Building Kilns

Chapter 55 Building Kilns

Through daily practice, Alphonse did indeed sense magical elements, but he couldn't freely use them.

The magical elements simply attached themselves to the true energy, which caused the Xuan Tian Wu Jin Palm to exhibit unusual behavior.

If one could grasp the principles of magic, things would be much easier.

However, there were no magicians in the territory, and Alphonse couldn't find anyone to investigate.

He had no choice but to put away the Summoner's Notebook, light the Refining Spirit Incense, assume a headstand position, and continue practicing the Innate Formless Divine Art.

In the midst of deep meditation, a knock was suddenly heard on the door.

It was Captain Simon who arrived.

He came to us about the brick kiln.

The entire town under the jurisdiction of Cold Wind was surrounded by stone walls. Although some space was left for future expansion, brick kilns were not suitable to be located in the town.

Furthermore, it should not be too close to the mountains and forests to prevent causing wildfires.

Captain Simon has already chosen a location, but old man Plancy, who is in charge of the construction, is unsure how large Alphonse wants the brick kiln to be, so he asked Captain Simon to inquire.

This is something that can't be explained in words alone; Alphonse will have to go and see for himself.

Upon arriving at the destination, Alphonse met old man Plancy and his apprentices.

Old Man Plancy was a gray-haired old man who looked quite robust, with a stubble beard and a weathered face.

However, both he and his apprentice were dressed in old clothes, suggesting they didn't live a very good life.

Upon seeing the arrival of Alphonse, the new lord, old man Plancy seemed somewhat hesitant, as if he dared not step forward to speak.

On the way here, Alphonse had already heard Simon tell him about his situation.

In Hanfengling, he mostly helped people build wooden houses and also worked part-time as a carpenter and made furniture, but he did have the necessary building skills.

He had helped build brick kilns when he was an apprentice, so he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the subject.

Alphonse hadn't expected that Simon would choose a wheat field, where the wheat had already been harvested and some stubble remained.

"Have we reached an agreement with the owner of this wheat field before requisitioning this land?"

Simon seemed somewhat surprised that Alphonse would ask such a question.

"All the land in the territory belongs to you, Lord. The people are just renting this land to cultivate, but they have been given some compensation to find new places to reclaim wasteland."

"As long as it's handled properly," Alphonse nodded. It seemed that Simon still cared about his people, which was good.

This also fits Alphonse's impression of him: a kind-hearted man whose greatest virtues are kindness and loyalty. He doesn't seem like a veteran who has retired from the battlefield and had once risked his life.

Old Man Plancy had already drawn up the blueprints, which Simon then presented to him.

Alphonse glanced at it; the drawing was very simple, depicting a kiln that looked like a bridge arch with a large chimney, marked with labels, but without any specific scale or anything like that.

Ordinary people had no way to learn to read and write. It was quite remarkable that old man Plancy could read; his drawing skills relied entirely on experience.

For now, Alphonse only plans to build one kiln, just enough for his own use.

The main issue is whether we can also produce cement by firing it.

If you're only building a single kiln, of course you should build it big. Alphonse explained his idea to his father, Plancy, using gestures and explanations.

Seeing Alphonse's approachable manner and complete lack of aristocratic airs, Father Plancy was somewhat flattered and relaxed a bit, describing in detail the construction of the kiln.

This traditional kiln needs to be deep enough to accommodate the brick blanks, and the flue design is also important to maintain the kiln temperature and prevent heat loss.

Old Man Plancy is also a carpenter, so the mold-making can certainly be entrusted to him.

It's just making bricks; there's not much technical skill involved.

But firing cement requires higher temperatures, and seeing that Old Man Plancy was indeed quite skilled, Alphonse couldn't help but ask, "Old Man Plancy, do you know any way to increase the temperature of the flames in the kiln?"

Old Man Plancy pondered for a moment, "Once this brick kiln is built, it will definitely be enough to fire bricks. If we want to increase the flame temperature, we can only buy combustion aids from the Alchemists' Guild in the city. Those are usually things that blacksmiths use. But too high a temperature will cause the red bricks in the brick kiln to crack, and the brick kiln will not be able to withstand it. So combustion aids are not suitable for use in brick kilns."

Alphonse never expected that the high-temperature problem that had been plaguing him would be solved so easily. "Is there any way to make the brick kiln withstand the high temperatures?"

"Then we'll have to buy fire-resistant coatings from the Alchemists' Guild. Those are mostly used for city wall defenses," Old Man Plancy replied.

Alphonse was delighted; both problems had solutions, and making cement was no longer an issue.

I was originally thinking of seeing if Pranci knew how to make insulation, but I didn't expect there to be another way to solve the problem.

Since it can burn cement, then naturally we need to add another kiln.

Alphonse entrusted the task of building the kiln to his father, Plancy, and returned with Simon to discuss other matters.

Simon has already sent two soldiers to scout the area in Earl Mujik's territory, but they haven't returned with a report yet.

The acupuncture points and meridians on the wooden statue have already been drawn, and Alphonse is preparing to give Captains Simon and Jeru and Tessie a lesson.

Providing guidance to each soldier and having them memorize the internal energy cultivation method's movement path would be a huge waste of time.

Taixi's Blood Fiend Demon Art has already achieved some success, so it's perfect for him to do this troublesome task: guiding the soldiers to channel their true energy.

The task of teaching the soldiers about acupoints and meridians can now be left to Simon and Jeru.

If you want to quickly build a powerful guard, the Blood Fiend Demon Art is an excellent technique. Although it has hidden dangers, you just need to teach the two captains how to eliminate those dangers and alleviate their suffering.

He can also pass on some of the martial arts techniques of the Ten Directions Holy Sect from his previous life.

"Recruit able-bodied men from the territory to replenish the army to two hundred. The new recruits' salaries will be half that of the veterans."

"Yes!" Simon nodded immediately, then added, "My lord, it's almost time to collect taxes from our people again."

"How much can you charge?" Alphonse asked curiously.

"It's roughly equivalent to two hundred gold coins worth of food," Simon replied.

"Why is there so little?" Alphonse asked, somewhat surprised.

"Because the old lord took pity on the people's hardship and repeatedly reduced taxes, a family could earn at most two gold coins a year just by farming."

"That low?" Alphonse asked in astonishment. "Is it enough for them to live on?"

"The Cold Wind Territory is too barren, and the lives of its people are very difficult. A family of four can only afford to eat ten silver coins a month after paying taxes, and they can even save a little to buy some clothes."

(End of this chapter)