It Became a Symbol of the Bronze Age - Chapter 300



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Episode 300. Sweet Black Horn Island (4)

The process of persuading the chieftains was not difficult.

It was actually easy.

It can’t be helped.

‘Because I’m going.’

What they want is to spread the method of growing grain.

I don’t think so.

Why grow grains that grow well anywhere on an island where you can grow sugarcane?

In my opinion, it’s like boiling caviar in fish soup or eating spicy rock bream stew.

My professor also said this when he was trying to persuade me to go to graduate school.

If there’s something special about you, you should go for it. You shouldn’t just do the same thing as everyone else. Damn, thinking about it this way makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong.

Anyway, the islanders begged quite a bit to tell them how to get grain.

My conclusion was, ‘Don’t grow grains, don’t tell me, go back and grow sugarcane.’

If I can’t learn, they can’t learn either.

In this day and age, if you want something, you have to take it, and if you can’t take it, you have to trick someone, and if you can’t trick someone… you can’t get it. But they couldn’t take what was Asadal’s, and they failed to trick me either.

Some of the leaders looked on with regret… but what can we do?

What can you do?

What else can I do besides grit my teeth and grow sugarcane and trade it for Asadal grain?

Anyway, after successfully spreading the greatness of pure love once again by defeating the annoying transfer-getters who were trying to abandon the simple sugars that had been cultivated for a long time and switch to carbohydrates that they had only recently seen.

I had a private meeting with Adalah.

“On this island, they only grow sugarcane, which they trade for grain from Asadal. Am I understanding this correctly?”

“right.”

“…I don’t know if this will work.”

“Why?”

“Where is this place?”

Adalah answered.

“What would happen if trade between Asadal and this place were suddenly cut off? Wouldn’t most of the people in this area starve to death because there would be no grain?”

“Oh, are you worried?”

“I’m worried. If all these people die, we’ll have to move the Asadal people to get black horns and candy… How is that going to work?”

It wasn’t a matter of compassion, it was a matter of business.

In fact, during the industrial age, there were countries that went all-in on primary industries through plantations, such as cotton and tobacco, and then suddenly saw a decline in trade, resulting in mass starvation.

but.

Sugarcane is very different from cotton or tobacco.

“Sugarcane can be taken as food when you’re hungry. At least, even if the connection with Asadal is not smooth and grain inflow decreases, it’s unlikely that everyone will starve to death.”

Basically, sugarcane is food. It is inferior to grains, but it has its own population support capacity. People cannot survive by eating tobacco or cotton, but they can survive by eating sugarcane.

In actual history, the people of Easter Island, where trees were extinct, managed to survive for about 200 years by eating only sugar cane. (At that time, they were practically unable to catch fish. Since there were no trees, there were no boats.)

“…Is that so? I’ve never heard of anyone surviving by eating fruit.”

Adallah seemed to have seen sugarcane for the first time, so she thought of it as just a ‘strangely shaped fruit’ rather than a ‘type of food’.

At this point, I whispered to Adalah my future knowledge about carbohydrates, simple sugars, and sweetness.

“…So, just like when you boil grains for a long time and make ‘jocheong’, which is commonly eaten in the Central Plains, are you saying that the taste and sweetness of grains are actually the same?”

“Yes. If you put grain in your mouth and chew it for a long time, doesn’t it become sweet?”

“Then why can’t I last long after eating fruit? Fruit is quite sweet.”

“That’s because fruits contain a lot of water.”

“…I don’t know. Besides, it doesn’t seem like it’s particularly necessary knowledge.”

… That’s pretty much how it ended.

That’s worth it.

Basic science was usually a useless thing in the pre-modern era.

In this period, science is mostly about discovering things and phenomena, then studying ‘why this happens?’ and then giving birth to something called basic science. To put it nicely, it is phenomenological, and to put it more roughly, it is about trying until you get it right.

And just to this extent, it is quite pioneering.

Most people don’t even think, ‘Why is this happening?’

If it works, it works.

In short, unnecessary knowledge is not studied – this is the pre-modern standard.

Of course, just in case, I’ve written down the basic scientific knowledge I know (roughly the level of a high school liberal arts student) here and there… but I don’t know when this will be useful.

“…Anyway, if we can endure it through sugarcane, the stability of this trade is guaranteed.”

“That’s right. In that sense… what do you think of sugarcane?”

“You don’t even have to ask.”

Adallah smirked.

“Seriously, Black Horn is so great that it makes you think of Black Horn as ‘something’.”

“That tidy?”

“Do you know how much my people love sweets?”

Adalah said.

“It’s just crazy. There are dozens of apiaries in the castle, and they roast grains to make rice syrup. That rice syrup is only eaten by nobles.”

… Well, that’s true.

In , Zhuge Liang is often portrayed as a strategist.

However, this only explains half of Zhuge Liang’s greatness.

The greatest achievement of Zhuge Liang in history was… that of a quartermaster rather than a strategist.

First of all, the ‘Mokwooyuma’, a carriage that could be used not only on flat ground but also in the mountains, which made the Central Plains of Yuan history a commercial powerhouse, was an invention of Zhuge Liang. (Now it is my invention.)

