Chapter 142
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Chapter 142: The Forging Department Opens its Furnace
With the completion of the third sub-city, Luo Ji named it ‘Iron Wall,’ symbolizing impregnability and invincibility.
Coupled with the presence of Zhao Pan, a skilled general, the name surprisingly fit quite well, though it largely reflected Luo Ji’s aspirations for this third sub-city.
After all, the distance was somewhat risky, a one-way journey would take at least three days.
If the next player invasion happened to be there, Iron Wall Tribe would truly be in danger.
Luo Ji hoped that the Iron Wall Tribe could endure this difficult period, and with that hope, he named the third sub-city ‘Iron Wall.’
“Whew! Finally done!”
Luo Ji stretched vigorously in his chair.
Among the forty plus new people, he discovered two talents with a single attribute reaching a 4-star cap.
One was a talent with a 4-star intelligence cap and the ‘Herbal Master’ skill.
Without hesitation, Luo Ji assigned them to the Medical Department.
The other was their tribal leader, which surprised Luo Ji slightly because his 4-star capped attribute was spirit.
Unlike other attributes with relatively clear effects, the spirit attribute’s use wasn’t immediately obvious when displayed, but in reality, every attribute was extremely important.
Spirit can also be understood as willpower and energy.
Individuals with high spirit levels are less susceptible to negative influences, and their will is also firmer.
Of course, these are just supplementary effects, the spirit level most significantly impacts work efficiency!
The higher a person’s spirit level, the higher their work efficiency.
For instance, you might only be halfway through a task, while someone who started at the same time as you has already finished.
That’s the difference in work efficiency.
Additionally, for players like Luo Ji, the level of spirit had another crucial distinction.
It affected the number of times they could use skills!
Returning to the main topic, apart from spirit, this tribal leader’s attributes in bravery, intelligence, stamina, and leadership all reached a 3-star level.
In some respects, this could be considered a remarkably well-rounded talent.
However, his skill was the same management and development skill as Zhou Tao.
In summary, this person was likely a workaholic with management talent!
However, Luo Ji didn’t immediately send him to the Black Rock Tribe.
After all, he was a newcomer, and his loyalty hadn’t even met the standard yet.
How could he be given so much authority all at once?
Not to mention the Black Rock Tribe also had important coal resources.
Luo Ji decided to keep him as a deputy for now, assisting him in handling the daily affairs of the Mirror Tribe.
After assigning all forty plus new recruits, Luo Ji moderately expanded his military force.
In recent months, his frequency of military expansion had been slightly high, but it was unavoidable.
His territory was growing larger and larger, and to defend these territories, his military strength had to increase.
Otherwise, no matter how well he managed his territory, it would be useless if enemy forces easily conquered it.
Correspondingly, with the increase in military force and population, the tribe’s food problem once again became a headache for Luo Ji.
These days have been a bit difficult.
Out of necessity, he implemented a special plan for a special period, he dispatched two archer squads, composed of new recruits, to assist the hunting team.
This allowed them to practice archery while also helping to bring back more prey.
As for the risk of their skill trees potentially becoming skewed, he gritted his teeth and accepted it!
Maintaining this state, half a month later, the Iron Wall Tribe transported the first batch of excavated copper ore back on two wooden carts.
Luo Ji had been waiting for this first batch of copper ore for a long time.
During the waiting period, he had exerted great effort to construct a forging furnace, bellows, and various forging tools according to the blueprints.
He had also selected personnel and established the ‘Forging Department.’
He had even preemptively taught the members of the Forging Department about copper casting techniques.
Essentially, he was just waiting for the copper ore to be excavated and transported back for them to practice.
After days of waiting, he finally received this batch of copper ore.
Without delay, they began working.
With the forging furnace and bellows, combined with coal as fuel, there were absolutely no issues with temperature.
The forging furnace began to ignite, and as the bellows pumped, the temperature inside the furnace steadily rose.
The members of the Forging Department had clearly rehearsed this entire process countless times during their waiting period, performing each step with exceptional proficiency.
However, the true challenge lay ahead.
As one of the Forging Department members picked up the first piece of copper ore, preparing to throw it into the furnace for heating, tension was clearly etched on his face.
He even looked back at Luo Ji, who was standing behind him.
Noticing the other person’s gaze, Luo Ji raised a hand.
“Don’t worry about failing.”
“The Iron Wall Tribe will regularly transport copper ore every half a month, so feel free to experiment boldly.”
“There won’t be any problems.”
Setting aside various technical details, ancient casting techniques, in simple terms, were not complicated and broadly fell into two types.
One was forging, similar to how many people imagine forging. The metal ore to be forged is first heated and softened, then the blacksmith, using a forging hammer, shapes the metal ore with repeated blows into the desired form.
The second method was mold casting.
Simply put, a mold is first carved out, then the copper ore is melted into liquid copper and poured into the mold, finally cooling and solidifying.
Comparing the two methods, it’s clear without much thought that swords and blades forged through extensive refinement would undoubtedly be of higher quality than those made using the second, more convenient method.
However, the second method was not without its merits, as it was highly efficient.
While not up to standard for military weapons and equipment in terms of quality, it was more than sufficient for casting everyday items.
Furthermore, the copper coins Luo Ji was eager to issue would clearly need to be cast using the second method.
Otherwise, countless hammer blows would take forever to produce them.
He had already taught all that could be taught.
There was nothing more he could really instruct the members of the Forging Department on, but he still couldn’t feel entirely at ease without observing them for a while.
Listening to the system notifications in his mind, which confirmed ‘Copper Casting Technique’ and ‘Forging’ were unlocked, and watching the Forging Department members gradually get into their rhythm after being encouraged by him, Luo Ji nodded in satisfaction.
Without disturbing them, he quietly left the Forging Department.
He had other matters to attend to later.
Now that the Forging Department had begun casting copper, it was time for him to organize and digest the immensely detailed framework of the commercial system.
