Another world, the Northland, the Rich and Powerful Territory.
Fire ditches crisscrossed the wild fields. More than a thousand farmers stood on both sides of the ditches.
A foreman shouted a few times to remind everyone to pay attention, and then threw a torch behind the fire ditch.
Behind the ditch is land covered with grass all year round. The grass stems are so thick that they can even be taller than a person.
The grass is often a paradise for snakes, rats and mosquitoes, and occasionally birds inhabit it.
Zhou Qingfeng stood on the mound of earth behind the fire ditch and looked at the surrounding area for several kilometers.
This land belongs to the ownerless land and has never had a clear ownership in the past. But from now on it will have a boundary marker and it will belong to the "rich and powerful territory".
The reason why it is not assigned is because it is a low-lying, waterlogged area. It is neither farmable nor habitable.
As far as agricultural civilization is concerned, it will not work if there is too little water, and it will not work if there is too much water.
For example, the American continent in the real world has a large number of endless plains, which seem to have superior natural conditions.
But until the arrival of Europeans with industrial civilization, they could not develop it, and the indigenous Indians could only hunt.
The reason is that water conservancy construction is also a technical job, and it cannot be done if the level of civilization is too low.
Fire ditches are also drainage ditches. Relying on the popularization of a large number of metal tools, farmers in the "rich and strong collar" can efficiently construct the ground.
After the water in the low-lying areas is drained away, the originally lush weeds gradually wither.
When a fire was lit, the grass was instantly blazing with flames.
Countless snakes and rats were scurrying away, and many farmers were busy trying to catch them.
Zhou Qingfeng watched coldly and did not stop him.
Because there is never enough food in 'Fu Qiang Ling', anything edible will not be wasted.
"Old Borg." Zhou Qingfeng turned around and shouted to the dwarf witch doctor, "Remember to prevent epidemics. Things in the wilderness are always not so clean."
The dwarf witch doctor responded impatiently, "I know, I know. You say this three times a day."
The mounds were piled up from reclaimed fields, and next to them was a newly built gravel road.
The road is about three meters wide, and the building materials were obtained locally, making it look very crude.
Several mules pulled the stone rollers and rolled them back and forth on the road to ensure that the ground was strong and durable.
This road is the result of three months of construction by thousands of laborers in the 'Fu Qiang Territory'. It connects the territory to Cold Wind City and is considered one of the best roads in the area.
The road surface is slightly higher than the surface, and drainage ditches are built on the side to ensure that the roadbed will not be damaged by rain.
The mounds of soil on the roadside are dedicated for maintenance.
New four-wheeled heavy-duty carriages were running on the road, carrying tools and supplies to the road construction team.
Some distance along the road to the north, irrigation ditches are being built on the land that has been burned, and the field ridges are being leveled.
Do you think this is a field leading to happiness?
wrong!
The refugees in the North taught Uncle Zhou a good lesson!
He always thought that he could just gather the farmers and equip those beast-like guys with farm tools to work. But this was obviously wrong.
Agricultural knowledge also needs to be passed on. However, the farmers in Hanfeng City used to rely entirely on the weather and had no intention of farming intensively.
Many refugees know nothing at all, just like the black uncles in Africa who just throw some seeds into the fields and wait for the harvest.
There are also refugees who don’t like farming at all. In their culture, being a farmer is a sign of no future, but being a bandit is a serious occupation.
The collision of cultures gave Zhou Qingfeng a very headache.
At its peak, the "Fu Qiang Ling" had gathered more than 10,000 refugees, but after three months only four to five thousand could stay safely.
The remaining 4,000 to 5,000 people are still like the 'Master Sanhe', they like to work for three days a day and only accept short-term employment.
The remaining wandering ones are unstable factors, and if left unchecked, they will become swarms of bandits.
It's very difficult to deal with these guys, even more difficult than dealing with the dignitaries of Cold Wind City.
For adventurous vagrants, Zhou Qingfeng could only promise large sums of money to encourage them to explore the black forest for their "love and dreams".
Most of those guys will return to nature as the excrement of gnolls and goblins.
As for those who are willing to do farm work, Zhou Qingfeng has to use whips and wolfdogs to teach them how to live like human beings.
Reclamation, plowing, sowing, weeding, irrigation, fertilizing, pest control, and harvesting.
Zhou Qingfeng looked through agricultural books on his own and discovered that farming also contains a lot of knowledge and techniques that need to be learned and accumulated.
