Early the next morning, the sun shone through the window panes of the wooden house to wake up Art. He lifted up the fur blanket and got off the wooden bed. Ron had already put a wooden bucket filled with water on the table, and there was still a large pot of hot water in front of the fireplace in the room.

Bowl of broth.

Art rinsed it with water, picked up the broth and drank it in one gulp.

"Ron, Ron!"

Ron was feeding black beans to the green mules and war horses in the stable. When he heard Art's voice, he quickly put down the bag and ran in, "Master, you called me?"

"Go find the old butler, then put on the saddle and prepare food. We are going to the south valley today." Art said as he got dressed.

Ron went out to look for old Cooper, and soon Cooper came in.

"Good day, sir."

"Cooper, today is a rare good day. I plan to go to the south valley to have a look. You have to do three things today. The first is to register everyone in the wooden castle;

The second is to count all our supplies, including food, weapons, livestock, farm tools, land, odds and ends, etc. I don't know anything about farming, so you can ask Otto and the others to help you.

So the third thing is to work out an arrangement for reclaiming the valley land. You can call Scott and Lawrence together to discuss it. I will come back in the evening to listen to the results of your discussion. In addition, after bringing back the old carpenter, I will

Leave it to you to help you with some carpentry work. His old wife and granddaughter will go to Emma's kitchen to help.

Now we have to start everything. We must make good use of everyone. Children should be used as women, women should be used as men, and men should be used as livestock. But we must tell Emma that during this period, it is cold and everyone has to work hard, so we must ensure that everyone can

Eat enough. We don’t have much food, so let’s go pick more wild vegetables and fruits when you have time. I will also take Otto and the others hunting, and stew some broth for everyone from time to time.”

After saying that, Art returned to the bed, took out a quill wrapped in torn parchment and a small jar of ink from the wooden box under the bed, handed it to Cooper, and said: "Ink is too expensive, save it, parchment

If you don’t have any anymore, just use birch bark instead.”

After giving orders to Cooper, Art left the cabin and opened the door of the cabin opposite. Odo, Bass, and Kazak were huddled together on the wooden bed. Art walked over and patted the edge of the bed.

of Kazak.

Kazak wiped the eye mucus from the corners of his eyes and looked at the person with confused eyes. It took him a long time to react and quickly pushed the two people around him to wake up.

"Sir, we drank too much yesterday and overslept. We'll get up right away, get up right away."

"Odo, how is the wound on your arm?"

"Sir, you applied those concoctions on me yesterday, and the wound stopped festering and is still cool."

"Well, that's good. I'm going to the south today. You don't have to come with me. You can just rest at home and eat early. The kitchen won't leave food for lazy people."

Ron came in carrying Att's weapon and leather armor and told Att that the horse was ready to go.

Art took the leather armor from Ron and put it on his body, tied his belt, hung up his sword, walked out of the gate, and got on the horse. Ron rode the green mule and followed.

............

The two rode horses southward along the creek in front of the wooden castle, passing through the dense forest canyon. Before noon, they left the valley and arrived at the northern edge of the intervalley.

In front of him is a trumpet-shaped open land. The valley where the stream flows out of the valley is less than a hundred feet wide. There is a low gentle slope on the right side, and on the gentle slope is a flat land;

Less than two miles further south, the terrain suddenly opens up, reaching a mile at its widest point. On both sides, a series of mountains in the remaining ranges of Mount Poge and Mount Carmel rise step by step until they are as high as the main range.

After the stream enters the valley, it becomes gentler and the river surface becomes more open. The river passes through the middle of the valley and flows to the south in a meandering direction. Six miles south, it skirts a gentle hill on the right side of the mountain and then flows towards the south.

It flows to the south. The land between the valleys has not been cultivated for hundreds of years, and the land is overgrown with weeds. In some places, the thatch grows taller than people.

The two drove their horses out of the valley mouth and walked along the river bank to the south of the valley. It was obvious that a path had been cut out of the weeds on the right bank, and every few dozen steps there was a path leading to the depths of the barren grassland.

There is some newly dug land on the path - it should be left by Cooper and Scott when they came to explore some time ago.

After walking for about a mile, the previously opened road was interrupted, and the two men on horseback reluctantly advanced slowly through the grass.

"Master, there is movement in the grass." Ron rode a green mule and looked into the grass that was half a man tall. The grass was shaking.

"Maybe it's an animal like a wild boar or a hare. It's frightened, so we have to be careful." He said, taking out the riding bow from the saddle and holding it in his hand.

Along the way south, except for the tall grass that was difficult to pass through, the two of them were safe. The occasional wild animals were frightened and fled in all directions.

When the sun set in the west, the two of them had just arrived at the foot of the hill on the right side of the mountain range in the valley. They tied their mules and horses to a small tree and climbed to the top of the hill. The hill was not high, and soon the two of them

People climbed to the top of the hill. There was a flat land of about half an acre on the top of the hill. A few dwarf pine and birch trees grew sparsely here. There was a steep cliff on the west side of the hill, and the east slope slowly stretched towards the river.

It is surrounded by rivers, forming a small peninsula facing water on three sides.

Art stood on the top of the hill, put his right hand on his forehead and looked to the south. The river continued to flow to the southwest, passing through a weedy wasteland and entering a dense forest. As far as the eye could see, there was a large area of ​​hills and basins interlaced with the dense forest further south.

The land spreads all the way to the canyon in the south.

In the far distance as far as the eye can see, the mountain valley continues to extend southward, pulsing along Mount Carmel to the plains of northern Lombardy...

This is the first time that Art has gone deep into the valley to survey the entire landscape.

"Master, it's amazing. Who would have thought that there is such a vast land among these mountains and forests." Ron was already stunned by the vast land in front of him.

