Chapter 364: Chapter 263: A Bunch of Lunatics
"Stop it all of you!"
Finally, another person made an appearance.
The Dean of the Crystal Core Research Institute, Ma Deburg.
"Dean Ma Deburg, tell those idiots to scram! We can’t let our Molten Beast plan be held up!" Ding Ge said as if he had seen his savior.
"Dean Ma Deburg! Old Ma! We’re brothers, you can’t let those weaklings take advantage of us, we just upgraded our battle armor, we can’t throw it away!"
The two of them, as if seeing their savior, pleaded with Ma Deburg for help.
"I say, both of you are quite old now, can we not be so childish? Before Long Yi arrived, you two had had a fight. Now, the dwarves’ envoys are waiting, do you want to embarrass us even outside the country?"
Hearing Ma Deburg’s words, both men simultaneously cast contemptuous glances at each other.
"Hmm, you’re dumbstruck, aren’t you! Old Ma certainly won’t help you!" Angidd spoke first.
"You idiot, he never planned to help you!" Ding Ge replied defiantly.
"It seems that a battle between us is inevitable!"
"Today will be your day of death!"
"This day next year, will be the anniversary of your death!"
"Brothers! For Long Yi, kill!"
"Brothers, for Long Yi! Smash!"
Dean Ma Deburg gently coughed, then said: "The Crystal Core Research Institute is withdrawing from the Joint Research Group."
Suddenly, the chaotic scene quieted down.
Then, the two men who had just been shouting to kill suddenly held their hands tightly together.
"Oh! Isn’t this Dean Angidd! My God! Old friend, it’s been so long! I missed you so much!"
"Right! Isn’t this Ding Ge! My dear friend! It’s you!"
The atmosphere immediately became more strange.
"Both of you stop performing, Long Yi has already left." Ma Deburg covered his face, speechless at the two of them.
"He left! Where did he go?"
The two faces leaned in simultaneously.
"The Mechanical Research Institute."
Cheers rang out from every corner. Tears of emotion brimmed in the eyes of every researcher at the Mechanical Institute.
"But Little Zi just went to the Magic Research Institute."
"Yay! We’ve won!" The magic researchers flocked away in jubilation.
Looking at the mess on the ground, Ma Deburg uttered a harsh sentence.
"They’re a bunch of goddamn lunatics."
The dwarf envoy turned out to be Morton.
The moment he saw Long Yi, Morton became excited. The reason was, of course, for Long Yi’s contribution to the dwarves.
After Long Yi left, the dwarves were digesting and absorbing the knowledge he taught them, while assembling battle armor for Long Yi. The knowledge Long Yi imparted greatly raised the standard of the dwarfs. Now, the dwarfs were constantly talking about blueprints and concepts of data Long Yi had infused into them previously. They were driving the traditional blacksmith’s craft towards digitization.
Numbers mean precision.
And precision was something the dwarfs lacked.
Although Long Yi’s help seemed simple, it was profound. As a qualified craftsman, Morton naturally understood what this meant to the dwarves.
Of course, this was just one reason, not the main reason.
The main reason was Long Yi’s contribution to dwarf armor technology.
These semi-automatic armors directly opened a new door for the dwarves. These manually controlled armors greatly advanced the dwarves’ progress in machinery manufacturing and also made the dwarves realize the potential of machinery.
Now, the entire Dwarven Furnace Fortress was immersed in the atmosphere of making these semi-automatic armors. Some successful or failed armors were produced. Some received praise, but most were thrown directly into the furnace. However, this could not curb the enthusiasm of the dwarves.
Now, Morton brought what the dwarves were anxiously waiting to show to Long Yi.
A battle armor custom-made for Long Yi. The dwarves independently completed the manufacturing and assembly, and gave it to Long Yi for inspection. If it passed the inspection, it could be mass-produced.
The next suit was a fortification armor. The sturdy figure was like a modified version for the dwarfs. But it had a shovel, a saw, a chisel, and other tools. With this armor, an ordinary soldier could quickly complete the most strenuous work in fortification construction.
Next came an agriculture armor. It was a little smaller than the previous ones, but it had a hoe, a seeding spade, and other farming machinery. The intent was to improve the cultivation level of crops.
After showing these three sets of armors to Long Yi, Morton and the dwarves who came with him looked at Long Yi with anticipation.
However, Long Yi only gave a wry smile. These dwarves had the right idea, but they had clearly taken a detour.
"Let’s leave the Battle Armor for last, it needs to be checked thoroughly over time," said Long Yi.
Morton immediately nodded vigorously. He had initially wanted to show Long Yi the Dwarves’ new invention—a product developed independently by the Dwarves without Long Yi’s assistance. Alright, although the prototype was not much different from the armor developed by Long Yi for the Dwarves, the details were much more refined! If it could get Long Yi’s approval, it would be enough to prove that the Dwarves’ design had reached an advanced level!
