King
Chapter 82 - 82 81 Specializing in the Production of Inferior Weapons_1

82: Chapter 81: Specializing in the Production of Inferior Weapons_1 82: Chapter 81: Specializing in the Production of Inferior Weapons_1 “It’s not surprising you’ve heard of them, we’re all old acquaintances.

The Koslow family’s ancestors also originated from the Northern Border, and they are a rather capable intermediate aristocracy.

Only, they chose the wrong side back in the day, refusing to accept the goodwill of the Rocknard family.

During an Orc invasion, they lost their ancestral lands, resulting in the downfall of their family estate.

The current Koslow family in the Kingdom was established by the remnants of their surviving members scattered outside, whose most notable trait is their thriving population.

Possibly fearing continuous pressure from the Rocknard family, they changed their strategy from concentrating their family in one place to expanding their family branches after losing their ancestral lands.

Their branches can be seen in many parts of the Kingdom, and some even say that some branches have made their way to other countries.

Now, on the surface, the Koslow family is just a small family.

But when you add all their branches together, their strength is equivalent to that of a medium aristocratic family.

The South Eastern Province is a significant bet they’ve placed, with over a dozen large and small Lords present.

Just within the counties of Layton and Wharton, there are two Baron’s territories and two Knights’ territories.

As for their specific strength, it’s hard to get a clear idea in a short time.

But this Mountain Baron seems to be the strongest branch within these two counties.”

Knight Holman answered slowly.

From his tone, it was clear he was reluctant to face-off with the Koslow family.

Baron Katelai, who was listening, felt a chill run down his spine.

It’s not always about strength in numbers, but certainly, where propaganda is concerned, the more people involved, the better.

Nobles are skilled at creating alliances, especially when facing an external enemy.

They usually band together for warmth and strength.

Luckily, they didn’t hastily bring their forces over to fight, otherwise, who would be getting beaten up now – remains an unknown.

If the Koslow family can rustle up their strong allies, Katelai would be unable to handle it.

If they have to start a war, it would require the NFL of all Northern nobility.

Regrettably, he doesn’t have that kind of charisma, especially among the nobility who hold even more prominent positions.

They just won’t listen.

“I understand, Uncle Holman.

I originally planned to visit the renowned Mountain Baron, but now it seems inappropriate.

The most pressing issue at hand is to rescue our domain people that have been taken away and restore vitality to our territory.

We also need to demand some compensation to cover our financial losses.”

Baron Katelai said calmly.

This wasn’t about being a coward, but about adapting to circumstances.

While the province of Hudson has the most populous lands and is the fattest lamb around, this supposed lamb in sheep’s clothing is actually a fully-grown bear.

You pick the soft persimmons to squeeze, and if there’s no assurance that Hudson can be taken, it only makes sense to target weaker neighbors.

Moreover, even if he wanted to antagonize Hudson, the reason he had on his hand was not sufficient.

For Nobles, territorial conflicts are a norm, but the cause of the arguments must be substantial.

Accepting refugees is not morally reprehensible, nor can it become a reason to start disputes.

If he were to recklessly start trouble, it would likely attract intervention from the Governor’s Mansion.

“Katelai, don’t rush.

Even if you’re going to make a move, we can’t be the first to start the conflict; otherwise, it will cause a lot of trouble in the future.

It would be best first to send someone over to inform them.

If they are willing to send the people back, then there will be no need for force.

As newcomers, our every word and action will be magnified.

Initiating conflicts could easily incur hostility from the local nobility.

Regardless, this is the South Eastern Province, and the resources that this bunch of native nobles can mobilize is much more than what we have.

If we provide the enemy with the chance to exploit these factors, it will significantly impede our future growth.

After all, we are momentarily at odds, but if we truly want to establish ourselves here, we ultimately need to integrate into the local nobility.”

Knight Holman advised.

This particular nephew has always been distinguished amongst his peers.

Yet, the unique environment of the North made him conceal his talents, so as not to arouse the fear of the major nobility.

When the chance came for a Southern expedition, the family’s higher-ups didn’t hesitate but decisively chose to let Katelai escape from the cage of the North.

While the journey might still be challenging, there is at least a sliver hope for progress, and it’s better than remaining in the North, having to rely on the major nobility.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Holman.

Let this opportunity to shine go to our Baron West.

I reckon some of the restless ones are already going over to support him.

As the Baron with the most significant power among the Northern nobles who came South, he has always fancied himself as the leader.

