Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest

Roman implemented centralized education in his first year here.

He founded estate schools, initially with only two teachers. All children under fifteen had to receive education.

And now, six years have passed.

The scale of the schools is no longer a small endeavor; it has become a large unit involving a population in the five-digit range.

Every six months, a new school is constructed.

As of now, there are more than ten schools scattered across Origin and Fertile City, fulfilling educational functions.

Every day, thousands of students write numerals and literacy in classrooms at various schools.

Every month, graduates with passing exam scores walk out of the school gates.

These graduates are very young.

Some are even under ten years old, with varied personalities and a mix of talent.

But they have completed basic education and understand words and numbers.

Roman then has them participate in management, cultivating abilities, and learning various skills on the job.

Organizing labor, population statistics, material distribution, legal propaganda, conflict mediation, and even emergency management...

Over the years, they have participated in various tasks, initially as intern apprentices, then becoming managers in certain positions.

Thus, they gradually grew under Roman's vigilant gaze.

After all, the combined population of the two cities is just over two hundred thousand.

Roman actually spends very little time at his desk; most of the time, he inspects work sites like a general.

From the small matters of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, to the large matters of agricultural breeding.

Important places like Coal Iron Town and gold mines require Roman to inspect them multiple times a year to correct errors promptly and ensure the correct direction.

This means that those children also have to interact with Roman every year after graduation; some young Angel Envoys even mix among the crowd, gazing at him with eyes full of anticipation.

They are taught and influenced by Roman.

They visit military training, observe food and exercises.

They participate in agricultural sowing, fertilizing, and harvesting.

And, through such practical environments, they are influenced by what they see and hear.

Before graduation, Roman is their principal. After graduation, Roman is their superior.

Over time, these people are Roman's most reliable ruling team, with unwavering faith in his decrees.

Once, Roman's ruling base came from his noble bloodline and dukedom.

But in the eyes of this new generation, Roman's ruling base comes from himself.

Children who were ten years old five years ago are now fifteen, and those who were ten years old ten years ago are now twenty.

In fact, the first batch of graduates has now shed their intern status, received salaries as civil servants, and have become the backbone of the society Roman has built.

Of course, there are also students who were eliminated.

Either due to misconduct or committing serious mistakes.

Due to various reasons, the eliminated were personally expelled by Roman from the administrative team.

But this doesn't mean they are worthless; in fact, any Literate person is inherently contributing to society.

Though Roman also places great emphasis on military education.

Exercises during the day, literacy at night.

For soldiers, this equals daily tasks. They can also assume the role of managing the populace with high efficiency.

But the military is the military; it has to go to battle, may die on the field, and can be deployed elsewhere as the situation changes.

Moreover, scheduled training time alone occupies most of the army's energy—a month without training sees a twenty percent drop in combat power.

Long-term governance, however, still requires purely civilian personnel.

The more thorough the literacy campaign, the longer it lasts, the faster Roman's speed of sweeping across the world.

The architectural blueprints Roman drew were just handed out; in an instant, they transformed into two schools rising from the ground.

He reviewed the reports submitted by various schools, discovering that this quarter had an additional five hundred graduates capable of understanding and writing formal language.

These children are now untested by experience, but after four or five years of participating in work, they'll know how to organize manpower and manage the populace.

Accelerate!

Everything accelerates!

Speed is the only god!

...

This winter was unbearably cold.

But ultimately, it was endured.

From a certain moment onward.

The earth quietly melted ice and snow...

The spring of the seventh year arrived step by step...

Crows chase in the cold wind, landing on budding branches. Squirrels that wintered in tree holes poke their heads out; the river surface cracks with fish leaping out, cheerfully rushing.

Gwivelle led a little donkey, and walked with Silver Moon Laisa among the spring wheat fields of Origin City.

Her favorite is the stone road here.

The scenic farmland in the basin is beautiful, full of rural earth charm.

Residents of Origin City exerted great efforts, eventually laying hundreds of kilometers of gravel and crushed stone.

Roads crisscross, rules clear, viewed from a height, they cut the vast farmland into evenly balanced rectangular blocks, with each block having several dozen acres.

The slabs are made of granite and limestone, shaped by many stonemasons using iron wedges and hammers.

No water accumulates on rainy days; it flows into the channels.

In thawing periods, no need to worry about muddy ground, heavy shoe soles.

"Gwivelle, bless your health." Farmers passing by take off hats in salute.

"You too, be healthy."

"Gwivelle, thank you for bringing us the Miracle of Harvests," says another farmer.

"It was Roman who had me do it."

"Our benevolent and merciful Lord, may his blessings forever shine upon us like the sun."

Their gratitude comes from the heart, but having received reprimands, they dare not disturb Gwivelle, just saying a word as they pass by and quickly leave.

They carry hoes and shovels, going to work in the paddies.

While Gwivelle has completed the Blessing task in the experimental fields, she is on her way to Fertile City, moving opposite to them.

"Laisa, are you leaving?" Gwivelle looked at Silver Moon Laisa with a bit of reluctance.

But this directive was jointly decided by Roman and the Prophet.

Laisa whispered, "I will go to the Northern lands to awaken our sleeping sister."

When she first arrived, she was light and unobtrusive, an inconspicuous auxiliary Witch. Roman acquired her solely to assist Gwivelle's work.

Today, she transformed to claim a Seat in Witch Forest and became one of Roman's Chamberlains, though she hasn't surpassed Gwivelle, remaining as her aide.

The support of a Seat Witch has transformed Gwivelle.

Her Spell's effect has been elevated to a higher level.

Quick mana regeneration, halved Skill cooldown time.

Gwivelle fully understands what it means to be a Holy Grail mother.

Abundant mana allows her to cast spells without limit; previously she would cast spells once a year during sowing to increase yield, but now it's increased to two or three times.

Crops like rice, harvested twice a year, have had yields boosted to current limits through multiple spellcasting by Gwivelle.

According to estimates, this year's rice yield per acre is at least five hundred pounds, with some reaching seven to eight hundred pounds or more.

However, such a massive yield is also a heavy burden on Gwivelle.

Because she is tasked with providing seeds for crops on several hundred thousand acres alone.

Laisa is truly important to her.

"After I leave, His Highness said he would send an envoy proficient in Silver Moon Magic to assist you, and Gwivelle, you don't need to continue pursuing yields. From now on, just ensure the current quality doesn't degrade."