Crop rotation

It began as a whispering in the air. The sky was tar-black and the large clouds were moving towards the plaza we were currently situated, along with the peasants Nathan had grouped for me.

Soon the first drops of rain welcomed the start of autumn, bringing with it the blessing of life to the dismay of the peasants, knowing that winter was closing in on them.

With little to no protection against the extreme cold weather that was in store for them each year, the peasants usually tried their best to scavenge for any edibles they could find, aiding them to survive the winter as much as possible.

Having gathered them all here, I wasn't about to lose this chance just because some sporadic rain decided to show its ugly head.

''My name is Ciaphas Curze, Lord of these lands and also your Lord'' I shouted at the top of my lungs. If there was any chance of restoring the chaos this rain brought, it was now and I was not about to miss it.

''My esteemed father and Lord, Julius Curze, appointed me as your new ruler, the new Baron of this village and lands.'' Waiting for a bit, allowing the peasants to comprehend what was happening, I decided to unmount my horse.

The rain had stopped by now, barely turning the ground into slippery mud, returning order amongst the villagers, so I guess it was safe to talk to them with a bit more familiarity, in an attempt to soothe their worries.

''I tasked my trusted butler and friend Nathan,'' I continued, ''with reports regarding our barony's assets and strengths, and it became painfully obvious to me that your situation was at best a disgrace.''

disgruntled huffs and puffs were heard, followed by some whimpering voices of retort, before Nathan's cough brought them back to order.

''Having an awakened warrior as a butler sure has its upsides,'' I mused before deciding to get to the point. Bullying those poor souls was not my cup of tea.

''You, what's your name,'' I asked after pointing to a man that was kneeling on the muddy ground, scared to lift his head, fearing to offend me.

''My name is Gregar, sir'' he whimpered, tears flowing from his eyes.

''Looks like nobles are truly feared after all,'' I thought before returning my attention to Gregar.

''from now on, Gregar, you will stand as the head farmer. You will be responsible for all the other farmers here and make sure they are doing as they are told. I will teach you a new method of farming, and I want you to implement it on all of our farms here, Understood?'' I dictated, not allowing room for negotiation.

Observing Gregar for a good minute, not daring to utter even a whimper,

I breathed a sigh of relief. I feared a rebellion or a retort, some response that would challenge my authority or something similar.

Glad that nothing of the sort happened during my orders, I started explaining to him the crop rotation technique.

''The technique I will impart to you is called crop rotation. Listen carefully, because I don't like repeating myself,'' I said using a stern voice, trying to make him take seriously what I had to share.

''The way crop rotations works are quite simple, even for you. Different crops are planted on the same field in alternating years. For instance, one year, you will plant wheat and the next year you will decide to plant rye or barley. Yes, you heard right, Barley. These two crops use different nutrients, the nutrients used by one crop, let's say wheat, will be absorbed while that crop is growing. Those nutrients are used up when the wheat finishes maturing. The next year, you will grow barley in that field, because barley use up different nutrients in the soil. Because those nutrients were not used up in that field the previous year, the field is primed for the barley.

Waiting for Gregar to understand what I had just told him, and of course, catch a breather myself, I continued addressing the problem regarding fertilizer.

For them, the concept of placing dung on their crops was unheard of, resorting to cropping sacrifice to solve their problems.

'' From now on, all of you will have the duty of putting the dungs of your animals outside. Every day, the farmers will come to pick them up and place them as fertilizer, on their crops.''

A look of disgust was visible on all the faces of the villagers, thinking I went mad.

''You want us to put shit on our food?'' a villager sneered, followed by similar remarks and questions from almost all the villagers.

Believing I was crazy or something, they tried to play it off as a joke before I was forced to maintain order, requesting Nathan to whip the villager who started all this charade. Watching their villager flogged quickly turned them obedient.

''Do as I say and your taxes will be lowered,'' I finally said, mad at myself for losing my cool and whipping that poor man. Being a ruler wasn't an easy affair and maintaining order was a must, I consoled myself before the panicked screaming of a hunter reached my ears.

''MONSTERS, THEY ARE MONSTERS''