Lady of the Lord From the East

Regarding the selection and promotion of new knights, it did not start immediately. After all, most of the members of the Knights are not in Sardinson County. It is unfair to many people to start the selection at this time, so Felix is ​​only temporarily This intention has been notified so that everyone can prepare early. As for the specific selection time, it is natural to wait for the rest of the Knights to return.

So Felix just temporarily transferred two knights from other spare knight squads to take a team of soldiers to Slootshire to be responsible for local security. When necessary, they can recruit local freemen and serfs to serve as troops. , anyway, it is normal for the people to serve in the military, and there is no shortage of mature men in Sloot County. Whether it is the new city construction site or the pier, a large number of people can be drawn, and there are two leading equestrians. Sitting down is enough.

The knights and servants who heard about this were very excited. The new knights were naturally chosen from among them, and it seemed that everyone had a chance, so after everyone knew about this, they all trained hard and worked hard. , the daily performance is more heroic than before.

However, Wei Wei was very curious after hearing the news: "How to select knights?"

"Naturally, let them have a serious competition." Felix knew very well about the selection of knights, because he also came this way: "If a knight attendant wants to become a knight, he has to defeat his opponent in a specific competition. , to win, and you must win a few games, otherwise, you are not eligible to become a knight."

When knights first appeared, anyone who could prepare a set of knight equipment and horses for themselves was eligible to become a knight directly. Anyone in that period could be a knight, but it was just an honorary title, without any qualifications. privilege.

Later, knights gradually became important, and the fief system was implemented, which became one of the ways to be promoted to nobles, and it was not so easy to become a knight. In the past, everyone could become a knight, but now it is basically Only the descendants of nobles have this qualification, because only nobles can send their children to other nobles or knights to study knight courses, and can buy expensive equipment, which ordinary people cannot do.

The most important thing in the transition from knight servants to knights is to get the master's approval and hold a "armoring ceremony" for them, and this approval method is generally to let them compete with other people and perform well in the competition. Talents are qualified to participate in the "Rite of Armor" to become a real knight.

"The arena in the Royal Capital came from this at the very beginning. Of course, now it has become a way of entertainment for the nobles to pass the time." Felix shrugged. When it comes to entertainment, who makes most of them idle.

"Did you become a knight after winning games there too?" This was the first time Wei Wei heard Felix tell him about becoming a knight.

Probably because it was too hard at that time, although Felix often told her about his previous training and assignments, he never talked about the arena.

At this moment, he just brought it over in an understatement: "Yeah, after winning several games in a row, I successfully held the ceremony of receiving armor. By the way, the land I sold to you was used for the arena. The land won in the competition is exchanged with other people and then exchanged with the land in the manor for you."

Knights are conventional forces prepared for war. When there is no war, the way they get money and land is to fight with their own lives in the arena, in addition to hunting and suppressing bandits. Be careful of cruel games that will kill people. There are many knights who die and go bankrupt every year. Felix was able to win several games in a row and was valued by the king because of his own strength, but even so, he was in several dangers. The more major scars are basically derived from this.

So Felix never told Wei Wei about the arena. He knew very well that Wei Wei was not the kind of noble lady who likes to watch games. On the contrary, let her know that she used to compete with others in the arena because of her wealth and status. , and become the entertainment of the nobles, I am afraid that she will frown in disapproval, she has always been peace-loving, and can't stand those **** and cruel things.

But although he didn't say it, Wei Wei couldn't imagine the danger involved. After all, as long as it was about confrontation and the entertainment of the nobles, her first thought was the gladiatorial scene like the Colosseum in Rome. Confronting those ferocious beasts, who made this a favorite of nobles.

Of course she didn't mention this, since Felix didn't want her to know, she just assumed she didn't know.

So the topic naturally turned to other places.

"When will Kingsley and the others come back, will the bandits be in danger this time?"

"No problem, it will be smooth." Felix assured that the scouts he sent had estimated the opponent's strength when they first scouted, and Felix sent no less people than the bandit regiment, and they had no intention of calculating. , and also made sufficient preparations, as long as there are no accidents, this action can be said to be very sure.

