The first snow finally stopped, and the whole world changed its appearance.
Winter has officially arrived in Eastern Europe. Residents in the Novgorod area who have been dormant for many days walked out of their houses. They had no intention of admiring the silvery light. They just wanted to come out early and remove the snow from the roofs.
The fragmented cities of the Principality of Ross were all covered with thick snow after the widespread snowfall, and the snow on the roofs was pushed down one after another. It was also a busy matter to transport them out of the settlements.
After Brauririk gave the order, the residents of Novgorod immediately took action spontaneously. A large number of cone-shaped snowdrifts appeared within the walls, and some people were already building snowmen with great interest.
The winter here is shorter than that of the Russians' home in northern Europe, but the limited production capacity has forced the local Slavs to not run around in the snowy winter. When the snow is almost cleared, residents stay at home and do a virtual hibernation.
Do they want to lie dormant like this until the lakes and rivers thaw?
True Varyags don’t waste winter opportunities.
In New Rossburg on the Neva River, the young and powerful men of the First Banner Corps were plundering leather in the forest and snowfields under the leadership of Arik. The hunter wears sunglasses and holds a crossbow. Many people don't even need to set traps. They can spot prey in the distance with their alert eyes and use their crossbows to shoot. Their skills in handling weapons became more and more sophisticated, and the silent arrows killed the alert red squirrels.
They were even hunting polar bears that came into sight. The more ferocious steel-armed crossbows made hunting bears a piece of cake.
The "Northern Hunting" operation of the Principality of Ross has begun. This time they have no expert organization. However, due to the hunting logistics bases such as Ironburg, Fiskburg, Murmansk, and Novorosberg, the hunting operation has become even crazier. .
Especially in Murmansk, Spuyot and his men began to run wildly on sleds on the glacier in order to plunder resources in this substantial seasonal settlement as early as possible.
Every winter, any hunter who dares to brave the ice and snow and brings enough logistical supplies will definitely be able to get a large amount of leather wealth. Not only leather, but you can also make a fortune if you get a lot of animal fat.
Because the territory of the Principality of Ross is very scattered, it is only connected in name. In fact, all the settlements are far away from each other, separated by vast seas and forests. With a tiny population facing vast tracts of land, any hunter willing to hunt can make a fortune, and Rose continues to gain wealth by opening new territories under the leadership of her heroic duke.
The "hibernation" of the Slavs is a kind of helplessness. How can they find a job in the snowy world other than hunting in distant places? They are also willing to work hard.
Rurik felt that he had taught his wives and concubines enough geographical knowledge. They must have a greater understanding of the world in which they live. With their horizons broadened, they would seek more knowledge.
They must learn new skills! Because they are not people who are pampered and do not eat fireworks, they are all doers.
On a clear and cold morning, the girls who had already felt it gathered together.
Rurik was dressed like a little polar bear, and so were their outfits.
The closed wooden windows were propped up, and Rurik let the cold wind blow into the house, thus stimulating everyone's spirits.
"Can you guess my purpose in asking you to gather now?" Rurik asked deliberately.
The girls stared at Svetlana, and she spoke on their behalf: "Continue to calculate the data on those wooden boards? Or, let's walk through the snow to a distant farm to survey the land."
"So, do you dare?"
Rurik spoke with a smile, and his joking attitude was equivalent to denying Lana's guess.
"Of course we have to do surveying and mapping." He continued, "Doing this on a snowy day is a kind of courting death. This is a job that requires a lot of physical labor. If you are exhausted, you will definitely get seriously ill. It is too dangerous. .”
"So it's about those tree barks? What are you finally going to do? It's called..." Lana pinched her chin, "Is it called a cork board?"
She is indeed smart. Although she has been busy calculating data, she is still very thoughtful and staring at the large pile of birch bark that her elder brother Medved and his brothers have cut and peeled off.
Rurik only mentioned a few times that he planned to make paper, because measuring the acres was more important than anything else, and he never thought that Lanna had been staring at it.
He quickly clapped his hands and said, "That's it. Lana, you are very smart. You actually connected the bark of the tree with the cork board. Shouldn't they be unrelated to each other?"
"How come there is no contact?" Svetlana smiled and said: "I discovered that when you have a new determination, you will implement some new tasks in advance. I know that birch bark, the peeled bark can Dip in ink and write words. It is indeed soft, but it is also very brittle."
Hearing this, Rurik's eyes widened in surprise: "Oh? You actually thought of this."
