The King

  Chapter 138 Inventory

   Calm days are always short.

   I don't know if it was a coincidence or intentional. The celebration banquet for Kayo and Sith was held on the same day.

   This is worrying for the nobles of the neutral camp. No matter which party they attend, they will offend the other party.

   As a last resort, everyone can only choose to pretend to be sick, and play out of courtesy until no one can be seen.

  Hudson also fell ill together. Although he said before that he would participate, it was just a polite remark, so how could he take it seriously.

  Running to see competitors pretending to be aggressive, to cause trouble for himself for no reason, and his mind is not bad.

   What's more, the invitation is just to be polite, and they don't necessarily want Hudson to come and join him.

   It doesn't make sense to do things. It's not a life-and-death enmity, why bother to disturb other people's celebration banquet?

   Nobles must have tolerance.

  It doesn't matter if you stab each other secretly, there is no need to turn your face on the bright side.

   Otherwise, if you mess up my banquet today and I mess up your ceremony, wouldn’t all the banquets be turned into farces?

   Prepared two gifts and sent them to them respectively, Hudson turned his attention back to the construction of his castle.

  No new tricks were played. Except for the modification of the details, the overall castle design still follows the local architectural style, which is somewhat Gothic.

  Looking at the location of the castle, one can tell that standing on Salam Peak, the highest peak in the southeastern province, obviously puts defense first.

  The only difference is Hudson's planning, which is much larger than ordinary castles, and the main building covers an area of ​​1 hectare.

  Counting the surrounding ancillary buildings, it is a city. The area enclosed by the city wall is 3.8 square kilometers.

  If all the projects are completed, it will be a war fortress that can accommodate tens of thousands of people, and it will compete with Fort Ethel.

  If a baron wants to build a war fortress before this, it will definitely cause an uproar.

  But it would be much more normal to switch to a fief viscount. Almost all fief viscounts will build their own cities.

  Including Dadir City, where the Viscount Sith is located, is the result of the former noble lords' own management.

  The kingdom will only allocate funds to build cities in the northern border to resist the orc invasion, and ignore other areas at all.

  Anyway, no human country will invade the Alpha Kingdom. This is a tacit understanding among countries on the mainland.

  Limited by financial resources and manpower, generally speaking, the construction of noble castles takes a long time.

  Three to five years is the norm, and ten to eight years is not surprising. It is also possible to plan grandly and continue to build for generations.

   Hudson has been working on it for a year, and the Lord's Mansion has not been completed, which is also within the normal level of everyone's perception.

   With the addition of Bear Stearns, the speed of all this has become faster.

   It is more difficult for ordinary people to transport huge boulders weighing several tons or tens of tons than moving forward with snails.

  It can be placed on Bear Stearns, and it is almost like playing.

  Boulders weighing several tons or tens of tons are toys in the hands of the cubs. For a while, I played a game of tossing the ball, and for a while, I spun around my head.

   One piece is not addictive, and several boulders can be connected in series to play together.

  Bear Stearns acrobatic performance is also a unique landscape in the mountainous area.

   Baron Redman, who was looking at it, was terrified, lest the Earth Bear would get too excited and hit people with boulders.

   Fortunately, this situation did not last long. The number of boulders is limited, and the highly efficient Bear Stearns completed the delivery of the boulders in less than a day.

  The stones are all prepared in advance, which has to make people think carefully.

   But Xiong didn't say anything, so the others naturally wouldn't talk too much. It is impossible for Hudson or Bear Stearns to talk about the transaction.

  A decent person + a decent bear = tacit confidentiality.

  For the sake of everyone's glorious image, everything that involves interests must be kept secret.

  No one made trouble, and the celebration banquets on both sides were very successful, but there were fewer guests.

  In Hudson's view, a celebration banquet is similar to a wedding. Except for the parties concerned, everyone only pays attention to it superficially.

  Even the parties involved do not necessarily pay attention, such as Hudson himself.

  Being dragged down by the construction of the castle, his celebration banquet has not yet started, and the season for spring grain storage has already arrived.

  After experiencing the locust plague last year, the harvest of spring grain this season is extremely important for the two counties of Wright and Wyton.

  Countless territories are waiting to be fed, just waiting for the food to go into the pot.

  As far as Hudson knows, some northern aristocratic territories even used green wheat to satisfy their hunger in advance.