Now, at this moment, it’s time for the leader to step forward.

Nobles who lack courage and responsibility will always find it hard to win the trust of the people.”

Katelai said indifferently.

Obviously, he was not very pleased with Baron West, who had outdone him.

If he had the same resources as his opponent, Katelai was confident he would not be inferior.

But sadly, there was no way around it.

Although being an illegitimate child did not sound good, having a Grand Duke as a father certainly allowed him to have plenty of resources.

…

Hudson, who had dodged a crisis, was busy promoting assembly line operations to the craftsmen to increase production.

Apprentices no longer needed to master everything.

Everyone only needed to learn one process.

Despite whatever misgivings they might have, they heeded the lord’s orders.

While many blacksmiths agreed that this model wouldn’t produce qualified blacksmiths, Hudson was undeterred.

In an era where weapons and armor were entirely made by hand, blacksmiths were well regarded.

Even those trained by noble lords would also receive respect.

In the big cities, blacksmiths could not only support their families, but could also afford alcohol and visits to the brothel now and then.

In the countryside, the entertainment was less but the supply of food and liquor was still plenty.

Thus, among the lower classes, they were considered among the best off.

Their good treatment was primarily due to their scarcity.

To maintain this scarcity, blacksmiths as a small group, maintained the original paternal lineage system.

Under such circumstances, blacksmith apprentices were just manual laborers who, if smart, could try to learn a bit of the craft.

If not, then they just wasted their time.

Apprentices who wanted to become blacksmiths mostly relied on their own insights, apart from striving to learn from their masters.

A small number of particularly gifted apprentices could, after countless attempts, slowly manage to become a blacksmith.

Hudson, who knew the wisdom of the grassroots well, never harbored any fantasies about mass-producing qualified blacksmiths.

After all, he did not need master forgemen, but just those who could make weapons.

These were to equip ordinary soldiers, and even if there were some minor defects, it didn’t really matter too much.

After segregating the forging process, the apprentices were grouped according to practical needs, with each group being supervised by a blacksmith.

With Hudson present, these blacksmiths did not dare to withhold anything.

After all, learning just one process hardly threatened their status.

The key point was that they were all loaned and would have to go back after this period, so they didn’t have to make a living in the Salam mining area all the time.

For a while, the sound of hammering was incessant.

Under Hudson’s personal supervision, the first batch of assembly-line weapons was meticulously finished.

…

“My lord Baron, these weapons are mostly substandard, with many fatal flaws.

It would be difficult to fetch good prices on the market.

These broadswords, for instance, have inconsistent weight and length, but even the edges are substandard, indicating a problem with the tempering.

Look at these arrowheads too, they are all different sizes.

They are thick where they need to be thin, and thin where they need to be thick.

The barbs are even more distorted…

If made into arrows, they will inevitably affect the range and accuracy of the bow and arrows, and their piercing power and lethality will be greatly reduced.

Then there are these spearheads, all of which are made…”

Seeing these weapons being harshly criticized by the old blacksmith, Hudson felt more joy than anger.

He didn’t need them for his own army, so why be so picky about the quality!

No matter how substandard, they were still iron weapons, far stronger than using bamboo or wooden sticks as weapons.

For nobles who wanted to expand their armament but were not very wealthy, these cheap, inferior weapons were still very cost-effective.

If high-quality weapons were made instead, Hudson would actually be afraid to sell them.

One should only bite off as much as they can chew.

Mass production of weapons was not just an economic issue but also a strategic one.

Restricted by a lack of resources, even the Dalton Family could only produce weapons on a small scale.

Making inferior weapons for a bit of cash was not a big deal for the large Dalton Family.

After all, they could also make these weapons, but they couldn’t equip their elite troops with them.

It was not worth ruining their reputation for such a small profit.

However, if high-quality weapons could be produced in quantity, the situation would be entirely different.

Though direct robbery might be too drastic for Earl Piers, he might very likely propose a land swap, and Hudson did not have the confidence to reject the “goodwill” offered by the big shot from the Southeastern Province.

“Mr.

Laiha, please continue forging at this standard.

We are catering to the low-end market, and the key is to reduce production costs.

We do not need to pursue such high quality.

Although there are a bit more defective products, there are still some qualified ones, which are pleasantly surprising.

Please pick out all the qualified products, tweak the appearance of the rest, and then package them.

When the inventory is sufficient to equip five thousand people, we can release the news.”