Chapter 133 The previous chapter is!
At the door of the workshop, there is a mottled wooden sign with the words "XX Workshop" written on it. The handwriting is blurred.
Before entering the workshop, Horn could smell the strong scent of lime and stone filling the air.
Go up the stone steps and push open the obtuse-angled wooden door inlaid with iron. A large courtyard is hidden behind the grapevines.
The masons were busy in the bright morning light. They wore aprons stained with dust and dirt, their faces were covered with dust, and their hands were stained with mud.
Several mason apprentices were sitting at the table, building a miniature church using sticks and lime mud.
In the center of the workshop is a pedal-type stone grinding machine. Two hard workers stepped on the pedals and let a stout mason apprentice grind the stones into building components.
"Mr. Custi." The mason who seemed to be an agent came over. "The master told me that if you come, just say that he is not here."
"Ahem Cough..." Custi coughed twice, "Okay, let the four mason apprentices come over."
Custi showed an apologetic smile to Horn: "Although it is. Apprentices, I can guarantee that each of them is at the standard level, but they just lack experience.”
Under the clapping of the agent, four mason apprentices gathered around and looked at Horn with curiosity and expectation.
With this expression, Horn knew that Casti and the master mason probably hadn't told the apprentices where they were going.
Otherwise, how could it be such an expectant expression?
Horn didn't talk nonsense. He had understood the mason's system before and gave them two test questions neatly.
The first step is to calculate the facade of the entire building based on the plane of the architectural drawings. This is the basic skill of masons.
The masons of the empire did not design through mechanical deductions, but through patterns, components and proportional formulas accumulated through countless experiences.
So normally, as long as the floor plan is given, they can calculate the approximate elevation, material consumption and labor hours along the way.
But if I ask them, can they widen the corridor? They can only answer: No.
The second step is Horn's private work, "What weight and quantity must the wedge-shaped archstones in the vault have to ensure its structural stability?"
Maybe a similar one will emerge. What about someone as smart as Sisi?
After getting these two test questions, the mason apprentices started working on the questions one after another.
The sun was getting higher, and Horn and Casti waited for nothing to happen, so they just started chatting.
“Are the first batch of refugees cleaning up the river in place?”
“They arrived before dawn this morning.” Casti took out the wine bottle from his pocket and took a sip. Sweet wine, "Your methods are impressive to me, Your Excellency."
"I can only manage ten thousand people, but you have to manage fifty thousand people."
"No, no, no, I'm just a humble city official. I only did a small job." Casti sat on the stone table. "Most of the time, this Castle of Joan of Arc can operate on its own."
< br>Horn skipped this topic and continued to ask: "Are the money for cleaning up the river provided by the merchants?"
"Yes, the river is blocked and can only be accessed by small boats. Some merchants need quick turnaround. , their willingness to pay is much stronger than usual."
"How could they pay so quickly without you, Casti?"
"Hahahaha, you are joking. , you are..."
While the two were constantly exchanging business blows, the four apprentices completed Horn's test questions one after another.
Unfortunately, in this round of interviews, Horn did not meet a talent similar to Sisi.
They all did well on the first question, but the second question was mixed.
Some people have even proposed using rice juice to glue the wedge-shaped stone components together.
Selecting the most reliable one, a mason apprentice named Rogier, Horn nodded at his test questions: "Just him!"
The other three apprentice masons left dejectedly, while the agent went to prepare the deed.
At this time, an official mason ran out from the small building on the side. He picked up the test paper and looked at it carefully.
After looking at it for a long time, he frowned and said, "It's impossible to calculate it directly on paper, right?"
According to his understanding, this must be done using sticks and stones. The best way to build small arches is to try them one by one in proportion.
“How can this distinguish the quality of masonry skills?” I don’t know which mason apprentice muttered, “It’s too arbitrary and not fair at all.”
The mason handed the test questions to several other masons, who started running in and out of the small building.
After a while, the agent's face showed a confused look. He silently approached: "Master Casti, can you ask your guest to write down the answer? Otherwise, Master Bosch may have to use your Insulting and teasing him and refusing...you know his character..."
