The Rise of the European Emperor

The plan for hunting grizzlies provided by Marin was still too late. It was already the end of April when the maple syrup was sent back in March. Not to mention that it takes time to prepare strong bows and heavy triangular arrows, even if Marin immediately sends a ship back to North America to send weapons, it will be early June. The time for maple syrup collection is only March and April.

In fact, maple sugar collection in Canada in April was indeed attacked by a large number of bears. Garland's men counted that there were as many as 500 oak barrels for collecting maple syrup that were taken away by bears. Fortunately, those natives were not stupid, and they didn't dare to provoke the grizzly, otherwise they would definitely be shot to death by the bear.

But in this way, Garland still completed the goal of producing 10,000 barrels of maple syrup. After all, sugar maples are literally everywhere in Canada. Unlike a large number of forests that were cut down in later generations, Canada in this era is full of trees, and there are a lot of sugar maples.

Garland only contacted the local aborigines along the coast and along the St. Lawrence River. In the two months of March and April, they collected more than 400,000 barrels of maple syrup and processed more than 10,000 barrels of maple syrup. syrup.

In fact, if it were not for the lack of proficiency of the local indigenous people in the early collection and the serious interference of grizzly bears, the output of maple syrup this year would definitely break through more than 12,000 barrels.

Moreover, this year, Garland's troops did not go deep into the hinterland of the St. Lawrence River, but only reached the future Quebec City a little bit southwest, and had not yet reached the future city of Three Rivers, let alone the future Montreal.

In other words, Garland's fleet has only penetrated eight or nine hundred kilometers into the St. Lawrence River, and the total length of the St. Lawrence River is more than three thousand kilometers, and Garland has only explored a part of it.

But Garland has nothing to do, because there are many restrictions on the navigation of ships in inland rivers. The biggest limitation is the lack of wind power. Because the dense virgin forests in North America block the wind on the mainland, making it difficult for sailboats to navigate on inland rivers. Sometimes, when the wind dies, the sailboat has to wait there, which is very troublesome.

Therefore, Garland intends to apply to Marin for a batch of Italian-style galleys, which are specially used for inland navigation of the St. Lawrence River, so as to be able to go deeper and obtain more sources of maple syrup.

Previously, Garland directly docked the boats at the temporary docks of the cooperative tribes near the river, waiting for the natives to exchange them with oak barrels filled with maple syrup. The more riverboats there are, the easier it is to purchase maple syrup.

...

However, expanding the production of maple syrup is only Garland's plan. As far as Marin is concerned, he is not keen. why? Because maple syrup isn't in the spotlight right now.

If other European countries know that in the huge forests of Canada, a large amount of syrup can be collected every year, it is estimated that several countries will definitely jump out to compete. Especially France and Spain are the most powerful. France alone, maybe Marin is not afraid. After all, the French navy is too rubbish. However, if such a huge benefit is seen, maybe France and Spain will join forces. At that time, Marin will be overwhelmed.

Therefore, no matter how much maple syrup there is, Marin can't use much, and he dare not disclose it. For now, maple syrup is mostly used to blend rye Erguotou, and to make maple sugar compressed biscuits for the army and sailors. Therefore, its demand is not large, and 10,000 barrels a year is about the same. No matter how much, it seems to be useless.

What's more, Cuba and Grenada under Marin's rule now also produce sugar. As far as the source of dessert is concerned, maple syrup is not the only one, and there is no need to produce too much.

But Marin definitely supports the exploration of the St. Lawrence River. Because, going deep into the St. Lawrence River, not only can you buy maple syrup, but you can also buy rare animal furs. In addition, Marin must be prepared to control the St. Lawrence River Basin. Because, if you don't control it, someone else will try to control it...

Originally, in history, the English did not pay much attention to the Canadian areas that could not be farmed. They did not penetrate the Canadian coast very much, but specialized in operating and developing the east coast of the United States suitable for agriculture.

The French were weak at sea,

Unable to compete with the United Kingdom for the east coast of the United States, they simply concentrated on operating the Canadian coast, especially the St. Lawrence River Basin. Even, Quebec City was built, forming the actual occupation of the eastern coast of Canada. It was not until the "Seven Years' War" that Quebec was taken by the British by force.

But this also reminded Marin that in some places, if you don't occupy them, others will occupy them. Therefore, it is better to occupy a hole by yourself first, so as to avoid letting others take advantage of it.

