The delicious braised chicken from the previous night had satisfied everyone in the castle.

When Simon allowed the servants to eat his leftovers, it wasn’t out of disrespect. In this era, resources were scarce, and eating leftovers was a common practice. Even he occasionally ate leftovers, and since the braised chicken was served in a large iron pot, it wasn’t much different from sharing a meal at the same table.

Moreover, braised chicken was a unique delicacy in the Eldorian Empire. Thinking of the countless gourmet dishes stored in the System, Simon felt a sense of pride. There was still a long way to go, and he had plenty of time to introduce more exquisite dishes.

However, now was not the time to indulge in luxury. The most important task was still making money.

After Jack, over the next few days, more people came to the castle to visit Simon, all inquiring about the ox-powered waterwheel. Simon handled them all by quoting a price of three hundred caps of silver.

Some wealthy merchants, unbothered by the cost, readily agreed to purchase the bearings. Others hesitated, and some outright gave up, choosing to stick with their old waterwheels.

During this time, Walter and others had been studying the ox-powered waterwheel, but in the end, they also brought silver to purchase the bearings.

By this point, Simon had a good understanding of the current technological level of the Eldorian Empire. It seemed they were unable to replicate his rolling bearings.

"My Lord, over the past few days, we’ve received orders for about five thousand sets of rolling bearings. The Machinery Department simply can’t handle such a large volume. I suggest building another hydraulic lathe workshop, but if we do that, we won’t have enough craftsmen to spare."

After Bjorn returned, Fjord began attending classes at the Oxford Academy regularly.

That day, just after Simon finished his lecture, Fjord approached him with this suggestion.

Simon frowned. The Machinery Department was already handling a lot of tasks, producing coal stoves, providing parts for Harlan’s shipyard to build galleons, manufacturing steel and coke, and producing waterwheel components. With the sudden influx of bearing orders, it was no wonder Fjord was feeling overwhelmed.

Over the past few days, while teaching, Simon had also been pondering this issue. He realised that low-end technologies shouldn’t consume too many resources. For example, producing coal stoves, while profitable, wasn’t highly lucrative and still required a significant number of craftsmen, which wasn’t cost-effective.

Moreover, it interfered with the layout of the industrial foundation. The current focus should be on steel production. In modern times, a nation’s strength was often measured by its steel output.

Now, he had to make some tough decisions.

"How many craftsmen are currently working on coal stove production?" Simon asked.

"We need to produce at least three hundred coal stoves a day, and about fifty craftsmen are dedicated to this task." Fjord replied.

Simon nodded. "From now on, reassign all fifty craftsmen to producing hydraulic lathes, milling machines, drilling machines, and other machine tools. Also, out of the two thousand newly purchased slaves, half should be assigned to steel production. Captain Lancelot, now that he has silver to spare, has been boasting about buying a new set of armour from me. I’ve promised to produce a brand-new set for him, and in a couple of days, I’ll personally teach the craftsmen how to make it."

"New armour?" Fjord’s interest was piqued. "My Lord, I know how to make scale armour."

"It’s not scale armour. You’ll see when the time comes." Simon said with a smile.

Fjord scratched his head, clearly eager to learn more.

James, standing nearby, looked on with envy. Fjord was about the same age as him, but he was already capable of handling major responsibilities on his own.

Noticing James’s expression, Simon said. "Don’t worry. I’ll have tasks for you too. Consider it practical training."

"Really, Your Highness?" James immediately perked up.

He knew that only by proving himself useful to the prince, like Fjord, could he earn a place of importance.

Simon nodded. His approach to training Fjord and James was different. Fjord’s focus was on mechanics and physics, while James’s was on chemistry.

Over the past few days, Simon had been teaching the youths how to read and write. Now, it was time to introduce them to chemistry.

This way, chemistry and physics could progress simultaneously. After all, rare metals and alloys required chemical methods for extraction and synthesis, and future advancements in gunpowder would also rely on a solid foundation in chemistry.

For Simon, the most critical area was materials science. Only with high-quality materials could high-quality products be produced. From now on, these two hundred individuals would be responsible for research in chemistry and materials.

"Of course. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to produce alkali. This will be your first project." Simon said.

James nodded, though he was still confused, as he didn’t yet understand what ’alkali’ was.

With the Machinery Department relieved of some of its burdens, Fjord was naturally thrilled. He spoke. "My Lord, I’ll go back and make the arrangements. But what about the Goldwynd family?"

"I’ll handle them." Simon replied. He planned to sell the coal stove production technology to them. Since he had already given them the coal briquette technology, adding the coal stove wouldn’t be a problem.

After the day’s lessons, Simon checked on James and the others’ progress. They had already mastered over three hundred common characters.

Simon was pleased with their progress. His basic requirement was for them to become literate and learn basic chemical symbols. After that, he would take them to the workshop area to start building the chemical industry.

The workshop area was now divided into two parts: one half belonged to Fjord, and the other was reserved for James.

In the evening, Simon summoned Walter to discuss the coal stove matter. The Goldwynd family was more than happy to take over the production of coal stoves, especially since Simon’s asking price was only fifty thousand caps of silver.

This way, they would effectively control the entire coal stove industry chain within the six cities.

"Your Highness, there’s one more thing I need to report. Recently, our merchants in Dunmere have noticed that some out-of-town merchants are smuggling horses. These horses only pass through Your Highness’s domain briefly before heading to Prince Gerad’s territory." Walter said.

"Smuggling horses?" Simon frowned. He looked at Walter. "Since when has the Goldwynd family been concerned about such matters?"

Walter replied. "Your Highness, the merchants flooding into Brambleford are a mixed bunch, and not all of them have good intentions. I’m only looking out for Your Highness’s interests by keeping an eye on these merchants."

Simon had long anticipated that the local powerful families would resent outside merchants. Walter’s words sounded noble, but they also revealed the mindset of the local families in Brambleford.

"How are they smuggling the horses? Why hasn’t anyone in Dunmere reported this to me?" Simon’s voice carried a hint of anger.