Just being a dark elf in Warhammer

Chapter 722 573 The Great Machine in Action

Garros may not be an excellent warrior, but he is definitely an excellent slave master.

He divided the labor dispatch of the mining operation into two groups. The first group was the "baretla", that is, the miners, who were responsible for the hardest work. They used heavy steel drills and iron rods to break the rocks in the veins and expose the hidden minerals. silver mine. Every blow raised a cloud of dust, and the breathless environment wore them down.

The second group is the "apili", or porters, who are responsible for transporting the mined ore. Carrying heavy sacks, they trudged through the rugged mining areas. Every step was like stepping on sharp gravel, and the twisting mountain roads and steep slopes made it more difficult to carry.

In order to avoid wasting time, the sacks were filled so full every time that their shoulders were almost deformed and some people fell down from time to time. It's okay to fall down, just get up, but if the ore rolls out or the sack breaks while walking, it will be really bad.

The ore is eventually transported to the foot of the mountain, where a selection team of women and children performs a preliminary screening of the ore. They poured the ore into the square or flat ground and carefully selected the stones with higher silver content.

High-quality ore will be repackaged and transported by llama teams to mills for further crushing and refining processing. These mills used stone rocker crushers to crush the ore into a fine powder for subsequent extraction of silver.

Darkus stood in front of the Mint Square, observing all this indifferently with a telescope. In his opinion, mining is extremely arduous work, with complex processes and harsh working conditions. However, he did not show sympathy or pity for these. This was just part of his rule. The acquisition of resources was a high-risk, high-reward process.

What he needs is the blood, sweat and lives of these miners to support the glorious building of the Elf Empire. As long as the mines of Potosi continued to provide a steady flow of wealth, the fate of the miners was nothing more than an inevitable "price" to him.

There is a reason why there are no riots in these labor dispatches. Here, food has become a necessity. Although it is harmful, chewing does not interfere with motor functions. On the contrary, it can enhance body functions and suppress hunger at the same time. When they go into a new day's work, Garroth will thoughtfully arrange for the soldiers to distribute it, ensuring that they can receive a small piece.

Followed by Chicha wine, after a tiring day, Garroth will thoughtfully arrange for the soldiers to distribute it to ensure that the labor dispatchers can receive a cup. As for taking it back and savoring it slowly, I was still afraid of being robbed, and I was bored on the spot. That was not Drucchi's fault.

Tobacco leaves or something... Sorry, no, really no, not even the Druchi soldiers can smoke enough.

Of course, Druchi will provide medical medicines including senna leaves and cinchona bark. Since it has not yet been refined on a large scale, cinchona bark is currently only used as an antipyretic. There is no such thing as sarsaparilla. This stuff is used to relieve what Banya calls French chicken disease, which is syphilis. Later, a big flu came over...

Typically, labor dispatches would bring the dead as well as those with cracked skulls and broken legs down the mountain. In addition to the mines, labor dispatches were injured every day in the mills. In such a cold country, working at night and tending the ore millstones are the most difficult jobs, because the dust falls into their eyes and mouths, all of which are enough to cause great harm to them. Potosi is like a ferocious beast. Swallowed them alive.

Clothing was in great demand, the thicker and more windproof the better, and miners' clothes were easily torn. Fortunately, the textile factory in Ashriel Province has taken shape and can provide clothes. After the twill technology is released in the future, there will also be work clothes such as jeans. Of course, this needs to be exchanged for special coins.

The hydraulic crusher plays a vital role in Potosi. A 7-meter crusher wheel with 8 or 12 rams processes the ore day and night.

This hydraulic crusher is good because it is powerful and the ore can be completely crushed, but the mercury emissions have also increased sharply, and the rainfall and river flow in Potosi are not good enough to work year-round.

Darkus gave up the idea of ​​Garros preparing to build a reservoir, because the water generator and purifier would be put into use soon, and the hydraulic crusher would be even more powerful by then.

He had no idea of ​​going around the mill, because he had to wear a "Krien", which is a noun, a mask, usually silver or gold, worn by the powerful people of Hagrid Grave for protection. The face is protected from the fog that sweeps over the city. But in Potosi, Crean is no longer exclusive to the powerful, but is assigned to soldiers to prevent them from being exposed to excessive dust and harmful gases.

