Academy Genius Commander

29 – The Generous Prince (3)

Inside the Dream Workshop workshop

Normally, at this time, the sound of hammering by craftsmen belonging to the workshop would have been resounding without rest, but now only silence flowed here.

In the center of the studio was a loom with a cotton gin, a spinning machine, and a flying drum.

Count Benner, who came to the demonstration with me on behalf of the prince, saw them and said to me as if he was interested.

“I thought you had great talent only in war because you said that you had accomplished such a great feat that you were awarded the Silver Knight’s Sword medal at such a young age. I am amazed that you even have the talent to conceive of such a machine.”

Although it was made by memorizing and drawing only the approximate appearance of the machines I saw while digging into the history of war and economy in the Middle Ages in my present life.

However, I cannot say that when I handed over the blueprints of the machine I had seen at a glance in another world, Heinz, the head of the workshop, made everything on his own.

Because if I said that, the high-ranking person in front of me must be looking at me like a lunatic.

“It is overrated. So let me show you how it works. Head of Heinz Workshop, let’s begin.”

Upon my order, Heinz gave a sign to his blacksmiths, who began turning the machines using their hands and feet simultaneously.

Then, as the cylinder inside the cotton gin rotates, it spits out the seeds that were full of cotton and starts making cotton balls.

When the cotton ball was put into the spinning machine and operated, a skein of thread was made in an instant, and the threads that had been woven in advance turned into cloth in an instant as the loom operated.

It may not be such a great sight to modern people who are used to machines, but in a different world where a piece of clothing is worth tens to millions of won because they are not used to production using machines and everything has to be done by hand, it is a revolutionary sight. can be said

Maybe that’s why, except for the technicians who knew the performance of the machine in advance, everyone was astonished.

At least the knights escorting the Count did not say anything because they were trained to remain silent due to the nature of their duties.

Their expressions changed as if they had seen a dead person come back alive.

Earl Benner, who had an intuition of the value of pulling out a huge amount of cloth in an instant, looked at me with a voice mixed with amazement and said:

“I’ve lived for over 50 years, but I can’t believe I can make cloth at such a high speed… It’s really amazing.”

Although I was already convinced that it would succeed unconditionally at the time I proposed to make machines such as spinning machines to Heinz.

I felt like I was going to fly away thinking that I had been recognized by Count Benner, who had come as the prince’s agent.

So at that moment, the corner of my mouth went up and I felt like showing off the excellence of the machine I made.

At times like this, I thought that I could raise my value more by pretending to be humble, so I calmed down and spoke calmly.

“I had this idea, but without the help of Her Highness, I thought it would be nothing more than a delusion.”

“A humble friend, yes. You have a knack for behaving uncharacteristically of a young person these days. It’s nice to see him being humble and not straining his shoulders even though he was awarded the Silver Knight’s Sword Medal at that rank and age.”

“I appreciate your compliment.”

After finishing the official preposition briefly, the count said to look at me.

“However, the technicians and artisans here are all the Crown Prince’s people, so it wouldn’t be strange if the Crown Prince wanted to reproduce and use the machine you developed. Even so, I managed to think of getting help from Your Highness.”

It’s a story I’ve heard before, but before the concept of patent rights was established, if there was a good invention, it was very natural and common to copy and use it as it is.

Despite the fact that the person who made the cotton gin I made right away made a tremendous invention that would change the industrial structure of the United States.

The manufacturing method itself is not complicated, and the patent law has not been properly established, so there are records that many slave states in the southern United States made and used it at will.

Not to mention, since I made such a machine using the manpower provided by the crown prince, the crown prince could steal and use my technology as much as he likes.

There’s no way that the crown prince would strike me in the back in a situation where I have to gather and gather the trust of competent commanders and other nobles.

Then, all of them would ask, ‘Sir, have you turned around?’ I’ll turn my back in an instant.

And to ask that would be to see if I understand this structure.

“How great is the grace I received from His Highness the Crown Prince, how could I doubt him? In addition, if I had started this business alone, as the Count was concerned, many nobles from other factions would have tried to duplicate the machine I made. I think I made the best choice.”

Seeing as if my answer matched his expectations exactly, Count Benner smiled at me and said,

“As you said, His Highness the Crown Prince isn’t thinking of splitting the belly of the goose that lays golden eggs. No, rather, after learning the usefulness of this machine, they will protect you and propose a deal on terms that are mutually acceptable.”

“It is an honour. Then, if Your Highness makes and sells clothes using this machine, I would like you to buy 20% of the sales, and if I later provide you with the fabric I produced after preparing the machine myself, I would like you to purchase the entire amount at cost.”

“….. If you use this machine, you can make clothes much easier and faster than before, so you will be able to make a huge income. You will be given a considerable amount of support from His Highness the Crown Prince. ”

Certainly, the crown prince is not one to take money away, but in this case, he has to pay at least one penny more… to prepare for the future.

Because the Reich Empire provides soldiers with minimum equipment, supplies, and salaries.

It was all about maintaining soldiers and maintaining a certain level of fighting power.

It is not enough to provide things like plate armor that increases the survival rate of soldiers, good weapons that are directly related to improving combat power, and delicious food that is directly related to maintaining morale.

In addition, the Empire recommends that commanders at the level of battalion commander and regimental commander voluntarily contribute a certain amount to the maintenance cost of the army, unless it is to subtly improve the salary of soldiers or appease them by giving them land.

“As the Count knows very well, in order to meet the expectations of His Highness the Crown Prince, my unit desperately needs better equipment and supplies. Isn’t it an ambiguous situation to ask His Highness for more equipment and supplies?”

If you ask for more, they’ll send it to you, but even within the prince’s faction, there are not a few people who think badly of me…

He could be envied by nobles who support the crown prince, and jealousy could get in the way of actual battles.

“However, if you apply in the form of trading with me on rather generous terms, the other nobles won’t be too dissatisfied. That’s because I helped the crown prince by mass-producing cotton fabrics, and if I get a proper price in return, there’s no reason to object.”

Count Benner didn’t say anything, but he nodded in agreement with my words.

And using that momentum, I came up with something that could be the decisive blow in persuading him.

“If His Highness the Crown Prince accepts the terms I have proposed, I will use all the income received from me this time to develop the Bruno estate and to win the Czech Republic war. Please tell the Crown Prince well.”

Having said that, Count Benner let out a sigh and said,

“I lost. Certainly, His Highness the Crown Prince will use you to gain military service on this front. It’s a good position to raise achievements on the battlefield, but it will be placed in a place where danger follows. With that in mind, I’ll make sure to tell you well.”

I said that I would tell you, but considering the position that a man called Count Benner had in the army, it was practically the same as passing.

Now, without worrying about money, I think I can concentrate on turning the territory into a logistical base and training soldiers.

So when I let out a sigh of relief, Count Benner looked at me and asked.

“But in order to convince Her Highness, I would like you to tell me in more detail how you will spend your budget. can you tell me If it’s difficult, you can tell me tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

“I plan to make a weapon called Pyeongon, which is an improved version of plate armor, meat, alcohol, about 120 crossbows, a bastard sword, and a flail for the vanguard soldiers to wear. In addition, we are going to set up equipment to make preserved food that can be eaten in the army and do some military supply business at the supply base.”