Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Mike the Foolish Old Man

The workshop was filled with the scent of sweat, and various clanging sounds echoed in the air.

Craftsmen of all kinds were working tensely and orderly at their respective positions.

Even the apprentices were thrown into the busy work.

The entire workshop was like a precision machine in operation, with every part working in close sync.

The industrial prototype of the Red Tide Territory was quietly taking shape!

Louis watched all of this, nodding with satisfaction.

This time, he had a clear goal, and he went straight to the depths of the workshop to find the head of the craftsmen—Mike.

Mike was holding a hammer, pounding on the planks, pretending to be busy to cover up the fact that he was slacking off just a moment ago.

It wasn’t until Louis approached that he put down his tools, showing an excited expression: “Lord, what brought you here?”

“It’s time to build the castle.” Louis cut straight to the point with no unnecessary talk.

“Build a castle?!” Mike was instantly excited, he had been waiting for this day for a long time.

“Lord, give me fifty years! I’ll definitely build you the largest and most majestic castle of the Ironblood Empire in the Northern Territory!”

“Fifty years? I’m already seventy, you’d probably be in a coffin.” Louis was speechless.

He suspected Mike was a wonder enthusiast.

Mike laughed heartily: “When I die, my apprentice will build it, and when the apprentice dies, my apprentice’s apprentice will build it!”

Louis twitched his mouth slightly and couldn’t help but retort: “Are you Yu Gong? Planning for countless generations.”

Mike scratched his head: “Who is Yu Gong?”

Louis waved his hand helplessly: “Not important, let’s be realistic, we don’t have much time. The castle needs to be built quickly. It must be quick and functional, with defense as the priority.”

As he spoke, he retrieved a castle design drawing he had made from his pocket and handed it to Mike.

The blueprint detailed the functions of each area of the castle very clearly.

“The castle must balance defensive effectiveness, functional integration, and aesthetics, but most importantly, defense. 80% of the focus is on defense, 20% on livability. We must not weaken the defense for the sake of comfort.”

Louis pointed to the detailed annotations above and introduced them.

Mike glanced at the drawing, his expression subtle, finally spoke with difficulty:

“Lord, this design is great… but for this kind of stone castle, it would take at least ten years. With this complexity, it might take thirty or forty years to complete.”

Louis was dumbfounded: “Ten years? Thirty to forty years?”

He thought he had thoroughly considered efficiency, but he realized his plan was entirely unrealistic.

He originally planned to build a sufficiently sturdy castle as quickly as possible, not expecting that even thirty or forty years wouldn’t be enough.

Mike looked at him with a somewhat awkward smile: “To tell the truth, with our technology and number of workers, achieving this level would indeed require time.”

Louis furrowed his brows, weighing his options in his mind.

The Red Tide Territory has now had some scale, but against external threats, it remains fragile.

A castle is not for a luxurious life, but a barrier for survival.

The Cold Moon Tribe is in turmoil now, but once united, they will surely come south.

And the Northern Territory is not just facing this danger, there are also the Glacial Orcs to the north, and the rebel factions from the Snow Country.

These crises are like a runaway truck quickly heading towards the Red Tide Territory.

Louis doesn’t have the luxury of waiting ten, thirty years.

Nor can he wait until he’s old to move into this ideal castle.

He changed his question: “Is there a faster alternative?”

Mike was stunned for a moment, hesitantly started: “Um… well…”

He looked at the hammer in his hand, then at the busy craftsmen around him, seemingly trying to come up with a reasonable solution, but all he could do was shake his head helplessly.

“I haven’t studied much, don’t have much of an innovative mind.” Mike said with a bitter smile.

Louis sighed helplessly, waved his hand: “Forget it, I’ll figure something out myself.”

Afterward, Louis closed his eyes, recalling in his mind those classic architectural forms he had seen in his previous life.

The tall walls of castles, the sturdiness of watchtowers, the heaviness of fortresses, each building revolving in his mind, but they all required a lot of time and resources to build.

“Not good enough, not fast enough…” he muttered.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Louis’s mind, like a lightning bolt tearing through the silent darkness.

“Earth Tower!” he blurted out.

Earth Tower, he remembered those buildings from his hometown in his previous life.

They were unique dwellings built by the Hakka to avoid chaos, surrounded by walls, sturdy, durable, and capable of accommodating hundreds of people.

Revered as “oriental ancient castles.”

Most importantly, Earth Towers are quick to build!

“Yes! This is what I need!”

He quickly picked up the pen beside him and rapidly modified the original complex castle design into a large cylindrical structure on the blueprint.

Mike, standing aside, frowned: “This bare thing has no aesthetic at all.”

Louis rolled his eyes directly: “Aesthetic? What use is aesthetics, practicality is what matters! It can block enemies and accommodate everyone; that’s the crucial point!”

He tapped the paper with the pen, explaining: “Look, this circular structure can disperse external pressure to the greatest extent, providing strong defense.

And using earth materials, it’s cost-effective, fast, and doesn’t require too much time or resources!”

Mike helplessly rubbed his hair, starting to carefully observe Louis’ “castle” design.

But he quickly realized Louis was indeed making sense.

Though this “Earth Tower” looked simple and rugged, it was undoubtedly a practical and efficient choice.

Louis stood at the center of the craftsmen’s workshop, waving the blueprint in his hand, and began explaining his construction plan to the craftsmen one by one.

“Firstly, location selection is important,” he pointed to a marked spot on the blueprint.

“The castle is best near hot springs, but not too close, as the geothermal energy from hot springs can provide natural heating for the building.

Also, we can channel hot spring water under the floor through pipes in winter; the floor will retain heat, keeping it warm in winter, akin to a natural underfloor heating.

This way, there’s no need to worry about the cold in winter.”

The craftsmen widened their eyes, never expecting such an operation.

Seeing their reactions, Louis revealed a smug smile and continued, “Next is the defensive outer wall. We will use a 1-meter-thick stone wall to form a circular structure and add hot spring clay to form a central earthen wall, making it robust and highly defensive.

The inner circle consists of wooden frame housing, with huge wooden pillars as uprights, reinforced beams, split into multi-layer living areas.

The ground floor for storage, the second, third, and fourth floors for living, with wooden ladders made from trimmed tree trunks, both simple and practical.”

He sketched a simple internal structure on the blueprint.

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