Chapter 22 Planning and Building a Castle
In the afternoon, Verin summoned the blacksmiths and carpenters to prepare a powerful long-range attack weapon to deal with the gnolls that would arrive in five months.
In a spacious open space, twenty-five craftsmen sat quietly on the ground, listening attentively to the lord's explanation.
"I call this weapon a bed crossbow. Its general shape is like this. You need to complete the specific operation." Pointing to the simple drawing on the wooden board, Weilin told the story without blushing and without any embarrassment.
"Its components include hinge shaft, traction rope, trigger, front bow, main bow, rear bow and pulley. You can study the specific principles by yourself. I will give you three months. As long as the production of this weapon is completed, I will Pardon your status as slaves.”
"Complete it within a month, and I will give you a woman for you to reproduce."
As soon as the words fell, the eyes of the twenty-five craftsmen turned green. After completing this thing, not only could they become private citizens, but the lord would also make a woman.
"Please rest assured, Lord, we promise to complete the tasks assigned by you within one month." Joseph, a thirty-two-year-old carpenter, stood up and made a guarantee on behalf of the twenty-four craftsmen.
Since he was the oldest and most experienced, Verin appointed him as the leader of the carpenter group.
Another man named Smith, 28 years old, is the leader of the blacksmith group.
"As long as you complete the tasks I assigned you, I will not be stingy with rewards."
Weilin looked at the craftsmen present and made another promise.
He believed that as long as the reward was large enough, these people's motivation would be stimulated to the extreme, and maybe they would be able to produce results in half a month.
After that, Weilin designated a work area and asked Baird to provide them with the materials and tools they needed, so as to make the bed crossbow as soon as possible.
…
Three days later, after Verin finished breakfast, he learned that the half-elf girl Eunice asked for an audience, so he rushed over without stopping.
As soon as you enter the wooden house, you will see a very detailed plan of the castle.
Standing on a drawing shelf in the interior of the room, a dozen sheets of white paper are spread out on a wooden board on the shelf.
In the middle is the overall plan of the castle, with some internal structural drawings and the selection of building materials on both sides.
"Lord, according to your request, this castle covers an area of 4,700 square meters, with a maximum capacity of 5,000 people and a permanent resident of 600 people."
The half-elf girl Eunice came to the drawing frame, with a little fear in her eyes, and slowly explained.
"This is the outer city wall, which is 6 meters high, 80 meters long, and 46 meters wide. The platform is two meters long and can accommodate 240 people fighting at the same time. A small armory is set up every 30 meters, which is connected to the next floor. , convenient for storing weapons and food.”
"Behind is the inner city wall, which is 9 meters high, 63 meters long and 34 meters wide. According to your requirements, more platforms are designed to protrude outwards. There are a total of thirty-one platforms in this section of the city wall, which can accommodate two hundred and thirty-one people at the same time. Ten men fighting.”
After the introduction of the city wall was completed, Verin followed the direction of Eunice's finger and looked at other parts of the castle.
A large armory, barracks, lord's room, hall, kitchen, water storage area, grain warehouse, toilet, weapon repair place, wine cellar, stables, etc. are all available.
On the top floor of the castle, six large platforms were set up to facilitate Weilin to place large crossbows and attack the attacking enemies.
"Eunice, how long will it take to build this castle?" Verin turned to look at the half-elf girl and asked.
"Twenty-five masons and two hundred humans can complete the construction of this castle in three years."
"No, it's too long."
Verin shook his head and said that there were only five months left before the gnoll attack, and he must complete the construction of the castle before then.
"So, what time does the Lord expect?"
"In five months, the construction of the castle must be completed by the end of November."
Eunice heard the words and whispered softly: "If it is just for protection, other buildings can be suspended. Only the outer city wall and the inner city wall will be built, plus five areas such as water source storage area, grain warehouse, toilet, weapons repair place and stables. Abandoning the exterior aesthetics and other areas, and adding another two hundred people, it could be done in something like five months.”
After hearing this, Weilin began to think based on the current situation of the territory.
There were 343 freemen and serfs combined, and 107 slave robbers.
The farmland needed manpower, and the salt mining work was about to begin, so only 143 serfs and 57 robber slaves could be mobilized. All in all, there are only 200 people.
In the blink of an eye, Verin considered the troops Baird was training.
"No, the salt mine needs manpower, and the outer patrol also needs manpower. The army cannot be used to build the castle."
After thinking for a while, he quickly rejected the idea.
"Eunice, I will give you full responsibility for the construction of the castle. The twenty-five masons will also obey your command, but the manpower is only two hundred for the time being. I will find a way later, and you will choose the site to build first."
"Yes, Lord." The half-elf girl was stunned for a moment when she heard Verin's appointment, and then accepted the task.
Afterwards, Weilin left the cabin, thinking about where to get more manpower while walking to fill the shortage of manpower in the territory.
In the next few days, under the command of the half-elf girl, two hundred workers and twenty-five masons were divided into nine groups of twenty-five people in each group.
Three groups were responsible for quarrying the stone, two groups were responsible for transporting the material, and the last four groups were responsible for the construction work.
After thinking for a long time, Weilin suddenly came up with an idea that cement could be used to make up for the lack of materials, but he gave up the next moment.
He knew some of the formula of this thing, but only some of it.
Limestone, clay, and iron ore powder are ground and mixed in proportion, and then they need to go through a series of steps to become cement, but he didn't know.
Moreover, there is not so much time to experiment slowly now.
"Don't worry about it for now. The boat will naturally straighten itself when it reaches the bridgehead. Maybe a solution to the problem will be found in a few days."
Putting this matter aside, Weilin decided to organize manpower to mine salt mines on a small scale to increase the income of the territory.
When he left the family, he had 85,000 gold coins in his hand. After a series of expenses, he now has only 53,000 gold coins left.
Only expenditure, no income, made him feel very uneasy.
On the morning of June 26, Weilin led two knights, three teams of soldiers, and 60 slave robbers to the salt mine twelve kilometers southeast of Qixing Lake.
After two hours, everyone arrived at the location of the salt mine.
Two knights stepped forward and moved the boulder blocking the entrance, allowing the passage to be opened.
"Andrew, you take people to supervise these slaves, build a camp first, and start mining salt mines tomorrow."
"Yes, my lord."
A knight saluted and answered immediately.
Looking at the increasingly busy camp, Weilin rode a horse with a team of soldiers to patrol the surroundings and drive away wild beasts to ensure the safety of the camp.
