Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest

'The people are the people, the king is the king, everyone has duties they must fulfill!'

A year later, the words of the Father echoed in her ears once again.

'We cannot choose our destiny, Tana, hold your post. The son of Iaos must save this land!'

At that time, she promised with her own mouth: 'I will, father, I am invincible in battle, this land will certainly be saved by me. What you cannot do will be done by me. No one can stop the steps of the Daughter of Black Iron…'

...

Tashina rode on horseback, holding the reins with one hand.

Her body swayed with the advance of the Divine Steed, no longer firm, somewhat fragile.

The Divine Steed was named Shadow of Robbery, a descendant of the Pegasus, and heroic mystical blood also flowed within her.

'All the prophecies of Iaos come true, but why has destiny not manifested on me…' She pondered all the way. Shadow of Robbery's steps turned from agile to hesitant, like stepping into a quagmire, like a traveler pondering destiny.

She returned to the support camp. The Son of Oak was standing at the entrance of the camp, looking as handsome as an Elf Prince.

"Your Highness Tana, what did Lord Roman say?"

"He's holding his forces." Tashina said expressionlessly.

Enya said: "But we could take advantage of this opportunity to surely capture Lion Territory."

Tashina shook her head: "He believes that even if we can fight out, we will soon be forced back, and all occupied territories will have to be given up, reducing the defense circle."

Enya said incredulously: "Even if the pirates and the Church Court are both tied up?"

Tashina nodded slightly. It was indeed a good opportunity, but Roman resolutely refused it, believing Black Iron is not dead but invincible, wanting to let the dragon fly a little longer.

Right now is not the best time to break through the blockade.

This is a protracted war.

The Black Iron land must fight on two fronts, its momentum will not last long.

Prolong!

Grow during the delay.

Wait until Makor cannot maintain the blockade, that is when they should strike.

And then Roman will deliver on the promise with the White Steel Princess, handing over Lion Territory to her.

Tashina has no doubt of the authenticity of the promise.

She has kingly vision, a skill her noble ancestry grants her, innate, able to see everyone's true nature, no one can hide from her eyes.

Father's cowardice, Pine's enthusiasm, Gael's desire, Ryan's conservatism… and Makor's erosion, Roman's ambition, Enya's purity…

Enya undoubtedly carries some ancient ancestry, both proud and stubborn, gentle and courageous, always following that race's good tradition, her mind pure like a gemstone — if Duke Oak were willing to marry outside, princesses of various kings would be moved. But Duke Oak forbids anyone from touching their bloodline.

Roman is different, deep yet passionate, tough and cruel, silently advancing plans nobody knows, like an enigmatic, unfathomable black pearl.

She cannot understand him, only with subtle perception, can she notice Roman's strategy and layout above everyone else.

She has never doubted his vision, nor doubted his strategic deployment.

Tashina can see the resolute force Roman holds, passionate yet outwardly calm and steady, methodically advancing his decisions, unaffected by external and inner fluctuations.

She vaguely feels that when Roman takes action, the scene will surely be shocking and amazing.

Until then, she and Enya can only temporarily reside in Fertile City.

Here they have food and drink, and can train soldiers; life is actually quite comfortable.

The daily consumption by Black Iron and Oak elite soldiers is a terrifying number, totaling five hundred extraordinary units which not everyone can afford. People eat, horses chew, consuming tens of tons of food and materials daily.

Moreover, she recruited several hundred slaves as new soldiers, training them according to the River Valley method.

Even a Great Earl cannot support such a scale of an army.

But Fertile City surprisingly bore it, with Roman building her a support camp, supplying the River Valley Army while sending large quantities of supplies to the camp at intervals, whenever fruits and vegetables are harvested, a convoy is sent.

And she would provide protection when Fertile City is in trouble, sometimes personally donning armor to fight off attackers.

This is the significance of the stationed reinforcements.

...

In the Middle Ages, message delay was shockingly severe, and wars also had delays.

Some wars' impact would take half a month, or even one or two months to manifest.

The Iron Flower County campaign was a war of faith, a collision between the Dragon Clan faith and the faiths of the gods, both fighting relentlessly, with battle deaths numbering in five figures, not just one dragon decimated, most surviving dragons heavily injured.

Pirates didn't win, holding in their anger.

The Church Court didn't win, equally irritated.

As autumn neared its end, both sides regrouped forces, once again battling fiercely in the wild, in a campaign even more terrifying than before, with the entire battlefield turning into scorched earth, corpses strewn, rivers of blood flowing.

Roman also wasn't surprised. Religious mobilization was always stronger than secular governance.

As he knew, large-scale campaigns like the Yellow Turban Army or Crusaders were common; cannon fodder lost was merely refilled.

The difference was, most believers in the original world were mere atmosphere maintainers, lacking battle force. But in this world with extraordinary units, believers' faith was more intense, causing more severe casualties.

Because the war intensity in Iron Flower County was so high, attacks on Fertile City by the Black Iron Alliance Army significantly reduced.

Previously, they struck daily from various locations, elusive, causing havoc everywhere.

Now it's every few days, the attack routes had patterns, and a vague mutual understanding with Fertile City formed.

...

The sixth winter.

Snow falls on the land, all things silent.

"It's colder each year…" Roman reached to catch a snowflake drifting from the window, a chilly touch, the flake instantly melting.

He closed his eyes in thought, anticipating the consequences this harsh winter might bring, his face accordingly chilling.

This is not a good sign, just entering winter, already encountering heavy snow, temperatures dropping remarkably fast, now the river is showing a trend of freezing.

"This year, we must increase honeycomb coal production." Roman thought.

The item is easy to manufacture, and the arched stone bridge finished in autumn, reducing transport costs significantly.

Moreover, Fertile City's population is dense; failing to provide enough fuel won't kill people, but will surely freeze them.

However, giving it away would be foolish.

Roman planned to employ some marketing tactics, such as rewarding anyone who recommends a farmer to buy 100 pieces of honeycomb coal with a referral fee of 20 pieces.

This should indeed squeeze some money from these fools.

"Your Highness, Lady Nillie has sent you a letter." At this moment, Shasta handed the whale oil-sealed letter to Roman.

Fertile City and Sea Castle are far apart, and the Beast Witch provides alert function in Fertile City, unable to act as a messenger; so Roman trained ravens as courier birds.

Roman glanced at the letter, his stern face showing some warmth.

"Nillie has made me another batch of ships."

Shipbuilding is a prolonged cycle, requiring shipbuilders and supporting systems.

Roman didn't plan to dabble, always wanting large-scale, mass production of ships.

Dozens aren't too few, hundreds aren't too many.

Small ships are necessary, big ships too, and even super-large vessels capable of crossing seas.

Roman invested considerable resources in Sea Castle, selecting dozens of Angel Envoys, supplying various skill sets and blueprints for ship cabins, now—a few years later.

Once planting seeds, watering and fertilizing, now finally seeing the harvest.

Currently there are over a hundred finished ships in Sea Castle, mass production has commenced, and will double next year. Due to advanced technology, quality is reliable, cabins sturdy, with all having passed tests and voyages.

But the external environment isn't good, survival in a crack, any large-scale fleet movement will surely draw attention from all sides.

Moreover, Roman currently lacks reception space.

But he isn't rushing.

This year won't work, but it doesn't mean next year won't.

These ships are immensely useful to him, meaning wherever the river flows, he can extend his influence there.