Dong Fengshan's "Feiyu 2" crossed a huge bay (the Gulf of Carpentaria) on November 20 and arrived near the small town of Bamaga in Australia. It landed ashore to replenish some fresh water.

After resting, we continued northward the next day, passing through a string of broken islands. In the afternoon, we arrived at the northernmost tip of the mainland (Cape York), and then headed south along the coastline.

On November 28, we arrived at a winding river bend located in the city of Cairns in Australia. At this point, the fifteen-day exploration operation ended. During this period, Dong Fengshan, Huang Mingfang, and Zhang Qisheng jointly explored the northern part of Hanzhou

and the topography of the coastline in the northeast corner, and drew a detailed chart. At the same time, he also marked several locations suitable for establishing supply points, which laid the foundation for Hanzhou's next step of controlling and immigrating to the east coast.

When "Feiyu 2" returned to the Jianye City Pier on December 12, it found that the mountains on both sides of the terminal were under construction for the No. 2 and No. 3 forts. Originally, the two forts were planned to be completed by the end of August, but

The construction of a large number of immigrant houses and the hardening of cement on the road from Heishan City to New Huai'an have greatly affected the construction of these two forts.

However, in mid-November, the unexpected intrusion of an unknown force ship made Jianye City feel a sense of danger. Therefore, Qitian mobilized a large number of construction workers and began to build and improve No. 2 and No. 3 on the mountains on both sides of the pier.

No. turret. In view of the fact that the enemy ship bombarded the turret this time, a large amount of gravel was splashed, and the cement baffle above one of the turrets was cracked. It made Qi Tian feel that the naval guns of the 17th century were also so powerful.

If there are more enemy ships and the naval guns continue to bombard for a while, it is estimated that the fort's protective wall cannot be blocked at all, and the cement bars above the head will inevitably be broken by the shells. In this case, we will continue to thicken the fort bunker to more than 30 centimeters.

If the cement retaining wall doesn't work, then thicken it to one meter. At the same time, add more hardwood baffles inside the fort bunker to prevent the gunners from being injured by the debris flying after the shelling.

"Is the general manager in Jianye City?" Huang Mingfang and Zhang Qisheng came to the Jianye City Civil Government Building and found their internship partners.

"What a coincidence, the general manager is in Jianye City!" Ji Yulin said with a smile: "He is at the sugar factory... How about it, I have been out for almost a month, I must have gained a lot."

Ji Yulin is one of the more than 70 children that Cao Xiong brought back to Daming for the first time last year. He is only 16 years old this year. After studying in class in the morning, he worked as an intern at the Agricultural Affairs Office of the Civilian Government in the afternoon. In addition to those dissatisfied people in Hanzhou

Fifteen-year-old children basically study in the morning and go to various departments, workshops, farmlands, schools, and even the rural army in Hanzhou for half-day internships in the afternoon.

At present, the population of Hanzhou has reached more than 7,000, but most of the people are still practicing a military camp management model. This model was implemented a few years before the immigrants arrived, which will naturally save a lot of management personnel, and can also

Cultivate immigrants' organizational discipline.

However, as immigrants gradually stabilize their lives, they will inevitably yearn for a normal social organization model. Therefore, Hanzhou needs to train a large number of middle-level and grass-roots managers in advance to prepare for the establishment of a management model that is completely different from that of Ming Dynasty.

.

Qi Tian was at the sugar factory at this time, watching the craftsmen using the adsorption properties of soil to decolorize the syrup.

The craftsmen poured the boiled yellow-black syrup into a funnel-shaped tile. There was a large vat under the tile. The craftsmen poured yellow mud water down, causing the black residue in the syrup to fall into the vat.

, and the white icing sugar is left in the tile. When it condenses and dries, it becomes white granulated sugar.

Qi Tian always thought that white sugar only appeared in modern times, and before modern times it was always in the form of yellow or yellow-black syrup. It turns out that during this period, our great ancestors could already make white sugar.

In fact, craftsmen use soil to decolorize syrup, which is described in detail in "Tiangong Kaiwu" written by Song Yingxing. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, there was also a method for decolorizing white sugar, which was to use the coagulation and clarification method of duck egg white.

This method is to add a little whipped duck egg white to the original sugar cane juice, and then heat it. At this time, the coloring substances and residues will condense with the egg white and float to the liquid surface. Then skim it off to make the cane juice.

The juice became clear and the yellow-brown color faded. However, decolorization using this method was incomplete and uneconomical. Later, this method was probably only used when making rock sugar.

In China, the earliest records of sugarcane cultivation and sugar crushing were recorded in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. During the Warring States Period in the 4th century BC, there were preliminary records of sugarcane processing. Qu Yuan's "Chu Ci: Zhaohun" contains this poem: "The turtles

"Paolao, there is some zhe pulp". The "zhe" here refers to sugarcane, and "zhe pulp" is the juice obtained from sugar cane. This shows that during the Warring States Period, Chu State was able to carry out primitive processing of sugar cane.

