Farming with Entries: From Lord to Emperor-Chapter 302 - 192: Population Surge
After a round of whispers, the wildmen once again answered in unison: "Thank you, Saint Master, for your protection."
Luo De waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.
"All doubts and offenses will be treated the same as those two."
Luo De, with a serious expression, solemnly proclaimed loudly:
"The loyal will enjoy my protection and blessings." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"I will make this land your home, where your descendants can thrive."
"We are willing to give everything for the Saint Master!"
Thousands of people shouted in unison again, their voices shaking the heavens and earth.
Luo De nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand.
"Very well, rise, my people."
"From today onwards, this is your home."
...
...
Even with prior preparation, the arrival of so many people still threw Frost Leaf Town into chaos.
These people couldn’t stay together all at once, and Luo De naturally wanted them separated.
The most vocal complainer was Lawrence, who constantly grumbled about how much grain the wildmen consumed every day.
Lawrence didn’t dare to nag in front of Luo De.
Instead, the women in the slave canteen suffered, having to endure Lawrence’s spittle-laden verdicts every day.
The porridge was too thick, wasting grain.
Too thin, and it would lower the Saint Master’s prestige.
This led to daily criticism for the women, who privately wondered if Lawrence was venting frustration over his assistant’s pregnancy.
Lawrence, however, wasn’t in the mood to listen to these; he kept an eye on the carts transporting game and began to reclaim grain from the townspeople.
Of course, Luo De wasn’t going to support these thousand people for nothing.
While Lawrence settled the wildmen, Luo De convened all the department heads for a meeting.
"Everyone knows our town’s population has increased, so each department can now supplement its manpower."
Luo De directly turned his gaze toward Otto: "Spring plowing is the most pressing for the future. Tell me, how many people do you want."
Otto thought for a moment and whispered: "Fifty?"
"There are many new fields to be reclaimed for spring plowing, and it’s not like last year’s lands were all soil. Is fifty enough?"
Luo De looked at Otto: "I’ll give you one hundred fifty people, but you need to open up an additional two thousand acres."
"No problem!"
Otto grinned and responded readily.
Then he asked in a low voice: "But didn’t you say our fields are now too far from the town? Those two thousand acres..."
Luo De reached out to interrupt Otto, "Don’t worry, this will be arranged soon."
"Okay, okay." Otto quickly bowed his head and fell silent.
Luo De then focused on Prophet Bai Shuang,
"The environment of the Blade Mountain Range has been clarified, right?"
Luo De asked: "At least there should be no other tribes around the perimeter?"
"Yes, Saint Master, there are none!"
Prophet Bai Shuang solemnly replied: "We’ve almost reached the eastern coast, and still found no other tribes!"
"Very well, henceforth the Blade Mountain Range will be my territory."
Luo De ordered: "I’ll give you fifty people, cooperate with the Hunting Team to hunt. I want all the resources in there extracted."
"Bai Shuang, you stay there temporarily to oversee this, return only when everything is stable."
Luo De’s words startled Prophet Bai Shuang, but he quickly reacted.
"Yes, great Saint Master." Prophet Bai Shuang responded.
"I’ll come to see you when I have time; the Blade Mountain Range needs to be thoroughly developed."
Luo De felt he also needed to find time to enter the Blade Mountain Range to search for mineral resources.
"Additionally, it’s close to the salt mine. Build a stronghold around the salt mine for me,"
"I’ll extend new fields from there."
The land below the Blade Mountain Range is near rivers, with many streams and ponds, the soil is very fertile.
Previously it wasn’t a gathering place for people due to frequent wildmen disturbances. Now, since the wildmen have become part of Frost Leaf Town, the fertile land shouldn’t be wasted.
Luo De looked at Otto, "This is the location of the new fields I mentioned. Make the arrangements."
"I’ll go with you to arrange the field locations."
"Yes, Lord!" Otto promptly replied.
With the agriculture department arranged, Luo De looked at Xue Rui,
"Do you need manpower?"
"It’s not necessary for foundation digging; too many people cause chaos, my Lord."
Xue Rui replied: "You can assign teams for stone extraction and clay digging, prepare the materials we’ll need in the future."
"Alright, let’s arrange it that way."
Luo De nodded and instructed: "Bai Shuang and Waller, you’re responsible for selecting wildmen for appropriate jobs."
As he spoke, Luo De looked at Tyr, Hammer, and Waller,
"You can lead your wildmen to select suitable apprentices among the newcomers."
"Yes, Lord."
"Yes, Saint Master."
Everyone answered in unison.
"Alright, Durant, Lawrence, and Waller stay behind."
Luo De directed: "Everyone else may leave."
"Yes."
Everyone stood, bowed to Luo De, and then exited.
After the others left, Luo De looked at the remaining four and said: "There’s one more crucial task; I want to mine silver."
"Silver mine?"
Originally listless, Lawrence suddenly widened his eyes,
"You mean, there’s a silver mine in Black Pine Ridge?"
Although they can’t mint currency, silver coins can circulate like money.
Mining silver, and smelting it, is practically equivalent to minting money, a very direct wealth.
"Yes, with silver, we can directly import resources from outside."
Now, with the population booming, Luo De no longer felt timid, planning for the future is imperative.
Durant, knowing of the silver mine’s existence, was naturally unsurprised,
"Lord Baron, before mining the silver mine, I think we should first expand the military."
Durant voluntarily said: "Among so many wildmen, there must be some with good aptitude."
"Among those wildmen, I see many robust figures; even if they don’t become knights, they can be excellent soldiers."
"Of course, select from the wildmen army first."
Luo De smiled at Durant, "Mining the silver mine won’t start immediately; we must prepare in advance."
"First, inform Jess to bring back some experienced miners from Black Stone Stronghold and supplement with double the wildmen."
"Other laborers and porters should also be identified, preferably entire families may relocate."
Luo De instructed: "Waller and Lawrence, you both handle this."
"Yes, Lord!"
Both responded in unison.
Luo De looked at Durant, "The Guard Team will need you to arrange it."
"Of course."
Durant smiled, "You’ve let me pick anyone; the Guard Team will not disappoint you."
"You’re starting to get mischievous, my Great Knight."
Luo De patted Durant’s shoulder jokingly,
"Alright, everyone, go ahead, you won’t be staying for dinner."
Luo De dismissed everyone, stood up, and led Vivian straight to the Blacksmith Shop.
Luo De instructed Hammer to arrange for the forging of picks, chisels, and crowbars for mining, then returned to his forge to craft new Sea Pattern Magic Steel.
This time, it was specifically forged for Vivian, with energy infusion naturally done by her.
The Sea Pattern Magic Steel infused with Shadow Energy was different, with very blurred patterns, looking like a piece of black iron without close inspection.
Moreover, it was matte black, devoid of any metallic sheen.
It looked more like a piece of charcoal.
Yet it retained a strong metallic feel when hammered, remaining very hard.
Since it was being forged for herself, Vivian stayed fully attentive, watching closely during Luo De’s forging.
Luo De feared his hammer might miss, accidentally cracking her skull, so he frequently reminded her to stay back.
The "Embroidery Needle" required very little Magic Pattern Steel, so Luo De planned to forge a dagger and some throwing darts for Vivian.
"Perhaps I could design a hand crossbow?"
Thinking about the darts made Luo De also consider the bow and crossbow, these simple mechanical weapons.
But before Luo De could think further, Hammer and Waller assembled the punching machine.
