Magic Industrial Age

Homeward bound.

Inside the carriage, Loye swiftly flipped through the documents in his hands, the 'whoosh, whoosh' sound accompanying the glint of blue light in his eyes.

In no time, he had finished reading the thick stack of materials, and as he rubbed his brow, Deep Blue had already completed the sorting.

Various complex contract terms were stripped away, refining the important information, which was presented to Loye one by one.

It must be said that Baron Miller's words 'huge investment' were by no means an exaggeration.

Earl Raymond had taken out a full 500,000 gold Thalers to import various magic-powered mechanical technologies from the Habsburg Empire.

Leaving aside other things, he had imported twenty-six sets of magic-powered pools—the core of magic-powered machinery.

Among them, twenty were small, five were medium, and one was large.

In addition, there were purchases, transportation, installation, and after-sales service for magic-powered machinery related to textiles, mining, railways, and smelting.

As well as training and further education for relevant practitioners.

Loye even saw an agreement for the purchase of magic-powered weapons and technology transfer, which left him dumbfounded!

To be honest, Loye found it a bit difficult to understand; technology transfer should be approached with utmost caution, or even directly rejected.

After all, a monopoly is the most profitable business.

But in this agreement, the Habsburg Empire seemed too generous?!

Although Earl Raymond had paid a price of 500,000 gold Thalers, the value of these technologies and magic-powered machinery was not calculated that way!

So, unless Earl Raymond had agreed to some secret conditions not included in these materials,

Then the Habsburg Empire must have even greater designs.

From this perspective, the Habsburg Empire's intelligence department sending this information to him was probably intentional.

Before the Raymond family was destroyed, the two sides had actually carried out a lot of cooperation and technology transfer, and things were halfway through.

But now, it can't be said that everything has come to an abrupt end, but the chaos in Fresh Flower Territory is obvious!

The Habsburg Empire must still want to continue pushing forward and is testing him.

Previously, Duchess Norman, his cheap mother, said that the Raymond family had suffered because of magic-powered machinery; he had some doubts and no real feeling.

But after reading this information, he believed it!

Obviously, Earl Raymond was preparing to promote the industrialization of the earldom with his own strength.

However, his actions involved the interests of too many people, leading to the disaster of family extermination.

This also served as a reminder to Loye!

But Loye also felt that if he really inherited the earldom, he would not be willing to give up the industrialization process.

As his thoughts raced, the carriage had already stopped in front of No. 19 Lombardy Street.

Loye put all the documents into the Aphorism Ring and jumped out of the carriage.

Then, he saw Douglas Hill, whom he couldn't find in the morning, standing in front of the door waiting.

He was wearing a second-tier mage's moon-white robe, but he didn't have any mysterious aura; instead, he looked sloppy and restless, tired and excited.

Lilia was also beside him, her expression equally joyful.

"What's going on?"

Before Loye could finish speaking, Douglas rushed up and hugged Loye, shouting excitedly, "It's done, it's done, Loye, we did it!"

"What's done?"

Loye was a little puzzled, but suddenly an idea popped into his head, and his expression became a little excited, "Could it be that the blast furnace steelmaking is done?"

"That's right, hahaha, didn't expect it, it's really done!"

Douglas Hill said solemnly, "Loye, I know you're leaving and won't be back for a while, but this project was done together.

So, these days, I've been working day and night, and finally, this morning, the furnace was opened for steelmaking, and it was a success the first time.

How about it, as a friend and partner, am I good enough?"

Loye was still a little incredulous when he heard this. He turned his head slightly and looked at Lilia.

He didn't speak, but the inquiry in his eyes was visible to the naked eye, and Lilia didn't hesitate and nodded seriously.

That was confirmed!

So, the blast furnace steelmaking was also a success?!

At this moment, Loye hugged Douglas Hill back, turned him around, and said, "Let's go, aren't you going to take me to visit?"

"Of course, let's go, let's go now!"

...

Lightninger Magic-Powered Machinery Factory.

Before Loye got close, he felt an astonishing heat, rolling like a tide, making it difficult to breathe.

There was also a pungent smell that stung the eyes.

The workers coming and going were almost all wearing single clothes, some even shirtless, sweat flowing down their skin, evaporating before it even hit the ground.

With just one glance, Loye knew that there were huge safety hazards here, poor air circulation, and no exhaust gas treatment system.

But now was not the time to say these things.

Douglas reacted quickly, tore two scrolls, and put a magic on Loye and Lilia respectively.

Rhomboid defensive force fields opened up. Loye didn't know how strong the impact resistance was.

However, the heat and exhaust gas were isolated.

When Loye stepped into the warehouse, what he saw was a blast furnace that almost reached the roof.

