If I let you farm, will you become the emperor of the empire?

Roman's literacy campaign and special training are in full swing.

Merchant ships from the Holy See have also arrived at the City of Origin.

A merchant ship can carry a few tons to more than ten tons, full of saltpeter and sulfur.

The Holy See was very puzzled by Roman's request.

For a moment, I didn't understand what the King of the Valley wanted these things for.

Since I don't understand, I won't do it.

After all, saltpeter and sulfur are much cheaper than gems.

Sinnoh is closely connected to the Narrow Sea, and there are many volcanoes in the Narrow Sea, which can mine a lot of sulfur.

The Holy See controls many resources on the land, and saltpeter can also be obtained.

Roman is not afraid of the black powder technology being cracked.

First of all, for now, he plans to develop in a low-key manner for a few years. During this period, he will not fight a war - or not a large-scale war. If he fights a full-scale war again, he will really be unable to bear it.

So at this stage, black gunpowder is only used for production, not for military use, and it is impossible to spread it out.

Do you really think that the fog of war he set up is a decoration?

Secondly, if he is not as fast as the other party, then he will jump into the sword-making furnace.

…

The saltpeter and sulfur sent by the Holy See are about 20 tons.

It cannot be paid in one go, and the Holy See plans to pay it off in a whole year.

One of the few advantages of this era is that those in power will really abide by the contract and promise, which can be said to be simple and honest.

Roman also attaches great importance to credibility and promises.

He is cruel to the nobles, purely because he has never promised them.

Once promised, it must be kept, there is no room for negotiation.

There is a tacit understanding and consensus between the two.

This batch of saltpeter and sulfur raw materials is enough for the early stage.

Roman has a huge demand for black gunpowder.

Let's make one or two tons first.

It won't be possible to produce so much in a short time, and Roman is not in a hurry. He will slowly refine the saltpeter and sulfur first.

The advantage of having a lot of people is that it is convenient to do anything, and there is no need to squeeze people from various positions.

He took time to visit the swamp again and found that the coolies were doing a good job.

The pond was almost dug, and now they were digging canals.

Food is the foundation of everything.

Roman attached great importance to this issue. When he was short of manpower, he wanted to disband the army to farm.

Oxen and draft horses pulled heavy plows and plowed the fields in the mud.

It is necessary to plow once, flatten the soil structure, lay a good foundation, and then plant rice.

During this period, crops such as cotton, sugarcane, and beets were also buried in the soil.

Roman looked at the state of those crops. Now they have sprouted and are growing well.

Especially sugarcane, which is very lush.

The disadvantage of sugarcane is that it needs deep, soft, and fertile soil.

Even if we don’t mention the climate problem, the backward agricultural technology of the Black Iron Land means that sugarcane cannot be planted even if it is introduced.

Even if it can be planted, it is more troublesome to take care of it.

The advantage of sugarcane is that the yield per mu is also terrifyingly high, and it is not a problem to produce three or four thousand kilograms per mu.

This is normal. Grass can also produce 1,000 kilograms per mu, because it naturally weighs more because of its high water content.

Sugarcane can be used to make sugar. Once it is planted on a large scale, it can produce a continuous supply of sugar.

According to the 8% sugar yield, one mu of land can provide 200 kilograms of sugar.

Unlike maltose, sugar is a real strategic material.

Roman has been farming smoothly here.

But as it was said before, farming is never smooth sailing.

…

At the end of spring.

When the flag of the Iron Throne arrived in this valley.

The entire Origin City was alarmed.

Roman had to greet it in person.

"The envoy of the Iron King, the respected Lord Damon, welcome you here." Seth presided over the welcoming ceremony.

Damon is the Minister of Finance of the Iron King. This time he came to discuss the issue of taxation with the King of the Valley.

So there are too many followers, hundreds of people, wearing gold and silver to show the king's power.

The dark figures of the ten royal knights were even more eye-catching, not much weaker than the Knights of Judgment.

