The most pressing problem I faced as the new, first, and only Count of Cornwall, was being invaded by my neighbor, King Ine of Wessex.
The Welsh were to the north of me but they were contained by the three border Barons.
The Saxon King had previously taken three border Baronies from King Geraint. I would like to have taken them back, but I wasn't strong enough to go to war with the western Saxons.
If the western, eastern, and middle Saxons ever combined, they would take over most of England.
Only the Welsh and the Scots could remain independent. And King Alfred the Great would do that in a little over a hundred years.
Nothing against the great King, but his battles against the Angles allowed the Welsh to take over Cornwall, which wasn't pretty.
None of our Keeps in the area could repulse the Saxons from further encroachment. I had to invade the new Wessex possessions to take them back or build Keeps to create a new border.
It wouldn't be that hard to build a Keep. But what gave an area its strength was the associated villages and surrounding farms. And that was the problem. We weren’t a heavily populated County and didn’t have the people to move into the area.
My advisors and I talked in circles to figure out what to do. It was my scribe and note-taker, Thad, who found the answer.
"Excuse me, My Lords, but we have the people. "
I was slightly sarcastic when I asked him, "Where will you magically find these people? "
"The people from the Keeps stolen from us. "
That stopped me cold.
The villages and farms were occupied by the same families that had always lived there. And not enough time had passed for them to assimilate with the Saxons.
If we could pull those people back into Cornwall, the three Baronies taken wouldn't be economically viable for King Ine. He would have to invade us to get those people back.
While we weren't ready to invade them, I was confident we could repulse any attempts on their part.
"Thad, you are brilliant. I'm sorry for my previous tone. Your idea just might work. Well done. "
I hoped I hadn't introduced "brilliant" as a common saying. My English friends in the uptime had used it to death. Not that we didn't overuse "cool".
This idea brought up several questions. Would the people be willing to move? How could we spirit them away? How could we build three new Keeps without the Saxons knowing? These buildings didn't go up overnight.
As a result, two action items were developed. First, we would send scouts to the three Saxon villages to observe the conditions. They were not to make contact with the villagers.
Second, a surveying team was sent to identify the best locations to build new Keeps and villages. Luckily there was enough space between the taken Keeps and our existing Keeps to build new ones without taking too much territory from the existing Keeps.
Not only were good sites required for the Keeps, but we wanted to mirror the taken villages and farm fields as much as possible. It would be far from a perfect match, but the more it resembled the old areas, the better.
The first scout to return was from the closest Keep. It was the center of the three. She reported the people were being treated a little better than slaves.
If it were the same in the other Keeps, there would be few objections to their returning. Two days later, we knew it was the same at the other Keeps.
The land survey took several weeks longer, but they came up with three sites that fit our criteria.
We needed a source of lime and kilns to burn the lime. It would take too long and cost too much to haul the lime from Owen-nap. Fortunately, it was in abundance in the area.
A pit mine was developed behind our lines, And construction was started on kilns. It would take a while to bring the firebrick from Owen-nap, but it had to be done.
The lime mine was at the midpoint of the three new Keeps. Since it was a mountainous area, we would crush the rock near each Keep. Sand had to be hauled from near Tintagel. This required us to build a rough road system from Tintagel to the lime pit and to the individual Keeps.
It stretched our resources thin but had to be done. So, the master road system in Owen-nap was put on hold, and their crews moved north to work on the new road system.
Once the connections were made, the road system would be built out to the three Keeps on the Welsh border. Then, to the other nine Baronys and their villages in northern Cornwall.
The final step, would have the crews build a road from Tintagel to Bolventor on their way home. It would take at least six months to put an elementary road system in place, and two to three years for all of Cornwall to be connected.
This did not include the small farm roads like the ones in Owen-nap.
Two months into the spring, we had the infrastructure in place to start the Keeps.
Our scouts kept tabs on the Saxons on their side of the border. But the Saxons only scouted around their area.
They seemed to have no interest in Cornwall, at least this spring. They probably wouldn't invade us again this year. Allowing us to build the Keeps without their knowledge.
We got a head start on the Keeps before the infrastructure was completed. The ground was taken down to bedrock for the foundations to be poured.
The Keeps enclosures would be oversized compared to most of the Keeps of this era. They would enclose ten acres each. This would allow for all the people and their animals to be sheltered.
Multiple wells would be dug at each Keep for a continuous water supply. An extensive sewage system was included in the plans.
The former villages would fit into the new Keep when all was said and done.
There was an incredible find at the Keep closest to the Welsh border. They exposed a gold-bearing quartz vein while clearing to bedrock for the foundation,.
But my memorized books did not mention any gold being detected in the immediate vicinity.
I chalked it up to the other changes from my timeline. I was now absolutely convinced this was a different world, or whatever you wanted to call it, than the one in my lifetime.
There was no danger of changing my old world's future. I couldn't, even if I wanted to. This world was a clean slate for me to work with.
Even the quartz was different. When it was crushed, it yielded thirty ounces per ton instead of the normal half ounce per ton at most quartz mining operations.
We chose the simplest method of separating the gold from the quartz. We placed the quartz under a trip hammer and crushed it. The resulting powder was then run through a sluice box like the forty-niners used.
