Pasipidas’s face suddenly turned red.
Maximus looked at him with a smile: "I heard you have a good relationship with Luxina, meeting her several times in private after your injury healed—"
"I... I didn’t! She only took care of me when I was sick, there’s nothing between us—" Pasipidas denied loudly, his face flushed.
Maximus looked surprised: "I originally thought you liked her and was ready to give you my blessings, but it turns out that’s not the case, what a pity!"
Pasipidas was taken aback, and despite his shyness, he immediately changed his tune: "Leader, I do like her, she... she likes me too, will you really bless us?!"
Pasipidas lowered his voice: "My father is opposed to this."
Maximus glanced at Pessianaxis, who was standing a little distance away with his back to them, and deliberately raised his voice with a smile: "You two are in love and can become a married couple, that’s a wonderful thing! I not only support you, but also once we find a true home and settle down, I’m willing to host your wedding and have everyone bless you both!"
"Really?!" Pasipidas looked thrilled.
"Of course, it’s true." Maximus replied, then shifted the topic: "You’ve been in this weapon workshop for over ten days, how do you feel?"
"It’s great! I never thought ironmaking and blacksmithing could reach this level, coming here has really opened my eyes and I’ve learned a lot!" Pasipidas said excitedly, but then lowered his voice: "However, the people here don’t like me or my dad, but they have nothing to be proud about. When it comes to blacksmithing skills, not one of them can surpass me, let alone my dad..."
"You two are outsiders, it’s normal not to be accepted at first. Once time passes and everyone gets familiar, it won’t be an issue. Work hard here, don’t be satisfied with just being a blacksmith, strive to learn everything here so you can take on greater responsibilities. Then, Luxina will be proud of you too!"
Maximus’s words encouraged the young man who was already excited by the good news, and he nodded vigorously, returning to Pessianaxis’s side, excitedly reminding him: "Father, you heard it all!"
Pessianaxis remained silent for a moment before asking with a worried expression: "It seems you really intend to marry that woman? Really plan to stay in this group?"
"Yes!" Pasipidas nodded heavily again, prompting a long sigh from his father: "Sigh..."
Maximus spent most of the day touring the entire weapon workshop, growing more excited as he saw, not only witnessing the long-awaited water mill and hammer, realizing that the iron smelting technology used in this era was already quite advanced, but also the workshop’s weapon manufacturing had distinct division of labor and assembly line operations. More importantly, the weapon workshop maintained a complete production chain from ore refining to fine iron manufacturing to weapons preparation, forming a perfect closed loop.
Even if Kadesos said "the cast iron produced here is less than 500 kilograms per month, and the output of short swords and armor does not compare to the weapon workshops in the Latium Region," it still far exceeded Maximus’s expectations.
Therefore, after leaving the weapon workshop, Maximus could no longer suppress the joy that filled his face.
He rode a horse to a higher ground, overlooking the smoky, noisy blackened lowland, and said with a serious expression: "Capito, you must focus on this weapon workshop, ensure its normal operation at all costs, allowing it to continuously produce weapons and equipment! Our team is expanding rapidly, with many new recruits. In the future, when the Romans come, we can’t let them fight with wooden sticks."
"That won’t be easy." Capito, not one to nod approvingly without thought, voiced his objection directly: "Two crucial raw materials for iron smelting—iron ore and charcoal, are already scarce in the workshop’s warehouse, with not much captured in the whole city. I’ve estimated that, with the current surplus of iron ore and charcoal, the weapon workshop can run for at most a month, equipping about 300 new soldiers with a full set of arms..."
Maximus, caught up in his excitement, hadn’t considered this aspect, and upon hearing this, he was dumbstruck and frowned: "I know the iron ore used here is purchased from the Noric. Besides Noricum, can we get iron ore from other places?"
Capito shook his head: "I inquired, there isn’t any."
Maximus, lacking any assumptions, rubbed his chin and thought: "I’ll have Pigeris find a way to contact the Noric, and if we can reach them, purchase iron ore at a high price. I think they shouldn’t refuse... However, it takes time, and what we lack most now is time. Another way is to deploy troops to confiscate various iron tools while conquering surrounding areas, then bring them here to be melted down—"
"That method is feasible and also saves time," Capito agreed.
"Where did the charcoal used here come from before?" Maximus asked.
"There are charcoal workshops just outside the north city of Sarabia, and there are two of them. They not only supply here but also provide for pottery and brick making, with most of the labor being slaves, all under our warehouse’s control. However, the wood used to make charcoal comes from the Galgano Peninsula not far to the north. We’re currently sending troops to conquer areas around the large lake to the north, and by then we can demand wood from towns near the mountains, such as Sipotum..."