Kingdombuilding: All My Inventions Are Novelty

As soon as he spoke, the entire classroom took on a puzzled expression.

Seeing so many confused faces, Simon suddenly felt a bit worn out. This was precisely why he had established this academy. It wasn’t something that Liam and the others could understand in just a day or two.

First, he had to teach them addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Then he would move on to basic physics. If he could get them to a level comparable to second-year middle school physics, that would be enough. Based on his estimate, even with the advantages of his system, it would still take nearly a month for Liam and the others to grasp the concepts of impact point calculation and complete the sight calibration.

Of course, he wasn’t planning on selling any cannons equipped with precision sights. Those would be reserved for his own use. Once sights were installed, it would be a technological leap forward. In a battle between armies, the advantage of such cannons would be immediately apparent.

"My Lord, I don’t understand a word of what you just said," Liam admitted, clearly frustrated. As a military officer, all this theoretical knowledge gave him a headache.

"You’ll understand once you’ve studied it," Simon replied without looking at him. He had no intention of explaining the spherical-heaven, square-earth theory to Liam; after all, the man operated on land and had little use for it. But he would explain it to Desmond. That boy was teachable and far better than Liam.

He then began teaching from the very basics of mathematics, writing the Arabic numerals on the blackboard. In the future, Desmond would also need to do calculations while navigating at sea, so he too had to learn this material.

Simon spent the rest of the day in the academy, starting with simple Arabic numerals and single-digit arithmetic, then moving on to more complex calculations.

Since all the students were adults and had strong motivation to learn, the lessons that afternoon were quite effective. Thanks to the system, they remembered most of the material.

By evening, Simon instructed James to arrange food and lodging for Desmond and the others. He also told Liam to attend the lectures every afternoon before finally returning to the castle.

By now, the sky had dimmed. Just as he was about to head inside, he noticed someone hurrying toward him from the entrance of the Oxford Academy.

"Roland!" Simon called out excitedly as he recognised the man.

It was none other than Roland. As soon as he saw Simon, he exclaimed. "My Lord, we’ve finally found a saltpetre deposit, and we even discovered lead ore!"

"What? Are you serious?" Simon was overjoyed.

"Yes, My Lord! We finally found it." Roland, who had once been a chubby man, was now tanned and skinny, his face alight with excitement.

Simon was equally thrilled. "That’s fantastic, Roland. You’ve made a great contribution."

"As long as I didn’t delay Your Highness’s plans, this old servant is satisfied. As for any reward, I truly don’t care." Roland said with a grin.

Simon felt a wave of emotion. Roland was someone he trusted completely, which was why he had entrusted him with the critical task of prospecting.

Right now, what he lacked most were resources.

"Let’s talk more back at the castle. I’ll have the kitchen prepare you a grand feast." Simon said with a big laugh.

Back at the castle, Simon had the kitchen begin preparing food while he and Roland headed to the main hall to talk about the saltpetre mine.

"My Lord, that mine was really hard to find. We spent an entire month searching the area you described and came up empty. Do you know how we eventually stumbled upon it?" Roland said.

Simon shook his head.

"Well, we were too far from the nearest village to return, and we ran out of food. A few soldiers decided to go hunting in the mountains. While chasing a rabbit, it suddenly darted into a cave deep in the forest. The soldiers followed it and found the cave was full of saltpetre!" Roland said, eyes gleaming.

Though Roland made it sound simple, Simon could easily imagine the hardships of such a search.

Now that he had access to a saltpetre mine, neither the Prince of Sylvaris nor the imperial court could use that as leverage against him.

"Seems like I owe that rabbit a thank-you," Simon said with a grin. "Where’s the lead ore located?"

Roland took a sip of water before replying, "The lead ore is a bit farther from Brambleford, near Greybrook."

Greybrook was about two hundred kilometres from Brambleford, which was indeed a bit of a distance. "Far is better than nothing. But still no luck with the tungsten ore?"

Roland shook his head regretfully. "No trace of tungsten yet. But My Lord, why are you so determined to find tungsten ore?"

"Because when tungsten is smelted with wrought iron, it makes the material far stronger. If I get my hands on tungsten, I can try producing tungsten alloy. Then I’ll finally have durable cutting tools for the hand-powered lathes. At that point, I’ll be able to manufacture a truly miraculous machine." Simon said mysteriously; he was, of course, referring to the steam engine.

Brambleford’s population was too small. Once the steam engine was developed, he could use mechanical power to make up for the lack of manpower.

Even more importantly, it would massively boost the steel output of the Ironworks.

Roland seemed to half-understand, half-not, but smiled anyway. "In that case, this old servant will prioritise the search for tungsten ore next."

With the saltpetre mine solving the gunpowder problem and the lead ore handling future needs for cannonballs and bullets, Simon felt a great weight lifted from his heart. Now, he could begin preparing for the next technological breakthrough.

That breakthrough would come from unlocking the full potential of the lathe.

"No rush. Take a break before heading out again. I don’t want you working yourself to death." Simon said.

They chatted a while longer until Joan entered and said. "My Lord, dinner is ready."

"Come on, let’s eat. I had the chef prepare your favourite, smoked pig’s trotters." Simon said with a laugh.

At the mention of that dish, Roland instantly lit up. "My Lord, that’s exactly what I was hoping for! I don’t care how tired I am, if I get to eat smoked pig trotters, it’s all worth it!"

Simon burst out laughing at his words, and even Joan covered her mouth and chuckled. Since their return to Brambleford, the young maid had slowly recovered her cheerfulness.

Truth be told, Simon also had a fondness for smoked pig’s trotters. It wasn’t a dish that existed in the Eldorian Empire, so he had personally taught the chefs how to make it. Ever since Roland had his first taste, he’d been addicted; his mouth would water just at the sight of it.