Newhaven City had entered the industrial age so quickly entirely because of the technology tree’s accelerated learning effect.
As long as students used educational books created through the technology tree, it was as though their minds had suddenly opened. Their ability to understand improved dramatically, allowing them to master the knowledge at remarkable speed and develop ideas of their own.
In less than half a year, Newhaven City had already produced a large group of talented people.
Without the accelerated learning effect of the technology tree, cultivating so many capable people in a feudal society would have required an unimaginable amount of ti.
Even players who possessed modern knowledge and could follow the developnt path of science and civilization would never accomplish the sa thing within ten or twenty years.
With the arrival of the industrial age, plain language writing also began spreading through Newhaven City.
Compared with overly formal and literary expression, plain language was much easier for ordinary people to understand.
However, the technology tree offered no acceleration in this area.
Since the wider world was still a feudal society, the spread of plain language would remain a relatively slow process.
After Caelum unlocked and activated the advanced education disciplines, the next technologies had already beco available.
This ti, the new branches belonged to the industrial age.
[Explosives and Picric Acid Unlocked]
[Firearms and Breech Loading Rifle Unlocked]
[Machinery and Steam Engine Unlocked]
Breech loading firearms had already appeared during the age of flintlock muskets.
However, without prirs, they still relied on flint to ignite the powder.
This made loading and firing breech loading flintlock muskets rather troubleso.
Their overall performance did not improve much.
Only after the chemical factory produced rcury fulminate for use as a prir, allowing tallic cartridges to enter the battlefield, could the true age of breech loading rifles begin.
For now, there was little reason to pursue them.
Picric acid had also been known historically as yellow explosive.
It possessed trendous destructive power and had completely left the concept of black powder behind.
It was a true synthetic chemical compound.
Its power was absurd.
The force of its detonation was at least ninety tis greater than black powder.
It did not require confinent and could still detonate in an open environnt.
Picric acid also produced intense heat after exploding, enough to lt thick steel plates.
The toxic fus it released could inflict severe casualties on enemy troops.
It was ideal for use as artillery shell filler.
Had Caelum used picric acid shells during the assault on Valdren, a single bombardnt would have blown both arrow towers apart.
There would have been no need for such a difficult attack.
When picric acid exploded, it also shattered the shell casing into countless fragnts.
Once a shell penetrated a wall and detonated inside, almost no one would survive.
Caelum imdiately went to the chemical factory.
He handed over the synthesis thod and production process for picric acid, then ordered, "Prepare a batch of the necessary materials and begin large scale production as soon as possible. Whatever you require, simply ask for it."
"Yes, my lord."
Afterward, Caelum turned his attention to the steam engine.
Steel plating.
Shipbuilding technology.
And now the steam engine.
It seed he could move directly into an age of armored warships.
The technologies following the steam engine were the internal combustion engine, electric motor, and generator.
Once all of them were unlocked, Caelum would possess the ability to construct a steam turbine ironclad with an electrical control system.
In combat power, it would not be far behind a modern warship.
The problem was that building such an enormous vessel required more than resources and money.
The greatest cost was ti.
With Newhaven City’s current labor force and technical ability, constructing a warship would take several years at minimum.
Unless Caelum unlocked a shipbuilding technology and used acceleration to complete it within a short period, there was no way around that limitation.
After thinking it over, Caelum decided to abandon the idea of a steam powered ironclad for now.
Once the technology tree and Newhaven City developed further, he could directly adopt a combined cycle power system using gas turbines and steam turbines.
That would provide the warship with far greater power.
Several days later, a large collection of materials prepared by the factories and academies was placed before Caelum.
Among them were newly produced rubber and several alloys.
The main materials, however, were iron, copper, and steel.
Caelum activated the technology tree.
[Machinery and Steam Engine Accelerated Production]
Within a few breaths, the materials rapidly changed shape, forming nurous components before assembling themselves into a complete steam engine.
[Machinery and Steam Engine Production Complete]
The steam engine was finished.
The next technologies unlocked imdiately.
[Machinery and Internal Combustion Engine Unlocked]
[Machinery and Generator Unlocked]
[Machinery and Electric Motor Unlocked]
Before long, Caelum used the technology tree to produce three finely made machines.
An internal combustion engine.
A generator.
And an electric motor.
He gave an order.
"Send these three machines to the Engineering Academy. Have the Engineering Academy and Physics Academy study them separately, improve their designs, and apply them to production as soon as possible."
"Yes, my lord."
The students of the Engineering Academy and Physics Academy naturally understood the principles behind these machines.
Caelum wanted them to reverse engineer the designs so they could be manufactured on a large scale.
The technology tree continued unlocking.
[Energy and Oil Extraction Unlocked]
Finding an oil field would not be difficult.
It was only a matter of ti.
The real question was where the oil field would be located and how far it would be from Newhaven City.
If it lay within the territory of the Grand Concord Dynasty or Thalric, would they allow Caelum to extract it?
Would they use the opportunity to demand an outrageous price?
If that happened, Caelum might very well go to war with either the Grand Concord Dynasty or Thalric.
With his current forces and equipnt, he was no longer afraid of them in the slightest.
An industrial age army against a feudal age army?
The result would only be a one sided slaughter.
Several hundred heavy cannons could be deployed and begin firing picric acid shells from several kiloters away.
Whether the armies of Grand Concord or Thalric could even pass through the toxic smoke was uncertain.
Even if they charged through round after round of heavy artillery fire without fear of death, the mont they drew closer, they would face even denser bombardnt from the light cannons.
That would be no different from walking directly into death.
Over the past few months, Newhaven City had been purchasing saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal on a massive scale.
The materials were transported continuously into the military factory and turned into black powder.
Newhaven City’s powder magazine now held a terrifying reserve of two hundred thousand pounds of black powder.
With a large territory, a powerful economy, and such vast reserves, Caelum had every reason to feel confident.
As Newhaven City continued expanding and trade grew more prosperous, tax revenue rose steadily.
Caelum began planning another military expansion to strengthen the Wardens.
He intended to separate the artillery units from the Wardens and establish them as an independent force.
His goal was an artillery army equipped with several hundred heavy cannons and more than one thousand light cannons.
He intended to make that vision real.
Caelum issued the order without hesitation.
"Have the Wardens recruit new soldiers and expand to ten thousand n. From this day onward, the artillery units will beco an independent army and expand to three thousand soldiers."
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