I Love Farming

The steward was satisfied to see that the slaves were all crying. They had already lost money. At least these stupid pigs should show some gratitude, right?

Not to mention the dissatisfaction of the housekeeper, even the servants are a little bit envious. The place where they live is just to separate the passage. It is impossible for the inferior people to have their own room.

Not to mention that the slaves have rooms, they also have their own thatched huts, although they are not in the castle, although they are only lived by the master...but no matter how you think about it, they are still worthy of envy!

After the slaves knew that this was where they lived, they became more attentive.It wasn't a segregated quarters in a castle, trampled on when you weren't sleeping, full of loot, and no privacy whatsoever.And there is a separate space, the meaning is different.

Their slaves made the thatched hut more comfortable, pasted the mud walls densely to prevent the cold wind from entering, stepped on the mud floor more firmly, and mixed in a large amount of rushes from the forest to use Hygroscopic.

The dry straw filled with sunshine after exposure is piled together, which is a fairly comfortable bed for everyone. Everyone squeezes into one bed, whether sitting, lying, eating or chatting, this is the only "furniture".

Undoubtedly, the experience of living in the same thatched house made the slaves in the same house closer than others. Where there were people, there were rivers and lakes, and the slaves also began to form small groups in the castle.Later, Cui Qichao heard about it, but it was all about things like picking up cow dung and composting. This kind of medieval "house fighting", or fort fighting, made Cui Qichao very uninterested.

The good thing is that the slaves love the thatched cottages like their real home, living here seems to be able to dream, and maybe one day, they will also be free and live in a house that truly belongs to them.It may not be a thatched house, but a wooden house.

The slaves of Northumberland Castle used to have no dreams, but now they have, because they never dreamed of what they have now.

As for the people in the manor, the other treatment of the slaves is still far away in the castle. Those houses can be vaguely seen from far away, so they can't hide it from others.

It became a big topic of conversation in winter, when the peasants huddled in someone's house, huddled together for warmth, and talked about those houses.

"Remember old Mike? That damned thief, his whole family has become slaves, and now he lives in that hut!"

"What kind of shit luck is it that a thief, a slave, can get such a generous reward."

"When I built my house, in order to obtain the master's permission, I went to the forest to chop wood. How much food did I pay?"

"That's right, I don't know what's in their house and what kind of wood they use to build the beams."

When the concept of class is so serious, there is a clear distinction between nobles and commoners, and there is also a chain of contempt between these serfs and slaves, and slaves are more despicable than serfs.

So even if it's just a thatched cottage, it arouses everyone's jealousy.

It's a pity that because of their class concept, they dare not express more dissatisfaction with this master's handwriting, and can only talk about those lucky slaves in private.In short, they can get the master's woolen clothes, and the slaves cannot live in the master's thatched hut.

……

The Northumberland trade team traveled all the way with food and arrived in the territory of Abruzzi. Abruzzi is also just a baronial territory. The territory is not as large as Northumberland, and there are not as many knights as Abruzzi.

This year, Abruzzi's food production has also been reduced. Even the nobles don't have enough bread to eat, and the knights are unwilling to contribute if they don't get good offerings.

When the Northumberland trade team was discovered, everyone thought they were intruders from other castles. They hid in the window holes and did not intend to go out. Anyway, the function of the castle is not to hide.

When the intruders can't wait outside, they will retreat by themselves. Of course, they may run out of food, open the door to surrender or starve to death.

The trade team captured the police officer in the manor and asked him to go up and spread the word that they were not here to invade, but to exchange seeds.

As he said that, Raymond also showed a batch of food to the police officers to prove their words.

With this quantity and quality, it really doesn't look like the dry food brought out. There are so many full grains of food, and there is no need to go outside to rob it, right?

The police officer ran outside the castle, raised his head and told the people in the window hole what he saw. The lord of Abruz was skeptical, and asked if anyone was willing to negotiate with Raymond.

The knights all pretended to be dead.

The lord had no choice but to say: "Then let the policeman continue to talk to them and tell them to come to the trench."

The drawbridge was not put down, and the policeman could not enter the castle to escape, so he had to go back the same way and report the lord's intentions.

Raymond led the team to the outside of the castle. In order to prevent the archers, they raised their shields above their heads and wore armor on their bodies. They were so fully armed and shouted: "Your Excellency, we are from Northumberland Castle. I heard that buckwheat is grown here. Our Lord Lord likes the taste of buckwheat very much, so he ordered us to bring a batch of wheat to exchange seeds with you."

