Rise of Rurik

Distilled liquor, just as a very exciting drink?

Rurik was not addicted to alcohol, and knew that drinking with his current body was tantamount to suicide. He even estimated that once his clansmen experienced the feeling of being drunk after being drunk, there is a high probability that they would not be able to let go.

Those priestesses were indulging in the craft ale sold by the merchants, and they became a puddle of mud after drinking too much. If it is a man who gets strong alcohol, it is normal to drink it to death.

But, spirits, it's a good thing.

Make some quality spirits that, with their spicy and quick-to-reach hangover experience, can be a money-making treasure.

Expecting it to make a fortune, Rurik did not have great expectations in this regard.

If you can make very pure alcohol yourself, a lot of things can be changed.

It is extremely difficult to manufacture alcohol in large quantities in this time and space. The raw material for winemaking must be grains rich in sugar, and in order to make a good wine, a lot of wheat must be consumed.

raw materials? It's probably not a problem.

Rurik does not need to be responsible for the survival of the people of other tribes. As long as he has the ability to get a lot of wheat, how to control it is also his own business.

You don't even have to go into battle to brew grains yourself, in fact, you only need to buy ordinary ale with low alcohol content and get it in your own hands for finishing.

The so-called finishing is distillation, and it is enough to develop a set of distillation apparatus that can be used in this time and space to achieve the purpose of concentrating alcohol.

In the final analysis, to fulfill the promise to Gould, Rurik had to come up with a set of stills.

How is alcohol distilled?

The problem may not be difficult in theory.

For the blacksmiths, life suddenly became very promising. Everyone is busy, and the price of busyness is wealth.

A large number of looted Gotland silver coins circulated in Roseburg, and their appearance was a powerful booster and stimulant for the economic development of Roseburg.

Silver coins are accumulating to all kinds of craftsmen, which is exactly the situation faced by blacksmiths.

The blacksmiths did not participate in this year's war. As a result, they continued to earn the soldiers' money by virtue of their craftsmanship.

Let's just say Kravason, the old guy's order is already lined up for Hanukkah,

That is the winter solstice. He frequently ordered his son, with his footman Kamne, to pull a two-wheeled trolley to the mountains not far away to mine iron ore, as well as dig sand and calcium oxide.

He himself has never been idle, his hands full of hair, often sweating like rain by the fire, and the heat often bakes his arms, making them like two one-foot-long roasted lobsters.

Work, including pressing glass, has not stopped. Although making glassware is really a good trick to make money, its audience is limited. For ordinary people, metal tools and weapons are necessary, glass cups are just a luxury, and ordinary poor people do not have the financial resources to have that luxury life.

The work of pressing glass has not stopped, and a young woman has taken on this amazing job.

Lilia, the eldest lady of Novgorod White Tree Manor, she originally had the skills to spy on and learn Varyag's ironing skills, and she really knew some of the essentials of blacksmithing. But she never thought that after more than a month of frequent practice, she had become a glass craftsman. Based on a woman's delicate heart, strong patience, and curiosity about magical things, her glassware production level is still improving, and she even has a lot of her own ideas.

For example, while the glass is still hot, chisel some patterns on the soft surface.

After all, the raw materials used to make glass can be said to be everywhere, and the price at which it was sold shocked Lilia at first, but now it is all normal.

The raw materials were collected by her husband and her father-in-law. At first, she only manipulated the die-casting tools made by Rurik by herself. Later, she wore thick leather gloves and boiled molten sand and prepared pure fused silica by herself. , and adding the necessary alkali metals such as lead dioxide and calcium oxide to it.

Or because of the "Periodic Table of Elements" that Rurik placed here at the blacksmith, her world view has been completely subverted.

It was as if he had become a magician.

Is there a saying called what? If you don't study physics and chemistry, your life will be full of magic and wonder.

She asked herself, if she didn't know the so-called elements, how would she have thought that the crystal clear cups are all from the tiny yellow sand.

Although she still believes that these are "miracles of God", she is fortunate to be close to a god and obtain this magical power.

Today, the gods actually came to visit.

Rurik and his men, as usual, sweated profusely with swords and shields on the lush hillsides every fine morning. Everyone is learning to fight in the fight, studying each other's fighting routines, and also discussing what kind of shield wall is the most powerful.

Here comes Rurik, on the first day of August in the Julian calendar, with his own thoughts.

"Oh! My little master, is he here to collect your benefits today?" Seeing Rurik coming alone, Clavathon hurriedly threw his hammer and the blade back into the furnace.

Kravason then roared: "Lilia, go back and get the money."

"Good! Father." Lilia also stopped wiping the glass, and hurried back to the longhouse to get the silver that was prepared in the bag.

