Over the years, Eastern Roman Empire has mastered the art of firing most glass, but has been unable to produce high-purity transparent glass and a few colored glasses.
According to the plan, the new workshop will only produce high-end glass. Transparent glass will be given priority to Arsenal to grind the most urgently needed telescope lenses. The remaining products will be sold to the middle and upper classes.
On the third day after arriving in the valley, Ruggiero summoned craftsmen to build Smelting Furnace, giving priority to firing transparent glass to meet the orders of Arsenal.
The bottom plane of Smelting Furnace is a circle with a diameter of two meters. The outer side is made of sandstone blocks and the inner wall is made of refractory clay.
These craftsmen are generally 30 to 40 years old and have rich experience. They completed the construction in only six days.
Next, Smelting Furnace must undergo preheating, and the crucible must be dried and baked. At the beginning of November, Ruggiero begins firing the first furnace of transparent glass.
During his stay at Constantinople, he purchased relevant raw materials from the market, including quartz sand, soda ash and other raw materials, which could support the workshop in the early stage.
Regardless of whether the product is sold to Arsenal or Royal Trading Company, Ruggiero will receive a rebate. He needs to use these funds to maintain the continued operation of the workshop, including but not limited to:
Purchase raw materials and daily necessities, pay wages to workers, and pay high profits to the royal family every year.
Once the capital chain of the workshop is broken, or the account books are reviewed and financial problems are found, the workshop director of Ruggiero will be removed and a new craftsman will be replaced as the director.
Thinking of this, Ruggiero's inner pressure suddenly increased. He turned around and said to the gathered craftsmen, "There must be no mistakes in the first furnace."
Ruggiero ordered the craftsman on the right to open the furnace door, and instantly a wave of heat hit his face. He wrapped his arms and face with wet cloth, only exposing his eyes, and bent over to look inside the furnace door.
At this time, the bottoms of the two crucibles had burned into a translucent orange-red color, like two sunsets about to set.
"Add more!"
Hearing his call, two apprentices (family members of the craftsmen) came over carrying a pottery jar containing a pre-prepared glass mixture.
Ruggiero climbed up to the high stone platform next to Smelting Furnace. There was a round hole at the top of Smelting Furnace. Ruggiero stood on the edge of the hot stove top and used a special long-handled iron spoon to add raw materials to the crucible inside.
After a while, he couldn't bear the heat wave anymore, so he walked down to the ground and asked another craftsman to work on the top of Smelting Furnace.
During the production period, craftsmen took turns to be on duty at the top of Smelting Furnace. After completing the feeding, they used iron rods to stir the glass melt at regular intervals to reduce internal bubbles.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Ruggiero came to the top of Smelting Furnace and used an iron rod to take samples and observe them. The glass liquid circled the iron rod for half a circle, and when it dripped, a thin and long thread was pulled out. After cooling, it became transparent, like an icicle. No bubbles were visible at almost the same level.
"These glasses are qualified, let's start the furnace!"
Ruggiero ordered the apprentice to open the furnace door, pour the best part of the molten glass into many thick glass discs, and then send the finished product to the annealing furnace for slow cooling.
The remaining glass melt is used to blow glass bottles, glasses, or make flat glass.
After many days of work, Ruggiero got sixty boxes of products. He found the officer at the guard station in the valley and entrusted the guard station to escort the goods.
The valley is five days away from the port of Bafra Plain, and transportation is very difficult. The craftsmen put a large amount of straw in the wooden boxes to prevent the vehicle from bumping and causing the glass to shake.
After the convoy arrived at the port, these wooden boxes containing glass were lifted to the cabin, fixed in the middle position of the cabin with the least turbulence, and transported to Constantinople.
In December, some glass samples were delivered to the Blachernae Palace. Vitus compared the self-produced glass with Murano Island glass and found no obvious difference.
"The advantage of locating the production site inland is safety, but the cost is a significant increase in logistics costs. However, glass is a high-profit product, and if the logistics cost doubles, its profits will still be very high.
Murano Island's glass occupies the market of Central Europe and Western Europe. Eastern Roman Empire's products should be sold to Eastern Europe's Rus.
family, or sell it to Central Asia and make high profits."
He called Romanus and asked him to look at these glassware.
"Murano Island is truly a craftsman, much better than his counterpart Constantinople."
