From the moment I arrived in the body of Pyrrhus of Epirus, I had begun planning. A few inventions would need to be introduced immediately to be of any use when the time came to go to Italy. The stirrup, the blast furnace, the horse collar, and the heavy plow. The first would allow my cavalry to outfight any opponent, the second would equip my men with high-quality equipment, and the third and fourth would increase crop yields in the stubborn soil of Epirus, which would, in turn, lead to population growth. Of these, the last two had to be done the soonest to get the most benefit. At most I had 15 years before Rome decides that Magna Graecia looks like a tempting conquest. It would take about that much time for a generation to grow into productive members of Classical Society and allow for an increase in military recruitment.
Accordingly, my first step was to send for leatherworkers, carpenters, smiths, and masons. By the second day of my new life as Pyrrhus, I had several of Ambracia's best craftsmen attend me in a small antechamber off the main hall of the Palace. The main hall was decorated in a lavish way that I honestly didn't care for. It was all bright colors and gilded marble, meant to impress the power of Epirus onto people. I think I would have preferred a fortress if I'm being honest.
Instead of being received by the entire court in the glory and splendor of the main hall of the palace, these craftsmen had to settle for being received by just myself, a few scribes and guards, along with a stack of papyrus, each with designs and notes written on them, pieced together from historical accounts and research done in my old life. It was the best I could do with what I currently had, and if anyone could feasibly turn my notes and designs into proper pieces of technology, it would be a master craftsman.
The first of these masters entered the antechamber. A man in simple clothing dyed in dark olive green. His head was bald and he had a gray beard, though his hands were steady, as a craftsman's needed to be.
"What can I do for you, Majesty?" Asked Pausanias, the seniormost master leatherworker in Ambracia.
"You specifically, Pausanias could be of great help to me, and the State, by taking a look at this design." I replied, handing over a sketch done on papyrus. In my old life, I hadn't been the greatest at drawing, but Pyrrhus had a far steadier hand than I had previously.
Pausanias paused to survey the diagram sketched out on the papyrus. "If I might ask, Majesty, what is this harness meant to be?" He asked.
"A collar, for a horse. Something that will help a horse pull a plow of my own design, which will break up the soil and dispose of stones hidden beneath the dirt better than anything we currently have. My calculation is that if we used our current harnesses, the amount of force required to pull the plow would put too much pressure on the horse's windpipe and kill it." I replied.
"And this collar is supposed to distribute the weight more evenly?" Asked Pausanias.
"Just so." I replied.
"I must say, Majesty this all seems somewhat far-fetched, but if you command, then I will make this collar for you." Sighed Pausanias, skeptically.
"Even if I am wrong, you will still get paid." I replied.
"And who will I speak to for my payment?" Asked Pausanias.
I snapped my fingers and one of my scribes appeared. A young man who was apprenticed to the Keeper of the Royal Vaults. Pyrrhus' memories supplied that his name was Antiokos.
"Young Antiokos will ensure that you are paid from the treasury." I nodded at the youth of perhaps 15 years.
As Pausanias left to see about his payment, I motioned to the door guards to let the next one in. It was a younger man than Pausanias had been, with salt and pepper hair and a bushy black beard. Eumenes, the seniormost master carpenter in Ambracia was handed a similar papyrus with a design for a heavy plow on it and asked to build one for me in a similar conversation. After he left came Epimenides, the seniormost blacksmith, and Menon, the seniormost Mason. They were given papyrus detailing the Osmond Process and blast furnace respectively. They too were entreated to build me a blast furnace and work it in exchange for money. They too had doubts but still acquiesced. My last meeting with a craftsman was with Phillipos the saddlemaker. To him, I gave the papyrus detailing the stirrup and the four horn saddle, both were necessary improvements for my cavalry. Unlike the others, Phillipos knew exactly what I had just handed him, for his father had been a cavalryman under Pyrrhus' uncle, Alexander I of Epirus.
"Majesty, it looks like a rider using this saddle and these devices could control the horse with just their legs. If this works, it would revolutionize cavalry warfare." Muttered Phillipos in awe.
"Precisely why I have asked you to make them for me, Phillipos." I grinned.
"If these work, I would beg your majesty for his Patronage. I am certain you will be wishing your cavalry equipped with such things." Asked Phillipos.
"You will have to take on quite a few apprentices to furnish the entire Cavalry with them, Phillipos. Perhaps try walking before you run. Make me the designs first, we will talk after." I replied.
With that, the Saddlemaker was lead away for his own payment. The meetings had seemed to take up several hours and by the time I had finished them, the sun was well up in the sky, inching towards noon. I would take a light meal and then I would perform administrative tasks until it set. That wasn't all, I would still have to go over the tax records for this year, review the army, figure out what the state of the navy was, and figure out what the situation was between Epirus and Macedonia currently. This all before I could even do anything on those fronts.
Sometimes, it was no good to be the king. . .