent Maya.

After taking a shower, changing clothes, eating, and taking a nap, Owen once again fell into a state of doing nothing, because Maya had already done everything she could do now, and even planned the mission until three months later.

Maya arranged things in an orderly manner, and Owen was too embarrassed to cause trouble, so he unknowingly came to the cellar again.

Every man dreams of having a secret base, and Owen is no exception, so when he has the ability and time, he puts a lot of energy here.

The cellar on the first floor has undergone some renovations to make it more suitable for ninja life and training. At the same time, in order to facilitate patrolling the castle, Owen also exchanged some secret passages in the dungeon. This hidden secret passage is perfectly integrated into the castle, making ninjas more Being elusive also gives Owen many more escape routes.

As for the underground secret rooms on the second floor, it has been expanded to three rooms, covering a total of 300 square meters. After being illuminated by more lanterns, this three-meter-high space does not seem stuffy, but appears very spacious.

The entire space is now divided into three areas by Owen, namely the work area, the experimental area and the living area. This is why he stayed here all winter.