The soil in the North is actually very fertile, and the area around Coldwind City is typical black soil.
Although the annual accumulated temperature and sunshine here are low, crops can only be grown for one season. But with good cultivation, the yield per mu can be increased from 60 to 70 kilograms to more than 200 kilograms.
Such good land has never been put to good use in the hands of local nobles.
The powerful people in the city would never come to inspect the farmland. They would only send soldiers and tax collectors during harvest time and nothing else.
"What a waste." Zhou Qingfeng walked forward along the newly built road. Looking at the busy farmers in the vast fields, he felt both satisfied and regretful.
"We must teach the local indigenous people how to farm and grow vegetables. They are too lazy. Plant a crop of soybeans first and let the farmers practice their skills. Next year, they can plant higher-yield wheat."
Soybeans are easy to grow and do not require much field management, but the yield per mu is low. The opposite is true for wheat.
Rubio followed Zhou Qingfeng, nodding and taking note of his master's instructions.
Leaving the road and moving forward along the ditch, a dam took shape. Heavy-duty carriages brought stones specifically for the construction of the dam.
This is a very simple water storage project that can only raise the river level by about one and a half meters. But this one and a half meter drop is enough to irrigate thousands of acres of newly reclaimed farmland in the surrounding area.
An aqueduct and a mill were built next to the dam, and a large waterwheel raised the river water another three meters, using the overhead canal under construction to flow to the core estate of "Fu Qiang Ling".
These huge projects have never been done before. Just building these things required half of the craftsmen in the entire Cold Wind City, plus repeated training by Xili and the strange maids.
This is a challenge for everyone in the territory.
Anyone involved in the project will marvel from the bottom of their hearts, feeling that ordinary people can do things that are difficult for nobles and even wizards to do.
Wherever Zhou Qingfeng walked, farmers and craftsmen naturally knelt down and worshiped him. Since they followed this strange lord, people have seen a different life path.
In the past, lords always liked to use whips and scolding to manage slaves. The management was actually a mess.
Mr. Hugo likes to reason and has perfect regulations, rewards and punishments.
The foreman cannot dispose of his subordinates as he likes.
The life safety of ordinary farmers can be guaranteed at the minimum.
There was no need for the residents to panic when they saw the lord, fearing that the lord would kill them if he was displeased.
But whips and wolf-dogs are absolutely indispensable. Without them, we might one day be able to "liberate the serfs and welcome the whole family of workers and peasants."
There is such a contradiction at the bottom here. They are the most humble, the most ignorant, and the most hateful.
"Master, our food consumption this month exceeded the standard by 20%. However, the trade volume has increased three times." Rubio saw that Zhou Qingfeng was in a good mood and reported a few words.
"Our heavy-duty carriages are very good and can transport more goods with less manpower and time. Everyone is willing to do business with Harmony Trading Company."
In commodity trade, transportation costs often account for 50% or even 90% of the total cost.
Heavy-duty carriages using bearings, springs, and metal axles can reduce transportation costs by at least half.
The advantages in this aspect even reach the point where ‘quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes’.
Merchants in Cold Wind City not only like the cheap goods that the 'Harmonious Chamber of Commerce' constantly delivers, but they are also frightened by the terrifying transportation capabilities of the 'Fu Qiang Ling'.
"Is there any news from the Long Legs family?" Zhou Qingfeng asked.
Rubio shook his head, "No special news.
The Long Legs were extremely wary of us at first, but it didn't take long for them to open up trade because they themselves couldn't stand the interruption of goods caused by the border blockade.
Some merchants say that the Longlegs are hiring adventurers and reorganizing their army. But this news has not been confirmed."
Zhou Qingfeng walked around the dam construction site and whistled when he returned to the road.
‘Swift Shadow’ ran staggeringly from the other side, carrying his master back to the territory and manor.
A water-powered sawmill and water-powered blower are being built near the manor, and most of a taller and larger iron-making furnace has been built.
The second hydraulic forging machine was built first. The main reason was that its key components were provided by Zhou Qingfeng, which saved the craftsmen a lot of work.
The forging hammer was increased from 20 kilograms to 100 kilograms, and the stability was much improved. The forging machine no longer had to be stopped for maintenance every time.
This is all thanks to the efforts of Shu Mei and Mechanical Magic Girl.
The development of the territory was booming, so Zhou Qingfeng had the energy to consider other things.