Chapter 93: Peace and Stability in the Kingdom

Arathi Highlands welcomed the first snow of the year, and the people of the highlands began to celebrate the Feast of Winter Veil.

This festival originated from the Dun Morogh Mountains, which are covered with snow all year round. The dwarves of Ironforge believe that they are the sons of the mountains living in the snow, blessed by Grandpa Winter. At the end of the year, they sing ancient Titan stories and celebrate the moment of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.

Garin had a strong feeling that the dwarf was just looking for an opportunity to drink with a legitimate reason.

The bitter cold wind at the end of the year brought white snow flying all over the sky, covering the earth. The people of the Highlands don't care too much about the origin of the festival itself. All they care about is to celebrate and exchange gifts during this festival. This is the current custom of the Winter Veil Festival.

Today, the image of Father Winter is widely used for commercial purposes. Instead of being presented as a supernatural titan, this holiday has become a love-hate relationship for young men, who spend a lot of money buying gifts for their beautiful partners.

At this time, the Arathi Highlands are covered in white snow. Next year, the grass and water will be more lush and the land will be more fertile, which will breed rebirth and the beginning of new life.

Solas adopted Garin's suggestion and took back Northford Farm and made it the property of the royal family. In this way, the royal family will control the two major farms in Arathi Highlands. With sufficient food, the power of the royal family will grow unprecedentedly.

Solas did not divide the lands of the two earldoms and three viscountdoms, but instead placed them under the management of the royal family. He auctioned off the industries within the territories, and contracted the operating rights of shops and mines to various nobles. Everyone was happy and content.

At this moment in the palace, in Solas's room, Garin was handing his father a Winter Veil gift.

Solas read the document "Highland Farm Reform Plan" very carefully.

Garin did not write too much in the plan, but simply explained the (made-up) origin of the farm: it was the masterpiece of Gandalf, the ninth-level peak arcane master. The efficient alchemical soil, combined with the function of the elemental spirit gathering array, could ripen crops in a short time.

Wheat, beets, potatoes and other crops commonly grown in the highlands can be harvested thirty times a year, and herbs can be harvested once a month, which made Solas's heart beat fast.

As early as a month ago, he received a report from Amor that his son possessed a magical creation that could double the kingdom's food supply in a short period of time, but he didn't quite believe it.

Today, Jialin gave a formal report on farm reform. One of them is his son and the other is his confidant. There is no way they would joke with him.

"How much will this farm cost?" Solas asked the most crucial question. He knew that the alchemical creations of mages were generally expensive. If the cost of the farm was too high, this plan would not be worth the cost.

"Four hundred gold coins per tree. If you plant royal blood grass and bone-setting grass, you can get your money back in about a year. If you only plant wheat, it will probably take more than two years to get your money back!"

Garin still felt embarrassed to ask for eight hundred gold coins. After all, he felt bad about taking twenty times the gold coins from his father. If it was too little, the emerging farm would seem not impressive enough.

Solas was shocked when he heard what Garin said!

A very profitable business!

You just need to be a little more diligent and your harvest can increase twenty times a year, which is a guaranteed profit!

"How long can the alchemical soil and the spirit gathering array guarantee the effectiveness of the farm?" Solas is not lacking in courage. He is brave enough to try anything that is beneficial to the kingdom, but after all, he shoulders the rise and fall of the nation and has to act with caution.

"Teacher Gandalf said that it can be guaranteed to be problem-free for at least five years. We may need to add new potions and maintain the spirit gathering array later."

Garin spoke without hesitation, just like a professional salesperson. In fact, he had not thought about the issue of warranty at all, because as long as the creations of the Heart of Origin were not damaged, they could be used normally even if there was only a little durability left!

"One hundred farms, located in Geshak. I will allocate the required gold coins to you later." Solas was still conservative and planned to pilot it on the Geshak farm first.

Garin had to increase his deception efforts. This time, he led his troops to plunder at least 300,000 gold coins from the Northford family, not including farms, minerals, etc. Because the other commander, Ms. Amaren, was notoriously jealous of evil, Garin did not dare to blatantly follow Lord Wei's example of confiscating property and enriching himself.

Moreover, his father also received a contract payment from a noble. It can be said that Solas's treasury is unprecedentedly rich at this moment.

Jialin was extremely envious.

"Father, I have already tested the effectiveness of the farm in Helm's Deep. So far, the wheat has been harvested six times! Moreover, the farm does not need to be built on fertile land like Geshak. It can be built on flat land, and the planting effect is the same! You can place an order with confidence!"

Solas stared at Garin seriously, and Garin immediately acted like I need this money.

As if he had realized something, Solas said, "One hundred thousand gold coins, three hundred farms!"

hiss!

I bargained the price down to 20,000 gold coins in one go. Fortunately, I still have a profit of 88,000. However, I still have to pretend that I feel the pain. The cost of the farm is so high. I am losing money, but for you, father, I am willing to do it.

"Okay, father. Three hundred farms will cost one hundred thousand gold coins. I think the location can be in the valley in the center of the highlands. The terrain there is suitable for defense. Three hundred farms will become the new lifeblood of the kingdom."

"Okay, 300 farms in the first phase. If the farms are as you said, I will increase the order quantity."

In this way, a grain reform was completed in the Kingdom of Stromgarde, transforming from a farm economy with a long maturity period and dependence on precipitation and weather to an intensive agriculture that harvests once every ten days and wins by quantity.

Ignoring natural disasters, as long as the farms are not destroyed, they can continue to produce food. The kingdom's population will at least double in the future.

In an era of backward technology, what was the war fought for? It was the population. The size of the population determined whether the labor force was sufficient and whether the size of the army was large enough.

Population is the capital of war. Although Garin has the Heart of Origin to increase his military power, he also hopes that the national strength of the Kingdom of Stromgarde can grow. After all, he is now the crown prince and he will be the king in the future.

If I am crowned king, will the population of the kingdom be recognized by the Heart of Origin?

If the population of the kingdom is also taken into account for the blessing of the power of the king, wouldn't one's strength be directly increased to the demigod level?

There's a lot to be done!

This is one of the reasons why Garin put the farm in the open and handed it over to his father. Another reason is to tell his father that he has secrets, but all the secrets come from his mentor Gandalf. By grafting the suspect, he will be much freer.

Garin stayed in the palace of Stromgarde until the end of the New Year. Under Solas's means of winning over and dividing, the situation in the kingdom gradually stabilized. This time, Garin limited the scope of the arrest operation to the noble level and did not affect the civilians.

After the collapse of the Northford family and the interest groups they had brought together, only two or three kittens were left, and their power was too weak to influence the decisions of the kingdom.

The cohesion of the kingdom reached its peak after its founding. The royal family and a number of members of the royal party divided up a large amount of land and industry, and their strength reached an unprecedented high.

Seeing that the kingdom was stable and peaceful and thriving, Garen once again set his sights on the lands outside the Arathi Highlands.