Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 542 God’s Machine
In the cathedral, a crowd of guests gathered together, waiting for the demonstration.

Queen Anna stood at the front and spoke to everyone. However, everyone was very anxious today and wanted to know the specific content, so she did not waste time. After saying a few words briefly, he gave up his position and called Guo Kang over.

Guo Kang also has many things going on. He was still directing the monks to arrange the huge statue of Brother Tian in place. Now, while taking care of the demonstration, I also have to say hello to various dignitaries, and I am very busy.

This is the first time the sweat room has held an event open to the public since the turmoil. Therefore, most middle- and upper-class people attach great importance to this.

The turmoil and subsequent investigation involved a wide range of things. Many people feel guilty about this, fearing that their previous dirty deeds will also be revealed. So everyone showed their talents and inquired about information everywhere, trying to figure out the situation.

According to the tradition of the year, when this turmoil was about to end, the Khan's Central Committee would hold some activities to calm people's hearts. Sometimes it's a banquet, sometimes it's a group outing, and sometimes it's just a charity project. The specific forms vary. Those who convene and host activities are usually people who still have prestige but are not on the front line of power. The older generation of royal families and retired princes may all be the undertakers.

Generally speaking, receiving this kind of invitation means that you are still "one of your own" and will have to get along with everyone in the future. Basically, you will not be punished too severely. Therefore, the atmosphere of the event was also very relaxed, especially those who were implicated. They all breathed a long sigh of relief, and even treated the people around them much more politely.

This event was jointly initiated by the queen and the church. The declared theme is to showcase the church’s recent efforts and collect donations from everyone for subsequent religious expenditures.

Some guests were quite murmuring about this because they had just been solicited for donations a few days ago and had to walk away with a lot of money. Now that they heard about the solicitation, they felt emboldened. But most people were still immersed in joy, especially the machinery in front of them, which was so shocking that they no longer cared about so many things.

In the main hall of the Empress Temple, there is a huge statue of Brother Tian, ​​which temporarily replaced the previous one. The statue is two stories high. It bows slightly and stands in front of a workbench.

"It would be great if it could really come in handy." Theodora thought for a while and said.

"It has come in handy now." Guo Kang told her: "Originally, what we planned to make was a model the size of an ordinary person. The main research direction was to increase the complexity of the movements. Later, I didn't know who took the lead. The priests said , since it can move, let’s use it to process wood.”

"The church had enough funds this time, so we spent a lot of money to specially customize a cylinder." Guo Kang said: "The previous cylinder's workmanship was very rough. This time we invited some masters of Seiko who make clocks to process the piston bit by bit. , and a specially designed lock can lock the hemp rope filling the gap. Therefore, the air leakage situation has improved a lot this time."

"Of course, there are some people who support that kind of thinking." He thought for a while and then said: "Some people are more enthusiastic about the technology itself and feel that these portraits are just forms and are unnecessary. At that time, some people felt that it was not necessary. It was so complicated that only the upper body was left. Later, when the plan failed, they also said some weird things like, 'Brother Tian's legs are just decorations, and the bishops above won't understand'..."

But this machine is indeed driven by steam. The only source of power is the steam pipe under the workbench. However, they didn't quite understand this. Seeing Brother Tian finishing sawing a wooden board amidst the roar of steam, they couldn't react for a while.

"That's it..." Theodora didn't know much about this, and when it came to technical details, she didn't know what to say.

Seeing that the performance was relatively successful, Guo Kang was also quite satisfied. Then, the priest appointed by the Great Lama Wang came out with a few assistants and began to preach and collect donations. After that, it’s the job of these professional theologians.

He retreated to the corridor to one side and saw Theodora also coming out of the crowd. She also looked around at the Brother Tian statue for a few times, and then asked Guo Kang curiously: "Is there any improvement this time? It feels stronger than the previous ones."

The art masters hired by the church spent a lot of effort on it and used the latest popular techniques to make its muscle lines very natural and toned. Brother Tian was wearing a simple short coat, with bulging muscles on his back and arms. His expression was focused and peaceful. He was pressing the table with one hand and holding a long wood saw in the other, as if he was about to work.

Brother Tian's movements were fast and accurate, and he was very strong. After a moment, the thick wooden board was sawed in half. The monks unlocked the switch behind it and stopped it. Then push the arm back to its original position, adjust the direction of the board, align it with the ink line, and start again. Soon, Brother Tian started working again.

Although the church has been studying this kind of machinery for quite some time, it is mostly only used for internal display. This was the first time for most of the audience to see such a scene. For a moment, everyone was exclaiming, and some people were looking around to see if there was a water tanker or a hiding place.

Under everyone's surprised gazes, several monks actually carried out a wooden board, fixed it on the workbench, and then said hello. A few bursts of heat came out of Brother Tian's body, and the wood saw in his hand really started to move back and forth. After a few operations, he started sawing the wood.

"What a god-like machine." Everyone sighed with emotion.

"Of course, these are the products of considering the artistic image, and there are still a lot of compromises. If we pursue more efficiency, we should change the saw to a disc shape, and many parts of the statue do not need to be made. Overall Up there, it’s almost like a water-powered sawmill.”

"Maybe this is more in line with Brother Tian's background." Guo Kang scratched his head: "Anyway, this is how it was done in the end."

"Ours was originally planned to be displayed to the believers during the Chinese New Year." Guo Kang did not continue to elaborate, and gave a general introduction: "Because Master Wang said there would be temporary activities, he moved it out in advance. The church's plan, It's about selling these sawn boards and the like as charity money - I don't know if that's possible."

"This should be no problem." Theodora thought for a while and said, "Actually, this idea is quite good. Even if there are no political considerations, I estimate that many people will be happy to buy these woodworking products."

