When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 642 - 603: Enrico’s Four-Field Crop Rotation System

While the steward gorged on meat and drank wine, inside the dilapidated village chapel, Ansel was still meticulously writing down today's observations.

Due to time constraints, the permanent land rights and tax register in South Mangde County were being compiled simultaneously, so Ansel hadn't received the specific tax register yet and had to rely on Bryson's recollections to make estimates.

The entire Adrian Manor had about 70 households, with each household averaging about 40 acres of arable land, surprisingly 5-10 more acres than households in the plains areas.

However, according to two villagers today, the net yield of their wheat per acre was only about 60 pounds, meaning planting 20 pounds of wheat seeds yielded 80 pounds of wheat, while oats and barley had net yields of around 80 pounds per acre.

It seemed that planting wheat, the yield from 20 acres in the plains was the same as 30 acres in the mountains.

But the problem was that plains land was fertile with abundant water, allowing for continuous cropping between seasons.

That is, after planting wheat/grain in spring and summer, legumes/pasture could be planted in autumn for fertilization, and even oats or turnips could be planted in winter.

Mountain County and Pingyuan County both practiced three-field crop rotation, yet the content differed, as Pingyuan County had no fallow land.

Even fallow lands were planted with beans and barley, to enhance soil fertility and for feeding livestock and brewing beer.

In Mountain County, only one crop could be planted annually, requiring a choice between wheat, oats, and barley, and one of the three fields must be planted with pasture as food for the knights' warhorses and plow horses.

Then they still had to pay the knights to rent plow horses for farming.

Thus, every household raised pigs, but seldom ate the meat, opting instead to sell them in Mande County to trade for more grain.

That wasn't all; Ansel also heard more outrageous things from Bryson.

Due to the low wheat yield in mountainous areas but abundant firewood, these farmers' staple food was oatmeal.

If 25 out of 35 acres were used to grow oats, they would earn 2,000 pounds of grain annually. With low land rents in mountain manors and only a 10-20% tithing included,

1600 pounds of oatmeal annually could be supplemented with farmed chickens, ducks, and mountain pigs, plus forest wood trade and hunting output, not leading to abundance but at least avoiding starvation.

But the problem was that knights and priests in mountainous regions generally collected rent in kind, and this "kind" was wheat and barley!

Because wheat could be made into bread and barley into beer, while oats tasted bad and required fuel to cook, they were not valuable as food for sale.

Thus, the lords forced public register farmers to reduce staple grain cultivation in favor of wheat and barley, creating the bizarre situation of starvation in years of abundance.

The crippled Alan told Ansel during the day that his brother, wife, and newborn son starved to death in a year of abundance.

In fact, a casual glance at the estate's square today revealed a significant issue to Ansel: the entire manor was skewed younger, with almost no one over forty.

As soon as people aged, during famine or food shortages, the young were prioritized, leaving the elderly to starve in the forest or wander down the mountains as mercenaries.

Adrian Manor was considered wealthy, yet surrounding manors sometimes had less than 30 acres per household.

Only now did Ansel understand why Mountain County had higher average arable land per household than Pingyuan County yet frequently experienced famines and starvation.

If permanent land rights could be implemented, converting rent in kind to a share-based monetary rent would significantly reduce the burden on the mountain people.

Although it wouldn't lead to abundance, at least it would prevent starvation.

The reason is quite simple.

Permanent land rights are tied to the Hundred Households District, and once established, knights would no longer have the power to manipulate agriculture, and farmers would have the incentive to improve the land.

Farmers within the Hundred Households District could rely on mutual agricultural aid, saving manpower and resources for building irrigation channels and improving land.

With the contractual collateral of land under permanent land rights, the Saint Scythe Monastery would be able to offer loans and purchase seeds and farm tools, beginning a shift to the Enrico four-field crop rotation system.

The Enrico four-field system is very fitting for Mountain County, dividing a 40-acre field into four parts, using 10 acres as an example.

In the first year, plant clover or alfalfa and plow it into the soil as green manure, allowing oats to be planted the following year. With green manure, oats' yield per acre could increase to 100 to 110 pounds, while wheat could increase to 80 pounds.

In the third year, plant turnips or cabbages, a crucial step as these biennial plants can remain in the field through winter, pulled out to feed livestock as needed.

Given Mountain County's terrain, large-scale breeding of dairy cows and draft horses should be possible, but insufficient feed heating in winter leads to their starvation before spring arrives.

Even without livestock, they provide a valuable reserve of winter calories for people.

In the fourth year, plant barley for brewing beer, which serves as a caloric reserve (long shelf-life with alcohol) and can be sold externally for other goods.

This isn't a four-year planting rotation, but four plots are simultaneously planted with clover, oats, turnips, and barley each year.

This results in 1000 pounds of oats, 800 pounds of barley, 10,000 pounds of turnips or cabbages, and 12,000 pounds of hay and feed annually.

