It Became a Symbol of the Bronze Age - Chapter 302



Only Noblemtl
Read Novel Noblemtl

Episode 302. Back to Asadal (1)

Among the myths that swept through Europe in the past is the myth of El Dorado. It is said that there is a huge temple made of gold in South America.

Many people during the Age of Exploration set out in search of this golden land of El Dorado.

There are many card games and movies where people who set out to find this ‘golden land of El Dorado’ are cursed and die…

Of course, that kind of thing only exists in movies. The conquistadors who set foot on South America and Cortes who led them.

Bang-bang!

-Kwaaah, it’s a lightning branch!

-He’s a wizard!

Gunpowder weapons and

-Hey, what is that!

-What is that beast!

-It’s a beast of God!

Cavalry corps.

-Hey, what’s on your face?

-Kwaaak!

Biochemical weapon (smallpox).

-That person is definitely the great Coatl!

-You came to free us from the tyranny of the Aztecs!

-No, we are Christians!

-The gods have not abandoned this place!

-God? God?

-God does not want human sacrifice. We will kill all those demons who sacrifice human bodies!

-Wow! Long live Spain!

With the help of theological weapons (Christianity), etc., the Aztecs were literally swept away.

The Aztec rulers returned to Spain in triumph, holding a huge amount of gold that they had stored in their warehouses. (Actually, they were also planning to take cocaine with them, but unfortunately, it all rotted along the way. If they had taken this, it might not have been comparable to gold.)

Anyway, the gold that came out of there contributed to the national economic development of Spain… or so it seems.

As a result of mercantilism, it was confined to the royal treasury and used for military development.

With that, they worked hard to build a navy, expand their colonies, and engage in a plundering economy like Agamemnon did 3,000 years ago.

It didn’t take thirty years for plunder to prove that it was an act that could never be done forever.

Finally, in 1557.

After the country went bankrupt, the king himself came forward and said, “Hey, don’t pay your debts. I’ll pay you back!”

Exactly 30 years later, the era of Spain as the strongest pirate came to an end when their last pride, the Armada of the Sun Fleet, was completely destroyed by the British pirate Drake.

… but anyway.

At the time, Cortes’ successful expedition was enough to instill in Europeans the dream of a ‘New World dream’.

And now.

Something similar is happening in Asadal.

“Black horn! It’s black horn!”

“What is this?”

“Ah, this is called ‘sugarcane.’ If you boil it, it turns into honey.”

“Ku… A plant that produces honey?”

The newly imported black soybeans and sugarcane from Ryukyu were enough to dazzle people’s eyes.

To be honest, it was a black market, and only mountaineers and shamans were crazy about it, but sugar cane was different. Many more people, especially merchants, were rushing to buy it.

“A plant that produces honey! Adalah, is that true?”

“This is sugarcane juice.”

“Give it to me, now!”

The merchants on the shore drank sugarcane water one after another. The sugar juice flowed down their wooden spoons. They carefully brought the tip of their tongues to it.

And shouted.

“It’s sweet… it’s sweet!”

“Isn’t that so?”

“How much sugarcane is in this bottle?”

“It takes more than a cup of tea.”

This disappointed the merchants.

“…Well, then what’s the difference? Isn’t it worse than Jo Cheong?”

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have bragged about it.”

Simply ‘population carrying capacity’.

That is, in terms of calories.

Sugarcane is far inferior to rice.

Rice contains 70g of carbohydrates, 7g of protein, and 1g of fat per 100g (brown rice).

100g of sugarcane contains 20g of carbohydrates, 1g of protein, and no fat at all.

In addition, since it is a monosaccharide, if you eat it as a staple food, your teeth will rot like the Sun Tribe people, and rice also has higher levels of other essential nutrients.

There is a reason why rice is considered the top crop in terms of population support. Look at Joseon. It was 1/25th the size of Ottoman, but its population was almost the same. Rice must have helped there.

but.

If you put this in the ‘luxury’ category instead of ‘stock’… it’s a completely different story.

“When making rice syrup from grains, isn’t it quite a hassle? You have to soak the rice, boil it, leave it outside, and even mix in the sprouted barley.”

“yes.”

“However, this sugarcane can be simply boiled.”

First of all, the processing is several times simpler than that of a millet.

“Then, about a quarter of it becomes a residue, and the rest becomes this sugar water. Besides, sugarcane grows twice as tall as rice.”

“Double?”

“Yes. The tall ones grow three times as much.”

Grow much larger.

“This crop is not affected by the season and can be harvested more than ten times at a time.”

Harvesting is also easy.

Now, the merchants were surprised.

“Ten… times? Did you say ten times?”

