Factories and Stamping Presses

Upon returning to his territory, Victor did not immediately go back to Wood Fort Town dock to Riverside Town (at the beginning of the year, the population of Riverside Village exceeded 10,000, and with the addition of several satellite villages, the total population reached 20,000, so it was officially upgraded to a town by Victor, Bob directly took on the position of Town Mayor of Riverside Town).

Upon arriving in Riverside Town, Victor rushed to a mysterious factory located in a remote corner of the town. This place was far from the old industrial area of Riverside Town, and there was almost no trace of any other factories around.

What's even more surprising is that the factory seems to be isolated from the world. Its three-meter-high blue brick wall is like an indestructible barrier, tightly enclosing the entire main building.

Looking in from outside the wall, one can only see a blurry shadow, unable to discern what secrets are hidden inside.

When Victor led his men into this forbidden area, the guards who had never set foot here before stared wide-eyed in astonishment—they never expected that the guards here would be so heavily guarded!

These guards were all dressed in full armor, wielding extremely sharp weapons, and were agile and nimble, clearly elite warriors who had undergone rigorous training.

Judging from their skills and demeanor alone, these people are definitely among the best in the combat troops.

"Old Captain?"

One of the young guards even saw the captain of the guard unit, who was his former direct superior in his old unit. However, according to his understanding, this captain had retired from the army after the war due to being too old, and he didn't know why he was here.

The captain simply nodded when he saw his old subordinate, without saying a word, as if deliberately keeping his distance.

Seeing this, the young guard understood what was happening and stopped asking questions.

After joining the Konoe, he received training in secrecy, learning what he shouldn't ask or see.

Before long, Victor led a group of people to a building in the very center of the factory area. The building had a dark gray color scheme and was only about five meters high, making it appear quite low.

Apart from a few ventilation openings on the top floor, the entire building has no other windows, giving it a sense of enclosure and solemnity.

Most of the guards were assigned to stay outside the building, leaving only Victor and a few of his trusted bodyguards to enter.

The young guard from before also received special attention and was invited to follow Victor into the interior of this mysterious building.

Upon entering the building, the guards were immediately astonished—the interior was brightly lit, with countless oil lamps burning brightly. Surprisingly, despite the large number of lamps lit simultaneously, the air inside did not become foul.

The reason for this is twofold. On the one hand, it benefits from the design of the exhaust ducts that connect directly to the ventilation openings above each oil lamp. On the other hand, it is also due to the uniqueness of the lamp oil used—it is a best-selling product that has recently become popular in Sea Song Town: whale oil refined from whale blubber!

This oil is the new flagship product of Sea Song Town after whaling began. As lamp oil, it is virtually flawless, burning for a long time and odorless. Both whale oil candles and lamp oil mixed with whale oil and Sunflower Oil are in high demand.

I never imagined that this strange building would be so luxurious; all the oil lamps were fueled by whale oil.

Inside the building, there were also many staff members, who were busy operating some incomprehensible machines that made very regular clanging sounds.

The workers were extremely focused on their work, and the arrival of Victor and the others did not distract them.

Just then, several people walked over quickly. The middle-aged man at the head of the group saw Victor and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Marquis Excellency, what brings you here so suddenly?"

"Alberto, no need for such formalities."

I just decided to come and take a look. I went to Blue Lake a few days ago and happened to see a convoy of trucks transporting copper ore to the territory, so I thought I'd come and check out the factory!

If it's convenient, could you tell me about the current situation here?

"Yes, sir!"

After speaking about the man named Alberto, he began to lead the way for Victor, explaining as they walked, "Sir, all the machines in this central factory have been replaced with second-generation Hydraulic Stamping Press!"

The first-generation Animal-Powered Stamping Press have all been moved to another factory building and are still in normal production!

Victor nodded as he looked around; he seemed quite satisfied with the Hydraulic Stamping Press that were in operation in front of him.

"It should work without any problems!"

"Of course, we ensured a continuous flow of water by setting up underground channels and control gates."

These machines are now working very well, with very little wear on the parts, and their efficiency far surpasses that of the previous Animal-Powered Stamping Press. If there weren't enough Hydraulic Stamping Press, those Animal-Powered Stamping Press would probably have been shut down long ago!

Look, the workers are putting the polished materials into the machine!

