บท 27: Labourers

It was 9 am, 25th May in the year 1430.

Several mud houses that used reed roofing could be seen scattered here and there.

There was high humidity in the air, it was cloudy and the sunshine had not yet appeared even if it was early in the morning because the thick clouds seemed to have impeded the sun from shining upon the earth.

In one of the shades that was merely made of reeds roofing and several logs at its edges which held this roof, king Virtya could be seen standing under this shade. The area was heavily guarded as many knights could be seen moving around, up and down with their weapons in their hands.

But why was Virtya here?

Apparently, Virtya had been in Brovon district for two days now. He was overseeing the progress of what was happening here in Chanya.

After all, due to the limited labour, Virtya was forced to use the slaves and the prisoners to plough this enormous land. He didn't have a powerful machine like the tractor to do the prepare the field very fast and easier, no. Virtya was relying heavily on the ox drawn plough and the cheap labor from the slaves and the prisoners that he had just taken from the dungeons around Azuhai kingdom.

"What do you think about this Alexandre... Am I doing things correctly? I feel guilty about engaging myself in slave trade. It's like I am supporting it because I am benefiting from it. What is the difference between me and my late father King Markov?" Virtya asked Alexandre seriously. One should know that Virtya had not yet banned slave trade in his kingdom even if he hated it. This was because now it was not the right time to stop the slave trade. He didn't have the full support of the denizens and with opposition everywhere, stopping slave trade now, would basically escalate the end of Virtya's reign of which he was trying to avoid so that he could remain in power and his projects could continue on.

"Don't feel guilty. These slaves should thank you for taking them because you are treating them fairly by giving them food, shelter and a promised redemption. If they were taken to other places like in those underground basements in Polkok district, then those cannibals would have already made a soup out of them, not to mention other vile things like being used like a thing of no value and fighting with beasts.

"I just hope that one day I will stop the slave trade in Azuhai and maybe in the whole of this world." Virtya said with a laid-back voice before he gulped down the wine in his cup.

The prisoners working were still chained up in groups of five but the slaves working on the farm were let free although the backs of each slave was painted with different numbers to mark them.

Several slave caravans were still coming to Chanya thus, it would require Virtya to build more mud houses where these slaves were going to stay as they worked on the farms. Virtya didn't care if the slaves who came here were criminals or not, all were to work if they wanted to eat and continue living.

There could be seen that there were knights who were walking in the muddy farm while supervising the work of the slaves.

The knights had whips while some were riding on their horses but they were also carrying whips in their hands. If any slave or prisoner slacked on their work, they would be whipped and forced back to work. The slaves who were not able to continue with the work were allowed to have a little brake before they got back to work. However, it could be seen that Virtya didn't allow people aged below 16 to do this hard labor. Only those above the age of 16 were the ones who were working on this farm.

A scrawny man who had disguised himself as a slave came from Litkesh kingdom and he was among the spies sent to Brovon district to record what Virtya had been doing. After all, without knowing, the invention of the plough had spooked many and they were restless because they knew that there was a brain behind the design of the plough and everyone wanted to have this person to themselves.

The plough that was being drawn by four bulls broke the hard ground into furrows while the scrawny man was pressing down its handle to add the effort needed.

The scrawny man was sweating profusely even if the air was chilly. He panted heavily but he didn't dare to show weakness after he took a glance at who was following behind him which was a knight who was carring a whip in his hand, even if the helmet was covering the knight's face, the scrawny man could still feel the coldness that was emanating behind that helmet. He couldn't help but tremble.

"Fuck king Virtya! We will die if this continues. My thin muscles can't hold on anymore... But I was just enjoying my life in Litkesh, how did I end up in this place?" The scrawny man complained in a voice that was barely audible, but there was no one closer to him to hear what he was talking about.

On this farm, it was not just the ploughs that were working, there were also specially designed carriages that had a cargo hold and thick undulating wheels. These carriages were carring putrid waste in them and one would see them splashing the putrid matter on the farm as they drive on, of course, these carriages were being pulled forward by the bulls.

On this land, Virtya was mainly planting barley because this crop was quite adaptable, it matured quickly and it was easy to harvest.

Actually, Virtya had wanted to plant corn but there was no reliable rainfall to support the growth of corn in Chanya and if Virtya truly wanted to grow corn, he would need to upgrade Chanya farm by building canals and a dam to always provide water.

Other than barley, Virtya planned to plant a small part of Chanya with sisal. He wanted 80% of Chanya to be occupied with barley while the remaining to be left for sisal growth.

Virtya was serious about Chanya because he couldn't rely on the unreliable denizens of Azuhai who couldn't believe in what he told them thus , he could only do this himself. Furthermore, the people of Azuhai were not used to large scale farming. They only planted a little that would be fit for their families but Virtya wanted to plant enough food for commercial purposes. He not only wanted to feed his kingdom but also the neighbouring kingdoms.

Agriculture was business and Virtya didn't want to lose money when there was land that could bring in income.

One should know that Chanya was not small, it took 30% of landmass in Brovon district and it continues further towards Weskesh province. (A province that neighboured Whiddiff city.) It was located in the remote area of Brovon district that bordered Weskesh. Having a landmass of about 100,000 hectares, ploughing the whole of Chanya would need several months of work with countless labourers of which Virtya had accepted to finance this project heavily to ensure it came to fruition.

Actually, it was tallied that it would require 400, 000 gold coins from planting to harvesting barley from Chanya. This amount was almost close to what the finance ministry collected as monthly revenue but Virtya could only afford this amount because of the continued income from his sale of the farming tools to the farmers.

"Your majesty. A message has been sent to you. Gigi(The leader of the royal messengers) said that it's urgent." A youthful messenger bowed as she handed two sealed envelopes to Virtya.

"What could be urgent at this time?" Virtya was confused. He hasn't instigated any fight with the neighbouring kingdoms then, what was it that was written on the letter?

Slowly, Virtya opened one of the envelope and read what was written on it and he could not help but laugh at this ridiculous order.