Chapter 62: Recruiting Soldiers
Logically speaking, potatoes are a good thing. They have a high yield per acre and can be eaten without processing, but Olivia really can't be happy.
This is too late!
It's August now. If we plant potatoes now, they won't be unearthed in October because the ground will start to freeze.
The potatoes we get this year can only be stored in cellars and planted in March or April next year.
Olivia sighed. Fortunately, there was enough food this year, and there was still time to grow potatoes next year.
She received the potatoes, and now the crop has been released into the city by the system.
The reward note said she would get at least 200 pounds of potatoes.
The system will do whatever it takes to get her those 200 pounds of potatoes.
Just like the chili seeds before, even if she didn't take the initiative to buy them, or was obstructed.
The specified number of seeds will also come into her hands through various butterfly effects and means.
Don't worry about the potatoes selling out because they are so good.
Therefore, Olivia was not in a hurry. She first gave the copy reward "Youxue Qionglin" to Theresa.
This item is a two-star item with a "Cunning" tendency. Using it once can unlock the "Cunning" talent for the character.
Theresa has no special skills.
Immediately afterwards, Olivia refreshed the main storyline and dungeon missions.
Main Quest
"Building barracks
Mission Description: Build an enclosed area for soldiers' training and concentration that can accommodate at least fifty people for training and living.
Mission progress: 00
Mission Reward: +50 Experience Points
+＊3《Surgery》
Copy mission:
Recruiting Soldiers:
Mission Description: Recruit a total of forty soldiers and have five cavalry escorts.
Task progress:
Total number of soldiers (20/40)
Total cavalry: (1/5)
Mission Reward: +50 Experience Points
+＊2《Geology》
At the dining table, Olivia looked at the two suggestive tasks, silently picked up the cup and took a sip of water.
It seems that the game has entered the stage of preparation.
The next thing that can be unlocked with 888 experience points does not seem to be a seed, but some kind of game prop.
However, 888 experience points are not far away.
She turned off the system and continued with her breakfast as usual.
Today is the seventh day of August. It is drizzling outside. The air temperature is about 20 degrees Celsius, neither cold nor hot.
Fan Xi brought a plate and presented several exquisite breakfasts, including shrimp soup with fish wontons, a plate of braised beef tongue, a plate of candied cucumbers, and a plate of fresh pear pieces.
The drink is taro ice milk.
"Ma'am, the pears in the yard are beginning to ripen. These are the first batch to ripen."
Olivia brought the plate of pears in front of her and saw the juicy white pear flesh in the delicate ceramic plate.
The pears were not like this last year. You can tell at a glance that it was because Jagabu took good care of them.
She tasted a few bites. Although the sugar content was not strong, it was very juicy, slightly sweet, and very crisp.
After eating a few bites, Olivia asked Vansh to take some of the freshly picked pears into town and deliver them to Letilen and her aunt's house.
If you give these ordinary foods to your colleagues, they will not even look down on them. But if you give them to your friends and relatives, it will make you seem closer.
"Yes, ma'am."
Vansh left the dining room and immediately went to the servants' hall to find Jagbu who was eating pancakes.
As soon as she left, Adam came in from outside and took advantage of the lady's regular breakfast time to reply.
Olivia was taking a bite of her fish-filled wonton when she looked up and saw Adam standing by the screen with his robe wet.
"You've already been to the workshop so early?"
She asked in a calm tone.
Adam nodded, patted the water off his body, and before entering the house, he even scraped the mud off the soles of his feet.
"Gosley arrived earlier than I did. Following Madam's instructions, we opened the ice cellar and supplied ice to the smelting workshop, coke oven, and charcoal kiln to cool them down."
"Well, that's good."
She sat comfortably in the house all day long, eating and drinking delicious food, and rarely went to the workshop.
However, it is also clear that in the month of July, the number of workshops in the manor increased sharply, among which fuel processing was the largest one.
The fuel available on the estate now is mostly wood, with a small portion coming from coal.
The timber comes from the twenty acres of land that has been reclaimed. All the timber in the twenty acres of land must first be transported to the carpenter's house in the village.
The carpenter separated the good wood that could be used to make things, and sent the ordinary wood to the three charcoal kiln workshops supported by the manor.
A charcoal kiln requires no technical expertise. A few farmers can build one in their own fields and surround it with a fence, and it becomes a workshop.
The charcoal produced has many uses. After being sold to the manor, it is managed by Adam.
Part of it is used for daily cooking and lighting the fireplace in the manor.
Part of it is supplied to the brick kiln. This month, another family in the manor volunteered to build a brick kiln, burn mud bricks, and sell them to the manor's mill to expand the threshing ground.