"Have I...guessed it correctly?"
"Yes! You guessed it right, but not entirely. Basically you guessed it right."
After all, she is the head wife, and Svetalana is the head of the female family. She is indeed a smart woman, but this epiphany about tree bark comes from her life in this land. She is a native of Baishu Manor, and unlike the ten sisters who are maids, she can do nothing He lived a working life and could run around in the woods when he was young. He happened to have a unique understanding of birch bark.
But her knowledge ended here. Adults wanted wood rather than bark. Birch did not have the peculiar smell of fir or pine, and the sap was slightly sweet. Therefore, Svetlana was also willing to peel off the fresh bark when she was young. Take a lick, after all, it is difficult for people in this era to access sweet things at low cost.
Fresh bark can be spread out into a flat surface, and its inner wall is yellow-white. After dehydration and drying, it begins to turn yellow and becomes very brittle.
She knew exactly what her man meant by "cork board". Based on her understanding of Rurik, she estimated that it was the further processing of bark. After all, the Duke of Ross has done too many similar things, and she will no longer be surprised.
Rurik began to point out the matter: "She is right. We want to create a writing material as soft as cloth. It is made from a tree that is as soft as cloth. I call it a cork board. Its main material is bark. In my opinion, the most useful bark among trees is birch bark. The time has finally come! I ordered people to peel off the bark and store it for a while. They should be dehydrated and dry. It is time to process them further. "
The girls held their heads high, especially the ten maids. They were experts at making soap and the ones who could best understand Rurik's description.
Another example is Nolen, Carlotta and other girls, they just know a little bit about it.
Then to the pregnant princess Mary, she was just listening to the scriptures throughout the scene.
Break an object into small pieces and then process it into a new whole. This becomes something brand new!
"It's like smashing the ore and throwing it into the furnace, and finally pouring the hot substance into the mold to make a shovel for digging. It's like smashing the crystal river sand or the whole crystal into powder, throwing it into the furnace and being It is burned into a viscous and hot substance, and then blown into a transparent bottle and a crystal plate for you to eat. If you don't understand enough, think of the bread and cakes you eat! The wheat grains are ground into powder by stone grinding and grinding, and then mixed with The water forms a ball, and after baking it is your delicious meal. Wheat is still wheat, but it has completely changed its form..."
Rurik made several enumerations, and his wise wives and concubines already understood.
Although Svetlana has not yet been taught the structure of life by Rurik himself, and she does not yet have a clear understanding of the fact that animals and plants are composed of tiny cells, she already understands what Rurik wants to do.
The bark will be ground into powder and then reshaped. Although they didn't know the specific principle, they tried their best to imagine the shape of the so-called cloth-like "cork board".
Rurik felt that they had reached a consensus with him in theory, and they would not find it strange after the birth of paper.
He began to describe the production process of paper from beginning to end in public. Although it was his first time to do it manually, fortunately, there was no problem with the theory. The "instructions" for papermaking are in Rurik's mind. He can just take his wives and concubines and do it himself. Even if he may take some detours, the papermaking operation with the ultimate goal of writing will definitely produce a good result.
The action has begun!
The door of the warehouse building was opened, and the scent of birch trees came to my face!
There was actually a strange sweetness in the air, as well as a light sourness.
It was the peeled bark of five hundred birch trees. The house was piled full, and there was no need to worry about keeping warm. The temperature in the house was always below freezing, which happened to be freeze-drying to a certain extent. As a result, the bark dehydrates and dries.
They were indeed dry. Rurik squatted down and examined the bark by the light from the open wooden door. They are already dry, and they actually have the texture of paper when you touch them.
"That's right, come on girls, take some of the bark outdoors, and let's boil it for three days and three nights, just like flax, until the bark becomes white!"
After giving the order, his wives and concubines began to work.
On the other hand, Medved was ordered to recruit a group of young and powerful men to serve Rurik.
Lord Rurik is indeed fair and just! Your Excellency promised to give each worker a reward of silver coins, and he would indeed manage one meal a day during the working period. This kind of good thing is earned.
The pottery urn where flax was boiled stood outdoors, and the clean snow that was available was thrown into it. A fire began to appear under the urn, and the entire urn began to be heated.
As many as four large pottery urns were boiling water. The urn that was half a man's height finally began to boil after a long period of time.
At the same time, Rurik himself took his wife and concubines dragging a small sled and piled a batch of dry bark in the snow next to the urn.
