20demayo Chapter 129 New Field of Fire
Chapter 129 New Field of Fire
Chapter 129 New Field of Fire
"We are noble sages, studying the mysteries of alchemy," the pyromancer Harlin complained, feeling aggrieved.
"So, you don't want to do it anymore?" Joffrey leaned forward, his fingers gripping the handle of the Iron Throne tightly.
"No, no, I wouldn't dare."
"Hehehe, Your Majesty, I'll take care of it right away."
During the Battle of Blackwater, Harlin's Alchemist Guild contributed a considerable amount of Wildfire to the Iron Throne.
For this achievement, he was granted the title of Earl.
However, like Varys, it was just a nominal title, with neither fiefdom nor castle.
Joffrey also allocated funds for their research, and even renovated the alchemists' guild hall.
At the very least, they need to ensure that the mechanisms they call magic are still functioning properly, and prevent the wildfire buried beneath from blowing King's Landing into the sky.
The reason Harlin was called here this time is also related to wildfires.
That means sending him to survey the soil structure in the Imperial Forest.
First of all, burning mountains does not fertilize the land.
In the short term, a layer of mineral-rich ash covering the ground can indeed help crops grow.
However, in the long run, intense fires will destroy organic matter and microorganisms in the topsoil.
Moreover, the nutrients in the ashes are easily lost and will be washed into the Blackwater River after a few heavy rains.
Setting fire to mountains is punishable by life imprisonment; it is the most drastic way to accelerate soil erosion.
However, Joffrey has always been short-sighted.
With winter approaching, there's plenty of time for the soil to recover. Let's seize the current fertility and plant a year's worth of crops first.
The problem is, this land was burned by wildfire by the little devil.
Will eating the things grown there cause mutations?
Harlin covered his soft, wet hand with his chest, a fawning smile plastered on his pale face.
"No problem at all, Your Majesty, hehe."
"After the red comet appeared, the quality of the juice we made kept getting better and better."
"Hehehe, if I didn't lack the bloodline of a true dragon, I would really like to try a bite."
"Don't give me that nonsense." Joffrey had lost patience with this madness. "I have absolutely no interest in how wildfire is made."
Bachelor Coburn stepped forward and touched the necklace hanging around his neck.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to assist the wise man of Harlin in studying this matter."
"You can have someone burn another patch of land with a regular fire and bring back some soil samples, which I can use for comparison testing."
Joffrey nodded in agreement.
"In that case, let's not rush to sow the seeds. Let Sir Baron continue to lead his men to level the land."
There are not enough heavy-duty models available right now.
It, along with the plank, is one of the most crucial innovations in Westeros farming techniques and is most widely used in the North.
After all, that area is mostly fertile and thick clay.
The soil in the south is relatively loose, and ordinary hard and scraper tools can meet the needs of cultivation.
However, clearing land in the Royal Forest requires digging up all the tree roots, which is where heavy-duty equipment comes in handy.
There aren't many in King's Landing, and they can't be bought in nearby towns either.
Transporting them from the North would be too far, and besides, they themselves wouldn't have enough.
Joffrey could only find someone to modify a few machines first, so that the soldiers could practice on them for the time being.
We will recruit skilled craftsmen from the North and bring in some talent from Eddard's household.
At the same time, with the popularization of the yoke technique, dwarf horses also appeared in agricultural production. Compared with the slow-moving dwarf cattle, they were more agile, although cattle were still more common.
The reason for this is that people prefer to eat beef rather than horse meat.
But now, the ones hoeing the fields in the Imperial Household are neither horses nor oxen, but commoners from flea-infested villages.
They have always made a living by selling their physical labor or by possessing some rudimentary skills, but they have absolutely no experience in farming.
The difference was that he went from doing odd jobs to working as a laborer for King Joffrey.
But when it comes to driving cattle and horses, they don't hesitate to whip them without a second thought.
Isn't this going against the natural order? Human power is much cheaper than animal power.
In response, Riverley said he was willing to send the most skilled farmers from his territory to the Royal Guard.
Count Gells delivered the man to his doorstep without saying a word.
As for the area cleared from the flea nest, Joffrey planned to build a brand new handicraft district there.
They also gathered together the scattered artisans in the city and helped them form guilds.
The artisan class in King's Landing is chaotic and disorderly, and the industry is in a state of great disorder.
If Joffrey wanted to place an order, he had to go to each shop individually and find the craftsman there.
If scattered individuals can be incorporated into institutionalized groups, it will not only reduce costs and improve efficiency, but also make it easier to attract middle-level artisans and citizens.
More importantly, they can no longer falsely report population figures to evade taxes.
Currently, besides alchemists, the most well-established organization is the blacksmith guild, since its foundation was laid during the war.
The guild master is Salorion, a master armorsmith in King's Landing, whose skills are on par with Tob Mort.
Thanks to someone, the latter's blacksmith shop was burned down, and his strength was greatly diminished.
Because of their past relationship, Joffrey took the opportunity to offer him a job in the royal family, and Tob, who also wanted to make a comeback, agreed.
He was also put in charge of researching new technologies.
Long ago, Joffrey visited the blacksmith shop in Tobmoth and saw the prototype of a blast furnace for iron smelting.
It's just a small blast furnace, about three meters tall.
It narrows at the top and widens outwards at the bottom, looking like a plump pear. It is made of stones and clay, and the fuel used is charcoal.
Blast furnace, blast furnace, Joffrey at least knew that blast furnaces were very tall.
The direction of Tob's research was simply to increase the height of the furnace and replace it with a more robust material.
But since they are laymen, the key points still need to be explored by the craftsmen themselves.
However, after being king for so long, Joffrey couldn't resist satisfying his inner urge to guide others.
Since we're going to build a new urban area in Yulin, why not also take a look at the water drainage system?
"Besides human and animal power, why doesn't the master try water-powered air supply?"
Tob thought for a moment, then drew a simple diagram and handed it to Joffrey.
"Your Majesty, I think I've seen what you're talking about before in my hometown of Kohor."
Joffrey pretended to be an expert and nodded.
How come there's everything outside of Westeros?
Although windmills and watermills had existed in the Seven Kingdoms for a long time, they were only used for grinding grains.
Blacksmith shops were mostly located in the city, taking on small orders from nobles, and did not have a need for large-scale forging.
Therefore, in the traditional method of blowing air, apprentices had to manually press the bellows.
As for the countryside, even in the fertile river bends, iron farm tools are still used in combination with stone and bone tools.
Speaking of the Iron Islands, which came first, the iron or the name?
The first to settle there were the First Men, who, armed with bronze swords and leather shields, defeated the Forest Children, who wielded stone tools.
It wasn't until the Andals, armed with steel, landed on the Finger Peninsula and, after thousands of years of conquest and intermarriage, that iron tools spread.
It seems that developing new things inevitably involves a difficult journey.