The rest is supplied to smelting workshops, coke oven workshops, pottery workshops, smoking workshops and so on.
If there is any extra, it will be sent to the town to be sold. Ten pounds of hardwood charcoal can be sold for three souris.
There's not much to do with charcoal, but the market is stable and the demand is huge. Both ordinary people and wealthy families need it, and they can sell as much as they can.
In the village's "industrial center" coke ovens, smelting plants, charcoal kilns, and forges, workers from two or three villages gather every day to work.
In most cases, the self-employed farmers in the manor become the bosses and ask Olivia or the housekeeper to apply to open a workshop and borrow some money.
Then, after the facilities are built, we will go to Toksun Manor or Reno Manor to recruit part-time workers.
The self-employed farmers in these two places are all within the scope of her recruitment permission, and are all under the control of her and her family. There are no messy outsiders, so she can use them with confidence.
Therefore, the part-time working conditions provided to these workers cannot be too bad. The temperature is high now, and the temperature inside those workshops can reach as high as 40 degrees when they are working, so the ice repair is also a serious ice repair.
During Olivia's breakfast time, Adam continued to report on the output of several workshops.
"Ma'am, Gosley has been tinkering in the pottery workshop for two days and said he has come up with a delicate vessel that has no pores at all.
We are about to open the kiln today. When the rain stops, would you like to go and have a look, Madam?"
He asked expectantly.
It was the first time that Olivia saw Adam so confident about the goods. Could it be that Gaosili had made porcelain?
She just nodded and agreed.
I continued to eat calmly. Even if the sky fell, I had to finish my breakfast well.
"By the way, call the butler, I have something to talk to him about."
Adam nodded, retreated from the small dining room, and went into the servants' dining room.
It was also the servants' rest time after their morning shift, and most of them were eating here.
The breakfast served in the kitchen today consisted of toast and broth. Each person was placed on a ceramic plate with two slices of bread, a small piece of butter, and a spoonful of sticky cabbage broth.
With such food, no servant in the manor is late for work every day, otherwise they will have nothing to eat after mealtime.
The housekeeper ate the same food, with no special privileges. He was discussing the arrangements for the autumn harvest with Jagbu, who was sitting at the same table with him.
Today's rain is light, it's just an appetizer.
In just over a month, from the end of September to the beginning of October, it will be the official rainy season in the Lavosen area. It will continue until the end of October, and the temperature will drop step by step, eventually turning into snow.
So the grain must be harvested before October.
Mid-August is the time to start harvesting beans. After harvesting, they have to be shelled and dried for a few days before they can be stored in the cellar.
In early September, wheat and various grains are harvested, and the grains are dried, threshed and sifted during the last ten days.
In late September, we need to find a sunny day to burn the wheat straw and return it to the fields.
All year round, the people on the manor tend to the land according to the season, and there is not a single day of leisure.
“Well, by the end of the month, it’s time to pick the apples and pears in the yard.
The butler took a bite of bread, slurped the soup in his bowl, nodded, and said, "I'll ask Madam if she'll still make wine this year."
Then Adam walked out into the servants' hall, asked for breakfast from the kitchen at the window, brought it to the table and ate it, saying to the butler:
"Madam asked me to go."
Upon hearing this, the butler took a deep breath, wiped his mouth, drank half a glass of water, and prepared himself mentally for a while before walking along the corridor to the north wing.
Jagabu was still frightened when he saw the housekeeper who had to take care of everything and was called on eight hundred times a day.
When he first came to work as a gardener, he thought that the lady was too young and probably not capable of managing the estate.
But after more than half a year, Jagabu felt that he was too stupid at the time.
This lady seemed to have some kind of clairvoyance, and she knew exactly what was going on in the manor.
He controlled these servants as nimbly as fingers.
The previous instructions seem so forward-looking now.
Jagabu thought of the peppers and soybeans that his wife insisted on growing. It would be such a pity if these two items were missing out!
Dried chili powder is sold at a high price of five kcal per pound in the market in Lavosen, which is almost as expensive as spices.
Although my wife said that this was just a quick buck, and it was done while peppers were not yet widely grown.
However, Jacopo still felt that his wife had an almost terrifying sense of the potential value of these crops.
Originally, he was more optimistic about okra and taro, but the results of these two crops were far less impressive than the peppers and soybeans that his wife was optimistic about.
Okra has a low yield and is just an ordinary vegetable.
Mr. Letilen planted the 200 pounds of taro he brought back on one acre of land, and only harvested a little over 400 pounds, including both mother and baby taro.
The input and output are far inferior to soybeans.