He didn't like the feeling of wearing Kleen, it felt even worse than wearing a mask. He just kept chatting in the square of the mint. He asked Garros to build an alpaca breeding factory and a leather factory. The dung of the alpaca is a good fuel and can be provided to the labor dispatchers. The tannery is used to collect oils, wool, alpaca skins, etc.

After waiting for a long time, the team that went to the mill came back. Talos once again expressed that he knew why Silver Mountain was blown up at that time. It was too damaging to the environment. This is something Enil, who has a close connection with nature, will never allow. If Darkus doesn't explode, Enil will have only one choice when humans are ready to mine it.

"This 'machine' is an amazing automatic device. It may need fuel, lubricants or maintenance, but as long as it can find 'labor dispatch' to work for it, it will continue to deliver wealth to the elves. This huge machine is a miracle. I would like to call it 'Darkius's Great Machine', but it is also a noisy, destructive, 24-hour pollution killer, a terrible monster that devours men and poisons women and children." - Unlike Talos, Tolandil, who is good at rhetoric, made a speech.

Tolandil's rhetoric successfully made Darkius laugh, and then nothing happened. No matter how you evaluate this machine, it cannot be stopped. This point is not only recognized by the Duruchi, but also by the red dragons with glowing eyes.

The outer buildings of the mint are very majestic, and the heavy walls are built according to the specifications of the fortress, giving people a sense of indestructibility. These walls are not only made of solid materials, but also fully considered the defensive function in design. Every wall of the building is covered with observation ports and shooting holes to ensure that the soldiers can monitor any movement outside from all directions. There are also patrolling soldiers patrolling back and forth, their steps are orderly, and their vigilant eyes scan every corner.

The gate of the mint is particularly solid. The heavy iron gate is closed when there is no transportation task. The door is engraved with complex runes and patterns, which increases the defense of the door. Anyone who wants to enter the mint must undergo strict inspection. The soldiers stationed at the door have a sharp eye and never relax. Even if the door is closed, the soldiers will guard both sides tightly and be on guard at any time.

There may be riots, but...

As long as the mint and the barracks are controlled by Duruqi, labor dispatch will have no way to attack the city with an iron rod? Unless Tzeentch does it all, let one or more beings become chaos eggs to attack the gate, and then come up with an internal and external attack.

If these things don't happen, then you will have a good harvest. As long as the smoke is lit, ride the flying mount down the mountain to call for reinforcements. It only takes half a day for the mobile forces of Duruchi stationed in Salta and Cuyo provinces to arrive, and even Okoos, who saw the fireworks, will send the air force over.

The few years since Dacus left are the best window period, and there is still a small chance of success in the uprising. After that... there will be no chance. The warlocks will be stationed in the Time Sentinel of Cuyo Province. When the energy fluctuations are detected, the warlocks will ride their flying mounts to come as soon as possible. Maybe by then, not only Duruchi, but even Master Xia will come.

After entering the mint, the security is even stricter. The deployment of a post every three steps and a sentry every five steps makes the entire factory area like a military fortress. The soldiers patrolled constantly between different points to ensure that no corner was ignored. The patrolling soldiers walked in a uniform pace, fully demonstrating the discipline and strength of Duruchi.

The so-called coin casting is to heat and melt the metal into liquid, pour it into the money mold, that is, the model, and wait for it to cool down and grind off the thorns on the edge to make the currency. This is how the ancient coins in the East were made.

The ancient coins in the West originated from Lydia in western Anatolia. Amber gold was heated and melted, poured into small particles, and then hammered hard while hot and cooled to print the pattern on the coin mold on the coin embryo, so it is called coin making.

This process is time-consuming and labor-intensive, with low efficiency, and the quality of the coins is uneven. Sometimes the pattern is offset due to the irregularity of the coin embryo. Sometimes the coin maker does not use enough strength, which will cause the pattern of the silver coin to be blurred. Sometimes the coin maker hammers too hard, which will cause cracks around the silver coin. If you look closely, the ancient coins that have survived have these shortcomings.

