Chapter 143: Come With Me
"My Lord, are we just going to let this matter go?"
Aiden was unwilling to accept it.
"Remember, anger without strength is meaningless. Schemes and tricks are nothing but paper tigers in the face of absolute power. Just wait, this prince will make them beg to send us money and provisions. But before that, you should focus your efforts on repairing Dunmere City’s walls."
Simon spoke firmly to Aiden.
"Yes, My Lord."
Aiden nodded. These vassal kings were shameless, and there was truly nothing he could do about it.
When the topic shifted to repairing the city walls, Simon said. "By the way, come with me to the industrial district. This time, we won’t be using the old methods for wall repairs; they’re too slow."
With that, the two arrived at the industrial district, and Simon led Aiden directly to the cement workshop.
"My Lord, what is this powder?" Even Aiden couldn’t freely enter the industrial district, so he naturally had no idea what was inside.
"This is called cement. Up until now, it’s only been used in the construction of the industrial district." Simon glanced around at the now well-established industrial zone.
As the district expanded, the living quarters and workshops were separated.
A canteen had been built in the living area to provide three meals a day for the labourers, and the houses there were made of brick and concrete, constructed from cement and blue bricks.
The designs for these houses, of course, came from Simon.
Though not as aesthetically pleasing as wooden structures, they were far more durable and sturdy. Each building was long and rectangular, with large communal sleeping quarters housing fifty people per room.
"Cement?" Aiden looked at the material between the blue bricks and asked, puzzled. "My Lord, is this the cement you mentioned?"
He pointed at the substance filling the gaps between the bricks.
Simon had kept cement low-key until now, and most people hadn’t paid much attention to its uses. But the time had finally come for cement to shine.
Traditional city walls were built by quarrying stone and transporting it back for construction, an extremely inefficient process.
Cement, however, was different. Blue or red bricks could be fired on-site using local materials, and only the cement needed to be transported from Brambleford.
Moreover, cement wasn’t used in large quantities during construction. A single shipment would likely be enough for Dunmere’s needs.
Additionally, masonry was highly flexible and fast. If one layer of bricks wasn’t enough, another could be added to increase the thickness.
Modern masonry techniques were well-established, and generally, ten skilled workers could build a 400-square-meter, three-meter-high house in just three days.
Simon had already trained a group of experienced masons in the industrial district specifically for the task of repairing Dunmere’s walls.
"Exactly. As you can see, once cement is applied between two bricks and dries, they become extremely sturdy. I’ll take you to see how the masons work. Think about how we can modify Dunmere’s walls to better suit cannon fire."
For this reaver invasion, the cannons were already in production, and now it was time to start repairing Dunmere’s walls.
During the cannon-casting period, Simon had ordered the cement workshop to increase production, all for this moment, handing the cement over to Aiden to begin wall repairs.
Aiden nodded and followed Simon to a building under construction near the water’s edge. It seemed to have just broken ground.
"This is the textile workshop. Right now, we’re building the factory. Once the spinning machines are ready, this place will produce military uniforms and other textiles for the Brambleford army."
Simon was currently having Fjord replicate a multi-spindle spinning machine based on modern design. In the Eldorian Empire, current spinning machines could only produce one thread at a time, an extremely inefficient process.
This level of productivity was far from meeting demand. But once multi-spindle spinning machines were introduced, the situation would improve drastically.
In his past world, modern spinning machines had dramatically increased cloth production in her hometown, earning the saying. "The cotton cloth clothes the world."
The spinning machines Simon had Fjord working on were even more advanced than the first modern spinning machine. Moreover, they were foot-powered, making them easy to promote among the common people. This would mobilise women across the six cities to spin thread, boosting Brambleford’s textile industry.
When modern Britain rose to power, it was the textile industry that led the way, accumulating vast wealth.
Thus, Simon took this matter very seriously.
As they spoke, Aiden kept his eyes fixed on the masons building the walls. Watching them quickly raise a thick wall, his expression gradually grew excited.
"My Lord, masonry is much faster than quarrying stone for city walls. If I have enough workers, I guarantee I can turn Dunmere into an impregnable fortress within five months!"
The failed negotiations with the other vassal kings had dealt Aiden a heavy blow. Simon wanted to restore his confidence, after all, even he might not have done better. At least Aiden had managed to extract something from Prince Augustus.
"In that case, I’ll leave this entirely in your hands. But what’s your plan?"
Simon still wanted to understand Aiden’s construction strategy. The reaver invasion was no trivial matter.
"First, we’ll build artillery towers atop the walls. Second, I’ll extend the walls outward and construct additional artillery towers and arrow towers on the extensions. This will allow more cannons to fire simultaneously."
After a pause, Aiden suddenly smirked. "And after seeing how cement and blue bricks work today, I’ve thought of a new idea: building brick pillars in front of the walls. This will slow the reavers’ advance and make it harder for them to set up scaling ladders."
Simon nodded in satisfaction. Aiden was a quick learner.
These stone pillars would function similarly to a cheval de frise, but for people rather than horses.
Cannons were most effective at long range. Once enemies reached the base of the walls, their usefulness dropped sharply. At that point, close-range weapons like crossbows would be needed.
Aiden’s suggestion made Simon consider producing crude hand grenades.
The method would involve packing gunpowder into medium-sized clay pots, sealing the openings with wooden plugs, and inserting fuses. Light the fuse and throw, like a firecracker, but much more powerful.
When the reavers were forced to cluster together behind the stone pillars, tossing these into their midst would be... Quite satisfying.
With this in mind, Simon grew even more confident about repelling the reaver invasion. Once they arrived, these new weapons would send them fleeing in terror.