After a while, Lilia shoved the bag of silver into Rurik's little hand.

"Brother, look at these silver coins, there's not a lot of them." She stammered in the Norse language she worked hard to learn.

Because there is a marriage contract, and the marriage contract will hardly change, Lilia has always called Rurik "brother" now, and she is the only one who enjoys the honor of calling Rurik by his first name.

Rurik took a serious look at the girl, and there was a bit of laborer's ability under the quiet appearance. There are also glassware made by her now, and when the merchants return on a large scale, they will surely turn into huge wealth.

Rurik counted the money carefully, no more, no less, exactly one hundred and twenty. This money is the so-called contract dividend, and 10% of Kravassen's steelwork profits must go to Rurik. One hundred and twenty silver coins means that the Cravatsen family made a profit of 1,200 silver coins in the last ten days of July.

Low carbon steel products themselves are huge profits, but it is easy for many blacksmiths to make money, but also because of the inflation caused by the inflow of a large number of silver coins.

"Next, do you still want to go to those shops to collect money? My little master, please allow me to leave you here and drink some water with me." Clavason said politely.

"Drinking water? That's fine." Heavy silver was hung around his waist. Rurik found a wooden bench at random and sat down leisurely. Seeing this, Lilia hurriedly poured a fresh cup of daisy tea in a beautiful glass with patterns and handed it over.

After all, it was the end of July and the beginning of August. In the meadows under the forest near Roseburg, a lot of wildflowers were blooming, the largest of which were chrysanthemums. Year after year, it's time to collect chrysanthemums again.

Taking a sip of the chrysanthemum tea, Rurik subconsciously raised Erlang's legs.

That's right, he's a full-fledged owner at the smithy in Kravassen, a big money lord who needs to be well supported.

"Kavi and that Kamne, they went to the mountains again?" Rurik asked.

"Yes." Clavason, who was standing respectfully, said hurriedly, "I have a lot of orders, and the boards on which the contracts are written are piled up together, more than I do. Little master, it seems that you have to get more than a thousand silver coins. income.”

"Oh? Doesn't this mean that your income will exceed 10,000 silver coins again?!"

"Of course." Clavasson grinned and was happy in his heart, but suddenly he had a lot of money, and he felt that life had become a little confused. Because blacksmiths are generally not extravagant guys, everyone's fun is often to build the best iron.

Chrysanthemum tea is much better than pine needle water, and it can also improve the body's immunity.

Rurik didn't want to die at a young age because of a sudden illness, so he quickly drank his tea and expressed his wishes in the manner of an uncle.

"Klaverson, there's another big-money job now, and you have to help me."

"Oh, you're welcome." Clavason complimented.

"Nothing else. Remember the wine I mentioned? I'm going to make the best wine, more pungent than the so-called good wine those merchants sell. So much so that it burns."

"What? Burn?" Clavasson licked his ears: "My little master, what did I hear just now? The best wine? Burn? The best wine can burn?"

"Yes! It's burning." Rurik looked at the embarrassed old guy without changing his face.

"How is that possible? Wine is wine, not charcoal, so how can it be burned?"

"Do you think it's very absurd?" Rurik asked deliberately with a blank face.

"I..." Cravason thought, this Rurik is not a mortal, and it is normal to continue to create miracles, but he can't imagine the burning of ale. "Wine, that's wine! It can be quenched by water, how can it burn?"

"Of course wine can burn, but we have to take away the water in it, and the essence of the wine is the essence of the wine. Kravason, you already know that this world is made up of many elements, and one of your feet has already set foot on it. In the realm of God, do you still have to question anything?”

"I...I don't dare to lie."

The so-called "realm of the gods" is the most bluffing, and Kravason didn't dare to ask more, just asking for a way to make flammable wine.

"How to make it? It's distillation, for which I need you to make some special glassware. Don't worry, I'll help you in the next few days until we turn the existing ale into burnable water." Here Rurik Particular emphasis is placed on the word "steam".

"Like pure water, can it burn with the scent of wine? Oh, I really want to see this miracle, let's get started."

Kravason's doubts could not be dispelled until he saw the burning alcohol. He chose to take the whole family to unconditionally support Rurik's decision to accompany this seemingly child, but in fact a man of divine power.

An attempt to make distilled spirits has officially begun!

Why use glassware if it's just for making distilled spirits? Ancient stills, is there any problem with making various containers with pure wood materials? Of course there is no problem.

Bronze is used here to process very high-quality stills, which of course can be done with the current craftsmanship of Kravassen. He also has the ability to make seamless pipes made of bronze.

Rurik had already thought about the cost issue, and even more thought that he was just conducting an experiment.

