Chapter 435: Snake In A Green Grass

Simon and Alonso rode along Brambleford’s smooth cement roads toward the city’s industrial district.

Along the way, the Dutch ambassador attracted countless curious stares. Some pedestrians stopped to watch him pass, while others whispered among themselves, clearly fascinated by his unfamiliar appearance.

Alonso tried to ignore them, but the constant attention only deepened his irritation.

He had come to negotiate with Prince Simon, not to become a spectacle for the local population.

Unfortunately, the streets of Brambleford offered him little opportunity to escape the curious gazes.

Before long, Simon led him into the industrial district.

The area was bustling with activity. Craftsmen were constructing new workshops, while workers transported building materials between half-finished structures. Large piles of cement, sand, and gravel lay beside the construction sites, ready to be mixed and used.

As soon as the craftsmen noticed Simon’s arrival, they stopped their work and respectfully stepped aside.

Simon dismounted and walked toward a pile of cement.

"Ambassador Alonso, this is cement."

He picked up a handful of the fine, gray powder and let some of it trickle between his fingers.

"Once mixed with water, sand, and gravel, it forms concrete. After several days of hardening, the mixture becomes strong enough to support the weight of carts, horses, and heavy equipment. The roads you traveled on earlier were constructed using this material."

Alonso stared at the powder in Simon’s hand.

It looked almost like flour.

He struggled to understand how something so ordinary could produce roads harder and more durable than anything he had encountered in Brambleford’s neighboring territories.

"You’re telling me that this powder is what makes those roads so hard?"

"Precisely."

Simon smiled at his astonishment.

"Never underestimate something simply because it looks ordinary. Don’t assume that Europeans are the only people capable of developing remarkable materials."

With that, Simon walked toward the nearby mixing area.

Several craftsmen were combining cement, sand, gravel, and water to produce concrete. Nearby, hardened samples from previous batches had been set aside for testing.

Simon picked up a few small pieces and handed them to Alonso.

"These samples haven’t completely hardened yet. Try squeezing one."

Alonso accepted a piece and examined it carefully.

At first, he thought Simon was exaggerating. The material had already begun to harden, but it was still relatively weak.

He tightened his fingers around it.

With considerable effort, the small lump eventually crumbled into powder.

Simon nodded.

"That’s expected. The mixture requires more time to develop its full strength. Once properly hardened, however, it becomes considerably more durable. Ordinary knives and swords won’t easily cut through a solid piece of concrete."

Alonso stared at the remaining fragments in his palm.

His expression changed.

Until now, he had regarded the Eldorian Empire as a backward civilization.

Although Simon possessed flintlock firearms and cannons, Alonso had assumed these were merely copies of European inventions. In his mind, Brambleford’s military strength was impressive but not fundamentally different from what Europe could already produce.

He had been wrong.

The cement alone was enough to challenge his assumptions.

Europe possessed no comparable system of large-scale cement construction in this era. Yet Brambleford was already using the material to pave roads and construct buildings.

And this was only one aspect of the city.

Alonso suddenly understood why Earl Grey had been unable to force Simon into submission.

The prince was not simply relying on a few advanced weapons. He was building an entirely different industrial foundation.

For the first time since arriving in Brambleford, the Dutch ambassador felt genuinely uncertain about the future.

Simon noticed the change in his expression but said nothing.

He knew Alonso had come hoping to learn more about Brambleford’s capabilities. Cement had given him a glimpse of the city’s technological advantages, but Simon intended to show him something far more persuasive.

"Ambassador Alonso, the industrial district is only one part of Brambleford. There are several other places worth visiting."

Alonso hesitated briefly before nodding.

"Then I would appreciate the opportunity to see them, Your Royal Highness."

Simon smiled.

"Very well. Let us continue."

***

Their next destination was Brambleford’s military camp.

The moment they entered the grounds, the atmosphere changed.

Soldiers marched in orderly formations, their commands echoing across the training field. Others practiced coordinated firing drills with their flintlock guns, while separate groups trained in close combat and field maneuvers.

Weapons were maintained according to strict procedures, and officers constantly monitored their soldiers’ performance.

Everything was organized and disciplined.

And everything showed that Brambleford’s military was far more than a collection of men carrying firearms.

Alonso’s expression grew increasingly serious.

He had expected to see soldiers equipped with flintlock guns. What he had not expected was the scale of their training or the degree of coordination displayed by the troops.

The soldiers moved with confidence, their formations changing rapidly in response to their officers’ commands.

There was little wasted movement.

No confusion or apparent hesitation.

As Simon led him farther into the camp, Alonso noticed Lancelot and several other officers supervising their troops.

The moment the officers spotted the prince, they saluted respectfully before returning to their duties.

Their soldiers continued training without interruption.

If anything, the intensity of the exercises seemed to increase.

Alonso could not help feeling that the soldiers were deliberately demonstrating their capabilities for his benefit.

Perhaps they were.

Simon, however, behaved as though nothing unusual was happening.

"This is one of our regular training grounds," he explained. "We place considerable importance on discipline, coordination, and the proper use of equipment. Weapons alone cannot guarantee victory. Soldiers must also know how to use them effectively."

Alonso nodded, concealing his unease.

He understood the principle perfectly well.

The problem was that Brambleford appeared to have applied it with remarkable success.

A well-equipped army was dangerous.

A well-equipped army whose soldiers were trained systematically and obeyed orders efficiently was considerably more dangerous.

The Dutch had experience fighting overseas, and their military had secured numerous victories through superior weapons, naval power, and disciplined troops.

But what if their opponents possessed the same advantages?

What if Brambleford’s soldiers were not only equipped with modern firearms but also trained to fight in coordinated formations?

Alonso did not want to consider the consequences.

Yet the more he observed, the harder it became to ignore them.

After leaving the military camp, Simon brought Alonso to the machinery department.

This was one of Brambleford’s most important industrial facilities, responsible for producing and maintaining equipment that supported the city’s military and civilian industries.

The ambassador was shown several workshops, where craftsmen worked on metal components, machinery parts, and equipment used in manufacturing.

He also received a brief tour of the military production facilities.

There, he saw workers engaged in the production and assembly of weapons and other military equipment.

Simon did not reveal every secret.

He merely allowed Alonso to observe enough to understand that Brambleford’s military strength rested on more than the weapons already deployed in the field.

Behind those weapons stood workshops, trained craftsmen, production processes, and an industrial system capable of supplying the army.

The distinction was crucial.

A country might acquire a few advanced cannons through trade or capture. Maintaining such weapons was another matter entirely.

Producing them in large numbers was harder still.

Brambleford, however, was steadily developing the ability to manufacture its own equipment. By the time the tour ended, Alonso looked like a defeated rooster.

His original confidence had all but disappeared.

He had entered Brambleford expecting to negotiate with a powerful regional ruler.

Instead, he had discovered a city whose technological development challenged everything he thought he knew about the Eldorian Empire.

Cement roads, Disciplined soldiers, Military workshops, and Industrial production.

Each discovery had weakened his confidence a little more. And Simon had not even shown him everything.

Simon, the big snake in the green grass.