Chapter 71: 71. The Prototype of Two Manufacturing Factories

The effect of the Curved Plow is very obvious; if it can be promoted in Shanlin Town to ensure every village has several, or even a dozen plows, then whether it is for reclaiming wasteland or plowing fallow land, it will save a great deal of manpower and material resources compared to before.

Then Luoning can invest these saved people into other production activities.

Moreover, this method of deep plowing, combined with the Ridge Tillage Method that Luoning is about to promulgate, will definitely be able to raise the crop yield of Shanlin Town by a notch!

But it is very clear that if one wants to promote it comprehensively, one must first solve the problem of production.

The blacksmiths of Shanlin Town consist only of Kalesi and his son (who is still an apprentice); in the absence of the ability to cast plowshares, Kalesi can only hammer away by himself, so the speed of making plowshares and moldboards is a bit slow.

As for the production of the plow body, it is not as complicated as using Black Iron Tree to make weapons and armor; even Lamu, that half-baked carpenter's apprentice, can complete it. Finding a few people to come over to practice and operating it a few more times should not be a problem; in any case, there is plenty of birch in Shanlin Town.

"Kalesi, I bought two thousand catties of wrought iron on this trip, and I need you to help me forge at least thirty such Curved Plows."

The reason it is thirty is not because there is not enough iron, but because Shanlin Town does not have that many oxen.

There are only twenty-four Black Water Buffalo used for plowing in Shanlin Castle, and adding the few that individual tenant farmers in the town have, it is about thirty or so.

"Oh my god, thirty?"

Kalesi widened his eyes in shock; he had never taken such a large order.

"Yes, this is just the initial batch; more will need to be forged later."

Luoning added: "The wrought iron and wood will be provided by me, and I will also equip you with four people to assist you. You can choose to become my exclusive blacksmith, or you can serve me as a Free Citizen of Shanlin Town, and I will pay you a certain reward."

"Of course, if you choose the former, I will give you a salary of 10 copper coins per day; additionally, your son Ba'er is a blacksmith apprentice, and if he serves me, I can provide a salary of 3 copper coins per day."

The wages of craftsmen are relatively high; if it were in other cities, hiring Kalesi would probably cost more, but in this backwater of Shanlin Town, the price is naturally a bit lower.

Kalesi hesitated for a moment.

It is only natural for subjects to serve their lord. But in his current state, he can both take jobs from the lord and earn money from other people's odd jobs.

But if he were to become the exclusive blacksmith of Shanlin Castle, generally speaking, he would only be able to serve the lord.

However, the salary offered by the lord is indeed high; it would be good if he could earn 10 copper coins a day for ten days out of 336 days a year.

"My lord, I am very tempted by the salary you mentioned, but I don't know when you usually settle the payment for me?"

Luoning gave Chaha'er a look, and the Steward immediately understood.

"Rest assured, Kalesi, the master is the most benevolent lord; he never delays anyone's payment!"

As he spoke, he took out the 1 silver and 68 copper coins he had just received that morning from his pocket and said boastfully: "See? The master will settle the previous month's payment for everyone on the sixth of every month."

The cowherd, Jialun, and others nearby also took out money from their pockets.

Chaha'er continued: "Just this morning, the castle's Servants, the castle's Professional Knights and Magicians, as well as the Guards, all had their last month's pay settled."

He emphasized, "Please remember, the master is the most benevolent, most trustworthy, and kindest noble, bar none!"

Luoning felt a bit embarrassed by such praise, but he was also surprised; why did this group of people all carry money with them? Wouldn't it be inconvenient to jingle when walking?

Seeing this scene, Kalesi no longer hesitated and immediately performed a gentleman's salute, "Then Kalesi is willing to become your exclusive blacksmith."

"Good, I will not treat you unfairly!"

Luoning laughed, "If you are willing to take on apprentices, I will add an extra 5 copper coins to your daily salary."

Kalesi's eyes lit up, "I am willing, my lord!"

Luoning looked at Jialun, "Go notify Wilson and have him pick three men and one woman from the Slaves; remember to find ones who are a bit clever and look like they can learn things."

"At the same time, have Wilson tell that group of Slaves that as long as they are willing to serve me faithfully for ten years, I can grant them a certain degree of freedom and let them become my Serfs."

"Very well, master!" Jialun accepted the order and ran out.

Kalesi looked at the lord before him with some surprise, "You are truly a benevolent person!"

Benevolent?

To Luoning, it was just giving this group of people a goal and motivation; besides, ten years is too long.

"Kalesi, I found that your forging speed is too slow; later I will teach you a new method of Iron Smelting so that you can quickly produce farm tools!"

The blacksmith was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard, but seeing the lord's serious expression, he was confused.

