Almost all the soldiers who make up the Slavic Banners are in Novgorod. They are residents here and are responsible for transforming the farm into a city.
The local Slavic population is large, and the foreign Varyags are quite powerful in military and technology. The time for change has arrived, and a new ethnic group is being born. The Slavic warriors were dressed as Varangians, wearing leather helmets and huge nose protectors that even covered their mouths. They hold spears in their right hands and bucklers tied to their left arms. Although they don't have chainmail, the thick leather is cut into a suitable shape and draped around them. At first glance, they look like the same thing. Hand axes or daggers were hung on the waistbands. Everyone wore linen trousers with specially tied cloth strips around the calves, and stepped on finely stitched leather boots, a local specialty.
The warriors of the Slavic Flag Army were overall more than half a head shorter than the Russian warriors, and their bodies were also thinner. Their individual combat effectiveness is very limited. If hundreds of people gather together to form an formation, the situation will be completely different.
As many as five hundred Slavic warriors were assembled, who spent their days cutting wood and, at the end of the shortening days, practicing under the setting sun.
Medved really didn't know whether those barks could be used to make "cork boards" as soft as cloth. The brothers did gain a lot after cutting down the trees.
The trunks of freshly peeled birch trees spill out some sap. This slightly sweet sap is very thirst-quenching. Locals have long known that this sap can be drunk, but the effects are unknown. The gradually drying tree trunks were thrown into a furnace made of rammed clay, and birch charcoal began to be produced, just like in previous years.
The weather is obviously getting colder and colder. The sun peeks out lazily every morning. Once the sunlight sweeps across the huge Lake Ilmen, a thick, wet and cold white mist begins to evaporate from the lake. Until the sun rises high enough, this layer The fog will dissipate.
Rurik didn't have time to examine the bark yet. He had already decided to make paper. Since the raw materials were already available, it was up to him to take action.
He led his men to work in the fields of the old Pine Needles estate.
The mercenaries carried shovels on a large scale to eradicate the inherent demarcation of the sky stems. These are all the property of the Duke's family. The various plots of land must be abolished, and the entire farmland must be transformed to be as horizontal and vertical as possible.
Rurik re-demarcated these fields according to the standard he set for one hectare of land. The batch of rope rulers he had happened to be the maximum length of 100 stikas, which was counted as one hundred meters. He used these measuring tools to create standards. of "one hectare".
He saw this again. Areas that were once full of buildings were now deserted. The Russian conquerors only killed the rebels, and finally collected the bodies of these guys and buried them in giant cups. The residential buildings after the victory were all knocked down, and the available building materials were apparently divided up by nearby farm residents in the past two months, leaving only a pile of sawdust on the ground...
Compared with wasteland, is it not a matter of minutes to transform these homesteads into farmland? Next year, instead of pulling wooden carts with ponies, some horses will be organized to pull curved shaft plows to reclaim the homestead. Isn’t this another large field?
But the reality was crazier and more gratifying than Rurik had hoped.
As long as the desolate homesteads were counted and the trophy acres distributed to the servants were divided, Rurik was pleasantly surprised to find that the acres that belonged to him alone exceeded 4,000 hectares.
Indeed, when Rurik had multiple calluses on his feet and his knees were as sore as if they were out of oil, he and his team compiled the statistical data and got this crazy result.
Hundreds of men stormed into field barracks on the crumbled ruins of the old Pine Needles estate.
The mercenaries and hired locals who had broken down the fields and were cooking fish stew in the big stoves were already lying in the wooden sheds due to exhaustion. No matter how cool the cool breeze outside was, they could not disturb their dreams.
Thin wooden poles, dense fir branches and cloth were used to build Rurik's accommodation, and even a place where scribes gathered for meetings.
The wives and concubines are the scribes. They are of different ages and ethnic origins. We all share the joys and sorrows these days. Although every day is very difficult, everyone works hard for the same goal, even if the feet are blistered, it is worth it. . More importantly, everyone is working together with the Duke. This is a good opportunity to express ourselves.
The flames of twenty oil lamps lit up the entire wooden shed. Everyone was covered in furry bearskin coats. The fur coats were like big quilts, which perfectly dissipated the coldness of early winter.
The girls all stared with big eyes. They all washed the dust off their faces before the sun set. However, their faces were tired and haggard, and their hands that had become rough and calloused could not be recovered in a short time. They wrote new statistical data on wooden boards and submitted them to Rurik every day. By today, the entire area had been mapped by each group.
The wooden planks that recorded the information were also formed into two towers, the height of which was about the same as Rurik's height.
Everyone had just eaten the oatmeal cakes sent from Novgorod, and had just eaten the freshly caught lake fish. Even now, the camp was filled with a faint smell of fish stew.
