Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Hearing the name "Master Figni", Father Carman subconsciously tensed up his nerves.

Although it was almost impossible to see any change in his standing posture, everyone felt that he had become a predator that would kill the strange young man at any time.

On the contrary, Winters only hesitated briefly and soon relaxed.

Because he remembered where he had heard the name "Fegni" - yesterday, at the siege camp, the "chief mason of Maple Leaf Castle who was kidnapped by Major Felt" in the mouth of Senior Mason.

"You are the apprentice of Figney, the stonemason responsible for maintaining Maple Leaf Castle." Winters asked.

"Yes." The young man replied: "I am Master Figni's apprentice."

"Felt arrested your teacher, but didn't arrest you?"

"When the rebels came, I hid."

"Hidden until today?"

"Mr. Mikesh found me." The young man replied in a low voice.

"Did I find you?" Winters asked mercilessly: "Or have I been hiding you until today?"

The young man lowered his head and stopped talking.

Mikaesh Kelemin is the leading rich man in Maplestone City, the leader of the guild, and the main promoter of the change of flag in Maplestone City after the Battle of Riverdale Village.

But Winters had almost never interacted with this old man - because since Winters took over Maplestone City, Mikesh had not appeared in public. It was said that he was seriously ill and could not see people.

Winters, of course, knew exactly what "disease" Mikaesh Kelemin had.

He was already used to this.

However, he was not in a hurry to force the "high-class people" of Maple Stone City to choose sides, so he did not take any special action. He just sent some flowers and fruits according to the local etiquette of Maple Stone City.

At this juncture when the meeting of freemen in the new land was about to open, and the red rose flag was still flying on Maple Leaf Castle, Mikesh Kelemin sent Monsignor Montagne a message "It is said that there is a way to capture Maple Leaf Castle." mason's apprentice.

Winters couldn't help but be a little surprised by such an unusual proactive show of kindness.

However, compared to the calculations of Maplestone City's wealthy merchants, Winters was now more curious about how capable the mason apprentice in front of him was. He actually boasted that Haikou could help him capture the strongest fortress in the new land province.

"Do you know Maple Leaf Castle very well?" Winters took his map bag from the clothes hook and asked the mason apprentice.

"yes."

Winters took out a few pieces of white paper from the map bag, and then took out a ruler and a graphite strip: "How much do you know?"

The mason's apprentice felt a sore nose and replied: "When I was ten years old, Master Figni took me in. From that day on, I followed the master to manage Maple Leaf Castle."

Winters didn't waste any time and put the white paper, ruler and graphite strips directly on the small round table in the center of the living room: "Show me the drawing."

The mason apprentice named Messer Jack was stunned for a moment, then he leaned on the small round table, picked up a ruler and compass and a graphite strip and first drew a frame, then he drew one stroke at a time on the white paper that became the "drawing". stand up.

The young man drew very methodically. He first stacked the papers together, used a needle to poke holes to position and draw a baseline, then returned to the first piece of paper and started writing from the underground structure.

Winters watched carefully and asked questions from time to time, and the young mason apprentices all answered fluently.

Only halfway through the schematic diagram of the underground structure, Winters could already see that although the mason apprentice in front of him was young, he was indeed capable.

Winters even deliberately brought him a ruler without a mark, but he could still draw in a decent manner, obviously "well-prepared."

The more he observed, the more Winters admired the young mason apprentice. From the question and answer just now, it can be seen that although the latter is instinctively afraid, he answers the questions in a very orderly manner.

So, when the mason apprentice finished drawing the underground structure of Maple Leaf Castle and picked up another piece of paper to draw the above-ground structure, Winters stopped him.

"Messer Jack, right? No need to draw anymore - when will you become an apprentice?" Winters clicked his tongue and praised: "I will build many roads and many bridges in the future, and I need a good hand like you."

The young man froze in place, not knowing how to answer.

"You can think of my words as an invitation, not an order." Winters was not in a hurry and asked instead: "Tell me, what can you do to make Maple Leaf Castle fall?"

To be honest, the underground storage space of Maple Leaf Castle was larger than Winters expected. If every one of them is full, then the more than 500 mouths in the fortress will not be a problem if they can be kept there forever, at least until all their teeth fall out.

Furthermore, if every warehouse is full, then Maple Leaf Castle will be a treasure that must be obtained by the coalition forces.

After hearing Xue Lang's words, the young man asked hesitantly: "Then my master..."