Is that all?

What surprised Cao Cao the most when he saw Shu was not Guan Yu and Zhang Fei’s beheading abilities.

-In the city of Chok, even the common people eat Jocheong!

-What? Is that true?

What surprised Cao Cao was Cao Qing.

Until then, Pachok was not an area with particularly high agricultural production.

It’s just an average region that’s not even worth mentioning, let alone China.

However, Zhuge Liang developed this Pasuk to an incredible level and succeeded in making it possible for even the common people in the city to eat the expensive rice cake as a snack.

It’s like making Gangwon-do’s agricultural production comparable to Pyongyang or Hanyang, so it’s understandable that Cao Cao would be shocked.

In other words, he was a genius in distribution and regional development… It might be more correct to view Zhuge Liang’s greatest achievement in the history of the Yuan dynasty as an ‘absurd quartermaster commander’ rather than as an ‘excellent operational staff officer’.

…anyway.

What is important here is not Zhuge Liang’s greatness, but the Central Plains people’s love of sweets.

During the war, the people of the Central Plains were crazy about sweets, to the point of making and eating expensive grains.

Even in this era, it wasn’t much different.

“If you boil that sugarcane, a black liquid comes out.”

Commonly called ‘molasses’, when dried and beaten it produces a black powder.

And the only thing that remains from molasses is the ‘white sugar’ we know… but it can’t be made in this day and age. Honestly, there’s no need to make sugar.

“That water… is probably the second most expensive water in Asadal.”

“What’s the first?”

“Of course it’s a perfume made from dragon’s breath.”

Well, I guess I can’t get over the perfume.

‘Because it’s a product exported from the Central Plains.’

As far as I know, sugarcane is also grown in southern China.

But… not right now.

‘Gangnam development still has a long way to go, and it won’t be possible just by obtaining sugar cane.’

There’s one big problem with molasses.

Adalah happened to point out this very point.

“However, I don’t know how long this water will last. I heard that it spoils quickly.”

Unlike refined sugar, pure molasses does not have a very long shelf life.

That is why, even though the Central Plains had sugarcane, they were unable to distribute molasses on a large scale until refining technology was introduced from India.

But I.

I know the general method.

“Find a tree. It should be about 20 feet (6 m) to 50 feet (15 m) tall, big enough for an adult man to hug with a little left over. The trunk should be flat and leaf-like, and the leaves should taper towards both ends. The flowers should be yellow and resemble small chestnut buds. It should not have thorns.”

“…Why do you say that there are no thorns? If there were, then there would be, but why would you say there aren’t?”

“…I made a mistake.”

What I’m talking about now is ‘acacia tree’.

It might sound strange at first glance.

The acacia trees of 21st century Seoul don’t look like that. The flowers are white and they have thorns.

That goes without saying.

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That’s not an acacia tree.

‘It’s an acacia tree.’

The ‘acacia tree’ we commonly know is an American tree that was brought to Japan in 1890.

At that time, Japanese merchants mistook this tree for an acacia tree, and when it was brought to Korea, it became known as an acacia tree.

In Japan, it is now called Nise-Acacia, or ‘false acacia’… In Korea, it is named ‘Akasinamu’ (a tree with thorns) to distinguish it from the real acacia.

So, ‘acacia honey’ is wrong and ‘acacia honey’ is correct.

The flowers on the orchard road outside of Donggu are not ‘acacia flowers’ but ‘acacia flowers’.

In the first place, this ‘real acacia’ cannot grow on the Korean Peninsula.

‘It grows in Australia, Taiwan, and Ryukyu.’

So what I’m talking about now is a real acacia tree, not an acacia tree.

Adalah asked.

“How do you find that tree?”

“If you mix the sap of that tree with molasses… that is, with sugarcane juice, it will last a long time.”

This acacia tree sap was commonly called ‘Arabic gum’.

Its use was first discovered by Arabian merchants.

And if you mix this gum arabic with molasses, its shelf life increases several times, making it easy to sell. Sugar was distributed in this form until about the 10th century.

‘You could even make brown sugar.’

After putting this molasses in a container that looks like a comb-patterned pottery.

If you press down with a heavy stone and leave it for a long time, it hardens and becomes crystallized brown sugar.

White sugar came later than this, but unfortunately we don’t know about it yet.

I don’t think it matters much.

‘This alone is enough to sell them all. Should I sell the Arabic gum molasses as a common item and the sugar as a luxury item?’

And rightly so.

How should I do the secret?

“…And, let’s keep this a secret. Sugarcane needs to remain as a trade item for a long time. If this secret is leaked, wouldn’t the Central Plains also start growing sugarcane?”

The Tang Dynasty learned these two techniques from Indian and Arabian merchants.

By the Ming Dynasty, sugar was no longer considered a luxury item but rather a common food.

‘At that time, Joseon, which had no sugar, requested sugar from the Ming Dynasty, and the response was amazing.’