After the first four-year cycle, each household would have at least one draft horse and one plow ox for tilling, two dairy cows for milk production, and could raise five to six pigs, potentially even sheep for wool.

Considering the mountainous terrain, animal husbandry should be the primary focus, supplemented by farming.

Currently, this reform is being implemented in Seching's manor, and from May this year until next year, results should be evident, coinciding with the four-field rotation reform following the establishment of the Hundred Households District.

After implementing this agricultural strategy in Horn's homeland in Europe, the output from merely 30 acres of land could support up to ten people.

It not only ensures self-sufficiency but also allows for exporting and selling externally.

Given the generally obstinate nature of the mountain villagers, if such improvements can truly be achieved, even if the Church's army returns, or if the Holy Father himself comes, they will only support the Saint's Grandson.

However, the biggest problem now is the inexplicable resistance these mountain villagers show towards Ansel and others.

As Ansel was troubled by this, a trace of coolness brushed the nape of his neck.

The night wind squeezed in through the open door, flickering the weak flame of the oil lamp, casting a blurred long shadow on the wall.

Ansel turned his head, only to see Bryson cautiously carrying the oil lamp in.

"What did Knight Adrian say?"

"Knight Adrian will publicly punish the steward tomorrow to clarify the facts," Bryson paused, as if weighing his words, "but he can't overdo it because Henderson is his uncle. At most, he'll keep Henderson from going too far; the rest is up to us."

"Can the knight really let the steward ride on his neck?" Ansel was even more surprised.

But Bryson shook his head: "You don't understand. The mountain regions are not like the plains, where social hierarchy is minimal, but family ties are stronger. The power of the Armed Farmers here is much greater than in the plains; otherwise, where would there be quality infantry sources?

In a manor, any Armed Farmer is a collateral branch of the knightly family. These manor positions, including steward, steward's head, coachman, carpenter, blacksmith, etc., are all hereditary positions held by the knight's Armed Farmer relatives.

Without them, a knight alone couldn't manage the entire manor and would become notorious in the mountainous noble society for mistreating relatives, so everything is discussed within the family.

This Knight Adrian spends half the year out of the manor, with most affairs handled by Henderson.

If he doesn't have the support of other Armed Farmers, he can't even revoke Henderson's position as the head steward.

He is nominally Henderson's lord but counts on Henderson to pay him, so of course, he won't break with Henderson."

Ansel quickly came to his senses, suddenly enlightened, and slapped his forehead: "So that's it. So, relatively speaking, our real target is the Armed Farmers rather than the knight?"

"...You could say that." Bryson nodded slightly.

At this point, Ansel turned around and began writing in his notebook, recording this crucial information one by one on paper.

Bryson's eyes fixed on Ansel's profile, his lips opening and closing, struggling repeatedly like a fish out of water.

In the end, he said nothing, only lowered his head, turned, and walked to the door. Looking back, he saw Ansel still leaning over the desk writing.

Gritting his teeth, Bryson peeked out to look around, saw no one, then closed the door again and returned to Ansel's side.

"Is there anything else, Uncle Bryson?" Ansel raised his head in confusion, looking at Bryson, who had pulled a chair to sit opposite him.

In recent days, Bryson had been meek and silent, usually approached by Ansel for conversation, rarely initiating it himself.

Bryson licked his lips: "Ansel, our task is to promote permanent tenancy, right?"

"Of course, why?"

"I have an idea, why not entrust this task to those Armed Farmers? You saw today how unwelcome we are to these residents."

Ansel blinked as if recognizing Bryson for the first time. He was about to retort but was interrupted by Bryson's troubled face.

"Ansel, I'm really thinking of your best interest. This Knight Adrian is unreliable and neglectful, we can't count on him.

How many years have these Armed Farmers been at the manor? And how long can we stay? The believers don't trust us at all. Even if we forcibly establish permanent tenancy and create a Hundred Households District, wouldn't the Hundred Households Captain still be that Henderson?

This place is remote. Can we truly supervise it continuously?"

Swallowing hard, Bryson saw Ansel pondering, convinced he had a chance, and quickly urged, "You're already a Wandering Cultivator and have a bright future ahead. Why waste time here? It's their own shortsightedness if they don't want to advance permanent tenancy.

You delegate permanent tenancy to him, establish a Hundred Households District, and as long as we don't speak of it, the task is completed, and everyone's happy. Isn't that great?"

Ansel stared at Bryson's face for a full minute, making Bryson uncomfortable, before speaking: "This time I'll pretend I didn't hear it. Next time, I'll have to record it."

Saying this, he stood up to leave the room, but Bryson grabbed his sleeve: "Ansel, you're a good person, but some people are naturally in trouble. These mountain villagers are! Do you really think you can win them over to your side in just a few days?"

"Maybe not in a few days, but a month could work."

"What do you plan to do?"

Ansel smiled mysteriously: "Tomorrow, you'll find out."