Raymond showed them the wheat, and if he had a good eye, he could see it clearly from the castle.Raymond also turned it over a few times, proving that it is not just superficial wheat, "If you want, we can discuss it."

If the lord is not mistaken, those are still precious wheat, and they are really taking advantage of them by exchanging them for buckwheat, even if there is a large amount of buckwheat.The growing conditions of wheat are relatively harsh, and it is the best for making bread, but there is only one season a year, and their output is not as much as that of Northumberland Castle.

The lord was so moved that he asked people to take out the buckwheat seeds from the warehouse, and told Raymond and the others to retreat, and told all the knights to trade with Raymond with the seeds.

Although everyone has the same number of people, there is no comparison between Raymond and his usual meals, and Abruzzi's usual meals. Buckwheat snatched it up.

Just like that, they have been misunderstood repeatedly, but almost every lord can't resist the charm of Maizi, and there are many people who want to blackmail their Maizi, but they are all defeated.

The Northumberland trade team passed through several territories in this way. In Abruz, they exchanged for buckwheat, and in the territories near the sea, they exchanged for sugar beets, etc., because everyone wanted wheat. In the information disclosed by Joseph In addition, there are people who want to exchange fresh crops with them.

The most surprising thing is that in the northern territory, they exchanged for wool tree seeds. Although the lord did not mention the need, Raymond can be sure that the lord will like it!

……

At that time, Cui Qichao was asking the knights who stayed behind in the castle to train the serfs in the manor.

He asked people to change seeds everywhere, and he didn't let people hide the origin too much, hoping that there will be more seeds in the future, but in this way, it is hard to guarantee that one day they will not be tricked.So, plan ahead and train the serfs. With the scale of the war at this time, if the male serfs have a certain combat effectiveness, they don't have to be afraid of invasion at all.

Some of those slaves were thieves, in fact, it might be better to train them, but the stewards are always afraid of new slaves, and Cui Qichao also feels that they should not give too much trust for the time being.

On the contrary, Cui Qichao is popular among the serfs. Everyone respects and fears him, and thinks he is the best lord. In addition, recently, the serfs are very jealous of the treatment of the slaves. With some small rewards, these serfs will work hard show yourself.

There are also military services in various territories. People are selected from the peasants to serve. In the past, most of them were self-cultivated farmers. They were stronger, richer than serfs, and looked decent.

Of course, it is not easy to supply weapons for so many people. What they take is sticks or even farm tools. How can there be so much iron at this time.Not to mention the armor on his body, there is no linen armor.

Cui Qichaosi and the rattan armor used in Chinese history asked people to find suitable rattan from the forest and weave them into armor. The rattan armor made can also protect against ordinary arrows and swords, and the cost is far lower than that of iron armor. There is not much tung oil used for rattan armor, so it needs to be saved.

Even serious knights are very interested in these vine armors. Every time the armor wears out, it makes people feel distressed. The vine armor does not look decent enough in battle, but it is still very good for training or hunting. choose.

Compared with the equipment, what was more difficult was what Cui Qichao saw in the training.

Even the knights couldn't even line up, let alone the serfs. They were used to doing things in a hurry. Cui Qichao sat next to them and watched them practice the most basic formation.

The housekeeper, who has always been picky, rarely nodded in praise, "They all stood neatly after wearing rattan armor, and the movements of holding weapons were exactly the same, and they looked quite imposing."

Neatly?exactly the same?

Cui Qichao felt that he was teasing himself. With this level of neatness, he was not as good as a primary school student doing radio gymnastics.

Cui Qichao's concept of Huaxia is still very deep-rooted. In a big scene, every movement must be neatly carved out like a mold to look good. When viewed horizontally or vertically, everything must be in a straight line.

Standing loosely, how could he have any momentum.

Cui Qichao directly told the knight not to teach these serfs how to use bows and arrows, but to practice the formation well, it would be too awkward not to let him watch.

Although the housekeeper felt that it was unnecessary, let alone, these serfs looked more imposing after strengthening their training. He even felt that if they put on armor, they would be quite bluffing when they went out.

Cui Qichao reluctantly accepted it when the queue finally reached the level of radio gymnastics for high school students, allowing people to proceed to the next step. There was no way, could he still train a guard of honor in the Middle Ages?

