"Come on, try joining these two iron plates together," Roland said.
Anna extended her finger and pressed it against the seam of the iron plate. Flames erupted from her fingers, and the joint melted at a visible rate.
"Reduce the heat and try again from the back." She nodded and followed the instructions. The two iron plates were joined at a 90-degree angle and securely welded together.
Roland scrutinized the joint and confirmed it met his expectations—a flawless weld with no imperfections. With a light sanding to remove the molten iron's flow marks, the two iron plates appeared nearly identical to a single forged piece.
"Excellent, Miss Anna, absolutely brilliant," Roland couldn't help but exclaim. "Now, let's attach the other two iron plates." "What is this? An iron... bucket?" "No, it's a cylinder," he corrected.
"Cylinder?" Anna repeated in confusion.
"Exactly, it's used to fill the air," Roland pointed to another square iron plate. "See that tiny hole? Air enters the cylinder through it, pushing the piston—well, the piston is an iron plate slightly smaller than the cylinder's inner diameter, moving freely inside." Even Anna was baffled by all these new terms. "So... what are these... cylinders, pistons, and stuff?" "They're for creating a machine that can move on its own." The steam engine provided the driving force for humanity's first industrial revolution, completely freeing human and animal labor.
The working principle is familiar to every mechanical dog. Simply put, it's an oversized version of a kettle. The steam generated is channeled into the cylinder, driving the piston and connecting rod to convert thermal energy into mechanical energy.
The principle is exceptionally simple, but this does not imply that it is easy to manufacture. The challenges lie in the sealing of the cylinder and piston, as well as the fabrication of the gas delivery pipe. When metalworking skills are insufficient, attempting to forge a qualified cylinder manually is nothing short of a pipe dream.
However, Anna's ability makes up for the lack of technology.
Roland could produce a square cylinder with exceptional rigidity by simply designing four identical iron plates, having them cast and polished by a blacksmith, securing the shape with right-angle plates, and then having Anna weld them together. With Witch's assistance, he no longer needed to build a cannon barrel boring machine or process a circular cylinder as in traditional methods. Similarly, larger components could be prefabricated in smaller parts and assembled. This approach enabled even small workshops like blacksmiths' shops to collaboratively manufacture all parts required for steam engines.
In fact, before welding was invented, people could only connect small parts using bolts or rivets. However, the cylinder's interior required a smooth surface, which conventional connections clearly couldn't achieve.
The only challenge lies in the gas pipe. Its manufacturing process is not particularly unique: a long iron plate is heated to a red-hot state, then placed into a concave mold and hammered into shape with a hammer. This method is also used for the barrel of a pre-assembled flintlock gun. However, the barrel requires additional post-production steps such as straightening and expanding the rifling, making the process more complex.
The catch was that Roland couldn't summon the blacksmith to his backyard, the Witch couldn't be exposed yet, and blacksmithing wasn't his forte. With no other choice, he had to ask Chief Knight to handle it while he kept watch.
After three days of hard work, Roland finally built his first steam engine in the backyard.
"That's your supposed superpower gadget?" Carter frowned at the peculiar contraption, initially dismissing any connection to cult rituals. Each iron clump was hand-fitted into place, forming a sealed furnace. It would be downright absurd if the Devil were to be drawn to it.
But how can a bunch of iron lumps move? It looks so clumsy and has no legs—could it even fly?
Yet to Roland, this seemingly crude machine radiated an industrial elegance. Standing on the shoulders of giants, he naturally bypassed the conventional path of Newcomen steam engine—Watt steam engine—improved steam engine. His first prototype was already a high-pressure steam engine equipped with double connecting rods and sliding valves. Its construction was not significantly more challenging than the most primitive steam engines; the key lay in innovative conceptual approaches.
"You'll see." Roland poured water into the steam chamber and had Anna light the firewood.
After about ten minutes, the water boiled and began bubbling vigorously. Soon, the cylinder emitted a crackling sound—Roland recognized it as the cylinder expanding under heat. The piston's iron plate, being thinner, would deform more than the cylinder body and eventually press firmly against the cylinder wall.
