"Hydraulic Forging Press (water-powered forging hamr)?" Fjord exclaid in delight. These were terms he had never heard before.
But he was already accustod to Simon continuously creating these miraculous machines in the chanical Departnt. For him, it was a source of satisfaction.
Simon nodded, found a chair to sit on, and offered Fjord a seat as well. He then began to explain the knowledge of plate armour and water-powered forging hamrs to Fjord.
Plate armour, which was phased out by firearms in the 16th century, has always been a subject of controversy in history. The debate over the strongest armour has never ceased.
However, Simon believed that war only eliminates outdated armour.
During the long dieval period in the West, after countless wars, Western knights ultimately chose plate armour. This could only an that the cost-effectiveness of plate armour far surpassed that of other types of armour.
Moreover, after the dieval period, the advent of the Hydraulic Forging Press made the mass production of plate armour possible.
The concept of forging has existed since the ergence of steel. The saying ’a hundred tempering make fine steel’ refers to the process of forging. The more tis steel is forged, the better its quality becos.
Hence, terms like ’hundred-tempered steel’ erged, all of which require forging. Simply put, it involves repeatedly hamring iron to improve its quality.
However, this manual hamring thod made the production of armour and weapons very slow. Thus, the West first introduced the hydraulic forging press, which so scholars believe marked the beginning of Western military technology surpassing that of any other region.
Now, Simon was preparing to replicate the hydraulic forging press.
Before the advent of steam engines, he had to utilize water power to lay the foundation for industrial developnt. He needed hydraulic forging press to produce tal materials of sufficient strength and to increase the production of machinery like lathes. Currently, Simon only possessed a limited variety of lathes, which was far from his expectations.
In summary, he needed water power to stockpile the materials and high-strength tools required for manufacturing steam engines.
As Simon explained, Fjord grew increasingly excited. The slow forging work of craftsn had long been unable to cope with the growing orders for steel. Now, the machinery designed by Simon has completely solved his problem.
"My Lord, if the hydraulic forging press is successfully produced, it could increase forging efficiency by at least thirty tis." Fjord said excitedly.
"No, forty tis." Simon corrected. He had consulted data and found that the hydraulic forging press directly increased blacksmiths’ efficiency by forty tis. Such a hamr could complete hundreds of strikes per minute.
However, the only drawback of hydraulic forging press was the instability of the power source, as the water flow is not constant. Nevertheless, it was sufficient for his current needs.
After a detailed explanation, Fjord had mostly morised the manufacturing thod of the hydraulic forging press. In fact, the power chanisms of water-powered machinery were generally similar, much like the ox-powered waterwheel. As long as there was rotation, power could be generated. Gears, bearings, and other components were largely the sa, differing only in the working parts.
Thus, for Fjord, who had successfully manufactured the ox-powered waterwheel, this was not a difficult task.
Moreover, after observing for so ti, Simon concluded that ancient people were not stupid; their intelligence was on par with modern humans. The only shortcoming was their lack of education and knowledge.
In areas they were familiar with, such as poetry, calligraphy, painting, and even strategy, they were no less capable than modern people.
As the saying goes, ’a little hint is all it takes.’ The ancient people just needed soone to give them that hint, and Simon was playing that role.
Recognizing the importance of the hydraulic forging press, Fjord focused on its production. Thanks to the convenience of lathe processing, the manufacturing of the hydraulic forging press proceeded smoothly. However, the first hydraulic forging press would take a month to assemble due to its complex structure.
Simon had great confidence in Fjord’s abilities and entrusted the task entirely to him. Whenever he encountered difficulties, he would co to the academy to ask Simon, and they would discuss the issues together.
During this period, Simon continued to teach at the academy as usual. However, he had Jas and others begin their first chemical production task: extracting alkali from plant ash.
This task was originally handled by the royal residence servants and the machinery departnt, but Simon had now completely separated it to refine the industrial system.
Moreover, during this ti, soap production workshops had sprung up like mushrooms in Brambleford, leading to a sharp increase in the demand for alkali. This was why Simon decided to produce alkali separately. Otherwise, he would be constantly bothered by rchants coming to buy alkali.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Another batch of alkali was transported out of the palace, and the rchants purchasing it were all smiles, though they also felt a pang of pain.
The reason was that alkali was simply too expensive. In the cost of producing soap, alkali accounted for more than half. After selling the soap, they could only earn about one or two caps of silver.
"Sigh, if only we could learn how to produce alkali, wouldn’t we make a fortune?"
As they walked away, one rchant said to another.
"Learn? How? I heard that alkali is no longer produced in the workshop area. It’s only produced in the courtyard next to the castle, and that place is not accessible to just anyone."
"That’s true. But I heard that there are two hundred students living there, and they go out once a week. If we could bribe one of them, maybe..."
"Don’t even think about it. Every ti they go out, they are accompanied by guards. Outsiders can’t get close."
"Sigh..." The rchant sighed deeply.
At this mont, Baldwin passed by the two rchants. Hearing their conversation, he couldn’t help but sneer, thinking to himself: These rchants are indeed driven by profit and will stop at nothing.
Upon entering the palace, he t with Simon and first repeated the rchants’ conversation to him.
"I am well aware of these rchants’ tricks. Besides this thod, they also deliberately sell slaves to Edger, hoping to infiltrate the workshop district with these slaves. Hmph, they underestimate . I’ll let them in but never let them out."
Baldwin said. "I brought this up not to discuss the craftsmanship, but because Brambleford is becoming increasingly chaotic. Your Highness should establish your own secret guards."
Simon’s expression turned serious. He spoke. "It’s not that I don’t want to, but I lack suitable candidates."
The secret guards Baldwin referred to were similar to the Empire’s Imperial Guards, essentially a modern intelligence system. Without such a system, Simon would be blind to the happenings in the Eldorian Kingdom, knowing nothing.
For instance, in the recent case of horse smuggling revealed by the Goldwynd family, Simon had been completely unaware beforehand.
Baldwin brought this up precisely because he was stimulated by this incident.
"My Lord, I ca here today because I think there’s soone who might interest you," Baldwin said with a smile.
Simon recalled that Baldwin had been tasked with finding talent for him. He asked. "Do you have a suitable candidate in mind? Who is it?"
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