Although this food tastes good after being cooked, it is about the size of a palm, and when you peel it, it is soft and sticky inside, and tastes slightly sweet. My wife really likes it.
This was the first time that Jagabu felt so frustrated. He planned to conduct a few more experiments next year to see if he could find the best way to grow taro.
He sighed, and Adam, seeing this, invited him to go to the workshop to watch the kiln being operated.
In the dining room, Olivia had just finished drinking taro ice milk when the butler walked in with his head lowered, a heavy look on his face.
"How's the road repair going?"
She asked first.
"The planned area is almost filled in. Just a little more leveling of the gravel will complete it."
"Well, how many households in the village have expanded their stone houses?"
“There are 35 households, 15 of which are self-cultivating farmers and 20 are tenant farmers.
I resized the wall of the house they were expanding to make way for the road, and we can just continue building on it.”
Such a number is possible because many self-cultivating farmers and one or two tenant farmers already have stone houses and do not need to expand them.
The 35 households that have chosen to rebuild their houses are now all the remaining families living in wooden huts and shacks.
The last winter had been a serious enough deterrent that no one dared to take any chances this winter, and while the lord was willing to provide stone, they all cleaned up their houses to withstand the severe cold.
However, the prerequisite for giving them the stones is to ask them to help transport the stones to build the road.
Olivia finished her meal, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and began to wash her hands slowly.
She continued, "I heard that the Baskin Manor next door has recruited a lot of soldiers. Did you know about this?"
The butler looked at the lady's expression, nodded and said he knew.
The lady's face was calm and her expression was unfathomable. It was unknown what she thought about this matter.
Fortunately, as a conscientious butler, he had noticed these things a long time ago and asked someone to find out all the details.
He knew he would be asked about this.
Now answer fluently:
“Lord Baskin has recruited forty soldiers this time.
Together with the five soldiers and one attendant he had before, there were a total of forty-six people.
The original soldiers and followers were all self-cultivating farmers on his estate, about 20 or 30 years old.
Forty newly recruited soldiers.
There were twenty self-employed farmers in his area, half of whom were teenagers and the other half were a dozen or so people in their forties and fifties.
There were about twenty other people, ten of whom were tenant farmers in their twenties and thirties.
There were ten more mercenaries he had sent his steward to recruit from other towns, most of them strong and able-bodied laborers.
Right now, he is leading soldiers in training."
The housekeeper is indeed a chosen worker. He is very thorough in everything. You will never hear "I don't know" from his mouth.
After listening to this, Olivia understood Baskin's approach.
He intended to send the young and old yeomen on the estate to the battlefield.
Young and fertile farmers in their twenties and thirties were required to save seeds for the manor and, at the same time, to protect the manor's safety during wartime.
As for the tenant farmers, those who stayed were teenagers, while those who were sent to the battlefield were middle-aged men.
However, perhaps because they were afraid that no one would farm the land next year if all the young tenant farmers died, they recruited some mercenaries.
These soldiers have a complex composition and different salary structures.
The first type is self-employed farmers who own land. They do not need to be paid for their service, but only need to be provided with equipment, weapons and dry food during the march.
Because their families own land, they can enjoy tax exemption during their military service, which is equivalent to paying them in disguise.
The second type of tenant farmers, slave soldiers, usually rely on rewards to maintain their jobs. Those who survive can be rewarded with land and promoted to self-employed farmers with private property.
Most of them have no formal training, will not be the main force of the army, nor will they be the vanguard of sacrifice.
The third type of recruitment relies on salary. Soldiers sign a document and serve for a year. If they survive, they can earn a few gold coins.
Most of these recruits were self-cultivating farmers in the city who had lost their land.
They have no land, no property, and can only work for others to make a living. They have no food to eat and nothing but freedom.
The purpose of recruiting soldiers is purely to make money, and a few gold coins still have a lot of purchasing power.
As long as you survive, the money you get will be enough to buy a few sheep.
However, everyone knows that recruits are consumables on the front line, with a survival rate of perhaps one in ten, even lower than that of serfs.
Usually, conscripts are the main force, following the knights, serfs are behind to transport supplies, and conscripts are there to open the way and explore the way.
It has to be said that although this Baskin Knight looks ordinary in normal times, he is very methodical when doing things, which is worth learning from.
As it stands, she has only recruited a total of twenty soldiers in the two estates, with only George as a cavalryman.
The new recruits were young men between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five from self-cultivating farmers.
These people are flexible, young, and capable of learning, making them suitable for development into elite forces.
They have all been equipped with bows and arrows and armor, and have been trained by Caesar for half a year. Their combat effectiveness will have to wait until the war begins to be seen.