All the separated quartz was kept, as it still would have gold attached to it. Later, we would use chemicals to separate the two. We weren't ready for mercury or cyanide operations just yet.
You could tell the gold was true Welsh gold, even though we found it in Cornwall. It had that distinctive reddish cast that made it unique.
The find made us enlarge the Keep, so the mining operation was inside the Fort.
Once the foundations were poured, we started on the walls. There would be two walls, fourteen feet apart.
The space in between would be filled with dirt and rubble. There would be a road laid on top of the earthen wall so troops could move easily around the Keep.
Shelters would be built along the road for the guards, and arrow slots in the outside concrete wall, which was six feet taller than the road. Allowing our people to fire from the walls without exposing themselves.
The entire operation was sped up by our new blasting powder. I had Tom Smith working on a small cannon to be used from the Keep's walls. I didn't think they would be done in time, but we would need them eventually.
These cannons were anti-personnel, designed to fire metal scrap at charging soldiers.
It was closing in on winter before the walls were complete. So, we built a longhouse to shelter the workers and a small latrine system with a bathhouse and kitchens. Now, we needed to expand it all to take the villagers and farmers from the old Keeps.
I wanted to install semaphore stations, especially between the new Keeps. We didn't have enough time or people to make it happen. My advisors pointed out the stations would be vulnerable to attack. Spoilsports.
Instead, we resorted to something that, while not as modern, was more fun. I was a fan of all of J. R. Tolkien's books, so we did what he did. Signal fires would be lit from the highest hills, lighting the countryside.
Stationed about eight miles apart on high hills, they would be seen from one to another. Permanently manned, with a stack of wood ready to light. There would be a framework of branches about five feet above the logs to keep the fuel dry. It also was intended to catch fire and, since it would be wet, give off smoke.
To ensure we had a wet roof, a water tower was built. The chain of signal towers extended from Keep to Keep.
When the signals reached Tintagel, the news would travel by semaphore. If I were in Saltash, I would know within three hours of the first fire being lit. I wanted a test of the system, but my advisors convinced me it wasn't needed. Wood burns.
I liked blowing up bridges better than building them. Big bangs were good. Eleanor told me I was worse than most kids. But whenever there was blasting to be done near us, she was always on site.
As the Keeps were completed, their granaries were filled to the brim. We didn't sell any wheat to foreign ports this year. I bought it all.
Taking all our gold and silver from London was great. But I was pouring through it like there was no tomorrow.
We did our first minting of gold coins. They were in the same denominations as the silver coins, but were worth twenty times more. Once again, they didn't reach general circulation. As soon as people got them, they kept them, spending the old coins instead.
It was now coming on winter in the second year of my taking over Cornwall. It had been a good year for us. The crops came in well.
Our trading ventures in Armorica were profitable. Tom was making progress on the small cannons. At least none of his last batches had blown up yet.
Jude Glassman had a better grade of black powder, but still not good enough for muskets.
The best news of all was that Eleanor was pregnant again.
Little Catherine was in fine health and talking up a storm. I could almost understand her. She had started walking and was running everyone ragged. I threatened to get her a puppy to play with but got shouted down by all the females around my wife.
Baron Pensilva had married Joan, and they had a bouncing baby boy. I don't know where the term bouncing baby came from, but it was used here.
The new Keeps were finally ready for us to bring the people out of Wessex and back to their new homes.
The hardest item on Cathy’s list was the spelling words. She came to us asking if she could take ten spelling tests, ten words at a time. We negotiated to fifteen words, five of them repeated from earlier tests.
Discrete questioning of the staff outed the Archbishop. He was helping her learn the words! It was easier for him to work with ten words at a time.
Our army had increased to two thousand men. The only way we could afford it was the new gold mine. Our minted coins were working their way to the rest of the world through Armorica. That would be an issue one of these days.
The Welsh gold would be recognized for its reddish hue, and people would come searching.
One project was proving to be a success was the breakwater. Stones had been hauled and dumped on the old breakwater for over a year. While a road couldn't be built on it yet, it was performing its primary function in making Tintagel a safe harbor.
That left the rest of Cornwall thinly guarded, but we only had to worry about port cities. The inland districts and Baronies were all at peace. Our improvements made believers in all the Barons.
We also had a surprise for any invading forces. Thomas Smith had made a working cannon. He had tested them enough that we had faith they wouldn't blow up if fired.
When Tom, Jude Glassman, the powder man, and I gave our first demonstration to an audience of Barons, district commanders, advisors, and religious leaders. We used a live flock of old sheep destined for the slaughterhouse.
But there wasn’t enough left to send to the butcher. The sound of one cannon being shot with a cloud of smoke was enough to make everyone cross themselves.
I made certain Archbishop Luke and Senior Priest Timothy had seen how the powder was made every step of the way. They saw it burn when it wasn't contained and what would happen if contained.
That didn't mean they liked it, but they understood it.
The first soldiers to be on the receiving end would be in for the shock of their lives. If they lived through it.
But these were to be a last-ditch reserve. We wanted to keep them secret as long as possible.