Lorist took Reddy, Tagle and others to inspect Fengleyuan, inspected the construction of various defensive facilities in the settlement villages and central towns in each district, and returned to the black iron smelting in the Blade's Edge Mountains. It was already the end of July.
In more than two months, the valley here has undergone many changes. First of all, Master Falin has moved his crossbow making workshop to the vicinity of the valley, and is currently testing a row of real objects made according to Lorist's crossbow design on the hillside. From time to time, I mutter together with Mr. Julien beside me...
Secondly, there is an additional row of hydraulic forging machines under the mountain wall waterfall, ranging from large to small, simple in structure and complex in structure. It seems that these hydraulic machines should be modified by themselves later.
Master Falin and Master Julien were very happy when Lorist passed by.
Master Falin ran over to report: "My lord, the elastic steel sheet you want has been produced. We have produced a series of crossbows, tested the steel sheet, and finalized it..."
On the other hand, master Julien kept his mouth open and kept laughing happily.
"That's right, I'm very satisfied. Reddy, I will reward Master Falin and Mr. Julien with one hundred gold points, and the rest of the meritorious personnel will be rewarded with ten gold points." Lorist has never been stingy with these technical talents.
"Thank you, my lord, but look, my lord, this is a real object made according to your crossbow design draft. During the test, we also found two problems..." Master Falin said.
The crossbow designed by Lorist is not entirely made of steel, except that the arm is made of steel, the eccentric wheel and the upper chord structure are all made of steel, and the rest are made of wood.
"Oh, what's the question?" Lorist asked.
"My lord, use elastic steel sheets to make the crossbow arm, so that the direct shooting distance of the crossbow arrow can reach more than 320 meters to more than 350 meters, and the error is within two meters. During the test, we found that using the usual wood The rod crossbow is a little erratic and the center of gravity is unstable, which is the biggest cause of aiming errors. So we made some iron crossbows. Although the direct shooting distance has been reduced to between 280 meters and 300 meters, the aiming and shooting The error of the target is no more than half a meter. It’s just that the cost of iron crossbows is twice as much as that of wooden crossbows, so which kind of crossbow should be used for this kind of steel crossbow has to be determined by adults.” Master Falin said.
"Which crossbow is more powerful?" Lorist asked.
"Of course it's an iron crossbow." Master Falin replied.
"Then use iron crossbow bolts all the time, and set up a crossbow bolt processing factory, just because Mr. Lian is the supervisor." Lorist made the final decision.
"The second problem is that the consumption of the bow strings of this steel crossbow is astonishing. In the past, the crossbow could shoot more than 20 arrows before needing to replace the bowstring. However, because this kind of crossbow uses steel sheets as the arm, After firing the arrows, the amplitude of the steel crossbow arm is very strong, causing great damage to the bowstring. After firing seven or eight arrows, the bowstring needs to be replaced. But now we and Mr. Julien are preparing to use the method of adding beef tendon and hair to the steel wire. Weave a new bowstring, and it will be finalized after a while." Master Falin reported the second question.
"Very well, Master Falin, Master Julien, I am very relieved of your work. The new steel crossbow will be handed over to you. It will be finalized as soon as possible and enter mass production. It is now the end of July, before October, I hope With 3,000 steel crossbows, we will be more confident in dealing with the tide of monsters." Lorist nodded and said.
"My lord, we will not let you down." Master Falin replied.
Watching Master Falin continue to direct his apprentices to test the steel crossbow, Lorist looked around and asked Master Julien, "Why didn't Master Sid come?"
Master Julien pointed to the waterfall: "My lord, since you designed that hydraulic forging machine, Master Sid has been fascinated by machinery. You can see that he rebuilt them. He is currently designing a hydraulic forging machine. Wire drawing machine, ready to use hydraulic power to pull out steel wires for making body-fitting mail... "
Lorist laughed loudly: "That's right, Master Sid has a quick mind and can think of this. Reddy, don't forget to give Master Sid a reward of 100 Gold Ford, and each of his subordinates will also have ten..."
"Yes, my lord."
…
After being a money-spreading boy for a while, Lorist returned to Rock Castle very satisfied. After making out with Miss Teresty for a few days, Lorist finally remembered the business, got up from the nest of tenderness, and ordered Reddy to recruit Dolles from the chariot.
"My lord, why, we didn't make any mistakes? Why did we cut down our chariot team?" Dolles was stunned by this blow, his lips trembling with heartbreak. You must know that the formation of the chariot team took him a long time. Most of the effort.
