Lord: Starting with Summoning the Regular Army of Earth

Chapter 87 Another group being sent here?

After a light drizzle, the air at Jinshi Ridge was exceptionally fresh, filled with the fragrance of earth and the vitality of sprouting plants.

Nourished by the drizzle, the bean seedlings in the experimental field are growing exceptionally well.

Rows of tender green seedlings are neatly arranged, like a vibrant green carpet spread across the earth.

For the people, these are not just bean sprouts, but the hope for the future of their territory, a power to turn decay into magic.

This spring rain did not slow down the construction of Jinshiling; on the contrary, it seemed to inject new vitality into the bustling construction site.

At the construction site of the city wall, shouts, the sound of ramming earth, and the sound of stones being struck rose and fell.

With the increase in production capacity of materials such as bricks and cement, the construction of the city wall accelerated again. However, this was a huge project and could not be completed in a short period of time.

Alongside the city walls, the industrial foundation for Jinshi Ridge's future was also built—Jinshi Ridge's first blast furnace.

After working day and night, the project is now nearing completion.

This blast furnace, designed by Blue Star technicians and engineers, is much taller and has a more rational structure than the small, rudimentary furnaces used in local iron smelting.

An improved blower system was designed, consisting of a large, water-driven bellows.

The tapping spout and slag outlet have also been scientifically designed.

Although its appearance is still rough, it already has the beginnings of a modern blast furnace.

But the good news for Emberstone Ridge doesn't stop there.

The Trail Blazers also sent back exciting news—they had successfully discovered a shallow coal seam on the edge of the wind-eroded highlands.

According to their preliminary exploration, the coal seam is quite thick, buried very shallowly, and in some areas it is even directly exposed on the surface, making it very easy to mine.

When the news reached the lord's mansion, Matthew was discussing the final preparations for igniting the blast furnace with experts such as Zhang Hongjian, He Wentao, and Wang Qinian.

Upon hearing the news, the council chamber erupted in cheers.

"Great!" Wang Qinian slapped his thigh, his face flushed with excitement. "It's like a godsend! The blast furnace was just looking for high-quality fuel! Now that we have coal, and it's even easy-to-mine shallow coal, our ironmaking project is more than halfway done!"

"Yes, with the fuel problem solved, the production and quality of weapons and agricultural tools can be greatly improved. These are strategic resources!"

Matthew was equally excited. Coal, known as the "food of industry," was significant for much more than just solving the current fuel problem for blast furnaces.

This means that the cornerstone of an energy revolution has been discovered within the territory of Ember Ridge.

The topic of discussion immediately shifted, and everyone began to work together to develop plans for the next phase of coal mining and transportation.

After all, according to the information, the location where the coal was discovered was about fifty miles away from Jinshi Ridge, which is not a short distance, and there was no decent road there, so the matter of building a road still needed to be considered.

However, just halfway through the meeting, the messenger brought another message.

Renault's second-in-command, Harold, led twenty laborers toward Emberstone Ridge.

Matthew was somewhat surprised when he heard the news, but he knew without a doubt that it was no good. After thinking about it carefully, he guessed the other party's intention.

"They found that all their informants had been inexplicably eliminated, so they had no choice but to send people directly to keep an eye on Emberstone Ridge." Matthew frowned. He knew without a doubt that there must be Renault's spies among those twenty laborers.

"They're really persistent!" Matthew said helplessly, but he knew that Renault wouldn't easily give up the huge "cost" he had invested.

Therefore, they had long been prepared for a protracted war.

During this time, by harassing Renault by pretending to be bandits and goblins, they successfully distracted him and made him extremely stressed.

But he knew that it was only a matter of time before Renault and Ironrock City noticed the anomaly at Emberstone Ridge. All he could do was stall for time as much as possible, allowing himself to grow stronger and be better prepared.

Matthew immediately ordered all goblin units to hide again, and all fifty human summoned units and civilians gathered at the city wall to work.