There was only one cavalryman, George, and she would have to add four more, which would leave her with only sixteen soldiers.
We need to recruit another 24 people to meet the number of people required for the task.
Olivia looked at the housekeeper:
"Well, go find my father first. I have horses and iron ore with him. Ask him to bring me four horses and a few carts of iron ore.
The iron ore was sent to Gao Sili, who forged it into armor and weapons. Prioritize armor, making at least 25 sets, and then make weapons with the rest.
The four horses were given to the most elite soldiers in the manor.
Go to the two manors and recruit twenty-five more soldiers.
Among them, ten must be self-employed farmers, around 30 years old.
Ten tenant farmers, around forty years old.
Go out and recruit a few soldiers around 20 years old.
For six months of service, one gold coin per acre of land will be given."
After these soldiers were recruited, Caesar was left to take care of the specific circumstances.
The housekeeper was about to do it after hearing this, but Olivia said it was not over yet.
“I also want to build a barracks so that these soldiers can be trained together in one place for easier management.
It would be inappropriate to go back home and live with others during the breaks in the fighting, so a place was built on the river bank that could accommodate fifty people.
However, it is harvest time now, so don't bother with it. When Caesar returns, I will have him take the soldiers to repair it."
The wood for building the barracks is readily available and does not need to be mined again. It won’t take much time.
The housekeeper's head began to buzz again after the lady said a few words lightly.
"Also, I have to go out to town tomorrow."
After she finished speaking, the housekeeper nodded and ran away.
He first asked his errand boy to go to the town to find old Renault and ask for horses and iron ore.
The housekeeper was not aware of this matter, but the master's family affairs were not within his management scope.
Later, he sent people to find the millers of the two estates.
The steward arranged the recruitment of soldiers and asked the two millers to go to the manors they were responsible for to recruit five self-cultivating farmers and five tenant farmers.
Finally, he sent people to the town's special recruiting shop to look for qualified personnel.
In the afternoon the steward went to the river bank and personally planned out a suitable spot for building barracks.
Although this river bank is a government road, it is very dangerous when the river freezes in winter.
However, this is also the significance of the barracks. It is not only a place for soldiers to rest and train, but also a form of defensive fortification.
Soldiers should be able to counterattack the invading enemy based on the barracks.
Therefore, the steward planned to locate the barracks on a high ground near the river bank. The place was relatively flat and could be used to build a circular barracks.
The middle was used as a training ground, and surrounding it were dormitories, stables, kitchens, and armories.
For the rest, he just needs to ask an adult.
At the same time, after the rain stopped, a gentle breeze blew across the blue lake, and the smell of earth mixed with the fragrance of wild flowers.
Olivia rode her horse, her hooves moving on the gravel road without getting a speck of mud on them.
When passing the small lake, Antona was leading people to release a few buckets of small fish into the lake.
She continued to follow Adam towards the western part of the village where workshops were concentrated.
What was once a place of barren farmland and low houses can now be seen as a workshop just a few steps away.
The yards were either paved with bricks or had wooden fences, and most of them enclosed an area of more than one acre. Carriages and horses came and went, transporting various raw materials into the yards.
Although the pottery workshop that Olivia was going to was not included in her plan to pave the road, the owner of the workshop spontaneously bought stones to fill the road.
She and her group arrived outside the workshop, dismounted and walked in.
The pottery workshop still has only two kilns, each of which can fire about a hundred pieces of pottery at a time.
When she walked in, she could see two stone and brick earthen kilns in the yard, both sealed with mud and already cooled down.
Next to the wall, there is a row of five wooden houses, built next to the workshop owner's stone house.
Each room in this house is used for different processes, including throwing, drying, and repairing the clay, and now there is one more process, glazing.
Adam took her into one of the houses, where workers were throwing clay. This was the potter's wheel room, and there were three workers kneading clay.
The workshop owner, Old Duke, is here.
Adam asks him where Ethan and Gothri are.
When Old Duke saw his wife coming in person, he quickly got up and took them to the glazing area.
Gosley showed Olivia, a liberal arts student, how to glaze the dried and shaped clay.
In fact, glazing is not a rare craft, and some pottery workshops now also glaze.
However, Gao Sili figured out a trick. He talked for a long time, pointing at a can of pink muddy water and a can of green muddy water.
Olivia just pondered for a moment, then nodded:
"You'd better take me to see the finished product."
Gao Sili scratched his head and had to order people to open the kiln.
After a while, they carefully lifted the utensils out of the kiln. Gao Sili picked up the most beautiful bottle and handed it to Olivia.
When Olivia saw it, she couldn't help but hold the bottle in the air.
The sky was blue and bright after the rain.
…
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