His Excellency Winters Montagne, who has been regarded as a ferocious beast countless times, is no longer too lazy to defend himself.

He asked pointedly: "Has your teacher committed any crime?"

"Disobeying you..."

Winters interrupted the other party: "Being coerced doesn't count."

"That……"

Winters asked: "No, then why are you worried that he will die in my hands?"

"But they said..."

"Instead of listening to what others say about me, why don't you listen to what I say for yourself?" Winters rarely said a few more words: "Since your teacher did not commit a crime, why should I punish him? I look like , just like an indiscriminate butcher and tyrant?"

The young man was silent.

Winters paused for a moment and then added sternly: "But bullets have no eyes. Maple Leaf Castle has been besieged for more than a month. I can't guarantee that your teacher is still alive. But in any case, the longer the war is delayed, the greater the risk of his death." The higher. So, tell me, what method do you have to solve Maple Leaf Castle."

The young man was silent for a moment, then brought the schematic diagram of the underground structure to the top again and pointed to one of the areas.

"Reservoir." Winters had just asked the mason apprentice the purpose of each underground area, and he immediately answered. He frowned and asked, "Why, you want to tell me that the water tank in Maple Leaf Castle is dry?"

The young man showed a hint of panic: "You already know?"

"Mr. Messer." Although Winters was disappointed in his heart, he politely told the mason apprentice: "As soon as Maple Leaf Castle was surrounded, I ordered to cut off the defenders' route to the river to draw water. But more than a month has passed. , they did not die of thirst. Obviously, there is no shortage of water in Maple Leaf Castle."

The young man licked his dry lips and decided to start from the beginning: "Sir, when Maple Leaf Castle was first built, my master drilled seven wells in the castle site. The water from each well was muddy. It’s not drinkable. But it was impossible to change the location of Maple Leaf Castle, so out of desperation, we carved out a new piece of land and dug a water storage tank.”

Winters nodded slightly and motioned for the young man to continue.

"Although there is a water storage tank, we can only carry water by hand and shoulder. So when we expanded Maple Leaf Castle twelve years ago, my master dug another culvert to divert river water into the castle. From then on, we can carry water directly from the culvert and well. Water flows into the reservoir.”

Having said too many words in one breath and being too nervous, the young man's mouth was already a little dry and his voice was a little hoarse.

Seeing this, Winters poured a glass of water for the mason apprentice.

The young man drank the water in gratitude and continued: "But because the culvert was so convenient, over time, no one used the storage tank anymore. The storage tank also became an 'empty room', and some people started to put some miscellaneous things in it. things.

A year earlier, General Adams had ordered that as much of the regiment's supplies as possible be moved from the city to the fort. There were so many things stuffed in Maple Leaf Castle that the warehouse was not enough, so they simply cleaned out the storage tank and filled it with gunpowder and other items that were sensitive to moisture. "

"So there is no water in Maple Leaf Castle's storage tank, and there is no way it can be. Even if you want to refill the water, you can't find space to transfer the materials in the storage tank." The young man informed Maple Leaf Castle's Achilles' heel: "The people in the castle must be The culverts are still being used. As long as the culverts are destroyed, Maple Leaf Castle will collapse."

As soon as these words came out, even little Priskin, who knew nothing about military affairs, looked happy.

But Winters was noncommittal and asked the mason's apprentice: "The culvert was dug twelve years ago. How old are you now?"

"Twenty, my lord."

"You said you were taken in by your teacher when you were ten years old." Winters asked solemnly, "So you were not present when the culvert was dug. Can you find the entrance to the culvert?"

The young man didn't expect the blood wolf to be so sharp. He bit his lip, lowered his head, and was silent for a long time. But when he raised his head again, there was no fear in his eyes, only determination.

"Yes." Messer Jack gritted his teeth and replied firmly: "I will definitely find it."

Winters looked at the mason apprentice for a moment, and then called the messenger directly: "Go and tell Tribune Richard Mason now not to have any more negotiations with Maple Leaf Fort until Mr. Mercer has news."

"As for you, Mr. Mercer." Winters looked at the young man: "If you find the culvert, you will be the chief mason of Maple Leaf Castle from now on."

…

[Maple Leaf Castle]

In the early morning, Major Alder Felt woke up from his sleep with a smile on his face. He freshened up, freshened up, and prepared to continue negotiations with the rebels today.

