Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 321 The Manor System and the Black Forest Holy Flame Gun Academy

This technological advancement at the Academy is undoubtedly one of the core characteristics of the Empire, enhancing faith, morale, and lordly authority. This bonus also exists among other major factions; for example, among the Dwarves, this technology tree is called Ancestral Legacy, enabling powerful runecrafting, underground fortresses, and the Book of Hatred. Among the Chaos Legion, it's called the Gift of the Wonton, unlocking more Fel God Blessings, Corruption Spread, and granting access to more powerful and ruthless demonic units.

With the academy currently overseeing the advancement of the [Provincial Standard Bearer], [Issued Infantry Armor], and [Improved Heavy Weapons], Su Li naturally inquired with great interest, "What other aspects of technological progress has the academy been advancing in the territory?"

Oliver calmly replied, "The main military aspects are still these three. Further advancements in cavalry technology will require time to research and unlock."

"Economically, we have focused on promoting the manor system. The wealthy and powerful eat their fill and act arrogantly, while the farmers toil to support them—this is the perfect model for any truly far-sighted society. This will make the hearts of the people in our territory more stable, the society more harmonious, and the people more supportive of your rule. At the same time, economic and agricultural production will be significantly improved, and labor efficiency will increase by more than 30% across the board."

"Hiss~" Su Li couldn't help but gasp, looking at Oliver and asking, "My dean, are you sure what you're saying is correct?"

The powerful and wealthy feast and lord it over others, while farmers toil tirelessly to support them. Is this truly the perfect model?

This is absolutely hilarious! It perfectly captures the dark and despairing nature of this world.

Oliver, thinking Su Li doubted the effectiveness of the reform, immediately and solemnly assured him, "My lord, everything I've said is absolutely true, without any falsehood. After the widespread implementation of the manor system, the means of production will be more concentrated, leading to large-scale production. At the same time, these wealthy manor owners will be more willing to invest funds to improve production tools, and our agriculture, industry, and all other aspects will be improved. We are convinced that the manor system is more perfect than the self-sufficiency of small farmers."

So Su Li had no choice but to wave his hand and ask, "Tell me about the rest. What other improvements do you have?"

"Besides the manor system, we've also improved [warhorse breeding]. This more refined breeding method can provide the territory with a large number of fine steeds, carrying our heavily armored knights on repeated battles. As you know, excellent horse breeds don't always exist; horse training and breeding have always been of paramount importance. Moreover, our territory's warhorses are super warhorses capable of withstanding fully armored knights and horse armor. The academy possesses the most comprehensive knowledge, even benefiting the Church of Dawn. With our improvements, the output of the territory's ranches can increase by at least 5%, which will greatly benefit future efforts to save on elite troop recruitment costs and reduce the maintenance expenses of high-level troops."

Su Li nodded slightly. This was indeed in line with the empire's style; everything in the empire revolved around knights. Therefore, warhorse breeding and horse administration were of paramount importance.

It could even be said that the manor system was improved and served for the knights. Knights, warhorses, manors, and ranches constituted the empire's military, economic, and political systems.

What's left should be the castle.

Oliver then added, "Another improvement is in the Engineers' Guild. The greatest significance of our engineering institute is that it brings engineers together. Being able to share knowledge with colleagues will definitely lead to better results. For this purpose, we have also established the [Hessen Territory Engineers' Guild], which can greatly improve our engineering efficiency and construction level, allowing us to shorten the construction period of various buildings and reduce construction costs."

Undoubtedly, with this technological improvement, more castles can be built in the territory, and the construction speed of various cities will also be significantly increased.

Su Li smiled approvingly and said, "Very good. Are there any other areas for improvement?"

Oliver shook his head regretfully: "My lord, this is all the technological progress we've made so far. All of this is because the territory laid a solid foundation beforehand, which greatly reduced the time required to unlock these research projects. Subsequent research in the territory will probably never be this fast again."

Su Li counted, and since their academy was founded, it had made progress in six aspects of the territory, unlocking the military aspects of [Provincial Standard Bearer], [Rationed Infantry Armor], and [Improved Heavy Weapons], the economic aspect of [Manor System], the livestock aspect of [Warhorse Breeding], and the construction aspect of [Black Forest Territory Engineers Guild]. This speed was truly remarkable.

But Oliver then gave Su Li another pleasant surprise: "Although we don't have many projects progressing in the academy as a whole, there are still some research results in each of the individual colleges."

"Under the Black Forest Griffin Engineering Academy are the Blazing Sun Military Academy, the Black Forest Holy Flame Gun Academy, the Black Forest Sacred Academy, and the Black Forest Noble Engineering Academy."