   After all, the variety of food is too single, all of which are within the scope of the locust's diet, and it is pale and powerless in the face of the locust plague.

  Hudson is ready to play diversified agriculture, and poultry must be raised to suppress the flood of locusts.

  Although there is no market for chickens and ducks these days, large-scale breeding cannot sell them, but this does not affect their own food.

  Aquaculture can also be arranged on. The ditches and rivers dug out of the swamp are natural breeding grounds.

   Anyway, these days, there is no pollution from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and everything is original.

  There is no need to demand extravagant output, no matter how much you harvest, you can earn money. Increasing the supply of meat is also a powerful measure to solve the shortage of food production capacity in the territory.

  Especially for the army, adequate nutrition is the key to a strong army.

  You can’t even fill your stomach, so what combat power do you expect?

  The messy plans are all in the preparation stage, and the most important thing right now is the harvest of spring grain.

  Hudson has already shifted his position, and the preparations for the celebration banquet have been left to Baron Redman. Fortunately, there are a group of people from his own clan who came to help him, otherwise he might not be able to handle it.

  Mainly the poor and the poor in the mountainous areas, in name they held a celebration banquet, but in fact their main job was to supervise the construction of the castle.

  The main structure is okay, but the key is the interior decoration.

  Sculptors, painters, designers... All kinds of art jobs are hired from the provincial capital with a lot of money.

   I don't have any artistic cells, but I can't keep up with the thinking rhythm of these people. If these guys are allowed to improvise, the possibility of shock is definitely greater than surprise.

  Looking at the harvested carts of grain, Hudson didn't feel anything yet, but the others were really taken aback.

  Who spread the rumor that the grain production in the mountains is low?

  The yield per mu of the mountainous area is almost the same as that of the plains outside. You must know that this is a wasteland that has just been reclaimed and is in the stage of land cultivation.

   Fortunately, Hudson had the foresight to plant oil crops in these areas, not the mainstream rye.

  The question is that the soil quality is suitable.

   I don’t specialize in soil quality research, so it’s hard to tell what kind of crops the soil quality is suitable for planting at a glance. It just so happens that in the continent of Aslant, there is no profession that specializes in soil quality.

   Surprise is surprise, envy and jealousy are unnecessary. Everyone's territory is a plain, and almost all the grains planted have high yields.

  The joy of the harvest did not last long. Hudson was surprised to find that the food shortage in his own territory had not decreased but increased.

  The area of ​​newly reclaimed land is indeed quite a lot, adding 110,000 mu of mountainous land and 68,000 mu of paddy fields, another year in which the task was overfulfilled.

   But the rate of increase in land has not caught up with the rate of population growth.

   There are no entertainment facilities, and people are created after dark. The serfs who let go of restrictions are more active in the cause of human creation than Hudson expected.

  Although the statement of one child per year is a bit exaggerated, it is actually not much different. Men and women of the right age are full of firepower.

  Master Hudson was too kind to cause trouble. It was stipulated that pregnant women were not allowed to engage in heavy physical labor, and milk and goat milk were distributed to infants and young children, so that everyone would have no worries.

  The natural population growth rate has exceeded 6%.

  Of course, this set of data is not scientific, and the capture statistics period is too short, so the infant mortality rate cannot be accurately included in it.

  Children are easy to feed these days, and adding a group of newborns will not add much to the cost of childcare.

   What really caused the food problem was the orc slaves bought at low prices.

  The soaring number of slaves not only broke the population structure of the territory, but also increased the food shortage.

  The number of serfs is only over 28,000, and the orc slaves are about to break through the 60,000 mark. This unhealthy population structure is definitely a threat to the long-term development of the territory.

  The only good news is that the total food deficit is increasing, but the food self-sufficiency rate is constantly improving.

  According to the current speed of land reclamation, it is still very promising to achieve basic food self-sufficiency in two years.

  If this news gets out, it will definitely cause a big stir.

  Basically achieving self-sufficiency in food means that the bottomless pit of land reclamation in mountainous areas has turned around.

   It is certain to continue to lose money, but the deficit will start to decrease year by year from the current tens of thousands of gold coins per year, and finally turn from negative to positive.

  According to outside estimates, the time of this turning point should be more than ten years later, not in the last two or three years.

   There is no way, no matter how optimistic people can imagine, the scene of the earth bear going to the construction site is really too anti-"bear".