No wonder Dolles reacted like this, because the order Lorist gave him was to hand over the twelve small crossbows to the guard battalion led by El, and select the remaining 300 crossbows of the battle team. The best batch was sealed up together with the white lion army's siege crossbows, but Lorist wanted to sell the rest of the siege crossbows.
In Dolles' mind, can the chariot team exist without those crossbows? The tearful Dolles was so sad that he was almost on the verge of crying.
But Lorist was about to be annoyed, what was Dolles thinking.
"Dolles, Dolles!" Lorist was angry.
"Ah, my lord, I'm..." Dolles looked at Lorist with a mournful face.
"After sealing up those crossbows and handing them over to Speer, he immediately recruited troops and expanded the chariot brigade into a regiment within three months. There are five brigades in total, each with five hundred crossbows. Thousands and five hundred people. Complete the preparations before October, and then receive the new steel crossbow. I have transferred more than a dozen family knights to serve in your chariot corps. All the equipment has been ordered and is waiting for you The payment has been signed. This winter's wave of monsters is coming, and your chariot corps will be the main force to deal with the monsters. Don't let me lose the chain at that time, do you understand?"
"My lord, you don't want to reduce our chariot fleet, but to expand it into a chariot corps?" Dolles was so happy that he couldn't find the north again.
"That's right, you bastard, did you understand what I said?" Lorist looked at Dolles helplessly.
"Listen, I understand, my lord, I'm going to do things now." Dolles ran out in a panic, and then stuck his head in again: "My lord, are there really so many new crossbow dials for us?" ?”
Lorist nodded: "Of course it's true, and the performance is much better than those old-fashioned crossbows of yours. Otherwise, I wouldn't let you seal up those crossbows."
"Oh yeah!" Dolles cheered and ran out happily.
"This idiot..." Lorist shook his head, and continued to look down at the summary of documents accumulated on the table over the past few months.
…
As of August, the family territory was still relatively calm, and good news continued. The potatoes sown in April harvested more than 170 million catties in July, which beneficially supplemented the consumption of the family’s food reserves. Next, there will be another batch of millet and millet sown in May that will be harvested in September. It will be a good harvest year. Even if the planted area is not large, it cannot completely offset the food consumption of more than half a million people, but it is good news that there will be a harvest.
In addition, the mopping up of the monsters left in Fengleyuan had ended at the end of June, and this time more than 100,000 monsters became the source of meat for the family territory. According to reports, boiled potatoes with Warcraft meat has become a favorite delicacy in Fengleyuan. However, there were still hundreds of family soldiers casualties in the process of mopping up the monsters. These soldiers died and were injured while hunting those carnivorous monsters. If it weren't for the large number of gold knights and silver knights in the family, the casualties would have increased.
However, Lorist believed that next year if Dolles' chariot corps were also involved in the raid on the monsters, the casualties of the family soldiers would be greatly reduced. After reading the report sent by Bodfinger, the current family armed forces, except Josk's archer's battalion and Miss Baisha's women's battalion, are broken up and scattered to various settlement villages and central towns in various districts to assist Build defensive structures such as plug walls and city walls...
As the director of the family's industrial and mining department, Papa Barek submitted the most reports and reported the most good news. First of all, the salt farms in the Blade's Edge Mountains have produced high-quality table salt in large quantities, which can not only fully supply the family's needs, but also become a key product for foreign trade. Secondly, the gum vine valley has also produced a large amount of ivy gum juice, but it is currently used for the construction of Fengleyuan's defense facilities. According to the development plan of the family territory, the supply of ivy gum juice will be in short supply for at least five years, and some may have to be imported from outside.
What satisfies Lorist most is that the people's daily necessities factory under Papa Barek's charge is booming. Currently, there are more than 50,000 people working in these processing factories. The largest is the animal skin paper processing plant, which has nearly 10,000 workers. Thanks to the harvest from the sweeping of monsters, the processing plant has produced 100,000 pieces of animal skin paper that meet the specifications in the past six months. According to statistics, by the end of the year, it is expected to produce up to 500,000 pieces of animal skin paper, with a total commercial value of nearly 20,000 yuan. It is beneficial to supplement the tension and consumption of family administrative papers.
For the production workshops and workshops of the rest of the people's daily necessities, Papa Barek adopted a strategy of support and competition. There are two related workshops in each industry, each with its own unique products to maintain survival, and in the Competing with other products. For example, there are two pottery workshops, one mainly produces small dishes and bowls, and the other specializes in the production of large pots and vats, which avoids the monopoly of one workshop on a certain industry.