"You've already seen the Sunshine Military Academy here; it's a place that specializes in training knights and military personnel."

"The Blackwood Holy Flame Gun Academy is an academy jointly established by imperial engineers and dwarves, primarily for improving the artillery and gunpowder of their territories. Their results have been remarkable, and they have already developed the War Chariot Mortar."

The War Chariots, simply put, are the Empire's chariot forces. They are a product of the perfect combination of Imperial warhorses and dwarven technology.

War chariots were once a common type of horse-drawn vehicle used by the followers of Emperor Ridmar. These massive, cumbersome chariots, resembling castles in appearance, were pulled by strong warhorses and carried human warriors armed with bows and crossbows, ready for battle. Although with the advancement of time and technology, their place has been taken over by armored, steam-powered tanks that spew clouds of steam, the scarcity of the latter means that these horse-drawn chariots remain active on the front lines of the Imperial army, serving as mobile fortresses.

Oliver explained in detail: "Currently, our territory's war wagons still require two warhorses to pull them, and their sturdy carriages can accommodate up to six soldiers, who are usually crossbowmen, musketeers, and halberdiers. The musketeers are equipped with powerful weapons developed by the Gunnery Academy, such as repeating muskets."

"But besides fully armed soldiers, a war wagon can also carry other terrifying firearms capable of causing massive casualties, such as mortars. The war wagon mortar is such an outstanding military artillery unit. To put it simply, it is two strong warhorses pulling a huge war wagon with four carriages, on which is mounted a mortar and four fully armed, gleaming soldiers. It can follow the knightly legion at a faster speed, providing powerful fire support for the battle at the front."

"Moreover, the war wagons are all heavily armored units, even the horses pulling them are covered in heavy horse armor, making them extremely sturdy and resilient. Even if surrounded by the enemy or bombarded by artillery, they will not easily fall. We have already built two Hessian war wagons. In time, we will upgrade all the mortars to powerful war wagons. Of course, this is also very expensive; each mortar needs to consume 370 gold crowns to upgrade to a war wagon mortar."

Su Li really liked this heavy armor style. Every aspect of the empire showed the solidity of heavy industry. Even the artillerymen were very tough and thick-skinned, as hard to damage as steel.

If the cavalry legion had eight Imperial War Chariots like these, charging alongside the cavalry and providing accompanying fire support, it would undoubtedly provide the Blacksin legion with tremendous combat power.

Therefore, the upgrade cost of 370 gold crowns is indeed very expensive, but it is worth the price.

Su Li replied decisively, "Don't be stingy with money. It's normal for such a war machine to cost as much as seven or eight hundred gold crowns. Military equipment is never cheap. I hope that before the war with Blue Mirror Territory breaks out, we can build at least four war machine mortars. Then, when we besiege Blue Mirror Fortress, we can also bring out a dozen or so ordinary mortars."

Any knight's castle is difficult to attack. When climbing the ladder, even an elite knight becomes very vulnerable. Once his head is pierced by an arrow, an elite knight will die instantly.

Therefore, if artillery could be used to bombard the city, Su Li naturally hoped to use artillery to blast it open as much as possible, rather than using soldiers' lives to launch a desperate siege.

Oliver said very seriously, “My lord, I hope you have a relatively accurate understanding of the power of cannons. Never overestimate the power of cannons. Thousands of years have passed since the dwarves invented cannons, but the history of wars over these thousands of years has repeatedly revealed the reality that cannons have negligible damage to well-defended military fortifications. Even if you use up all the cannon barrels, you may not be able to inflict any effective damage on a castle that has been carefully constructed by engineers.”

"From the day cannons were invented, their primary purpose was to kill people. Without a doubt, what always determines the outcome of war is the bravery and unwavering faith of the knights!"

Su Li's eyes lit up; she hadn't expected to hear this familiar theory in this world.

It seems that any power with a long history of warfare and thousands of years of accumulated civilization shares a common understanding: people are the key factor in determining the outcome of a war.

The fact that artillery has very low destructive power against city walls has been demonstrated by numerous battles throughout history and across the world. Whether it was the Ottoman attack on Constantinople or the Ming dynasty's entry into Korea, the relentless bombardment of city walls by artillery was almost ineffective. Even in World War II and the war between the Soviet Union and Russia, the indiscriminate bombardment by various artillery and aerial bombs had little effect on intact military fortifications and strong defensive works; the primary casualties were the people inside the fortifications. Even soldiers who dug shallow trenches in the mud and hid in foxholes could be effectively protected from the gunpowder damage if a shell exploded a few meters away. Whether the blast wave could kill the soldiers inside is another matter, but at least the shell's destructive power in the mud would not exceed a few meters, and it wouldn't destroy the foxhole.