"It seems so." Guo Kang probably understood. As the most famous carpenter in the entire Mediterranean world, Brother Tian is quite well-known, and the various woodware related to him will definitely have the blessing of brand effect. "At that time, some people were talking about making religious items such as crosses." He told Theodora: "But we felt that asking Brother Tian to make crosses was a bit... too weird? In the end, we didn't agree. "

"This should be enough for now. Anyway, it's more serious than selling indulgences." He finally said.

Theodora nodded.

"We have already agreed with the church that one-tenth of the income this time will be used as funds for the cathedral. This part of the money will be used by your research group." She said: "I hope there will be more money next time." Another surprise.”

Guo Kang was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

His income this time will probably not be small.

In the past few days, both the Ministry of Justice and Theodora's side, as well as the militia organized by Zhu Wenkui and others, have arrested many people. In an instant, the entire Xiacheng District and the intertwined forces that had been entangled for decades were almost uprooted.

In the past, I am afraid that everyone would not have imagined this situation. Firstly, these forces have more or less protectors from the upper levels; secondly, these forces themselves are also the force that maintains the daily operations of most cities. Without them, the city will indeed be unable to operate normally. Compared with the losses and turmoil caused by killing them, the benefits gained are really limited. Therefore, everyone feels that even if the court prepares to rectify, it will be in a gradual manner. It is unlikely that major changes will occur suddenly.

But this time, Guo Kang was not looking for the city's interests. His own actions may have been motivated by anger, but the direct support of so many Zhuguo was largely due to his previous plan.

In this larger plan, what he showed everyone was the huge benefits brought by developing the Ross area. In the eyes of those with far-sightedness, this is much more important than the little profit that Dadu has now. Similarly, in order to implement this plan, he was eager to rely on the poor people of Russia in the majority to organize an armed force.

The process of doing so led to a series of conflicts and unrest. But it was also in the turmoil that Guo Kang himself and his Ross followers showed sufficient strength and potential. Although the battle itself was not pretty, the organizational skills and resilience they showed in a hurry obviously made the Zhuguo very satisfied, and they decided that Guo Kang had huge appeal among these people and was worth the effort. The short-term cost is additional investment to support his plans. It can be said that he and his followers have passed the most important practical "examination".

As for the gangs and illegal businessmen in the city, unfortunately, they are the ones who will be sacrificed this time. Guo Kang himself didn't believe it. Only a few unlucky guys from the Wang family had contact with these people. In fact, even the Guo family themselves have people who are responsible for purchasing in the city. He didn't believe it. These people had no contact with the gangs in the Lower City.

However, these are no longer relevant.

What Guo Kang wants is to organize a seed army from the Rus people in most of them. In his detailed plan, this brigade needs to be fully supplied and trained, and observation and corresponding system improvements must be made. At the same time, using them as a model, ten new battle groups were formed north of Crimea, to Kiev, on both sides of the Dnieper River, commonly known as "Little North". It is expected that it will take ten to fifteen years to initially formalize the military and civilian establishment established here by the Purple Horde Khanate.

If there is still energy left, or if the locals are particularly active, people and materials can also be invested in the area between the Dnieper River and the Don River and north of the Sea of ​​Azov, which is where the Purple Horde Khanate is commonly known as "Xiaodong" , consolidating the previous management in this area.

If these places can be stabilized, the vast area north of Kiev and up to Novgorod, commonly known as the "Great North" area, and the "Great East" area east of the Don River should be rehabilitated. flow. These two areas are vast and have a large amount of uninhabited land, but there are also many local forces. To establish strict rule here will definitely lead to conflicts with them. So, you have to be prepared.

However, the benefits of doing so are also obvious. According to Guo Kang's calculations, by reorganizing local residents, even without taking into account any technological innovations or the snowballing growth in productivity caused by the improvement of local agriculture and mining, and only calculating the increase in scale itself, it can be achieved within a hundred years. Here, the Romanization of the Rus' region was completed.

The new territory of this scale can add 1550 military districts. By 200, if the Purple Horde Khanate can really surpass the Han Dynasty and still be there after years, it is expected to be able to draw fifty regular legions from the Rus area - not the kind of serf soldiers they have now, but all the soldiers. A fully Romanized army.

Since then, European diplomacy and marriage have been nothing more than playing house. All those games of power and crowns lose their meaning the moment armies are raised. No matter how skillfully you use your diplomatic skills, you will still be pushed over by hundreds of thousands of troops. In Guo Kang's view, this is the real strategic layout.

If it were before, everyone would just think that this was just kids talking big words. After all, everyone has grown up since childhood. Who has never dreamed of playing a map coloring game? However, Guo Kang's performance proved that this time he was really not just a game or a gimmick.

The gangs in the city were the first to be unlucky because of this. Once they get serious, then, in the face of such national strategic-level trends, all they can bring is small profits. Therefore, they were abandoned instantly.

Guo Kang actually knew this well. Moreover, he also understands what the greater value of Brother Steam Sky lies in.

"I plan to use the money to hire some monks and craftsmen to go to Crimea." He told Theodora: "There are many mineral deposits in the southern part of the Rus region, some of which are very close to Crimea, and mining and transportation are very difficult. It’s quite convenient. There are some mining areas, and it seems that people are already mining them now.”

"There is no shortage of resources in the Ross area. Coal, timber and iron ore are all abundant. Moreover, the land there is vast and sparsely populated, so machines are even more important. If these resources can be well utilized, the difficulty of reclamation will be reduced a lot. We The plan can be accelerated a lot."

"I agree now that you should make your own decisions on these matters." Theodora didn't know why, but suddenly said seriously: "If you think it's good, just do it. I will find a way to support you."

(End of this chapter)