[In our great country, the Ming Dynasty, even the beggars on the street eat it, but is this really not available in Joseon? Of course, if you ask, they will send it to you, but is it really not available? Anyway, since it is used for ancestral rites, use it well. But why is this simple food not available in Joseon?]

… It was something like this.

I can’t stand seeing this anymore.

Sugar manufacturing techniques should be kept a state secret.

“…I understand what you mean. It’s hot these days, so we could grow this ‘sugar cane’… but if we don’t have a way to prevent it from going rancid, it’ll be hard to sell it here and there.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

It’s really nice to be able to communicate well with Adalah.

***

The acacia tree here is a species called ‘Taiwan acacia’.

When you squeeze the juice from the tree, you get something called ‘acacia gum’.

The Korean word ‘gomu’ is a phonetic transcription of the English word ‘gum’.

So, this is a kind of rubber tree.

‘Komura, this too… can’t we use it in some way?’

The history of rubber is quite old.

First of all, it is said that ancient Mesoamericans and Southeast Asians used this to make shoes. They melted the rubber, soaked their feet in it, and then cut it into appropriate pieces.

… Asadal has no need for it.

If you’re going to make shoes, you can make them out of leather or straw.

And the second method is the preservative I mentioned earlier.

Used to extend shelf life by mixing with sugar.

I just did this.

Next… make it like gum and chew it to brush your teeth?

This looks pretty good.

If you can add peppermint flavor, it would be good as a snack, and even if you can’t, it can be helpful for Asadal’s dental health.

… up to that point.

This is the usage of rubber until approximately the 19th century.

‘After the rubber tree was introduced to Europe in the 15th century, it took more than four centuries for it to become useful.’

The reason is simple.

Raw rubber was weak to heat and was not suitable for industrial use.

At best, it was used as an eraser or rolled up into a ball to be used as a child’s toy.

But in the 21st century, rubber is virtually the core of industry.

How was this possible?

‘It’s sulfur.’

1850.

American scientist Goodyear began research to increase the durability of rubber.

This gentleman mixed various things into the rubber in order to increase its durability, and sulfur was among them.

The experiment failed.

Goodyear must have been pissed, so he just threw the sulfur-rubber lump onto the stove.

And the next day.

Goodyear was surprised.

-what’s this?

Goodyear assumed that the rubber would have melted, but… the rubber only burned a little and did not melt.

In addition, durability also increased and it became a material with incredible elasticity.

-If you apply sulfur to rubber and mix it with moderate heat, it becomes flammable and tough?

Just like Alfred Nobel ‘accidentally’ spilled nitroglycerin on diatomaceous earth.

Just like Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin when he ‘accidentally’ left the lid of a petri dish uncovered on vacation.

Rubber vulcanization is also something that was born by chance.

However, Goodyear did not become rich because of patent fraud.

That’s what America was like at the time.

However, Goodyear’s discovery became the foundation for the insane development of the automobile and airplane industries.

Today, he is a must-have on any list of great inventors, and he even has a tire company named after him (which is no more related to Goodyear than Nikola Tesla is to a company interested in Mars).

With that thought in mind, I looked at the sulfur.

‘In present-day Asadal, sulfur is not such a difficult substance to obtain.’

If it hadn’t been for a while, I wouldn’t have known, but now that Asadal has taken control of the volcanic area near Sakurajima, there’s a lot of sulfur. It’s enough to turn all the saltpeter into gunpowder and still have some left over.

Moreover, Goodyear’s discovery was not the result of a great process, but rather a discovery by chance. That kind of experimental environment can be created in Asadal.

‘I was wondering where to use the sulfur…’

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to invest in rubber for this one time?

Even if it were just to the level of making a cover for a cart wheel or a raincoat, it would be quite useful, right?

Alternatively, you could manufacture something like a rubber hose and use it to move water from a higher elevation downwards.

I don’t know much about the scientific principle of the siphon, but I know it practically.

This method is often used to drain water from rural irrigation canals into fields.

Or what… .

It was so simple that it was used since the ancient Mesopotamian era, and was also used in Rome. Around the 17th century, Pascal clarified the exact principle and it was used in household presses, etc.

The ‘piston device’, which was slow to develop because there was no suitable material for packing (sealing) to make it larger, but then developed like crazy in the 19th century with the discovery of rubber, a durable sealing material, and created modern industrial history for mankind?

‘Hey, is this going too far?’

… to think so.

It seemed so plausible.

***

When I first came to Ryukyu.

I was aiming for black pepper and spice.

But unfortunately, there was still no spice here. However, there was black horn.

Plus, since there was sugarcane, I could just ignore the lack of spices.

This sugarcane has a higher chance of being better than black horn, and the spices are guaranteed to be available in Maluku anyway.

But… thinking about candy reminded me of gum Arabic.

Suddenly, the fact that the gum of Arabic is made of rubber came to mind.

The chain of knowledge once captured led to Goodyear’s invention that rubber becomes stronger when mixed with sulfur… .

… As a result, we came to the idea that we could make a piston device using this reinforced rubber.

‘… It’s a crazy island.’

really.

What would have happened if I hadn’t come to Ryukyu…?

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