Romanus inspected the glasses and thick glass discs one by one, and by the way mentioned the Navy's search for craftsmen in Murano Island.
At that time, Governor tried to hide the most experienced craftsmen and gave some guys with unfamiliar skills to make up the numbers. Romanus did not listen to Governor's remarks. He asked the navy to individually question Murano Island's personnel, compared the information provided by different personnel, and finally selected twenty glass craftsmen.
After reminiscing for a long time, Romanus walked out of the study and went to Admiralty to check the results of the painters.
When the fleet attacked Venice Lagoon, Admiralty hired five painters and asked them to follow the fleet. After more than two months, the painters completed their respective masterpieces.
The first oil painting is a scene of the fleet arriving outside Lagoon. It adopts a semi-overlooking perspective. The focus of the painting is the huge fleet on the sea.
The second picture is Rocket's night attack on Venice island.
The third picture is Romanus accepting the surrender of Governor.
The next two pictures are scenes of burning the armory and soldiers unloading four bronze horses from St. Mark's Square.
Among them, Romanus likes the second one the most. The painting focuses on Rocket crossing the night sky, which gives people an indescribable shock.
Minister of the Navy echoed, "In 18 months, the main body of the Julian Naval Church building will be completed. I recommend the painter of the first oil painting to paint the dome mural."
Romanus's education focused on military and Finance, with a small proportion of art, music, and poetry. He couldn't tell which oil painting had the most exquisite skills. Since the minister recommended the first Florence painter, he had no objection.
During the short conversation, Romanus discovered that this painter has obvious humanistic tendencies.
According to his observation, both Plethon School and Humanist School advocate the revival of classical culture, just like two different branches growing from the same big tree.
However, Plethon pursues a return to the classical polytheistic Greece. Humanism focuses on civic obligations and virtues, and using reason to explore nature.
During dinner, Romanus mentioned the similarities and differences between the two concepts.
Vitus responded indifferently, put down his fork and replied, "You are right about the two concepts. According to the current development trend, I speculate that humanism will prevail. But I will not interfere with this process, just let it take its course."
At the beginning of 1449, Cabinet held a summary meeting for the previous year.
Last year was better than expected.
In the second half of the war, the Venice navy was blocked in the port for a long time, making it difficult to threaten Rome shipping in Eastern Mediterranean.
In September, after Venice surrendered, Rome's business further recovered, dominating most of Trade's Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea.
The statistical result is that Finance income in 1448 reached 2.3 million Florin, exceeding the highest level before the war.
Including Venice's compensation (150,000) and the sale of loot (100,000), the total income reached 2.55 million.
The total annual expenditure was 2.4 million, including 300,000 loan repayments.
Vitus saw the end of the financial report, "I saved 150,000 this year. After three years, Finance finally returned to a surplus state."
As expected, my income will increase further next year. When I save enough money, I will take care of White Sheep first."
In this battle, Eastern Roman Empire recovered numerous Aegean Sea islands and Ionian Islands.
Compared with the Macedonian Dynasty, the current territory lacks Albania and Serbia in the west, and Armenian Highlands in the east.
The population of Albania is close to 300,000, and Finance is scarce, but the ruler's military level is excellent, the attack is difficult, and the income is low.
Serbia's position is inclined towards the Jagiellon Dynasty, which is also not suitable for offense.
Vitus has always believed that the expansion of the Europe part must be cautious and must avoid the emergence of a counter-Palaiologos encirclement network.
The most ideal situation is to take advantage of the chaos to seize territory. Just like a few years ago, Jagiellon attacked the north of Wallachia, and John VIII took the opportunity to send troops to seize the plain south of Danube.
If the situation on the Western Front is stable for a long time, then give up expansion in this direction.
"The terrain of Balkans is rugged and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Frontier Army built Trace Italienne at an important location so that the enemy could not penetrate at all.
The longer it takes, the stronger Eastern Roman Empire will become."
The Foreign Affairs situation on the eastern front is very simple. As long as White Sheep Dynasty is solved, the remaining Mamluk are not a concern.
Half a month later, Eastern Mediterranean.
The clouds were low, the sea surface was light gray, and slow and heavy swells were surging. A Eastern Roman Empire Cruiser patrolled according to the predetermined route. The north wind blew the sails of the ship, making it travel at a high speed of ten knots per hour.
"Eight miles south, there is a three-masted, heavily loaded merchant ship flying the flag Naples, with a deep draft."
