Chapter 370 368: Seeing the Future (Subscribe)

The second stop that Luo Yi took everyone to visit was the steel plant.

This is also the tallest building in the entire industrial zone. The cylindrical blast furnace emits exhaust gas and astonishingly high temperatures every day.

Only the workers here are basically bare-armed, wearing only an insulating apron.

The exposed arms and chest had obvious muscle contours and were soaked with sweat.

When Luo Yi led the group to the scene, a new batch of molten iron was just coming out of the furnace.

There were magic apprentices operating the machinery, waving huge mechanical buckets to clean up all the waste.

Then the boiling molten iron is poured into a specific mold, and after cooling, it is poured out from the channel.

Then, everyone saw that pieces of iron ingots appeared in front of everyone.

The iron ingot is silver-green in color, with a slightly rough surface, a tight texture, no pores, and reflects the unique cold light of metal.

A noble walked forward a few steps, half-knelt, reached out and touched, then knocked.

Hearing the pleasant voice, his eyes narrowed, he looked up, and said in disbelief, "This is actually the finest hundred-forged steel?

But without repeated hammering, and without the folded cloud pattern, how could there be Hundred Forged Steel?"

"And, and, there are so many?"

At this moment, Grand Duchess Aphra finally couldn't help but pull Roy over and asked, "Roy, how much of this hundred-forged steel can this big guy produce every day?"

Luo Yi smiled and said, "We don't like to calculate in days here because it's not rational, so we basically talk about annual output."

“So what’s the annual output?”

"It was a little short before, but with the full staffing, optimized operations, and improved steelmaking furnace performance, we should be able to produce around 600,000 tons a year!"

"600,000 tons?"

Even though she was knowledgeable, Grand Duchess Aphra still found it difficult to accept this number.

But what made her even more angry was that Luo Yi said dissatisfiedly: "The production capacity is indeed a bit low, but after all, this is the first time we have built such a large steelmaking facility, and we lack experience.

So, you look outside, yes, that half-built one!"

"This is my new steel mill. It uses an optimization plan and should be able to increase annual production to 1 to 1.5 million tons."

At this moment, even the elegant and noble Grand Duchess Aphra said quietly, "Loyi, sometimes you should speak more normally. I'm afraid that if I'm not careful, I'll want to beat you to death!"

…

At the third stop, Luo Yi took everyone to a machinery factory and visited various processing machinery production sites.

Honestly speaking, with these nobles' ignorance, they had no idea how high the technical content was, let alone how valuable those assembled lathes were.

It felt like winking at a blind person.

However, in the end, Luo Yi regained his face.

That is the smallest workshop in the machinery factory, and it was specially built due to some special requirements.

The interior is mainly composed of a large magic hammer forging machine, equipped with special molds and a miniature high-temperature furnace.

This group of nobles is here, unable to move.

I saw that pieces of iron ingots of hundred-forged steel were placed in a high-temperature furnace and heated. When they were red hot, they were thrown into the special mold under the magic hammer forging machine.

It is called a mold, but in fact it is similar in appearance to plate armor. Then, a specially made hammer head presses it down under the operation of a magic hammer forging machine.

Amidst the "crackling" sounds, everyone felt the pain in their teeth.

But after the die casting was completed and the hammer head was raised, a blacksmith came forward, took out the die casting model, and immersed it in water for quenching.

Everyone stared at the finished product in a daze!

Because, that was clearly the chest part of a set of standard plate armor, and next to it, another set of molds cast it clearly the back armor part.

Then, a blacksmith took away the two most important parts of the full set of plate armor, polished the edges with a file, made buckles, and made detailed adjustments.

Although the subsequent work is tedious, it can definitely be completed in one day. In other words, a set of knight plate armor is almost complete!

At this moment, everyone could hardly believe their eyes.

To make a set of plate armor like this, the blacksmiths under their command had to start with selecting the materials and hammering them repeatedly to remove impurities.

Only after it has truly become hundred-forged steel can it be hammered into shape, quenched, adjusted, and so on...

If there is no help, even a master blacksmith would need at least a month to cast this set of plate armor.

Not only that, you also have to make sure that there are no other problems, such as insufficient steel quality and cracks.

Or maybe there are mistakes after thousands of knocks, and the casting needs to be redone and recast.

It can be said that there is a reason why a full set of knight armor can be used as a family heirloom and passed down from generation to generation.

Moreover, although the Norman Duchy did not ban weapons, the management of armor was extremely strict.

In the history of the Old World, there was even a record of someone starting out with only thirteen sets of armor and conquering a vast territory.

