Chapter 388 Huilu Town Armory and Honeycomb Briquette

Huilu Town consists of two parts, one is the residential area outside the city, and the other is the smelting area inside the city.

The Knights' Hall, where the nobles once gathered, was transformed into the town hall, and across the block from the town hall was the Ashforge Armory.

This was not the first time that Halkin came to Grayfurnace Town. He walked in through the main gate with ease and greeted the night watchmen on duty.

Currently, Halkin is in the Holy Casting Department, in charge of peat-related affairs. Since peat has some military uses, he also shares a small amount of ordnance affairs.

For example, he was also responsible for the quality inspection and collection of the armor, and coincidentally, the person responsible for making the armor was Halkin's father, Brock.

This father and son duo, one responsible for design and construction and the other for quality inspection and debt collection, were originally a rather ambiguous combination.

But Halkin has always been a business man, and he doesn't even care about his father, which often makes old Brock furious.

Some people even heard that old Brock was writing letters to his hometown, trying to marry a new wife and have a second child to replace this unfilial son Halkin.

Standing in front of the armory, Halkin looked up at the huge "Holy Casting Department" sign and blinked.

This ordnance workshop, which employs more than 300 craftsmen, has two floors and covers an area of ​​about five acres. An artificial river extends from the Jeanne d'Arc canal into the workshop.

The entire workshop is divided into four areas, namely the central workshop, the division workshop, the raw material and equipment warehouse, and the office on the second floor.

The central workshop is the largest working area, with large equipment such as medicine tanks, furnaces, forging tables and hydraulic hammers occupying the main space, and is mainly used for large-scale forging operations.

The smelting of the iron ore was then transferred to the town of Mayo, where piles of crude and refined iron were transported in truckloads.

The division of labor workshop has special rooms or areas for different types of craftsmen to use, such as shoulder armor making, arm armor making, breastplate front plate making, breastplate back plate making, helmet making, mixing room, assembly room, inspection room, etc.

The rough parts made in the central workshop will be sent to the sub-workshop for refinement, and then reworked in the central workshop if necessary.

The armor that has been completed and passed quality inspection will be sent to the finished product warehouse, which of course also stores raw materials and semi-finished products. It is usually located on the side close to the road for easy entry and exit and transportation.

Finally, there is the office area on the second floor, which is mainly where managers and master craftsmen gather to arrange work, record production progress and design technical drawings.

The monks who used to stay in the monastery all day long, chanting scriptures and copying books, were separated from their quiet religious work by Horn and forced into workshops.

The management knowledge and military equipment design passed down orally were transformed into more efficient rules and regulations by the writings of these monks who were originally unproductive.

Instead of going upstairs to find his father immediately, Halkin first stood in the central workshop and observed the construction scene.

White steam rose from the medicine jar, and the softened metal emitted a bright white luster. Every time the hammer fell, it would pick up a bright white spark.

Under the medicine jar are pieces of peat shaped like lotus roots. This is a new form of honeycomb coal launched by the Holy Casting Department.

This kind of honeycomb briquettes are made by drying the peat, grinding it into powder, and then gluing it together with yellow mud.

Several holes are drilled in each piece of honeycomb briquettes so that the flame and the peat itself can be exposed to more air and burn more vigorously.

Because of its large contact area with air and its difficulty in falling apart, 8 pieces of honeycomb coal can meet a day's fuel needs when used with a special honeycomb coal iron stove.

This method was proposed by Saint Sun Horn as early as the Autumn Dusk Island period, and it was well received once it was used.

Not only is it convenient, but it also has higher combustion efficiency and is cheaper.

The price of honeycomb briquettes is 18 to 20 dinars per ton, while the price of firewood is about 26 to 28 dinars per ton.

Although prices have dropped since the opening of the forests, the price of firewood still remains at around 20 to 22 dinars.

But the problem is that one hundred pounds of honeycomb briquettes can only be used for about half a month, while one hundred pounds of firewood can only be used for less than a week.

Because firewood and other fuels are expensive, people in Qianhe Valley mix rice and wheat.

Although wheat production is low due to climate reasons, bread baked with wheat flour is more cost-effective than rice crackers that need to be steamed and cooked every meal.

If honeycomb coal can be promoted, then more high-yield rice crackers can be widely planted in agriculture, and the agriculture of Langsand County will usher in another leap forward.