"My Lord. Look, all the urns are boiling. You...you want to boil the bark now." Medved was puzzled. He reported truthfully, and he also wanted to see what kind of feats the Lord could do.
"Okay, let the brothers throw the bark in. Be careful, don't let the flames hurt the skin."
"Good!"
The snow beside the urn has long been melted by the heat of the flames, revealing the blackened earth below. The strong man threw the bark into a pottery urn and began to cook it for three days and three nights.
"Does it really take three days to cook?" Medved asked Rurik who was watching in confusion.
"certainly."
"Is it really necessary? Even if it is boiled meat, any meat that is boiled for three days will become dregs. These urns are boiled flax stalks and stripped twine. We can only cook it for half a day at most..."
"Are you worried that we will boil the bark into powder?" Rurik asked deliberately.
Medved looked suspicious but did not dare to question it outright. He could only whisper: "Sir, I'm just worried that if we don't do well, it will ruin your big event."
"It's okay. My goal is to boil the bark into dregs. If you can accomplish this, I will pay you more. Don't worry, just boil it for me. I don't think the bark can be boiled into powder. .”
"ah?"
"Listen carefully to my orders!" Rurik emphasized his voice: "For three days, I want these four pottery urns to be heated by the fire. Every other day, you can use a ladle to clean out the turbid water inside. Put in new snow cubes. On the fourth day, I will personally stand here and order you to put out the fire."
"As you command, I will strictly implement my decision."
Rurik is deeply aware that one step in papermaking is to cook out the non-fibrous raw materials through long-term cooking.
After all, the technology of papermaking originated from the by-product of the silk reeling process in the silk textile industry, so the word "paper" is directly related to "silk". Of course, plant fibers can do the same thing. Flax and ramie stalks contain all kinds of impurities. All people need is the fibers and regular weaving.
When it comes to the structure of matter, the difference between cloth and paper is probably just in the arrangement of cellulose. Cloth is extremely regular, while paper is completely the other way around.
When flax stalks are boiled, the pigments, colloids, fats and other impurities in them are boiled out and dissolved into turbid water. After this processing, the flax can be stripped into silk threads for textile processing, and can be woven into plain white linen.
It is true that every farm in Novgorod can make white linen, but everyone has a love for beauty. When a farm takes the lead in adopting dyed linen mixed weaving technology, people all turn to weaving striped calico.
There was still some white cloth, and Rurik quickly ordered some in Novgorod.
The local Slavic women are very ingenious, and almost every household has a textile loom. However, those ancient tools require people to sit down and operate them, and the weaving speed is too slow.
The locals do not have the luxury of weaving. Firstly, the production of flax is limited. Secondly, the peasant women are too lazy to make new ones after they have made enough cloth for their own use. The whole family devotes most of their energy to spring plowing and autumn harvest.
Just like buying idle female labor in his hometown of Rosberg in exchange for the cloth they spun, paying real money and silver, Rurik did the same thing in Novgorod.
He ordered a special kind of cloth, or simply gauze.
Each hired woman had to weave a piece of gauze with a length and width of one stitcha, and the threads were separated by the width of one silk thread. They are all experts in weaving, and their weaving and dyeing techniques are much better than those of the Russian women.
While the bark was boiling furiously in the pottery urns over there, the gauze for which Rurik had requested was quickly completed by the tremendous zealous labor of the women. It is gauze after all, so it doesn't need to be woven airtight and it doesn't take a lot of time.
The water in the pottery urn is still boiling, and Rurik has hired local carpenters to make enough wooden frames.
The wooden frame is spliced with a mortise and tenon structure. The size of the inner frame is also very particular, that is, it is 0.4stika long and 0.3stika wide. The overall size is to produce A3-size paper.
Fresh gauze is cut, and the gauze is tightened by a small wooden frame on the outside.
The sieves were thus completed, and as many as fifty sets were made, for which Rurik paid as much as half a pound of silver. Rurik felt that such a contribution was worth it, the Ottos felt that their son was a waste, and the old Rigus and his manor clan saw the generosity of Prince Rus.
In fact, Rurik didn't have a good idea. After the bark was processed, pure fibers would be left. The fibers would then be mashed and ground into powder, and finally attached to the sieve and coated with a dense layer. This layer of fiber was pressed by the wooden board, squeezing out most of the water, and the entire screen was placed in a dark room with a temperature above freezing point to dry in the shade. Rurik had already followed his own ideas to start the follow-up work...