However, the time to come back cannot be estimated. After all, they have other tasks besides the bandit suppression. If something is really found, it is possible to delay some time.

The mountain where the robbers are entrenched is only a few hundred kilometers away from Sardinson County. If you ride day and night, you can arrive in a day or two, and Kingsley and others are disguised as businessmen. Naturally, it is impossible to leave. Fast, but even the disguised carriage affected the speed, and they slowly walked to the mountain forest where the bandits gathered about five days after they set off.

The land in the Prady Empire is mostly plains and hills, so most of the mountains in the territory are not very high and relatively gentle. Most of the trees on these mountains are tall and straight cedars and pine trees. It is good to have a few people in these forests. But it is not easy to hide a large number of people, and the forest in the winter is not a good place to hide. The reason why this group of robbers have been entrenched here is that they do not have most of them to clear them.

And probably also during this period of time, the robbery has been going smoothly, which made them relax their vigilance somewhat, so when they encountered a group of soldiers disguised as ordinary caravans in Sardinson County, they were unlucky.

In particular, the soldiers sent out this time are all special forces who have been trained for a long time. Not to mention their field survivability and individual combat ability are higher than ordinary soldiers, and the mountains and forests can be said to be their home ground.

Prior to this, most of the missions of these special soldiers were detection and exploration. It was the first time that they had really faced the enemy, but their performance was undoubtedly very eye-catching. Even the knights had to admit that if it was not on the plains In a head-on confrontation, in the mountains and forests, they may have nothing to do with these people.

Professionally trained knights and soldiers may be born as mercenaries, but they are essentially non-professionals with relatively strong force among ordinary people. What results can be imagined.

So a few days later, Felix received a reply from Kingsley. In addition to briefly explaining the process of suppressing the bandits, the letter also praised the special soldiers he trained, which made Felix feel good.

He told Wei Wei the good news: "Kingsley said the robbers have been brought under control, and soon the robbers who are alive will be sent back to Sardinson for my disposal."

Wei Wei: "Have you found out their background, and have you recovered everything that was stolen before?"

"It seems that nothing has been found yet. As for the stolen items, some of them have been recovered, but most of them have been dealt with by them."

Felix had no hope of recovering the stolen funds. The caravans traveling to and from Sardinson, especially those small caravans, mostly carried various goods to and from the two places to do business. The things that merchants buy in Sardinson are basically all kinds of food that is easy to carry and tastes very good. They are cheap and high-quality. And these things, the robbers robbed usually either resell it or keep it for themselves to eat, after all, it is still winter, there is no food in the forest, and the prey rarely appears, a big gang of fifty people, It is very troublesome for the steward to prepare enough food. If the food is robbed, he will eat it by himself.

Because they wanted to **** the robber back, Kingsley and others were much slower, but the robber was caught, and the road was temporarily safe. This good news is enough for those businessmen who want to take this road to be happy for a long time. .

Before they returned, Sardinson County had already begun preparations for grouting the wheat and preparing for spring ploughing.

At this time, many serfs in the manor were told that their fields were not going to grow wheat or oats this year, and their land needed to be freed up to plant some new crops that they had not seen before.

In fact, the serfs have some bottom line in their hearts. Last year’s bumper harvest of corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes still spread some news. Although the serfs didn’t know what the yield of crops that Anxin had never seen before, their countess, from Many people have vaguely heard of the fact that the far east has brought many high-yield crops.

Therefore, these serfs were not too surprised by the special notices of the stewards, and even a little eager to try, because before them, the knights were more active.

The knights had registered before, and they were going to receive some seeds of new crops to plant in their own fiefs in the spring of this year, and now, it is time for the castle to fulfill its promise.

Wei Wei has been busy checking the seed potatoes stored in various cellars these days. Although the cellars are dug well, generally speaking, the things stored in them will not be damaged, but they are not 100% free of damage, or because of some A seemingly small problem may cause the seed potatoes to germinate and become moldy. The former can still be used for planting, and if moldy, it can only be thrown away.

So in order to prevent the broken seeds and seed potatoes from being mixed with the seed potatoes distributed to the knights, before the distribution, Wei Wei sent someone to take out the seed potatoes in the cellar and inspect them, and remove the broken seeds. By the way, seeds such as corn can also be basked in the sun to remove mold when the weather is good, which is also more conducive to subsequent sowing.