“Yes, and besides, it’s easy to harvest.”

“be easy?”

“To be exact, it has become easier. It is thanks to Deputy Poongbaek.”

Adalah said.

“Originally, the people of Heukgak Island harvested sugarcane by splitting it with a stone axe, but Elder Poongbaek just set it on fire.”

“What? You’re going to set the field on fire?”

In Asadal, there is a concept of slash-and-burn farming, but of course, it is not done on grain. It is done before planting grain.

But Poongbaek simply chose to set fire to the sugarcane fields. It wasn’t because he was crazy, it was because that was how he was supposed to do it.

“The roots and stems of sugarcane have a lot of water, so they won’t burn even if you set them on fire. When you set them on fire, all the leaves, bugs, snakes, etc. will burn and die, leaving only the sweet stems and roots. After that, if you just harvest those, it’s only half the effort of digging up rice.”

… Of course, this task itself was originally a bit more complicated than this. The Sun Tribe people gritted their teeth and opposed setting fire to the field, and Poongbaek promised to give them the same amount of grain if it failed, and then set the field on fire.

And even after the fire was successfully set… a strange misunderstanding arose in Asadal.

-The people of Asadal seem to like fire.

-… I think so. The beast will breathe fire and burn down the field… .

-I’m completely crazy… .

In that way, Asadal ended up earning the nickname of ‘Fire Lover’, which would be worthy of Zhuge Liang in the future… but, well, that’s not important.

“Furthermore, unlike rice, it doesn’t have to be picky about the soil. It grows well no matter where you plant it.”

“Then, then to Asadal too….”

“That’s not possible. The weather should be warm, but isn’t that the case in Asadal? And lastly… even the dregs, which are only a quarter of the size, are useful.”

“The dregs?”

“Yes. You can make alcohol with this.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * Baca Novel Korean * *
* * * Noblemtl dot com * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The famous ‘rum’ is the alcohol made from the residue left after sugarcane production. This is why rum was popular with sailors during the Age of Exploration.

It’s no wonder that it can be easily made from leftover sugarcane plantations.

“In a word, it is a crop with nothing to throw away.”

Sugarcane is a crop that is not only inferior to rice, the king of staple foods, but also to barley and wheat.

In terms of ‘luxury goods’… it’s the ultimate. If you want to make alcohol or syrup from rice or barley, you have to go through a lot of effort, but sugarcane is a magical crop that produces molasses when you just boil it, and alcohol when you soak the dregs in water.

“The Lord Poongbaek decided to call this sugarcane liquor ‘rum.’ He intended to distribute it on a large scale to sailors.”

“Yes. Alcohol is important to those who go to sea.”

***

What is the most painful thing for a human being on a ship?

Tsunami? Natural disaster? Storm?

They were all wrong.

It’s loneliness and boredom.

And in this day and age there are few ways for sailors to forget their boredom.

It’s a bit awkward to take a family on a boat, and a woman?

Arthura.

What crime did a woman commit that she had to be alone in a closed space with dozens of rough sailors?

These are not the only reasons.

If the sailors who are in a bad mood start fighting among themselves, there is really no answer.

In a narrow space like a ship, solidarity is vital. If there is a gap, it is practically the end, so there is no captain in the world who wants to burden others unnecessarily.

It is not for nothing that it has been said since ancient times, regardless of time or place, that taking women on a boat is bad luck.

If you say something like that in the 21st century, you will be severely criticized by society… but it is the right thing to say in this day and age.

Most superstitions are created for practical reasons, and are destroyed when the reasons become useless.

Then all that’s left is gambling and alcohol.

Gambling is something that can easily happen in a short period of time. Most ships have rules such as ‘no gambling over a certain amount’, and Asadal is no different.

Well then, in this situation.

What is the safest way to suppress the loneliness and discontent of sailors, while still providing them with enjoyment?

There is only one.

alcohol.

There is a reason why the Phoenicians were crazy about grapes. As sailors, grapes were an essential ingredient for making alcohol.

And some scholars in the 21st century say that the spread of this liquor is ‘directly’ related to the expansion of maritime capabilities. If 21st century ships run on oil, ancient ships were fueled by liquor.

That is why I also saw great value in the ‘rum’ made from this sugarcane.

Of course, the rum in the current Ryukyu region is at best made by mixing sugarcane residue with water and drinking it.

Because real rum didn’t come out until around the 17th century. This is closer to ‘dander (fermented sugarcane dregs),’ the raw material for rum, rather than rum.

But that’s original history.

It’s a little different now.

‘If combined with Asadal’s still, it would be possible to mass-produce alcohol that can be aged for a long time. Besides, there are people in Seorabeol who are good at making alcohol.’