But seeing this scene in front of him, two "clicks" meant that it was almost healed.

The worldviews of all the nobles almost collapsed!

Finally, someone asked the question that was in their mind: "My Lord, your heavy machine gun is so powerful, why do you still forge so many knights' plate armors?"

Luo Yi curled his lips: "I don't need it, but some people do!"

"Look at this knight's armor. Although it has no magical blessing, it is definitely top-grade and will cost you a fortune.

And, most importantly, I can produce in bulk, so I can get as much as you want, and I can even give you a discount!"

"If you want to start a war and need armor, you can tell me. Since we are so familiar with each other, I can give you a good price."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence.

…

At the fourth stop of the field visit, Luo Yi took everyone to the textile factory.

The spinning machines started to rumble, the shuttles moved rapidly, and the various gears and connecting rods throughout the factory rotated and moved, giving people a strong shock.

What you see more often are the busy female workers on the assembly line, who have no time to pay attention even to the visitors.

Here, Luo Yi just presented simple data to everyone.

“With traditional weaving techniques, five spinners working all day still cannot produce enough yarn for one weaver, but with this spinning machine, things are different.

In terms of efficiency, one female worker with one machine can produce as much as two hundred skilled spinners working day and night."

“Therefore, the annual production capacity of my two textile mills is more than enough to meet the cloth needs of everyone in Xianhua Territory.

To benefit the entire territory, I also lowered the price to only one-fifth of the previous price."

One noble asked, "Then you're losing money, aren't you?"

"Losing money? How is that possible? Even if the price is only one-fifth, my production volume is high. If you spread it out evenly, it's just a small profit!"

Grand Duchess Aphra suddenly asked, "But why haven't I seen these cloths in Auxerre?"

"Oh, I strictly forbid these products from leaving the Flower Territory. Not to mention Auxerre City, even fewer of them go to other countries through ocean trade.

I’m not planning on making money from it!”

Grand Duchess Aphra pursed her lips, as if realizing something. Old Floyd, however, was puzzled and asked, "But why?"

"If I sell this cloth, your fragile textile industry will go bankrupt.

Many women rely on this to supplement their family income and make a few cents, so why should I fight with them for the last copper coin?

Grand Duchess Aphra asked again, "What about the women you gave flowers to? Didn't they also lose their livelihoods?"

Luo Yi pointed at the busy figures in the textile factory and said, "Where do you think these female workers in my textile factory came from?

They earn much more here than before, and can even support a whole family!"

…

At the sixth stop of the field visit, Luo Yi did not take them to the secret medicine factory or the arsenal. All the information inside was confidential, so it was better not to be seen by outsiders.

However, he still took everyone to several private enterprises.

The scale here is far smaller than the previous large factories. Many of them are equipped with one or two magical machines, and more than ten people are busy.

But that efficiency also made everyone jealous.

If the factories were out of their reach before, now these are very exciting for them.

For the seventh stop, they went to the train station outside the industrial area.

Luo Yi did nothing but let everyone stand there for half an hour. At first, everyone was very puzzled, but later, their expressions became more and more solemn.

Because, for just half an hour, the train cars kept running back and forth.

The trains transporting iron ore from the north run about every ten minutes, which means three trains every half an hour.

Assuming one trip carries 100 to 150 tons, three trips would mean 300 to 450 tons of iron ore.

Just hearing this number made the nobles gasp in amazement.

Compared with the Flower Territory, the output of their territory is like a joke.

As for the trains heading west to Siren Port, once they were filled with cargo, they basically never stopped, one after another.

In fact, it’s not just Roy who is under a lot of pressure; Auckland City is also under a lot of pressure.

Miller even wrote that a special freight train was being prepared from Auckland City to Fisherman Port.

…

One day, after spending a whole day, Loy led everyone to visit most of the magic energy factories in and around Brussels.

It also gave these country-bound aristocrats a little shock of capitalist productivity!

Anyway, when these nobles returned to Lion Manor, they were all distracted and confused.

All those invited by Luo Yi were powerful nobles, and there were almost no bad ones.

But because they are ambitious and see different possibilities, it is even more difficult for them to control themselves.

Even at the gate of the manor, the timid and cautious Earl Wick, the head of the Wick family, asked a soul-searching question: "My Lord Earl, is the magic energy industry really that good?"

Luo Yi looked at him and said almost word by word, "Why do you think my father, Earl Karl Raymond, was so stubborn and insisted on going down this path, risking the fate of our family?!"

"That's because he saw the future!"

I will try my best not to delay the update today to make up for yesterday’s update!

(End of this chapter)