"Surprising, isn't it? Ripe potatoes. It's literally a gift from the gods. Blackhammer Castle will no longer be short of food."
"Yes, as long as this crop is promoted, the people of Blackhammer Castle will no longer have to worry about food problems, and we will no longer need to pay high prices to import food from other places."
At the end of summer, Rhodes, the steward Muros, the knight Virgil and a group of guards came to a farmer's house on the outskirts of Blackhammer Castle. Everyone picked up the ripe potatoes and observed them carefully. This was four months ago
Rhodes asked people to plant it, but because he was worried that the soil and climate in the north may not be suitable for the growth of this crop, he did not sow too much. After four long months, almost all the potatoes that were originally sown were mature.
There is not much technical content, and it does not require much manpower and material resources. This kind of crop is so simple and easy to mature. Unlike ice peppers, which require careful care every day and a certain amount of magic to make them mature. Potatoes can be
It is said to be a treasure of the poor. Its price is much lower than that of flour, but it can still fill the stomach.
Rhodes held a ripe potato in his hand and looked at it carefully. It was not as big as the potatoes he saw on Earth in his previous life. The potatoes here were so small that they could be fully held with one hand. Some were only
The size of an egg. But this does not mean that it is not mature yet, this is what they will look like when mature. Because the climate in the north is too cold, they can only grow so big.
"It still needs to be accepted by the public as a staple food. This requires a process, but this does not prevent us from planting it on a large scale. And it must be fast, summer is about to pass. I estimate that there will only be one more harvest this year. This will be
Our important food reserve for winter."
Rhodes said, throwing the potatoes in his hands back into the potato pile. That was the farmer's harvest. In order to encourage more people to settle here, Rhodes even reduced their land tax for the previous two years.
"Sir, I have a request, is it okay?"
The farmer on the side asked tremblingly.
"Say it."
Rhodes turned back.
"Can you give me and my children weapons? Crossbows, okay? I'm thinking that if winter comes and beastmen or other beasts attack, we can protect ourselves..."
The farmer's voice was very low, but everyone present heard it. They knew that Rhodes had distributed weapons to civilians before and let them fight for Blackhammer Castle. However, allowing civilians to freely hold weapons is not a long-term solution.
Soon, Rhodes gave his answer.
"No, it can't be done."
he answered.
The expression on the farmer's face immediately became melancholy, even with a bit of fear. He knew that asking the lord for weapons to defend himself was not an honorable thing. If it had been done in Bretonnia, it might have been done long ago.
The noble lord drove out and confiscated the fields. He just heard that Rhodes distributed weapons to those gamblers during the Battle of Evil Moon, so he dared to try his luck.
"The tower has been built. If you encounter another beastman attack, just raise the beacon. The troops from Blackhammer Castle will rush here as soon as possible. It's not that we won't give you weapons to arm ourselves, but we will distribute them to you.
It's useless. You are not soldiers. You have not received formal military training. With your skills and numbers, even if you have the most sophisticated weapons in the wild, you are no match for the beastmen. Instead of giving you weapons, it is better to use these bows.
Give the crossbow to someone who needs it more."
Rhodes later explained.
The cool breeze of late summer blew from the open fields, reminding him that summer in the north was always so short.
"My lord, your letter."
While Rhodes and everyone were chatting at the farmer's house, a letter from Blackhammer Castle attracted everyone's attention. To be precise, it was not from Blackhammer Castle, but from the north thousands of miles away - the land of trolls.
.
In front of everyone, Rhodes opened the letter. He spread out the parchment letter and silently read the awkward words inside.
There was no sound for a long time.
"Sir, whose letter is this? What is written in the letter?"
Seeing Rhode's sad look, the old butler Muros asked with concern.
"Northern Wanderers, they tell me that a Norscan force is heading our way."
Rod returns.
"Why?"
"Because someone from their tribe came to us."
Rhodes said calmly.
In fact, Rhodes had already guessed that such a day would come. Ever since that single-person killing of the Manticore, the Norscans from the north have joined his army one after another. It doesn't matter when the number of people is small, but sooner or later there will be more people.
Something goes wrong. This is why people are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong. The more Norscans who join their banner, the more they will attract the attention of the Norscan tribes on the border. After all, they no longer trust their leader and turn to another country.
A leader, this is absolutely intolerable to the Norsca tribe in the border area.
"It seems those Great Wall Sentinels have a pretty good relationship with you."
Celta was joking.
"Only one-sided relationship."
Rhodes returned calmly.
"How many are there? Norsca's army?"
Knight Virgil asked seriously.
"Thousands of people."
Rhodes had a hunch that this time, it might be the largest battle he has ever encountered since time travel. There is absolutely no possibility of peace with these Norscans from the north. Their goals are very clear, even clearer than those of the Beastmen.
, just to eradicate Blackhammer Castle and kill himself, so as to tell other Norscans that Rod Lawn is not the son of God, he is just a mortal.
The force of thousands of people has exceeded the range that Blackhammer Castle can handle. He has about 400 troops on hand. More than 300 of them are Norscans, and the remaining dozens are Kislev ladies.
The troop strength is only one-third of the opponent's. According to the rangers in the Troll Country, this is an entire tribe's army. Now they are unable to determine the specific number of the opponent. There must be thousands of people, and if there are more, it may reach
More than two thousand people. In that case, even if they defend the castle, they may not be able to hold it. The Norscans are not beastmen. They have more complete siege weapons. If they are some large tribes, they even have terrifying creatures like mammoths.
That way, they can easily break through the enemy's walls without siege weapons. Fortunately, the Norscan army going south looks like an army of a small tribe. It is not a collective action of the Norscans.