Therefore, against a more fortified fortress, it's virtually impossible for gunpowder to blast a castle to pieces. Even to bomb a military camp, how many shells would be needed? A large and sturdy military camp is at least much larger than a community; it would require dozens of shells, or even aerial bombs, to cover it. Su Li had to ask, "How effective is indiscriminate artillery bombardment against the defending troops?"

Oliver did not reply directly, but instead asked, "My lord, do you know how long the barrel life of a cannon is?"

Su Li wasn't really familiar with such specialized military knowledge, so he replied, "Please explain in detail."

"With the current casting technology in the territory, the barrel life of a mortar is only about 4 seconds."

"4 seconds?"

"That's right. It only takes about 0.02 to 0.03 seconds for a heavy mortar shell to be fired from the mortar. So theoretically, a mortar is at risk of exploding after about 133 shots. The risk increases with each subsequent shot, requiring disassembly, maintenance, and replacement. Therefore, it is almost impossible for you to rely on artillery to bombard the ground and destroy the enemy's fortified positions. That's why our Gunnery Academy has specially researched the [Ujur Sacred Flame Heavy Explosive Shell]."

"As its name suggests, once fired, this shell explodes in the air like the Ujur sacred flame, splitting into nine columns of flame that inflict devastating damage on the enemy. This is the masterpiece of Frančić, the director of the Hessian Sacred Flame Gun Academy."

Francesca, the Imperial Engineering Academy master whom Su Li bought from the Gray Market Trading Company, was originally a top talent hired by the son of an Elector to enter the border princes.

It can be said that if it weren't for the destruction of the territory of that elector's son, Su Li would not have been qualified to come into contact with such top talents.

Su Li looked at the dean of the Gunnery Academy and said, "Let's go, let's continue our visit to the Black Forest Holy Flame Gunnery Academy."

Francesca bowed slightly and said with great enthusiasm, "I am willing to be your guide and show you the masterpieces of our territory."

"My lord, I believe that one day the Blackwood Territory will be renowned throughout the Old World for our Holy Flame Gun Academy. Although it is called an academy, it is actually a vast complex of workshops, anvils, and furnaces. Here, skilled gunsmiths and dwarves work day and night to manufacture and maintain powerful firearms for the territory's armies, while the generals of the army constantly send promising prospective gunners to this smoke-filled factory to learn theoretical knowledge such as ballistics. These gunners will be invaluable assets to each legion in the future."

"Compared to the more sacred and radiant Knight Academy, the Holy Flame Gunnery Academy's towering towers, guardian gargoyle statues, and sturdy arched bridge piers are far more attractive to outsiders, leaving other smaller academies trembling on the island's edge. As for the academy itself, most of its grounds are used as firing ranges, resulting in the daily deafening noise of black powder weapons firing becoming an integral part of the city and island. Of course, for weapons with excessive power, such as cannons, test firing sites are set up in places like Black Iron Ridge Island and the wilderness outside the city walls, where there's no need to worry about paying damages. Besides the testing grounds, the academy also has a portion dedicated to housing lecture halls, classrooms, and dormitories for teachers and students to study and rest."

"Even now, the citizens of Hessen are proud of the Academy. They celebrate enthusiastically on its open days and boast to visitors about its excellence and its importance to the territory. Part of their loyalty to the Academy stems from its efforts in caring for orphans. These abandoned children, known as the 'Sons of the Guns,' are trained to serve as workers and apprentices at the Academy in the future."

With Francesca's explanation, Sue finally arrived at the front of the Sacred Flame Foundry and saw a magnificent sight: an 18-meter-high wall surrounded the site on three sides, while a 20-meter-high city wall formed the fourth. From the academy, one could overlook the Brienne River and the Black Iron Ridge Island, the site of many live-fire exercises. The walls were cut from limestone, blackened by long-term oxidation from soot and air in the river. Two 35-meter-high towers marked the intersection of the shorter north wall, the east wall, and the longer east wall, which also served as the main gate.

The academy's parade ground formed an uneven rectangle in front of the city wall, widening slightly towards the river. Inside the walls were barracks-style dormitories, a large courtyard used for military exercises rather than shooting practice, and a blacksmith's shop nestled among low buildings along the riverbank. The entire wall was covered with cannons, several mortars mounted on wheeled wagons in the center of the courtyard, and nearby lay a large pile of heavy stone cannonballs.

