Machinery

Mechanical

Why did the emperor ask me to do something?

Varro thought about it for a long time.

Her own construction skills were only a small part of the reason; the main reason was the machinery factory that Anastasia.

This factory produces a wide variety of steam engines, boasts strong technical capabilities, and ranks second in scale in the country. It will be able to supply hundreds of steam engines needed for the future construction of the Suez Canal.

The Galata Machinery Factory ranked first, with the Cyprus Despot and some members of the House of Nobles holding the vast majority of shares. However, the emperor disliked the political views of this group and did not want them to gain too much advantage.

Manuel, unaware of his cousin's thoughts, gently blew on the steam rising from his teacup and continued to advise him, "In recent years, cold waves and droughts have occurred frequently. Whenever there is a food shortage in various places, the Central Administration has to divert grain from Egypt, and the discontent of the local people has gradually accumulated."

Last time, the railway construction almost triggered a rebellion throughout the Nile Delta. This time, we must be careful not to cause too many deaths, and use machinery as much as possible where possible.

Also, I heard that you've been searching everywhere for help lately, but haven't been able to find a suitable way to offer gifts. The palace will send someone to you to quickly resolve this trouble and get the machinery factory back to normal.

The emperor favored Varro primarily because he was from a distant branch of the Imperial Clan and had no inherited lands, making him far more reliable than those Despot.

After the audience, the black-robed Eunuch and Varro returned to the March Square outside.

"Get in the car with me, we'll go to the factory to settle your business."

With the royal family as his backing, Varro was full of confidence and entered the Sushnitsyn Machinery Factory with Eunuch and four Cuirassiers.

He ignored the anxious middle and upper management and focused his attention on Trevi: "Mr. Trevi, it seems you have something to say to me?"

Trevi glanced at the silent Eunuch behind him, forcing himself to remain calm, "The second half of the year's results are very good; Anastasia will be able to receive eight thousand Hyperpyron."

Finding no response, Trevi raised his offer by another two thousand. But that wasn't what Varro wanted.

Varro: "In this situation, you still think you can get away with it? Let me tell you, there are two ways to resolve this. The first is to lay everything out in the open and publicly deal with the crimes of you and your cronies."

If you don't want to waste time, I'm willing to handle this privately, considering your relationship with Anastasia's family, and not pursue legal action against you and your associates. The condition is that you hand over the management rights and compensate her for her losses over the years. If you can't repay the money, then the shares will be returned."

Thud! Thud!

The machines roared tirelessly, snowflakes fell in abundance, yet Trevi's forehead was covered in beads of sweat.

After a long silence, his shoulders were covered in snowflakes, and his voice was filled with despair. "Effective immediately, I relinquish all my duties at the factory and return control to Anastasia. If you want more shares, I'll sell them to you at market price."

Seeing this, the remaining management team resigned one after another, Varro did not try to retain them.

"You have three days to fill the gaps in the accounts. Don't even think about getting away with it, and definitely don't try to run away. The Sea of Sea of Marmara is freezing cold in winter; you might fall in."

Dismissing these managers all at once would inevitably disrupt the factory's operations. But keeping them would be even more harmful, as there is a lack of trust between the two sides, and a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one.

The Eunuch didn't say a word the whole time. His duty was to accompany Varro, and he wouldn't interfere with what Varo was going to do.

Led by the workers, Varro carefully toured the reclaimed factory area.

This is a rectangular site covering 12 Stremma (12,000 square meters), employing 520 people, and divided into several main workshops:

The forging workshop forges load-bearing components such as crankshafts and connecting rods.

In the foundry workshop, molten iron is used to cast various components.

The machining workshop is responsible for processing raw materials into precision parts.

Financially, the accountant hired by Varro checked the books and found that the factory's total assets were worth about 400,000 Hyperpyron. The industry's average profit margin was 10%, which meant that it could earn a net profit of 40,000 coins per year.

Anastasia owns 45% of the shares, and her annual dividend should be 18,000 gold coins. The factory distributes dividends twice a year, with each dividend supposed to be 9,000 gold coins. However, these people cheated her out of more than half of it, leaving her with only 4,000!

"A bunch of damn parasites!"

Varro walked into the west side of the factory building and observed the products being assembled and tested.

Agricultural steam engines are relatively small, with a power output of only 4 to 15 horsepower. A 4-horsepower steam engine costs 300 gold coins, which is unaffordable for self-sufficient farmers. Their customers are Agricultural Company and local gentry.

(Horsepower is a unit of power, equivalent to the continuous work of a heavy Harness Horse.)

