The Necromance of Love and Death: Defeated Early in the Game, I Reincarnated as a Tragic Villainous Noble and Rebel Against the Scenario with My Beloved Using My Modern and Game Knowledge - Chapter 31

Suddenly, but importantly, there is an area within the Balbastor territory known as the “Special Zone.” It serves as a testing ground for new policies. Here, I was conducting a certain experiment.

That experiment was something known in my previous life as the Norfolk crop rotation method.

The Norfolk farming method follows a four-year cycle, rotating wheat, turnips, barley, and clover. Wheat and barley are used as food, while turnips and clover serve as livestock feed.

Though I was skeptical, this method was supposed to increase overall grain production while also providing an ample supply of feed. This would eliminate the need to cull livestock during winter, resulting in more meat production. Additionally, with more livestock, there would be an increase in manure, which would further improve crop yields—creating a positive feedback loop.

Balbastor territory lies in the northern part of the kingdom, where crops do not grow well.

Due to the vastness of the land, acquiring crops is relatively stable, but bad harvests still occur.

In the challenging environment of the northern lands, various agricultural experiments were already being conducted to improve yields.

One thing that became clear was that continuously growing the same crop in the same location posed a risk.

There were some exceptions, but my knowledge from my previous life supported this conclusion.

Currently, different crop combinations were being tested in rotation across my territory.

So, I decided to implement the Norfolk crop rotation method from my past life.

However, it was too risky to apply it to the entire territory all at once. That’s where the Special Zone came in.

By testing it in a village within the Special Zone, any failures would be contained within a limited area.

Thus, the Special Zone suddenly found itself being used for an experiment with Norfolk farming.

Surprisingly, my advisors did not object. However, they didn’t seem particularly hopeful either.

Well, even I wasn’t completely convinced, so I couldn’t blame them.

My chief aide, Daniel, seemed to treat it as a child’s whimsical idea, permitting it as a learning experience. He likely expected that, even if it failed, it would serve as an educational lesson.

Moreover, even though crop yields in the Balbastor territory weren’t high, the overall supply was still considerable. A failure in my experimental Special Zone wouldn’t cause much harm.

Since the results would take four years to become clear, I planned to continue the experiment until then.

At the same time, I had another project in mind for the Special Zone.

That was the development of muskets and cannons.

In this world, gunpowder had already been invented, and explosives existed, but firearms had yet to be developed.

For long-range attacks, people relied on bows, crossbows, and magic. While bows and crossbows were accessible, magic required a special Gift to use.

Bows and crossbows were effective, but I wanted the sheer destructive power of firearms.

For large-scale siege warfare, ballistae and catapults were the main options. But I wanted to introduce cannons to the arsenal.

In the game, Balbastor’s frontier territory quickly fell due to Clovis’s betrayal. However, in reality, this land bordered the demon realm, making it the first line of defense in what was sure to be a brutal war against the demon army. Expanding military capabilities was an urgent priority.

“Maybe I should build more fortresses… But if I do that, I won’t have enough soldiers to defend the city… Hmm…”

A fortress without soldiers to man it was meaningless.

“But if I increase the number of soldiers too much, it’ll strain the economy… This is tough… There must be a better way…”

As I racked my brain at my desk, I searched my past-life memories for a solution. That’s when I came across the concept of conscription.

“Hmm… Forcing young men to serve in the military for a set period, huh?”

It was certainly better to train recruits during peacetime rather than trying to train complete novices during an actual war.

“If it’s only for a limited period, it should also minimize economic strain…”

Various military strategies from my past life began flooding my mind—tactics like matchlock muskets’ three-line volley fire and encirclement-and-annihilation formations were potentially feasible even now. On the other hand, concepts like tanks and fighter jets were far beyond my reach at the moment.

Did people in my previous world just love war?

“I won’t ask for something as extravagant as a tank. But if I could get a vehicle… maybe something like a truck, it would be incredibly helpful.”

With trucks, transportation of supplies and personnel would undergo a revolutionary change.

“Hmm… There’s also something called an electric car…”

However, I had no idea how to build one from scratch. My knowledge was always frustratingly incomplete at critical moments.

But I did remember how electric motors and battery-powered toy cars worked.

“If I adapt this knowledge, I might be able to create an electric car! We don’t have batteries, but what if we use mages with lightning magic instead? …This could work! I’ll have the engineers in the Special Zone start working on it immediately!”

I grabbed my pen and began sketching the blueprint for an electric vehicle.

Seven years remained until the war against the demons began. I had to prepare as much as possible before then!

For the sake of survival, I refused to hold back!