Hearing the lookout's call, the officer steered Gray Parrot towards the merchant ship.
Soon, the southern merchant ship discovered Gray Parrot. The captain remembered the rumors not long ago: a Naples merchant ship was seized by Greece people on the grounds of transporting firearms to Mamluk.
"Why are their Cruiser everywhere! I deliberately avoided the waters near Crete. How can I encounter these?"
The captain cursed his bad luck and ordered the sailors to throw the firearms in the hold into the sea.
Now, the merchant ship is traveling from west to east, and the port side is exposed to the enemy's sight. The captain slightly adjusts the course, and the course is tilted to the southeast. When the sailors discard the cargo from the starboard side, the towering stern can block the enemy's sight.
Merchant sailors have heard rumors about the Eastern Roman Empire's treatment of prisoners. If they are caught smuggling firearms, they will most likely spend the rest of their lives in the mines.
Fear inspired the potential of these people, and they ran desperately between the deck and the bottom, throwing long wooden boxes containing muskets into the sea.
Finally, the last box of muskets was thrown into the sea, and the crew members were relieved and sat on the deck gasping for air.
The captain was still frightened. "Fortunately, no artillery was carried this time. There are only one thousand guns Matchlock in the bottom, so it is relatively easy to handle."
Bang!
The shell fired by Gray Parrot fell on the sea behind the side of the merchant ship, requiring it to stop for inspection.
The captain roared, "Lower the sail! When Greece people board the ship, remember not to talk nonsense. If you spill the beans, everyone on the ship will be unlucky!"
Within a moment, Gray Parrot leaned against the side of the merchant ship. The soldiers threw a hooked cable, hooked it to the side of the merchant ship, and then dragged it hard, gradually bringing the two ships together.
After a careful search, the Eastern Roman Empire soldiers only found two small cannons and twenty Matchlock. When going out, it was reasonable for merchant ships to carry these firearms for self-defense and did not violate the emperor's Firearms Embargo Act.
Marines kicked the sailor who was resting on the deck. "Hey, did you throw the firearm into the sea in advance?"
The sailor replied, "We are an ordinary merchant ship, selling woolen cloth and olive oil. We are not engaged in arms Trade."
Captain Marines asked one by one. Some people refuted his remarks, and some sailors were from Iberia and could not understand the Naples language he spoke.
In desperation, the captain returned to the deck of Gray Parrot and discussed quietly with the officers.
The first mate was the first to speak, "Admiralty is asking for both the person and the stolen goods. Since no large-scale firearms can be found, it is better to do less than to do more to avoid entanglement in the future."
The merchant ship was released, and Gray Parrot continued its patrol. Three days later, it returned to Candia Harbor, and five officers went to the squadron command post to report the mission to Felix.
"You found a suspected smuggling Naples merchant ship and let it go?"
Gray Parrot's behavior was in line with the rules. Felix couldn't find any reason to reprimand these subordinates, so he drove them away and wrote a report to Admiralty.
During this period, the most suspected smuggling vessels were the merchant ships Genoa and Naples. Genoa was occupied by France, and House of Anjou of Naples came from France. The two belonged to the same camp.
Felix knows very well that Cabinet will not go to war with the French camp because of this kind of thing. He just wants to apply for more Cruiser to increase anti-smuggling efforts.
If things go on like this, the price for Mamluk to purchase firearms will rise to an unacceptable level.
After writing this report, Felix went out for a walk to relax.
During last year's siege, Candia persisted until early September. The defenders were forced by hunger to surrender, and the surrender time was even later than Venice's homeland.
After this battle, many buildings in the city were destroyed by artillery shells and Rocket. The construction team is clearing the ruins and carrying out busy reconstruction work.
"It's such a pity that a city with a long history has been destroyed like this."
Arriving at the dock area, he suddenly found a familiar Cruiser-Scala anchored here.
Felix's negative emotions were swept away. He ran up to the deck excitedly and greeted more than 20 old crew members, "You were transferred here by Admiralty? Haha, next time I go out on patrol, I will follow you to see if your navigation skills have deteriorated."
After Felix was promoted to squadron commander, Scala's second officer took over as captain.
The new captain saluted Felix and explained, "This time, Admiralty sent us two ships, Cruiser, to explore and occupy Black Coral Islands. We will temporarily dock at Crete and set off in a few days."