Although the scale of these newly opened civilian daily necessities factories in the family territory is still very young and immature, it is already remarkable that they can meet the living needs of more than 500,000 people. When they settle down, these small workshops will naturally develop. As long as they can produce some distinctive products, they will become one of the important commodities for the family's foreign trade in the future.
Next, Lorist looked at the reports submitted by the three major departments of the family. Director Kedan of the personnel department made a special report, full of praise for a manager under him, and strongly demanded that this manager be promoted. become his deputy.
Lorist wanted to laugh when he saw this report, because the manager's name was Camorra.
After the former Baron Camorra was stripped of his title by Duke Lukins and thrown into a dungeon to be rescued, he rejected Lorist's proposal to recruit him as an aide and insisted on living an ordinary life. But talent is talent. When he came to the family territory, he passed the recruitment of administrative personnel and became a manager at the bottom of the personnel department. He quickly stood out in daily administrative affairs and was deeply trusted and appreciated by Kedan. .
Lorist smiled and wrote a letter of approval on Director Kedan's report, and he could promote this manager as appropriate according to Director Kedan's opinion. In fact, Lorist had already planned to let Camorra stay under Director Kedan for a while, and then he would have important tasks entrusted to him.
The last one to submit the report was Fatty Shi. Fatty Shi, who was ashamed and courageous, spent a lot of effort on the few things that Lorist told him. In just half a year, he has completed the back city of Rock Castle, the mountain city and The planning of the three new towns, the City of Industry at the junction of the Blade's Edge Mountains and the Morgan Hills, has been completed and construction has begun. The population has been relocated, wasteland has been reclaimed, and industry deployment has been handled in an orderly manner.
As the production center of the family's most important weapons and armaments in the future, more than 40,000 people related to a series of production personnel and their families have settled down in the industrial city, and the construction of production bases and residential areas is in progress. The mountain city was planned by Fatty Shi as a half-worker and half-farmer. Most of the production workshops for people's daily necessities were placed there, and the families of miners from various mines in the Morgan Hills were also arranged here. Together with nearly 30,000 farmers, Shancheng has become the most populous town in the Norton family territory, with more than 70,000 residents.
Behind the once bustling Rock Castle, there were nearly 500,000 immigrant camps. After many times of diversion and relocation, only about 40,000 relatives of family soldiers remained. The back city of the rock castle planned by Fatty Shi was built on the location of the immigrant camp, and this is also the slowest place to build. However, more than 100,000 mu of wasteland has been reclaimed outside the back city. Fatty Shi's plan is to vigorously carry out the construction of water conservancy facilities next year, and this will become a big granary in the family's territory in the year after.
…
When Tagle came in, Lorist was watching the report on the mountain barbarians.
Perhaps when the wave of monsters receded, many monster groups and carnivorous monsters were left near the Demon Dragon Mountain Range, so that the border area between the Demon Dragon Mountain Range and the family territory was not harassed by the mountain barbarians in the first half of the year. The Five Swords mercenary regiment stationed at the junction of the two mountains reported that although they found many traces of the mountain barbarians, most of them were hunting. So far, they have not found any signs of large-scale invasion of the family territory by the mountain barbarians.
Lorist snorted softly. In the second half of last year, the mountain barbarians launched a thousand-strong attack on the military fortress, intending to pull out the nail military fortress that controlled the deep valley. The Five Swords Mercenary Corps sacrificed thirteen members in that attack, but the warning smoke they cast attracted Josk's Archer Battalion and Pachiko's Garrison Squadron, and they attacked the downhill barbarians from both sides. Unfortunately, he fled back after leaving half of the corpses behind. I hope they still remember the lesson from last year. The current focus of the family is to deal with the tide of monsters, and it will be their turn when the tide of monsters is eliminated.
"My lord, I'm back." Tagle saluted respectfully.
"Oh, how is your progress?" Lorist put down the report in his hand and asked.
When inspecting Fengleyuan in the first half of the year, Lorist took people to inspect the isthmus suggested by Tagle to lure the monsters into diversion, and he felt very satisfied. Tagle knew this place because he joined Yuri's scout light cavalry for his livelihood, ran all over the Norton family's territory, and paid attention when he found this isthmus.
"It has been completed. We can reinforce the defensive city wall set up in front when the first snow falls in winter. I guarantee that those monsters will not be able to get out if they enter the isthmus." Tager replied.
Lorist stood up, walked to Tagle's side and patted him on the shoulder: "Good job, we can implement the plan when the wave of monsters arrives this year. It depends on whether the family territory can be settled down as soon as possible." Can you succeed this time? Tager, work hard, and I will accept you as a family knight when you rise to the silver rank."
"Yes, thank you for your cultivation, my lord." Tager said.
…