"Your Highness Roman, you have inherited a large piece of fertile land." He said.

Damon was about forty years old, with a round but flexible body, wearing silk clothes, and ten rings made of rare gems on his white and tender fingers.

Roman didn't like dealing with such people.

Slippery, like loach, with a kind of fat smell, can't be fooled at all.

Roman frowned slightly and looked at the largest cat's eye stone among Damon's ten fingers.

The gem was emerald green and translucent, with excellent luster, and there was a narrow light inside, just like the flashing spiritual light in a cat's eye, which was extremely penetrating.

It is said that cat's eye stone can be used properly to peek into people's hearts and identify lies.

Damon also noticed Roman's gaze, stroking the cat's eye stone with his other hand, smiling and waiting for his reply.

"It's the land that Ulster gave me."

"The old archduke was assassinated and died because of this. The King of Black Iron was very sad. He sent me to express his condolences last year. At that time, Dragon Castle was full of people, but I didn't see your people coming."

"When the time is right, I will go there myself." Roman said lightly.

"I believe you can do it," Damon smiled, "After all, you are now a king of a generation, and a young king. Your future is bright."

Roman looked at him quietly, his face neither arrogant nor proud.

Damon still smiled, but there was some surprise in his brown eyes.

He spoke again, "His Majesty the King asked me to bring his will to you, to be crowned as the descendant of the first generation of the Rift Armor, the ruler of the valley residents and the eternal king, the Lord Conqueror, the guardian of the order of the Seven Kingdoms, and the Hand of War that balances the situation on earth!"

He recited a long paragraph of titles and titles, which was second only to the length of the Duke of Dark Iron and the King of Dark Iron.

"Lord Conqueror?" He grasped the key point sharply.

"Yes, it's you." Finance Minister Damon smiled.

Roman frowned more deeply.

This title is a remnant of the Conqueror period.

A special title conferred by the Conqueror himself.

Only the three Dukes of Dark Iron, the Kings of the Land of each country, the Royal Guardian Knights, the Conqueror Knights, and the King of Dark Iron himself can have this honor.

All of them are powerful people.

"What is the price?" asked the Lord.

"You have to go out to quell the rebellion. Pirates, barbarians, demons, foreign races, whatever threatens our safety, you can go and fight." The finance minister said lightly.

Lordship is a special honor.

Those who have this title will shoulder the heavy responsibility of maintaining the order of the conquerors.

"What if I don't go?"

"That's not okay, my Lord. This is your obligation. According to the regulations, you must at least dispatch 10,000 conscripts, 2,000 riders, 500 expedition knights, 50 square flag knights..." He gestured with a rouge-scented palm and shook it in front of Roman.

"Okay, Lord Damon, it's useless to say more. I don't have so many troops." Roman casually held his chin with his hand and crossed his legs. The movement was elegant and casual.

He looked at the smiling minister in front of him and wanted to punch him.

But reason restrained this behavior.

This is an important minister of the King of Black Iron. Once he uses force, he can't expect to develop well in the future.

At least not now. He told himself.

"Then you can only pay the shield tax. I'll help you calculate it," Daemon said, pinching his fingers.

He knew that Roman couldn't come up with so many troops. The population of the valley was estimated to be only tens of thousands. If he really had to take out 10,000 conscripts, it would probably scare the Iron King off his crown.

"If you don't plan to send out any troops, you will have to pay a shield tax of about 5,000 gold coins - this is this year's money. You know that there are wars everywhere, and you will have to pay the same amount or more next year."

"In addition, my lord, you have inherited this rich land, and you have to pay rights tax, enthronement tax, trade tax, war tax, land tax, property tax, head tax, and illegal tax to our king...

"You have to give part of the war ransom you got from defeating Lord Gale and the Church to His Majesty the King. As far as I know, it is not a small number...

"Oh, by the way, you have to give me a separate sum of money. After all, I brought you the good news from His Majesty the King. I don't ask for much stamp money. Just give me 500 gold coins."