Two Flaws

Pine Forest Town was located in the northwest of the Chapman Territory, governing four villages with a total population of fewer than two thousand, and its geographical location was extremely remote. Therefore, Count Chapman chose this place to trade mithril with Victor. Since mithril was an extremely sensitive strategic material, both parties conducted the secret transaction in the guise of freemen, and Count Chapman instructed the lord of Pine Forest Town to build a freeman camp outside as a trading post. To avoid public suspicion, the routine patrols of Pine Forest Town were also suspended. It could be said that the surroundings of Pine Forest Town had become a place where one could come and go freely, a fact of which Weiqi and his companions were completely unaware.

When Weiqi's party entered the Chapman Territory, the caravan deliberately avoided road signs and drove straight into the wilderness, making Weilin and the others tremble with fear. Following roads was common sense in the human kingdoms; lords built roads between villages and towns, set up outposts along them, and dispatched soldiers to patrol in order to ensure the safety of travelers and the smoothness of traffic, while also inspecting the identities and goods of outsiders and collecting taxes. Not taking existing roads implied malicious intent, and those caught would certainly come to a bad end—either being treated as bandits, paying fines, or being sentenced to forced labor.

Urged by the others, Weilin plucked up his courage to remind Sasha that the Chapman family was not a new family like the Randall family, and once they left the roads built by the Chapman family, getting caught would be a serious crime. Sasha offered no explanation, merely glaring fiercely and telling Weilin to shut up.

As night fell, they spotted flickering lights in the distance; it was a makeshift camp. Sasha jumped down from his horse and waved a torch twice, and the lights on the opposite side danced in response.

"Let's go! It's them."

Sasha looked back to give the order and led the way toward the camp. Four bonfires were burning in the camp, and dozens of men sat clustered around them. Sizing up the situation was a merchant's instinct, and Weiqi and his companions noticed that these burly fellows were fierce and tough, with sharp gazes. Their equipment, though old, was complete, featuring chainmail, leather armor, spears, and short daggers, along with two dozen pitch-black crossbows. Clearly, this was no hastily assembled rabble, and the freeman merchants breathed a great sigh of relief.

Weiqi also noticed that Sasha was speaking in low tones with a thickset, stocky man. Sasha was more than half a head taller than that man, but seeing him nod and bow with a flattering expression, Weiqi knew that the man must be the mercenary leader. Sure enough, after a short while, Sasha accompanied the man over.

"Are you Boss Weiqi?" the short, stocky man asked in a muffled voice.

Weiqi immediately put on a smile even more obsequious than Sasha's, nodding repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes, I am Weilin. Greetings, Lord Leader!"

"My name is Hammer, leader of the Warhammer Mercenary Corps, not some lord. You can just call me Leader Hammer." Hammer nodded at the merchants and added, "Sasha has told you all about our situation, hasn't he? We will make camp here tonight and set off tomorrow at dawn. You don't need to worry about safety; my brothers will keep watch."

"Leader Hammer, at first glance one can tell your men are all formidable warriors. The Warhammer must be the top mercenary corps, and with you all, we aren't worried at all." Weiqi flattered him, then asked hesitantly, "It's just... um... would it be possible for us to take a look at the goods?"

Hammer split his wide mouth in a silent smile. This merchant might not know what a formidable warrior or danger truly was, but he cared about whether there were goods. This profit-driven, reckless personality was exactly as Nelson had described it. Weiqi did not know Hammer, but Hammer had heard of him. The veteran mercenaries had talked more than once about fat Weiqi's performance at the Goat Inn, where he had been nearly frightened to tears, yet after tasting the purple cane wine, he immediately perked up and insisted on doing business with Nelson, refusing to leave no matter how he was chased away.

"Right here."

Hammer pointed to a corner, where dozens of coarse hemp sacks and ten oddly shaped single-wheel carts were piled. A few burly mercenaries hauled out ten sacks and threw them on the ground. Several merchants eagerly swarmed forward and untied the sacks, immediately revealing refined iron arrowheads. Upon seeing the arrowheads, every merchant beamed with joy; by agreement, half of these arrowheads would be the capital for their comeback.

These refined iron arrowheads were exquisitely crafted, of exceptional quality, and great in number, undoubtedly produced by some lord's weapon workshop. Since the Warhammer Mercenary Corps could obtain refined iron arrowheads, perhaps there were other good things in the remaining sacks. Thinking of this, fat Weiqi rubbed his hands together and said enthusiastically, "Leader Hammer, what goods are in the other sacks? Would you like us to help take a look and give you an estimate?"

Hammer, however, shook his head and said, "They're just supplies, nothing much to see." Weiqi was somewhat disappointed, but then he heard Hammer say, "Oh, there are also ten large sacks of raw sugar."

"Raw... raw sugar?!" Weiqi was simultaneously overjoyed, startled, and terrified as he lowered his voice. "Leader, I think we'd better set off tonight."

"Why?" Hammer asked, bewildered.

"Ahem, raw sugar is a specialty of the Randall family. If you've looted their goods, they're bound to come looking, and since this place is close to the Randall Territory, it's better to hit the road early." Weiqi lowered his voice further. Seeing Hammer's peculiar expression and non-committal attitude, he hurriedly added, "Leader Hammer, let me tell you, the guard captain under Viscount Randall is named Nelson. I've heard he's killed hundreds of people with his own hands; he's especially fierce and incredibly formidable. His arm is thicker than my thigh, and he could lift me up with one hand..."

