Since the discovery of cryolite, ice pepper production has continued to rise. Not only the riverbend land, but also a vacant lot behind the barracks was converted into an ice pepper planting area. There is no extra land left within the city walls, and the best way to protect the ice pepper fields is to build them next to the barracks, so that no one dares to risk stealing. As for wartime, he is not afraid, if even the military camp is destroyed during the war, there will not be much power left in Blackhammer Fort.

What made Rhodes even more pleased was that the business of the repeating artillery was completed. After reaching a monopoly agreement with Vlaar, Blackhammer Fort sold two of the Empire's artillery guns for 20,000 gold each. At the same time, Vlaar also sold one. There is only a repeating gun and a semi-finished product left in the castle, but this is enough, the technology and raw materials are abundant, and it is only a matter of time before it is rebuilt. And the income of the 40,000 Golden Crown is real, equivalent to the income of Black Hammer Fort for an entire year.

As for the technology outflow, Rhodes is not worried about this at all. With the level of engineering and technology of the empire, it is only a matter of time before the technology of the repeating artillery is mastered, and after a long time, it is not excluded to send spies as apprentices to steal technology, after all, there will be a mistake in the end, and it is impossible to completely blockade it, plus the dwarves are a bunch of braggart guys, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not vomit something after drinking. So, it's better to sell them more while this thing is hot. Rhodes knew that the Imperial engineers might be busy disassembling the machine, studying the structure inside. Just like when he asked Wadrin and his gang of craftsmen to dismantle the Vlaar repeater cannon.

Therefore, there are not many that can be sold, and Rhodes estimates that at most the Oster Collar Engineering Department will only ask for three, and no more will be bought. As for the other imperial provinces, first, they did not believe in the power of the cannons, and second, they did not bother to buy firearms from Mrs. Kesley. In the eyes of the Empire, Kislev was nothing more than a northern barbarian, and it would be nice for them to be able to use bows, arrows, and spears, and they could also make firearms, especially in the Imperial heavy industry base of Nune, where the best engineers and technicians from the entire empire gathered, and it was impossible for them to ask Kislev for technology.

Therefore, after selling two repeater guns, Rhodes did not expect the other party to have a new trade order. Instead, focus on naval construction. The last Norscan invasion, if it had not been intercepted by two gunboats sent by Erlengrad, Blackhammer Castle was really in danger of being ransacked.

And the first naval gunboat began with the transformation of the merchant ship - the Flying Giant. This merchant ship was originally an armed merchant ship, equipped with a certain number of soldiers and ballistas. What Rhodes had to do was to mount the real cannon on the ship, and when the new repeater was built, it could be installed on the ship, as a high-precision firearm, one Wadrin repeater gun could be worth ten recoilless guns. The only problem was the slow manufacturing time, which would take at least three months to build a Wadrin gun at Blackhammer's current level of productivity, which meant months before converting a merchant ship into a full-fledged naval gunboat. And this is only the first warship, which is still a long way from a real fleet.

In order to speed up the construction of the fleet, Rhodes used the money he earned from selling the cannon to poach people from the empire, and Gaoxin hired Osterling's shipbuilders to work at Blackhammer Fort. Normally, no one wants to come from a prosperous place to work in a remote area, but as long as money can solve it, it doesn't matter. Rhodes offered three times the salary of the average shipbuilder in Osterling. Soon after, people came to sign up.

As before, Rhodes asked Alves to arrange lodging and meals for the candidates, and even gave them a house in the town for free. It's just that it can only be lived, not resold. In addition, arrange for a large group of apprentices to follow the engineer and work beside him. The so-called hearing and seeing, after a long time, the technology or something will know something.

After the problems of shipbuilders and artillery have been arranged, the next thing is the problem of personnel.

The soldiers of Black Hammer Fort basically have no experience in naval warfare, and naval and land battles are completely incomplete, people without naval combat experience may be afraid when they see the vast ocean, and some people will be seasick directly, and the strong warriors on land may directly become landlubbers when they reach the sea, and they have no combat effectiveness at all. Therefore, Rhodes planned to train the original group of pirates into the first batch of naval soldiers.

According to the configuration on the Flying Giant, about two hundred people were needed, and the pirates in Blackhammer Keep did not exceed one hundred and fifty. The remaining personnel shortage, Rod thought of the Hague tribe that had just been subdued last winter......

...... 59 Books

"As I said, Mrs. Keighrie is not to be trusted, and see, their army just left last winter, and now, in less than half a year, they are coming. Our men have all died in battle, so do we have to die again?"

In the hall of the chiefs of the Hague tribe, more than a hundred tribal men gathered at this moment. Among them were elders, chieftains, veteran hunters, and pirate captains. These people came together because from Blackhammer came the conscription - Celta.

Also a Norscan, Celta had surrendered to Rhodes three years earlier. Now, as commander of the Norsca army at Blackhammer Fort, Celta has brought Rhodes' orders to the northern tribe. What was encountered was unprecedented resistance. However, Celta was calm, he knew the characteristics of the Norscans, and he knew what was going on with the tribe. He just saved his life, but he couldn't get rich again. The annual tribute of three thousand gold crowns almost drained the tribe.

"Sacrifice? A true warrior never fears death. Could it be that your Hague tribe is such a bad breed, afraid of death, crying like a little girl and not leaving her mother's **?"

Alone, Celta stood in the big tent, calm. He looked around at the savages around him, remembering that he had been like that too. Focus only on immediate interests.

"You can say that it is light, three thousand gold coins a year, and there are fewer manpower, how can we plunder merchant ships?"

A pirate captain with blue paint on his face shouted. He was muscular, with a vicissitudes of life, and he looked like a veteran.

"It's only fifty people, not all of you. Excluding the old man and children, there were still more than 500 people in the tribe who could fight. Don't tell me that these fifty people are doomed to you. Rod said that this time the selection of warriors will reduce one-tenth of your tribute, and this year, you only need to hand in 2,700 gold coins. ”

Celta said, looking around with a light smile on her face. It can be seen that among these 100 people, there are still some people who are still angry.

"Well, it looks like you're refusing to join the Blackhammer Castle fleet. I'm leaving it here, everyone who joins the Blackhammer Castle Navy earns thirty-six gold crowns a year. On average, it is three golden crowns per month. If you are selected to become a captain or co-captain, your salary will be doubled. You know what Lord Rhodes is like, and he never defaults on his salary. It's up to you to be a pirate for the rest of your life, or to be part of a regular navy. There is only one chance, and Rhodes chose you to be his soldiers because of your bravery and loyalty, don't think that without you, Blackhammer would not be able to recruit naval soldiers. When you become a Marine, you can have a range of benefits at Blackhammer Fort, including housing, medical care, insurance, and more. Whether you want to join the army or not, you can do it yourself, I will only stay here for three days. ”

In the Hall of the Chieftain, Celta said something, and the audience fell silent. Those who had previously opposed Rhodes' conscription suddenly tightened their mouths. Because in their hearts, they themselves want to be part of the Blackhammer Castle naval fleet. The annual salary is thirty-six gold crowns, which is a huge amount of money for the people of the tribe......