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19.33% Heir of Aurelian / Chapter 35: Agricultural Advancements

Chapter 35: Agricultural Advancements

Frank Caruso sat in a lecture hall at the esteemed Columbia university. It was his freshman year, and he was excited to finally attend college. Out of all the classes he had signed up for this semester, none was more exciting to him than an Introduction to Medieval European History.

For many years, Frank had studied history for fun, and now that he was in college, it was time to put his knowledge to the test. He sat with a smile on his face as he listened to the professor talk about critical agricultural inventions that were discovered during the dark ages with an eager expression on his face. Completely unaware that the girl sitting next to him was checking him out.

"Nobody is entirely sure when these inventions were made, or who came up with them. However, among the few discoveries to appear in the era that we colloquially refer to as the dark ages, there were three critical pieces of agricultural technology that were developed. The first of these significant inventions was the Horse yoke.

Throughout antiquity and up until the dark ages, the most common beast of burden was the ox. However, using such a species as your primary beast of burden had some significant drawbacks, as an ox lacked the stamina to plow a field for more than a few hours. In comparison, a horse or a mule could plow a field for an entire day's work. This allowed farmers to get more work done in a shorter period.

When combined with this next piece of technology, the amount of food that could be produced significantly increased. When the heavy plow was introduced, it had a monumental impact on agriculture, especially in the western part of the world. While the previous wooden plows were useful in the soft soil of the Mediterranean, they faced serious difficulties in regions such as modern day Germany, France, England, etc.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Western Roman Empire was the fact that it was dirt poor compared to its eastern counterpart. Though there were numerous reasons for this, one of the most concerning was the fact there was simply a lack of land that they could successfully farm. With the introduction of the heavy plow, and the horse yoke as you see in this diagram, the ability to farm in the rougher terrain that was western Europe became much easier."

Frank eagerly jotted down his notes on the subject as he committed the information to memory. The girl beside him was yawning, as the historical lecture dreadfully bore her. Noticing that Frank was her type, the girl leaned over to the young man and interacted with him to entertain herself.

"What a pitiful lecture. I can't believe I signed up for such a dreadful course. I'm Lindsey. What's your name?"

Frank was not pleased to hear this. After all, he was a huge fan of human history, especially western history, and because of this, he was more interested in the lecture than he was with the pretty girl by his side. Thus, he did not pay the girl the attention she desired and instead rebuked her for carelessness.

"You should pay attention. You will need to memorize this information for the test!"

The girl immediately pouted when she was spurned by the young man sitting next to her, and instead turned on her phone after realizing she wouldn't be able to speak to Frank. While the girl was texting, the lecturer continued on his rant about Early Medieval agriculture.

"Which brings us to the third and final major development in agriculture during the early medieval period; The three field system. With this system of planting, as you can see on this diagram, allowed for a major increase in food production, and of course, that lead to a population boost within Europe.

The three-field system was a pretty simple concept. You would use two fields to grow food for the year, and leave one fallow so that it could rest. After doing this for a year, you would rotate the fields so that at new field was fallow every year. This increased the fertility of the soil, and when swapped the next year would result in greater yields. This system would remain in use for centuries until it was superseded by the four field system during the early modern age. Now, are there any questions?"

After hearing these words, Marcellus awoke from his dream, struggling to make sense of all the information he had received during his slumber. The light of dawn shone through his window and onto his bed, revealing his naked figure that was partially concealed beneath the covers. Sigefrida was in a similar state while attached to his side with a warm smile on her face as she continued to sleep peacefully.

Marcellus did not know what was happening to him. Maybe it was the aftereffect of repeated head trauma, but he seemed to have these strange dreams of a different world more frequently. However, if the information within this dream was correct, much like the previous one, that included stirrups. Then perhaps he could solve the food crisis this village was facing.

Whatever caused these drams and visions, Marcellus was just glad he received one now. As it would soon be time to plant the crops for the fall harvest, and if that was the case, he had decided that he would experiment in his fields with these new technologies.

However, that was a concern for another time. Upon seeing Sigefrida so defenseless, Marcellus reached his hand over and grasped hold of one of her bountiful breasts. It was so large that his hand could not contain it fully. He smiled as he kissed the woman on the lips, causing her to awaken from her beauty sleep. The slave woman quickly rose from her covers and wiped her eyes as she gazed upon her lover with affection.

"Is it morning already? I should help you get dressed. Give me a moment..."

After saying this, the woman rose from beneath her covers to reveal her naked figure. No matter how many times Marcellus saw this, he could not help but get excited. However, he was well accustomed to restraining himself, and thus he waited patiently as the woman dressed him in his clothes for the day.

