Herald of Steel

Alexander kept the slight annoyance about the quality of the paper to himself, in addition to the sigh that come with the knowledge that the plant was already working to its maximum capacity by now.

Thus it meant that any further improvement in speed and productivity would need the introduction of machines and mechanization, and hence he once again wished, "Oh, how I wish I could start the industrial revolution right now."

But Alexander knew he was being greedy, for it had not been even two months that he had taken over a city that was still stuck in the bronze age, and so he soothed himself by telling himself to be patient and that changes required time.

With such thoughts Alexander bought himself back to the present, and then looking at Azijak, he remembered something this man had proposed before, and thus asked, "Azijak, I remember you saying something about using a kind of tree sap to prevent the wet paper sheets from sticking to each other. How is that going?"

"Oh, it has worked marvelously my lord. Please let me show you," Azijak then gestured to Alexander to follow him to another room, which he introduced as they entered it, "My lord, this is the drying room."

Alexander set foot inside the large wooden structure to find that this new room was plastered with wet sheets of paper all over the walls, as the workers there were even using ladders to reach the higher parts of the structure.

He observed these men would place one sheet of paper on the wall, the dampness of it helping it stick to the wall, then apply a coat of the tree sap that Azijak had mentioned, before placing another sheet of paper over it, thus repeating the process.

"My lord, this sap helps not only prevent sticking, allowing the paper to be easily removed once dried, it also helps give the paper surface a much better finish," Azijak informed Alexander as they watched the workers work.

These sheets would stay on the wall for a week as they dried, after which they would be taken to the bookbinding shops or be used straight away as loose paper.

"Mmmm," Alexander nodded as a sign of his acknowledgment to Azijak's commentary, as he took in the damp, thick, papery smell of the place, being there for some time to observe how the team of workers worked like busy bees to cover the walls with one hundred thousand (100,000) new sheets of paper every day, while at the same time taking down the same amount of dried ones.

"How many such sheds do you have?" Alexander then asked, making this inquiry after doing some maths.

Alexander calculated that as according to Azijak it took about a week for the paper sheets to be ready, hence he had to have the ability to hold seven hundred thousand (700,000) sheets of paper at any one time.

And with each of them weighing 25 to 30 grams, this equated to around twenty tons (20 tons) of pulp plastered on the walls.

And that was just the dried amount.

The wet paper would likely weigh twice or even thrice that amount, which came to around fifty tons (50 tons).

There was no way one shed could hold that much paper.

"We have thirteen such sheds my lord," Azijak replied, adding, "At first we had wanted to dry them in the open. But we found that the morning dew forms on them, And in the summer, there will always be the issue of rain. So, we built these sheds."

"Mmmm, you did the right thing," Alexander approved.

He had not ordered any of these, letting Azijak handle the expansion of the paper plant as he wished to test him.

And to Alexander's delight, the man had up until now passed it with flying colors.

"I have also seen that you successfully made the scissors. I'm glad," Alexander afterward applauded, remembering seeing the women in one of the sheds using them.

To this Azijak humbly replied, "No, no, my lord, I only followed your instructions." further adding, "It is only thanks to the lord inventing such high-quality, cheap steel that the blacksmiths were able to rapidly process so much steel into pairs of blades. They said it was like hammering through butter."

Alexander was sure Azijak was exaggerating the last claim about his steel being as easy to mold as butter.

But he nevertheless gave the man a soft smile.

Encouraged by this gesture, Azijak further went on to say, "The scissors have helped us a lot, my lord. It's much faster and easier to use, and even less noisy. Truly a revolutionary invention," He flattered Alexander.

"That's good," Alexander nonchalantly replied to this puffery, and as he quickly moved on to another topic, "Azijak, have you taken the necessary fire precautions as I requested?"

"Oh yes my lord," Came the affirmative reply with a vigorous nod, followed by an eager. "Please let me show you."

And thus the group exited the paper drying room and was taken to a nearby large well, around which were several huge wooden drums filled with water.

"As you instructed lord pasha, we always keep a large amount of water at hand. So that in the event of an emergency, we will be able to quickly put the water onto the carts and get wherever necessary." Azijak showed.

Horse-driven carts all around the workshop, bringing in and taking out various things all the time, so they were readily available, which was why Alexander did not bother to dedicate a horse just for firefighting.

There was already a severe shortage of draft animals in Zanzan, as animal-pulled carts were used to transport all kinds of materials every day, from hundreds of tons of bricks, cement, coals, etc. And so letting a horse just stand idle and eat oats and grass in the hopes that one day it might come in useful was the epitome of wastage in Alexander's eye.

No, a far better usage would be to employ the horses around the vicinity of the workshop doing work, which would be rapidly transformed to carry water in the event of an emergency.

"That is good," Alexander was glad to see that Azijak had heeded his advice, as in this time period, most neglected to practice fire safety procedures.

Thus he reminded the man again out of caution, "Azijak, remember that every day might be a normal day where nothing happens. But it takes only one day and a single fire, to burn everything here to ash. So always be very careful of even a tiny spark."

"Yes, my lord. I will keep my eyes open," Azijak seriously replied in a steely tone.

Alexander gave a short hum at this, and then further informed the paper maker, "Also, once the bricks and cement become more available, I will replace the wooden sheds with fully concrete sheds. That will not only make the structure fireproof but also much more durable."

Alexander had decided this because fire was not his only worry.

Storms such as typhoons and hurricanes, blizzards and snowstorms, and even earthquakes were all possible natural disasters that could greet the workshop, not to mention being near the coast additionally exposed oneself to tsunamis.

"Well let me thank you, my lord, in advance. We very much look forward to it," Azijak was very enthusiastic about this proposal.

This was because being able to work in a 'stone building' was certainly a dream come true for many, as in their minds, it signified something similar to working in a lord's mansion.

"Then Azijak, for your last task of the day, could you lead me to see the workers' homes? I want to see their living conditions," Alexander made this final request by raising his palms as he gestured to the paper-maker to lead.

He made such an inquiry because Alexander had ordered Azijak to make sure that his workers were given good, sanitary, conditions to live in.

And so wanted to confirm this.

Though it had to be said that Alexander had not done this out of a bleeding heart but to make sure these precious resources did not die prematurely,

The last thing that he wanted to see was another plague outbreak caused by squalid working conditions.

"Right this way then, my lord," Azijak thus led Alexander to the very edge of the penned enclosure, where rows upon rows of communal houses were constructed, much like the ones seen around the mines.

The groundwater around these parts was relatively near the surface, so there was no need to divert water through aqueducts.

Instead dug wells were dug that let one enjoy clean, clear, pristine water straight from the source, as well as letting them use it for cooking, cleaning and even boiling the pulp in.

Speaking of cleaning, Alexander was pleased to see at certain points were small clusters of restrooms dotted around the site, meaning all the filth was dropped underground.

'So that's why the air smell so nice,' Alexander happily remarked, glad that his nose did not sting with that spicy odor that he would occasionally get.

With this last inspection, Alexander felt he had inspected all the necessary parts of the workshop, and finding almost everything around the workshop to his liking, he praised Azijak,

"Good. I'm overall very pleased with this paper shop. You did an excellent job,"

And this managed to get a wide grin and an internal sigh of relief from the man glad to have passed the test.

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