In the "Three Kingdoms·Wu Shu·Biography of Sun Liang" written by Chen Shou of the Western Jin Dynasty, there is a description of Liang sending Huangmen to cover with silver bowls, and taking the sugarcane glutinous rice offered by Jiaozhou from the Central and Tibetan officials... Sugarcane glutinous rice is a kind of liquid sugar.

It is in a viscous form and is made by concentrating and processing sugarcane juice to a higher concentration (viscosity), making it easier to store and eat.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, sugar-making technology gradually developed. Some new technologies and new processes appeared one after another. New varieties such as white sugar and rock sugar produced by indigenous methods also appeared one after another. At the same time, some theoretical works on sugar-making were also produced.

In the mid-8th century, Chinese sugar-making technology was introduced to Japan. Around the 13th century, it was introduced to Java, becoming the origin of the island's sugar industry. From the 15th to 16th centuries, Chinese expatriates also spread sugar-making methods in the Philippines, Hawaii and other places.

In 1130, Wang Zhuo of the Northern Song Dynasty wrote China's first monograph on sugar production - "Sugar Frost Spectrum". The book is divided into 7 chapters and is rich in content, describing the history of China's sugar production development, sugar cane planting methods, and sugar production equipment.

(Including pressing and refining equipment), technological process, icing sugar properties and flavors, uses, sugar industry economy, etc.

Volume 6 ("Gan Xi") of "Tiangong Kaiwu" written by Song Yingxing, first published in 1637, describes various methods of growing sugar cane and making sugar, which is more systematic and detailed than the book "Shuangshuangpu". These methods

, it has been used among Chinese people until the 20th century. In the book

The described method of extracting juice by multiple squeezing with oxen stone pulleys (or wooden pulleys) (pressing method) is similar to the principle of modern multiple pressing of sugar cane. In terms of cane juice clarification, the book summarizes the lime method clarification process for the first time.

The principles are still used in the modern sugar industry.

"Do you want to have a taste, Chief Steward?" Bu Chuncheng dug out a little sugar with a wooden spoon and held it in front of Qi Tian.

Bu Chuncheng was among the fourth batch of craftsmen recruited from Guangzhou and transferred to Hanzhou in August this year. He used to be a craftsman in the Guangzhou sugar workshop, but his son's serious illness left his family owed dozens of taels of silver.

.I heard that craftsmen were being recruited to Nanyang at the wharf outside the city, so I went to look for them.

Hearing that he was a craftsman, Luo Rucheng gave him thirty taels of silver without saying a word, helped him pay off his debt, and then loaded his family of five onto the ship.

Bu Chuncheng, who thought he had sold himself and his whole family, came to Hanzhou with trepidation. After the quarantine period, the family of five was divided into a house. His wife went into the canteen, and the eldest son followed him into the sugar workshop. His son and daughter,

Then he was recruited as a student by the newly built Enlightenment School in Jianye City.

Bu Chuncheng has been in Hanzhou for two months, and he has always felt that he is in a dream. He has a house to live in, clothes to wear, food to eat, and his children can still go to school. There are no ruthless and oppressive black-hearted owners in the workshop, and people on the streets are

There are no gangsters extorting money or extortion near the residence. Everything seems to be in order.

Even when walking on the street, there are government officials in gray "soap coats" shouting not to walk in the middle, to make room for passing vehicles, and to all go to the right.

Bu Chuncheng is a grateful person. Master Hanzhou treats us as one person, so we must repay him!

Look at the craftsmen in the past who repeatedly crushed the sugar cane to make barrels of brown syrup, then loaded them on trucks and sent them to Heishan City and Xinhuaian. As a welfare to improve their diet, they were distributed to officials and marines.

soldiers, and craftsmen.

Bu Chuncheng boldly proposed to the person in charge of the workshop that he could make these poor-quality syrups into white sugar.

The person in charge of the workshop immediately gave him a few craftsmen to trial-produce white sugar with him.

In less than twenty minutes, Bu Chuncheng used yellow mud water to separate the black residue in the syrup and produced half a barrel of white sugar.

"If the raw materials are sufficient, how much sugar can be made in a day?" Qi Tian stretched out his finger, picked out a little sugar and put it into his mouth. Well, it seems to have a lower sugar content than later generations. But it doesn't matter, this quality of sugar

, I think it can be sold at a good price.

"If we make it according to the current conditions, we can produce about one hundred barrels a day!" Bu Chuncheng made an estimate and gave the figure.

One hundred barrels, each barrel weighs 20 kilograms, which means two tons can be produced in one day.

"Well, let's do it. If you feel that the equipment and tools in the workshop need to be added or improved, you can report it to Lao Sun." Qi Tian pointed to the person in charge of the workshop next to him and said.

After turning around and leaving the sugar factory, Qi Tian decided to go to Pan Qifeng and discuss with him to expand the sugarcane planting area. The more than 1,000 acres of sugarcane currently planted were obviously not enough.
Chapter completed!