Europeans loved sweetness, otherwise sugar would not have been one of the main goods of the Great Voyage in the 18th century. Europeans drink coffee with sugar, and tea also adds sugar (such as milk tea), which is basically sugar-free. However, in later generations, because of the development of medicine, Europeans learned that eating too much sugar was not good for their health, so they reduced their sugar consumption.

For now, Europeans don't have sugar. In Paris, cane sugar is sold in pharmacies, not in grocery stores, where everyday necessities are sought.

Marin took some brown sugar from Grenada, mixed it into the rye pot, and offered it to the fat brothers, so that they could entertain the court clergy. Sure enough, this rye two-pot head doped with brown sugar is very popular. The sweetness of the brown sugar masks the faint bitterness of the rye second pot head, which makes the wine taste better. And then, naturally, those civilians are more likely to get drunk......

After inquiring about the bags of several civil servants, the fat brothers asked where the correspondence between France and the Duchy of Guedes was kept, a confidential office next to the Foreign Minister's office in the forecourt of the palace......

The office was run by an archivist who was the second son of a native Parisian baron, Paul, who was low-key and mediocre. Because the family background is not strong, and I am not very good, there is no hope for promotion. Therefore, this guy usually has a bit of a mess. Of course, as an archivist, he is still dutiful.

The fat brothers heard that Paul's only hobby was playing cards. However, they don't gamble money. It's not that Paul doesn't like to gamble, it's that this guy doesn't have money......

As the second son of the baron's family, Paul had no right of inheritance. In this Europe, where the eldest son takes all, the second son who has no inheritance rights is naturally poorer. His father was worthy of him if he was able to find him an errand to work in the palace. In addition, he had a residence in Paris, married a good wife, and gave birth to three children.

It's just that, because of the meager salary, I still have to support my wife and three children. Therefore, Paul did not dare to gamble money. Because he has no extra money to gamble......

After the fat brothers got the news, they sent it back to Aurich through the branch of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce in Paris. After all, Marin once ordered that the fat brothers were only responsible for inquiring about the news, not for stealing letters. After all, they are Marin's most important pawns, and they can't expose themselves for stealing letters.

After receiving the information from the fat brothers, Marin thought about it for a long time and decided to start with Paul's hobby of playing cards. How? Marin planned to arrange for the Paris branch of the Beihai Chamber of Commerce to buy off a few poor local nobles and mix with Paul. Then, try to be Paul's poker buddy. After a long time, he lured Paul to gamble again. In the early days, he deliberately lost some money to Paul to lure him in. Finally, make a game that Paul will be in debt......

When Paul had a gambling debt that he couldn't afford, he could coerce Paul. Then, it's not too easy to let them steal a few letters from the archives in their own custody. In any case, the letters of the Duchy of Guedes were not very valued by the French.

Wait until Marin gets the letter, and then deliberately correspond with Duke Guedes to get a comparison. In this way, it is possible to establish evidence of the Duke of Guedes's collusion with France. When the time comes, Marin will be able to take action against the Duchy of Godes...... As long as you get the territory of the Duchy of Godes, you can exchange it for the kingdom of Mark in the Ruhr region......

As for the pressure of the French? Marin wasn't worried. After all, the French themselves did not attach much importance to the Duchy of Geddes. Moreover, they are now fully supporting several cantons in western Switzerland against the invasion of the Habsburgs. Even if you want to support the Duchy of Godes, you can't spare your hands for the time being. By the time they could spare their hands, the war would have been over.

Moreover, after Marin found evidence, he "punished the traitors", and the German princes could not find a reason to oppose it. After all, at the Worms Imperial Conference, they did not disagree with the Emperor's orders. In the absence of a suitable excuse, it is also difficult for them to unite with the French against Marin. As long as France and the alliance of princes do not join forces, Marin has nothing to fear.

……

After having a plan, Marin found Kohler and asked Kohler to arrange specific matters. After all, he is the boss and can't do everything himself. This kind of secret thing, of course, was arranged for the high-ranking horse boy Kohler to go out and get it done......

It just so happened that the weather was getting colder, and as we entered December, there was a light snow in northern Germany. When it snows, it's nothing, and when it snows, it's cold.

During this time period, eating stir-fried vegetables is easy to get cold. Why? Because as the monarch of a country, the dishes that Marin eats have a link of testing drugs. Before serving it to Marin, it is necessary to test the poison with a silver needle, and let a maid or guard eat it first. After a while of no response, Marin and Angela and the others will start eating.

It's nothing in normal season, it's just that when it's cold in winter, after this link, the dish will be cold. And at this time, there is no microwave heating, so at most it is left by the fireplace to bake for a while. But when I ate it, it was still not too hot.

So, Marin thought of the hot pot that he often ate in winter in his previous life......

Just, what is used to heat the hot pot? In his previous life, Marin ate hot pot and bought an electromagnetic heating chassis to heat the hot pot. However, there is no electricity in this era......