"My lord, my methods of Iron Smelting and forging were all learned from my father."

Kalesi explained: "My father's master was a famous blacksmith in Wushan City; please believe that the techniques he taught us are the most advanced!"

Craftsmen, after all, always stubbornly believe that their own techniques are the best.

However, Kalesi was telling the truth; the techniques of Iron Smelting and forging were indeed like that.

Luoning smiled mysteriously, "Using my method, one can smelt iron into molten iron and then cast it directly into farm tools, which is much faster than your method of hammering."

"My lord, is this a Magician's method?"

Kalesi was not surprised by the term molten iron, "Legend has it that only Magicians can control that kind of ultra-high-temperature flame capable of melting steel, but such flames are not something we Mortals can master!"

There is actually such a thing?

Luoning was a bit surprised; he was actually quite curious about which level of Magician could control such flames?

"Rest assured, Kalesi, since I can design such efficient farm tools as the Curved Plow, I will definitely be able to teach you the method of smelting molten iron."

Luoning was very confident about this, "Before that, you just continue to use your method to forge plowshares and moldboards and assemble the Curved Plows."

After giving instructions on what needed to be done next, Luoning had the cowherd move the Curved Plow back to the castle, and he himself went with Chaha'er to the next destination, the home of the carpenter William.

Black Iron Wood is indeed difficult to process; in the past half month, William had finished four Iron Wood Shields, three Ironwood Spears, and one Iron Wood Breastplate.

Luoning tested them, and the strength of these three pieces of armor met the requirements and could fully be used by ordinary Guards, especially the Iron Wood Shield, which he estimated could even be used in confrontations between Intermediate Knights.

The only thing that felt uncomfortable was the Iron Wood Breastplate; it looked like a piece of wood with a hole dug in the middle, through which the Guard's head would pass, hanging this board that could be faced on the body, with the hanging board just protecting the chest and heart.

The structure was simple, but it felt uncomfortable and somewhat stiff after putting it on.

"My lord, relatively speaking, the Ironwood Spear is the easiest to make, followed by the Iron Wood Breastplate and the shield."

Carpenter William introduced these pieces of armor, "I also want to use Iron Wood and linen rope to build a set of Lamellar Armor that is more form-fitting and less stiff than the breastplate, but that takes too much time!"

He shook his head as he spoke, "If it were just me, I probably couldn't even finish one set of Ironwood Lamellar Armor in a month!"

Luoning was very interested in the Lamellar Armor the other party mentioned.

The Iron Wood Breastplate was indeed too crude; it was fine for ordinary Guards to wear, but that Lamellar Armor could be worn by people of higher status or rank.

Correspondingly, the selling price will also be higher.

Luoning had already prepared to assign fifteen male and two female Slaves to the Ironwood Workshop last night; now, considering that making Lamellar Armor requires fabric and the work of assembling armor plates, he prepared to assign another five female Slaves there.

William only needs to teach this group of Slaves how to assemble the armor plates; this might take some time, but as long as it succeeds, there will be a large amount of manpower.

After some discussion, he and William finalized the products for the Ironwood Workshop: in the early stages, they will focus on Iron Wood Shield, Ironwood Spear, and Iron Wood Breastplate, and then producing one set of Ironwood Lamellar Armor per month will be sufficient.

At the same time, Luoning also extended an olive branch to William, having the latter become the exclusive carpenter for Shanlin Castle, and set a daily wage of 17 copper coins and 4 copper coins for William and his apprentice son, respectively.

Of course, Luoning also required William to be able to train apprentices.

Regarding this, with the matter of Kalesi as a precedent, William agreed almost without hesitation.

From this point on, Luoning's two workshops could be considered initially established.

Next was the issue of production.

According to Luoning's plan, the produced items will first arm Shanlin Town, and then be sold to the outside world.

Because of the special nature of the Black Iron Tree, outsiders cannot replicate Ironwood Armor, so Luoning can sell it boldly and confidently.

However, the Curved Plow is different; this thing does not have a very high technical threshold, and he believes that any Blacksmith with a little skill will be able to replicate it quickly after buying one.

If Luoning spends a lot of time hoarding a batch of goods, he might sell some at the beginning, but soon imitations will appear outside, and in the end, the goods in his hands might not even sell at a reduced price.

What's more, Luoning currently does not have the ability to produce quickly or hoard goods.

He will think about this issue again when he optimizes the Iron Smelting technology later and can quickly produce plowshares and moldboards through casting.

Therefore, he does not intend to put effort into selling the physical Curved Plow for the time being; if he is to sell it, he will just take the blueprints for making the Curved Plow and sell them once or twice.

After all, knowledge also has value.

(End of this chapter)