Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 89 - 23: Pledge Allegiance to Me from Now On!

Chapter 89: Chapter 23: Pledge Allegiance to Me from Now On!

Roman wore a linen short-sleeve shirt, half-dressed as a farmer.

He said to Jet, "Did you come to find me to help with my work?"

Jet really had no such intention and could only reply, "I didn’t come to find you..."

"Then, what are you here for? Looking for Gwivelle?"

Jet shifted his gaze, looking at the land covered in wheat stubble; the stubble resembled broken swords on a battlefield, pointing towards the sky, enough to make one dizzy with their exaggerated density.

"I’m just here to see..." whether those circumstances are true.

Perhaps he came intending to uncover Gwivelle’s lies, but now he found he couldn’t disprove them.

Jet asked, "Are you going to plant beans?"

He saw the mountains of beans, all soaking in water, while someone was sprinkling salt into it.

He also saw the larger piles of manure, with carts of brown soil being continuously brought over; they orderly mixed the soil with the manure and raked it into the ground.

Only, he couldn’t understand the specific intention behind these methods.

"Yes!" Roman nodded.

He was going to plant six thousand acres of soybeans.

Ten pounds of bean seeds per acre; if the yield could reach 150 pounds, it would be considered a win.

Sige Town is special.

It’s surrounded by mountains on all sides, forming a basin.

Inside the basin are vast plains with fertile soil, a natural grain-producing base.

But the activity range for the two thousand people at most stretched over dozens of kilometers, with most areas undeveloped.

Roman had to specially build roads just to dig a salt mine.

The soil here is very fertile, greatly boosting grain yield.

Even so, it couldn’t support 30 pounds of wheat seeds.

Now Roman has lost confidence in the productive capacity of this land.

He summed up the experience.

The essence was still raw land, insufficient fertilizer, and the spring wheat.

If replaced with winter wheat, the tillering rate could be increased, raising overall grain output by thirty to fifty percent.

Roman’s choice to plant soybeans wasn’t solely for yield but importantly for soil enrichment.

This round of wheat greatly exhausted the soil’s fertility.

Legumes have nitrogen-fixing properties, and land planted with legumes can increase subsequent grain yields.

Soybeans sown in the summer could be harvested by late autumn.

The basin’s enclosed terrain, the plateau, and mountains are enough to block the cold air from the Northern Land. Winter in Sige Town arrives later than in other places.

Roman would use this well-enriched land to plant winter wheat before early winter arrives.

Most of the area on this land, including Sige Town, grows spring wheat.

It’s wheat sown in the spring and can be harvested in a hundred days, focusing on quick sowing and harvest.

Sige Town continued the external cultivation method for decades.

This rendered Roman speechless.

The external fields planted spring wheat because the land was too cold in winter for wheat seeds to survive, so they could only be sown in spring.

What are you bustling about in the basin?

Roman arrived at Sige Town in early spring, before winter was over, and found the winter temperatures here weren’t unbearably cold.

Spring wheat matures and can be harvested in 100 days, while winter wheat takes 240 days — adding the entire winter and half of spring.

But the extended time doesn’t matter.

Winter farming wasn’t feasible anyway; at best, one could plant some cold-resistant vegetables.

Winter wheat outperforms spring wheat in both yield and quality.

So Roman temporarily halted paving and clearing work, focusing all his energy on massive composting and fertilization.

This time, he put in tremendous effort.

At least a thousand pounds of fertilizer per acre to enrich these thousands of acres of land.

Just relying on manure piles wouldn’t suffice because at least six million pounds of organic fertilizer was needed.

Before road construction crews moved in, Roman had surveyed the specific conditions en route.

Using the combined knowledge of {Cultivation} and {Gathering}, he found the swamp impeding their path to the salt mine was a nutrient-rich marsh.

This marsh meant that as long as the water was drained, it could become the best farmland.

Later, as construction teams dug and paved roads and filled in the marsh, they also unearthed thick layers of peat soil.

Peat is natural organic fertilizer.

Large amounts of peat can be directly mixed with small amounts of manure, offering better results than mere manure.

Farmers now had steel-forged shovels and hoes, so it was easy to extract peat.

The only issue was labor shortages began again.

For example, those oxen and horses; they had to plow fields, overturn soil, extract peat, transport peat, and clear roots and stones from the land.

That couldn’t be helped.

For Roman, no matter how much labor he had, it was never enough.

This was the growing pain of development, and he had to burden these oxen and horses.

To restore their energy, Roman instructed the people in charge of the livestock pens to feed them concentrated grain.

This summer’s cultivation would include planning a pasture to plant a large quantity of forage.

Anyway, they just needed to get through this period.

But Jet’s arrival was unexpected for Roman.

He asked, "Your wheat has been bountiful, your beans about to be planted; will the people here still endure hunger?"

Roman re-evaluated his Relationship with Jet, finding it still below 20%.

Some improvement but not much.

The intent hadn’t been about the wine; Jet surely wasn’t asking about this.

Roman naturally replied, "Of course not. As long as they follow my orders, they will live well; if they resist, then they should die."

"What do you plan to do next?"

Roman spoke loudly and clearly, "Buy slaves, farm, mine, build an army... I have so many things to do! I can’t possibly list them all right now! I will turn this place into an eternal city! I want everyone on this land to yearn for here..."

Jet hadn’t expected Roman to fully disclose his future plans to him.

The bold declarations left him dazed.

"Why are you building an army... to protect this land?"

"Defense? No! It’s for attack! Whoever dares step foot here, I’ll destroy them! Whoever dares defy me, I’ll obliterate them! But that’s just the start; I want conquest! To rule every land I see! My army will trample everyone, making everyone on this land submit to me, swear allegiance to me! I will tread the entire land under my feet in the future... Jet! My Angel Envoy, come and forge such an army for me!"

Roman extended his right fist to Jet.

Though the young palm wasn’t wide, it was strong and firm, with distinct joints.

The surface skin was a bit rough, covered with calluses.

The blazing sun relentlessly scorched the ground, just like the mighty surge of the conqueror’s will.

Roman stood on the edge of the field, expressing his ambitious vision to a deserter.

He warmly and honestly invited that deserter to join him.

He knew what he was about to do and understood his mission.

In the future, he will achieve accomplishments that leave everyone in awe, achievements that past kings and nobility can only aspire to.

A great figure unprecedented in history will rise here!

That figure will one day personally forge an unrivaled Emperor’s Throne!

That figure will ascend it amidst the encirclement of ministers and the attention of all.

An invincible army will crown that figure!

From then on, everyone on this land will only chant one name!

Whenever he thought of those grand scenes, Roman felt his blood boil, unable to suppress the urge to shatter this era with a single punch and press the entire land under him.

And all of it depended on those he ruled and those who were loyal to him!

"Jet, kneel down, pledge your fealty to me from now on!"