Kingdombuilding: All My Inventions Are Novelty

"It has long been said that Gerad’s territory is prosperous, but now it seems we have severely underestimated Prince Gerad."

Baldwin stood beside Simon, his eyes reflecting the shadows of the sailing warships, a faint trace of worry in his expression.

"Not just Prince Gerad. None of the other feudal lords is as destitute as I am. But we shouldn’t belittle ourselves. As long as we stay grounded, surpassing them is only a matter of time." Simon said confidently.

One hundred thousand slaves and three million bushels of grain this was another catalyst for him, enough to rapidly advance his plans.

Baldwin opened his mouth, wanting to say that what they lacked most was time, but he held back. The future was unpredictable, and who could say what would happen?

If heaven favoured Prince Simon, the road ahead would be smooth.

This time, both Fjord and Bjorn had come, along with Harlan. Harlan said. "These warships were all built by the Walker family shipyard in Burrow’s Town. When my father was still alive, we visited there. It’s indeed larger than our shipyard, and they have many skilled craftsmen specializing in warship construction."

"Don’t boost their morale while dampening our own. The warship blueprints I gave you are no less impressive." Simon said.

"My Lord is right about that." Harlan said, still in awe of the warship blueprints Simon had provided. "With the ten thousand slaves Your Highness has allocated to the shipyard, we’ll have enough manpower. I guarantee we can launch five galleons this year."

Simon nodded. "That’s good."

When the shipyard was being restored, Simon hadn’t allocated too many slaves to it. Instead, he had sent most of the slaves to the industrial district. In his view, only by increasing the production capacity of the industrial district could they provide sufficient parts for the shipyard later on.

Now that one hundred thousand slaves had arrived in Brambleford, Simon had ample labour. He immediately allocated a portion to the shipyard. During this time, Harlan had nearly completed the research and development of the galleon. With the technical backbone in place, the next step was construction.

Ten thousand people building five galleons in a year, with the support of the industrial district, was entirely feasible.

After receiving the first batch of supplies and slaves, Simon went with Harlan to the shipyard. Over the past months, Harlan and his team had been restoring the shipyard’s facilities, and now it was almost fully operational.

At the shipyard downstream of the Dew River, Simon saw craftsmen working on the keel of a galleon. The keel was the main supporting structure of the ship, similar to the beams of a house.

Watching the busy craftsmen on the riverbank, Simon suddenly remembered something. He spoke. "There’s one thing I forgot. Our shipyard is still missing something."

"Please enlighten me, Your Highness," Harlan said, puzzled.

Simon explained. "A dry dock."

"A dry dock?" Harlan was stunned.

Simon didn’t expect Harlan to understand immediately, so he elaborated. A dry dock was essentially a production facility, similar to a workshop, but designed for building sailing warships. It was enclosed on three sides and open to the water on one side. Ships could be built and repaired in the dry dock, with various construction tools set up on both sides for convenient work. Even in modern times, dry docks were essential for shipbuilding.

Simon didn’t expect to build a dry dock to modern standards, but a rudimentary one was feasible. This would help standardize shipbuilding in the Eldorian Empire and significantly speed up the production of galleons.

Coming from a family of shipbuilders, Harlan quickly grasped the concept. Excited, he said. "My Lord, if we can build this dry dock, we can standardize and mass-produce galleons."

"Exactly. Each tonnage of sailing warship requires a different dry dock. When you have free time, come to me, and I’ll teach you more about shipbuilding." Simon said.

Harlan nodded, his face filled with excitement. Simon had shown him unprecedented shipbuilding techniques, opening a new Chapter in the history of shipbuilding.

The shipyards in the Eldorian Empire were essentially crude sheds with some woodworking equipment. Simon had little interest in such primitive facilities.

After a brief inspection, Simon left, instructing Harlan to attend the Oxford Academy for further studies. With ample manpower now available, Simon could finally implement his various plans. Otherwise, projects like the galleons would continue to be delayed.

Back at the palace, Simon didn’t rest. Instead, he began writing down the knowledge in his mind, turning it into textbooks.

These textbooks covered mathematics, chemistry, physics, and various technical materials.

He planned to use these materials to transform the Oxford Academy into the first modern comprehensive institution in the Eldorian Empire, providing Brambleford with a steady stream of talent.

Simon wrote all these materials in simplified English. Students at the Oxford Academy would need to understand both classical English and Old English. In fact, once they mastered Old English, classical English would naturally follow. Therefore, Simon focused primarily on teaching Old Chinese.

Over the next few days, the slaves promised by Prince Gerad arrived in batches. Simon allocated seventy thousand to the industrial district and the remaining twenty thousand to the mines.

With the arrival of one hundred thousand slaves, plus the slaves continuously sold by Harlan, the industrial district, now flush with labour, began to expand under Simon’s direction.

First, the steel workshop increased its production scale. Simon raised the number of workers in the steel workshop to thirty thousand, equivalent to the workforce of a large modern steel plant.

However, in this era, the output of thirty thousand workers was only comparable to that of a small steel plant. But for Simon, this was sufficient for now.

The remaining forty thousand slaves were mostly assigned to the lathe workshop, with the rest going to the distillery, perfume workshop, cement workshop, and others.

With the allocation of one hundred thousand slaves complete, the industrial district, led by Bjorn, began its expansion. A large industrial zone would gradually rise in the north of Brambleford.

"My Lord, these slaves are a mixed bunch, and they were sent by Prince Gerad. Some will inevitably be among them." Baldwin said, watching the bustling construction in the industrial district.

This was a rare sight, and even Baldwin, who usually had little interest in the industrial district, had come to see it.

"I’m well aware of that." Simon said, watching the slaves pushing sand and cement to build the workshops. "The Left and Right Secret Guards have already been tasked with monitoring these slaves. Anyone who causes trouble will be dealt with immediately. They won’t make it out of the industrial district."

Baldwin nodded. Simon’s methods were becoming increasingly ruthless, but this was the quality a true leader needed: kindness to his own people and ruthlessness to his enemies.

"By the way, Your Highness, I’ve found a location for the Oxford Academy. The only suitable place in Brambleford City is the Stoneridge District in the west. There are only a few households there. We can relocate them with some silver." Baldwin said.