Because the crops that were originally planted were to be popularized this year, the inspection and drying were no longer covered up, but were carried out directly in the huge square in the front courtyard of the castle. When the slaves were drying and selecting, the servants and Soldiers, even the stewards and serfs who came to the castle to see it clearly.

Everyone who passes by the vestibule can't take their eyes off the crops that are piled on the ground and have never been seen before, especially sweet potatoes. More than 300,000 catties of sweet potatoes are piled together, which is a mountain, which is similar to other crops. Compared to, I don't know how many times the number and height are shocking, and I can't imagine why there is such a high yield of food.

Even if they have vaguely heard some news before, but when they really see these unseen grains, most people still can't believe their eyes.

Come to think of it, their Countess comes alone in Sardinson, how much can she bring? Apart from valuables such as gold and silver, how much can be seeds? And now, it has only been two years since she came to Sardinson County. The seeds she brought at the beginning have now become all kinds of grains that occupy the entire forecourt and cannot be spread evenly, and the output of those grains is also unavoidable Too scary.

Everyone who saw the scene in the forecourt of the castle couldn't help but ask others: "Is this really planted by the seeds brought by the Countess? Didn't the Count bought it from other places?"

"Of course not, look at these things, have you seen them before? Haven't seen them, right, so where do you think Lord Count can buy them back?" Those who have been shocked will now be particularly contemptuous of superiority Others didn't know it, and completely forgot that they were as shocked as the other party at first.

After getting a definite answer, the person who asked the question was so shocked that he didn't know what to say. He could only mutter to himself, "That's too much..."

This situation not only happens to a certain person, because there are a lot of seed potatoes that need to be picked and dried, and a corresponding share of seeds and seed potatoes need to be prepared according to the registered list. The old slaves are in charge, and the speed is naturally not too fast. It will take several days to get them all done. Therefore, in the past few days, when the slaves were busy in the vestibule, people from time to time came around to watch while they were free. Not only the people in the castle, but also your serfs and freemen in the manor.

Of course, non-castle personnel cannot enter the castle casually. These serfs and free people will come to watch the fun in various names, such as sending some eggs produced at home to the earl and his wife, fungi found in the forest, etc. In the past, they also I will send some things to the castle to deduct taxes, or I will directly honor my lord, but it will not be as frequent as recently, and they will all come together.

Felix and Wei Wei could of course order them to be banned from coming, but they didn't do it. Everyone can watch it if they like it. Anyway, it won't take long for these things to be planted in the ground. Let them satisfy their curiosity now. It's better than these people sneaking into the ground to dig up the soil in the future. Don't believe that they won't do it. In order to satisfy their curiosity, many people are willing to take risks. Besides, they probably think that as long as they don't steal, Just dig it out and take a look.

And among these people who came to watch the fun, there will be some more enthusiastic people, who don't bother to watch, and will take the initiative to help the slaves, so that the speed of picking and weighing will be faster. All right.

Soon, the seed potatoes and seeds for the knights were ready. Last year, Wei Wei promised to give them seeds, but he did not say how much, but they knew that Felix gave the king only a hundred A hundred pounds of corn, a hundred pounds of potatoes and a hundred pounds of sweet potatoes, other nobles get less, so the knights thought at first that they would not get more than the king. After all, they have one hundred and twenty people. Can get the same share as the king, sweet potatoes are okay, corn and potatoes are not enough for them.

The same is true. The seeds and seeds finally distributed to the knights are 30 jins of corn, 10 jins of potatoes, and 100 jins of sweet potatoes. Except for corn, which can be planted on an acre of land, sweet potatoes are only enough for one-sixth of an acre of land. Potatoes can only barely focus on the occasion.

But no one complained that Wei Wei gave less seeds, their countess didn't charge them, these seeds were given for free, and looking at the yield of these crops, as long as they were carefully tended for a year, until the fall, their land There should also be enough crops for large-scale planting next year.

