Since the discovery of ice crystals, the production of ice peppers has continued to increase. Not only the Reach, but Rhodes also converted an open space behind the military camp into an ice pepper planting area. There is no extra land within the city walls, and he wants to protect the ice.
The best way to build a pepper field is to build it next to the military camp. In this way, no one dares to take the risk of stealing. As for the wartime, it is not afraid. If even the military camp is destroyed during the war, the power of Blackhammer Castle will not be left.
How much.
What made Rhodes even more gratified was that the business of repeating cannons was completed. After reaching a monopoly agreement with Flair, Black Hammer Castle sold two repeating cannons to the Empire at a price of 20,000 gold each. At the same time,
, Flar also sold one. There is still one continuous cannon and one semi-finished product left in the castle, but this is enough. The technology and raw materials are abundant, and it is only a matter of time before it can be remade. And the forty thousand gold crown
The income is real, equivalent to the income of Blackhammer Castle for an entire year.
As for the leakage of technology, Rhodes is not worried about it at all. With the engineering technology level of the empire, it is only a matter of time before mastering the continuous fire cannon technology. As time goes by, it is not ruled out that spies can be sent as apprentices to steal technology. After all, there is a secret in every hundred secrets.
, it is impossible to completely blockade, and the dwarves are a bunch of bragging guys, so it is difficult to guarantee that they will not vomit something after drinking. Therefore, it is better to sell more to them while this thing is gaining popularity. Rhodes knows,
At this moment, the imperial engineers were probably busy dismantling the machine and studying its internal structure. Just like when I asked Wadlin and his gang of craftsmen to dismantle the Vral repeater cannon.
Therefore, there are not many that can be sold. Rhodes estimates that the Osterland Engineering Department will only want three at most, and they will not buy any more. As for other imperial provinces, first of all, they do not believe in the power of continuous cannons.
, Second, they don’t even bother to buy firearms from Mrs. Kislev. In the eyes of the Empire, Kislev are just northern barbarians. It’s good that they can use bows, arrows and spears, but can they also make firearms? Especially the Empire’s heavy industry base.
Nuln has the best engineers and technicians in the entire empire gathered there. It is simply impossible for them to ask Kislev for technology.
Therefore, after selling two rapid-fire cannons, Rhodes did not expect the other party to generate new trade orders. Instead, he focused his attention on naval construction. The last time the Norscans invaded, if there was no Erengrad
Two gunboats were dispatched to intercept the attack, and Black Hammer Castle was really in danger of being looted.
The first naval gunboat began with the transformation of the merchant ship - the Flying Giant. This merchant ship was originally an armed merchant ship, equipped with a certain number of soldiers and ballistae. What Rhodes had to do was to mount real artillery on the
On the ship, when the new repeating cannon is built, it can be installed on the ship. As a high-precision firearm, one Wadlin repeating cannon can be worth ten rear-mounted cannons. The only problem is that the manufacturing time is slow, so
With Blackhammer Castle's current productivity level, it would take at least three months to build a Wadlin repeating gun, which means it would still take several months to convert a merchant ship into a real naval gunboat. And this
It is just the first warship, and there is still a long way to go before it becomes a real fleet.
In order to speed up the construction of the fleet, Rhodes used the money obtained from selling continuous fire cannons to poach people from the empire, and Gaoxin hired shipbuilders from the Osterland to work at Blackhammer Castle. Normally, no one would want to come to a remote place from a prosperous place.
He worked in the local area, but as long as money could solve it, it didn't matter. The salary offered by Rhodes was three times the salary of an ordinary shipbuilder in Oster. Soon, people heard about it and came to sign up.
As before, Rhodes asked Alves to arrange accommodation and meals for the candidates, and even gave them houses in the town for free. However, they could only live in them and could not resell them. In addition, he arranged for a large number of apprentices to follow the engineer around him.
Work. It’s called hearing and seeing. As time goes by, you will know something about technology and other things.
After the shipbuilder and artillery issues have been arranged, the next step is the personnel issue.
Basically, the soldiers of Blackhammer Castle have no experience in naval battles, and naval battles and land battles are completely endless. People who have no experience in naval battles may be frightened when they see the vast ocean, and some people will directly get seasick. Strong warriors on land arrive at sea.
, may directly become landlubbers, with no fighting ability at all. Therefore, Rhodes plans to train the original batch of pirates into the first batch of naval warriors.
According to the configuration on the Flying Giant, about two hundred people are needed, and the number of pirates in Black Hammer Castle does not exceed 150. Regarding the remaining personnel gap, Rhodes thought of the Hague tribe that he had just conquered last winter...
…
"I said that Mrs. Kislev cannot be trusted. Look, their army just left last winter, and now, in less than half a year, they are coming to ask for people. Our people have all died in the battle. Do we need to do it again?"
Sacrifice once?"
In the chief hall of the Hague tribe, more than a hundred tribal men gathered at this moment. Among them were elders, chiefs, senior hunters, and pirate captains. These people gathered together because recruiters came from Blackhammer Castle—
—Celta.
As a Norscan, Celta surrendered to Rhodes three years ago. Now, as the commander of the Norscan army in Blackhammer Castle, Celta has brought Rhodes' orders to this northern tribe.
. What they encountered was unprecedented resistance. However, Celta remained calm and composed. He knew the characteristics of the Norscans and the current situation of the tribe. He only saved his life, but he could no longer get rich. Every year
The tribute of three thousand gold crowns almost drained the tribe dry.
"Sacrifice? Real warriors are never afraid of death. Are you, the Hague tribe, such cowards, afraid of death, crying like little girls who won't leave their mother's body?"
Alone, Celta stood in the big tent, calm and composed. He looked around at the barbarians, remembering that he was once like this. He only cared about immediate interests.
"You said it's easy, three thousand gold coins a year, but without manpower, how can we plunder merchant ships?"
A pirate captain with blue paint on his face shouted loudly. He was muscular and had a weathered face. He looked like a veteran.
"It's just fifty people, not all of you. Excluding the elderly and children, there are still more than five hundred people in the tribe who can fight. Don't tell me, these fifty people will be a disaster for you.
Rhodes has said that when selecting warriors this time, one-tenth of your tribute amount will be reduced. This year, you only need to hand over 2,700 gold coins."
Serta said, looking around with a slight smile. It can be seen that among the hundreds of people, some are still angry.
"Well, it seems that you refuse to join the Blackhammer Castle Fleet. I'll leave it here. Everyone who joins the Blackhammer Castle Navy has an annual salary of thirty-six gold crowns. On average, that's thirty-six gold crowns per month.
A gold crown. If you are selected to become a captain or vice-captain, your salary will be doubled. You know Lord Rhodes’ character and never defaults on his salary. Be a pirate all your life, or become a member of the regular navy. You
Choose for yourself. You only have one chance. Rhodes chose you to be his soldiers because of your bravery and loyalty. Don’t think that without you, Black Hammer Castle would not be able to recruit naval soldiers. After becoming naval soldiers, you can work in the Black Hammer Castle.
Fort Hammer has a series of guarantees, housing, medical care, insurance, etc. It is up to you whether you want to join the army or not. I will only stay here for three days."
In the chief's hall, after Celta's words, the whole place fell silent. Those who had previously opposed Rhodes's conscription immediately tightened their mouths. Because in their hearts, they all wanted to become a member of the Black Hammer Castle naval fleet.
.The annual salary is thirty-six gold crowns, which is a huge sum of money for the people of the tribe...