Chapter 84: Territory Expansion

But if you want to develop the brown sugar plantation to that level, it will take at least ten years of operation, which is also a long-term task for the territory.

Now there are only twenty-six brown sugar trees and hundreds of saplings in the brown sugar plantation, and only a few hundred kilograms of brown sugar were squeezed this year.

The Baron's family, big and small, consumes more than one hundred kilograms in total.

Richard prepared to supply most of the remaining brown sugar to the army to improve the living conditions of the soldiers. The remaining brown sugar was left for the civilian officials of the territory.

The current situation in the northern border is that the treatment of low-level civilian bureaucrats is indeed not as good as that of soldiers who lick blood on the blade.

This little brown sugar has been digested within the territory, and it will not be exchanged for a large amount of gold coins within one or two years. If you want to make brown sugar an important source of income for the territory, it is estimated that it will take more than ten years.

Richard brewed a cup of brown sugar water for Sophia and sat comfortably on the recliner.

The sun was very warm today. Sophia lay lazily in his arms, enjoying the peaceful time. Richard was reluctant to move for a long time.

After ten years in the Dawn Continent, Richard finally brought some changes to the Dawn Continent.

If the sugar industry can develop, Richard can also proudly tell others that he is the father of the sugar industry in the Dawn Continent.

If he lives in a peaceful environment, Richard may get the reputation of the Brown Sugar Baron.

Unfortunately, in the northern border of the Grant Kingdom, even the upper-class nobles will face cruel competition.

Just near the Harland Territory, the Stopa family was almost wiped out in the last orc war, most of Sofia's relatives died at the hands of the orcs, and the people in the territory were taken away by Baron Harden, and the territory that had been operated for decades became a ruin.

In this orc war, Baron Diram became the unlucky guy. The baron's family members were slaughtered by the orcs, and the people in the territory were annexed by the Harland family.

The old baron died only two years ago, and the heir he chose was not good, and the territory immediately had problems.

If no one in the Diram family is willing to take over the mess, they may be denominated and lose their noble status.

Richard heard through gossip that the Diram family had chosen an unlucky guy by lottery to become the next Diram Baron. Those who did not win the lottery took out a lot of gold coins to manage the territory together and try to maintain their noble status.

Last year, the weather was basically good, the harvest in the territory was very good, and a large amount of grain was stored. In addition, Richard made a fortune from the war and obtained the grain accumulated by the Diram family for three years, which was as much as 3,000 tons.

Including the Stopa family territory, Richard can control 6,000 tons of grain resources.

Even if more than 10,000 people poured into the territory, food security can basically be guaranteed.

In the spring of the 3256th year of the Dawn Calendar, Richard will arrange 2,000 people to move to the Stopa territory to grow food.

The Stopa territory has been operated for decades and a large amount of farmland has been reclaimed. Although a lot of it has been abandoned in the past few days, it is not too difficult to reclaim it.

Among the three territories, Stopa Territory has the most plains, and the reclaimed paddy fields exceed 1,600 hectares. If the dry fields in the territory are reclaimed, the area will reach more than 30,000 hectares.

By developing this territory and relying on growing food, Stopa Territory can feed 100,000 people.

Three thousand people entered Stopa Territory, and even the farmland and villages that were previously reclaimed could not be restored.

In order to restore the food production of the territory that was not destroyed by the orcs, it is necessary to increase the population by 2,000 to resume farming.

The population controlled by Richard is about 15,000 people.

Now Stopa Territory has the largest population, with a population of 6,000 people, and its vitality has been restored by more than half.

The positioning of the territory is mainly agriculture, and the population is almost all farmers.

William Territory has two reclamation camps, forming two large villages. Camp No. 1 is the largest, named Rhino Horn Village because of the discovery of rhinoceros horns.

Six hundred hectares of paddy fields have been reclaimed near Rhino Horn Village, and the farthest farmland is three kilometers away from the village. There are 1,600 people living in the village.

