I became a witch, but I started the industrial revolution

"As ordered!"

When Ovinia III first learned about artillery, he showed great interest in it. But unlike Medea, he was a cannon enthusiast.

The cannon that Media initially manufactured weighed more than 20 tons and was almost impossible to move. Ovinia III was even more exaggerated, as he thought the larger the barrel, the better.

So at his request, the kingdom's craftsmen built him a heavy artillery that completely surpassed the original Medea model. The caliber of the gun barrel was slightly doubled, but the weight also reached 40 tons...

They found a way to transport this thing to Lalor. If Medea knew about this, he would have to say it was awesome.

Chapter 44: Nobles' Preventive Work

In the evening, in a textile factory in Hendak

The cold weather outside could not take away the heat inside the factory. The steam engine spewed out thick smoke, causing the belts to drive countless gears to rotate rapidly, making a harsh noise.

The crowded and narrow space was filled with workers and densely arranged machines, including many child workers.

The machine runs at an extremely fast speed, which requires people to stare at the movement of the machine for a long time, and the movements of their hands must also be quick and repeated endlessly.

But there were no complaints in the factory because the current environment is bad and they all really need this job to support their families.

Even worse off than them were the slaves in the boiler room, who worked in groups of two to add charcoal, wood and crystal fragments into the burning boiler.

The surrounding area was filled with slave laborers busy transporting combustible materials. Hendak's coal production was average, so this textile factory couldn't get much share, and could only rely on increasing manpower to improve efficiency.

However, the textile factory owners also had a solution, which was to reduce the supply of food to the slaves and let them work more, so that the cost would not be much different from before.

I don't know how long it lasted, but they finally heard the bell for the end of work and the supervisors' scolding.

Many workers in front of the textile machines breathed a sigh of relief and moved their bodies to relieve the numbness and soreness in their joints.

Even more people just stayed where they were with a numb look on their faces. Working from morning to night had made them exhausted. They had no other thoughts in their minds and just wanted to go home quickly and have a good sleep.

When people got dressed and walked out of the factory in groups of two or three, they were puzzled to find that there was a stall set up at the entrance of the factory, which was filled with black bread.

The supervisors nearby urged them to line up quickly so that each person could get one as a midnight snack. The crowd immediately exclaimed, and the crowd became visibly more lively.

Everyone who received the bread was extremely happy. At a time when food was scarce, this piece of black bread mixed with sawdust seemed extremely precious.

There were two people in front of the bread stand. One of them was dressed in gorgeous aristocratic clothes and had a big belly. The other man dressed as a butler was distributing bread and shouting loudly:

"Listen carefully, this is the reward given to you by the master for your hard work. It will be given every night after work! The master has given you food to eat, so you must remember the master's kindness and work hard!"

"Thank you, sir!!!"

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

The workers bowed in gratitude to the fat man dressed as an aristocrat, with tears of gratitude in their eyes.

The fat nobleman slightly lowered his chin to show his acceptance.

When his small eyes glanced at the group of workers, a trace of disgust and disgust flashed in his eyes. If he hadn't found out how Lord Astaire incited these untouchables...

The front line at this time

"Da da da...."

Two heavy machine guns crossed and poured ammunition madly forward in the night. Searchlights sweeping across from time to time could see soldiers rushing towards them in scattered groups in front.

Groups of people fell, and more soldiers rushed up from behind. Through the firelight and moonlight, one could vaguely see various church symbols on their bodies. They were the first group of soldiers from the church who were heading to the East.

At the end of the battlefield, the goddess priest loudly proclaimed the doctrine under the illumination of various colors of white light, guiding the believers to attack Astar's line.

Two days ago, the army led by Astaire was pinned down at the gate by Hendak and could not advance an inch, forcing the commander of this front, Lawrence, to switch from offense to defense.

Among them, the fearless Hendaq Papal Army made Lawrence very annoyed.

Especially after they joined forces with the Vatican's army that had crossed the border into the territory of Hendak from Memrotoch, the fighting spirit they displayed was extremely terrifying. They shouted inexplicable slogans and pushed forward the front line against the firepower network.

