I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 200 Tar and Holy Wine

A sack full of old rye was piled up by George and others in the small courtyard at the bridgehead.

Ryan had somehow found an oak tree, carved the shape of wheat grains with his short sword, and placed it at the head of the bridge.

"Not bad, it's quite eye-catching."

Luc glanced at it. The number of refugees this year had plummeted; firstly, those who were going to flee had already done so, and secondly, wars in the south were gradually subsiding. According to Hugo, the Lombard nobles seemed to have bribed the Roman Catholic Church, becoming its so-called shield, in order to resist pressure from the Holy Roman Empire and better consolidate their territory.

Sure enough, as long as Finney is involved, the Vatican can be won over, Luc thought to himself, then turned to George and the others who had finished moving the goods and said:
"There's no rush to recruit refugees. We can recruit thirty people in two months. For the first recruits, we can use local materials and do work relief to build the basic structure of the tavern at the bridgehead."

The Treff Bridge is much more than just a place to collect tolls. As a major thoroughfare, it's perfectly feasible to build a tavern along the way, and the cost would be minimal.

The trees are readily available, and Luc can brew his own liquor.

That's right, the first industry that Luc set his sights on for monetization was alcohol.

"The hops will not be fully mature until August next year, and this year's harvest is estimated to be only one-fifth of the normal yield."

"Maybe we can get five pounds?"

Luke silently calculated the harvest. The yield of hops was not high, but don't underestimate these five pounds. It was enough to brew ten times the amount of malt liquor!
Luke still has some hops in stock.

"With the Aachen Cathedral banner, it might sell for half a pfennig a pound."

However, we'll have to wait and see the actual price then.

He glanced back at Baron's Castle, and after walking a long way with Ryan and seeing no one following them, they made their way back to Knight's Castle through a maze of turns.

……

Upon returning to Knightsburg, the first thing Luke did was to examine the iron arrowheads. He found that the triangular arrowheads combined with the heavy crossbows were indeed incredibly lethal. Then, he immediately inspected the pine resin coal.

"Is it the outer layer of pine resin that prolongs the burning time?"

"I used to use pine resin for preservation, but now it seems that pine resin can be refined into tar that is more flammable and has better preservation properties."

Luc acted on his idea immediately, first rewarding Gilfini, then bringing over pottery, reed tubes, and some pine resin charcoal.

He wants to use pine resin charcoal to refine pine resin.

Luke was very experienced in how to boil solids. He would boil them in a pot until soft, filter out the impurities, cool them, break them up, and then boil them again.

"Tar is probably similar to brewing; it needs to be sealed," Luke muttered to himself. After thinking for a moment, he carefully applied clay to the rim of the pottery.

The pine resin charcoal crackled and popped as it burned, and it was estimated that it would take about three hours to finish. At that moment, Ryan walked up to Luc carrying a piece of clothing.

"Master, look!"

Ryan happily held up the grayish-white garment: "A real armored suit made by old Ek!"

"This is... tanned goat hair?" Luke reached out and touched it, somewhat surprised.

It's no wonder Luc was surprised. He had originally planned to fill three ordinary suits with goat hair, but what he saw in front of him was clearly a mixture of the old linen suits and wool.

Luke carefully touched it and found that the wool had been tanned and divided into more than ten pieces, which were sewn onto the outside of the armor, and there was an inner lining.

"Because of the goat hair, the six armored suits have now become seven. Although the number isn't much, Old Ek says the defense has at least doubled; it should be able to withstand ordinary slashes, although it still won't protect against stabbings."

"But there's one more problem."

Ryan said with some annoyance, "They're too loose. I wore them and ran around a few times and they almost fell apart."

Luke examined the modified armor with great interest. Including the armored suit that already had various padding materials and hadn't been heavily modified, he now had eleven pieces of armor.

"fall apart?"

Luke tugged at the stitches; they weren't very tight. There was nothing he could do; he lacked fine needles, and bone needles were always too rough.

