Chapter 1257: A National Machine

"I need an additional ammonia plant and a saltpeter plant. You knew that, didn't you?" Roland asked.

Agatha and Paper had been working on these two materials, but the production rate was not satisfactory due to the lack of catalysts. Although their method was much better than the original acid-making method that involved saltpeter, they could not further increase the production as a result of limited manpower and magic.

After Roland obtained a copy of the complete periodic table of elements, the chemistry laboratory immediately started to make sample elements. With Lucia's help, the Ministry of Chemical Industry was now able to create a sample for every element on the table, including many rare elements such as platinum and rhodium that were normally used as catalysts in chemical reactions.

As long as there were enough people, they could build as many plants as they wanted. Mass production might not be the most efficient way to produce war materials, but the original acid-making method was solely reliant on Agatha's and Paper's abilities.

Kyle said slowly, "Your Majesty, we've already verified the theories through experiments and simulated the acid-making process in a small reaction vessel. As long as we have sufficient manpower, we can start working anytime."

"I can offer you all the literate immigrants. You can start after this meeting," Roland said. "Also, I plan to create a new production line for lead-acid batteries."

Kyle nodded in comprehension. Perhaps, not many people knew what those things were, but he had learned elementary and intermediate chemistry by heart and certainly understood what Roland was talking about.

Lead-acid batteries were also known as storage batteries. It was not even that hard for the Alchemist Workshop to make them, since the only materials required were lead, lead dioxide, and dilute sulfuric acidm, let alone the current Ministry of Chemical Industry. Plus, the experiment on electrolytes with a light bulb was a classic experiment in high school chemistry.

The strength of storage batteries was that they could be recharged by supplying water regularly. There was no technical difficulty whatsoever in producing lead and lead dioxide. The reasons that he had not produced them earlier were that they rarely needed storage batteries and had insufficient manpower.

"How many do you need approximately..." Kyle asked as he produced a notebook.

"Around 100 per month," Roland replied.

Storage batteries would be mainly used to start off piston engines for the biplanes. As the biplane was the most advanced industrial product in Neverwinter, it was unacceptable that it took so long for the plane to take off. Roland attributed this drawback to the lack of manpower. However, with the influx of a great number of immigrants, they could now eliminate this defect.

With so many additional people, they could literally do whatever they wanted.

"We would only need around 10 people to finish this small project," Kyle commented sagely as he stroked his beard. "Of course, we still need Queen Anna's help to manufacture other parts like lead plates and shells."

"If you could provide me with detailed drawings, the Ministry of Industry has no issue with that," Anna said while nodding.

"Then please give me a few days to think it over, and I'll send you the drawings shortly."

Roland sipped his tea in satisfaction. After years of education and training, there were now many talented people in the Administrative Office. It was very common that a project involved various departments. For many projects, Roland only had to provide his advice here and there in the very beginning, and his ministers would finish the rest.

"Now, the Ministry of Industry shall — "

After the war of Taquila, Roland realized that there were a lot of things that needed to be improved. Now, he finally got an opportunity to do so.

First was the fighting capacity of the infantries.

Roland called it the "General Purpose Machine Gun Plan".

The basic idea was to produce a lighter version of Mark I type HMG with a simpler structure. The barrel and rack should be separate so that the weapon could be more portable. A cartridge should be used to enable soldiers to open fire immediately in the event of an attack. In that case, soldiers would be able to suppress the Senior Demons and earn time for the anti-demon grenade unit.

Since there would not be much change in the gun structure, the only way to reduce the weight would be switching over to a lighter material, aluminium alloy and plastic made from the slimes of rubber worms, for instance. Both of the two materials were not manufactured on a large scale, but the production of the biplanes required a lot of them. Therefore, they would not produce many new machine guns.

But it was better than nothing. Plus, the Aerial Knight also needed machine guns, so this project was very necessary.

As far as Roland saw, the First Army could still remain in a superior postion in the Kingdom of Everwinter and the Kingdom of Wolfheart without upgrading their guns. Only the elite unit, who usually took on special missions such as scouting, covering and rescue, would need such an advanced weapon.

Also, the semi-automatic rifle invented by Van'er was in the process of mass production. Every five soldiers would have a "Van'er Rifle". The reason that Roland did not change all the bolt rifles was logistics. Since the linkage was left in the air, the rifle was not actually very durable. It could easily get jammed after multiple shots.

However, the "Van'er Rifle" could effectively increase the firepower.

The next project that Roland had in comtemplation was the biplane. After four months of intense tests, the first generation of biplanes was finally put into use and was named the "Fire of Heaven". Although this new model was very similar to the "Unicorn", and its structure was not extremely complicated, it was still unrealistic to ask ordinary workers to manufacture and assemble it. As for the production of the engine, it was still reliant on Anna's ability.

Having said that, Roland still planned to gather the top workers in the industrial zones to tackle these potential problems. These people had elevated themselves from apprentices who used to flail hammers to excellent machine tool operators. It was also a good time to test how far the industrialization of Neverwinter had gone in the three years after the establishment of the first steam engine plant.

The only way to suppress the Devilbeasts was to dominate the sky.

The "Fire of Heaven" was obviously just the beginning of this magnificent endeavor.

The last project Roland had in mind was regarding the new Spidery Monstrous Beast. Roland planned to create a small-caliber cannon larger than the mortars but smaller than the Longsong Cannons to repel the Monstrous Beasts. The caliber should be around 75 milimeters. It could be easily carried on horses and by soldiers, and Hummingbird did not necessarily have to reduce its weight.

It was not difficult to make such a cannon. Roland only needed a few workers from the cannon plant. However, before that, he had to first create a sample cannon and test it out.

He had discussed these prospective projects with Anna numerous times in private. They soon reached a mutual understanding without any unncessary explanation.

This would be the grandest manufacturing project in Neverwinter in the history of time, for the project involved nearly 10 plants and a workforce of 20,000 and 30,000 people.

With the implementation of the immigration campaign, the industrialization in Neverwinter would become even more intense and rapid.

A machine titled "nation" was set in motion.