The tired man regained some energy, but seeing that the atmosphere was still too deserted, Rurik waited for his wives and concubines to gather together, patted his calloused hands and spoke!
"Finally, the gods saved us from bad snow. We finally got the job done before it started snowing, and you're all exhausted these days."
"I'm not tired." Svetlana said nicely, "Being able to do things with you is the happiest thing for me."
It sounded like coquettishness, Rurik said with a smile: "Really? You can't enjoy this happiness alone. Where are the others?"
All the girls said that they could still continue to work. They were just teenagers.
"You say you are not tired, but I say I am very tired. Now we have finally completed all farmland statistics. Everyone has worked very hard this month."
After speaking politely, Rurik suppressed his inner joy and explained the summary results: "You have all sworn to ensure that the results of the survey and mapping of the areas you are responsible for are true. You already have experience, and there is no need to do this in this area." The area records other information. After my summary, the acres belonging to us in the Old Pine Needle Manor are as high as 4,200 hectares!"
What is this concept? It is indeed much more than the existing 2,000 hectares of Baishu Manor.
After all, Rurik couldn't hide his joy. He laughed out loud and said while laughing: "Do you know what this means?! Relying on my survey experience, as long as we develop these fields well, every year Ten million Roman pounds of oats can be harvested here at Old Pine Needle Manor! If we take some more measures, the grain yield can be even higher!"
He talked a lot, and it turned out to be his own one-man show.
The girls lack a rational understanding of this extremely huge number. Since the Duke pointed out that this is a good thing, everyone should follow suit.
I am really tired, and the statistical results are really gratifying.
but……
All the data has been compiled, and Rick intended to stay in the shack by himself this night. He and his wives and concubines shared the Datong bunk, leaving himself a quiet and solitary place to think about the data all night long.
When the noise dissipated and the camp fell into silence, with only the faint sound of snoring and wind breaking into the hut, Rurik opened his eyes and thought quietly.
It is extremely optimistic to estimate that there are indeed two thousand acres of farmland in Baishu Manor. Their distribution is relatively scattered, and the overall geographical location is not good. Fortunately, the dimension around Lake Ilmen is lower, and theoretically the accumulated temperature is higher than that in the Lake Malaren area, and the production capacity is also higher.
Putting his optimism aside for the first time, Rurik’s results based on his investigation at White Tree Manor are as follows. The fields are divided into grades. Only those fields near the lake can produce an equivalent of 150 Roman pounds per mu. One hundred pounds. This is data from a good year. If the wheat harvest is hit by rain or frost, most of the loss of wheat production in a large area will be due to the mercy of the gods.
The local Slavs indeed regard reduced production and harvest as punishment from the gods. If this happens, they will offer sacrifices on a large scale. In extreme cases, even human sacrifice...
It is too ideal to preset every year's wheat harvest as a bumper harvest, and then tax according to this standard. If it is forced to happen, it will cause anger and resentment in certain disaster years.
According to the people of White Tree Manor, only half of the two thousand acres of farmland in their hands is good land. One hectare can harvest two thousand pounds of sun-dried oats, and the remaining poor land can receive at least one thousand pounds. .
So, what's the cost?
The price is that, whether the harvest is 2,000 pounds or 1,000 pounds per hectare, the farmer must invest at least 200 to 300 pounds of grain.
Therefore, the granaries of each household in the White Tree Manor must have accumulated up to 400,000 pounds of seed grain.
This is a very crazy number. Unfortunately, even if their rough farming methods began to be blessed by the curved shaft plow, the biggest effect was to transform a batch of poor fields into good fields. The exchange ratio between growing grain and harvesting was extremely unsightly!
After the autumn harvest, about 15% to 20% of the grain will be stored. Unless there is a serious famine, it must not be moved. That is the grain for spring plowing!
One grain of wheat is exchanged for five grains. In northern and northeastern Europe, where conditions are harsh, and where oats are naturally low-yielding, how can the exchange ratio be improved without high-tech support?
On the other hand, in the East, where the temperature is suitable and irrigated agriculture is developed, the rice grown has been so abundant that one seed is exchanged for thirty harvests.
In Novgorod, if you want to get more harvest, you obviously have to rely on extensive planting and small harvest, and rely on scale effects to obtain a large surplus. This is a hardship for farmers, who have to work hard during busy farming seasons.
The White Tree Manor was like this, and the situation of the Pine Needle Manor that was massacred seemed to be better. Rurik took into account Ross's continuous exploitation of this farm in the past, which really made it difficult for its farmers. Rurik was able to conclude that the reason for their rebellion was that Ross exploited them too hard.
"Do I still need to apologize to you? You are already dead. If you don't rebel, I will start to improve your living conditions in the future. It is a pity that you collectively rebel and commit transgressions. It is a good thing that you all die, so that I can There is no need to increase taxes on other farms. Your death can make me a wise king. Let your souls curse, Ross needs the capital to rise, and the accumulation of original capital is accompanied by blood, your blood..."