"First, let’s talk about this Fortification Armor. It’s pretty good. It’s designed to be used by ordinary soldiers and can quickly build fortifications on the front. I like it. But there are two details that aren’t good — these tools shouldn’t be foldable. In strenuous labor, folding structures are very unsafe. They should all be replaced with plug-in structures, which can be adjusted in length, and if you add a clamping device here, it will be even more secure."
Long Yi pointed at the Fortification Armor as he spoke, and Morton continuously nodded his agreement. The Dwarves standing nearby jotted down every single remark. Long Yi rated the Fortification Armor very highly, which made Morton very happy. After all, this Fortification Armor was developed under his supervision. Because of his acuity towards war, he realized that this tool would definitely be useful to Humans. Now that it got Long Yi’s approval, it at least meant one thing.
Money!
Then, Long Yi pointed at the farming armor, looked at Morton with a bitter smile, and said, "Uncle, may I ask you a question?"
Upon seeing Long Yi’s expression, Morton’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately realized that Long Yi didn’t like this set of armor. Why? Were there some unreasonable structural designs? Was it too fragile? But why?
"Ah, go on," Morton hurried.
"Uncle, think about this. In ordinary agriculture, how much strength does a cow possess compared to a man?" asked Long Yi.
"Five?" The Dwarves got most of their food from purchases, their own agriculture wasn’t developed, so Morton was just guessing.
"So, how much strength can this armor enhance for a man?" Long Yi asked again.
"Five times..." Morton’s heart sank.
"How many cows can you buy with the price of one of these armors?"
"Many..." Having estimated the price, the quantity scared Morton so much he dared not say it out loud.
"How much do you think this armor can improve a farmer’s efficiency?"
"Maybe... about three times."
"So... if I were a farmer and I had this kind of money, why wouldn’t I buy a few cows or hire more people to help with the farming, and instead buy an armor that only helps me to improve my efficiency three-fold?"
Long Yi’s words instantly made Morton realize that he had a fundamental misunderstanding about this invention!
Meanwhile, Dean Angidd, who had been quietly listening, fell into a state of ecstasy when he saw the three sets of armor displayed by the Dwarves. He saw the Empire’s strength in these suits of armor, both militarily and agriculturally.
After all, there are only two things that can ensure victory in war:
First, enough soldiers.
Second, enough food.
The White Dragon Empire didn’t lack soldiers, but its food supply wasn’t abundant. Every year, the White Dragon Empire imported a large amount of food from the Fertile Plains Federation for consumption and strategic reserve.
However, the White Dragon Empire did not lack arable land. Conversely, it had a lot of idle farmland. A long-standing bias towards commerce over farming had made people prefer earning coins from business rather than farming. The Empire had issued many policies encouraging farming, but farming was a long-term process with low returns; without a substantial income, who would do it?
Therefore, when Angidd saw the agricultural armor, he felt the Empire’s agriculture was going to take off. He could vividly envision each farmer wearing this semi-automatic armor, quickly plowing the fields.
But after hearing what Long Yi had said, he immediately understood that he had fallen into a typical scholar’s mistake.
You made this thing alright, but who wants it?
Angidd glanced at Ma Deburg beside him. Ma Deburg nodded slightly to signal him not to worry.
Sure enough, Long Yi spoke up again.
"Moreover, this thing shouldn’t be made this way," Long Yi said, glancing at the many farming tools atop the armor, slapped his forehead, and said, "Come on, while we have both the dean of the Crystal Core Research Institute and the dean of Machine Research Institute here, let me enlighten you on advanced agricultural machinery. Bring me a drawing board and a pen."
Someone quickly brought over a large drawing board and a pen.
"Now, first, we must clarify a concept. If you want to enhance agricultural efficiency through machinery, you must increase the efficiency by fifty times, or even a hundred times or a thousand times! Otherwise, it’s meaningless. So, how do we achieve this? First, let’s look at a few examples."
With that, Long Yi drew something on the drawing board.
"What is this?" asked Long Yi.
"A plow," one of the researchers answered.
"What’s it used for?"
"For turning soil."
"Alright, what is this?" Long Yi drew more.
"A row... of ten plows?"
"Correct."
Then, Long Yi linked the row of plows together and drew a dragon in front.
"Do you guys think this is fast?"
A dragon pulling a plow? Is there anything faster than this?
"Alright then, you all now understand my point. Let’s move on to the next part. I call this thing a tractor."
As Long Yi drew the new object, everyone was stunned. Was that a moving small house? (To be continued. If you like this novel, welcome to vote for it or leave a comment at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. For readers on mobile, please visit m.qidian.com.)