The steam engines used in the factory typically have a power output of tens of horsepower, and the combined price of the engine and boiler generally ranges from two to three thousand gold coins.

They are large in size and are usually disassembled into multiple parts during transportation. After arriving at their destination, factory technicians reassemble and test them on-site.

Over the past two decades, the steam engine technology in factories has matured, transmitting power through a massive beam to drive dozens of spinning machines, weaving machines, or other machinery within the factory.

Steam locomotives and large inland river vessels both have power outputs of tens of horsepower and are priced between 1,000 and 2,000 gold coins.

Marine steam engines are enormous, requiring too much manpower and cost, and are not within the production scope of this factory.

During the canal excavation, the weight of the machinery could not be too large, estimated to be in the range of tens to hundreds of horsepower, which happened to be the area of expertise of the Sushnitsyn Machinery Factory.

Passing through a secluded corner, Varro tried to give the Eunuch the banknotes and jewelry he was carrying, but the eunuch refused to accept them.

"I don't lack money. My biggest worry is my good-for-nothing nephew. He doesn't care about studying; all he thinks about is business. If you have time, please teach him a bit."

Varro readily agreed, "Your Excellency Erios, I will certainly find him a good job at the Canal Company."

Every act of help comes at a price.

Using his royal authority, Varro easily subdued Trevi and his superiors, at the cost of his future.

The construction of the canal was a long project, taking anywhere from several years to more than a decade. Fortunately, Varro was born in Tripoli and was adapted to the hot climate of North Africa.

"But will the little pigeons be able to adapt to the local environment?"

Around noon, Varro concluded his tour and announced the change of management rights to the employees in the cafeteria.

To appease everyone, he gave each of the remaining employees a gold coin and promised to announce the new management team within a week.

"You can apply for the job yourself, or introduce technicians from other factories. I will pay a referral bonus!"

The crowd whispered amongst themselves; most of the employees didn't care about the men's infighting. Now that Anastasia and her husband had won control of the business, they were willing to accept reality.

Soon, a technician stepped out of the crowd and recommended himself to be the supervisor of the boiler workshop.

The crowd erupted into chaos, with some vying for positions and others smearing their rivals.

"Ferrante has Venice blood, you can't trust him! Has everyone forgotten about the Fourth Crusaders?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? My grandmother came from Vicenza, a place occupied by Venice, but that doesn't mean she was Venice. You filthy, viper, you bring coal home every day after work, and sell the rest to the neighbors. You should be sent to the Police Station!"

With the situation unclear, Varro did not take sides and silently observed the personalities of the technicians.

The production staff in the machine factory are divided into three levels:

The upper level consisted of the factory owner, draftsmen, and supervisors of each workshop.

The middle management consists of forty technicians in the workshop, with an annual salary of 50-60 Hyperpyron.

The grassroots level consists of skilled workers, apprentices, and menial laborers.

Skilled workers earn an annual salary of 30 gold coins.

The apprenticeship period lasts 5 to 7 years, with an annual salary of only 25 gold coins.

The annual salary for a handyman is 20 gold coins, which is higher than the income of a self-sufficient farmer (15 gold coins). However, prices in Constantinople are high, so the actual standard of living for a handyman is not as good as that of a self-sufficient farmer.

The cafeteria was in complete chaos, so Varro decided to let the employees eat first.

He accompanied the Eunuch, coachman, and four Cuirassiers to the best restaurant in the vicinity, where they ordered the most expensive meal.

After a hearty meal, Varro saw the group of gentlemen off and returned to the factory to continue working.

With the management team resigning one after another, he had to take over various tasks while searching for suitable replacements.

Moreover, when business partners heard about the changes at the machinery factory, they all came to inquire about the situation, Varro needed to appease them.

"Malaka! How come doing business is more tiring than fighting a war?"

Varro originally thought that since he had served as Deputy Battalion Commander with more than four hundred soldiers under his command, he could also manage a factory with more than four hundred soldiers.

However, factories and the military are two different environments.

Varro spent his teenage years at the Military Academy, learning how to command troops and build bridges and roads, but he had no experience with mechanical processing.

When the supervisor and technicians explained the technical details, he always seemed to understand only vaguely and didn't grasp the specifics.

With time pressing, Varro temporarily set aside production matters and focused his energy on finance and human resources.

"Coal was delivered yesterday... and it's been used up... The current inventory can last for six days, thankfully the next batch of coal is arriving soon."

Varro arrived at the dock on the south side of the factory area, which faces the Sea of Marmara and can accommodate steamships of up to a thousand tons.

The coal and steel needed for daily life, as well as the steam engines produced, all entered and exited through this dock.

