Chapter 397: ironworks visit

There was a constant clanging sound in the workshop, and the workers had already started to work as usual. From time to time, someone looked at the gate, where Mr. Erkins was pacing up and down anxiously with his hands behind his back.

When will the Earl bring people over?

Just as he was thinking wildly, a young man ran over panting, "It's coming! Boss, they have already left the Lord's Mansion."

This is an employee who Erkins arranged to follow up on the island, and he will come to notify if there is any movement there.

"it is good!"

Erkins hammered his palm and shouted: "Come here! Come and welcome! The Earl is coming!"

Several high-level managers in the workshop quickly ran out under his shout and stood neatly in a row.

Then there was dust in the distance, and three carriages came towards this side under the **** of a team of inner guards and riders.

In a blink of an eye, they reached the door, and the door of the carriage in the middle opened, and Earl Greyman and two people whose clothes were obviously not from the local area walked out one after another. They must be the big customers from Jiaowan.

A smile immediately formed on Erkins' face, and he ran to the carriage with small steps, and said in a humble tone: "My lord, distinguished guests, welcome to Erkins' iron foundry." His As soon as the words were finished, the factory stewards standing in a row bowed and saluted in unison, as if they had rehearsed many times.

Paul raised his hand, "Erkins, needless to say the polite words, take us to see the place where the ordnance is made in your yard."

"Yes, my lord, please follow me."

The crowd followed Erkins into the factory and looked around accompanied by the endless jingling sounds.

"This is where we forge our swords."

"This is where we forge our spearhead."

…

Gaius and Quiller had never been in contact with blacksmith work on weekdays, so they didn't notice anything new about the workflow in the workshop.

But they must strictly control the quality of the final product.

"Mr. Erkins? Can you show us something finished? And, we want to test it."

Erkins responded immediately: "Of course no problem? Please follow me to the warehouse."

Everyone came to the warehouse, and there were rows of wooden boxes inside.

Gaius stepped forward and picked up a long sword. He weighed it carefully and handed it to the family guard next to him. He asked in Mandarin, "What do you think?"

This guard has sharp eyes, a strong body, and several scars on his face. He looks like a ruthless character.

He took the long sword silently, flicked the blade with his fingers, and then performed a few thrusting and slashing moves.

"good!"

The guard said this in Jiaowan language, and then returned it to Gaius.

"Well, good." Gaius put the long sword back in place with a satisfied expression.

Anyway, it's for the big soldiers, and that's enough.

Erkins turned his head and quietly asked the horned gulf translator he found from the town overnight: "What are these two horned guineas talking about?"

"Uh... the person in front asked how the sword was, but the person behind said it was okay." The translator answered quietly and honestly.

what? What? Erkins was very upset. Does the horned guy have any good eyesight? The products produced in my factory are all top-quality goods, even if they are placed in the entire Northwest Region, they can be ranked well.

But just scolding a few words in my heart, there is still a smiling expression on my face.

Paul didn't mind much. The trade in Jiaowan was developed, and the people there could get in touch with goods from all over the world, so their vision was naturally high.

The large-scale contact with the outside world in the Northwest Gulf has just begun, and it has been sitting on the sidelines for a long time before, which is a bit arrogant. As a craftsman, no one wants to admit that they are inferior to others.

The guard in front of him is probably an elite in the Foster family who can be followed by the eldest son of the family. He has used countless good swords and swords, and it is already very face-saving to say "not bad".

He asked: "Sir Foster, what do you think? Do the weapons produced overseas in Northwest China meet your needs?"

Gaius nodded: "If they are all of this quality, yes."

Erkins on the side immediately puffed up his chest and assured the ticket: "The most expensive guest, please rest assured that Erkins's workshop will never be shoddy. We have always strictly followed the church of Lord Graeman and strictly controlled the quality."

Gaius asked with interest: "Quality control?"

Novel words.

"Oh, it is the whole process from raw material control, production and processing, product manufacturing, finished product inspection to finished product storage, and after-sales quality tracking and resolution, including a complete quality control and management process."

Paul explained it to him.

Gaius was thoughtful: "If you can be so rigorous, it would be great. The Horn Bay Alliance will never be stingy with money."

"Please rest assured." Paul and Erkins agreed in unison.

Gaius asked again: "Do you produce armor here?"

"Production, production, come with me."

The factory owner opened the way ahead, and everyone came to the armor-making workshop.

I saw a huge forging hammer on a machine going up and down, bumping and forging metal materials into rough plates, and then the craftsmen wielded the hammers for fine processing.

Quiller asked curiously: "Interesting, how does such a big hammer move?"

Gaius replied proudly: "I might as well tell you, use the power of water to drive."

"Like a waterwheel?"

"Oh...you can think so."

Gaius has already applied for a patent for the hydraulic forging hammer, and other factories have to pay a sum of money if they want to use it, even the earl's machinery factory is paying him.

Paul looked at Gaius's smug face, and silently complained in his heart: "Hmph, I was taken a step ahead, wait until I get the rolling mill out..."

But to his relief, from the range finder of the previous surveying team to the current hydraulic forging hammer, the seeds of folk inventions have begun to take root.

Gaius suddenly thought of something: "By the way, can you produce high-quality steel plate armor here?"

"Steel plate armor?" Erkins hesitated, and said, "We have such technology."

"How about the yield?"

"Oh...you know, steel isn't easy to get, so it's not our focus."

Gaius was a little disappointed, "Okay."

But it was also expected that even though he was not familiar with martial arts, Gaius knew how precious a pair of plate armor was, and it could be a family heirloom.

Paul, who was standing next to him, was moved in his heart: "Steel? The supply of iron is no longer a problem, it seems that we should go further."

He silently made plans.

After everyone visited Gaius's workshop for a whole morning, Paul invited the Foster brothers to the Lord's Mansion for lunch~www.readwn.com~ and arranged for someone to send them back first, but he stayed behind .

"Erkins."

"Yes, Master Earl."

In the office, the factory owner stood beside Paul respectfully.

"As far as I know, your workshop seems to be taking orders from shipyards."

"Haha, yes, Lord Earl."

Driven by the profits of maritime trade and under the deliberate guidance of the Government Council, there has been a trend of "big construction" along the coast of the Northwest Gulf, and large and small shipyards have been established one after another.

The current ship construction is mainly made of wood, and the demand for wood has increased sharply. However, the wood needed to build a good ship needs to be prepared several years in advance, and some wood even needs to be dried for as long as 6 years after shaping.

The original shipbuilding industry in the Northwest Gulf was not developed, and naturally there were not many timber reserves, and that little reserve was quickly consumed.

In order to cope with this situation, in addition to spending a lot of money to purchase timber from other places for emergency, various shipyards have also begun to pay attention to the storage of timber.

As a result, the price of lumber began to rise sharply, which led to the growth of the logging industry and the wood processing industry, and a series of lumber factories sprang up.

But shipbuilding not only requires wood, but also a large number of metal components, so it has added a lot of iron manufactory.

Besides wood and iron, canvas was also in great demand.

Not only the three territories of Arda, Berding, and Emden under Paul's control, but also other territories have gradually joined the supply chain.

Manufacturing is thriving throughout the Northwest.

"Remember, your workshop should give priority to meeting our local needs, but don't work for the people of Jiaowan just because they give them a lot of money."

Paul felt compelled to remind these fledgling capitalists.

"Yes, my lord, I must obey your instructions."

Erkins responded anxiously.