"Wait, I think I know how to improve it further." Lu Ke caught a glimpse of the earthenware pot out of the corner of his eye and had a flash of inspiration.

If ordinary pine resin could be used as an adhesive, then couldn't tar also be used?
Moreover, it is waterproof and corrosion resistant, which is a win-win situation.

He instructed Ryan to bring out all the remaining armor, and then Luke checked the growth of the crops.

He suddenly noticed a piece of warhorse feed that he had overlooked.

Turnips! "In Cooper Castle, it seems that the knights' precious warhorses are all eating turnips."

Could it be because of its cold resistance?
However, if feasible, replacing some of the barley with turnips would be more beneficial for the brewing industry.

Seeing that everything was in good order, Luc looked at the Agate River and temporarily abandoned his plan to build a bridge. At dusk, the tar was finally refined.

"Bring me the armored uniform!"

Scoop out a smear of tar, untangle the yarn, and while it's still warm, apply it between the linen and wool.

"Let's see the results after it cools down for three days!"

Three days passed in a flash, and George brought with him documents from the County of Macon, a reply granting Luke permission to build the Church of David.

After skimming through the text, Hugo finally mentioned a brief but weighty sentence at the end.

"You want to send a priest to Knightsburg?"

Luke silently closed the letter.

Troubled times.

Before even resolving his own legal issues, Hugo was already eager to get Luc to pay church taxes.

We cannot agree to that, or at least we should postpone it.

"However, perhaps we can do something about this."

Perhaps it was Berry's blackmail that heightened Luc's sense of crisis to an unprecedented degree, and two months flew by in his hands.

The tar-coated armor became extremely sturdy, and the tar also improved the maintenance of the pulleys and crossbows. The fishpond, neglected for a long time, was well cared for by the old man, who specially planted reeds to reinforce the embankment and added algae from the Agate River. Although the fish population had not yet been improved, bass were already spawning in the artificial pond. Little Mayman made five light crossbows, which Luke tested. They were very quick to load and easy to carry, but their lethality was limited. Thanks to the pine resin, Luke built another earthen furnace for Jason and transferred Paul's son there as an apprentice. There was no other way; they only had so many people they could trust. The two of them crafted a full thirty triangular iron arrows and one hundred ordinary iron arrows. After mastering the forging techniques, Jason's speed was very fast; he even had time to make an extra spearhead for Luke's lance.

"Hey, sir, you're really impressive!"

With a stag emblem hanging below the tip of his iron spear, Luke, clad in chainmail, sat atop a tall warhorse, looking every bit the elite cavalryman.

"It's just for show. With the iron-coated spearhead, the lance is a bit heavy. It will take some time to get used to it."

Luke's face beamed with undisguised joy. The increasing adequacy of their military equipment greatly enhanced his sense of security. He dismounted with a swift movement and asked, "How's the forging of the hoes going?"

"Two have already been produced. Jason said that thirty will definitely be produced before October."

Luke nodded in satisfaction and casually handed the reins to Ryan, letting him continue practicing his riding skills.

Iron ore development seems to be progressing rapidly, but in reality, whether it's arrowheads or lances, adding them together doesn't yield much iron.

Moreover, Luc had a deep-seated confusion.

"How was Henry's steel cross sword forged?"

Luke flicked the blade.

Why is this sword still so durable after being passed between two hands?

Are there any special tricks?

"Sir, the ale is ready!"

Just as Luc was lost in thought, Gil walked by pulling a cart full of pine resin charcoal, interrupting his contemplation.

One-Eyed Gil pointed to the ten cans of malt liquor behind him. "Sir, do you think this is enough?"

Luke snapped out of his reverie and squinted at it.

One can weighs about two pounds.

"enough."

The Hoffman caravan is about to return with its share of the profits and warhorses, and these ten jars of wine are meant to be promoted by Hoffman first.

When Ryan returned, after the group had breakfast, Luke waved his hand and said, "Let's go check out our new tavern at the bridge!"

(End of this chapter)