After a long while, when Harold arrived at Emberstone Ridge with twenty "laborers," the change before his eyes made his pupils shrink in shock.

Although he didn't come with Renault last time, the tall city wall in front of him was definitely not the wall the young master had described.

Moreover, the scale seems to be quite different from what the young master described.

Although nearly ten days had passed, the changes were truly astonishing.

He looked closely and saw that there were dozens or even hundreds of people working busily at the construction site of the city wall.

"Where did Matthew get so many people?" Harold was in a state of shock.

As far as he knew, there couldn't possibly be so many laborers in Jinshi Ridge. Could it be that he used the money sent by the young master to hire laborers?

He felt that this was very likely.

-

"If these bandits don't come soon, all the wealth the young master sent will really become capital for the rise of Emberstone Ridge," Harold thought to himself, before leading his men into Emberstone Ridge.

As he had expected, there were few guards at the entrance to Jinshi Ridge. It was estimated that all manpower was devoted to the construction of the city wall. Only someone on the watchtower not far away asked them for their identities, and then did not stop them.

However, as his cavalry approached the lord's manor, Matthew and Will also came out of the manor upon hearing the noise.

"Mr. Harold, what brings you here?" Matthew asked, feigning surprise.

"Your Excellency!" Harold dismounted, patted his chest, and bowed. "Young Master Renault has been concerned about the construction of the Ashstone Ridge walls and has specially ordered me to recruit twenty strong laborers from Ironrock City to lend you a hand, hoping to speed up the project and allow Your Highness to rest easy as soon as possible."

He pointed to the group of men behind him who, although dressed in rags, were indeed quite robust.

Matthew's face showed just the right amount of surprise and gratitude, but his heart was filled with vigilance.

"Young Master Renault is too kind!" Matthew's voice was gentle, but with a hint of distance. "However—I don't need any more laborers at Emberstone Ridge right now, so I appreciate your kindness, Young Master Renault, but please take these laborers back with you. Otherwise, my meager food supply won't be enough to feed so many people."

His gaze swept over the "laborers" with caution, as if assessing whether they were a burden.

Harold chuckled. He naturally couldn't take the people back; it was his mission. So he explained, "Your Excellency is overthinking this. I've already brought some of their rations with me, and Ironrock City will cover the rest. I certainly won't put you in a difficult position. They're all honest and hardworking farmers; they're content as long as they have food to eat."

Matthew pondered for a moment, knowing that the other party would not give up until they achieved their goal. So he exchanged a glance with Will before slowly nodding: "Alright, since it is Young Master Renault's kind offer, I will accept it. Please thank Young Master Renault for me. He is busy suppressing bandits, yet he still has time to take care of our Ashstone Ridge. We are truly grateful!"

Matthew's words sent a chill down Harold's spine. Clearly, the other party already knew about the bandits, and Harold could even vaguely detect a certain wariness in the other's words.

"Will!"

"Here!" Will responded and stepped forward.

"Take these new laborers to their accommodations, register them, and explain the rules of Jinshiling clearly. Treat everyone equally, but those who violate the rules, are negligent, or cause trouble will be dealt with according to the law, without any leniency!"

Matthew's tone turned serious, carrying an unquestionable authority, addressed not only to Will, but also to Harold and the "laborers."

"Yes!" Will accepted the order, his sharp eyes sweeping over the twenty men before leading them away.

"Your Highness, this territory is developing quite well. Would you mind showing me around?" Harold said with a smile, looking into the distance.

Matthew naturally didn't want this guy to tour his territory, but he kept a straight face and pretended to agree: "Of course, no problem. By the way, Harold, some time ago, the villagers found two corpses in the nearby mountains. They didn't know who killed them, but judging from their clothes and equipment, they seemed to be soldiers from your Ironrock City. I wonder if they were people you sent? I was thinking, could it be that Count Kress was worried that the treasures he gave me would be stolen by bandits, so he specially sent people to secretly monitor—no, to secretly protect—me."

7

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