บท 61: Steel production (b)
Virtya was in Nataschenka's office in the blacksmithing guild and he was seated opposite her with Tanya beside him, this time round no minister accompanied him because they were all busy doing their roles.
"Your majesty... I don't understand. What are you going to use those pieces of steel for?" Nataschenka asked. This was the time that she had found to sit down with Virtya and talk with him because Virtya had been busy all that week and it was only on this day that he showed up to see their progress. After all, Nataschenka didn't see where an I - beam could be used, she preferred fabricating the plough and the wheels over those pieces of steel that was simply wasting their iron ingots.
Virtya sighed before he reclined on his chair. The steel for construction had much use in the construction sector and it was a huge business because of its big demand. Virtya could remember very well in his past life that almost everywhere in his city, one would find a hardware store that was selling these steel for construction, those hardware stores were never short of customers because construction was always ongoing and steel for reinforcements was needed , therefore, it was something valuable and preferred especially to a backward world like this one where people could not construct very tall buildings because they lacked the necessary materials.
"These pieces of steel that you think they are stupid, you will be surprised in the future at how useful they are. They are a game changer in the construction sector... Well, you won't understand right now but I ask you to visit us in one of these days in Pollow district so that you can see how useful these pieces of steel are."
"This is the design of the bolts and nuts that I want you to make, I need them in different sizes as stated in the illustrations." Virtya gave a scroll that had several drawings of bolts and nuts to Nataschenka. Virtya was going to use these bolts and nuts for welding and fastening the pieces of steel together because he didn't have an electric welding machine to-do that, he could only depend on the use of bolts and nuts.
"Errrm... Your majesty. I don't think the amount of the iron ingots that we have will be enough to ensure the continued production of steel." Nataschenka said after perusing through the paper. Even if Virtya bought 5 ships of iron ingots from the kingdom of Litbridge, that amount would have been enough in the past where their iron consumption was low because the blacksmiths were only fabricating the weapons but right now, the blacksmiths were needed to use an enormous amount of iron for making steel for construction, even if they had stopped the production of the farming tools and the carriages, the amount of iron was still not enough for what they are needed to make.
"Well... I have already thought about that. Just continue the production of steel. Iron ingots will come in the future." Virtya answered confidently. Another batch of iron ingots from Litbridge will appear at the shores of Golton after three years, that would be in the year 1433 or 1434 because the Northern continent was very far away and it would require the sailors not less than three years to appear again. Virtya would not wait for all that time, thus, he needed to find another supplier of iron to them but where will he get the money to pay this new supplier not to mention that iron ingots in the Southern continent were very much expensive as compared to those sold by Litbridge merchants because iron was not available in abundance in the South as compared to the North.
Luckily, the amount of iron ingots available currently could make the steel needed for the construction of the cement plant and the dam.
As Virtya and Nataschenka continued to talk about the plans for the blacksmithing guild, Alexandre stepped in to the office and beside him, a 15 year old boy was following him.
"Your majesty, I have come with the guy that you asked for." Alexandre reported while pointing at the boy.
The boy went down on his knees in respect.
"You are Guarin Gross, right?" Virtya turned and stared at the boy.
"Yes your highness." Guarin answered with his head lowered. After Virtya came back from Brovon district, he had asked Grisha to choose a genius among his students and Grisha gave him Guarin. Virtya wanted Guarin to study the cannon designs and the details behind each component of the cannon. After all, something like the cannon was easy to make and Virtya was not planning in making them himself, he had decided to give this work to the students that he had natured so far, these students could not have been educated enough because of the limited time but getting a genius to make a cannon was still conceivable.
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