The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 885 Wisdom from the Enchanting Ancestor!

"Are you short of large livestock?" Roland was taken aback, then realized that what they lacked here were real livestock, not "oxen and horses" like Yunfeng. Of course, if there were qualified "oxen and horses" like Yunfeng, the more the better! As the boss, Roland did not object to his subordinates voluntarily becoming "oxen and horses".

“Yes! This place is not like Swiftstream City. There are no caravans visiting here at all, but the population is indeed growing larger and larger! There is a serious shortage of animal power!” Adolf Heinrich said with a frown.

Although Roland had long ago developed a more advanced curved plow and implemented a simplified version of intensive farming, due to various issues such as grain varieties, even with the composting techniques personally taught by Roland, the grain yield in the north still fell short of the standard per-mu yield in ancient China. In the Central Plains, a yield of 100 jin per mu was considered normal! Vast tracts of land lay fallow, leading everyone to focus solely on increasing the quantity of land cultivated, without considering quality at all! Correspondingly, the reclamation and cultivation of these vast tracts of wasteland placed an alarmingly high demand for animal power!
Why were farmers struggling financially? Because they needed to raise draft horses for plowing! Horses aren't like oxen, easily appeased! A few baskets of grass won't do! A proper warhorse can't just eat grass! It needs a constant supply of staple grains like beans and oats, and in times of need, an egg for extra nutrition! While draft horses aren't as precious as warhorses, they still require careful attention! First, you need a proper stable, then you need to provide them with coarse grains, and during heavy labor, eggs are necessary to bolster their strength! Most importantly, you need to wipe their sweat after work! Otherwise, a horse covered in sweat is prone to illness! For farmers in the era of small-scale farming, oxen and horses were meticulously cared for… The real oxen and horses: went out before dawn and returned before dusk!

What? You're saying that since draft horses are so bad and have so many drawbacks, why don't these people raise cattle? Good question! You've hit the nail on the head! That's because the West hasn't developed the technology of using oxen for draft for thousands of years! What kind of oxen do they use? They're selected from the herds of nomadic peoples, choosing those with gentle temperaments—not many, but certainly rare! For a long time, the West primarily relied on horse-drawn plows! This is also reflected in Middle-earth! You see, the prototype of Middle-earth—the Shire horse of the Tartars in continental Europe—was a heavy draft horse!

As for why they couldn't unlock the oxen technology tree and instead embarked on the irreversible path of draft horses (at least for agriculture!), please watch the video!

The unfortunate Europeans simply couldn't tame the temperamental grassland cattle! They could only select a small number of docile ones for plowing, while the majority were used as beef cattle! But in China, cattle were treated like treasures! Naturally, it was Roland's fascinating ancestor who successfully broke through the limitations of cattle technology, and with the help of animal power, China routinely swept across the earth, reclaiming its rightful place!
"Where are the oxen? Don't the dwarves have oxen? Let's bring them over to use as draft animals!" Roland said seriously, after all, it would be foolish not to use resources that are clearly at hand!
"Bulls? Forgive my bluntness, but those animals are less practical than draft horses!" Adolf Heinrich said, somewhat traumatized. After all, as one of the kingdom's consuls, he needed to consider all aspects. Adolf Heinrich, who had personally gone to investigate, had been kicked away by a bison!

"..." After thinking about it carefully, Roland realized that the background of Middle-earth was similar to the matching mechanism of Europe. Instantly, Roland understood what Adolf Heinrich meant. It turned out that the agricultural technology tree of the Lagrange Kingdom had also gone astray in the use of animal power.
"Try to collect the bison before spring planting! The people are waiting for their livestock to be brought to the fields!" Roland said solemnly to Adolf Heinrich, glancing at the snowflakes outside. All of this needed to be prepared before spring planting, otherwise it would affect the development of the kingdom.

"Bison? The kind that dwarves raise?" Adolf Heinrich's eyelids twitched, and he couldn't help but applaud Roland's whimsical idea.

"Forgive my bluntness, Your Majesty, but those bison that can tame the land are extremely rare. Perhaps you should try to get some draft horses?" As the population of Lagrange City increased, Adolf Heinrich also felt the pressure. If there were problems with spring planting, it would be another tough year. After all, the speed of land reclamation by one person without large livestock is limited, and coupled with efficiency issues, a strong animal is still needed!

"Don't worry, I have a plan!" Roland patted his chest and gave a meaningful smile.

"...No, Your Majesty, are you bored?" Fenglin Youlan stepped forward and spoke first. Roland's disheveled appearance made Fenglin Youlan frown.

"Hooray! I've succeeded!" Roland exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Adolf Heinrich's arm.

"Just... an iron ring?" Adolf Heinrich looked completely bewildered. It has to be said that Adolf Heinrich was quite talented in playing the straight man!

"Of course! This is called a bull's nose ring!" Roland said proudly. How could a country bumpkin like him possibly witness the grandeur of the Han and Tang dynasties? As a farming technique that has been passed down in China for so long, Roland naturally remembered it clearly!
Because of their temperamental nature and large size, cattle are difficult to control, so naturally, people eventually chose to use draft horses! But adding a nose ring changes everything; once a nose ring is put on, the cattle are basically tamed!
“But wearing that bull's nose like that… isn't that kind of ring a bit inappropriate? Ordinary people probably couldn't tame it!” Adolf Heinrich and Maple Forest Orchid exchanged a glance and murmured. After all, Roland was able to subdue the ordinary bull so easily because of his status as a professional, but most commoners walked the earth as novices; they didn't have dragons or immense dragon power as their backing! Although Roland proved through his performance that bulls could be successfully tamed, it didn't mean everyone was Roland!
"Idiot! Just pour him a bottle of wine first! Get him drunk and then put the bull's nose ring on him, right?" Roland looked speechless.

"Get it done as soon as possible! I hope to see them soon!" Roland urged again.

"Oh! Dragon God above, great King Roland! I salute you! This is simply incredible! This is the embodiment of the Dragon God's wisdom! It is a gift bestowed upon us by the Dragon God!" Charlie Pros looked at Roland with the demeanor of a fanatical believer, and Roland felt a prickle of irritation from his gaze!

Is this guy going to start "brainwashing" everyone again? Just as Charlie Prosper was about to raise his hand and open his mouth again, Roland decisively reached out and covered his mouth!

"..." Adolf Heinrich and the others glanced over, then quickly looked away, figuring it was better for everyone to keep Charlie Prosper quiet...

……

"Rest assured, Your Majesty! I will do my utmost to provide the citizens with suitable bison for labor!" Adolf Heinrich assured them. The benefits of oxen were obvious to everyone, and the future looked bright!
"Well, you can handle putting nose rings on the oxen yourself. Once they're given some wine, they won't cause much trouble!" Roland waved his hand. Actually, he had quite a few Shire horses in his system space; enough to supply the kingdom. However, horses weren't as cost-effective as oxen, especially since these were already qualified, high-quality warhorses! In the end, Roland suppressed the idea.
Please consider giving me a tip or monthly pass! Thank you, everyone!