As time goes by, the technology of coin making has gradually improved, and the invention and application of various machines have greatly increased its efficiency. The patterns on the currency became clearer, and the production cost was reduced, so it gradually became the mainstream way of making currency in the West.

However, this way of making currency also has problems. It is difficult to ensure the fixed value of the currency because there is a very popular operation - coin clipping.

To put it bluntly, the technology is still not in place. The patterns will not be crooked, but the edges of the coins are still uneven, and the size and shape are not particularly fixed. They are not round and strong like modern coins.

People will cut off the uneven parts of the edges of the currency, or file them with a file. The silver or gold scraps filed off will accumulate. When the number accumulates enough, they will be melted into gold or silver, a typical case of plucking feathers from a passing goose.

There is no doubt that this is an illegal act, because this act is equivalent to reducing the value of the currency itself and destroying the stability of the value of the currency. If caught, they will be severely punished, ranging from having one hand chopped off to the death penalty, but...

The royal family had to issue a decree, stipulating that: for the stability of the currency value of the kingdom and the credit of the crown, it is forbidden to cut and damage the king's currency and ensure that good currency can be circulated within the kingdom.

But it is still useless. It should be worn out and lightened. Everyone cuts the coins, you scrape a circle, I scrape a circle. In this way, the gold and silver content of the currency is not equal to the currency value, which affects normal business and trade. So when people trade, they have to lift the scales, weigh the currency, and recalculate the value, which is equivalent to using gold and silver coins, which are originally quantity currencies, as weighing currencies.

Then...

There was a bang in the sky, and Lord Niu made a brilliant appearance!

Before he started to speculate in stocks, he served as the supervisor and director of the Royal Mint and invented the side teeth. The application of this design makes it easier for people to detect the behavior of cutting coins, because once someone tries to cut off the outer ring of the currency, the side teeth will be destroyed and can be easily discovered.

But there is still room for operation. There is a phenomenon of silver theft on silver dollars. People will cut a circle on the silver dollar and then carve the side teeth, resulting in a smaller actual weight of the silver dollar.

This is the benefit of knowing history! Go straight to the stomach!

When Daxus was in Nagarond, he visited many places. He knew the nature of Druch too well. He stayed at home in the winter and had nothing to do. He must find something to do.

In order to deal with silver theft, he designed side teeth, and not only that, he also referred to the one-yuan coin that made a rattling sound in his pocket, and designed a circle of raised light edges on the inner contour of the side teeth.

Cut it, he wanted to see how to cut it. After cutting the side teeth, did he also cut the light edges? And then create a set of light edges and side teeth? Maybe you can do it. Find a hammer and a corresponding contour fixing tool. You have plenty of time. Just knock it slowly, just like the one who grinds a hammer into a needle.

But it's still not right. After shrinking a circle, the smooth edge and the densely packed convex points on the smooth edge don't match. You can see the problem at a glance. Unless you make another circle of convex points, the problem is that these are convex points, not concave points that can be hammered out, and the convex points that have shrunk a circle don't match the pattern on the coin.

Then you...

Right.

If you have this skill, why do you have to stay at home to cut coins? Isn't it better to work directly in the mint? If you don't have this skill, why do you have to stay at home to do this thankless job that will kill you if you are caught.

Various policies are there. Sell some small commodities and open a snack bar. Isn't it good? No Sovereign? No problem. He is kind and generous. He has introduced policies, gives subsidies, and slowly pays taxes and repays slowly. He needs Duruchi to consume, to get the economy going, so that the soldiers and workers with Sovereigns have a place to spend, eat some snacks, buy some small commodities, etc.

If you are afraid of losing money and fail to get a quota, you can do something else. Factories, shops, sailors, etc. are all recruiting workers. There is no need to stay at home and think about cutting coins. Isn't it more profitable to work than this?

Gangs? Being controlled by gangs, must cut coins? Do he, Aegirese, bureaucrats, and the Black Knights of the Imperial Order eat dry food? Aren't they rushing to deliver performance?

The technology of the Potossi Mint is very advanced. After optimization by spellcasters such as Malekis, Drusala, Colonia and Whitney, traditional coin casting and forging have been eliminated.