After the team was trained, even the serfs themselves were a little proud of themselves, thinking that they were so handsome.After returning to the cottage, he spontaneously lined up for others to see.

In the eyes of others, this level of order is already comparable to that of the regular army. The heights are all arranged in steps, which looks too impressive.

"My God, how did this happen!"

"Look at how straight their waists are, they look much handsomer..."

"This step is really neat and beautiful! Once you take a step, you will be taller!"

But the serfs who were trained were so proud, not to mention that they went to train, and the lord even distributed beans. Training the queue was not hard at all, and it was indeed better than heavy farm work.

Under the praise and onlookers of the crowd, the peasants and soldiers who were in high spirits waited to line up to go to the toilet...

·

When spring comes, the frost and snow thaw, and the farmers start another year of farming, receiving seeds from the lord, borrowing oxen, horses and plows to plow the land.The number of seeds received this year is less, but no one has any objections, because the seeds are very full, and one can tell at a glance that they can grow good food.This is the benefit of proper storage.

As for the overwintering barley in the field, it will mature later and can be harvested in April, so there is no rush now.

The farmers were a little happy, because the master planted all the land last year, so will it be easier to sow this spring?Although they also did the work last year, they always feel that they are taking advantage of it.

The Northumberland trade team came back at this time. When they walked back, they could not distinguish the flags from a distance. The farmers who had undergone winter "military training" quickly lined up, holding farm tools in their hands, posing Out of a defensive stance.But I was still uneasy in my heart. After all, there was no actual combat, and the other side hurriedly sent someone to report.

It wasn't until the flag was clear that everyone could see clearly that they were all their own people.

And Raymond was also surprised to see a group of serfs lined up neatly, holding farm tools in their hands, like soldiers.What the hell, are these service militiamen?Why does it look so imposing, it seems that their trade team is scattered.

Raymond was dissatisfied in his heart, and sneered: "What are you doing with your rake, are you going to rake me to death?"

The serfs looked at each other, and the one in the front hurriedly said, "Stand at attention!"

With a swish, everyone put away their farm tools and stood up straight.

"Report to Lord Knight, just now we couldn't see the flag clearly, so we sent someone to report it, now go chase them, and make it clear." The serf said loudly.This volume is also the result of training, and the report to the chief must be clear.

This startled Raymond and the other knights, their waists were unconsciously straightened, God knows how relaxed they are usually, "Hey, I got it, let's go." Raymond said unconsciously Added a sentence, "We have worked hard and completed the task ordered by the lord, and there are additional gains."

It would be ridiculous to say that a majestic knight would compete with serfs, but this happened unknowingly to Raymond.

……

When Cui Qichao heard that the trade team had returned, he stood in the window hole and watched for a long time. He ordered the cook to bring out all the wine and meat, and when they got close, he hurried downstairs.

"My warriors, I have worked so hard for you. You have trekked throughout the winter." Cui Qichao quickly praised a few words, and asked impatiently, "Have you got all the seeds?"

Raymond raised his chest high, "I have lived up to your expectations, please take a look at the branches and seeds we brought back."

Cui Qichao pushed aside the soil where the grape branches were stored, and looked at it, "Okay, okay, prepare clean water immediately to soak these branches! Also, the land that has been opened up as a vineyard should be rested quickly."

After the branches used for cuttings are taken out from the storage, they must be soaked in water for a period of time, so that the cuttings can absorb water to restore vitality, cut off the dead and dry parts, and then stimulate the roots, which will germinate and grow again. Once the leaves have grown, they can be officially transplanted into the ground.

The whole process takes about a month, and I think this period is enough to organize the grape fields.

Just these branches will be wealth in the future.

Seeing that Cui Qichao was satisfied, Raymond was also quite proud, and hurriedly continued to claim credit, "I will identify the seeds according to the method you taught. Look at the seeds of buckwheat, walnuts, cucumbers, beets and other crops I selected. Also, I also changed to A few fresh seeds, this one is the famous wool tree seed in the north!"

"Wool tree?" Cui Qichao asked.

Raymond is very proud of the wool tree seeds, "That's right, the wool tree. The northern nobles have recently bought a kind of fine cloth from merchants to make clothes. It is said that the raw materials are picked from trees that can grow wool. They got some Seeds, but after sowing a batch last year, they were attacked by insects. The rest can be replaced by me, which is very cheap!"

