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 Slav population is large, and the foreign Varyag military and technology are quite powerful. The time for change has come, and a new ethnic group is being born. Slavic warriors dress up as Varyag people, and they wear leather helmets
, the huge nose protector even covers the mouth. They hold a spear in their right hand and a round shield tied to their left arm. Although they have no chainmail, the thick leather is cut into a suitable shape and draped around them. At first glance, it looks like the same thing. A hand ax or a hand axe.
Daggers were hung on the waistbands, and everyone wore linen trousers with specially tied cloth strips around their calves. They 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 were also a little thinner. Their individual combat effectiveness was very limited, and if hundreds of them gathered together to form a formation, the situation would be completely different.
As many as five hundred Slavic warriors were assembled. They 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.
A large amount of peeled fresh birch trunks overflow with some juice. This is slightly sweet sap that is very thirst-quenching. The locals have long known that this sap can be drunk, but the effect is unknown. The gradually drying trunks are thrown into clay and rammed
The stove and birch charcoal began to produce as usual.
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 Manor.
The mercenaries carried shovels on a large scale to eradicate the inherent boundary demarcation lines. These are all the property of the Duke's family. The plots of various properties 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 situation again. The area that was once full of buildings had become deserted. The Russian conquerors only killed the rebels, and finally collected the bodies of these guys and buried them in giant pots. After the victory, the residential buildings were all knocked down.
The available building materials have apparently been 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 using ponies to pull wooden carts, some horses will be organized to pull curved shaft plows to reclaim the homesteads. Isn’t this another large field?
However, the reality is crazier and more gratifying than Rurik hoped.
As long as the desolate homesteads were taken into account and the acres of loot allocated 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 crumbling ruins of the old Pine Needles Manor.
The mercenaries and hired locals who had broken down the fields and were cooking fish stew in large 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 hard, we all work hard for the same goal. Even if our feet are blistered, it is worth it... More importantly,
Everyone works together with the Duke. This is a good opportunity to express ourselves.
The flames of twenty oil lamps lit up the entire wooden shed, and everyone was covered in furry bearskin coats. The fur coats were like big quilts, which perfectly dispelled the coldness of early winter.
The girls all stared with big eyes. They all washed away the dust on their faces before the sun went down. However, their faces were tired, haggard, and their hands that had become rough and calloused could not be recovered in a short time. They would do it every day.
The new statistical data was written on a wooden board and submitted to Rurik. By today, the entire area has been surveyed and mapped by various groups.
The wooden boards that recorded the information were also expanded into two towers, the height of which was equivalent to 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 is 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 have blessed us with no bad snow. We finally finished the work before the snow fell. You are 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 on his face: "Really? You can't enjoy this happiness alone. Where are the others?"
All the girls said that they could still continue to work, as 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 larger than the existing 2,000 hectares of White Tree Manor.
After all, Rurik couldn't hide his joy. He laughed out loud and said while laughing: "Do you know what this means? Based 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.
Tiredness is really tiring, and the statistical results are really gratifying.
but……
All the data has been compiled, and Rick intended to stay in the shack alone 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 Baishu Manor does have two thousand acres of farmland. Their distribution is relatively scattered, and the overall geographical location is not good. Fortunately, the dimension of Lake Ilmen is lower, and the accumulated temperature is theoretically higher than that of Mera
The Lunhu area is higher and has higher production capacity.
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. There is no difference in the yield per mu.
One hundred pounds. This is a figure for 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 perform large-scale sacrifices. In extreme cases, even human sacrifices...
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 be true, 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 only receive one thousand pounds at best.
.
So, what's the cost?
The cost 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 seed grain.
Therefore, the granaries of each household in White Tree Manor must store a total of up to 400,000 pounds of seed grain.
This is a very crazy number. Unfortunately, even if their rough farming methods started to be supported 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 the harsh conditions of Northern Europe and Northeastern Europe, where oats are naturally low-yielding, how can we improve the exchange ratio 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 rice harvests.
In Novgorod, if you want to get more harvests, you obviously have to rely on extensive planting and small harvests, and rely on economies of scale to get a large surplus. This makes farmers miserable, and they have to work hard during busy farming seasons.
White Tree Manor was like this, and the situation of Pine Needle Manor, which 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 the farmers. Rurik was more able to conclude that,
The reason for their rebellion is 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. 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 farmland, even though a large area was pretended to be farmland, it was actually homestead. The old Pine Needle Manor controlled
It is the best area around the lake. The fields are almost all close to the lake. They are connected to each other and are large in size. This is why the survey team including Rurik have basically walked a marathon these days. He guessed what happened to the good fields among them.
It must also be 3,000 hectares.
In a good year, the best 3,000 hectares of land can harvest 4 million pounds of oats. For this harvest, I have to invest 600,000 to 700,000 pounds of wheat according to the rough agricultural model.
Thinking of this, Rurik started to have a headache.
There is not enough grain on hand, and even if you try to cultivate intensively, the grain that can be saved is limited. The labor tribe can spend money to rent idle labor on the farm, 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 meet the annual food rations for the Viking population of the Principality of Rus, 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 on this dreamy idea! If there is no problem in raising enough for Dad to grow 100,000 pounds of grain, the cost will be that the entire Viking population has 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 the Russians had almost no wheat in their 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, Ross will get most of it.
Rurik has claimed that the property rights of the farmland belong to 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 it.
This is just the land wealth that the Duchy has plundered on the old Pine Needles estate.
There were five more farms that participated and helped the rebellion. The owner of the manor was killed, and the population was divided among the farms of other servants Ross. These five farms also disappeared, and the pots and pans and even the wooden beams and boards used to build the house were all destroyed.
It was divided up, and only the remaining land 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 land!
Due to the constraints of the conditions, Rurik knew that he had no intention of going to the ruins of the five farms to measure the acres again this year. Practical reasons forced him to wait until next year when the snow melted and the spring plowing started again.
The property rights only belong to the principality, or in other words, the 10,000 hectares of land belong only to the duke family?!
If they all started producing, it would be more exciting than taxing each farm.
However, it is impossible for me to take care of these fields myself, and there will not be enough leftover grain for full-scale plowing and sowing next spring.
The vast fields needed enough tenant farmers. Rurik realized that he had become the largest landowner. Out of rational considerations, he just transported the people directly from Ross's hometown, just like what was determined in the plan. As long as they started farming
, you won’t have to solve their wheat problem, and the prestige of the Duke 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 period of use rights and the amount of taxes to be paid within that period. In terms of the results of food production,
Pulling people over to plant existing fields can produce more results than encouraging people to open up wasteland.
Or maybe they should change their strategy and plant some of the fields with cash crops. Rurik thought of the manor that was good at growing flax. If he rented the land to them, he would receive less rent and reduce some taxes.
"Ah! Ten thousand 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? 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, suddenly sat up and said, "Oops! I have to write a letter to Rosberg."
He was worried about this. 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.