booktalesy Chapter 44: Land Reclamation
Chapter 44: Land Reclamation
Outside Flower Town, there are vast plains with fertile soil.
After Li Ang ordered the removal of the "corrupted" flowers from the land, much of the land was left vacant.
Because these lands are buried with countless corpses, the soil is extremely fertile.
All of these lands were ordered by Li Ang to be cultivated by Fu Ye and his workers.
Besides the capital, there are vast tracts of barren land.
Originally, those wastelands all had owners, but a few years ago, the old King Gudroni became increasingly suspicious and launched a bloody "Great Purge" within the kingdom.
Many nobles were implicated and killed, and their lands naturally became "ownerless" wastelands.
However, the kingdom has laws that no poor person, free person, farmer, or even other nobles may cultivate new land without permission before it is granted to other nobles.
The surviving nobles all had their own territories, and they did not have any intention of occupying those "left behind" abandoned lands.
Over time, this has led to a massive waste of land.
Li Ang had previously asked Andrew to conduct a survey, which showed that within the capital's jurisdiction, there were over five million acres of abandoned land.
"These idle and abandoned lands must be cultivated as soon as possible and planted with crops! Leaving land idle is the biggest waste!"
As for revising the kingdom's laws, that was left to Andrew.
In the current cabinet, Andrew has a lot of power. In less than a day, he amended the relevant laws and turned all the idle wasteland into the king's "royal property"!
Foyer mobilized the remaining hundreds of thousands of workers in the factory to begin hard work.
The crop planting plan is clear and organized: cold-resistant and drought-resistant rye and highland barley will occupy vast dry fields;
Low-lying areas with convenient water sources are channeled into ponds in preparation for planting high-yield rice the following year.
The vine-climbing emerald squash and the long-lasting root potato will be intercropped between the rows;
Large tracts of land were designated for planting fast-growing crops such as kale, beets, and onions.
The entire reclamation plan is complex yet well-organized. It only needs the winter to accumulate soil fertility, and next spring, a green sea of life will emerge here.
..............
Meanwhile, Edmund's recruitment efforts were also progressing smoothly.
Edmund recruited over five hundred candidates for the initial screening from court warriors, criminal convicts, and some rogue cultivators in the capital.
They were all brought before Li Ang.
Li Ang will conduct a second screening, mainly to see which people have a loyalty score below 80 points!
Their strength is basically not a problem. Edmund had already been instructed not to bring anyone below the intermediate level.
There were more than 500 people, all of whom were at least intermediate-level fighters.
Li Ang stood on the high platform, his gaze sweeping across the crowd below like a hawk's. Among them were some wearing faded old armor, their eyes calm and steady.
Some of them have a江湖 (jianghu) air about them, with an unrestrained demeanor but a hidden wariness;
Others were clearly former prisoners, bald and tattooed, with a mixture of ferocity and longing for pardon in their eyes.
With a slight thought, Li Ang unleashed an invisible system scanning force that quietly covered the entire area.
Data flashed rapidly in his field of vision. Compared with the first batch of elites selected purely from the garrison regiment, this batch was more diverse and their overall quality had indeed declined.
The loyalty score is not high overall.
Of the more than 500 people in this batch, only 134 met the requirements after careful screening.
Of course, some people's loyalty is a real pity, hovering around 70 points, just one point away from reaching 80 points!
There are also some people who are in their 60s and need further training.
As for the dozen or so people with loyalty levels of only 30-40 points, or even lower, Li Ang simply whispered to Edmund to secretly dispose of them all.
These people are clearly sent by another force to act as spies.
The 134 trainee knights, after a brief preparation, immediately underwent organ modification!
Overnight, of the 134 prospective knights, 33 ultimately succeeded.
The Ash Knights, including Edmund, now have 70 official knights!
Edmund volunteered, "Your Majesty, I've heard that the Ratmen Merchant Guild has also sent lungs and skeletal organs from higher beings! I'd like to attempt secondary organ modification!"
Now, more and more of his subordinates have completed the first step of "muscle transformation," and Edmund, the knight commander, is increasingly eager for strength!
Li Ang also wanted to "upgrade" Edmund, after all, Edmund was currently the best fighter under his command!
Moreover, with the availability of two drugs, namely [Mafeisan] and [Penicillin], the success rate of organ modification is now exceptionally high.
However, glancing at the faith value in his system, he found it had completely dropped to 0, and the increase had become even more negligible.
Now, at the end of the day, it might naturally increase by about 20 points.
Currently, it is not possible to exchange for the blueprints for [Lung Modification] and [Skeleton Modification] for Edmund, nor the Faith Points required to activate [Medical Servant].
"We'll have to wait a bit longer! The conditions for modification aren't right now!"
Li Ang said in a deep voice.
Sure enough, right after responding to Edmund, Nedik came over too.
"Your Majesty, Lord Edmund has just selected a group of elite soldiers from the legion and subjected them to so-called organ modification! I'd like to try it too!"
"I want to become a Dou Zun! Without organ modification, I don't know how long it will take me to become a Dou Zun!"
Nidik's desire for power was equally intense.
Indeed, given Nidik's personal qualities and loyalty, he fully meets the requirements. With the current ample supply of medicine, performing dual organ modifications—muscle and heart—is more than sufficient.
In this way, there is a high probability that Nidik will break through from the Great Warrior realm to the Dou Zun realm!
Once Li Ang becomes a Dou Zun, he will have another great general under his command!
Unfortunately, the faith points are now depleted, and Li Ang has no choice but to ask Nidik to wait a little longer.
"Nidick, I know about your situation! However, the conditions aren't right yet! I'll let you know as soon as the modification is possible!"
Nidik nodded. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
..............
Shortly thereafter, Andrew, on behalf of the cabinet, submitted a large stack of impeachment documents.
"Your Majesty, this is a joint memorial submitted by nobles of earldom and above, and high-ranking officials from several provinces in the kingdom's northern and eastern borders, concerning the impeachment of Tester!"
"Tester's bloody taxation practices have enraged countless citizens of the kingdom! Especially his retainers and personal guards, who are acting with impunity in the provinces, levying exorbitant taxes and enriching themselves at the expense of the people! Public resentment is boiling over everywhere!"
Andrew reports.
Li Ang's eyes lit up; he knew the time to deal with Tester had finally come.
Now that faith points are growing slowly, a new breakthrough has just arrived.
"Yes, Andrew, collect all these impeachment documents! Also, notify Steward Mike to come over! Now, it's time to get rid of this cancer, Tester!"
A cold smile crept across Li Ang's lips.