Under the watchful eyes of the guards, the workers were busily operating a mysterious machine. They carefully placed seemingly copper metal discs into the machine, as if handling precious treasures. Then, another group of workers skillfully pushed several levers, and the whole scene appeared orderly.

As everyone was discussing this, the group had unknowingly arrived behind the machine. The guards, who had previously known nothing about these printing presses, suddenly realized what the machine was really for!

At the same time, they also found the source of that crisp and melodious "ding ding ding" sound!

Before their eyes appeared a slide extending from inside the machine, flowing out like water, continuously producing bright copper coins.

The copper coins slid down the smooth track and finally landed steadily in the neatly arranged wooden boxes below.

Every time the copper coins collided with the wooden box, they produced a crisp and pleasant clanging sound—clink, clink, clink!

Just then, Victor strode towards the box without hesitation and quickly grabbed a handful of copper coins from it.

He gripped the copper coins tightly in his hand, examining them closely. These coins were exquisitely pressed, with clearly visible patterns and a strong three-dimensional effect; their quality was truly first-rate!

"Very good!" Victor nodded, indicating his approval of the copper coins' quality, but then immediately followed up with the question, "So, what is the current production volume?"

Seeing this, Alberto quickly replied, "Sir, we currently only have five brand-new Hydraulic Stamping Press in operation. To ensure high efficiency, the workers work in three shifts, allowing them to rest while the machines run continuously. In this way, we can produce 20,000 copper coins per day! Adding to the existing eleven animal-powered printing presses, the total daily output can reach approximately 30,000 coins!"

Upon hearing this, Victor frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with the output, and complained, "Thirty thousand is far too few!"

Is there any way to get the Machine Factory to manufacture a few more Hydraulic Stamping Press?

Alberto looked troubled and replied helplessly, "Sir, I have also consulted Town Mayor Bob about this issue. However, the current situation is that production capacity is severely insufficient."

Not only are some key components difficult to process, but the Machine Factory also needs to allocate some manpower to assist in the research and trial production of new coin pressing machines!

"A new type of coin press?" Victor asked curiously; he'd never heard of it before.

"Yes, sir!"

I just found out that the research institute has made a breakthrough in Steam Engine Technology. This time, they want to use steam as a power source for a coin press, which is said to be more stable than water power and twice as efficient!

Alberto also looked incredulous, as if he thought the institute's claim was a bit too exaggerated!

Victor nodded after hearing this. "Steam-powered? That's not impossible."

After taking a look around, Victor left the factory, which turned out to be the newly built Mint in Two Rivers Territory.

Ever since he successfully obtained the right to mint coins at the promotion ceremony, Victor has been plotting how to use this power to increase the wealth and strength of his territory.

Now that we have our own Mint, and with the newly discovered copper resources in our territory, the cost of making currency will be greatly reduced.

In this way, not only can the transaction needs within the territory be met, but it can also serve as a brand-new source of income, providing the territory with a continuous stream of economic benefits.

Victor thought to himself that if he were lucky enough to find more gold or silver mines in the future, the profits he could make by minting gold and Silver Coin would probably be several times higher than they were now!

Therefore, after Victor returned to his territory last year, the coin pressing machine became the research institute's key project. Combining the technical information provided by Victor, the research institute successfully produced a set of animal-powered Spiral Stamping Press at the beginning of the year.

The coin-making machine was put into use immediately, producing several hundred copper coins per day, which was much more efficient than the original coin-making method, but it still did not satisfy Victor.

The current Hydraulic Stamping Press is much more efficient than the old Animal-Powered Stamping Press, but it still doesn't satisfy him.

However, if the Steam Coin-Press developed by the research institute succeeds, Victor believes that production efficiency can be increased several times over, and the new copper coins for the territory can be issued in time.

After all, copper coins are the most commonly used currency among most people in their daily lives, while Silver Coin and gold coins are not used as often, so copper coins are very profitable!

Therefore, Victor established Mint early on, hoping to accumulate enough new copper coins to begin issuing them!

We initially thought it would take quite some time to gather enough copper coins for issuance, but it seems that at the current production rate, a few months will be sufficient!

However, the source of raw materials may become a problem hindering future production. Thinking of this, Victor muttered to himself, "It seems the copper mine must find a way to expand its production capacity!"