The Release That Witch
Chapters 47's

For the past week, it has been quite quiet for Border Town.

Iron Axe and Brian both said that the strength and number of demonic beasts would gradually grow as the Moon Demon progressed. Thus, taking advantage of the situation where the pressure in the defensive line was not yet strong, Roland once again sent a ship with ore to Willow Town.

Ever since the steam engine was used for mining in the North Slope Mine, the number of miners had been reduced by half, but its production had continued to increase. Now, it has been restored to the production level from before the collapse. Using a machine to do the job saves a lot of effort.

Meanwhile, under Roland's orders, the mine production system had undergone an initial reform. The previous fixed payment for each day is converted into a variable payment. He let Barov gather statistics on the average number of ores produced each day last year. With this he can set the standard and everyone who mines more can increase their pay. An increase in the number of gemstones will result in a great reward. This move effectively increased the enthusiasm of the workers to mine, so that the mine area became crowded.

Roland naturally wanted to do more with his ores, now that he had more ores in hand.

In addition to the production plan of the second steam engine, he also intended to produce a number of manual lathes.

This lathe can be seen as something historical, it is usually seen as an important machine for implementing other tools. The foundation can be considered as the most primitive tool - it is used for repairing and creating manuals.

It is better to use it to make, because using it to fix is too troublesome, therefore people often try to tighten their products or put them in a niche on the table to fix the processed parts. For example, the barrel of an early match and the barrel of a firearm are placed into a niche on the runway to be pounded by hand.

Later, manual manufacturing became too slow to meet demand, so they needed tools to increase production speed . The lathe can be used according to different purpose, the tooling can be fixed according to each requirement, and the manual processing and machine can be used together. So, the lathe can effectively increase the power of pure manual labor and can be changed for any weak point.

Roland is also considered a manual milling machine.

Although the milling machine has a variety of functions, it wants to use it mainly to process uneven gears, so its architecture can also be simplified. With slot for fixed gear plate and rotatable steel disc, the customized cutting gear can be made easily with the help of Anna - by grinding and polishing the top layer after it is heated to red heat, removing the slag on the iron, and then soaking it with water to harden it, it would be a very rigid special disc.

After the main issue was resolved, Roland immediately gave the order to Carter to hire two carpenters, who would make it into a milling machine. Meanwhile, Anna continued to make other metal parts in the castle's backyard.

Roland had to say, that with Anna's help, the processing of the metal became as easy as forming clay, especially after she had mastered her fire taking. He was currently making small items, forming a rough shape in his hands. Seeing Anna take the iron rod in her hand, melting it without any further help and shaping it into the shape she wanted caused Roland to sigh in surprise.

If he could not hire a witch, Roland thought, the achievement of his production program would be delayed by more than a decade.

Two days later, the first simple milling machine appeared in the backyard.

This time Roland was not idle, drawing gears could be considered his job. He designed a set of gears that would be used for speed control and stabilizing steam output. The corresponding gear plate design was already set up, and Roland could only wait until the milling machine was completely installed before they could begin the production of the gears.

Roland also gathered three blacksmiths with their disciples, who would learn how to use the grinding machine together. After all, he could not operate the machine personally every day, so it was necessary to train a group of professional workers.

After everyone bowed respectfully, Roland began to demonstrate how to use the milling machine to process gears.

Roland did not mind acting as a teacher in front of everyone. Actually, what else can be done in this era? Plus, while doing this there was no one who could criticize his attitude, so he could operate the machine without pressure.

The Chief Knight is in charge of pouring hot lard into the machine as a lubricant - naturally in this age there is no oil lubricant. Replacing it with lard is a bit pointless, but still better than nothing. Once the discs are moistened, the lard will fall into the pot placed under the machine. With this, the lard can be reused several times.

Roland first placed the lower milling stone according to the design he had carved earlier. Then, he attached gears on it so that the gears, millstones, and wooden wheels were in a single row. The wooden wheel is driven by pedals and the power is channeled to the lower millstone through a leather belt.

Then, he lowered his hand to stabilize the handle of the disc carefully, until the lower mill stone and the slowly moving gears were at an angle of 90 °.

Because the material of the tooth disc is iron and the bottom millstone is made of steel, cutting the tooth marks is not too difficult. Due to the hot lard, the courtyard was immediately filled with a pleasant smell, but since the blacksmiths and their disciples had not eaten meat for a long time, they had to swallow their saliva while kissing it.

After the demonstration, the contract was signed immediately. The Border Town trade was still in its early stages, but calling it an industry was impossible. No matter if it was a steam engine or a lathe, there would be no phenomenon where people would run to the store, struggle to be first or fear being the last to buy it. In this day and age, most people are unaware of the tremendous significance they represent, as well as the potential commercial value they possess. Therefore, Roland could only take the initiative to promote the use of such machines.

Roland specifically wrote in the contract that blacksmiths using milling machines were required to process at least one set of gears each week. The materials needed would be provided by the castle and the processing fee was set at 10 silver royals. At the same time, the blacksmith had to pay a weekly fee of 2 gold royals. Milling machines are not given to them for free use, but are instead rented out to them.

After entering the Demon Moon, the blacksmiths usually had many jobs. So, this time when they had the chance to make money and it was even under His Majesty's orders, naturally no blacksmith would object. Meanwhile, Roland told them that this was only the first milling machine. In the future he would produce several, one after another, and if they were interested, they could apply at City Hall.

"Your Majesty, why don't you directly write the processing fee of the 8 silver royals in the contract?" carter asked, puzzled, after the blacksmith left the backyard.

"Although these two numbers are the same, they don't have the same meaning," Roland explained, "This may be Border Town's first commercial rental contract, so I have to establish an industry norm."

The Knight Chief rubbed his forehead. The 4th Prince seemed to be talking trash once again, but Carter was already used to it. As long as he pretended to listen carefully, His Majesty would continue to explain.

“ A good start is always important to form a virtuous circle. I am the only one who currently needs to buy gears, so I have to provide equipment while they provide power. They will also be paid. In the future When there are others who have a need for gears, they will realize that having their own equipment will be better than renting a machine and getting a given remuneration . " When Roland spoke here, he paused for a moment and then said, "In this way, when they saw something new, when they saw something new, they can rent the machines first and decide later if the market is large enough to buy their own machines, and if not they will just continue to rent the machines. It's a virtuous circle. "