Bjorn and the craftsmen all turned their eyes to Simon.

After the briquette stove and the lathe, Simon once again introduced a shocking new technique.

For the craftsmen, who had spent their lives mastering their inherited skills, unaltered for generations, Simon’s innovation completely upended their understanding.

"That’s right. The crucible steel method is well-established, but the steel it produces requires repeated forging to enhance its strength, which is extremely time-consuming." Simon explained. "The blast furnace ironmaking technique I am teaching you will involve building two interconnected furnaces. The first will produce pig iron, which will then be refined into wrought iron in the second furnace. This way, iron production can be scaled up efficiently."

Bjorn instructed the craftsmen to stop their work and sit down, listening intently. By now, such knowledge-sharing sessions had become routine in the Engineering Department, and both Bjorn and the craftsmen were used to it.

Simon picked up the stone pencil Bjorn had prepared, a chalk-like material that left white markings and began sketching the blast furnace structure on a black stone slate as he explained.

The craftsmen listened with utmost seriousness. Every time Simon imparted new skills, they felt a sense of enlightenment, quickly grasping even the most unfamiliar techniques.

The boring machines, drilling machines, milling machines, and grinding machines currently produced in the Engineering Department had all been built following Simon’s blueprints and the craftsmen’s visual memory. After initial trials, these lathes were proving to be successful.

For example, the drilling machine, a lathe designed for boring holes in components, had been used successfully to perforate iron sheets for gas stoves.

Another example was the boring machine, which refined the holes drilled by the drilling machine. As Simon explained, these two machines together could turn a solid steel block into a hollow steel tube.

Although the craftsmen didn’t fully understand what Simon meant by ’steel tubes,’ they instinctively felt that it was something remarkable.

An hour passed quickly, and Simon felt parched as he finished explaining blast furnace ironmaking.

"My Lord, how should we control the heat when refining coke?" A young craftsman suddenly asked.

This young man was always the most focused during Simon’s lectures, showing an extraordinary enthusiasm for these technical skills.

However, perhaps out of deference to Simon, he had never spoken up before. This time, as Simon merely touched on the topic of coke refining, the young craftsman couldn’t help but ask.

"What’s your name?" Simon was intrigued by this craftsman, who appeared to be around his own age. In his view, only those with a thirst for knowledge could truly be passionate about their craft.

This young man clearly had a deep enthusiasm for the Engineering Department.

Bjorn, looking somewhat awkward, quickly explained. "My Lord, this is my son, Fjord. He lacks proper manners. Please don’t hold it against him."

Then, turning to his son, he scolded. "Step back! This is not your place to speak!"

Fjord frowned and protested. "Father, I just wanted to clarify the precise heat control for refining coke. If we handle it carelessly and burn it all up, wouldn’t that cause huge losses for the Engineering Department?"

Just as Bjorn was about to reprimand him further, Simon suddenly intervened. He looked at Fjord with satisfaction and spoke. "Fjord is right. Precision matters in craftsmanship. I’ve heard that he was also the one leading the craftsmen in building the lathes?"

"That is true, Your Highness," Bjorn admitted with a sigh. His son had never enjoyed reading but was deeply fascinated by mechanical contraptions.

Simon gestured for Fjord to come forward. "Not bad, you have a sharp mind. Would you be interested in becoming the chief craftsman of the Engineering Department?"

Fjord’s face lit up with excitement, but he hesitated, glancing at his father for approval.

Before Bjorn could voice concerns about his son’s youth, Simon decisively said. "It’s settled then. Your monthly salary will be one cap of silver. From now on, you’ll be responsible for overseeing the work I assign."

"Yes, My Lord!" Fjord responded enthusiastically. He knew that the chief craftsman position was just one step away from becoming an official in the military supply bureau. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

His father had always disapproved of his passion for mechanics, but now, with Simon’s recognition, he finally felt vindicated.

However, he still hadn’t received an answer to his question. He quickly asked. "My Lord, you still haven’t told us the exact temperature needed for refining coke."

"It should be about 30% lower than the temperature for smelting iron," Simon replied. Iron smelting required around 1,400 degrees Celsius, whereas coke refinement needed approximately 1,000 degrees. "Be bold in your experiments. Even if some is wasted, it’s not a big deal."

"Understood, My Lord!" Fjord answered confidently.

With the blast furnace ironmaking process assigned, construction of the furnaces would take some time. Simon hoped that by then, Roland would bring back good news about graphite.

If that happened, he could establish a complete production line integrating blast furnace ironmaking and crucible steel refining.

Next, Simon inspected the lathes. These machines were equivalent to 17th-century manual lathes from his world, entirely hand-operated.

Moreover, the drill bits for the lathes were crafted from steel tools forged by the craftsmen. While not sophisticated, they were sufficient for processing coarse components.

Looking at the array of lathes before him, Simon felt a sense of accomplishment. With these machines, he could begin producing small mechanical parts, which could then be assembled into one of the oldest forms of machinery, a clock.

In his view, in his previous world, industrialisation had its roots in clockmaking. It was from this era that precision parts began to play a significant role in history.

As for firearms and cannons, Simon had considered them, but he understood that they were unrealistic to manufacture within a few years.

As the saying goes, ’A single cannon shot costs ten thousand caps of gold.’ His territory was impoverished, and the lengthy process of crafting a single firearm with manual lathes was an impractical burden. Before the advent of steam engines, producing firearms on a large scale was almost laughable.

Therefore, Simon’s current strategy was to focus everything on production. Only when his territory became prosperous and had a basic industrial foundation could he develop such technologies in tandem with economic growth.

After all, in Simon’s eyes, warfare was a matter of wealth and resources. Without adequate supplies, even the best weapons were useless. Prioritising military development over economic stability was simply unrealistic.

For now, his priority was building up his territory. Of course, strengthening the military was also necessary, both to defend against the nomads from the northern grasslands and to deal with banditry during the harsh winter months.

Based on past experiences, winter, when food was scarce, was always the season when bandits ran rampant.