CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 77: SUMMER PLOWING

The villager went mad.

Driven completely insane by the system of this world.

He can only be swallowed by the torrents of this system.

The system of this world constrains the villagers, these slaves, tightly around the neck.

Deep-rooted thoughts make them unable to breathe, unable to dare to resist.

To change this situation, there are only two paths.

Change oneself—from life to death.

Change the world—conquer the world by force!

Lynn wants to survive.

Thus, he can only choose to conquer this world.

However.

Everything starts with farming.

...

The work of forging wheel plows at the blacksmith shop continues.

From initially taking three days to forge one plow, now it takes only two and a half days to forge one.

No cutting corners or shoddy production in the forging process.

This increase in efficiency is undoubtedly remarkable.

The number of wheel plows is steadily increasing.

Gradually.

All the draft horses and oxen are used to clear the land.

Fortunately, George returned during this period.

He brought back fourteen adult oxen and eleven draft horses for Lynn!

Along with pulling the grains using oxen and draft horses, and carrying it with two-horse wagons...

George brought back eighty thousand pounds of peas and four thousand pounds of meat!

This was specifically instructed by Lynn before George left.

Looking at the increased numbers on the [Resource Management] panel.

Lynn feels his tense heart slightly relax.

Upon hearing George’s words, he becomes tense again.

George says gravely, "Master Lynn, I heard some bad news!"

"Grayson... has been detained by Church officials!"

Lynn’s brows furrow instantly, "What’s the reason?"

George explains, "If the source is correct, it’s likely due to fine salt!"

"Without the Merchant Association’s consent, Grayson privately sold fine salt in Kakasong City..."

"Many of his goods were seized and confiscated by Church officials!"

Lynn’s expression turns somewhat serious.

He’s not worried about Grayson’s goods, of course.

Lynn’s concern is if Grayson, under the Church’s torture, might reveal the location of his open-pit salt mine!

If it draws attention from the Church, or other lords...

Time left for Lynn would be quite limited!

George perceives Lynn’s worry and quickly says, "Master Lynn, you don’t need to worry too much, Grayson is part of the Brown Clan!"

Lynn is somewhat surprised, "Chad Brown of the Great Merchant Brown Clan?"

George nods and responds, "Yes, Master Lynn."

Across the Garonia Continent, there is a merchant guild spanning several great Empires.

The guild members are composed of Emperors, lords, and even Church officials from various Empires.

The purpose of establishing the Merchant Guild is to protect the merchants’ interests.

Initially, the guild had over a hundred members, comprising major lords and merchants from all Empires.

As time passed.

Changes in Emperors, weakening of great lords, decline of great merchants, gradually reduced the guild members.

Until now, the guild consists of only about a dozen members.

Grayson Brown’s great-grandfather, Great Merchant Chad Brown, was one of them.

...

In the Karedi Empire, three major forces exist.

The Emperor, the lords, and the Church!

The three forces govern the entire Karedi Empire.

On the surface.

The Emperor is the highest ruler of the Empire, the Three Great Dukes pledge allegiance to the Emperor, and the Church supports the Emperor’s rule.

In reality.

Lords hold high autonomy in their territories, the Vassal System by itself disperses and restricts the Emperor’s power.

If the Emperor wants to implement a decision, it is difficult to do so effectively without the support of the Noble Council!

The Church and the Emperor have long been engaged in power struggles!

Simply held, it is about the Divine Right of Kings.

The Church aims to control everything in the Karedi Empire, including the current Emperor, Charlemagne VI!

The lords and the Church have always had a dispute over the collection of the Tithing...

The three forces grow increasingly chaotic, which is advantageous for Lynn!

He can have more time to develop himself.

The fourteen oxen and eleven draft horses brought back by George further improved the efficiency of clearing land.

Forty wheel plows rotate back and forth on the open land.

The amount of arable land cultivated daily has reached two hundred acres!

At this rate, Lynn feels that nearly three thousand acres of farmland can be cultivated before summer planting!

After forging forty wheeled heavy plows, Lynn halted the blacksmith shop.

With the oxen and draft horses he currently owns, any more wheeled heavy plows would just gather dust parked at the side.

Unless the villagers replace the oxen and horses to pull the heavy plows...

Lynn arrived at the blacksmith shop and looked at Ehrelo, saying solemnly, "I need you to forge a hundred combat iron spears!"

Combat iron spears are not the lance of a knight.

Lynn’s memory...

The entire iron spear is two to three meters in length, with a diamond-shaped spearhead.

Its piercing ability is excellent, making it more effective at penetrating enemy armor or body protection.

It can form a phalanx for cavalry defense, or for combat with infantry.

Even... it can be used as a javelin for throwing.

Moreover, the longer it is, the stronger it becomes!

Ehrelo’s eyes widened, and Lynn could clearly see a hint of delight.

He’s been forging either farm tools or implements every day...

Has Master Lynn finally asked him to forge weapons?

His mood was somewhat excited.

As a family of blacksmiths, Ehrelo naturally wished to forge weapons for the Lord.

That is the ultimate destiny of a blacksmith.

...

According to the previous timing and patterns of Grayson returning to the village.

Yesterday, he should have been jogging over to stand before Lynn, calling ’master’.

George was right.

Grayson has indeed been detained.

What comforted Lynn was...

Occasionally, teams of five or six, or even seven or eight free people would arrive from faraway Morgan Town to his village.

They were coming to look for work!

Free people, most of them possessed Level 2 skills.

Lynn even saw a few free people with Third-level Skills!

Far superior compared to slaves.

From Lynn’s mouth they learned.

As long as they obey orders and work hard, food and lodging are provided here, along with edible salt and pence.

They had no hesitation in joining Lynn’s village.

No need to discuss future plans or dreams with them.

Their only concern was...

Whether they could eat their fill every day!

...

Time passed swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, early June arrived.

Perhaps it’s due to the proximity to the Elfini Empire in the Western Region.

Despite the blazing sun, Lynn did not feel the scorching heat.

Instead, the temperature was pleasant, mysteriously comfortable.

The surface temperature during the day seemed to hover around twenty-four or twenty-five degrees.

The main forces in charge of cultivation, the oxen and draft horses, did not cease their battle.

They still needed at least half a month more to continue their cultivation!

Guy, with Third-level Breeding skills, was overseeing things with his apprentices.

The labor of oxen and draft horses wasn’t too frequent.

Even within a single day, they would take several breaks lying down to rest and receive dry grass and grain feed.

Standing at the edge of the cultivated farmland, looking ahead at the soil neatly leveled by iron hoes and rakes, stretching into the distance...

He felt an inexplicable comfort.

This is what farming looks like!

Beside him.

Kuisi asked curiously, "Master Lynn, what crop are you planning to plant on this open land?"

Lynn didn’t hesitate, "Peas!"

Peas are the most planted bean crop after summer cultivation in the Karedi Empire.

Not only because of the Karedi Empire’s cool climate.

But also because the rhizobia at the root of peas can fix nitrogen from the air, increasing the nitrogen content in the soil, enhancing soil fertility.

Given Lynn’s situation with insufficient compost.

He can harvest bean grains while also improving soil fertility.

Peas can even serve as fodder for livestock.

Preparing for the construction of a pasture and developing animal husbandry in the future.

Coincidentally, his granary held over ten thousand pounds of peas, which could be used as seed.

Kuisi nodded in understanding.

Considering the fertility of the land cultivated by the village, and the moisture content.

Summer planting peas is indeed the optimal choice!

Once cultivation reached three thousand acres, Lynn halted all heavy plows.

Preparation for summer planting began!