However, the sentry sent news that there was something strange happening on the Anya River.

Major Felt immediately went to check and saw two large ships fixed together with wooden beams moored on the side of the river near Maple Leaf Castle. There were more than a dozen small boats tied around the big ship. From time to time, people on board dived into the river. After a while, Resurface.

Major Felt and the soldier looked at each other in confusion for a while, and then suddenly became shocked: "It's broken!"

He immediately ordered people to find Fegeni, the chief mason who was detained in the castle, for questioning alone.

After a while, the door was pushed open violently, and Major Felt's anxious shout echoed in the corridor: "Quick! Fill everything that can hold water with water!"

…

On the other side, the siege party also encountered difficulties.

Finding the entrance to the culvert was a hundred times easier than expected, but how to block it was a big problem.

Everyone proposed methods such as "filling in sand" and "pouring stones", but they were all rejected one by one by the Mason tribune who was in charge of the scene.

"The sediment is light. If you pour it from the river surface, you won't know how far it will be swept out when it falls to the bottom of the river." Mason patiently explained to his subordinates: "The stone will inevitably leave gaps and cover the water inlet. Although it can reduce the amount of water inflow, it cannot If the waterway is completely cut off, it will become a protective shell for the water inlet.”

Discussions came and went, and finally everyone came to a unanimous conclusion: there was no other good way but to add gunpowder and blow it up.

Blasting can be regarded as the traditional craft of the Tiefeng County Army, which is used the most and is the most practiced.

However, this was the first time for underwater blasting, and Mason's engineers were all in trouble.

"If it's on the ground and the coffin is stuffed in, everything will be done for it." Someone whispered: "But underwater... Gunpowder is most afraid of water, and it has to be underwater..."

"Asphalt can block water, so paint it inside and out. Wrap it with oil paper and tarpaulin on the outside, and then paint it with asphalt. It will not let a drop of water seep in." Another engineer officer immediately proposed a solution, but he also muttered: "Waterproofing is not difficult, but how do you get the gunpowder to the place and how do you detonate it?"

At the very back of the crowd, a hand was raised timidly.

Mason looked intently and saw that it was Mercer Jack, the mason's apprentice who led people to the entrance of the culvert.

"Mr. Messer." Mason asked very politely: "Do you have any good ideas?"

For a moment, the eyes of everyone present were focused on Messer Jack. Everyone looked at the young mason apprentice with suspicion, expectation, and envy.

"My master..." Messer Jack swallowed hard: "He has a unique skill that can be used to work underwater. Maybe it will come in handy this time."

Mason frowned slightly: "What... unique skill?"

The mason's apprentice gritted his teeth: "Caisson!"

…

The "gunpowder coffin" for underwater blasting was quickly prepared - the most prosperous business in the new land is the coffin business.

The "caisson" that the mason apprentices called it could not be made for a while, and it was not ready-made.

But time was running out. Maplestone City Church had a large bronze bell that had been cast but had not yet been installed on the tower. After asking the mason apprentices for their opinions, Father Carman came forward and lent the bell.

On the big boat moored above the entrance of the culvert, Mercer Jack had stripped naked, only wearing a rope around his waist and a small oilskin bag hanging around his neck.

The other people on the boat quietly watched the mason apprentice preparing to enter the water, and they all looked at him with respect.

This is not risking one's life at all, this is simply risking death. The big bronze bell weighs thousands of pounds and relies entirely on its own buoyancy and the balance of the cables pulling above it. If it overturns slightly, it is not a "caisson" but a "caisson".

Not to mention, how to operate it in a big clock that can barely fit inside? How to escape after lighting a fire?

"Mr. Messer Jack." Mason couldn't bear it: "We owe you a big favor."

"Your Excellency Mason." The young mason apprentice shook his head: "Please tell Your Excellency Montagne that I volunteered to do this."

After that, the young man held a dagger in his mouth, crossed his arms on his chest, and jumped from the deck into the water.

As several knocks came from the bronze bell, the capstan began to rotate, and the bronze bell with the "gunpowder coffin" attached began to slowly sink.

…

At noon, what Major Felt feared most happened.

As a low roar came from the direction of the river, a huge water column rose up from the river. A lot of river water was even blown into Maple Leaf Castle, pattering like rain.

The "well water" on which the entire fort defenders relied for survival became turbid.

"It's over." Major Felt's eyes darkened: "It's all over."

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