Maximus glanced at Capito.
Capito immediately introduced, "Leader, his name is Kadesos. He used to be a slave, but now he is appointed by me as the manager of this weapons workshop. The original manager was Ilacus’s trusted aide, a Sarabian and Roman citizen, who was reluctant to work for us.
And Kadesos was his servant. As you can see, the environment here is not very good. The manager didn’t like staying here, usually instructing Kadesos to do things, so Kadesos is more familiar with the workshop’s affairs than the manager."
Maximus nodded in agreement, "You’re right. The weapons workshop is very important to us, and only those who are aligned with us can be entrusted with significant positions!"
Then Maximus smiled broadly and affectionately patted Kadesos on his sturdy shoulder, "I know nothing about the weapons workshop, so I’ll rely on you to show me around and explain everything in detail. Let me learn well."
"Y...yes, Leader." Kadesos was flattered and, after composing himself, cautiously asked in an inquiring tone, "Shall we go to the stone crushing room first?"
"I’ll follow your arrangement," Maximus replied cheerfully.
Kadesos led Maximus and Capito towards the riverbank, followed closely by fully armed soldiers of the Personal Guard. They encountered many busy people along the way, who sensibly stepped aside upon seeing the formation.
Soon, they came to a tall building situated above the water channel, right next to the small hill on the west. The two-meter-wide channel introduced the gentle Ophidus River water, which became turbulent as it cascaded down from the hill, hitting a substantial wooden wheel beneath the building, producing a loud rumble and causing the paddles of the wooden wheel to continuously rotate under the impact of the water flow...
Seeing this, Maximus’s mood suddenly became excited. He couldn’t wait to step into the building, where he saw a large gear at the other end of the wooden wheel, spinning inside the building. This gear meshed with another smaller iron gear, which meshed with another iron gear, and through connecting rods... eventually extended an iron arm, ending with a large iron hammer. The interlocking gears resulted in continuous up-and-down movements of the iron hammer, smashing the iron ore laid below...
"This is the Water Hammer!" Maximus exclaimed involuntarily. In Campania, he had discussed water mills with Volenus and Scapula, but instead of seeing a water mill, he first encountered another ancient mechanism utilizing water power.
"Lea... Leader, please... step back a little, beware of flying stones!" Kadesos reminded with concern, having to raise his voice due to the rumbling noise within the building.
Maximus nodded, stepped back a few paces, and watched a few laborers nearby. They wore thick clothes with their heads wrapped tightly, slowly moving the boards full of iron ore. Only when all the ore was crushed did they pour it into a wooden frame, place new iron ore on the boards, and continue the hammering...
After staying only a short while, Maximus found his eardrums couldn’t take it anymore. He quickly withdrew, rubbing his buzzing ears, and said, "We should get Spukala here to study the structure of this water hammer thoroughly."
"Leader, Spukala has been here before. Previously, when this water hammer malfunctioned, I invited him to fix it," Capito said.
"Oh, so you all knew about this fine thing and even kept it from me," Maximus said half-jokingly, half-seriously.
Capito responded earnestly, "Leader, I don’t find this thing very good. I heard that building the water hammer requires a lot of manpower, but it often malfunctions, making repairs troublesome. Moreover, the fluctuating water levels of the Ophidus River greatly impact the water hammer...
Originally, Ilacus planned to build several more water hammers, widely used for forging melted iron, but probably due to these drawbacks, it was only used for the less technically demanding stone crushing."
"Oh, I see..." Maximus responded, but Capito’s words didn’t dampen his interest in the water hammer. As a modern person, he knew mechanical power was far more efficient than manpower and could better drive societal progress...
He was pondering this when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kadesos hesitating to speak. He smiled and asked, "Kadesos, what do you think of this water hammer?"
Kadesos cautiously glanced at Capito.
"Speak freely! When it comes to iron processing and weapon crafting, Capito and I aren’t very knowledgeable. You’ve been here for so long; you’re the expert in this area. Your opinion is very important to us!"
Maximus spoke candidly, making Kadesos feel an unprecedented level of respect, and he felt a surge of warmth, blurting out, "I think the water hammer is excellent. It should not only be used for crushing stones but also for forging!"
"Oh, tell me more," Maximus encouraged.
"This water hammer was commissioned with a high price for Romans to build. I heard the master... Ilacus complain privately that the Romans, worried that the weapons and armor made here might surpass theirs, weren’t too meticulous during construction, leading to frequent malfunctions. And our carpenters here lack the experience to repair it, so it gets out of use from time to time. But we have the gentleman who came that day (referring to Spukala), and there shouldn’t be as many problems in the future.