The overall process is to melt and cast first, weigh the ingredients according to the specified ingredients, and melt and cast them into long strips. And there will be no loss due to too high casting temperature, and the temperature will not be too low, which will cause cracks during rolling.

Rolling, the ingot must be made into rolled sheets through rough and fine grinding procedures, cut once in the middle to shorten the length of the strip, and then rolled to the predetermined thickness.

Punching, the strip is processed into a blank by a punching machine.

Polishing, the blank is screened and removed of defective products and sent to the polishing machine. The function of the polishing machine is to remove the hair on the edge of the blank and roll it thick, so that the coin pattern is not easy to wear and can be stacked, and the outer diameter is consistent for printing processing.

Drying, the blank becomes harder after punching and needs to be annealed and softened, and then pickled, rolled and dried, so that the blank can remain smooth. Moreover, after the blank is softened, it is not only easy to print, but also can extend the life of the mold.

The last step is printing. The blank is stacked and loaded into the storage cylinder of the printing machine, and the clamp in the machine automatically feeds it into the mold for printing and then pushes it out.

A silver coin is composed of an upper mold, a lower mold and a mold ring. The front and back sides, the side teeth and the polished edges are formed at one time. The only thing that is a bit annoying is that the printing machine is not powerful enough. It is currently driven by water. It takes 150 to 160 tons of pressure to print one coin. The speed is a bit slow, and it feels like a blunt knife cutting meat, but it doesn’t matter. The steam engine will be put into use soon.

After the coins are made, the workers conduct visual inspections, remove defective products, count them, and finally pack them for storage.

Unlike Potosí in another world, the mint here is not mixed with national and private interests. It is the industry of Malekith. The treasurer, precious metal tester, smelter, and weigher are all transferred from the Nagarond Mint.

The silver coin in Dacus’s hand is still a little warm. It has just been printed. It has a diameter of 39 mm, a thickness of 2.5 mm, a weight of about 26 grams, and a silver content of about 90%.

If you compare it with the benchmark, it is: 1 Morgan silver dollar = 1 US dollar, 1 crown silver coin = 5 shillings, 5 franc silver coin = 5 francs, 1 silver dollar.

Of course, the world he is in now has its own currency system. In the old world, 1 gold coin (1GC) = 20 silver coins (20/-) = 240 copper coins (240d), and 1 silver coin (1/-) = 12 copper coins (12d).

The elves are also similar.

In other words, the silver coin in his hand = 5 shillings, 1 crown, 5 franc silver coins, 5 silver coins, 60 copper coins. If he takes 4 coins = 1 pound, 1 gold coin, 240 copper coins.

The front of the silver coin canceled the design of the divine emblems of Cain, Ers-Haei, Asati and Anes-Lema. These four correspond to the season of blood, the season of despair, the season of corruption and the season of wildness, the four seasons of the year in Duruki. Only the portrait of Malekith is retained, and the reverse side cancels the picture of Aenarion killing demons and replaces it with a picture of the scenery of Naggarond.

In a sense, it is a circulating coin of Naggaroth. This silver coin with a picture of Malekith wearing midnight armor on the front and a picture of Naggaroth on the back is very oppressive. Even if it is robbed by Asur, it cannot be circulated. It is crazy. How can such a silver coin circulate in Ulthuan? It can only go through the process again.

In addition to this unimportant point, this coin will no longer be issued after the King's Landing in Ulthuan. It is considered a limited issue and has a certain collection value? But it is not worth much. The years and circulation are there, and it is not a limited edition or commemorative edition.

With the blessing of the new technology, there are no smaller trachoma on the surface of the silver coin, the image is three-dimensional, and the tooth edges and smooth edges are regular and smooth. He wiped it with his sleeve, and the silver coin became slightly brighter and softer. Then he gently pinched the center of the silver coin with the tip of his left thumb and middle finger, and knocked on the edge of another silver coin with his right hand. He took it to his ear and listened. The sound was soft and pleasant, without long, sharp or low muffled sounds.

After throwing the silver coin to Springwin, whose eyes were shining, he went shopping again.

The mint in Potosi has two production lines, one for 5 silver coins and the other for 1 silver coin.