This is the advantage of being near the coast; it makes it convenient for factories to handle goods.

Building a factory inland can be very complicated; it might require renting a dock from another factory or handling loading and unloading at a public dock. If

There is a track connecting the factory area and the dock, which allows for the transport of goods by train. Without the track, goods could only be transported by Harness Horse, which was extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive.

The disadvantage of building factories along the coast is that they are exposed to tides, storms, and attacks from enemy naval forces, but the Sea of Marmara is an inland sea, so none of these problems exist.

"This piece of land alone is worth 150,000 Hyperpyron. My father-in-law has a good eye; he only spent 20,000 Hyperpyron when he bought it. Assuming the factory wasn't adjacent to the dock, its current value would probably be no more than 40,000 hepburns."

After enjoying the sea breeze for more than ten minutes, he saw a coal ship slowly sailing towards the dock.

"What are you standing there for? Get to work!" the warehouse supervisor yelled, interrupting the workers' chatter.

After the steamship came to a stop, workers operated cranes to unload the coal.

Coal prices have risen again.

Firstly, there's the seasonal factor. From December to March of the following year, the northern Sea of Azov is frozen, making it impossible to transport coal from the Tarol Coalfield.

Secondly, the Ryazan army occupied the border town, only ten kilometers from Scythian Fort. The Tarol Coalfield, located in the south, showed signs of sporadic enemy cavalry raids.

The captain took the cigarettes handed to him by the warehouse manager, exhaled a puff of white smoke onto the sea, and complained about the current situation, "I heard that the Protestant princes in the Germany region are forming an alliance, and the House of Habsburg are about to face a civil war. If the House of Habsburg make peace with us, His Majesty can send the army north to deal with those Rus' people."

In Vitus' time, who would dare to be so audacious? Alas, the empire's military spending has increased year after year, yet its fighting capacity has only declined. Truly, a generation...

It's not as good as the previous generation.

After chatting for a while, an apprentice ran to the dock. "Sir, someone from the palace has arrived!"

This time, the palace sent a decree transferring Varro Palaiologos from the army to the Court to serve as a second-class Court attendant.

Dozens of mechanical drawings also followed, all from the Royal Society.

After seeing off the Eunuch delivered the imperial decree, Varro convened a meeting with the newly appointed production director, draftsman, five workshop supervisors, and the ten most experienced technicians.

The supervisors took turns looking at the drawings, their faces showing difficulty.

Assembly supervisor Ferrante complained to everyone, "These machines haven't been technically validated. Even if they're built, most of them will be useless. Who will bear the losses?"

That's a pointless statement.

Where did Varro get the audacity to ask the palace for reimbursement for his losses?

He accepted the emperor's help and appointment, and of course, he had to pay a price.

"Cost matters are none of your concern. My loyalty to His Majesty is paramount; I wouldn't care even if I lost my entire fortune."

Varro picked up the top drawing, which showed a uniquely shaped steam excavator.

Prior to this, a steam excavator had appeared on the market. It was mounted on a railway chassis and used a chain to drive the bucket to dig soil. Its drawback was that it was too inefficient.

The biggest change to this blueprint is the increase in the number of buckets. A bucket is placed at regular intervals along the chain, so that the chain can continuously and continuously dig the soil as it rotates.

"That makes some sense?"

Varro handed the blueprints to the others.

After a long discussion in the meeting room, some technicians had questions about the details of the drawings and suggested visiting the member named "Galileo".

The draftsman, a college graduate of four years, told everyone, "The professor spends two days a week at the Constantinople University and the rest of the time in a mountain villa on the east side of the Channel."

I remember during class, the professor often complained to us that the air in Constantinople was getting worse and worse, making it unsuitable for stargazing. The environment in the mountains was slightly better, but still affected by pollution from the city.

Varro had seen Galileo's name in the newspapers; Galileo's outstanding achievements in astronomy dealt a heavy blow to the geocentric model, and therefore he was attacked by the clergy.

"Let's have lunch at the cafeteria first, and then we'll visit this member."

He didn't care how the sun, moon, and stars rotated; he only wanted to produce usable machinery and complete the Suez Canal as soon as possible.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the group arrived at the villa where Galileo was staying.

This spacious place included orchards and workshops, and was inhabited by Galileo and his wife, their three children, and five servants.

Upon hearing the visitor's purpose, the bearded man in his forties said with a hint of helplessness, "Let me make it clear beforehand, I have no interest in the canal. However, the emperor imposed the order on the chairman, who then distributed the task to us members. I had no choice but to hastily draw up a few plans to get by. Don't have too high hopes; if it fails, don't come looking for me."