"Yeah, I didn't expect it either. It is said that hundreds of years ago this place was a commercial road that ran from north to south. But now it is a corner forgotten by God."

At noon, the two of them ate some bread with water at the foot of the hill, and then started to return.

Before dark, the two of them rushed back to the wooden castle. In front of the kitchen, everyone held wooden bowls and cutlery in their hands and gathered around the iron pots and clay pots, waiting for Emma to put the porridge. Kazak, who was standing at the end of the team, saw Ya who had returned from going out.

Te, quickly stepped forward to say hello and held the reins for Art.

"Kazak, how was your rest today?"

"Sir, we have all had a good rest. In the morning, we helped the old housekeeper register everyone and count supplies. In the afternoon, we went to the dense forest with everyone to cut down a lot of firewood."

"Okay, you go to eat"

Art handed the horse to Ron and walked straight into his small yard. Cooper was still discussing with Scott, Lawrence and several farmers about opening up wasteland for farming.

"Sir, you are back." Everyone greeted Art.

"Let's go eat first. After dinner, Cooper, Scott, and Lawrence come to my place. I want to hear the results of your discussion." Art said and returned to the wooden house.

...

As soon as Ron finished clearing the tableware on the wooden table, Cooper led a few people into the wooden house carrying low stools and wooden pillars and each found a place to sit down.

Art put down the wooden cup in his hand and said to Cooper and others: "Let's do it one by one. Cooper, you first talk about the registration of refugees and the clearance of materials."

Cooper picked up a few flat pieces of birch bark and said: "Okay sir, after cleaning and registering, there are 34 households in the wooden castle, including 13 farmers in their prime and 11 women.

There are six children over the age of ten, four under the age of ten, a carpenter, his old wife and his granddaughter. The other four are Ron, Otto and you and me, a total of forty-three people."

Cooper pulled out another piece of birch bark and read: "In terms of materials, in addition to the items brought by the farmers, we currently have two acres of land, more than 1,200 pounds of grain, 21 farm tools, and four

One or two wheeled carriages, one mule and horse each, in addition to axes, wood saws, iron pots, cooking utensils and other odds and ends; in terms of weapons, eleven short spears, ten spearheads, three long swords, seven short swords, and battle axes

Five, four bows, more than fifty arrows, three sets of leather armor, one set of iron armor, two iron helmets, one round shield, three sets of saddles, eight sets of quilts and other items, as well as some marching blankets, water bags, grinders

Knives, stones and other odds and ends, food and weapons are temporarily stored in Odo's room, and farm tools are placed in the stable. I manage the daily access."

Cooper handed the birch bark to Art, who took it and glanced at it briefly before returning it to Cooper, "It's enough for you two to know about the supplies, and don't spread them out, especially the amount of grain stored."

"Yes, sir. Now we consume at least thirty pounds of barley a day. In the future, we will consume more than forty pounds a day to open up wasteland for farming. Our grain reserves can last for a month at most. And when we plant in the spring, we need a lot of seeds. Spring planting

We will still have to supply a lot of food until the autumn harvest..." Cooper said as he sorted out the birch bark in his hands.

"Well, Cooper, you don't have to worry. I will find a way to deal with the food and supplies. You mainly need to do the work of clearing up wasteland and building the wooden castle. Scott, Lawrence, you have to share the burden with the old butler."

Art said to several people.

"That's it for the supplies. Next, let's talk about reclaiming wasteland. Cooper will go ahead and you can add more."

"Master, opening up wasteland for farming is a big deal. We have to solve many problems as we go. But today I called Scott, Lawrence and some farmers to discuss a rough plan."

Art looked at Cooper and nodded for him to continue.

"Some time ago, Scott and I went to the southern valleys to conduct a careful survey. The valleys are generally relatively fertile, especially the areas near the rivers are mostly black soil.

However, the entire valley is overgrown with weeds, and the grass roots are deeply rooted in the soil. It will be very difficult to cultivate. Our plan is this. First, we will cultivate a half-mile south along the river three hundred yards on each side to open up the river.

The two pieces of wasteland bounded by it are about a hundred acres of land. These two pieces of land are the most fertile and are close to the river, making it easy to obtain water for irrigation."

"Well, it's okay to cultivate the most fertile land along both sides of the river first. Cooper, when demarcating the scope of reclamation, designate more land for my military garrison. First, define it according to the food supply for fifteen soldiers.

"

"Okay sir. Regarding the specific steps of reclamation, we think it is easiest to use the burning method. In order to prevent the fire from spreading too much, we can first cut a fire separation zone up to thirty feet wide along the border.

Then light a fire to burn the weeds in the fire zone, so you don’t have to spend a lot of effort mowing the grass, and the ashes after burning the weeds can also increase the fertility of the land.”

"Yes, yes. The weather is good during this period, the snow is almost melting, and the weeds are easy to ignite after drying up."

"Yes, sir. After the weeds are burned out, we need to organize everyone to plow, level, and harrow the land before it freezes..." Cooper explained the steps to open up wasteland one by one.

"Okay, Cooper, I said I don't know anything about farming. You will be responsible for opening up wasteland and planting the land. Scott and Lawrence, you guys will assist the old butler. If you have any questions, just tell me and I will try my best to help."

You handle it. Cooper, I believe you." Art has great confidence in this former builder and farm owner.

"Is there anything else you want to add?" Art asked several other people.

Lawrence stood up and bowed to Art.

"Lawrence, you don't have to be restrained. You can say whatever you think."

"Sir, I would like to ask you, how to distribute the reclaimed land, what to do with wheat seeds, and also, are you really not paying rent and taxes in the first year?" Lawrence's question is also a question that all farmers are concerned about.

.
To be continued...