Rurik didn't want to worry about the dead rebels. The deceased left behind a lot of wealth, 4,200 hectares of fields, of which a large area was pretended to be fields but was actually homesteads. The Old Pine Needle Manor occupies the best area around the lake. The fields are almost all adjacent to the lake. They are connected to each other and are large in size. This is why the surveying team, including Rurik, has basically walked a marathon these days. He estimates that among them No matter how good the land is, it must have 3,000 hectares.
In a good year, the best 3,000 hectares of land can yield about 4 million pounds of oats. For this harvest, he had to invest 600,000 to 700,000 pounds of wheat according to the rough agricultural model.
Rurik started to have a headache when he thought about this.
There is not enough growing grain on hand, and even if you try to cultivate intensively, the amount of growing grain you can save is limited. Labor tribes can spend money to rent idle labor on farms, but how to solve the problem of growing grain?
Rurik estimated that if he planned to fully use the reclaimed fields of the old Pine Needle Manor for spring plowing next year, he would have to invest at least 800,000 pounds. If the weather is good and the weather is pleasant, next year's autumn harvest here alone will be able to harvest 5 million. Roman pound of wheat.
That is really an attractive figure. The output of this corner of the country alone can provide the annual rations for the Viking population of the Principality of Ross, which is more than 10,000 men, women, and children. Nearly half of the young children can even become fat per capita.
It’s better to give up this dreamy idea! If there is no problem in raising enough for Dad to grow 100,000 pounds of grain, the price is that the entire Viking population will have to live a traditional fish-eating life for more than half a year.
Is this good? This is not good.
Everyone has become accustomed to eating wheat. Even if they can only eat a handful every day, everyone is happy to have food in their homes. After all, wheat is more durable than pickled dried meat. If there is surplus food at home, people will not worry about survival.
Everyone has the same concerns in this regard. Even though a few years ago there was almost no wheat stock in Russian homes, in recent years everyone has become inseparable from wheat.
"Son of God? I am indeed the Son of God. Those guys can't live without wheat. If they can't get wheat, my authority to rule will be shaken!"
This night, Rurik thought a lot.
The Pine Needle Manor, with a population of over 10,000, completely collapsed. They left behind a total of 5,000 hectares of developed fields. Except for giving it to the servants, Rose will get most of it.
Rurik has claimed that the property rights of the farmland are owned by the duchy, which is actually equivalent to being owned by the duke's family. Ordinary people have no objection to this, or they can't think of anything to question.
This was just the land wealth the duchy had plundered on the old Pine Needles estate.
There were also five farms that participated in and helped the rebellion. The owner of the manor was killed and the population was divided among the other farms of Ross's servants. The five farms also disappeared, and the pots and pans and even the wooden beams and boards used to build the houses were divided up. Only the land left behind belonged to the Duke.
I am afraid that another 5,000 hectares of land can be counted, and at least half of it is fertile farmland!
Due to the constraints of the conditions, Rurik knew that he would not want to go to the ruins of the five farms to measure the acres again this year. Practical reasons force him to wait until next year after the snow melts and the spring plowing begins to get things done again.
The property rights only belong to the principality, or do you mean that the 10,000 hectares of land belong only to the ducal family? !
If they all started producing, that would be more exciting than taxing individual farms.
However, it is impossible for me to take care of these fields personally, and there will not be enough leftover grain for full-scale sowing next spring.
The vast fields required enough tenant farmers. Rurik, who realized that he had become the largest landowner, decided to transport the population directly from Ross's hometown out of rational considerations, just as planned. As long as they start farming, they won't have to solve their wheat problem, and the prestige of the Duke's family will skyrocket.
The most important thing is that the property rights of these farmlands belong to the dukes. All they have is the right to use them. At that time, a contract will be signed with them to determine the number of years of the use rights and the amount of taxes to be paid within that period. In terms of results-oriented food production, pulling people over to plant ready-made fields can produce more results than encouraging people to open up wasteland.
Or maybe he changed his strategy and planted part of the fields with cash crops. Rurik thought of the manor that was good at growing flax. If we lease the land to them, we will be able to receive less rent and reduce some taxes.
"Ah! Thousands of hectares of fertile land are mine! Two thousand pounds of oats per hectare! This place should be able to grow spring wheat. The production capacity of spring wheat and spring oats is about the same, right? Ah, so I have to save all the wheat I got from Britain this year... "Suddenly thinking of this, Rurik, who was lying on his back, sat up suddenly, "Oops! I have to write a letter to Fort Ross."
He was worried about this, and when he needed to plant spring wheat next year, he found that the British wheat he had obtained had already been turned into flour and made into a pile of delicious and soft bread.
That would be bad.