This was not the early days of the Roman Empire, where it was considered barbarous to wear pants. Such ancient customs had long sensed been abandoned. Instead, the most common attire of a Roman citizen was a tunic, a set of trousers, and a cloak. The Suebi slave carefully adorned all of these items across Marcellus' muscular body, as she ensured that he was properly dressed for the day. As she finished up wrapping the man's cloak around him, the enslaved beauty could tell something was bothering her master, and thus raised her brow as she asked the question on her mind.

"Is everything alright? You look troubled..."

Marcellus sighed heavily before shaking his head in defeat. He did not intend to reveal the full extent of his newfound visions. Such information would only make others look at him weirdly. After all, this was the christian era, and to speak of receiving visions from the gods would surely result in persecution.

"It's nothing serious. I've just been having some strange dreams lately..."

Sigefrida glanced at the expression that her master was making and knew he was hiding something from her. However, she did not press him for an answer. If he did not want to speak about these dreams, then there was no helping it. Instead, she told Marcellus the same thing she always did whenever he acted this way.

"Well, I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to..."

Marcellus nodded in silence before kissing the woman on the forehead. In his mind these visions were no trivial matter, but since they had proven to be harmless thus far, he did not worry about it too much and smiled as he replied to the woman.

"I know you are. Honestly, it is nothing important. I am sure they will go away with time..."

Sigefrida nodded her head while she dressed herself in her ragged clothing. After doing so she placed her slave collar around her neck, where Marcellus fastened it. Though it pained Marcellus to see the woman he loved wear such a symbol of oppression, he had no choice. It would not be wise to let her walk about without the symbol of her servitude. In the end, the couple descended from the staircase and prepared the day's breakfast.

Marcellus had much work to do now that the time to plant the fall's harvest was nearing. If he wanted to introduce these new agricultural advancements, then he had little time to do it. Thus, while he was sharing a meal with his beloved, his mind was focused on more important things. With a heavy sigh, he expressed the thoughts that dwelled within his mind.

"It appears things are going to become interesting real soon..."


next chapter

Chapter 36: Sudden Changes

Within Marcellus' residence, a group of people were gathered. Officers from the limitanei as well as civil officials had all come to the villa at Castra Regina to hear the Dux's decree. Rather than attend to the needs of the people one at a time, Marcellus had gone out of his way to gather his competent subordinates to put his many plans into action.

With the Gothic occupation of Noricum, thousands of Roman citizens had fled into the neighboring provinces such as Raetia. To put it simply, Castra Regina did not have the means to accommodate those who ended up in Marcellus' territory. Despite this, the young General refused to turn them away and instead accepted them with open arms.

His reasoning for doing so was simple. The more young men that lived in his territory, the more laborers he would have. Not only that, but these men could be drafted into his army to replace those who had deserted. It was because of this that Marcellus made a shocking decree to everyone who was gathered before him.

"By right, as the Dux of Castra Regina I, Titus Cladius Marcellus hereby announce the forced conscription of all young men between the ages of sixteen and twenty into the limitanei, to serve the glory of Rome until a time when the threat posed by the goths has passed."

Such a command was met with shock by those who were gathered. However, Marcellus did not care in the slightest. It was necessary to raise his forces if he were to defend the region from the overwhelming numbers of Goths who lie at his borders. The men who were standing by Marcellus' side immediately broke out into a dispute on whether or not this was a good idea.

"How will we plow the fields, with so many young men fighting on the front lines?"

"This is outrageous. My boys are not fighters. They will not survive a single battle!"

However, Marcellus did not care about their complaints. In this territory, he held absolute authority. It was the nature of frontier outposts, that the commanding officer was practically a feudal lord. Thus, he immediately raised his voice and cut off the complaints with an authoritative shout.

"Order, I will have an order in my villa! As with the existing limitanei, these youths will be serving part time, and will still carry out their duties tending to the fields. This is not a request, but a demand. If we do not fill our ranks with as many soldiers as we can, then we will be swept aside by the gothic tide! For those of you who resist, I will have you serve by the side of your children!"

Upon hearing the severity of the situation, the old men who were gathered remained silent. Who would dare risk angering the Dux when presented with such a threat? These old men could barely hold a sword, let alone fight a barbarian warrior. With everyone in agreement Marcellus moved onto the next point of his agenda.

"As you may know, there is a current food crisis in the village. Thanks in part to corruption of the previous administration. I have found records indicating that my predecessor was conspiring with the corrupt merchant once known as Betto to hold a monopoly over the village's grain supply and. There are plenty of merchants who would be willing to fill the gap for an acceptable price. Thus, I intend to pay with my own funds for enough grain to feed the village for the upcoming winter.

However, such a thing is a short-term solution, and it is because of that I plan to introduce new agricultural methods that come from the heartland of our Empire. Recently developed technology has shown an increase in crop yields. Thus I intend to implement the following in our fields starting now. The three-field system, the horse yoke, and the heavy plow."

