Release that Witch - Chapter 505

[Chapter 498]

It took a day to return to the border area. Roland felt backache and back pain. After washing up, he went to bed early, and he regained his energy around noon the next day.

It seems that soundproof cabins and soft reclining chairs must be set up on his special ship, he thought to himself, and it would be better to have a spacious big bed.

Otherwise, sitting on a constantly trembling hard bench and listening to the repeated roar of the steam engine is a double torture to the mind and body.

Walking into the office, the first thing Roland did was to recruit Chief Barov Mons and Minister of Agriculture Seni Dali. Now there is only one week left before the scheduled time for the spring offensive. The army has Iron Ax He is very assured that he is sure, so the most important thing is to do a good job in agricultural production and do a good job in spring planting. After all, only when there is food in hand can we not panic.

“At Changge Wharf, I have already seen the seeds transported in the past. As long as there is the Golden One, the harvest there will not be too bad this year. But the border area is the key point. We are the role model, the proof, and the An example for everyone to see!” He knocked on the table and said, “So, how is the spring plowing work done, who can tell me?”

“Your Highness, the current situation is like this,” Barov said first, “Only 30% of the serfs who were promoted in the first batch were willing to continue farming. With the addition of the newly recruited serfs, the total agricultural population is now around 10,000. According to the average wheat output of the previous year, the grain produced by these 10,000 people It should be able to feed 40,000 to 50,000 people.” He paused, and added, “The feeding I’m talking about is calculated based on the purchase limit of wheat for official residents, which is far greater than the daily consumption of ordinary people in other cities. If you starve to death, then you can add another 20,000.”

“That’s roughly the case, Your Highness,” Saini continued, “but the above conclusions are based on the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture from the previous year. This year, about half of the serfs—mainly The new batch will use the Gold No. 2 improved by Mr. Ye Zi… Seriously, if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe that so many ears of wheat could grow on the stalks, plus there are 2,000 people who will Instead of planting potatoes and corn, so I can’t predict what the final actual output will be.”

“As for the farming part, the farmland is currently being plowed. According to the crop planting manual written before, the field needs to be plowed three times repeatedly, and the fermented compost is mixed into it-this process usually takes three to four weeks, mainly depending on a piece of land. The number of workers in the village and the farm tools used, the serfs in the previous year basically rented iron farm tools, which should shorten the plowing time a lot.”

“As for how deep the trenches need to be dug, and the seeds are scattered in the intervals, I have arranged for apprentices Go to conduct publicity and explanations, and teach them to sow seeds according to the best method in the planting manual.”

It can be seen that this former wolf knight has put a lot of effort into farming, and he has considered the aspects that need to be taken into account. Roland couldn’t help but nodded.

Agriculture is underdeveloped in this era because it relies too much on the land itself. One field is equivalent to all that is planted. In order to protect the field, it is even necessary to plow for one year and rest for two years. The efficiency of land use is extremely low.

Now that Neverwinter has controllable irrigation, natural fertilizers and reasonable planting methods, plus the seeds transformed from leaves, the yield is naturally astonishingly high in the eyes of the locals.

However, for Roland, more than 10,000 people out of a total population of 30,000 are engaged in farming, which is still too high a ratio.

Next, if you want to reduce the agricultural population, the most effective way is to start with agricultural tools, such as manufacturing some agricultural equipment that uses animal power or mechanical power to work.

“Very good, keep up the momentum,” he said with satisfaction, “In addition, the manpower sent to the Changge District must also be recorded well, and if it is to be extended to other cities in the future, it will be implemented according to this model.”

Finished Regarding agricultural affairs, Roland left the castle, and accompanied by Nightingale and his personal guards, went to the Redwater River dock.

The ship that Anna was in charge of construction had entered the weapon installation stage two days ago. The hull painted with gray and red two-color anti-corrosion coating stood quietly on the sleepers, and the hull, which was the size of three cement boats, looked very burly.

Unlike cement paddle steamers without cabins, its sides are close to two meters, and all the boilers and steam engines can be stuffed into the abdomen, and the paddle wheels are also canceled on the two ribs.

In addition, another feature of it is that there is a raised bridge in the center of the hull. Although it is only one story high, it still looks very eye-catching.

Of course, as a shallow water heavy artillery ship, the most important equipment is undoubtedly the 152mm cannon.

In order to save construction time, Roland did not ask Anna to manufacture the naval cannon alone, but dismantled the fortress cannon on the city wall and planned to board the ship directly.

Now, it is sitting next to the dock, waiting for the final hoisting.

“Your Highness,” seeing Roland appear, Anna immediately waved to him, “Here!” The

prince

walked over with a smile, “How is the construction going?

She took care of all the production of the gunboat. Although she handed over the blueprints of key parts to her, this is an unprecedented large-scale project after all, and it is normal to encounter various problems.

“It didn’t go well,” she shook her head, “The more troublesome problems are the side deformation of the hull, water leakage from the propeller, the hull tilting to one side after the bridge is welded, and the gun mounts can’t get stuck on the guns, but I have already solved them. ”

“All… solved?” Roland asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Anna said with a bright smile, pointing her fingers, “The side deformation is caused by the thin steel plate on the ship’s side. I installed a fixed support frame on the easily deformed part; the propeller leaked because of the casing and There is always a gap in the connecting rod. I surrounded it with a water tank so that the leaked water would not run around. It can be pumped out by the power of the steam engine; the deflection of the bridge is caused by the asymmetrical weight. A little bit of modification is enough, the problem of the gun mount is the most difficult to solve, I finally found the inspiration on the revolver – first cut out a row of tooth marks on the bottom ring, and then add another one that can be inserted The claws between the teeth can fix the rotating gun mount in any direction you want to aim at.”

Roland blinked, and it took a long time before he said a word, “You are such a genius.” Although these are not What a difficult problem to deal with, but that is for me who has drawn countless mechanical drawings, especially the last point. I am afraid that only Anna has this meticulous observation from the structure of the revolver gun to the fixing method of the gun mount. strength.

“By the way, Your Highness, does this ship have a name?”

“Not yet,” he raised his eyebrows, “what’s the matter?”

“The soldiers of the First Army would come to see it every few days, and they were vying to engrave their names on the bridge,” Anna said with a light smile , “They said that you promised that the person with the best artillery skills can have a ship named after him.

” The two of Nelson said, “But this ship is not good. You must know that the name of the first warship not only represents the ship itself, but also represents the model of this level.” He raised the corner of his mouth, “I can’t give this honor to others, so Let’s call it the Roland—the No. 1 ship of the Roland class.” (To be continued.)

[End of this Chapter]