Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 526: Chapter 329: Technological Innovation_1

Lord Lance spared no expense and gave him great authority to train the artillerymen, but in reality, Barton was well aware that only a few artillerymen could be considered trained.

It wasn’t that Hamlet lacked people, nor that his teaching was inadequate—the problem was simply that there were too few cannons on hand, making practical training difficult.

How could this rotation possibly help the gunners acquire a feel for correcting their aim?

Moreover, they only had three cannons. Two large-caliber ones were stationed at the port, ready to defend against pirates, leaving only a single small-caliber cannon for training.

In such circumstances, even if he trained a group of artillerymen, they would still be caught in the predicament of having no cannons to use.

The only solution to this problem was to tackle the issue with the cannons themselves.

Barton had been paying close attention to this issue, and after arranging the training, he hurried to a very special place in Hamlet.

As he approached, he could see that the newly built workshop was right on the riverbank. All the craftsmen had moved in there, finally escaping the previously rudimentary temporary setup.

Near the riverbank, a row of wooden water machines turned rapidly. They extended into the workshop through connecting devices, and the only sound audible was the continuous clinking of metal.

The blazing sun was not good news for the cannon molds, as exposure would lead to cracks, meaning the whole thing would be scrapped.

Therefore, many grass sheds were constructed for shade. However, the sultry summer breeze accelerated the drying of the molds to some extent.

Barton understood these matters, or it could be said that he understood anything related to cannons.

He inspected the molds without finding any issues, and the progress was faster than he had expected. It wouldn’t be long before casting could take place.

This situation greatly comforted him. He had taken so many resources from the Lord without having much to show for it, which truly made him feel somewhat guilty.

At that moment, Barton noticed Reynard and Master Eugene not far away and began to walk over.

”I’ll leave this first batch of bayonets to you,” Master Eugene said, handing a list to Reynard. ”I’m not sure when the next batch will be ready; it might have to wait until several other projects are completed.”

The entire process for the bayonets—from initial design and improvement to finalizing the plan, manufacturing, and producing the final product—had taken only a month. This was already astonishingly efficient for Hamlet.

Reynard had come to sign for this batch of bayonets. After verifying they were correct, he signed his name. The document was made in duplicate, with both copies to be filed and kept for the record.

”This is only a hundred bayonets. To fully equip the army we need at least three hundred more, not to mention accounting for attrition and those needed for new soldier training. The shortfall is just too large.”

”The stock of armor has been largely allocated to forming the cavalry, and the demand for armor is high in the military. When will Hamlet’s standard armor be available to equip the troops?”

Reynard vented his frustrations with the current military situation, which simply put, was a shortage of everything. Now, the only unit fully equipped with armor was the elite Cavalry Troop.

However, the cavalry’s armor was a hodgepodge of different Wan Guo Brand pieces, with inconsistent styles and varying quality. It wasn’t hard to imagine the state of armor availability for other troops; typically, only squad leaders or a few standout fighters had any.

And what about all the weapons, ammunition, and miscellaneous supplies consumed in training? These were enough to give him a headache.

This was even before the new recruits were trained. According to the schedule, a new batch of soldiers would be joining the military in a month. What would happen with the equipment for the new soldiers then?

Now Reynard understood why ordinary noble lords usually only trained knights and directly conscripted civilians for war, requiring them to bring their own equipment and food.

He himself had been conscripted by the Church, and it had cost him his family’s fortune to procure a horse and a sword. After brief training, he was sent to the battlefield.

This method of conscription indeed relieved considerable logistical pressure, but the cost was high casualties. Training was conducted on the battlefield, and those who survived were considered trained.

Moreover, there was no pension system for the deceased—death meant you were simply out of luck. That’s why many preferred to flee into the wilderness rather than be drafted.

But now, Lord Lance was using the resources that would typically train knights to train the military, which naturally meant the resources were being consumed at an extravagant rate.

Of course, the combat effectiveness of these fully-fledged soldiers couldn’t be compared to that of the Serf Soldiers, and everyone had a fierce passion for military service; being chosen was a great honor for the family.

Eugene listened to Reynard’s complaints without much reaction, as this kind of conversation was not new to him.

”You know the production capacity of our small place. The workload has been greatly reduced after the Lord improved the hydraulic forging hammer; otherwise, you wouldn’t even have had the fifty sabers you ordered from me recently.”

”I’m telling you, these hundred bayonets are already the limit. Rushing it won’t make more appear. If you want to change the project, talk to the Lord, not me,” Eugene said, making the situation clear.

In other words, the workshop’s production capacity was limited, and with so many projects in the queue, there would be a wait.

Lord Lance had foreseen that as Hamlet developed, the workshop would face increasing production pressures, and he had long since selected a group of young people to be sent there as apprentices to assist.