Academy Genius Commander

28 – The Giving Prince (2)

Even if we know that the Industrial Revolution started with the steam engine, there are many cases where we don’t know what it started to make.

In fact, what was tried to be mass-produced in the Industrial Revolution was ‘clothes’.

When I say this, ‘Dear, really?’ You may feel that, but until the Industrial Revolution, the criterion for becoming a middle class in Europe was ‘Can I wear a new set of clothes every year?’ was

It was a daily routine for the poor, regardless of gender and age, to return and wear tattered clothes.

Because fabric and clothes were so rare, they were filial products that sold unconditionally as long as they made clothes and fabric, even if they did not know other products.

So during the Industrial Revolution, people who owned factories tried to make clothes in large quantities that were sold unconditionally as long as they were made.

If you ask why I am thinking this now.

This is because the machines I am going to ask the artisans in the studio to make are the three types of machines needed to mass-produce cloth clothes.

And when I opened the door and went into the workshop, various types of tools were displayed with the heat unique to a blacksmith’s shop.

A huge anvil and hammer, saws, axes, planes, armor, mannequins and a bellows connected to a waterwheel and a brazier needed to work as a blacksmith.

The overall atmosphere gives the impression that this is a studio where great technicians are working.

As I was looking around, a man who was hitting a lump of metal with a hammer in the studio found me, put down the hammer he was using, and started approaching me.

Short stature, slightly tanned tanned skin, a face full of soot, and strong muscles visible through open clothes.

There are no other races like elves or dwarves in this world, but if there were, they would surely be misunderstood as dwarves.

It would be foolish to judge a person by their appearance, but it seems that this person will be instantly recognizable as a first-class craftsman wherever he goes.

A man with a solid build, sharp eyes and a stubborn mouth.

“I am Eugene Heinz, the head of the Dream Workshop. Sir Jaeger.”

“Please, Heinz. Yes, I asked His Highness the Crown Prince to introduce me to a good craftsman, and he introduced you. Can I expect your skills?”

“Even though I can’t say I’m the best technician in the Reich Empire, I’m proud to say that if I lined up outstanding technicians, I’d be on my fingers. So tell us what you want, and we will do our best to make it for you.”

Usually, when you boast of your skills in this way, it feels like bluffing, so you may feel rejected, but from the man standing in front of you, far from being repulsive, on the contrary, how good your skills are and how proud you are.

I can’t be sure because I haven’t seen the machines, weapons, and armor that this man has made, but I think it’s because I feel so proud of him as a top craftsman.

“Okay, then I won’t talk too much. Here’s a machine I’d like to build, can you build one?”

Having said that, I held out in front of him the blueprints of a loom with a Whitney-style cotton gin, a Jenny spinning machine, and a semi-automatic drum called the flying drum.

If you look at the contents inside, only the rough principles and shapes were drawn, as if they were drawn by a middle school student.

As a student who was interested in the development of machines and weapons even in my present life, I became curious about the textile industry that caused the industrial revolution, and while researching, I learned the blueprints of three machines I found through surfing.

Heinz looked at me and sighed in amazement and said, “I drew a picture through the memories I learned with the eyes remaining in my head, and how much it was helpful for him to add explanations as much as possible in writing.

“Even within the system, I have heard bards singing a few times that Sir Jaeger is a genius of tactics and strategy. It is amazing that someone who has never studied to become a craftsman is designing a ‘machine with a proper concept’. But aside from this machine called the cotton gin, I’m not sure how it’s used. Can you explain it?”

“Okay, then let me tell you in detail. First, the cotton gin is used to pull the damn seed out of the cotton, and the spinning machine isn’t that great. To put it simply, it’s a tool that puts about 8 spinning wheels and spins yarn from a pile of cotton wool. Also, the loom with ‘flying drum’ here allows you to quickly insert the horizontal thread between the vertical threads.”

After explaining this far, Heinz clapped his hands and said with a surprised expression, as if he finally understood the blueprints I showed him and learned the value of these three machines.

“The most annoying thing when making clothes with cotton is having to extract the numerous seeds in it, but if you can replace it with a machine, you will surely be able to make fabric and clothes faster than before. If we could go further and spin yarn with a mechanized wheel and speed up weaving with a mechanized loom, it might change the world.”

If only he had explained to the other nobles, including the crown prince, the blueprints of the machine without showing them how it worked.

Obviously, they would not have even guessed what kind of functions the devices I devised would be capable of.

Just as someone who has never eaten a lemon cannot imagine how it tastes when they hear that lemon is sour.

However, since Heinz is an excellent engineer who knows the machine, he must have been able to recognize the true value of the machine only with the blueprints and explanations, even though he had never actually operated the machine.

“So you think you can make it? Or maybe not.”

However, Heinz muttered as if he had no mind to listen to me anymore, copying the blueprint I gave him on a nearby piece of paper.

“First of all, to make this cotton gin, the distance between the two cylinders that rotate like the handle should be thinner than the vertical thickness of the seeds. Wouldn’t it be possible to make the size of the barrel where the spinning machine hangs yarn by hand like this? Also, I suggested using a spring when making a drum, but what function does this have, how does it make it easy to walk back and forth over that wide distance…? Looking at the blueprint, it doesn’t seem impossible.”

When I saw it, I was amazed and a little shocked at the same time.

What I admired is that just by showing a rough explanation and blueprints, it is possible to come up with an answer on how to make and improve the machine, which is something that few humans can do.

What was also astonishing was that no matter how much the artisan was protected by the crown prince, he was a customer who requested a product and even had a person with the title of ‘Imperial Knight’ and focused only on the blueprint. You’re ignoring me because of equipment development.

They say that there are so many crazy people among those who are called real geniuses, but… isn’t this too harsh?

Heinz, as if he didn’t care what I was thinking, continued to touch the blueprints while rolling his pen.

There are many things to talk about in the future, but it will be difficult if that nobleman continues to do that.

So I shook Heimz’s shoulder hard to turn his attention to me and said,

“Come to your senses, it’s nice to see you working diligently on the crude design I drew… but isn’t it too harsh?”

Heinz must have realized his rude behavior only then, so he lowered his head and apologized.

“Sorry, I think I was blinded by the good mechanical blueprints with so many brilliant ideas. Still, a month for me and my disciples. No, if you give me three weeks, I’ll be able to make a proper prototype…”

I don’t know anything about making machines, but I don’t know about cotton ginning and spinning machines, but I think it will take a long time to make a loom with a drum, which uses springs…

I wondered if I could really make something right by the time I promised.

Heinz, an expert, said, so you can trust that a proper prototype will come out within three weeks.

Also, even if you fail, it’s not like you don’t have enough room yet…

“I believe that that amount of time is enough. Is there anything else you need? Don’t hesitate to tell me, I’ll make sure to give you more money out of my personal assets.”

Then Heinz looked at me with a worried expression and said,

“In fact, it is a problem to reproduce such a complex machine, but it is necessary to have someone who knows how well it will perform once it is built. So, Sir Jaeger, who has brought this blueprint, needs to participate in the middle to make sure it is properly built, is that okay?”

“Of course. It’s just that I can’t be here with you every day. If you need me, send someone to call the day before.”

“Yes, I understand. Then, before you leave, please listen to my thoughts and give me an answer. It may be cumbersome, but I can’t help it because I’m making a new one.”

That’s how I talked about the cotton gin, the spinning machine, and the loom with a drum in Heinz’s studio until the sun came up the next day.

As a result of that effort, after 3 weeks, the 3 machines I asked to be made were perfectly produced.

Now, all that was left was to show the usefulness of the machine in front of the crown prince and receive appropriate investment.