Chapter 347: Chapter 99: The Second Batch

Amidst a flurry of enthusiastic construction, a new city began to slowly take shape on the shores of Dong’er Man Lake.

The successful construction of Water Project No. 1 had a tremendous impact on the Affleck Domain, both in terms of morale and material benefits.

The impact on morale was self-evident. For the first time, everyone learned that even Peasants could work alongside the esteemed Mages, and that the lofty Magic Arrays could be used for the most basic farm work.

Ever since Water Project No. 1 began operating, the esteemed Mages had become uncharacteristically well-behaved.

This event also delivered a massive shock to their worldview.

On the material side, once Water Project No. 1 was completed, water from Dong’er Man Lake immediately spread across the land previously scorched by Huang Na’s Phoenix Fire.

The magical nature of this world was revealed once again. The land, only recently scorched by fire, quickly regained its vitality after being thoroughly irrigated.

When Robson went to take a look, he even discovered new sprouts popping out of the soil.

Now that the problem with the land was completely solved, the next logical step was the urgent task of large-scale reclamation.

The most important thing for reclamation was a strong labor force capable of tilling the fields.

Even in this world, people used draft oxen to clear land.

Unfortunately, Robson hadn’t prepared any draft oxen before the expedition. They were too slow and couldn’t keep up with the army. He did have horses, but they were all precious, right-hand warhorses. It would be a disaster if they were overworked and ruined.

Besides, even without draft oxen, he still had the Extraordinary Soldiers of the Lord’s Guard!

That’s right. This was Robson’s plan for the domain’s division of labor: the heavy lifting came with high rewards, and the Soldiers of the Lord’s Guard had first pick.

The results were excellent, of course. They were all strapping young men who had done this kind of work before. Without any hesitation, they got straight to work.

The Soldiers of the Lord’s Guard possessed Extraordinary strength, the land had already been soaked by the lake, and Robson had also provided a good number of iron farming tools. Plowing the fields was practically effortless for them.

Robson did a quick tally and discovered that these guard Soldiers worked even faster than draft oxen.

Morbidly, they had truly become his beasts of burden.

Of course, that was just a bit of dark humor. Robson cared for his men a great deal.

The plowing was nearing completion in just two days. The next step, naturally, was to sow the seeds before the spring rains arrived.

This was when the refugees Robson had previously taken in began to prove their worth.

The Frank Kingdom’s territory was vast, with considerable climate differences between the north and south.

Farming was a skilled trade, and it was best to have guidance from locals. Robson issued a directive to gather information on their agricultural techniques.

Many of the people Robson had taken in had fled from their villages. They came from families that had farmed for generations and naturally possessed a wealth of experience.

In recent days, the fervent construction throughout the domain had begun to rub off on them. The merit-point exchange system had also been in place for a while and was starting to build credibility.

Although no one understood why their noble lord was so interested in agricultural matters, with rewards on the table, people participated eagerly. Robson actually managed to collect a lot of valuable knowledge.

While the land was being developed, the construction of housing was also underway.

For the first batch of housing, Robson chose not to build individual homes for each family.

The cost would be too high, and they would never be completed before the spring rains.

Robson’s final choice was a type of rectangular longhouse, similar to those from old northern Europe in his past life, which could accommodate many people.

Robson had a specific purpose for these houses.

They were to be public housing, free of charge. Anyone who wanted a private home for their family would have to exchange merit points for it.

Compared to the pace of plowing the fields, housing construction was somewhat slower.

After all, the farm work benefited from the addition of Extraordinary Soldiers. Being Extraordinary wasn’t just about having battle aura; it meant an enhancement of every physical faculty.

But this slowness was only relative.

After all, Robson’s Soldiers were all able-bodied young men. The unit in charge of the construction project was his most elite company; the Extraordinary Soldiers were incredibly strong, and the Tier Six Soldiers were not far behind.

The entire domain seemed to change with each passing day.

Robson used this period to establish many other rules as well.

For example, public toilets. As someone who had lived in the modern world, Robson simply couldn’t stand the smell.

Of course, it wasn’t purely for the sake of cleanliness. The excrement could be used as fertilizer and, if necessary, boiled down into "golden broth"—a concoction Robson had used to great effect back at Thermopylae.

Beyond public toilets, he instituted many other laws. After all, with the domain just being established, it was the perfect time for customs to take shape. It would be much harder to change things later.

Of course, to make things easier for everyone to understand, Robson didn’t implement too many laws. He simply added one final clause: "All rights of final interpretation belong to Viscount Affleck."

Whether it was that Robson truly possessed heavenly luck, or that everything was just a coincidence, it was hard to say.

As the last house was completed, a swath of black appeared on the horizon right on cue. Amidst rolling thunder, dark clouds slowly closed in on the nascent Affleck City.

Robson stood in his newly built manor tower, watching the spring rain drizzle down.

And through the spring rain, a caravan was making its way toward Dong’er Man Lake.

.....

"Has all the clothing been distributed?" Knight Commander Elon asked his adjutant.

"All taken care of, sir," the adjutant replied with a nod.

Knight Commander Elon glanced back at the caravan.

The entire caravan was a bustling, chaotic procession, utterly disorderly compared to Robson’s disciplined army.

In the rain, they held planks of wood or whatever else they could find over their heads. The crowd was a mix of men and women, old and young, all bundled in thick, heavy clothing.

They were the relatives of Robson’s Soldiers. They’d heard that the noble lord their sons, brothers, or other kinsmen were serving had struck it rich. At the urging of their former masters, they had been hurried onto the road.

Robson considered these people to be of the utmost importance. In addition to the small Priest Corps Earl Kifri had given him, Robson had also dispatched two medium-sized Priest Corps from Valentino to accompany them. Carriages were arranged for the old and the young, and their treatment was even better than that of Robson’s own Personal Guard; he was deathly afraid they might walk themselves right into the Lord of Dawn’s Celestial Kingdom along the way.

No matter the society or the era, the bonds of family are a constant.

Even the most hardened Peasants still cared for their aging parents back home, and for their younger siblings or children who had yet to grow up.

A matter this crucial to his Soldiers’ loyalty could not be handled carelessly.

Of course, besides the Soldiers’ relatives, the group also included the artisans provided by Earl Kifri. Valentino had sent a contingent as well, and including those Robson had previously requested from Earl Uman, there were three to four hundred artisans in total.

These were all skilled craftsmen. The death of even one would be a painful loss for Robson, so they naturally required special protection as well.

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