Chapter 543 Turning Point

When Roland saw Barov again, he felt like he was meeting another person. |

Not only does his expression look radiant, but his chest is also raised a lot, his steps are sonorous, and he is full of confidence. He does not look like a veteran who is nearly fifty years old at all.

It seems that he is living very contentedly in these days in the royal capital.

"If I had known this, I should have called you back later." Roland joked.

"No, Your Majesty, no matter how prosperous Dawn City is, it cannot compare to Neverwinter City, which you personally built." Barov shook his beard and said, "No matter where I am, my heart will always be by your side."

Why... does this sound so weird?

He coughed twice and changed the subject, "How is the situation over there?"

"Don't worry, with my apprentices and the First Army here, the newly appointed nobles can't move even if they want to make trouble," the steward said proudly, "I also deliberately relaxed the space for them to fight for power, as long as they don't interfere with the people's livelihood in Dawn City. As long as things run normally. It is estimated that they will be fighting for power as small as sesame seeds for a long time in the future - after all, before this, they were not even qualified to enter the city hall."

"That's a good method." Roland smiled.

He also knows a thing or two about political checks and balances and control strategies, but he knows that in actual implementation, he will obviously not be better than these old foxes who have been involved in political affairs for a long time - even if they are not the most cunning foxes, they are better than their skin. It's thick enough and its methods are vicious enough. It can be said that it is only now that Barov has used all his talents.

Due to his status as the king of a country, Roland does not need to get involved in dirty political tricks. As long as he holds the power of personnel, law and military in his hands, no one dares to covet his authority.

"Your Majesty, can I ask, where did you send Finance Minister Lauren Moore?" Barov sighed with unfinished meaning, "The palace's etiquette officer said that you did not execute him."

"He withheld the relief rations allocated to the people, colluded with the former imperial minister, and had a share in the forced recruitment of refugees." Roland shrugged, "The crime is not worthy of death, but he is old and unfit for mining, so he was simply deported. .”

"That's really...a pity."

"What, you want to use him?"

"Of course not. Lauren is very influential in the royal capital. I'm not sure those little nobles can suppress him." Barov smiled and shook his head. "It's just that as my mentor, he suppressed me for so long. , I’m just a little sorry that I didn’t see his expression of surprise, regret and begging for mercy.”

Roland couldn't help laughing, "I think he will go to the Kingdom of Dawn with his family. Maybe you will have a chance to meet in the future. Let's not talk about it anymore. I want to recruit you to build a few new factories. They are related To the next series of major transformations in Neverwinter City.”

"A lot of people are needed?"

"That's right, otherwise I just need to order Karl," he nodded, "at least about three thousand people are needed."

Barov smiled bitterly and said, "Only you would ask for this. It is impossible for other cities to have an industry that invests 3,000 people at once."

"The good news is that all of these three thousand people do not need to be literate, as long as there are more than two hundred people who have completed primary education."

“What do you want to build?”

Roland spread out the record book he had prepared in front of him, "Coke plant, steelmaking plant and forging plant."

"Miss Anna doesn't produce enough steel?" Barov asked.

"It's not not enough, but it's too wasteful," Roland sighed. "Her magic power should be invested in higher-end manufacturing instead of being consumed on materials for steam engines. I plan to realize basic industrial products this year."

The industry of Neverwinter is now at an inflection point. Without seeking breakthroughs, it will be difficult to make progress. The reason is that source power machinery still cannot do without Anna's material support, resulting in the inability to further expand the scale - in fact, the steam engine is completely used Without such good steel, the first generation of the small town machine was made of cast iron.

Now the prerequisites for a breakthrough have been met. Coal mines can be used to make coke, which is the main material for large-scale steelmaking. The dozen or so earthen blast furnaces in the furnace area can also supply sufficient pig iron ingots, using A simple converter smelts steel, and then the steam hammer of the forge forges components that can be directly processed by other factories. If this process can be recycled, Anna can be completely liberated and production can be achieved with the participation of ordinary people. process.

After Roland roughly explained the main work of the three projects, Barov quickly understood the meaning.

"I understand, but Your Majesty, can this really be achieved?" He asked doubtfully, "How can we obtain steel so easily without relying on the power of the devil - ahem, witches? You may not know that, in other cities, It is not uncommon for a piece of forged steel to cost twenty times more than pig iron.”

Steel in this era was made by the blacksmith's hammer after hammer. By repeatedly beating the pig iron ingot, the excess carbon and impurities in the iron were oxidized by the air, thus forming steel. Of course, this process is extremely inefficient and wastes a lot of raw materials - a lot of iron will fall off due to oxidation, resulting in several iron ingots that can only produce one piece of usable steel. Therefore, a set of full-body armor made of steel is the lifelong pursuit of most knights, and it can also be passed down from generation to generation as a family heirloom.

From a certain perspective, the method can give people the illusion that the essence is concentrated. Now that Neverwinter can produce "a large amount" of steel, most people think it is the work of witches. Barov's suspicion is not difficult to understand, but to Roland, steel is just iron with different carbon contents.

"Of course it's not easy. Whether it's coking or converter steelmaking, it's a technology that requires repeated exploration, but..." Roland paused, "These projects will definitely be realized. By then, the industrial zone will have hundreds of chimneys. One month's steel production can exceed the current annual production. We will have an inexhaustible supply of steel. Bicycles, ships, all kinds of machines, and even houses. Everything you see will be made of steel. Manufacturing, it will enter everyone’s home, even ordinary people can use steel utensils and tools.”

Barov was stunned for a long time, and then finally responded, "I will draw up a recruitment plan and financial allocation for your review as soon as possible."

"Well, I'll leave the preliminary preparations for this to you," Roland encouraged.

When he walked to the door of the office, he suddenly turned around, stroked his chest and saluted again.

"It would be an honor for me to see such a world, Your Majesty."

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