King of the North: My Lord's Diary Weekly Summary

The next morning, Wayne led Raymond to the foot of a cliff in the southeastern part of the territory.

As dawn broke, the river made a sharp turn at the foot of the cliff, its waters crashing against the rocks with a low, rumbling sound.

Wayne looked up—the cliff was tens of meters high, with a flat top.

Not only Wayne, but even the usually composed Raymond couldn't hide the excitement on his face.

"My lord, you can finally build your castle here!"

He was in charge of defense, so of course he was excited to be able to participate in building the main castle of the territory.

Wayne nodded and walked up the mountain path, with Raymond following closely behind.

The moment you reach the top of the cliff, your view opens up dramatically.

Looking east, you can overlook the entire valley, with the winding Icemark River resembling a silver ribbon; looking west, you can see the woodland in the direction of the outpost, the treetops gleaming with gold in the morning light; to the north, there are open hills that stretch all the way to the horizon.

To the south are hillsides, and villages can be seen in the distance.

"It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, with abundant water resources, a wide field of vision, and underground caves."

Raymond counted on his fingers: "My lord, this is simply a match made in heaven for building a castle!"

Wayne smiled too—it was the joy of a successful harvest.

"Let's go and see how to set it up."

The two walked and talked on the top of the cliff.

The outline of the castle was already forming in Wayne's mind.

"Raymond, how thick do you think the city walls should be?"

"At least six feet."

Raymond crouched down and patted the ground with his palm: "The rock here is hard; we can dig the foundation directly."

The exterior walls are made of the stone we quarried, and the interior is filled with crushed stone and rammed earth.

"Given the current situation, the main structure should be erected before winter."

Wayne shook his head: "I only need the foundation and the inner fortress until November."

I want meticulous craftsmanship, not a hastily completed, dilapidated village.

Raymond paused for a moment, then grinned: "Sir, I'm relieved to hear that."

"How do you plan to set up the defensive fortifications?"

After Wayne gained the ability to build and live, he also participated in the planning and command of the construction of the stone fortress on the east side of the river—Raymond's initial surprise has turned into trust.

"Three gates are set up on the south slope, with a barbican space behind each gate."

Wayne pointed down: "Although the cliff is steep, we can't be completely at ease."

On the east, west, and north sides, every ten meters along the base of the cliff, there were several openwork bunkers, providing crossfire to cover the bottom of the cliff.

Raymond's eyes lit up: "Should the arrow towers on the surface be double-layered or triple-layered?"

"Two layers are enough."

The lower level stores grain and water, while the upper level is used for combat operations.

Remember to install the stacking edges and log troughs.

Wayne paused for a moment: "I want to build five floors of the main tower on the ground."

The first floor served as the council chamber, the second as the living quarters, the third as the study and confidential room, the fourth as the lookout post, and the fifth as a platform—where large crossbows could be mounted.

"What about underground?"

"Storage and emergency access."

Wayne looked towards the edge of the cliff: "If necessary, we can go down to the bottom of the cliff through the secret passage and evacuate by water."

Raymond took a deep breath: "My lord, this design... is more comprehensive than any castle I have ever seen."

"There's something even more comprehensive."

Wayne smiled. "Let's go down and take a look at the cave."

The two descended the mountain path to the bottom of the cliff and entered the cave where they had fought before.

Rachel's men had already cleaned it up; the Stitches' corpse had been dragged away and burned, leaving only some residual bloodstains and claw marks on the stone wall.

The torchlight flickered in the darkness.

Raymond walked along, observing the cave walls and occasionally tapping the rocks to listen to the sounds and determine their structure.

Wien, whether by listening or seeing, perceived things much faster than Raymond.

When Wayne reached the stone chamber where the alien dragon had been born, he stopped.

It was colder here than before, and the remaining chill seeped out from the cracks in the stone walls, condensing into a thin layer of frost on the ground.

"This place..."

Raymond shivered. "It's so cold."

"Perfect."

Wien said.

Raymond didn't understand: "Perfect?"

Wayne crouched down, pressing his palms to the ground, feeling the temperature of the rocks.

His architectural expertise sketched a three-dimensional picture in his mind—cold air seeping out from the lower levels, and deeper down, there should be access to geothermal energy.

"Raymond, think about it."

"With a castle built on top, what's the worst thing about winter?"

"cold."

Raymond blurted out, "The winters in the North can freeze a person to death."

"What if I could keep the castle warm in winter using only a small amount of coal?"

Raymond was stunned: "Sir, you mean...?"

"We all know that there are geothermal layers underground. If you drill a deep well and reach the geothermal layer, hot air will naturally rise."

The rising hot air heats the stone walls through pre-existing flues within the walls, and then escapes from the top of the tower.

Raymond's eyes widened.

"After the hot air rises, the cold air in the castle will sink and return to the bottom of the cave through the passage."

The cave itself is cold, and the cold air, being even colder and denser, will continue to sink, flowing to the bottom of the deep well, where it will be heated and rise again.

Wayne finished the last stroke and stood up.

"It's a natural cycle; it doesn't require firewood or human labor."

In winter, the castle walls are warm.

Raymond stared at the sketch on the ground, remaining silent for a long time.

Then he looked up and his gaze towards Wayne changed.

"grown ups……"

His voice was a little dry: "This thing... you actually came up with it?"

Wayne smiled and said, "Just tell me what the problem is."

Raymond crouched down, tracing the outline of the sketch with his fingers, muttering to himself: "Hot air rises... flue inside the wall... cold air flows back..."

That... is definitely possible.

Wayne echoed Raymond's words: "But it requires meticulous design."

He pointed to several points on the sketch.

"First, deep wells need to be drilled to the geothermal layer, which is very deep."

The well wall should be lined with stone, with gaps for air intake, and a gate should be installed at the wellhead to regulate the flow rate.

Second, the heat collection chamber.

A stone chamber was excavated at the top of the deep well and filled with a large number of pebbles.

When hot air passes by, the pebbles absorb heat and release it slowly at night, stabilizing the temperature.

Third, the main flue. It runs upwards from the heat collection chamber to the castle foundation, and then branches into the walls of each floor.

The cross-section of the flue should not be too small; two feet square is sufficient. The inner wall should be sealed with straw mud.

Fourth, internal flue gas ducts. A cavity, half a foot wide, is reserved in the exterior wall of each main room on each floor. Hot air flows through it to heat the wall.

The walls should be made of stone with good heat absorption...

Fifth, the air vents and return air ducts…

After listening, Raymond remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Sir, there are a few problems with your plan."

"explain."

"First, digging a well. Twenty zhang deep, that's very difficult."

Wayne nodded: "Then let's take it in two steps, slowly."

Start by attacking downwards from the alien dragon's lair, until you reach a point where there's enough hot air.

"Second, flue sealing."

"Walls plastered with mud and straw will crack over time."

"Then we'll do regular inspections. We'll check it every year before winter and repair any cracks we find."

"third……"

After explaining the underfloor heating pipe design, Raymond thought for a moment and then pointed to the sketch: "Sir, wouldn't the castle be too dry according to your plan?"

Wayne smiled.

This is exactly the question he's been waiting for.