They are not greedy people. Even His Majesty the King can only get so many things. It is very good for these knights to get these. Besides, it doesn't seem that everyone gets a lot, but there are 120 knights. The amount obtained is quite a lot. Obviously, the earl is also bleeding heavily, and they have to worry about whether the seeds they have left are enough.

In addition, in addition to these food crops, Wei Wei also distributed a lot of vegetable seeds to them, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, loofah, pumpkin, wax gourd and so on, all of which were well planted last year and had many seeds. Among them, the output of tomatoes Even higher than sweet potatoes, and the seeds are so small, a small bag can grow a large piece, and with Europeans’ love for this kind of vegetables and fruits, they will not worry about the market after they are planted, whether they are directly cooked or made into tomatoes. The sauces are very good, and after the introduction of ketchup, this versatile and delicious seasoning will soon become everyone's new favorite, occupying an important corner of the seasoning world, especially when paired with pasta, sandwiches and salads, It's always missing.

And the seeds of these vegetables were not only given to the knights, but also to those knight servants, ordinary cavalry soldiers, and the stewards of the servant manor, as long as they wanted, they could also get some more or less. After all, they were vegetable seeds, Wei Wei felt. It is enough to plant some enough for the castle to grow and sell in his own vegetable garden. He didn't plan to continue to increase the area of ​​the vegetable garden, so he just generously gave out the extra seeds.

Even some serfs dared to come to the castle to ask for money or things to exchange for some vegetable seeds after hearing about it. Wei Wei also made people agree to their request. Often, an egg can be exchanged for a few seeds of tomatoes or other vegetables, so the serfs who came to ask first happily took their things back, while the serfs and freemen who came late were regrettably informed that the seeds It has already been distributed, so I can only go home with regret, and if the people who didn't get the exchange have exchanged it, they will go to the other party and try to get one or two seeds.

Of course, most of them are not available. After all, the serfs did not get much, and they were not sure about the germination rate of these seeds. It was the first time they had planted them. What to do with germination?

So they don't give it, they don't give anything, and they are worried that the vegetable seedlings they grow will be stolen. They don't plant the seeds in the vegetable fields, but only on the side of the house. Not only is the yard guarded by a courtyard wall, but also A small fence was purposely built to enclose that small area, lest the chickens and ducks raised at home accidentally run in and harm the small seedlings inside.

As for not knowing how to plant them, they are not very worried. When the seeds are exchanged, everyone gets a planting booklet as before. Most of the serfs do not know how to read, but the children in their family know some of them. Just take the book back and let the children read it for help, and if you encounter any problems, whether it is to ask the steward for advice or go to the castle to ask the countess for help, this has been confirmed in the past. The Countess is not only very good at farming, but also very helpful. Generally, if you ask her any questions, you can basically get a solution.

Although most of the knights are not in Sardinson now, their families rushed to the castle to collect their own seeds and seeds after receiving the notice. The serfs who planted said that they wanted to let these people learn the skills of planting here and then go back.

So Wei Wei arranged the seedlings with these people and the slaves. Considering that they were going to take the seeds away, Wei Wei taught them to wrap the corn seedlings with mud **** mixed with plant ash. The mud **** could be rubbed and placed directly on the ground. It is very convenient to raise the seedlings together, and when the seedlings grow to a certain height, they can be transplanted together with the mud balls, which is very convenient. Needless to say, the sweet potatoes can be planted directly in the ground, but the potatoes need to be cut into pieces for germination, so that more seedlings can be obtained. It is very important to cut potatoes into pieces to promote germination. If they are not cut well or handled improperly, the seed potatoes will easily rot. Therefore, it is indeed necessary for growers to give it a try.

Since the potatoes she distributed to the knights were only ten kilograms, it was not enough for the serfs to practice their skills, and if they broke them, they would probably be punished by their masters, so Wei Wei simply let the serfs brought by the knights' families follow the slaves and the slaves. The serfs in the manor who were selected to plant potatoes this year deal with the potato pieces she reserved together, so she can find some more free labor for herself. Even if some of the raw materials are broken at first, she will waste it.

And because these people are the first to come into contact with new crops and have seen their yields, no one dares to mess around with them. They are very careful and careful in their work. Unexpectedly, they did not cause much loss. They did it from the beginning. Similar.