May 18th,
A telescope with one wide end and one narrow end, its barrel smooth and sleek, finally appeared in Lorist's hands. The old silversmith, his forehead creased with wrinkles, wore a look of utter disdain — after Lorist rejected his request to engrave ornate patterns along the barrel, he grew deeply melancholy that his exquisite craftsmanship had been left with no outlet.
Lorist fiddled with it for a while, then shoved the silver monocular telescope into the hands of the Mancini technician standing nearby: "Here — take a look. This is what I call a telescope."
The Mancini technician held the instrument up to his eye, imitating Lorist's posture, and scanned his surroundings — letting out occasional cries of astonishment.
"You see? This is the true purpose of glass I was talking about. But the telescope is only one application. We can grind lenses from oil glass. You'll need to recruit a few people dedicated specifically to lens grinding and figure out how to establish standards for the process. The degree of curvature in the glass can produce dramatically different effects. Like this blueprint I drew — it's a magnifying lens. It can enlarge objects so people can see them clearly. And this one — spectacles. Just like this old silversmith here — with age, his eyesight has gone bad and he struggles to see things properly. With these spectacles, he'll be able to see just as he did when he was young, no longer troubled by failing eyesight…"
The Mancini technician bowed to Lorist with deep respect: "My lord, I am truly honored and proud to be of service to you. You have opened a window to the heavens and shown me a vaster sky…"
Lorist chuckled: "Spare me the flattery — just do your job well. You have heavy tasks ahead. The current output of green glass and oil glass is already sufficient; there's no need to expand production. We don't need to use these for foreign trade — self-sufficiency is enough. The real focus should be telescopes, spectacles, and magnifying glasses — those are the profit drivers for our family's foreign trade going forward.
"The most urgent priority right now is the research and experimentation on transparent white glass. You've already seen the two silver-backed mirrors I made from white crystal. Once we can produce glass mirrors like these, they'll bring us a constant stream of gold coins. Oil glass has excellent transparency, but its non-stick property makes it impossible to use for mirrors. So you need to experiment with more formulas and produce this transparent white glass as quickly as possible.
"There's also the matter of expanding the manufacturing specifications for glass — whether we can increase both the area and thickness. Large sheets of green glass could be used to build greenhouses, so we could have fresh vegetables even in winter. We should also explore glass applications in various other areas, like whether oil glass can be used to make teapots and teacups, and glass tableware. All of these could bring considerable profits to our family…"
"I'm entrusting the glass production base to you because I want you to take the initiative to explore the mysteries of glass. Whether you need funding, manpower, or materials, we will meet your requirements. Don't worry about whether the cost of these glass experiments is worth it — even if we fail, it simply means we've learned that this path doesn't work, and we need to try a different one. That discovery is itself a gain. Understood?"
The Mancini technician bowed to Lorist with deep gratitude: "My lord, rest assured, I will follow your wishes and carry out the experiments as quickly as possible, recording everything. I will arrange people to handle what you've just described. I will not disappoint you."
Lorist nodded: "For the next few days, produce a batch of telescopes first. Mark them with numbers — I'll be distributing them to the family's armed forces and the naval corps. In a couple of days I'm heading to Blackforge Citadel and will need to bring several along. Send them over as soon as you're done. I'm leaving things in your hands here."
"Yes, my lord."
The moment Lorist stepped outside, Schwade came over to report: "My lord, old Barlek is here to see you. He seems quite urgent."
Old Barlek was indeed in a hurry, though his face was full of joy: "My lord, the paper you requested has been produced. Take a look — is this what you had in mind?"
He took off a waterproof cylinder made of copper sheet and animal hide from his back, opened the lid, and carefully drew out a roll of paper, gently unfurling it.
The paper laid out before Lorist looked much like the kraft paper used for packaging in his previous life. It wasn't white in color but rather a light brown, with a smooth, fine surface that seemed to carry a slight oily quality.
Lorist ran his fingers across it a few times, then had Schwade bring him ink and a quill pen. He casually wrote a few lines on the paper and drew several strokes, then said with satisfaction: "Not bad — the ink dries reasonably quickly too. The only thing is it's still not white enough. Old Barlek, how did you manage to produce this kind of paper all of a sudden?"
"An accident, a complete accident." Old Barlek chuckled. "My Lord, because we hadn't made much progress in our papermaking experiments, most of the vats used for boiling pulp were producing common paper. With the family's domain growing in population, there's been a great demand for this common paper, and the income from selling it has been a welcome supplement to our papermaking research costs."
"A few days ago, a worker went out during his lunch break to buy a big block of butter to bring home. When he got back to the workshop, something came up and he casually set the butter down on the edge of the boiling vat's stove. The heat from below melted the butter, and it flowed right into the vat without anyone noticing. We stirred it as usual and went to pull up the pulp, and that's when we discovered that the dried pulp from this vat didn't turn into that soft, fluffy common paper — it came out as a kind of smooth, hard paper…"
"And this paper is made with tallow added to it, making it the cheapest in both price and production cost. We calculated that the cost of fifteen sheets of this paper comes to about one copper coin without factoring in labor, and even with labor it's only three copper coins."