Fortunately, when the situation became stalemate, Lawrence cautiously set up a defensive position in the rear, which enabled him to escape in time and avoid a war of attrition with his opponent.

Every night, the Vatican Army would organize a large number of soldiers to attack Astell's defense line, because it was difficult for Astell's artillery units to deliver fire support at this time.

Although the church was never able to break through the firepower network formed by Maxim, the ammunition consumption on Lawrence's side was also the most terrifying.

The fighting lasted from dusk till early morning, and the soldiers defending the front line were exhausted and were replaced by friendly forces to rest.

On the other side, Hendak's side had already organized their attacking forces, forming dozens of square formations with each formation consisting of 20 to 30 people.

Finally, following the commander's orders, they numbly stepped on the blood and corpses on the ground and charged towards Astar's defense line.

These were all soldiers led by Hendak. Their phalanx was surrounded by cavalry musketeers supervising the battle. Anyone who was found leaving the phalanx would be shot on the spot. They drove their soldiers around like wolves driving sheep.

"Boom boom boom!"

Dense artillery shells were fired and artillery fire exploded among the soldiers. Amid the flying flesh and blood rain, the team still firmly maintained their formation and rushed towards the barbed wire.

A large number of phalanxes moved away from each other and attacked Astar's defense line at different angles.

As long as they could survive the death line and get close to the firing range of the muskets, the dense rain of bullets would always kill many of Astar's soldiers.

Their offensive occasionally forced Astell's quad machine guns used for air defense and alert of the Mage Corps to be laid down to clear the defense line. Both sides completely turned this side into a meat grinder.

Although the situation in Hendak Territory was somewhat unexpected, it was not too beyond Medea's expectations. After all, sooner or later they would encounter the Vatican army.

Fortunately, the distance was not far, and Media had deployed a large number of truck troops to deliver supplies to Lawrence. Even if they could not break in, it was basically not a problem to hold on.

It will just reduce some of the transportation capacity support for the two armies that are invading the Kingdom of Palia.

The several territories that had been conquered previously were undergoing rapid reforms, and the large number of old-fashioned muskets that had been confiscated also gave her the possibility to quickly arm the second-line troops.

The recruitment advertisements she asked her subordinates to print were very simple. After all the policies were issued, they would be encouraged to take up arms and protect what they had.

Joining the army means priority in land allocation, tax exemption, priority in receiving disaster relief supplies, pardon for previous participation in the war, etc.

Relying on the veterans who surrendered before to lead the new recruits, Media only needs to leave a small number of main forces as the basic base for maintaining stability.

The remaining troops surrounded the plain between Alos and Yosparta from both sides, and then began to shrink their forces and gather towards the city of Puellalor.

Sixty percent of Astar's main forces and half of its heavy weapons will be gathered here, and the rest will be transferred to Hendak.

As long as it and Hendak are taken down, the entire Ovinia Kingdom's military forces will fall into a brief vacuum and lose support for the Vatican Army, and the situation will enter a stalemate stage of Media's defensive counterattack.

Chapter 45 What the hell? Crude oil!

"What? Say that again?!"

While inspecting the military factory shooting range to watch the mortar test results, Mitia heard some surprising news.

"Ah? Commander, I led the troops to dig wells for the people in Aros. In one town, we dug 14 wells, 9 of which were fire wells. These fire wells catch fire at a touch, and the flames shoot up into the sky... It is very difficult for the villagers nearby to get water."

The subordinate said with a bitter face

Natural gas? Oil layer?!

After asking a few more questions, Medea felt that he had discovered something extraordinary through the information he said, and the smile on his face became brighter and brighter.

Medea immediately returned home and gathered a group of craftsmen and mining equipment, allocated a special train for transportation, and asked the local garrison in Alos to connect with her to conduct exploration and dig wells for collection.

If it is confirmed to be natural gas, then there must be a shallow oil field, or there must be a large oil field under the town! Otherwise, there would not be similar problems encountered after drilling more than a dozen wells.

