Chapter 17: Building the Territory—Lake of Wishing Stars

On the 27th day of the fifth month, in the year 9720 of the Glorious Era, the camp, located more than a dozen kilometers away, was relocated, and Verin began the work of construction.

The lake at the heart of the new territory was named Lake of Star Prayers by Verin, signifying the light of hope.

Taking the river as a boundary, he planned to reclaim nine thousand mu of land both to the north and south of the Lake of Star Prayers. Rice would be planted in the fields nearest to the lake, with wheat sown farther away.

Mindful of the lake’s ebb and flood seasons, he deliberately chose to open up farmland six hundred meters from the water’s edge.

Furthermore, with the farmland as the core, villages would be established on both the northern and southern sides.

As manpower was lacking at present, Verin decided to focus on the southern side of the Lake of Star Prayers, postponing northern development until more hands were available.

As for his own castle, he had already chosen a defensible site to the northeast of the lake.

With insufficient manpower in the early stages, Verin set these ambitions aside for now, planning to revisit them after the villages were properly established.

Dressed in a shirt and standing beneath the sun, Verin observed the progress of the serfs as they cleared the land, conducting another real-time survey to catch any oversights and modify his plans accordingly.

He was the only one in the team capable of managing such tasks—if not him, then who?

“At present, the water is at mid-level. When the flood season arrives, the river will rise by about a meter, expanding three hundred meters toward the banks. This means there will be a three-hundred-meter-wide usable zone between the farmland and the Lake of Star Prayers during the high water,” Verin mused, standing on the riverbank. He believed this area could be used to build several fish ponds for aquaculture.

Baird, who attended him, glanced at the fish ponds Verin was sketching on paper and asked curiously, “My lord, why build fish ponds here? Those fish aren’t likely to provide us much economic value.”

“Food,” Verin replied. “By constructing this area, we can divert a tributary from the upper river to encircle this three-hundred-meter zone, reconnecting to the main river downstream and keeping the water flowing. The fish we raise will then offer us a richer supply of food.” He pointed upstream with his pencil, drawing a two-hundred-meter-wide, three-meter-deep canal of about 3.5 kilometers in length on his plans.

“But, my lord, we lack the manpower,” Baird remarked honestly after a moment’s thought.

“Then have the knights dig. It will serve as good training. In a place so poor in extraordinary resources, we must rely on our own efforts.”

At that, Baird fell silent, recognizing the look in Verin’s eyes. If he dared suggest otherwise, the lord would surely hand him a shovel and set him to digging at once.

Such matters were best left to subordinates, for Verin himself needed to train the thirty professional soldiers, hoping to awaken their innate potential so that these strong, gifted freemen might become apprentice warriors and bolster his territory’s strength.

Compared to the difficulty of awakening a knight’s power, the warrior’s path was far simpler.

Yet, accordingly, a single Bronze Knight could stand against three warriors of the same level without faltering.

However, as one ascended the ranks of power, the difference lessened, and by the legendary stage, the two paths were evenly matched.

Satisfied that Baird had taken the hint, Verin nodded in approval. He despised being contradicted—if not for Baird’s martial prowess, he would have dearly liked to give him a good thrashing.

Over the next five days, Baird threw himself into training the thirty professional soldiers, while the other eleven knights of the guard, shovels in hand, were pressed into digging the canal, euphemistically called “training.”

Orlando and Hebrew, accompanied by the serf Kyle, taught him the knight’s path, sharing their experiences while training themselves, striving to become guardians for their lord rather than those in need of protection.

The remaining forty or so freemen and over a hundred serfs, along with forty-three bandit slaves, were put to work reclaiming farmland.

Even Verin trained diligently, both to maintain his dignity as a lord and to better defend his hard-won domain.

...

On the morning of June 1st, all gathered in a wooden structure for a simple meeting.

“My lord,” announced Baird, who sat at Verin’s immediate left, rising to report, “Of the thirty soldiers, thirteen have awakened their fighting spirit and become apprentice warriors. The remaining seventeen have all reached the threshold.”

“In terms of farmland, two thousand seven hundred and fifty mu of wasteland have been reclaimed, leaving us two thousand two hundred and fifty mu short of your first-stage goal.”

Verin nodded in satisfaction at the progress, gesturing for Baird to sit.

At the outset, Verin had made a simple plan based on the current population.

According to his plan, each freeman or serf would receive twenty mu of land.

Unlike serfs, freemen would possess ten mu of private land on which they could plant whatever crops they wished, and ten mu of tax land, on which they were required to grow official crops. All harvest from the tax land would be collected as tax, with any surplus going to the freeman, and any shortfall made up by them, ensuring diligence.

Serfs, meanwhile, would have only four mu of private land—barely enough to feed themselves—and sixteen mu of tax land, subject to the same requirements as the freemen.

As for the soldiers’ pay, Verin had a detailed plan.

A soldier’s compensation would be threefold:

First, the grain harvested from two mu of tax land.
Second, a monthly payment of three silver coins.
Third, bonuses for slaying enemies in battle.

The third clause would also apply to serfs who joined the ranks in wartime.

Next, the knight seated at Verin’s immediate right—a dark-skinned man—rose and reported, “My lord, eight hundred meters of the canal around the Lake of Star Prayers has been dug. Two thousand seven hundred meters remain.”

“Well done, my knight. Keep up the good work. Once the canal is finished, we can begin the second phase of construction,” Verin replied, a smile of excitement on his lips.

The other eleven knights exchanged wry smiles as they looked at their lord.

Still, they held no resentment, for the rewards Verin offered were generous indeed: six low-grade magic crystals, enough for three years’ cultivation, all for digging a canal of thirty-four hundred meters. What complaint could they have?

“My lord, we have six wagonloads of grain and fifty-six mule carts of foodstuffs, totaling eighty-five thousand two hundred jin. At a rate of five hundred thirty jin consumed per day, it will last us one hundred sixty days, enough to see us through to the harvest,” Orlando reported.

After hearing this, Verin began his summary.

“In another half month, we can begin the second phase of construction. By year’s end, we will have built two villages, reclaimed eighteen thousand mu of farmland, driven the goblins from the thirty-kilometer radius around the Lake of Star Prayers, and brought our population to twelve hundred.”

“This will be our home for generations to come. I hope you will all give your utmost to build a land we can call our own.”

“Yes, my lord,” came the unified reply.

With that, the meeting ended. Those assigned to dig continued digging; those tasked with training soldiers resumed their training. Each fulfilled their duty.