  It's a pity that there is only one Earth Bear, and Hudson doesn't dare to squeeze the potential of Bear Stearns. He can only work in a flicker, otherwise this efficiency can be further increased.

  …

   "The area of ​​land plowed in spring this year has increased significantly, and your tasks are very heavy.

  Especially in the newly opened paddy fields, we will introduce foreign rice this year, so you should pay more attention.

  Beastman slaves are not suitable for fine work, and the spring plowing is still entirely in the charge of the leaders. It is still the old rule, with Baojia as the unit, and tasks are assigned according to the number of laborers.

  The rewards I promised to the people earlier must be fulfilled now.

  Last year, the land reclamation plan for the territory was 100,000 mu, but 110,897 mu of wasteland was actually reclaimed, an overfulfillment of 10,897 mu.

   According to one-third of the excess reward settlement, 3632.3 mu of land will be used as public land, which will be distributed by a group of people who have participated in land reclamation.

  Record it, starting from the next season, the income from this part of the land will be extracted and distributed to each of the people who participated in the land reclamation according to their contribution. "

   Hudson said proudly.

  He really doesn't care about the income of a few thousand acres of land. As long as everyone is willing to work hard, Master Hudson will not be stingy with rewards.

   Unfortunately, these incentives can only be used on serfs. A larger number of slaves can still only rely on forced labor.

   The language barrier made Master Hudson, who is good at drawing big cakes, feel powerless for the first time.

   Otherwise, the best ones will eat meat, the worst ones will eat soil, and the worst ones will eat feed.

   "Yes, sir!"

   Everyone replied in unison.

   It can be seen that everyone is in a good mood. Following a generous lord is obviously more promising than following a stingy lord.

   There are clear rewards and punishments for serfs, let alone the management of them.

   For entrepreneurs, reputation is crucial. Especially when facing one's own people, any breach of contract may cause the team to lose heart.

  It is easy to lose reputation, but it is extremely difficult to restore it.

   After a pause, Hudson continued:

   "I have also prepared your share, and Tom will take it to your residence later."

  Although many people in Hudson's entrepreneurial team belong to the kind of owners whose origins are unknown and whose loyalty is yet to be tested, the rewards should be given.

   These can only be given by Hudson at his own discretion, and no one can help.

  In the continent of Aslant, there is no Chinese New Year, so there is no way to talk about year-end bonuses, and there is even no clear standard for salary.

   There is no other way, it is their honor to serve the noble lords these days.

   What kind of treatment are you talking about?

  Even if these people may have been nobles in their ancestors, but in their generation, the titles have long since disappeared, so they are nothing.

  The only ones who can inherit titles are landed nobles.

  Other honorary nobles are lifelong.

  The son of an honorable nobleman can also claim to be a son of a nobleman. After all, his father is a real nobleman, and he is nothing to his grandchildren.

  If the middle generation does not work hard, the younger generation may become civilians.

   The guys who are now following Hudson are all civilians. Claiming to the outside world that the nobles have declined is just a means of self-promotion.

   They all come here for wealth and status, and they will definitely not be rich. If other rewards cannot be given, Hudson will not be stingy with money.

   Facts have proved that monetary incentives are still very effective. Nothing has been obtained, and everyone's mood has improved by more than one level.

   Maybe there are elements of acting, but life is like a play, who is not an actor?

   "Master, last year's plan is completed, what do you think of this year's territory development plan?"

   Luke asked concerned.

   After all, he was born as a businessman, and he has acquired the ability to observe words and demeanor. At a glance, he saw Hudson's intention to buy people's hearts, and immediately cooperated with it with practical actions.

   "The coal that restricts the production of mines has been resolved, and the production capacity of the mines will be doubled this year. The relevant business networks must be spread to neighboring provinces.

  It is the general trend to replace bronze ware with iron ware, and this is our opportunity. Taking advantage of the opportunity that others are still focusing on weapons orders, go and grab the daily necessities market first.

  When necessary, the price of exports outside the province can be reduced, and the cost caused by the increase in mid-way freight can also be offset.

  The land reclamation plan, because the adult labor force has increased a bit, the development of mountainous areas has increased to 105,000 mu.

  The swamp land reclamation plan is tentatively set at 250,000 mu, and it is estimated that 50,000 slaves will be invested.

Aquaculture…"

  (end of this chapter)