In the workshop that smelled of sulfur and coal, machines roared, boilers steamed with steam, and puffs of white smoke spewed out of the chimneys.
In the workshop, hundreds of workers are working hard at their respective positions. They are either carrying coal and fuel, or manually hammering various machine parts. Some bulk machines are slowly taking shape, and some have just been polished.
frame.
Walking in the steel forest-like Kislev Heavy Industry Factory, Galt was stunned by the scene in front of him. This scene that could only be seen in Nun, the capital of the empire's heavy industry, was actually seen in a remote kingdom. Moreover,
The scale is so huge that it is jaw-dropping.
Gelt could not understand how this northern kingdom accumulated the initial funds for the development of heavy industry. Kislev is not a powerful country in the traditional sense. It has barren land, is located in a border area, and has constant wars. Moreover, transportation is not developed.
The only good port is the port of Oerengrad in the north. How such a small and barren country could accumulate the first pot of gold to develop heavy industry has puzzled Galt.
What Galt couldn't understand even more was that in this small country and in the wilderness, there were actually many engineers and mechanics from the empire gathered.
What attracted these people here, Galt couldn't know. Maybe it was status and wealth? The mage thought, yes, or Rhodes, in order to poach people, promised to these imperial people just like he promised to himself.
Ahead, the great lord took him to visit the entire Kislev capital arsenal. Here, Gelt saw something that shocked his jaw - a steam tank!
This kind of mass murder weapon was originally only seen in the most industrialized provinces of the empire. Even in large cities with traditional manufacturing industries like Nunn, steam tanks were very rare.
This behemoth, covered in armor and steel, is a meat grinder on the battlefield. It combines speed and firepower, has the power of the most powerful long-range attack weapon and artillery, and has the same mobility and flexibility as a cavalry. It is simply perfect.
war machine.
As the empire's national artifact, the manufacturing process of steam tanks has never been spread to the outside world. Even when the greenskins invaded the southern kingdom, the emperor only symbolically lent two steam tanks to the Tilean city-state for use.
During this period, you must also pay high rental fees and usage fees.
But now, the good news is that Kislev, a small country in northern Xinjiang, actually built its own steam tanks. And there are more than one, three of them! Perhaps, this small country can no longer be viewed with traditional thinking, or perhaps, it can no longer be regarded as a
It’s a small country. Galt thought to himself.
"If there are steam tanks, why didn't we use them when we set off to the pits of hell two months ago?"
Walking in the arsenal, Galt asked curiously.
"The steam tank has obvious advantages and obvious shortcomings. As you can see, it is sturdy, resistant to strikes, has powerful firepower, and has good mobility. However, this mobility is based on flat terrain. Once it encounters rugged terrain
Mountain roads or narrow tunnels, then its huge size seems bloated and slow. The upper level of the hell pit is flat, but the lower level is full of tunnels. Even the main tunnel dug by the dwarves can barely accommodate a tank. There, it
The mobility of the enemy cannot be used at all. When encountering underground ravines and mountains, it is almost impossible to move forward. In this kind of terrain, it would be more convenient to just pull the artillery down."
Facing the question, Rhodes explained with great interest as he walked around. He knew that the mages around him would be attracted by these gadgets. As a golden wizard, Galt's obsession with metal would make Galt reluctant to leave here.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the environment in heavy industrial production workshops is suffocating. Steam, furnaces, and hot molten iron all make people feel hot and frightening. But for Geert, that may be a wonderful paradise. That may be his most
A perfect big laboratory. And what Rhodes wants is an experimentalist like Galt to transform his big workshop.
"It's incredible. I only heard about it a little bit before, but now it seems that the legend is true."
Galt sighed as he walked.
He walked up to one of the largest steam tanks, carefully observed this miraculous machine, and walked around it.
"The Ice Queen, Kislev's first steam tank."
Rhodes introduced briefly.
Galt really wanted to ask where the funds to build these machines and these large workshops came from? But he also knew that this was not something he should ask. This was a kingdom's financial secrets, and it was certain that this was by no means a routine method.
No ruler will tell the truth about the means used to obtain the capital.
Galt noticed the giant wheels of this steam tank named the Ice Queen. It was somewhat different from ordinary Imperial tanks. Around those eight steel wheels, this steam tank produced in Kislev had more
A circle of steel rolling belt.
It may not be appropriate to describe it as a rolling belt. It is a continuous cross-section composed of countless small cylindrical steel balls. These small cylinders are spliced together to tightly wrap the wheels of the steam tank. It looks very strange, but it reveals something.
Point of domineering.
Galt initially thought that this thing was designed to protect the wheels, but when Rhodes revealed its true purpose, Galt was impressed again——
"This is the track." Rhodes explained, "As mentioned earlier, the biggest weakness of the steam tank is that it cannot drive on rough roads. The huge wheels like carriage wheels are easy to get stuck in various potholes, and the road surface is slightly uneven.
It is difficult for heavy tanks to pass through flat places. But with this thing, it is different."
Rhodes pointed to the structure composed of a circle of tiny steel balls and continued -
"It will greatly enhance the steam tank's ability to cross obstacles. The continuously rolling steel ball strips will drive the entire tank forward, instead of being unable to move because a single wheel is stuck. To put it simply, this track connects all the wheels.
Together, not alone.”
After listening to this, Galt's mouth formed a big circle, and he was once again stunned by the creation in front of him. This seemingly inconspicuous creation directly improved the disadvantages of the Empire's steam tanks for hundreds of years. And this
, in Rhodes’ view, it’s still not enough.
Gelt suddenly felt that he was in the right place. In the empire, it is true that various infrastructures and economic strength are far superior to Kislev, but Kislev has creativity and fair conditions that are far inferior to the empire.
In Altdorf, the capital of the empire, he might be able to succeed one day, but that would require a lot of useless energy and financial resources. He would have to bribe a large number of officials to buy "qualification tickets" for running for college dean. At the same time, he would bribe scholars,
To win votes. When these funds are spent, there will be very few funds left for research and experiments.
The competitor may be a member of a wealthy and powerful family. Relying on family resources, it is not difficult to settle various relationships. He can have a large amount of funds and resources to do real magic research, thus being much ahead of others.
Galt knew that his strength was far inferior to that of the traditional nobles of Altdorf. Therefore, if he wanted to get ahead in the empire, he would have to pay an extremely huge price. Moreover, there was little hope. But here, not only did he not have to pay any money of his own,
To find a way out, the people above directly paved the way for themselves. The laboratories, manpower, material and financial resources were directly provided. Although the conditions were far less than those of the empire, they gave people real hope. After weighing it, Galt only felt that
I should cherish this opportunity extremely. Perhaps, except for Kislev, no other country in the world can provide such treatment.
He even forgot about Rhodes' promise to establish a metal magic academy. For Galt, this large laboratory was already the best gift the Northern Lord had given him.