British hegemon

Chapter 116 Water-powered Blower

Roger is converting the funds and materials from the southward trade during the winter into production capacity expansion for the Milk House Estate and two factories.

Inside the second saltworks on Holly Island, eight veteran saltworkers and four newly recruited saltworkers stood together in the courtyard, listening to Roger's instructions.

The saltworks had been operating continuously for two months, and now that it was the coldest time of year, Roger decided to shut it down for a week, partly to give the salt workers a few days to rest and go home to see their wives and children.

More importantly, after the trial production at the new site, it is necessary to promptly identify and address any shortcomings in order to make sufficient preparations for a year of continuous operation.

The Milk House Manor has already dispatched some craftsmen to the island for work. Roger reiterated the reward mechanism and confidentiality rules for technical improvements to the salt workers, "...Don't doubt your own abilities. If you can think of any way to increase production or improve quality, feel free to speak up. I will reward you accordingly based on the practicality of your suggestions."

"Finally, I'll reiterate the secrecy once again. You will receive an extra confidentiality fee from me. If anyone dares to reveal anything about this island, even if they talk in their sleep while sleeping with your woman, I will cut out their tongue and make it into jerky."

After saying this, a senior salt worker who had been "re-employed" from a wounded soldier handed a piece of parchment that he had prepared beforehand to the young horseman, Igor.

Young horseman Igor held up the parchment and explained to everyone that the note outlined the confidentiality obligations that salt workers at Campbell's Saltworks had to abide by, as well as the special wages they would receive for keeping secrets. Of course, the note also specified the punishments for leaking the secrets.

After saying this, the weakling Gildonan took out a quill pen, and the salt workers took turns stepping forward and, under the guidance of the young stableman Igor, used the quill pen to circle the corresponding names on the parchment, which was considered their "signature".

People in this era like to use contracts to regulate social behavior, which is something Roger appreciates.

Roger spent half a day on Holly Island, personally participating in several improvements to the saltworks. The main problem was the severe wear and tear on the iron pots used for boiling salt and the filtration system. Roger couldn't find a solution, so he could only have the salt workers wash the salt stains in the iron pots with clean water twice a day, and the fine cloth in the filtration system had to be thoroughly cleaned every night.

In the afternoon, Roger returned to the manor and went to the front lines to talk with the workshop artisans.

After Christmas last year, Roger set many goals for the workshop craftsmen—to improve iron smelting technology and produce more high-quality iron billets; to make fan-bladed blowers to increase furnace temperature; and to try to make hydraulic forging hammers.

Of course, the craftsmen also had to forge swords, spears, and shields for Roger's armed forces, as well as repair their armor.

Roger brought back a lot of high-quality iron during his several trips out of the island for trade. The craftsmen at Milk House Manor forged more than a dozen weapons and shields. Although the two weapon apprentices were still relatively inexperienced and the swords and spears they made were not exactly exquisite, they were still basically usable.

This surpasses the blacksmiths on the island who can only forge sickles and hoes.

However, Roger is more concerned with improving the production tools themselves than with making simple weapons.

After practical testing, Roger learned that his design of a hydraulic fan-type blower had many difficulties.

Although the craftsmen couldn't express it precisely, Roger could tell that the biggest problem was the poor airtightness of the fan-type blower, which resulted in insufficient pressure when blowing air into the furnace, making it difficult to effectively raise the furnace temperature.

Although the experiment with the hydraulic fan-type blower was essentially a failure, foreman Tom gave Roger another surprise.

Tom was inspired by Roger's idea of ​​using a waterwheel to power the fan blades. He combined the waterwheel with an existing blower bladder, using the waterwheel to drive the bladder to blow air. Through the wheel axle, lever, and rope, he transformed the circular motion into linear reciprocating motion, thereby achieving the purpose of starting and stopping the fan and blowing air.

Tom had already made a prototype, and Roger was amazed when he saw it, and couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration.

Actually, this thing is not high technology at all. It was already widespread in a certain large country in the East hundreds or thousands of years ago. But for the West, where productivity was backward, it was a great step forward in human industrial civilization.

Thanks to improvements in the blower equipment, the output and efficiency of bloomery iron production have increased, with the capacity to process 200 pounds of ore per day, producing around 60 pounds of spongy bloomery iron, and ultimately forging 40 to 50 pounds of iron billets.

Roger could obtain mostly low-grade iron ore, so the iron yield wasn't too bad.

However, the current difficulty also lies in the problem of fuel for iron smelting. Roger's suggestion of using peat to smelt iron does not seem to work, and Tom suggests trying black coal as fuel for iron smelting.

After hearing the description, Roger learned that people at this time had already begun to use coal fuel known as "black coal".

So when Roger formed the "Intelligence Squad" for the second time, with Earl the Ponytail as the leader and Gray Rat and his henchmen as members, "collecting information on where black coal is found in Scotland or the surrounding area" became another important task for the "Intelligence Squad".

In fact, Glasgow's rise to become the third largest city in Britain was due to the heavy industry that thrived on the coal industry.

On February 10, 1306 AD, snowflakes would occasionally fall from the sky, but the air was truly cold.

Sensing the coming "era of turmoil," Roger dispatched a professional "intelligence squad." He allocated a large sum of ten pounds to Earl the Ponytail, sending them to collect and purchase intelligence throughout the Scottish mainland.

At the same time, Roger handed over the production and management of Milk House Estate and its factories to Old Butler Bard, Young Stableman Igor, and two newly recruited business assistants, while he himself devoted himself to training and coordinating with the armed forces.

Over the past six months, Roger's physical fitness has improved significantly, and his adaptability has also increased considerably.

With their soldiers well-fed, watered, and paid in full, they trained diligently, and Roger's knightly force was growing stronger at a visible pace. Even the worst of them, Bald Neil, had learned to use a sword and shield and to ride a horse at full gallop.

Of course, it's impossible for everything to be harmonious. The Milk House Manor is now a mix of old and new residents, including local natives and immigrants. Disputes and conflicts are inevitable, and disputes over land boundaries or even a small vegetable garden can cause conflicts from time to time.

Fortunately, Arun Island was once a bustling commercial center, and the islanders are quite tolerant of "outsiders." After a few clashes, everyone has basically begun to get along well.

66

"I told you yesterday I'd get the black chestnut's hooves trimmed and shoes changed, you lazy bum! On the battlefield, it's your only hope for survival. Without your warhorse, how will you, a bastard, escape the English cavalry's pursuit?"

"Hurry up and take him to the stable to have his hooves trimmed and his shoes changed. Don't forget to remind Pockmarked to add an egg to the black bean bran." Ma En kicked Bald Neil's butt, sending him flying next to the black mare.

Bald Neil grumbled and led the black mare toward the manor's stable.