Chapter 60 Blacksmith Origin
The forging of white steel and extraordinary equipment is temporarily on hold.

However, in the process of territory development, steel smelting production needs to be put on the agenda.

Rhodes thought of the external purchase list of supplies.

The deployment and repair of military weapons, the use of shovels and axes as farm tools for residents to clear wasteland, the structural framework for house construction, etc.

The territory is facing a huge steel gap.

So far, he can only replenish his consumption by purchasing finished products from outside.

This is not what a qualified territory should be like.

Before making steel, he also needs to have a clear understanding of the resources in his territory.

"Sir, this is the land statistics report of the two forestry and animal husbandry guilds. Please take a look."

The speaker was Pipys, the statistician of Pingdingshan.

He bent over and handed a simple map to Rhodes.

Rhodes took it and spread it on his desk.

With the establishment of various guilds, the Artisan Guild is busy examining the professional skills of residents and discovering talents.

They also offered various favorable conditions to recruit craftsmen to settle in Hekou Town.

Compared to the bustle over there, the people from the Linmu Guild were running all over the mountain under the protection of the army.

He constantly recorded the terrain of each part of the territory and collected soil samples and sent them to Rhodes.

With their cooperation, and the ravens' bird's-eye view from the sky.

Rhodes already had a more concrete impression of his two territories.

Hekou Town is located at the entrance of the Hanshui River Valley, with the Hanshui River on the left and the Hantu Plateau on the right.

Rhodes picked up a soil sample from the Hanshui River, which was the clay used to make clay bricks in the territory.

The composition is complex, mainly including kaolinite, quartz, mica, etc., mixed with a large amount of sand.

As the masonry was built, large amounts of riverside soil were excavated, allowing Rod to discover more after analyzing the composition.

There is a small hill inside the brick factory, the soil there is kaolin, a silicate clay mineral.

Specifically, this thing can be used to make clay refractory bricks, which are the most important material for building blast furnaces.

As the clay was constantly excavated, the bulk of the soil gradually turned into quartz.

The main component of silica changed from clay to quartz sandstone.

This thing has so many uses, from glass, ceramics, cement, etc. At present, the most important thing is that it can be used to make silica bricks.

Those are the refractory bricks in the coke ovens that produce coke.

Although there were no traces of coal mines or iron mines in the two territories - this was normal. If there were such strategic resources here, they would have been occupied by more powerful forces long ago, and it would not have been Rhodes' turn to develop them.

But it’s not too bad. Resources are actually everywhere. What we lack is just the means to use them.

After deciding on his next goal, Rhodes quickly gathered the people from the Craftsmen's Guild.

They are going to start the preliminary construction of a blast furnace next to the brick factory in Hekou Town.

The Kingdom of Rosa had actually already developed primitive blast furnace technology.

But because of the unreasonable dwarf blocking their way, the nobles had little desire to make steel, and this technology was stuck at the first step.

The temperature and pressure are not high enough, so the quality of the pig iron produced is poor, only slightly better than the original sponge iron.

In the end, it was only through repeated forging by the workers in the iron mine that the foundation was finally formed.

As for whether it will become a plate armor sword or a hoe or farm tool in the future.

That all depends on the blacksmith's craftsmanship.

Anyway, the quality of pig iron is like this, so you can deal with it yourself.

Rhodes did not miss this opportunity.

In the next half month, he led a group of residents to work by the Hanshui River, instructing the workers to build a primitive blast furnace with bricks and stones.

Although the most troublesome sealing can be solved by alchemical binders, the structure of the blast furnace must be confirmed.

If an unstable structure is sealed haphazardly, it will explode.

Blowing air is also a big problem. The water-powered mill is effective in blowing air, but the problem is that the Hanshui River is about to freeze.

In the absence of other power sources, workers could only rely on manual blowers to keep going. Half a month later, a tall and strange mound of earth stood up among the broken bricks and slag in the blast furnace area.

Holding the first piece of pig iron, Rhodes finally breathed a sigh of relief amid the cheers of the workers around him.

Never mind whether this thing in front of you can be called a blast furnace.

Anyway, relying on the high temperature and high pressure inside, if you throw iron ore into it, it will spit out pig iron.

As long as the functions are qualified, it doesn’t matter if the appearance is ugly, practicality is the most important thing.

Even if iron ore and coal can be purchased from outside, the consumption is much cheaper than buying finished products directly.

"I have pig iron. My blacksmith, why haven't you come yet?" Rhodes muttered.

He left the blast furnace area and walked towards the commercial district of Hekou Town.

After this period of development, with the help of its own Jianling Chamber of Commerce.

The Craftsmen's Guild has already recruited many stonemasons, carpenters, etc. at the Broken Dragon Fortress.

Led by a special person, they came to Rhodes' territory.

Now, with the help of these craftsmen, the Pingdingshan Castle has officially begun construction.

But this does not include blacksmiths.

Especially those weapon craftsmen with superb skills who can forge pig iron into weapons, there is not a single one.

As for the reason, it wasn't because Rhodes was reluctant to pay.

If there is a weapon craftsman willing to come to him, he will start out as a military squad leader.

A luxurious house plus a generous salary, there is absolutely no other like it in the entire kingdom.

The problem is that blacksmiths themselves are strategic resources of the territory.

Relying on the blacksmith's skills, although their lives were much better than those of serfs, their personal freedom was basically restricted by the lord.

Just as Rhodes was thinking about a solution, businessman Adrich, who knew his troubles, came to him.

"Sir, if you really want a group of blacksmiths, I have a solution."

Adlic quietly came over and said to him.

Rhodes looked at him curiously, not surprised that he had a solution.

Adrich is considered one of the top executives of Jianling Chamber of Commerce in Broken Dragon Fortress.

His status is second only to that of the president in charge, and he has a wide network of contacts.

In other words, Rhodes has a special relationship with the Chamber of Commerce.

Otherwise, even if he was a Knight of the Round Table, it would be impossible for him to come here so diligently all day long.

"Tell me."

"Look, sir. This is your Bayou Town, and here, about fifty kilometers away, is Mole Town."

Adrich spread out a map and pointed to a place on it to Rhodes.

"Mole Town is located on the border of the Principality. It was built on a small iron mine. After a long period of development, there are many blacksmiths and a large number of blacksmith apprentices in the town."

After listening to this, Rhodes looked at him strangely, wondering if he had misunderstood something.

Although he directly captured Hekou Town and killed Mansaru in front of everyone.

But that's because there are legitimate reasons, or reasons that are convincing enough to convince others.

Although there was no evidence, Rhodes had nothing to worry about the moment the barbarians stepped into Pingdingshan.

Mole Town is the territory of the Northern Frost Principality. There is no grudge between them. Wouldn't it be a bad idea to occupy it by force?
Rhodes was thinking in his mind, trying to think of a suitable reason to send troops.

At this time, Adrich continued to add: "The situation in Mole Town is special. It is jointly ruled by the local lord and the local gang. The blacksmiths are cruelly exploited by the gangs. Their situation is not much better than the worst serfs."

"If you wish, my lord, you can just pretend that you don't know and quietly give these blacksmiths a way to escape. Then they will desperately run to you!"

Adrich said confidently, only to find that the adult in front of him had a strange expression on his face.

"Sir, is there something wrong with this plan?" He was startled and couldn't help but worry.

"That's a good suggestion." Seeing this, Rhodes smiled and nodded.

It turns out it wasn't a forced occupation. Sorry, I misunderstood.

(End of this chapter)