The manufacture of large-scale distilled spirits is by no means a skillful expert. A group of brewers who have never seen distilled spirits can create efficient stills to rapidly mass-produce spirits.

Can the Rus produce distilled spirits on a large scale? Of course you can, even very much should.

Rus people don't drink strong alcohol, are they still called Rus people? Even Rurik has thought of the most apt name for the future spirit - vodka.

The problem now is that one must complete a zero-to-one practice through one's own theoretical knowledge, which is to first complete laboratory-grade alcohol distillation to prove that the Russ can.

In this case, the most suitable for the current needs is a series of transparent and easy-to-shape containers. It must be transparent so that the operator can actually observe the specific progress of the distillation reaction.

Bronze will not work, and ceramics will not work. Although they are all materials of choice for stills, there is nothing better than glass these days.

To make glass into stills, the Clavassons have been operating under Rurik's own direction.

If there is no professional guidance and rashly blowing glass, such a craftsman will not only be unable to blow the glass well, but the surging heat can instantly destroy the workers' lungs, causing them to die. Therefore, Rurik dare not let the blacksmith take risks. The Rus people still master the technology of die-casting glass. Even the production of large-scale glass stills is still based on the die-casting process.

A set of large-scale bronze die-casting molds were produced, and together with the associated lever system, it took Kravassen four days to make such a brand-new "glass die-casting machine".

Rurik also has some regrets about this. It is just a set of "special manual punching machines" with a simple structure. Is it really difficult to manufacture it? But the truth is more realistic. If it wasn't for Rurik's own guidance, Kravatson and Kavey would never have imagined a mechanism composed of lever combinations. In other words, there is no mechanical device in their life, because Rurik came, and there was a machine. A machine made of wood is still a machine.

At this point, the time is already August 5th, and the wine that can be burned, it still does not exist.

Rurik came again this afternoon as usual. He had already collected all the money that the blacksmith took out. This was his "steel-making dividend".

Rurik was more concerned about whether the special mission entrusted to Kravasen was finally completed than the proceeds of the money.

"It's finally finished. What do you think? Rurik." Facing the one-person-high wooden structure machine that he had put together, Klava couldn't help but sigh with emotion for his many days of hard work.

"I think it's fine. Hopefully it works as well as it looks."

Rurik's eyes were particularly focused on the huge bronze mortar and the pressure punch. These two sets of mechanisms will not make the craftsmen of this time and space feel unfamiliar. This set is basically an enlarged version of the stone mortar. It is precisely for this reason that casting such a special bronze piece really tests the smelting ability of the blacksmith.

Compared with other blacksmiths, the smelting level of Kravason and Kawei has improved by leaps and bounds in the past year. In order to smelt sponge iron more efficiently, and even large-scale carburizing of sword embryos, a larger clay furnace has been put into use.

In a sense, the blast furnace technology of the Orientals is to continuously manufacture larger-scale furnaces under the concept of pursuing the maximization of smelting efficiency, and finally the quantity becomes a qualitative change. The huge furnace has a very powerful temperature-locking ability and a more powerful blower, so that the blast furnace can maintain a very high temperature for a long time, so that the molten pig iron can be continuously smelted.

The new Cravatson's furnace is only about 50 percent larger than the previous one, with thicker walls and two bladder blowers.

The new furnace is more efficient at smelting iron, as well as cleaning up the ashes, and of course, it melts the bronze liquid in the clay crucible with unprecedented efficiency.

A lot of bronze materials were consumed, and the lever system that was made after continuous debugging was finally put into production.

But then again, Kravason is really doubtful.

"Rurik, do you think it's really worth it for us to spend a lot of bronze to make such a large glass vessel?"

"Why not? Of course it's worth it."

"I... just a little worried. If you complete your plan, this machine will be useless."

"You're afraid I'll waste it?" Rurik laughed. "My friend, why don't you use it to keep making large glass containers? Don't you think it could replace the cask as the new storage for ale, or something else? container for what?"

"Huh? That's right, like stockpiling the flammable wine you said? Although I prefer oak barrels."

Rurik shook his head, and then he took a good look at the machinery he asked for. His small hand especially reached into the bronze mortar, and especially touched the huge bronze punch that reflected the golden light, and he couldn't help shaking his head.

"Rurik, you don't think it's good?" Clavasson asked.

"There's a problem." Rurik turned his head, and the blond ponytail at the back of his head shook. "The mortar is too rough. I think you need to polish it."

"Well, since you're very persistent, the job still takes time."

"It doesn't matter." Rurik shrugged, "If it's not smooth enough, our utensils can't be made. By the way, before die-casting, a layer of charcoal powder should be brushed inside as an anti-adhesion product."