The reality was that Marcellus had devised this technology from his dreams, but he couldn't very well convince those beneath his command to implement the technology. Thus, he lied and said the technology originated from the heartland of the Empire, which everyone knew was better off than the frontier.

After saying this, Marcellus spent nearly half an hour going into great detail about how the new agricultural methods would work, and instructed those responsible for looking after the fields to begin their implementation immediately.

Those who had some knowledge of agriculture understood that the plan was feasible and would yield more crops. If such a thing were the case, then they would gladly spread news of this system so that the fall harvest could be plentiful.

However, as with any major change in society, there were those who disagreed. Ordius merely watched and sighed as he saw the discontent that was sown among the leaders of Castra Regina. He decided to take a stand after listening to a few of the village heads scold Marcellus for his boisterous claims.

"The Dux has made his decree. Everyone here knows the price that must be paid for disobedience, and yet you still dare to question his orders. If you remain defiant, I will have no choice but to have you arrested and beheaded!"

With such a threat from the officer directly beneath Marcellus' command, the various heads of the village calmed their internal fury and remained silent. Upon seeing that order was restored, Marcellus nodded his head in approval of Ordius' actions before giving out thorough instructions to the villagers.

"With these agricultural innovations, we should have enough to feed our people, including the refugees, as well as our livestock. Those of you who doubted my command to slay the corrupt merchant Betto will see for yourselves how capable I am.

Here in Castra Regina, my authority is absolute, and any of you who seek to impede my progress shall be met with the cold steel of my blade. I am the Dux, and you are beneath me. It is your job to fulfill my orders, whether you agree with them or not! If that is all, then you are dismissed. I have much work to do, and little time to do it!"

Having said this, the various heads of the village left the villa while grumbling their complaints. As for Marcellus, he was working on signing the decree into law. Ordius saw the exhausted expression on the man's face and complimented him for his efforts.

"Our previous Dux has done little in the way of improving the village. You have my thanks for all the hard work you have done..."

Marcellus merely sighed as he heard these words before revealing his mindset.

"The Emperor has tasked me to protect Castra Regina and the surrounding regions from the many threats which seek to destroy the Empire. While I do not know how long I will be here, I will do everything in my power to fulfill the task that I have been given. I am not the kind of man to sit back and allow the enemy to grow in number while my soldiers starve!"

Ordius nodded his head in approval of the general's words. In the past, when the two had served together, Marcellus was always a strict but efficient leader. It was because of this that Ordius' multiple infractions were cracked down upon and he was dismissed from his position as a member of the Palatini.

If not for Marcellus, then Ordius likely would still be a penniless drunk. The punishment for his sins was enough to snap him back to reality and force him to improve himself. For this, he was thankful. He knew with Marcellus at the helm Castra Regina was far more likely to succeed in its goals than it would be under anyone else's command. However, there was still a question on the man's mind and he could not help but ask.

"So, when do you think you will be given your old position?"

Marcellus merely scoffed in response to this question as he signed away his signature on another important document. After doing so, he gave the man a bit of insight towards the character of the current emperor.

"Honorius is a lazy, petty, hedonistic, and spiteful fool. It's amazing the Empire is even still standing at this point. He will never give me back my position now that he has me right where he wants me. I am likely to preside over this region until my death. Such is the punishment for shining too brightly."

Ordius had heard rumors about the Emperor's behavior, but outside of Ravenna there were still many subjects who believed that the Emperor was doing everything he could for the betterment of the people. To hear such an estimation of the man's character from someone like Marcellus destroyed what little sense of morale Ordius had left within his heart. However, Marcellus' next words inspired the man to act better in the future.

"It is because our Emperor is so pathetically incompetent that we as Romans must shed our blood, sweat, and tears to ensure that the civilization that our Ancestors have built remains standing in a world gone mad. Every man must do his part for the betterment of Rome, myself included.

Thus, no matter how exhausted I may be, as long as I remain breathing, I will give everything I have to ensure that Castra Regina does not fall, and that the people beneath my rule are treated fairly. They can complain all they want, but ultimately, conscription is necessary. After all, our very survival is at stake.

So Commander Ordius, I am tasking you with taking these blueprints to the local blacksmith. Place an order on my behalf, with the funds I will provide you with. I need enough horse yokes and heavy plows to replace our current methods."

Ordius nodded his head. There was a look of pride in his eyes as he responded in affirmation of his orders.

"Yes, Sir!"

Having said these, Ordius received a bag of silver coins to be used as payment for the horse yokes, and a letter that was written by Marcellus personally to be given to the blacksmith in question. Afterward, the man marched out of the villa and into the village below to place the order.

As for Marcellus, he sat back in his chair and rested his weary head on the palm of his hands. If there was one good thing about this pitiful assignment, it was the fact that he and Sigefrida had grown closer because of it. Though how long these peaceful days could last, he did not know.


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