Chapter 214: Scrap metal
Chapter 214 – Scrap Iron
“Pah!”
Having his back slapped vigorously, Guy Burns was taken aback, and the depressed expression on his face immediately disappeared.
It turned out that Paul looked at him with a downcast look and decided to give him a boost, he was still needed for a lot of work behind him.
“Hey! What are you thinking about? The look on your face is like you stepped in shit.”
Burns’ face flushed.
“Uh …… I’m kicking myself for not seeing as far as you do.”
“Hmph, you can’t hide it from me! Blaming me for not letting you work on the steam engine, are you?”
Burns waved his hands in panic, “I dare not, I dare not, my lord how dare I blame you.”
Paul rubbed his chin and put on a thoughtful look.
“Tell you what, Burns, you can call on some of the resources and manpower of the machine shop to study the utilization of steam.”
“Aye aye, my lord, I’ll be sure not to …… anything, did I hear you right?”
Burns was very surprised, the Lord Earl had changed his mind?
“You didn’t hear me wrong, but my request is based on the premise that it won’t affect the normal tasks of the machine factory, I recruited you to work, not to fulfill your personal hobbies.”
Burns stood at attention and gave Paul a military salute that he had learned from the army.
“Lord Gleeman, please rest assured that I will not interfere with other R&D and production tasks.”
Paul put on a serious expression and said, “I hope so, I will keep an eye on you, and will also frequently check the machinery factory’s expenditures on various projects.”
Although he was warned by Paul, the depressed expression on Burns’ face could no longer be seen, and his gait lightened up, humming a little tune as he walked.
Although Paul can’t use the steam engine now, but to carry out the advance pre-research and technology accumulation is still necessary, in order to be able to take out immediately when used, if his plan goes well, the era of steam will come sooner or later.
Of course, he certainly would not invest too much resources and attention in this area.
In addition, he had also saved an idea – to try to let the natives of this world break through certain areas on their own without interfering himself.
The development of society, after all, could not rely on the foresight of one or two people.
However, this process is definitely long and winding.
Looking at Guy Burns’ pleasant appearance, Paul had a bad smile on his face.
Oh, Burns ah Burns, the earth from the invention of the steam engine to the practical use of eighty-four years of time, which does not include the time used in the invention, I would like to see how much you have, I guess just a cylinder is enough for you to drink a pot.
Paul made up his mind, not until he really have to use the moment, he will never intervene in the development of the steam engine.
The crowd joked and laughed all the way back to the center of the lake town in a small boat.
Over the next few days, the ironworks continued to build new blast furnaces, while Paul quietly waited for the blacksmith Herman to give him a sword.
However, Paul waited for a news that made him vomit blood, Herman personally came to the lord’s mansion and reported to him with a depressed face: the iron that was previously made in the blast furnace – completely unusable.
“The iron …… we refined with the blast furnace is scrap iron?”
Lord Lord’s eyes were round, disbelief written all over his face.
“I’m going to personally go to the iron smelting plant to see!”
The lord’s roar could be heard throughout the castle, followed by the slamming of the office door. ……
In the rebel camp south of Thorn Fortress, four people sat around a table.
Sitting in the main seat was Samar, the commander of this rebel army, and sitting to his right was Scott, the mage who aided him.
The other two people sitting opposite Scott were both dressed as tradesmen, one was a middle-aged man with an eight-pointed beard, and the other was a young man even younger than Scott, who wore an earring in his right ear, and always had a iffy smile on his face, making the whole person look slightly frivolous.
“Archduke Giles was very dissatisfied with your previous actions. It would have been just fine if we could capture the Thorn Fortress, but it turned out to be a loss of troops, not to mention the huge loss, it also thwarted our army’s vigor.”
The middle-aged man with an eight-beard spoke in a somewhat serious tone, relaying the Greedy Wolf Archduke’s rebuke to Samar.
Samar, on the other hand, hung his head low, not defending himself at all.
“It was me who was overly greedy for credit, eager to seek battle, and I apologize for the Grand Duke’s trust in me.”
The eight-bearded middle-aged man sighed.
“Alas, General Samar, please keep your own mission in mind, this army you lead is merely keeping an eye on Fortress of Thorns, and when the Grand Duke arrives with his main force, he will naturally go to capture him.”
“I will definitely keep this in mind in the future and never act rashly again.”
Scott suddenly interjected, “Please tell Grand Duke Giles that it’s none of General Samar’s business. I was the one who was bent on war and encouraged General Samar to attack Thorn Fortress. I overestimated the fortress’s guarding strength, and there is also the long lost ‘Greek Fire’ inside.”
The other three were very surprised that he took the initiative to take the blame on himself. Samar, in particular, was actually a bit touched; although this rash mage named Scott was a bit arrogant, he could be described as daring.
The earring-wearing youth looked at Scott and smiled as he nodded at him, and Scott gave him a displeased expression back.
Samar stood up, “In any case, as the commander of this army, I bear the greatest responsibility, after all, I am the one who ultimately makes the decisions.”
“We are not here to discuss such issues as who bears the greatest responsibility, but to remind you that the main army of the royal family will soon be heading south, and it is estimated that they will depart from Crystalline Yew at the beginning of next spring.”
A hint of derision appeared on Scott’s face, “It looks like you guys didn’t hold back that princess for too long even after you burned the granaries.”
The middle-aged man grunted, “How much longer do you want to delay it, it has already been delayed for almost half a year. The royal family still controls half of the Aldo Kingdom after all, the food shortage can’t affect them for too long.”
Samar asked with slight concern, “How long before His Highness the Grand Duke’s main force moves north?”
“There are still a few hard to crack bones in the south, and even though their end is sealed, the timing is not easy to say.”
“So until then, if the royal army arrives, we’ll be on our own?”
“Yes, but ……”
The male youth wearing earrings on the side interjected, “A group of mages will come to support you.”
Scott stood up at once after hearing this, “As long as more mages arrive, everything won’t be a problem.”
The male youth shook his head, “Scott, you’re getting cocky again, forgetting the lesson you learned earlier?”
“Nonsense, I’m free to share.”
“Mr. Scott!” The middle-aged man said in a slightly displeased tone, “I know that you have great power, but the Kingdom’s regular army is not a vegetarian, I hope that you will take this point seriously.”
(End of chapter)