So, the people I went to see were the Phoenicians in Seorabeolbu.

“Governor Poongbaek Kisse! You’re here!”

“…I said he’s not a governor, he’s a vice-minister.”

Perhaps because the very concept of a vice-minister was somewhat ambiguous to them, they still called me governor.

Well… let’s do that.

To begin with, words like ‘vice president’ and ‘president’ are just words that the automatic translator in my head gives me, and they are quite different from the original words.

‘In the first place, when I suggested this, I didn’t even understand the Chinese characters.’

First, let’s look at the word that sounds like ‘president’ to my ears, which means ‘the best leader’… There were many cases where they were called ‘Han’, which means the sun, or ‘Ho’, which means a person who carries a large bow as a symbol.

‘If you combine them, it’s Hanho… Maybe that’s why some people even call it 1 vs. Hanho and 2 vs. Hanho.’

… This may be the reason why Hanho was able to ignore the fact that his ‘bloodline’ was no longer that of the King of Gojoseon.

And the vice-president, the ‘chief of the region’, is more complicated.

There is only one president, but aren’t there quite a few vice presidents?

In the North, it is often called ‘ga’ or ‘ha’, which means ‘chief’, and in the South, it is called ‘maru’ or ‘gyeon’.

The reason why this sounds like a president or vice president in my head is because the US President, Spain Caudill, and the Netherlands Stadhouder all mean ‘highest leader’ and are usually translated as Tongryong in Korea.

So, it’s not really surprising that a new term like ‘Kiss’ has appeared… but.

‘Why doesn’t the translator work on that word? It’s so inconvenient.’

… I think it’s probably because the words ‘graduate student Juyong’ and ‘Asadal’s insolence’ are new words that don’t exist as a pair in my head.

Anyway, leaving that aside.

“This sugarcane residue….”

No, it’s a bit odd to call it dregs.

“…by-product?”

This is also a bit like that.

Oh man, what did the Europeans call this?

I think it was Burgas or something like that.

Come to think of it, doesn’t bagasse itself mean dregs? Dander is what’s been fermented… .

After much thought, a good idea came to mind.

“…Biz!”

Bijido also means ‘tofu residue’… .

But at that time, didn’t the Joseon people treat bean curds more highly than other waste, so they didn’t call them ‘jjimi’, but rather ‘biji’ or ‘bak’?

And this tofu is also my invention.

There was quite a bit of controversy in the history of Yuan. Although it is recorded as a Central Plains invention, there was also talk that it was a Korean Peninsula invention since the origin of soybeans is Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula.

But in this history, it is definitely Asadal Mountain.

Of course, if there is tofu, there is also dregs. And, this dregs is better than dregs anyway.

“So, can we make a good liquor with this sugarcane juice?”

“Good alcohol?”

“Yes. If you make alcohol with this, you will distill it once through Asadal’s still. Of course, I know you are busy making ships.”

“…Well, isn’t it the same thing?”

At those words, I slightly dazed myself.

You may wonder how brewing alcohol and making boats are the same thing, but… in this day and age, they are the same thing.

Sailors like alcohol, and they need to drink to build ships and ride them. For them, the relationship between shipbuilding and brewing alcohol is not much different from the relationship between heavy industry and petrochemicals in the 21st century.

Naturally, part of the work of ‘building a ship’ also includes ‘making alcohol to give to the workers.’

“Is this the sugarcane juice?”

“Yeah, what do you think?”

“I can already smell the alcohol. It seems like it could be done with just a little bit of fermentation.”

“Okay, please. This is important.”

“Doesn’t a sailor know the importance of alcohol?”

Margo smiled brightly.

And asked.

“By the way, do you have a name for this drink?”

“Name of the drink?”

“Alcohol needs a name. We don’t call the alcohol we make from chacha (grapes) chacha alcohol, but gvino or devashi.”

Well, wine is not our alcohol, we just call it wine… In Korea, don’t we call Korean alcohol ‘freshly filtered alcohol (makgeolli)’ or ‘burning alcohol (soju)’ instead of ‘rice alcohol’ or ‘barley alcohol’?

After a moment’s thought, I said.

“This liquor will be a drink that everyone in Asadal can drink. It is easy to make, and soon, a large influx of sugarcane will occur.”

“…I guess so?”

“So, it’s a drink that benefits everyone.”

I looked up at the sky and said quietly.

“So, a liquor that benefits. If we write it in Chinese characters… Hongik Inganju… Let’s call it Hongikju for short.”

It was the moment when Asadal’s new specialty, Hongikju, was born.

Read Novel Noblemtl
Read Novel Noblemtl