Chapter 410 Bedtime Story

Roman was worried about the upcoming autumn harvest.

The construction of the stone arch bridge was progressing very fast. The piers and abutments were basically completed. Now the arch frame was being built, and the arch ring was being built piece by piece. It was estimated that it would be completed before the end of autumn.

This was a good thing.

The bad thing was that the Black Iron Alliance changed its battle plan.

Markol was no longer obsessed with gathering a large army and destroying the City of Plenty in one go. Instead, he secretly sent cavalry and infantry troops to start uninterrupted harassment operations.

Roman was not afraid of a head-on confrontation - as long as the vanguard was defeated, the pigs would scatter behind him.

But he was afraid that small-scale troops would harass him day and night and set fire to the land, making him exhausted.

After being exposed to the sun in the summer, the soil was dehydrated and the air was dry. Crops were very easy to ignite. A little spark could spread into a large-scale fire, which was really hard to prevent.

To date, the troops of both sides have fought more than ten times, but Roman believes that successful defense does not count as a win.

This has led to instability in the marginal areas of the City of Plenty.

Roman had to strengthen patrol forces, build more watchtowers, build protective camps, and be on guard in advance. At the same time, he arranged a large number of sentinels, not only professional soldiers, but also militia units, and all the combat forces that could be mobilized were mobilized.

He had been working for half a year and watering the land throughout the summer. He was worried about the distribution of labor, and felt that everything was not enough. Now that the harvest was finally ready, he must not fail. He must keep the fruits of his labor!

Not only Roman thought so.

Everyone in Fengrao City thought so.

Farming is a hard job. After so much hardship, it is finally time to taste the sweetness. Whoever dares to burn the land now is asking for their lives.

Their lords gave light crossbows to every household. When it really came to a critical moment, they had to fight to the death.

Therefore, the closer to the critical moment, the more patrol militias there were, and they took strict precautions and were fully alert.

...

The autumn harvest was spent in this tense atmosphere.

According to convention, the annual grain output will increase, and the old farmers who farm in Fengrao City have a deep understanding of this.

With a series of agricultural technology reforms such as salt water seed selection, shallow tillage to deep tillage, and raw land to cultivated land, as well as Ge Weier's blessing.

The annual per-acre yield in Fengrao City will increase by more than ten or even dozens of kilograms compared with previous years.

This is a visible improvement.

They cultivated with their own hands and finally harvested, and the grain they got was far better than in the past, and they had a full meal every day. The old farmers who used to live a hard life had never seen this before, and their sense of belonging to the territory was increasing day by day.

But this year is not the case.

After the drought, even if Roman took corresponding measures, the production should be reduced.

The overall production has decreased by about 20% to 30%. If Roman had not been reclaiming wasteland every year, the total amount of grain this round would not even be better than last year.

Although he had predicted it, he still felt a little distressed when he saw this data.

But most farmers think that this result is already very good.

They know that this cannot be blamed on everyone.

If there was a drought in previous years, it would basically be hopeless, and a 50% reduction in production would be considered good.

The reason why it was only reduced by 20% to 30% was because the lord gave a solution, asking them to dig ditches and build canals, build water wheels, and irrigate farmland. A series of operations effectively mitigated the impact of the disaster.

Otherwise, the output would be even lower.

Fengrao City was busy for several days. Everyone was seizing the time.

During the day, strong men could harvest two or three acres of land a day, with their heads wrapped in cloth and harvesting wheat straw under the scorching sun. Women were not idle at night, threshing in the workshop under the moonlight.

The characteristic of collective division of labor is extremely high efficiency and reduced time waste.

Every time there is a good harvest, Roman will hold a routine celebration to improve social stability. This year is no exception.

But not everyone can eat, drink and have fun without worries. The scale is much smaller than last year. About half of the population cannot participate in it and all have to stick to their posts.

This year, Roman rarely devotes all his time and energy to this process.

Roman attended the celebration squares in various parts of the City of Plenty and had fun with the people - this can effectively improve the happiness of the residents - he was ready to let them continue to work for him without complaint.

Then he went to comfort those who stayed at their posts.

When he came back from the last construction site, he felt exhausted.

"Have a good sleep today? Relax? Don't continue to learn spells." Shasta took this opportunity to suggest, she hesitated and said. "I don't think this is a good thing."

At first there was a surprise, but now there is only shock. Roman's speed in mastering spells made Shasta feel terrified.

Shasta thought secretly. Are there really destined spellcasters in this world?

"Learning spells is not a good thing?" Roman asked curiously.

Shasta pursed his lips, his eyes dim, and he seemed to be pointing at something. "It's some strange rumors."

In the eyes of the world, the root cause of the stigmatization of wizards is spells.

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That is an invisible and intangible power.

When a wizard kicks you, you don't even know who is kicking you.

The Church has always been promoting that anyone who is contaminated by magic will have his soul trapped in the purgatory of the gods and will never be reincarnated.

And it is said among the people that wizards are devils living in the world, and their souls come from hell. Even wizards who are usually gentle and kind will become vicious and twisted at some point, lose their minds and reveal their evil nature.

Some scholars also believe that mastering magic will make you unlucky, that the devil's blood flows in the veins of wizards, and that spellcasters will sooner or later bring disaster to everyone.

Shasta really didn't want to blame Margaret's condition on the spell.

But the fact is that the blood spell made Margaret yearn for the legendary netherworld more and more, and she behaved very obsessively.

Until she came to the valley, her condition improved, but she never gave up the fantasy about the netherworld.

Shasta was a little scared every time he thought of it.

He was afraid that one day Roman would become like this, just like Margaret, and go crazy and blindly pursue some illusory things.

Roman was not a natural spellcaster, but it was easier for him to master spells than witches, and his magic affinity was extremely strong.

Shasta was a little confused about whether there was a problem with the spellcaster or Roman.

"Then I'll listen to it, just as a bedtime story." Roman took a bath, changed into linen pajamas, and lay on the bed to sleep comfortably and lightly.

Unless necessary, Shasta didn't want to tell him so many secrets between spellcasters.

He is a ruler, and his duties have nothing to do with magic. If you tell him so many strange things, it is possible that he will be interested and gradually become obsessed and neglect government affairs. Jesters do this, either telling stories or performing talents, commonly known as clowns, so jesters have always had a bad reputation.

She is a court witch, and witches don't do clown work.

Besides, the folklore legends in the countryside should not have fallen into his ears. Only the ignorant Margaret would tell him about this. They have always wanted to reverse certain rumors to prevent him from having negative comments about them.

"It is said that if someone has too many spells, someone's soul will mistakenly enter another world." Shasta turned to clarify, "But that's just a rumor, we have never experienced those things. Lord Thunder also believes that spells come from oneself, not from some illusory world."

"No matter what Margaret said. Just listen to it, don't take it seriously!" Shasta hesitated for a moment, really didn't want to lie to him. "After all... the more you know and the more spells you master, the easier it is to encounter strange things. If that happens... please don't explore... otherwise you might lose yourself..."

She said these words with difficulty, but heard no response. She looked up and saw Roman sleeping peacefully.

Shasta sighed softly, looking at his quiet face, and a faint feeling of love suddenly overflowed from her heart. The more she looked, the happier she became, and an inexplicable sense of happiness enveloped her.

She also lay down and closed her eyes.