Chapter 17 Production Teams and Work Points (Part 1)

Chapter 17 Production Teams and Work Points (Part 1) Old Ford stared blankly at the pile of snow-white sea salt.

As the chief steward of Idar County, he knew the value of that pile of sea salt better than anyone else. If he wanted to get so much sea salt using the traditional method of boiling salt, it would probably take at least twice as long, and it would also require a large number of serfs to work every day, which would be extremely costly.

However, the salt-drying method proposed by Bruno not only allowed for large-scale salt production, but also directly liberated the serfs from the salt fields, greatly reducing the cost of salt production and increasing profits.

All it takes is some salt ponds with different functions, plus dedicated personnel to manage them, to maintain the operation of a salt field of this scale. Old Ford is sure that if all the newly dug salt ponds are operating normally, then Idar's income from salt production will at least double next year! For a moment, Old Ford was so excited that he couldn't speak...

Shabby is right!

The master is indeed a wise man!

"What do you think? Am I awesome?" Bruno approached old Ford and said complacently.

"Master, you are really, really, really awesome!" Old Ford was so excited that he stuttered.

"Of course." Bruno nodded as a matter of course.

“According to my experience, the other lords probably don’t know about this method of making salt from seawater. In this case… if you want to make more profits… then this method of making salt from seawater must not be spread out.” Old Ford frowned and said seriously.

"That makes sense. I plan to form a special guard to guard the salt fields. Old Ford, what do you think?" Bruno asked.

"Form a special guard?" Old Ford originally only intended to suggest Bruno to transfer a small number of soldiers to garrison, but when he heard Bruno say this, he felt it was extremely reasonable.

After all, the income from salt production can be regarded as the most important source of income for the Idar County, and it is not excessive to attach great importance to it.

"I think it's possible." Old Ford said, "But I wonder if the master has any plans for the size and personnel of this guard?"

"After all, this is just the beginning, and there is no need for too many people. I plan to form a team of fifty people first. Moreover, in order to ensure the loyalty of the soldiers, these fifty people will all be drawn from my personal guards." Bruno thought for a moment and then said in a deep voice.

Fifty people were actually quite a lot. After all, the total number of soldiers in the entire Idar Territory was no more than three hundred, and only one hundred of them were directly under Bruno's personal guards. The other two hundred were just ordinary soldiers stationed in the military camp outside the city of Idar.

These fifty people are almost half of the personal guards.

"I have no objection to directly drawing troops from the personal guards, but this will directly reduce the number of guards around you, Lord Earl, by half."

"Just recruit more from civilians or active soldiers. First, select 30 from the ordinary soldiers, and then recruit 20 directly from civilians... Didn't I ask you to conduct a census before? Check their information. The people selected this time must be native Idar people with clean backgrounds. In short, they must ensure their loyalty!" Bruno said.

"As you wish, sir," said old Ford respectfully.

"As for the management of this salt field and the formation of the guard, the old steward will need to take more care of it..." Bruno suddenly said.

"I will definitely live up to your trust," old Ford replied without hesitation.

After all, old Ford had been to the battlefield with Bruno's father, and he had a life-and-death friendship with the Stuart family. He was loyal to the family, and with the old butler's guarantee, Bruno felt relieved.

Since seawater salt drying has replaced seawater salt boiling, there is no need to maintain such a large number of serfs.

So, that evening, Bruno had the serfs gathered together.

Four hundred and fifty-three people, this was the number of serfs who were previously responsible for the operation of the salt fields.

More than four hundred serfs sat in a circle around the burning bonfire, ready to follow the lord's next arrangements.

Several hours have passed since the sea salt drying process was a huge success.

Even the dumbest serfs should wake up from the shock of drying sea salt and think about their future.

After all, the new salt field certainly does not need so many people, and even the dumbest person can realize this.

But...what else can we do if we don’t dry the salt?

For a time, many serfs were filled with anxiety. After all, the noble lords would not raise them for nothing. Once they were no longer useful, the ending would often not be very good.

You know, in the mainstream society of the Norman Empire, the buying and selling of serfs was not uncommon.

Although cooking salt was very tiring and hard work, Bruno never lacked food for them, which at least allowed them to survive. But if they were sold to other lords, no one knew what their future would be like.

After all... a lord like Bruno can be considered a breath of fresh air among the aristocratic class.

"I don't intend to sell you." Bruno stood by the campfire, cleared his throat, and spoke loudly to the serfs directly.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

After this was said, many serfs breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were not sold, everything would be fine.

"But you can't stay here and continue making salt. After all, you have seen the process of drying salt from seawater. It definitely doesn't require so much manpower."

"But, sea salting is now a top secret of my Stuart family, so... you'd better watch your mouths, otherwise, there will be no place for you in the Norman Empire." Bruno said seriously.

"But at the same time, as long as you work hard, I can guarantee that you will be able to eat and wear warm clothes from now on, and support yourself with your own strength. It is even possible for you to become a free citizen again."

After Bruno finished speaking, the serfs, civilians, and soldiers present all thought they were hallucinating...

What did the Lord say just now? Could it be that serfs... also have a chance to become free citizens again? Confined to the political system and aristocratic political model of the Norman Empire, many serfs were actually formed under the "unintentional" manipulation of some unscrupulous nobles.

For example, small-scale territorial conflicts sometimes occurred among the nobles of the Norman Empire under various names. The imperial royal family and the Regency Council adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards such conflicts, which provided convenience within the rules for many nobles.

For example, Noble A invaded Noble B's fiefdom, and then plundered many civilians living on Noble B's fiefdom. When these civilians became prisoners, they had only two choices: either be hacked to death or be forced to become serfs under Noble A.

Then Noble B "retaliates" against Noble A in the same way, and then plunders an equal number of civilians.

Through this process, the nobles on both sides achieved the transformation from commoners to serfs. They could not only occupy the land that originally belonged to commoners, but also obtain a large number of serfs with whom they had personal dependence.

As for the losses of the nobles... usually, there are zero casualties, because this is something that everyone has agreed on long ago.

A new month has arrived, and new authors are rolling around asking for recommendations! By the way... is there any big guy who can add a book list (*^ω^*)

(End of this chapter)