Agriculture is of the utmost importance; I can be without money, but I must not be without food.
In Westeros right now, food production still relies on manpower, animal power, and farm tools, and the issue of ironware has already been solved.
The Long Summer has not yet ended, and now is the perfect time to stockpile grain.
When Roman returned to Harrenhal, Lady Helaena of House Hoare was already waiting outside the castle.
The moment she saw Roman, Lady Helaena of House Hoare embraced him.
"My Lady, your health has improved; you are stronger when holding me than before."
"I think you've just been exhausted lately. Come back to the Great Hall quickly; I've prepared a feast for you all!"
Lady Helaena of House Hoare's feast was prepared for everyone, and the Great Hall of Harrenhal was rarely this lively.
The Burning King Tower was once again ignited by Roman's White Flame, but this time it brought not the destruction of the Black Dread, but a gentle rebirth.
The milky-white stone bricks swept away the gloom of the past, and the fuel in the torches, ignited by dragonflame, emitted a bright and steady light.
The lord and his subjects gathered together once again, toasting each other, tasting delicacies, and chatting.
Of course, they talked most about the changes taking place in the territory.
Whether life has improved, this group of people knows best.
Lady Helaena of House Hoare watched the gathering before her with a smile, her joy evident on her face.
"Child, you have done very well during this time. The Servants are all reporting to me about the changes in their hometowns; you already have the bearing of a leader."
Roman took a sip of low-alcohol wine and shook his head: "My Lady, there is still much I need to do. Harrenhal will be even better in the future."
The two then talked about recent events, and Roman learned from Lady Helaena of House Hoare about the feelings of the people of Harrenhal.
As the banquet drew to a close, Roman and Lady Helaena of House Hoare left first, as they needed to discuss the upcoming plans.
"My Lady, I have noticed that the agricultural tax currently collected from the commoners is four-tenths; I think it is too high and can be reduced to two-tenths."
As soon as these words were spoken, Scholar Tom, who was following them, couldn't help but interject:
"My Lord, isn't reducing the agricultural tax by half too radical? Our fixed expenses are not small!"
Roman waved his hand, interrupting Scholar Tom: "Scholar, I understand your concern. This is how I see it: now that we have blast furnaces, our speed of producing ironware has greatly increased, and we can fully afford to craft more farm tools."
"The farming efficiency of the peasants will rise to a new level, and the grain produced will definitely be enough."
At the same time, Roman took out the recently summarized Harrenhal industry report.
"We control salt, iron, water sources, and timber resources. Even if we only collect a two-tenths agricultural tax, we can still make up for it in other areas."
Seeing that Lady Helaena of House Hoare and Scholar Tom were still unconvinced, Roman added:
"I am not going to announce the tax reduction information immediately. Let's observe when the second crop of grain is harvested; it won't be too late to make a decision then."
The two then nodded in agreement, and afterward, Roman discussed the development of local industries in Harrenhal.
In summary, it means the Hean Family will provide funding to help upgrade the existing agricultural, pastoral, forestry, fruit, and fishery industries within the territory, while simultaneously developing industry and handicrafts.
"Let's take it one step at a time; our primary task is still to ensure the people are fed."
In the fields outside Harrenhal, many peasants who had farmed their whole lives received iron plows from the lord for the first time.
At first, the peasants were so scared they didn't dare to use them; they feared this was a pretext for the lord to collect taxes and that they would be taxed more after using them.
It wasn't until Roman personally took people to each village to announce the policy that the peasants felt at ease.
During this period, the second blast furnace was also completed. With the experience from the last time, the time taken to build the blast furnace this time was cut in half.
Moreover, Roman had people add an airflow heating channel and a blast furnace next to the blast furnace.
When this blast furnace blows air, it heats the air, so that when the air enters the furnace, it won't affect the reaction efficiency due to a drop in temperature.
The blast furnace was built based on the principle of steelmaking in brick furnaces, decarburizing molten iron by blowing air into it.
This new furnace would take some time to be put into use, as it currently relies entirely on the blacksmiths' experience to judge how much air to blow in.
But Roman gave plenty of time; speed could be put aside, but it had to be stable.
Roman had plenty of time, and most of the current output was used to produce farm tools.
With higher iron production, the price of the iron plows distributed to each farmer was low, and Roman didn't intend to make them pay a high price for them either.
He issued long-term, low-interest loans to the peasants; they could use the iron plows first and pay him back after they grew the grain.
Many peasants hugged their brand-new iron plows and knelt on the ground, weeping, applying the religious rites of praising the Seven to Roman.
Agriculture in Westeros is not too backward; as can be seen from the sigil of the Darry Family, at least in terms of farm tools, Westeros is not bad.
But the problem lies in the shortage of iron production and the stinginess and exploitation of the lords, unless you are like the peasants in The Reach, who have fertile land to farm and can tolerate higher taxes.
The common people in other regions really suffer greatly.
After a battle, one doesn't know if the nobles will die, but the peasants and small commoners will definitely be strewn across the fields.
It is only because magic exists in Westeros; otherwise, Roman really couldn't imagine how these nobles, who treat their commoners so poorly, combined with the Long Winter, could have passed down their lineage for thousands of years.
Besides doing serious business, Roman also paid a group of Minstrels to compile his policies and the changes in these villages into songs.
Roman didn't just want the people of Harrenhal to know his plans; he also wanted to use the non-noble influence of the Minstrels to announce his territorial plans to the nearby populace.
He needed people too much; with even a slight technological innovation, a large number of supporting industries are needed.
For example, behind the blast furnace, there is a demand for mining, coke workers, blacksmiths, and carpenters.
Harrenhal is currently severely lacking in people.
Just as Roman was deep in thought, the peasants in the distance were already happily galloping back and forth in the fields with their iron plows.
Laughter, exclamations, praises... all kinds of sounds filled the heads of everyone present.
"My Lord, since the iron plows were distributed, the production speed of the nearby peasants has greatly increased! According to this trend, your tax reduction plan might really be feasible!"
Listening to Scholar Tom's excited remarks, Roman just told him to calm down.
"Scholar, there is no major problem with the iron plows. Next, we can have the blacksmiths develop other farm tools, and our militia plan must also be put on the agenda."
Regarding possible future wars, Roman's plan is to build two sets of forces: militia and standing army.
The peasants receive guidance and training during the off-season, while Harrenhal relies on taxes and grounds to train full-time troops.
The establishment of a militia can allow the common people to have a certain degree of self-defense capability during wartime, and at the same time, they will also be very good reserve soldiers.
Some of the initial training costs can be left to the common people themselves.
In several wealthy towns and villages, Roman has already had Old Jessy organize instructors to go and urge the villagers to train.
The main practice content is archery, battle formations, castle defense, and scouting.
Once these towns and villages have summarized their experience, and the living standards of the people in other regions gradually improve, the plan will be fully rolled out.