Including the old and weak, each person has an average of five acres of land.

A strong labor family needs to cultivate about 30 acres of farmland, and the labor intensity is already quite heavy.

This year is the fourth year of farming for indentured servants. In the spring of the year after, they will become freemen.

When they regain their freedom in the future, they will plant thirty acres of land. Richard's tax is lighter than that of other lords, so it should be no problem for ordinary people to get enough food and clothing.

The population of the No. 2 reclamation camp is about one thousand people, and four hundred hectares of paddy fields have been reclaimed.

In addition, there are hundreds of people living in the Bobby Brick Kiln Factory, and hundreds of people in other lime kilns and wood distillation kilns.

On the contrary, William Castle is stationed with soldiers and their relatives.

There are less than six thousand people living in William Territory now.

Richard Territory is still a wasteland, three thousand people are still building Sophia Castle, and the remaining hundreds of people will start planting brown sugar wood after spring.

As Sophia Castle is slowly built, the scale of brown sugar planting will also increase, which can just absorb this part of the population.

The remaining part can continue to be invested in reclamation and planting.

In recent years, most of the bulk materials in Harland Territory have been self-sufficient.

The only bulk materials that need to be purchased every year are cloth, plus some small commodities.

Although it is still in a state of net investment, the income and expenditure are gradually restored to balance.

If the abundant grain in Harland Territory is sold, the income will be far greater than the expenditure, and 3,000 gold coins can be obtained every year.

According to the standards of the main legion, the income of 3,000 gold coins is not enough to pay the soldiers.

Fortunately, the soldiers in Harland Territory are all slave soldiers, and only those who have made meritorious service can restore their status as free citizens.

After this battle, almost all the soldiers of the two main squadrons were freed. Although their military pay was only half of that of the main legion for the time being, the two squadrons still needed 2,400 gold coins every year, including the officers.

If the financial resources cannot be increased, the pressure on the territory is actually very heavy.

Sophia's territory is slightly better, with only one squadron of soldiers.

The soldiers of this squadron also participated in the war, and almost all the soldiers became free people.

It takes 1,200 gold coins to support the army.

The income of Stopa's territory is also higher than that of William's territory. The surplus grain can be sold for 4,000 gold coins, and the production of honey from Zitou Peak has also begun to increase, so the financial pressure is relatively light.

Now Richard is not going to sell the surplus grain in the territory, so he can only continue to invest.

Fortunately, in last year's war, Richard and Sophia made a fortune in the war. They received 12,000 gold coins in cash from Malte Castle alone.

After that, the two led troops to follow the main legion, and they also seized some gold coins when attacking the orc tribe. Both of them got dividends from the Northern Legion's sale of orc slaves.

In addition to the rewards for soldiers and officers, the two still have 10,000 gold coins in their hands.

This 10,000 gold coins can support the army for three years without expanding the army.

However, with the addition of new territories, it is imperative to expand the army.

The new squadron commanded by Soros was the first to complete the organization, and was numbered as the third squadron.

This squadron has only a small number of free people, and most of them are slave soldiers. The pressure of supporting the army is not very great, and only 400 gold coins are needed each year.

In addition, Richard also selected 150 strong slaves to form the fourth squadron.

This squadron is completely a slave army, and its equipment is very poor for the time being. There is basically no armor, and the weapons are mainly wooden spears. In addition to giving food, there is not much cost to support the army.

Now the Harland family has trained five squadrons of soldiers, with a total of 800 people.

The annual military pay for these 800 soldiers is 4,000 gold coins, plus the expenses on food, clothes, weapons and equipment, it takes 6,000 gold coins a year.

According to the income of the Harland territory, it can only be barely borne. Saving money is no longer possible, and increasing revenue is imperative.

After expanding the army, Richard is also planning to continue to purchase a batch of slaves to accelerate the development of the territory.

Richard does not plan to pay off the 4,000 gold coins owed by the Harland family for the time being.