Pile on the Beef

"A warship that doesn't rely on sails for propulsion, and can keep moving normally even after its hull is breached and its compartments flood? And a medium-sized sailing ship of the line fitted with thirty-six Shipbreaker Cannons?" Lord Ashvane carefully read the naval battle report in his hands, his face full of shock.

Had this not been the battle report Tarenford brought back, he would have thought it was some ridiculous novel bought from a bard.

When Halliwell first received the naval battle report, the warship's capabilities described within had completely overturned everything he thought he knew about sailing warships. He simply could not imagine an impoverished little town like Morris building such a powerful vessel.

"That is indeed what happened, my lord. I suspect the Norwington Family's warship used another source of propulsion," Tarenford analyzed.

Lord Ashvane nodded slightly, composed his expression, and asked solemnly, "Were there any mages aboard?"

Lord Ashvane had, after all, seen his share of extraordinary things. Although the Norwington Family's warship utterly outclassed every medium-sized sailing warship of comparable displacement, it was still just a warship. It merely moved faster, had a greater firing range, and possessed a hull that could withstand more punishment.

Thinking of it that way helped him regain his composure, though he still felt a little envious.

"The warship belongs to Rowan Norwington. There were only two class holders aboard: a level-four warrior with weapon specialization and a level-three paladin with retribution specialization. There were no mages," Halliwell explained.

Without a mage's assistance, magical propulsion could be ruled out.

Without wind runes or a mage, how exactly did that ship move?

Had the Norwington Family developed an entirely new propulsion technology?

At that thought, Lord Ashvane's expression darkened.

Lord Ashvane did not dwell on the question. Instead, he changed the subject. "Were you aware of the Norwington Family's violation of the coastal defense regulations mentioned in the report?"

"It has already been reported to the family council through the proper channels."

Lord Ashvane nodded in satisfaction. "Very good."

The day after the naval battle ended, Leonard took the warship back to the pirate base and transported the Iron Smelting Blast Furnaces home one after another.

That afternoon, Kobi and his son led the blacksmiths in assembling the first Iron Smelting Blast Furnace.

Steward Kande had already built a workshop according to the plans Rowan provided. The Iron Smelting Blast Furnace was moved straight inside and put into operation immediately.

Since Rowan had no Magic-Charged Crystal, he could not activate the magic runes at the bottom of the blast furnace. He had no choice but to make minor modifications to its base.

He had Kobi and his son remove the fire elemental rune heating device entirely and replace it with a conventional furnace base suitable for burning coal.

Once the coal inside the blast furnace caught fire, searing molten iron slowly flowed from the tap hole.

Ironhammer waited for the molten iron to solidify, then inspected the quality of the cast-iron ingot. Beaming, he said, "Young Master Rowan, these ingots are excellent. They're no different from the iron sold on the market."

Rowan nodded in satisfaction, raised his hands, and clapped. "We're having something extra tonight-beef!"

The blacksmiths and temporary ironworks laborers cheered, calling out things like, "Young Master Rowan is so generous!" and "Young Master Rowan is fucking awesome!"

They had all picked up Byron's damn bad habits.

The cooks set up two large pots in an open area of the ironworks. They added spices to one and simmered beef bones in it, while fresh beef stewed in the other.

Leonard and Byron carried over barrels of wine that Young Master Rowan had bought on his last trip to Boralus. Though inexpensive, it was a well-aged clear wine from Stosong Valley, supposedly with a very pure flavor.

The celebration served two purposes: rewarding the soldiers who had fought in the naval battle and celebrating the ironworks officially beginning operation. With a coal mine and an ironworks, Morris Town now had the beginnings of an industrial base.

Everyone brought benches and sat around the two large pots, waiting for the delicious beef to finish cooking.

The rich aroma of meat filled the ironworks. While the beef was still cooking, Rowan discussed worker recruitment with the old steward.

Although the ironworks had been built, the staffing problem remained unresolved.

Running all five blast furnaces at once would require at least a hundred workers.

Morris Town had only a thousand residents in total. Those hundred workers would account for almost its entire young workforce.

At the end of the day, Morris Town was only a farming town. The young people in every household were the mainstay of its farm labor. If everyone stopped farming, food would become another major problem.

"Young master, workers aren't the key issue. The key is having enough food," Kande explained, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

Rowan fully agreed with Kande. Recruiting workers for the ironworks was certainly not as simple as offering higher wages and expecting everyone to come.

After all, once the Iron Smelting Blast Furnaces began operating, the workers would have to work in shifts. Relighting a blast furnace after it went out was a great deal of trouble and would severely reduce production.

"I'll solve the food problem. When you recruit workers, make sure to emphasize that everyone working in the mines or the ironworks will receive a monthly food allowance as well as wages," Rowan said.

Rowan was now a capitalist. He controlled all the major means of production in Morris Town: the mines and the ironworks.

But unlike those wicked capitalists, Rowan did not forcibly seize the commoners' land. Instead, he offered his workers better benefits.

Rowan liked money, and he knew that squeezing the value out of his workers' labor could bring him a great many gold coins. But he cared more about building a powerful Norwington Family, many powerful industrial cities, and an invincible Second Fleet!

That was why he needed enthusiastic workers and a relatively fair system to achieve his current goals.

Perhaps a young man raised in the sunshine of socialism was simply that kindhearted and benevolent.

The old steward did not press him. He wanted to remind Young Master Rowan that this approach would greatly affect the ironworks' profits, but Kande swallowed his words.

In less than two months after arriving in Morris Town, Young Master Rowan had eliminated the trogg threat. He had also built a powerful warship and wiped out the pirates. Most importantly, Young Master Rowan had established the ironworks.

Just as Leonard and Byron said, the young master is a genius. How could an ordinary old man like me question his ideas?

"Food's ready! Food's ready!"

Byron took a cook's ladle and hammered it against the large pot.

The workers lined up without being told, holding their bowls as they waited for the cooks to serve them.

A ladle of beef, a ladle of rich broth, and a ladle of spices. The sight of that heaping bowl of beef, glistening with fat, was enough to make anyone drool.

Holding out his bowl, Byron said shamelessly, "Chef, no broth. Pile on the beef."

Leonard shoved Byron away in exasperation. "Get lost."

Joking aside, Byron still got the first bowl of beef. But rather than digging in, he carried it over to Rowan.

"Young master, here you go," Byron said with a smile.

Ellen and Leonard stood holding their bowls, stunned. Holy shit!