Otto was not surprised. It was normal for Mrs. Kelin not to pay attention to the Austrian region. At this time, Austria was not an independent principality, but just a representative name for a region.
As a border area of the East Frankish Kingdom, the Austrian region was neither peaceful nor prosperous. No one would have thought that this area would become the absolute core of Germany in the past thousand years.
Otto nodded, with a polite smile on his face, and saluted Mrs. Karin.
"Thank you, Mrs. Kelly, for worrying about my marriage. Oh, by the way, I also prepared a small gift for Mrs. Kelly, porcelain and silk from the East. I hope Mrs. Kelly will like it.
Thank you for your hard work, Mrs. Kelly, I will go see my father first."
Count Aargau was still the same, lying quietly on the bed, motionless.
After Otto stayed in the bedroom for a while, he sighed, shook his head, and left. From beginning to end, he didn't say a word.
After instructing his servants to take good care of Count Allgäu, Otto left the old castle and went to find the craftsman Andrew.
It is almost impossible for Count Aargau to wake up. As for whether he is alive or not, it has not much impact on Otto now. During this period of time in power, he has cultivated his own power, enough to control Aargau.
High collar.
Anyway, he is still young. Compared with time, how could he not be better than Count Aargau? Rather than resorting to some small tricks with extremely low returns, it is better to let Count Aargau continue to live. Firstly, he does not need to be too public, and secondly, he is filial.
Personality is also more conducive to building good relationships with other people.
Otto arrived at Andrew's residence with ease and saw Andrew scratching his head at a crossbow.
"How's the progress? Is it still not done yet?"
Otto's voice startled Andrew. When he turned around and realized it was Otto, he quickly saluted.
"Stop messing with these useless things. Where's the crossbow I want? How long has it been here? Why haven't you gotten it for me yet?"
Otto's tone was full of blame.
It wasn't that he was impatient, it was just that he had waited too long.
When the construction of Eagle Fort had just begun, he asked Andrew to build a crossbow. It seemed that Eagle Fort would be completed within the year, but the crossbow was still missing.
Andrew did take out several modified crossbows, but there was no way to break through the knight's heavy armor at a distance of a hundred steps. The actual combat value can only be said to be better than nothing.
With such a crossbow, Otto held his nose and asked the territorial army to equip it, in order to express his support for Andrew and increase the long-range output of the army.
Unexpectedly, Otto's support and trust still failed to obtain the desired results. The crossbow, the envisioned weapon against the knights, still failed to appear in Andrew's hands.
"Master Otto, don't worry." Faced with Otto's anger, Andrew was a little embarrassed when he spoke. "I...I have already built the kind of crossbow you mentioned, but there are still some
Not very stable.”
"It's been such a long time and you haven't built...what? Come and show me!" Otto originally wanted to curse, but when he heard that Andrew had already built a crossbow, he suddenly smiled.
Andrew quickly took out a huge crossbow. Judging from the shape, it was not much different from the crossbow that Otto knew well in his mind.
Otto waved his hand, and Gent on the side took the crossbow and started testing.
The results of the test made Claire very satisfied. At a distance of a hundred steps, the arrow could already penetrate the armor commonly equipped by knights.
This means that the crossbow with practical value is officially launched. I wonder if the nobles and the church will once again boycott the crossbow after seeing the power of the crossbow.
"By the way, you just said, what's wrong with this crossbow?" Otto looked at Andrew who was standing aside, with a harmless smile on his face again, and asked softly.
Although Otto's tone was much softer and there was a smile on his face, it was obvious that Andrew had not recovered from Otto's anger just now and was still a little timid.
"Back to Master Otto. The stability of this crossbow is not good. It needs to be repaired after firing more than a dozen times. I also figured out what the problem is. Also, the arrowhead of this crossbow is also specially made. I found it.
The blacksmith next door made it."
Special arrows and stability? This is not a big problem. As long as the prototype appears, subsequent improvements will be much simpler.
Even if it is not improved, this version of the crossbow is enough. A dozen shots are actually redundant on the battlefield. Let’s not talk about the reloading time when the infantry faces the cavalry. Let’s just say that based on the army of this period,
After firing ten waves of powerful crossbows, how many troops can still maintain combat effectiveness?
Otto snapped his fingers and gave the order.
"Okay, this is all a small problem. Come on, Gent, go to the castle and ask a few people to help our craftsman Andrew move. By the way, bring me the blacksmith next door to him."
Hearing Otto's words, Andrew became anxious instantly.
"Master, Master Otto, didn't you promise me that I wouldn't have to move? Why, why do I have to move again now?"
When Otto left the old castle for Chateau Lafite, he originally wanted to take Andrew with him, but Andrew was unwilling to leave his home, saying that he was familiar with him and had feelings for him.
Otto thought of the quirks of various inventors and scientists, and expressed his understanding. In order not to interfere with Andrew's inventions, he kept him at his home near the old castle, and specially left two guards to protect him.
But now, the situation is different. Now that the prototype of the crossbow is available, there is no need for any unbridled creativity. Many outstanding craftsmen in the territory are concentrated near Eagle Fort, allowing them to participate in improving the crossbow, which is definitely better than Andrew
Fighting alone comes faster.
"I have given you such a long time, but you haven't completely finished building the crossbow. I continue to let you stay here to improve it. Only the gods know when I will see the complete crossbow.
Let's do this, you don't have to move out if you want to stay here, then I won't hire you from now on, you can think about it yourself."
"I..." Andrew hesitated for a moment. Although he did live here and developed a relationship, the treatment offered by Otto was so good. Thinking of the white bread and meat he can eat every day, thinking of being able to receive
He felt that it was not that difficult to decide on the salary.
"Have you considered it?" Otto looked at Andrew with a smile. He believed that Andrew would make a wise choice.
"By the gods, I am willing to follow Master Otto's footsteps." Facing the real interests, the feelings and persistence in Andrew's heart became worthless.
Otto was very satisfied, and that was right.
With the crossbow, in the turbulent times that follow, the success rate of fishing in troubled waters will be greatly improved.
I hope Lothair II, the king of Lotharingia, can survive for a few more months and die suddenly at least until the end of the year.