Although each ton of honeycomb briquettes only sells for 18 to 20 dinars, peat workshops can still earn nearly double the profit compared to their low costs.

Halkin looked at the flames of honeycomb coal in the stove, stroked his chin and fell into deep thought. Otherwise, he could lower the price again and force the price of fuel down, so that he could sell more.

But the problem is that they don't have enough alchemists on hand.

In today's market, the hiring price of an alchemist is generally 10% to 20% higher than that of an ordinary craftsman.

If we expand production blindly, it will be difficult to finish it.

"What do you want to see me for, little brat?" Brock asked Halkin in a strange voice with a wooden face and sticking tongue.

Halkin turned around and saw his father in a leather vest coming down the stairs.

Brock's mouth was full of blisters, and he looked at Halkin with an unfriendly look.

"Dad, why does your voice sound weird? What's wrong with your mouth?"

"There's an imbalance in body fluids and too much heat. There are a lot of blisters on your mouth and tongue. It's nothing serious." Brock looked expressionless when he saw his youngest son caring about him, but he felt warm in his heart.

But the next sentence made Brock tremble with anger, and in the hot weather he broke out in cold sweat and his hands and feet were cold.

"Since it's not a big deal, let's hurry up and make the next batch of breastplates." Halkin smiled and pulled his father's hand. "You have done a great deed. I will report it to Shengsun and reward you with a big one."

“Boom, boom, boom!” Brock shook off Halkin’s hand. He was so angry that he couldn’t speak clearly. He pushed Halkin out and said, “I’m ready. I’ll leave if nothing happens.”

"No, no." He grabbed the door frame with both hands, half of his body was pushed out of the door, and Halkin turned back with difficulty and said, "I came here with a mission. I have something important to do."

Amid the tittering of the surrounding craftsmen, Brock asked Halkin to turn around with a sullen look.

"Dad, look what this is?" Halkin took out two palm-sized metal bars from his pocket.

"Mithril? Fine gold? Where did you get it from?" Brock snatched the two metal bars from Harkin's hands and wiped them carefully, his eyes shining. "The purity is not low."

Mithril and adamantium are two relatively rare alchemical products. Apart from those formed naturally, only dwarves can make them.

The functions of these two minerals are amazing. Mithril can reduce the weight when added to weapons and armor, while adamantium can enhance the hardness and toughness.

"It's a gift from the knights of the Golden River," Halkin said with a cheerful smile. "What do you think of mixing mithril into the firing rod?"

"That requires a dwarven forging table and materials."

"Is there a way to get around the dwarven forge?"

"You figured out this method, and then had the technology stolen by humans, right? Use your brain." Brock grunted and stuffed the two metal bars into his pocket.

"Dad, look at you..." Halkin reached out to take out Brock's pocket, but Brock grabbed his hand. Halkin immediately grabbed Brock's clothes with his other hand, but Brock turned his body sideways to prevent him from taking out his pocket.

The father and son struggled for a long time, and their clothes were torn apart. Halkin had no choice but to take a step back:
"Your Majesty has already said that a patent bill will be introduced in the next five years. Anyone who uses this technology will have to pay us a patent fee. This way, we will have the money without having to work so hard to create it."

"Humans have too many sweet words. I don't believe them." Brock said hoarsely, "Didn't the Norns promise not to spread the news? What happened later?"

"This won't work, and that won't work either. What do you want?"

Halkin became furious and roared on the spot, "Be stubborn, be stubborn, be stubborn! The stubborn Saint Sun was defeated in the front, and the stubborn Langsander County was in chaos, and the Salvation Army was wiped out. I will die with you."

But this time Brock didn't get angry. Instead, he glared at him with disdain: "Would I not have thought of that? Like you?

Last time you said the armor was not up to standard, I wrote to some of my dwarf friends in Northshire, and they soon came with a forging platform, you idiot."

"Oh, awesome." Halkin immediately put on a flattering expression, hugged his father, and kissed him twice on the face. "You are worthy of it, Dad. I said you are smart and beautiful..."

"Get down, get down!" Brock felt a little embarrassed by Halkin. With a red face, he pulled Halkin's beard and pulled him off him. "Anything else? Don't bother me if you don't have anything else."

"Okay, I'm leaving now. I won't bother you anymore. Don't forget about the armor!"

"Get out of here!" Brock, who was furious, kicked Halkin on the butt and kicked him out of the workshop door.

(End of this chapter)