The 1 silver coin has a diameter of 23 mm, a thickness of 1.4 mm, a weight of 5 grams, and a silver content of 90%.

Then there was nothing else. Based on the original 1 gold sovereign, he designed a 5 gold sovereign. From there, there were gold nuggets and gold bricks. Bulk transactions were handled by the government and the church.

But the gold coins were not produced in Potosi, but in the Nagarond Mint, with a focus on safety. The raw materials are mainly the original inventory and the gold shipped back from Spicazuma. Later... the gold mine mined in Gorond may also be added to the materials? Of course, this depends on whether Moras is dead or not.

There are no copper mines in Potosi. The nearest copper mine is in Cuyo Province. Originally, Dacus was worried about polluting the environment and did not mine, because the province of Cuyo was dedicated to growing grapes and producing wine. However, there is no problem now, and the water purifier has appeared, but he still does not plan to mine.

Because he does not need too much copper, and he does not produce bronze, wires and cables. What is the place that needs copper now? Pipes? Bearings and gears, chemical equipment and so on. Nagarus has no demand for copper art and decorations. Hag Grave's small production is enough for current and subsequent use.

Copper coins must be available, and the quantity must be large. After all, to maintain the normal operation of private transactions, a daily portion of food that can maintain body functions requires 10 days, and sleeping in an inn for one night also requires 10 days. Other wines, daily tools, etc. all require copper coins for transactions.

But there is no need to use copper. Duruchi's monetary system is linked to gold and silver, not copper. He only needs to ensure the purity of gold and silver coins. He is conservative in this regard. He will not do anything stupid. He will not do something stupid, such as using Nordic gold, which is 89% copper, as gold coins, which will cause a credit collapse. That would be a real disaster.

Nordic gold is a golden copper alloy. In addition to copper, it also contains 5% aluminum, 5% zinc and 1% tin. The production process is also very simple and can be produced in a family workshop. The finished product looks no different from real gold, and it can be mistaken for the real thing, but it will be exposed when you weigh it. After all, the density of gold is there, just like some big gold chains that float in water.

Perhaps there will be gold that is more amazing than Nordic gold. The density is the same, and there is nothing wrong with it. After all, this world has a pious style.

The famous Bayer Shazer Gelt of the Empire has done something stupid. He is not from the Empire. He was born into a family of a pharmacist and doctor in the court of a border prince. After traveling around the southern city-states and learning some knowledge, he was not satisfied with this, so he boarded a ship to Marienburg and went to the Golden Academy in Altdorf. He paid the fare in gold, but soon after he left, the gold in the captain's hand turned into a lead block.

But there is a saying here that Dacus judged that Bayer Shazer should pay gold bricks, gold nuggets, etc., instead of gold coins, because it is relatively simple to turn lead into gold bricks, as long as you enter the Wind of Piety, but it takes a certain level to make lead into gold coins that can be mistaken for the real thing, and it requires the warlocks around him to do it slowly.

This is also the reason why he keeps the currency linked to gold and silver. There may be counterfeit coins in circulation, but is it within the controllable range? The relevant laws, warlock filing and supervision systems are there, unless someone is possessed by the Great Demon of Tzeentch and mass production is carried out.

This...

But it is still within the controllable range? After all, large transactions rely on the Phoenix Court and the Cult to come forward, unless these two points are also exposed.

Under the condition that the gold and silver coins are guaranteed to be fine, the raw materials for copper coins are very wide, such as nickel-plated steel core, which is a 1 yuan coin. He handed this matter to Hirsis, and he didn't know how it went.

If there is no problem, as planned before, he plans to create a batch of special coins for Asheril for the labor dispatch to use to purchase goods and services provided by the patrol team. The Duruchi soldiers can steal, but they are worthless after stealing. The copper coins themselves are made of steel, and the market in Duruchi does not recognize this special coin.

Of course, the labor dispatch can also melt the special coins to make weapons and armor, but the probability is not high. In addition to the report of the labor dispatch, the eyes of the Duruchi soldiers are blind.

As for wages and prices, he has almost decided on the Black Ark. After another meeting and research in Asheril in the next two years, he can meet with Malekith after returning to Naggaroth and come out.

When the time comes, fire it up! (End of this chapter)

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