The New Civilization of Witches

Chapter 138: Establishing the Ministry of Agriculture

As the forest on the south bank of the Redwater River gradually cleared, the days of plowing drew closer and closer.

In order to facilitate the movement of people across the river that spanned nearly 100 meters, Roland had ordered the construction of a floating bridge. It was supported by dozens of wooden rafts, made by carpenters, tied with hemp rope. He specifically instructed the carpenter to ensure that both ends of the raft were sharp thus reducing resistance to water collisions. At each edge, the ends of the hemp rope are fastened around four wooden poles to keep the raft position stable. Four long wooden planks were placed in each raft to form the deck. They extended two meters from the raft, so that four people could walk parallel on the bridge.

Floating bridge assembly is simple and very durable. As long as there is no incident the water rises or falls drastically, and thus causes the hemp rope to break off, the bridge is guaranteed to last for two to three years – wood from Misty Forest has excellent quality and is also used for the manufacture of columns and pavements of the Bordertown pier, so the age of the pier is said to be along Bordertown itself. Despite making a creaking sound when stepped on, there were never any signs of collapsing.

Across the bridge to the west, the first plots of land to be ploughed were the experimental Leaf farms. Currently, it was already safely boarded on all four sides, while its entrance was guarded by the First Army soldiers. These days, in addition to eating, attending classes and sleeping, Leaf spends the rest of her time on the farm. Roland could faintly see the scenery surrounded by wooden planks from the window in his office on the third floor of — wheat was growing so fast that what had once been just a bar of green wheat in the morning it will be a sea of gold in the afternoon.

This Golden Man, who depended on magic power to grow, only needed one day to mature. Any outsider who saw this would probably kneel down and praise this miracle.

Seeing that the land, population, and grain had been fully prepared, Roland decided that it was time to add the final piece of the puzzle: the supervisor.

He called Assistant Minister Barov, who has been very busy lately.

“Now, your student should be ready to take on a leadership role, right?” Roland asked, “I need to set up two new departments in City Hall.”

“Your Majesty, but ... we do not have enough manpower,” replied Barov awkwardly.

[You usually agree right away before going into the details. But it seems you have learned how to complain recently.] Roland wailed in his heart while remaining indifferent on the surface. [How did that happen? Didn't I recently give you a new knight? “]

In the first round of the exam, Roland had selected over 50 knights who had successfully ascended the class and were able to read and write. Since there was no need for too many teachers, he ended up assigning only nine of these knights to become primary school teachers, while the remaining knights were assigned to the town hall and started as disciples.

“Your Highness, the group turned out to be late, lazy, and unresponsive. They even make mistakes when copying notes. They are not at all worthy of an internship.”

“It is up to you to discipline them.” Roland banged on the table lightly. “If they do not follow your instructions, send them directly to the northern slope mines. I definitely need to set up these two departments.”

“Alright, Your Majesty, as you said,” replied Barov resignedly.

Roland explained, The first “Yang is the Ministry of Agriculture, which will be responsible for overseeing the planting and planting of crops in my region.”

Barov was surprised, no doubt because this was the first time he had heard that City Hall would handle agricultural affairs. “Your Majesty, why not let the slaves handle these things on their own? How they plant or harvest has nothing to do with us. We just need to collect taxes in the right amount.”

“That's why .. no, I mean, that's why the harvest is so low.” Roland lifted his cup and drank a mouthful of water, as if to cover his tongue slip. “A responsible City hall needs to keep the way people eat, drink and defecate.”

“Eating, drinking, and excrement …? Your Majesty, are you kidding?”

“Ya, Your Highness.” Barov wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Go to the archive and find three or four people who used to work in agriculture, and recruit them to the Ministry of Agriculture. Then choose two of your interns to be in charge of records and statistics. In total, six people should be enough . ”

“Wait .. you want some common people to become City Hall officials?” Barov revealed a shocked expression.

“They are not only obedient but also very enthusiastic when doing something, so why not? Officials are not equal to nobles. And the Ministry of Agriculture will need some professionals to guide agriculture from now on.”

“But most of them are not even literate ..”

“That's why you have to assign two interns to manage the documents.” Roland interrupted. “This situation will not last long. Soon, I will implement universal education programs across my region to teach everyone to read and write. When the time comes, you no longer need to worry about the labor shortage.”

Clearly, this news was even more shocking to Barov than the decision to allow ordinary people into the City Hall. He gaped in silence at Roland for a long time.

Roland did not care about his acceptance, and continued saying, “Back to the matter of the Ministry of Agriculture, when the slaves cultivate their own land, there will definitely be different standards and results. Some will dig the soil deeper while others will sow denser. This would be a good opportunity to observe them. Six ministries needed to number each plot of land, noting every step taken by the slaves, and provide detailed information on how deep they dig and how much planting distance they leave between each seed. I will give the necessary measuring tools to the ministry and teach them how to use these. ”

“Your Highness, is this ... comparison work?” Although Barov is ancient in certain aspects, his brain works faster than usual.

“Indeed. For the first round of cultivation, the number of harvests does not really matter. We will continue to import grains and .. use some new varieties of wheat to ensure our people do not go hungry. What I need to find the most suitable method of all and compile it into a manual. We will then use this method extensively, with the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for promoting, guiding and overseeing it. ”

Although Roland was not proficient in farming, it did not prevent him from using scientific thinking to devise the best set of farming methods. Once completed, the average yield per plot of land will be maintained at a relatively high rate even if the area is scaled up or an inexperienced hand is added.

Barov nodded in agreement but hesitated for a moment before replying. “Your Majesty, there is something I do not understand. When slaves were promoted to free citizens, why did you only collect two-tenths of their crops as land taxes? Even if you decide to collect half of their harvest, you will look big-hearted like no other. ”

“Because the money piling up underground is meaningless,” Roland explained, “and after they gave up those two tenths, I will buy their surplus grain at a fixed price of — in Border Town, Lord franchised grain trade. In this way, the castle obtained grain while they earned their supposed salary. Once they saved up, they would think about buying items .. such as livestock, farm implements made from iron, meat, cotton clothes, and also top-class brick house clothing. I'm the only one who can provide this. Similarly, the townspeople could only buy grain from the castle. Eventually, money flowed back to me, but in this cycle, it allowed people's living standards to increase continuously. Do you understand now? ”

Barov frowned and did not reply for a long time. It was obvious that he was really confused.

Roland laughed and shook his head. “You can go back and try to understand everything on your own time. But first, do as I command.”

The assistant minister, still in a daze, stood up and walked out. When he reached the door, he suddenly looked back. “By the way, Your Majesty, you mentioned the two ministries earlier. What's the second one?”

“Ministry of Education,” replied Roland, “I will handle this one personally.”