A large, multi-story building occupied the north wall; the basement served as the kitchen, the main hall (about twice the size of the student cafeteria) was on the first floor, classrooms were on the floor below, and staff dormitories were on the top floor. The west wall had only one door: a door about the size of a person leading to a narrow wooden staircase that descended to the riverbank. There was a small dock there, where two or three small rowboats were always moored.

The Gunnery Academy had a long-standing connection with the city's orphans, teaching them the necessary skills to become peddlers, craftsmen, and gunners, and ensuring they received not only training and maintenance but also basic mathematics and literacy education. Many of these individuals would become soldiers, engineers, gunsmiths, or artillerymen, while others would be employed by nobles as secretaries, scribes, and messengers, and still others would serve as clerks and secretaries in the vast bureaucracy of the territories.

The alchemist oversaw the mixing of gunpowder and stockpiled enough raw materials from local suppliers for a year's worth of large-scale use. Ammunition was cast on-site. Cannon turrets were used to manufacture bullets for handheld weapons, while molds were used to create cannonballs. Mortars could fire heavy explosive shells, but could also fire stone projectiles in emergencies. This is why the Empire often employed stonemasons alongside the army during sieges; their task was to find and quarry these stone projectiles in local quarries.

Without a doubt, the Black Forest Holy Flame Gun Academy and the Bauhinia Holy Flame Foundry will provide unparalleled assistance to the territory's powerful Goose Firearms Force.

Standing on the highest tower with Su Li, Frančić explained, "Currently, we can produce 80 Ujur Sacred Flame heavy explosive shells per month. If we use 8 mortars to fire them, we'll run out of shells in 10 salvos."

The production of heavy explosive shells is indeed a big problem.

Su Li asked, "How many gunnery apprentices and dwarven craftsmen does the academy have? You must increase the production capacity of cannonballs as soon as possible."

Even if we don't say 8000 per month, 800 per month is quite reasonable, right? An Empire month has nearly 40 days, which means you could probably get about 20 per day. Su Li felt that this number wasn't very high.

Francesca replied helplessly, "Actually, the problem doesn't lie with the academy. We have over 40 gunnery apprentices and over 30 dwarves. If we only produce cannonballs, we can make one by hand for each person every day. But the problem is that we don't have enough gunpowder. Making dwarven gunpowder requires volcanic sulfur, rune flax, and special dwarven blood, which we can't mass-produce. We have to buy it from the Gray Mountain dwarves at a higher price."

Sulfur is a precious resource, just like crystal, mithril, and vibranium, and Black Forest has very little of it.

Places that typically produce crystal and mithril generally don't produce sulfur. Black Forest Territory is a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters, and in the Black Pine Forest there is a resource point called Lake Aisond, which produces resources such as crystal and diamonds.

This results in a low yield of sulfur in the territory. However, the Red Dragon Drake has a large quantity of this resource.

Unfortunately, the trade routes will also be cut off by the Blue Mirror Territory.

Rune-inlaid flax is a material similar to nitrocellulose, truly a unique specialty of the dwarves, somewhat analogous to silk from the Eastern lands. Flax is the fabric the dwarves excel at weaving, and to this day, humans haven't been able to learn how the dwarves use flax threads to create special textures and runic effects. It's simply impossible; just as the West couldn't learn the East's silk-weaving techniques, they simply couldn't. There's no real reason why; otherwise, they would have learned it long ago over thousands of years.

Ultimately, the problem lies in the fact that the territory's current size and population are too small, lacking the advantages of being vast, rich in resources, and abundant in natural resources.

If Black Forest Territory can destroy Blue Mirror Territory and border Red Dragon Drake, then this problem can be greatly alleviated.

Su Li clicked his tongue and sighed, "It seems that war against Blue Mirror Territory is inevitable."

He then looked at Oliver and asked, "What are the knights of the territory's views on this? Has the provincial council conducted any pre-war mobilization or propaganda?"

“Of course!” Oliver said with a smile. “The Hessian Noble Holy Academy does exactly that. This academy mainly trains theologians, bureaucrats, and monks for the territory.”

"In addition to believers and scholars of the goddess of justice and knowledge, there are also pastors and monks from various churches practicing in this academy, thus ensuring the purity of their faith and sharing methods to combat and purify the corruption of chaos."

"These priests and scholars are mobilizing and spreading the word, especially during this Glory Games Festival. We will spread the word among the knights to make this war more just and glorious, attract more knights to participate in this glorious war, and use a brilliant victory to show our military might."

(End of this chapter)