After hearing his description, Cui Qichao looked at the seeds again, and then he recognized that the wool tree seeds were cotton seeds.For people who weave with wool all the year round, they probably think that the delicate cotton cloth is also some kind of sheep’s wool, and it grows out of the tree. Then think straight, this tree can grow sheep, and it has become a wool tree. .

Cui Qichao: "This thing is good, very good, as many seeds as there are."

The output of cotton is relatively high, and cotton fabrics are particularly practical and cost-effective.Seriously, he misses fine cotton panties...

Cui Qichao was thinking about what to do after the cotton was planted. Raymond had already said, "There is another kind of grain, which also came from the Far East. It is called rice. There is a small amount of it planted in Lansburg. I saw that it should be It’s not worse than buckwheat, is it?”

There was a bit of unconfidence in Raymond's tone, and he had never eaten rice seeds, so he left it at the end.

"Rice?" Cui Qichao's eyes widened, rice!

The Chinese people have a long history of growing and eating rice, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they cannot do without it. Cui Qichao hasn't eaten rice for a long time since he came here.

"You know him?" The stone in Raymond's heart fell to the ground. It seems that the adult not only knows him, but also likes it very much.

Cui Qichao touched it nostalgicly for a long time, and then reluctantly said: "Take it all to the kitchen, don't need to sow seeds, eat." Afraid that Raymond would think too much, he said reassuringly, "I saw this in the East, and I like it very much, you It's very well done. I think it can be exchanged for some if it is available elsewhere in the future, but it is not suitable for growing in Northumberland."

Raymond's mood was like riding a roller coaster, with ups and downs a few times before he felt relieved.

Although Cui Qichao wanted to grow rice very, very much, but he was helpless. Even though Northumberland had more rain than before, it was still relatively dry. Planting rice required a lot of water, and the climate here might lead to a low seedling rate.

In this era, these problems are not easy to solve, and it is not as cost-effective as growing other crops.As a lord, Cui Qichao had to be responsible for his subjects and the land, so he reluctantly gave up.Just use these rice to satisfy your hunger.

"Agricultural officer." Cui Qichao began to instruct the agricultural officer how to plant these crops, "Cucumbers and walnuts are planted in the vegetable garden and orchard respectively, wool trees are planted in the southern land, buckwheat is planted instead of part of the oats, and the returned wheat seeds are also planted with good seeds A batch, and beets, for me to plant on the white earth behind the mill after plowing."

The agricultural officer was taken aback, and then said: "Master, the front is all right, but should beets be planted in the vegetable garden, and the white soil behind the plow field is very white, and it will die if you plant it..."

"Agricultural officer, how long has it been since you visited the fields?" Cui Qichao asked him with a smile.

Agricultural officer: "This..."

To be honest, who wants to go out in the winter, there is no work anyway, and he can't even look at the white soil when he goes to the field, isn't that white blind?

"You can take a look and answer me." Cui Qichao said, "Also, more beets must be planted. That's why I asked Raymond to come back with more beet seeds."

The agricultural officer wondered, isn't beet a vegetable, so what's the use of planting so many.

Cui Qichao didn't immediately mention the function of beetroot, so as not to cause any trouble. People in the Middle Ages ate beetroot as a vegetable, but in fact, beetroot contains sucrose. It was not until the eighteenth century that people officially regarded it as a sugar crop. cultivation.

Now the only sweetener in the castle is honey, which is extremely rare and expensive. Northumberland does not develop beekeeping, and these are obtained from other places.

If the beets are harvested and made into sugar, not to mention saving money, they can be sold for exchange.Both grapes and sugar beets could be the hope of future Northumberland prosperity.

Cui Qichao's calmness made everyone guess. Could it be that the master knows some way to cook beets so delicious, just like those sausages?

With doubts, the agricultural officer ran to the white land behind the mill.This is a moderately saline-alkali land, where cabbage cannot even be grown, and large pieces of land have been left unused.Except last year when the master ordered the canals to be dug here and he came to inspect the work of the serfs, he had never seen it up close.

As soon as the agricultural officer in the long-term future set foot on the white land, his jaw almost dropped: the land that was originally white and could not grow crops, when did it turn out to be a little whitish, almost becoming normal land!

In other words, Northumberland has a large area of ​​arable land for nothing!

The agricultural officer was in a tizzy, oh my god, is this a blessing from some kind of god?