"It's just boiling water, right? I didn't expect it to be a stove," Carter muttered.
As the cylinder filled with steam, Roland was thrilled to witness the moment. The piston began pushing the connecting rod outward, and when it reached its peak, the other rod pulled the sliding valve, causing the steam to push the piston inward. The two rods alternated, driving the wheel to spin rapidly, and as the fire intensified, the speed peaked at an astonishing rate.
The machine roared with a piercing roar, its exhaust vents hissing white steam—a forceful and unstoppable presence.
"That's what you mean... the power hidden in nature?" Anna asked in a daze.
Chief Knight's face was full of disbelief. The final iron wheel, which he had painstakingly installed, now spun like a feather, and standing nearby, he could even feel the airflow it generated—evidencing that this iron monstrosity possessed an astonishing power.
A little unease rose in his heart.
Your Highness claims it can replace both human and animal labor. If not a self-deception, when it replaces horses pulling war chariots, even ten Knights might struggle to withstand its brute force.
It takes fifteen years to train a qualified Knight, but crafting an iron furnace requires merely three days. Including the blacksmith's time to forge the components, the entire process takes just one week.
It requires no feeding, is immune to cold and hunger, and unafraid of arrows or blades. Once equipped with a war horn, it charges recklessly across the battlefield.
In this scenario... does the traditional Knight still need to exist?
...
When Roland returned to his bedroom that evening, he once again encountered the nightingale.
She sat at the table without her hood this time, a smile playing on her lips as she fiddled with parchment papers. "So the rumors outside are true. They say the Fourth Prince is uneducated and wicked, but in truth, he's no less capable than the court's masters. Is this design of that iron furnace what you call... a steam engine?" "Good grief, can you even give people some privacy? Come and go as you please. Do you think this is your home?" Roland muttered inwardly, but maintained a composed response. "It's a design, but without Anna's help, it's just a blueprint." "What can it do?" "A lot—mining, drainage, iron smelting, forging. It works wherever brute force is needed." "Then I'll take it," Nightingale rolled up the parchment and tucked it into her robe. "There are also flame manipulators in the Guild." "Hey—" She waved her hand to stop Roland's protest. "Of course I'm not taking your stuff for nothing. Take a look at this first." She placed a small white lump on the table.
Roland walked over, pinched it with his fingers, and to his surprise, it was actually a roll of paper.
He unfolded it gently and glanced at it. "This is..." "A secret message for the homing pigeon," Nightingale said with a teasing tone. "Your Maid, Tilly, is the recipient. Tsk tsk, your harem seems unstable." "I never touched her," Roland said, frowning.
Tilly, the woman who had been with me since childhood. Though the Fourth Prince had shown interest in her before, his repeated attempts to seduce her failed. This time at Border Town, he had her elevated to Chief Maid, assigned to serve him personally, with her quarters right next door. Who would have thought she was actually an agent planted by Brother Wang and Sister Wang?
Though unsigned, the letter was unmistakably penned by the siblings. It declared that their previous failure had deeply displeased their master, and vowed to strike again during the Changge Fortress unrest—failure was not an option. 'Well, you've already succeeded, 'he mused.' Otherwise, you wouldn't have become Roland Wimbledon.'
This letter was unlikely to be forged by Nightingale, as only those involved in the conspiracy would have known the details of the first assassination plot. If Nightingale intended to kill him, there would be no need for such elaborate arrangements.
"You stole it from her?" "Your Maid couldn't be so naive. She'd set it on fire after seeing it. I just happened to be behind her when she saw it," she feigned a gesture of substitution. "So, what do you plan to do? Need me to 'handle' it?" Roland understood her implication perfectly. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded. "I'm sorry to trouble you." He had no confidence in handling such matters himself. "If you could... ask her who's behind her." "As you wish, Your Highness," the Nightingale said with a smile, bowing. "Then this scroll of blueprints will be the reward."