Lorist was delighted. The telescope had just been successfully prototyped, and now the papermaking technique had achieved a breakthrough too — truly a string of good fortune. Nevertheless, he still had new requirements for Old Barlek. "Schwade, make a note of the reward for this successful paper trial. Old Barlek receives one hundred gold Forde, and each of the other contributors gets ten gold Forde. Old Barlek, you'll need to run more experiments going forward — add some whitening agents or materials, find a way to make this paper even whiter and finer, and also make it thinner than it currently is. Only then can we say we've successfully produced paper worthy of being the Norton Family's flagship product."
"Furthermore, the production process and formula for this paper must be kept secret. Schwade, relay my orders: have Bodfnger select aging veterans from the family's armed forces who are due for discharge and assemble them into a new garrison battalion. They'll be specifically responsible for guarding and maintaining security at the paper mill and the glass production facility here, ensuring that nothing from either place leaks out."
"Yes, My Lord. I'll send a guard to relay the orders right away," Schwade replied.
……
May 21st, the Bladefang Mountains. A heavily guarded valley.
This was the newly established gunpowder testing ground, where Professor Bob — whom Lorist had captured — was conducting all manner of experiments with gunpowder.
"My Lord Count, I really don't quite understand why you place such importance on gunpowder. In truth, I believe gunpowder might have some applications in warfare, but beyond that it doesn't seem to have much use. The dwarves have been using gunpowder for nearly a thousand years, but aside from using it as a propellant for their firearms, they haven't found any other way to use it."
As soon as they met, Professor Bob handed Lorist a formula for the optimal gunpowder ratio he had arrived at through his experiments, but he also raised some questions of his own.
Lorist smiled but didn't answer. He took the gunpowder formula from Professor Bob, looked it over, and immediately crossed out the egg whites.
Professor Bob protested, "Without egg whites, the gunpowder can't be compacted — its effectiveness will be greatly reduced!"
"No need for egg whites, and no need for compacting," Lorist said. "Gunpowder works best in granulated form."
Right in front of the half-skeptical Professor Bob, Lorist processed the gunpowder into granules and set them aside to dry.
Two days later, Lorist fashioned several small iron tubes, loaded them with the granulated gunpowder, fitted fuses, wrapped them into charges resembling explosive bundles, and stuffed them into a crevice that had been chiseled into a distant stone cliff. Then he lit the fuses.
Before long, a deep, muffled boom echoed through the valley. The distant cliff seemed to shudder, and great slabs of rock began breaking free and crashing down. When the dust finally settled, the cliff face had been transformed — nearly half of it was gone. At its base, massive boulders lay piled upon one another like a small hill.
"You see, Professor Bob — this is the true power of gunpowder. With it, we can quarry stone, build roads, construct bridges, erect buildings, and mine far more efficiently. It saves labor and slashes construction time. As for its military applications, you'll see those in a couple of days. A brand-new long-range weapon of devastating power will appear on the continent of Galentea — the cannon." Lorist spoke with undisguised pride.
"A cannon?" Professor Bob asked, confused.
"Yes, a cannon," Lorist replied.
May 23rd, Blade Mountain Range, Ironforge.
For the sake of secrecy, the family had constructed a fortress castle outside the valley where the darksteel refining base was located — both to facilitate guard patrols and to provide a comfortable living environment for Master Hede and the other technical talents.
With a wave of his pen, Lorist made the name Ironforge official.
"My lord, all seventeen sets of refined iron standard equipment have been shipped to Shilowas Island. Additionally, I've compiled an illustrated catalog of various types of standard equipment, all made to your specifications — slightly inferior to the White Lion standard equipment in terms of defensive capability, but with an ornate and luxurious exterior design and decorative styling. The selling prices generally range between eighty and one hundred twenty gold Fordes." Master Hede first reported this matter to Lorist.
"I'm at ease with your work, Master Hede. You're the expert in this field, and I fully believe your decisions will bring the greatest benefit to the family." Lorist nodded in approval.
Master Hede was very pleased, and his steps became noticeably lighter.
"My lord, the design combining your wheelbarrow with the war chariot steel crossbow has now been finalized. A total of twenty-four have been produced — they're right ahead. You'll see them once we turn the corner..."
Twenty-four distinctive wheelbarrows were arranged in two rows, the steel crossbows mounted on them gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Lorist stepped forward for a close inspection and found that these wheelbarrows were all constructed of steel and wood. The axle of each single wheel, in particular, had been specially reinforced. He lifted one of the wheelbarrows and pushed it a few steps, finding that it required surprisingly little effort — in fact, it felt almost effortless.