Casty looked at Horn in embarrassment.
Horn didn't say anything. He took out a piece of paper and drew a wedge-shaped stone arch.
Drawing a point on the geometric center of the wedge-shaped stone member, Horn used a ruler to combine the third equal unidirectional stress on the diagonal and synthesized the two stresses acting together on the adjacent sides of the parallelogram. . At the end, he listed the calculation formula. Since he did not know the specific data, he did not calculate, but handed the drawing to the masons.
After the drawings circulated in the hands of the masons, they were passed into the small building next to them, and then there was no sound.
"Bring the contract over quickly." Casti was afraid of a long night and hurriedly asked the agent to make a quick decision.
Bring the parchment contract over and the agent spread it on the table.
“The weekly salary of a stonemason apprentice is 5 dinars for ten years.
If during this period, the apprentice mason independently designs and completes a building recognized by the mason's guild, he or she can be promoted to a master mason.
At that time, you need a salary increase, but you cannot give a salary higher than 20 dinars per week. This is a serious violation of the guild regulations, do you understand? "
Before signing the contract of the Masons' Guild, you must inform the other party of these things in advance. If you do not comply with the requirements, the guild can even annul the contract.
"Understood. ”
The somewhat dull mason apprentice, Horn, and the workshop agent each signed their names on this tripartite agreement.
Casti, acting as notary, also stamped and signed the document.
Leaving the workshop filled with the smell of lime, we came to the street.
Horn took out his notes and wrote Rogier's name behind the mason.
Then only engineers are left.
Looking up at the sky, based on the current height of the sun, it is estimated that it is only about nine or ten o'clock.
"It's hard to come to Castle Joan of Arc. Do you want to walk around?" Casti asked with a smile.
"Then let's take a stroll, just in time to have lunch."
Joan of Arc is a relatively large city in the Thousand Valleys, and it is not something that a country pig like Horn can see. of.
From now on, we will go to Black Snake Bay. Black Snake Bay has been fighting monsters, demon hunters, churches, and mercenaries for many years, and it has become even more deserted.
This period of time was a rare opportunity, and Horn used it to open his eyes.
Walking along the canals and streets, you will see the rippling blue canal on the left and the wooden frame houses of varying heights on the right.
Although it is a town, Castle Joan is not wealthy enough to lay brick and stone floors on a large scale.
Only the two cross-shaped Duke Streets have brick paved floors.
Except for the port and the small dock, there is still mud underfoot, and there is only a boardwalk wide for one person.
The ditches on the roadside are filled with colorful wastewater, dyeing the edges of the canals gray-white.
There are still weeds and shrubs growing between the houses, the men wear leather aprons and their fingernails are filled with paint, and the women feed their babies in the streets without scruples.
In the mud, you can see the gallows from time to time.
There were rotting corpses hanging on them, and a few crows sat on their shoulders, pecking at the shreds of flesh on their bodies.
“This is basically a gathering area for civilians and craftsmen.” Casti seemed to be used to the atmosphere here. “If you feel uncomfortable, I can take you to a tavern in the wealthy area. It's so beautiful, every house is painted white, and there are neatly arranged plane trees..."
"Okay, will you go by carriage?"
Under the leadership of Casti, Horn and others returned from a long way, and the carriage was parked at the original intersection.
But there was a man dressed as a servant beside the carriage, rubbing his hands and walking back and forth anxiously.
"Why are you here looking for me?" That was obviously Casti's domestic servant, he asked bluntly.
“Master, another boat hit the river.”
“Didn’t you ask someone to use a boat to stop them? Can’t you read the big words? What stupid pig is that?”
When he heard that the part of the river that had just been cleared had collided again, Casty was so angry that stars appeared in his eyes.
"...Sir, it's the Duke. The Duke was on the deck at the time and slipped and fell into the river... He was rescued just now. Fortunately, he didn't... Master, Master, what's wrong with you?"< br>
After being woken up by Horn pinching his chin, Casti jumped up from the ground.
He didn't care about anything, took a horse and ran towards the distance.
(End of this chapter)