Crude oil, also known as petroleum, is the blood of industry. It is known as the two pillars of the industrial field together with rubber. If industry has a god, then these two are definitely sacred objects!

If the proven oil reserves are good, then the source of Medea's previous worries will be solved.

Previously, she had been limited by the production and inventory of magic crystals, and had been planning their use in a very cautious manner, and had been unable to provide sufficient support for the industrial equipment in the entire region.

After all, magic crystals need to be ground into powder as raw materials for bullets and shells, and they also serve as energy for engines and steam engines, so the demand is extremely exaggerated.

However, Astell's magic crystal mines are not enough for large-scale construction of factories, railways, and steel, so the only way is to flexibly adjust the allocation according to the importance of the demand.

But it will be different with crude oil. The energy problem of the internal combustion engine will be completely solved, and the excess crystals can be handed over to the factory to build more machines.

Natural gas can also replace part of the factory's power source, and the extra machines will in turn allow her to manufacture equipment on a larger scale.

Now that the internal combustion engine has been freed from the constraints of energy pressure, its production capacity will naturally explode.

Energy is the decisive resource for determining how much power an industrial behemoth can unleash!

"Has the news been confirmed? Is it true?"

"It's probably correct. My confidant has infiltrated that steam train station and is working undercover. She boarded the train to Titos today. There is a new railway line that has just opened to Alos."

In the meeting hall of a castle at the foot of a mountain in the territory of Alos, a dozen nobles, whose clothes were no longer so gorgeous, sat together.

This castle is the private castle of Count Alos.

They had followed him here many times before for outings and had memorized the location. When the Median army captured Alos, many of them evacuated here in time.

The decoration of the meeting hall was extremely luxurious and gorgeous. Pearls, gemstones, gold and silver ornaments could be seen everywhere, but they were just decorative items. The fireplace made of precious magic-immune stone was emitting warm heat.

But the decoration that seemed pleasing to the eye in the past now makes them feel angry when they are down and out and wandering.

"This stinky bitch finally gave us a chance!"

The old Earl of Alos, who was in the lead, cursed gloomily, then looked at the others: "Where are the assassin mercenaries hired from the Holy Continent?"

"They are hiding in the city of Aros. We were originally worried about how to send them to Astra. Now, they are here by themselves! The goddess of magic is really protecting us."

"Great! As long as she dies, everything will be over! I will tear those damned untouchables into pieces!"

"It's a blessing for that damn bitch that she's dead. I have nothing now, and it's all her fault! It's true that women are the most vicious when they are cruel."

Old Earl Alos waved his hand to interrupt the excited crowd and decided: "Very good, then let those people get ready, and then we will help them one last time. It must be clean and neat, and not delay the reinforcements from those soldiers."

"We understand. Wait for our good news!"

"Kill her! King Owenia will help us regain our territory, and we will all be heroes whose names will go down in the history of the Owenia Kingdom!"

This group of nobles hated Medea because the policies he implemented were indeed vicious enough.

In the past, during the Old Kingdom period, various taxes such as military service tax, corvée tax, land tax, grain tax, etc. were all levied on a per capita basis.

This model of fixed taxes on civilians and no taxes on the nobles will inevitably require ordinary people with small land and large population to bear the high taxes.

However, it is impossible for the kingdom to count every civilian individual, nor is it possible to calculate the civilians' income. This workload is simply impossible to complete, so this part of the power is delegated to local lords.

The local lords were unwilling and unable to do statistics, so power was once again decentralized to local nobles and small lords, who in turn collected taxes from manor owners and civilians.

They often had to rely on local landowners to collect taxes, so they would give them noble titles and rely on them to collect taxes from civilians in their jurisdiction.

Each level is connected to the next, and from the lowest manor owner to the highest king, they are only responsible for their subordinates, which is the so-called royal power does not extend to the countryside.

And no matter how the upper institutions rotate, it is difficult to shake the status of these nobles because you need them to collect and pay taxes.