Master Hede explained from the side, "My lord, your wheelbarrow design is truly one of a kind. No one has ever thought to build an entire vehicle around a single wheel. They can carry heavy loads, they're convenient and agile, and they can even traverse those narrow mountain paths that only single-file traffic can handle. My lord, I was wondering — could we perhaps produce some wheelbarrows separately for sale?"
Lorist chuckled. "Of course, but the wheelbarrows we sell need to be not only sturdy and durable, but also cheap if we want to sell a lot of them. Oh, by the way, Master Hede, does mounting the steel crossbow on it cause any issues?"
Master Hede shook his head. "No, none at all. A while back, Lord Dolores specifically brought in a five-hundred-strong chariot corps to test them out. They said firing the crossbows from the ground was even more stable. Unlike the cramped carriage of a war chariot, where you sometimes need to coordinate to get a shot off, being on the ground gives you plenty of space to maneuver, so there's no such concern."
"So Dolores believes a five-man team is needed for each of these steel crossbow wheelbarrows?" Lorist asked.
"Yes, my lord. One person to push, two to pull, and two for guard duty—with the option to rotate. Lord Dolores considered this the most suitable arrangement. The only downside of this wheelbarrow is that it needs someone to hold the handle to stay fixed when firing. That's because the wheelbarrow itself is too light," Master Hede replied.
"Very well. Then we'll equip one of Dolores's regiments with these steel crossbow wheelbarrows. That fellow's been getting impatient, eager to become a regiment commander. Schwade, take note: order Malek to draw half the personnel from his chariot crossbow regiment to help Dolores form this new steel crossbow wheelbarrow regiment. They can fill the remaining gaps from the recruit training camp themselves."
"Yes, my lord," Schwade said.
Master Hede stepped in front of Lorist. "My lord, wait. Did you not notice anything different about this crossbow?"
Hmm? Lorist examined the steel crossbow mounted on the wheelbarrow. It looked the same. He looked again, then suddenly spotted the difference. "Master, it seems this crossbow is a bit smaller than the previous ones, isn't it?"
Master Hede chuckled. "My lord, there's more. Look at this bolt. It's still made of iron, but it weighs half as much as the old iron bolts. It flies more stably once fired, and the accuracy is much higher..."
"You've improved it? But will making it so much smaller affect its three-hundred-meter direct fire range?" Lorist asked with some concern.
Master Hede waved his hand. "My Lord, in truth, you've all had a misconception all along — believing that the three-hundred-meter range of the steel crossbow is its direct-fire distance. In reality, through constant experimentation, we've discovered that the true direct-fire range of the steel crossbow is only about seventy to eighty meters. The three-hundred-meter range is actually an arc trajectory. It's just that the launching force of the steel crossbow is so powerful that the arc is barely noticeable, and everyone assumed it was direct-fire range."
"When we first discovered this result, we were quite surprised. So we sought out Lord Piet of the mounted archer unit to help. We had him bring a small squad of longbowmen to cooperate with our tests. The final conclusion was that the so-called one-hundred-meter direct-fire range of longbows — said to be capable of threatening Golden Knights — is also a misconception."
"Of course, a marksman like Lord Josk is an exception. All the longbowmen acknowledged that at distances of fifty to sixty meters they could aim properly, but at one hundred meters the target is no bigger than a thumbnail. When aiming and firing at that distance, they all raise their aim slightly before releasing, which proves that the arrows launched from their longbows also follow an arc trajectory."
"As for the steel crossbow shooters, they said they can't even see a single target at three hundred meters. They basically rely on the target's general direction to create covering fire with dense volleys of bolts in order to threaten and deal damage to the target. So please rest assured, my Lord — the reduction in size of this steel crossbow is because we've found a replacement material superior to the original steel crossbow limbs. It hasn't affected the steel crossbow's power in the slightest."
"So that's how it is. Then who developed the new crossbow limbs for these steel crossbows?" After receiving Master Hede's lecture, Lorist finally understood. Come to think of it, at a hundred meters away, a person was no bigger than a soybean — whether it was a steel crossbow or a longbow, what truly created a threat was covering fire. Precise aimed shooting really was half left up to luck.
"My Lord, have you forgotten Old Julian? After you appointed him as the head of the iron bolt production workshop, he spent all his spare time figuring out how to create a material superior to and stronger than those steel crossbow limbs. After years of experimentation, he finally succeeded. After Professor Farin and I examined and tested them, we concluded that these new steel crossbow limbs surpassed the performance of the previous ones. For that reason, we submitted a formal request to completely replace all the war chariot steel crossbows, but we still haven't received a reply as of yet." Master Hede answered.
"Oh, that's right — those bronze cylindrical tubes designated as 'cannon barrels' on the blueprints you had someone bring me last time, my Lord. I also entrusted Old Julian with casting them, and they've all been completed now. Would you like to go see them? My Lord, I'm quite curious — what exactly are these large, heavy bronze cylinders meant for? And what does this term 'cannon barrel' even mean?"
...(To be continued.)