"Boss Weiqi, remember this: I say when we leave, and we leave! Out here, even when you take a shit or a piss, you have to follow my arrangements. Otherwise, it's one thing if you get yourself killed, but you'll drag the others down with you too!"

Hammer patted Weiqi on the shoulder and turned to walk away. Before he had gone far, Weiqi heard Hammer roaring with laughter.

"Ha ha, I'm dying of laughter! Especially fierce, arms thicker than thighs! Ha ha..."

Weiqi looked down at his own thighs, which were twice as thick as an ordinary person's, and said with a wronged expression, "I was just afraid you wouldn't take it seriously... Is there any such thing as doing business without exaggerating?"

————————————————

The temperature was rising and the earth was reviving; the cold and humid Season of Water had ended, and the Season of Earth had quietly descended.

Nearly twenty thousand mu of earth-potato fields and ten thousand mu of wheat fields around Flat Lake had sprouted green shoots, and farmers were scattered across the fields watering and fertilizing the crops, bustling with activity.

Inside the pig farm near Estuary Village, a hundred farmwives dumped freshly cut blue-core grass and wild thorns into the enclosures, while a thousand large and small wild boars swarmed around the troughs, eating incessantly. In a corner of the pig farm, several strong farmers firmly pinned a half-grown wild boar onto a stone platform. With a flash of a hand and the drop of a blade, two pinkish-white testicles were excised.

"Victor, is this what you call castration?" an old man asked curiously.

Victor nodded and said, "Yes, Master Edwin, this is pig castration."

Near the end of the Season of Water, Nicole had led a large retinue to the Randall Territory, accompanied by the White Tower scholar Edwin. Nicole was busy leading men to build a camp near the entrance of the swamp to prepare for the main force arriving later, while Edwin stayed behind at the manor to inspect Victor's farm and pig farm. Reunited after a long separation, Victor warmly hosted this forthright and wise scholar, accompanying him all these days to introduce his agricultural and livestock farming system.

"What's the use of castrating pigs?"

"Boars are fierce, aggressive, and difficult to manage, and they will even devour the piglets of other boars. Castrated boars basically share the habits of sows; not only do they grow faster, but their meat is also more tender, and it also prevents inferior wild boars from mating freely."

Edwin asked, "Victor, how do you know so much?"

"The wisdom of the freemen," Victor explained with a smile. "The commoners under my rule frequently hunt wild boars, so they are very familiar with their habits. Furthermore, boar meat is tough and stringy, and carries a peculiar odor; by comparison, sow meat tastes much better. To solve this problem, I solicited methods from the people. As it happened, a farmer had raised a male dog, and his dog had its testicles bitten off while fighting with other male dogs. As a result, that dog stopped being aggressive and grew fatter and fatter. Therefore, I had people experiment with castrating boars. At first, we lacked experience and killed quite a few, but now they are very skilled, and the results are very good. In addition, my men have already begun experimenting with castrating bulls and rams."

What Victor said was half-true; that farmer was merely an alchemical militiaman he had arranged, but castration technology on Earth indeed originated from living experience, and ancient China had already possessed it. It was precisely the invention of livestock castration that greatly increased the economic benefits of animal husbandry and played a positive role in improving breeds. Naturally, Victor intended to popularize this simple and efficient technology throughout his territory.

"To be able to listen to the people's suggestions, and then apply and organize them—Victor, you are remarkable!" Edwin praised sincerely.

Victor smiled modestly, though in his heart he was thinking, "Master Edwin encourages the nobility to absorb the wisdom of the common people. The idea is good, but he fails to see the essence of the problem. I would certainly love to listen to suggestions, but ordinary commoners are firmly bound by the two ropes of the Code of Brilliance and the vassal system; where is there any creativity left in them?"

Edwin did not know Victor's true thoughts and continued, "Victor, the agricultural and livestock system you designed is excellent. Although I don't know whether the new plows and pig manure can increase grain yields, it is certain that the numbers of cattle, sheep, and wild boars will increase dramatically. However, there are both internal and external flaws within it."

Victor frowned and asked, "Oh? Please elaborate."

"Let's talk about the external flaw first," Master Edwin said, stroking his beard. "Enclosing wild boars and grazing cattle and sheep is the complete opposite of traditional methods. This is built on the premise that there are no monsters or beasts in the Human Horse Hills. But have you ever considered that beasts and monsters will sooner or later return? When that time comes, how many soldiers do you have to protect the cattle and sheep?"

Victor nodded without speaking. He had considered this problem long ago; the larger the wilderness, the greater the living space for beasts and monsters, while the mobility of human soldiers was far inferior to that of beasts and monsters. It was impossible to rely on the army to completely eradicate the threats in the wild. The only way was to build more villages, towns, outposts, and roads to squeeze the maneuvering space of the monsters and ultimately force them out of the territory. This was why Victor wanted to dig artificial rivers, and he was just about to discuss this issue with Edwin, but now he wanted to know what the other flaw was.

"Master, what is the internal flaw then?"

Edwin sighed, shook his head, and said, "Victor, if you keep going according to your method, in three years you will lose the support of the people!"

Victor was startled, his expression changing dramatically.