In fact, in the original history, the entire America was awarded to Spain by the Holy See. Unfortunately, the Spaniards only paid attention to the development of the Caribbean and South America, ignoring the development of North America. Then, the British took advantage of it. Then, France, the deadly enemy of the British, also entered the coastal areas of Canada...

Therefore, Marin, who has learned his lesson, decided to pay attention to the occupation and protection of the east coast of North America no matter what. As for South America, the vicinity of the mouth of the Rio de la Plata in Argentina must also be occupied. In the Caribbean Sea, Marin didn't pay much attention to it. If there is really no other way, it is also possible to allow other countries to occupy one or two islands. Anyway, the most valuable Cuban island in the Caribbean Sea has been controlled by Marin.

...

In early May, the Cuban Colony of Havana sent another ship back. The arrival of this ship made Marin overjoyed...

The reason why Marin was overjoyed was because the ship loaded a batch of sisal leaves, the total amount reached several tons...

In the middle of last year, Tara sent a boat back and told Marin that he had found sisal seeds. Then, at that time, Marin immediately happily asked Tara to cut down trees and plant sisal in the hilly area near Havana. To this end, Tara planted 500 acres of sisal in the hilly area near Havana using the purchased sisal seeds.

However, the maturity period of sisal is more than 2 years. Last September, Tara ordered sisal to be planted, but it will take a year and a half to harvest.

However, Marin had instructed Tara not only to purchase sisal seeds from Mexicans, but also to directly purchase finished sisal fibers...

Even if the indigenous Mexicans don’t know how to collect sisal fibers in this way, let them directly collect sisal leaves, right?

Therefore, Tara once again sent people to the Aztec Empire in Mexico to discuss with the local indigenous people the issue of purchasing sisal fiber.

But the Aztecs were reluctant to collect sisal fiber, why? Because the stone knives of the Aztecs can't cut the sisal leaves... Even if they do, it will do a lot of damage to the blade of the stone knives...

In desperation, Tara directly asked them to break off the positive sisal leaves from the bottom of the sisal. After all, the base of a sisal leaf is not a sisal fiber, but a petiole, which is easy to break off.

In order to lure the Aztecs to help him break off the sisal leaves, Tara directly took out the big killer sucrose...

Although it is the lowest grade of brown sugar, the Aztecs had never eaten something so sweet. Then the Aztecs were overwhelmed by the taste of sucrose...

So, the shrewd Aztec businessman sent his men to the remote arid area in the northwest, broke off the sisal leaves, brought them to the coastal market, and exchanged sucrose with Tara's men...

Tara then collected tons of sisal leaves and sent them home...

After Marin got the batch of sisal leaves, he immediately found craftsmen who were good at making flax rope, and asked them to cut the sisal leaves, divide them into fibers, and then process them into ropes.

After all, sisal rope is the best sailing rope and a good material for the sinews of sails.

However, after seeing this batch of sisal leaves, the rope maker smacked his lips again and again. why? Because of this batch of sisal leaves, the best time to process them should be when they have just been harvested. Fresh and tender sisal leaves are easier to shred, and then soaked in a special salt solution to improve their performance.

But this batch of sisal was sent back directly in the form of leaves, and the best processing period has been missed. Fortunately, however, sisal fiber itself is of good quality. Although the performance may be reduced, the rope craftsmen agreed that the rope made of this kind of sisal is much stronger than the ordinary linen rope after processing...

Then, the first batch of sisal rope was applied to the labor-saving steering wheel system developed by Da Vinci. Because sisal is particularly wear-resistant, you don't have to worry about the rope breaking due to wear and tear during the voyage in the future...

In addition, Marin also took out a batch of processed sisal fibers and asked women who are good at weaving to weave them into canvas to match the sails of the upper gaff sails. After all, a gaff sail canvas made of linen cannot be made too large. Mainly, the intensity is not enough. The sisal fiber is very strong, no less than the strong nylon of later generations. Therefore, it is very suitable for making large-area sails.

The finished batch of sisal ropes and the sisal fiber sails being weaved will be used on the sailboat that Marin will go to Daming in the future. After all, the best things must be for Marin's own use. The strong and durable sisal ropes and sails can also ensure the safety of this voyage. After all, Marin is just a traveler, not a god, and he doesn't have a second life to squander...