When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 745 Horn Arrives at Cold Spring Castle

The first second that the Patriarch's ship arrived at Lengquan Castle, it attracted countless people's attention.

On the stepped mountain, the sloping roofs form a slope.

Amid the groaning of wooden boards and thatch, residents came out of their houses one after another, greeting and talking to each other in hoarse voices.

"The docks are actually cleared out. Who would make such a big fuss?"

"What kind of flag is that? Can anyone see it clearly?"

"Ah, it's the sun gear flag."

"The Patriarch is here! It's His Highness Patriarch Horn!"

In the misty early morning air, trumpets and drums could be heard at the Cold Spring Town Pier, and a red carpet was laid across the oak plank road.

As soon as Horn set foot in Cold Spring Castle, he smelled the fishy smell of river food, the pungent smell of asphalt, and the pine scent of the wooden boardwalk wrapped in pine resin.

Standing in front of the mayor of Cold Spring Town, greeting Horn with a sullen face, was the white horse knight Spitrochu.

After the previous Thousand Valley War, the old knight who originally had half-white hair now had completely white hair and beard.

He was wearing a tight-fitting armor with tight sleeves, and from his left arm stretched out an iron hand made of steel bones and wood flesh.

Only gears, spider silk and adamantium springs can be seen at the joints and wrists.

Fine gold alloy is currently the only material that can be used to make springs, and it can only be used on a small scale.

Seeing Horn coming from the end of the red carpet, Spitrochu also stepped forward and said, "By order of the Despot, the Knight of the White Horse, Spitrochut, is here to welcome the Patriarch on behalf of His Highness."

"Hahahaha." Horn laughed before he spoke, and walked forward to give Spitrochu a big hug, "Old Knight, it's been a long time since we last met."

Although Spitrochu had an arrogant look on his face, he softened his voice and said, "It's been almost two years."

After the Battle of Flying Fort, Horn and the Knight of the White Horse never met again.

Two years passed in a flash, and it was July again.

"Mr. Spitrochu, how does it feel to use this mechanical arm?"

"Yes, although it is not as flexible as before and I cannot control a single finger, it is enough for me to hold the sword again."

"How can a mechanical arm be so inconvenient? If you are willing to accept the Holy Spirit's favor and install a copper spring on it..."

"You are joking. I am already a vassal of the Tyrant Lord. How can I become your favorite?"

"Then I am being rude." Horn tried it casually and didn't take it to heart when it didn't work.

The Knight on the White Horse asked someone to look after the luggage and the handover, and then led Horn to a mansion.

This was originally a monastery, but it was confiscated and auctioned off by Meliati during the Battle of Codburg.

When it was returned to the Lengquan Town Hall, it had become the headquarters of the North Mound County Armorers Guild.

During the war, Meliati forcibly disbanded the Armorers' Guild, and this place became a mansion for high-ranking nobles and distinguished guests to live in.

After Horn's arrival, the White Horse Knight, following Meliati's instructions, expelled all other nobles living in the mansion, and replaced it entirely with the Patriarch's team.

Along the way, riding a tall horse, Horn waved and looked around while being watched by many residents.

Cold Spring Castle is located in the southern valley of the Silver Strand River, a tributary of the Ibe River. The Silver Strand River wraps around Cold Spring Mountain in an Ω shape as it passes through it.

Due to the erosion of the water flow, the outer river water washed the south bank, and the river channel moved further and further south, creating a wide river beach at the foot of Lengquan Mountain.

Looking back at this moment, you can still see the rolling mountains across the Silver Line River.

Turning back, one could see columns of black smoke rising from various smelters, blacksmith shops and the Cold Spring Fort Smelter.

Lengquan Mountain is an extension of the Amethyst Mountain Range and can produce large amounts of iron ore.

Along the Silver Line River, there are mines and mining towns all the way. These ores are transported to nearby smelters for smelting through convenient water conservancy conditions. With the water conservancy highway, North Mound County can develop such a large-scale smelting and forging industry.

If it were like in the past, like in Nitan Township, where freight costs were more expensive than the price of ore, the metallurgical industry would basically be gone.

According to a report from the local priest, 5% of the people in North Mound County are employed in the metallurgical industry, and % of the smelters are located around Cold Spring Castle.

Cold Spring Castle exports about 3200 tons of iron to the Thousand River Valley every year, and it is difficult to count the number of small private mines and blacksmith shops.

It has to be said that among the nearly 1000 smelters of various sizes in North Mound County, plus the Cold Spring Castle smelter, only tons can be allocated to Horn.

This is the output after the dwarves joined!
In other words, each smelter produces about 40 tons of iron per year on average.

Compared with the pyrometallurgical ironmaking in Horn's hometown, the wet ironmaking efficiency in this world is too low.

Since the process of chemical iron immersion cannot be improved, the only way is to improve production efficiency from other aspects.

However, the cost would be higher, and the output ratio would be far lower than that of blast furnace ironmaking in Horn's hometown.

Walk up the hillside for about a hundred steps and you will see a circle of brick and stone walls.

Behind the wall is a three-story wooden building, which is what Spitrochu called the "mansion".

Arriving at the mansion, Spitrochu had just ordered the servants to put down the luggage when Horn asked directly, "What did Meliati tell you?"

This caught Spitrochu off guard.

According to normal etiquette, shouldn't they stay for a day to adapt to the environment, then have a banquet tomorrow night to exchange feelings, and then talk about business on the third morning?
Why didn't the Patriarch do any foreplay and just went straight in and said it?

After calming himself down and asking the servant to bring two cups of black tea, the Knight on the White Horse spoke: "Moriati told me to fully cooperate with your actions, but there is a bottom line, that is, North Mound County cannot be in chaos.

What you did in Black Snake Bay cannot be allowed to be diverted to the five mountain counties."

"How do you define chaos?" Horn met the old knight's vigilant gaze and took a sip of black tea. "For example, is it chaos when the Cheka leads its troops to attack the nobles' castle?"

"Of course. Isn't this kind of thing a slap in the face of the despotic prince?"

The Knight of the White Horse flatly refused.

Meliati has moved the mountain riders' base to Hotam County, but North Mound County remains the base camp.

The nobles echoed each other and were opposed to Horn's iron policy.

If Horn came up with something like the Cheka arresting nobles again, wouldn't that put Meliati in a difficult position?

"What if there is evidence of guilt?"

"It's still acceptable for low-ranking nobles, but if it's a high-ranking noble who commits a crime, only Meliati or you can personally step in." Spitrochu looked into Horn's eyes, "Are you sure you want to exercise this power here?"

"Then I understand." Horn's eyes smiled along with his mouth, leaving Spitrochu confused.

"Then let me give you another example. For example, what if a low-level noble attacks a high-level noble castle, or a dwarf craftsman attacks a dwarf master's workshop?"

Spitrochu's hand trembled as he drank the tea, and he almost spilled the tea on his face.

He wiped his face with a handkerchief in embarrassment, and said in shock and anger: "What do you want to do?"

"This can't be blamed on me, right?" Horn stirred the tea with a spoon. "If I didn't start the trouble, then Lord Meliati wouldn't have to be in a dilemma, right?"

"I beg you not to do this!"

"Who said I was going to do this? Don't slander me."

The Knight on the White Horse looked at Horn suspiciously for a long time before he slowly sat down: "So, are you sure these things won't happen?"

"Of course, we are friends." Horn smiled as he drank his tea. "I promise that nothing like this will happen while I am in Cold Spring Castle."

(End of this chapter)