Inside was molten iron like magma, red, with a lot of residue floating on it, which cooled and covered the surface upon contact with the air.

There was also a large magic-powered machine similar to an excavator, under the control of a mage apprentice, constantly swinging its mechanical arm and bucket back and forth, cleaning up all the waste residue on it.

Only when there was no waste residue would the huge boiler be fixed, a corner lifted, and slowly tilted, allowing the molten iron to flow along the outlet into the mold.

Because it was an experimental blast furnace, many places seemed relatively simple, and the molds were the simplest type.

After the filled molten iron cooled, they were bright iron ingots, exuding a metallic chill.

Each iron ingot was the size of a millstone and weighed amazingly.

Each time they were moved, the mage apprentices had to use 'Feather Fall' scrolls, and then the amazingly strong blacksmiths worked together to drag them away.

Again, this was just experimental, and many tools and machines were not perfect.

After a furnace of molten iron was poured, it didn't stop. Iron ore was shoveled into the blast furnace again,

And magic energy was sprayed, and huge turbine fans rotated, bringing high-speed air flow, thereby filling the combustion with the necessary oxygen.

Finally, the 'Hill Magic Energy Combustion Agent' was added, falling into the blast furnace, and soon, huge high temperatures were brewing, burning the iron ore red.

As for melting into molten iron, it would take some time.

Loye watched and couldn't help but ask, "No, you're using it already?"

Douglas Hill was a little embarrassed, but still said, "The Northern Railway Company is urging too tightly, and Oakland City doesn't even have enough iron ingots now.

It takes too long to transport them from other places, and the transportation speed is too slow.

I can't help it?"

After a pause, he added, "By the way, I've already asked someone to make the kind of mold you mentioned, using rare magic metal, mixed with a lot of mithril, absolutely heat-resistant."

Loye only felt that there was something wrong with his ears: "You said you're using mithril to make molds? How strange does that sound to me?"

"That's right, I think it's quite suitable!"

Loye was speechless: "Don't you want cost-effectiveness?

If you pile up materials like this, what's the point of Lilia researching heat-resistant materials?"

"Hehe, it's a bit expensive, but this is not a one-time-use item. The more durable it is, the better.

I've already had it made into the shape of rails. When the molten iron is poured into it, after cooling, it will be a rail of excellent quality."

"Moreover, although it's not as good as the best ones, the stability of the product is definitely better than most cast iron factories can knock out.

Most importantly, in addition to quality, production efficiency can be dozens of times higher."

Loye could only say, "Whatever makes you happy!"

After a pause, he seemed to remember something and added, "So, rather than saying you had to let me see it, you're probably more anxious than I am."

"Haha, both, both!"

Douglas Hill also said, "Moreover, although the technology is there, there are still many problems.

For example, the quality of the iron ingots produced is still a bit poor. Although it's more than enough to make rails, it doesn't reach the level of steel.

Furthermore, the entire process is not mature.

This is just an experimental product. Bringing it to build a real blast furnace would be at least three times the current size, with higher production capacity, but all aspects have to be optimized.

I was thinking, you could help me design and optimize it!"

Douglas Hill had also tasted the sweetness. He found that Loye providing design drawings and him being responsible for implementing them with magic-powered machinery was the best cooperative model.

Compared to him designing it himself, without head or tail, it was much easier.

Seeing that Loye was about to leave, he frantically made this blast furnace, just so he could fleece a bit more wool at the end.

Loye couldn't help but roll his eyes: "So, you were waiting for me here?!"

"That, the able ones do more work!"

Loye added, "Have you forgotten something?"

"What?"

"For example, what's the name of this blast furnace? I gave you the naming rights for the last combustion agent. This time, what should I say?"

Douglas's expression stiffened, and his expression was a little unnatural. Almost all industries often have the habit of naming after their own surnames.

The reason is simple: who doesn't want to be famous in history?

In the future, whenever it is used, wouldn't people have to learn about his life and past?

But now, Loye was asking him for the naming rights, and he was still a little unwilling in his heart.

However, after only a moment of entanglement, he still said, "The naming rights of course belong to you. Tell me, what name do you want to give it?"

Loye looked at his expression, smiled, and said, "In that case, from now on, this blast furnace will be called 'Douglas Magic-Powered Steelmaking Furnace'!"

"What?"

Douglas Hill was stunned, and the look in his eyes was full of disbelief.

Loye waved his hand: "You need this reputation, I don't care, I'll give it to you.

However, I have to take the big share of the profit distribution!"

Douglas's expression was ecstatic: "Okay, that's what I said, I'll let you take the big share!"

After a pause, he added, "However, you can't be too excessive. I've put in a lot of effort, so don't let me suffer too much!"

"Then let's find a place to talk in detail. I have a lot of things to talk to you about!"

Second update, still revising!