Marin knows that in fact, the honeycomb coal stove can also be used to eat hot pot. However, Marin does not plan to launch honeycomb coal now. Why? Because as soon as Marlin introduced honeycomb coal and honeycomb coal stoves, coal would immediately become a hot commodity. When the time comes, if Marin wants to get the Ruhr area again, the difficulty will be greatly increased.

Therefore, now Marin just does not engage in honeycomb coal, and even the technology of shaking pulverized coal into briquettes has been blocked, just to limit the popularity of coal. Only after getting the Ruhr and Newcastle will Marin launch honeycomb coal and make money from it in large quantities......

There is no electric stove, and there is no honeycomb coal stove, so how to eat hot pot? Marin began to think......

Suddenly, Marin set his eyes on a bottle of 40 degree rye on the table......

This bottle of Erguotou is also considered a spirit, which Marlin used to drink to warm his body. Of course, the effect is average. After all, it's only 40 degrees, which is not strong enough.

Spirits, in fact, are mainly popular in cold regions. In China, the reason why spirits are popular is actually a habit brought by the Manchu Dynasty. Manchu people come from the cold northeast, and naturally like to drink spirits, like Maozi, they are all caused by the severe cold.

In the earliest days, after the liquor distillation technology, it was popular in ancient Liaodong to burn knives with spirits. And in Guannai, such as the Ming Dynasty, where the literati were in power, spirits were not popular at all. The idea of going to ancient times and making a fortune from spirits is somewhat unreliable.

Perhaps, in the Tang Dynasty, where the status of the warriors was higher, there was still a market for spirits. For example, reckless men like Cheng Yanjin and Wei Chigong must like spirits. The Yuan Dynasty must have had a market, because the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty were also Mongols from the bitter cold land outside the Saiwai. But if you get the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, where the literati were dominant, it won't work.

When literati drink alcohol, it will certainly not be a strong liquor. Generally speaking, the literati of Jiangnan like rice wine. The alcohol content of rice wine is relatively low, and it tastes like beer. In this way, the literati could drink a little more and talk for a while.

If you burn knives for literati, you won't be able to talk about it after a few cups. Because, it's all under the table......

And the famous Erguotou actually appeared in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Because, the Manchus of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, from the Northeast, naturally brought with them the habit of drinking spirits. If you need it, you will meet it. The second pot head actually appeared to cater to the needs of the Manchu aristocracy. The habit of drinking spirits in later generations was also brought up by the Manchurians. After all, for the ancients, the so-called fashion was that the ministers imitated the emperor (mainly did not transgress), the petty officials imitated the big officials, and the people imitated the petty officials...... As the ruling class, the Manchus liked to drink spirits, and the Manchus ruled for more than 200 years, and then this custom spread to the whole country...... Many people in later generations thought that the ancient Han people liked to drink spirits......

Marin retracted his diffusion thinking, and from the bottle of liquor on the table, he thought of a kind of hot pot in later generations-alcohol pot......

Alcohol is flammable, and it has no odor and no smoke after combustion, making it a good hot pot fuel.

However, Marlin had never used an alcohol pot and did not know the structure of the alcohol pot. And, he knows, alcohol is dangerously flammable. If you don't control it well, you may be able to burn the person who eats hot pot.

So, just to be on the safe side, Marin decided to get an alcohol lamp first. Then, heat the hot pot with an alcohol lamp......

The alcohol in the alcohol lamp is not easy to escape and will not cause safety problems. Moreover, the flame can be adjusted by dialing the wick. If you want to turn off the lights, just close the lid.

Although I studied liberal arts in my previous life, I also took chemistry classes, and I saw the chemistry teacher use an alcohol lamp to heat up and demonstrate chemical reactions many times. So, Marlin knows what an alcohol lamp looks like.

In addition, because of the large amount of brewing of the second pot head, a lot of alcohol was produced at the same time (about 15% of the total alcohol). If you brew 85 barrels of Erguotou, you will get 15 barrels of medical alcohol by the way.

However, due to the imperfection of the medical system, the Grand Duchy of the North Sea simply did not use as much medical alcohol. Therefore, for the use of alcohol, Marlin is actually a little worried. After all, there is too much medical alcohol......

Making an alcohol lamp and then using the alcohol lamp to burn the hot pot may be a way to consume it......

Alcohol lamps are safer and cleaner. It couldn't be better for a hot pot. Even, Ma Lin plans to open a hot pot chain like Xue Zhiqian, and uses alcohol lamps as heating tools...... Well, it can be promoted in Las Vegas......

Marin hired a craftsman and, as requested, made a glass bottle for alcohol and a lamp head that could pluck the wick. This kind of gadget is really not difficult for those craftsmen who can make clockwork.

Soon, an alcohol lamp that could adjust the size of the flame by pulling the wick was made......

Marin then had the blacksmith build a stand and a small copper pot. The copper pot is placed on top of the stand, and the alcohol lamp is placed under the stand to heat the bottom of the copper pot......

That night, Marin used a pot heated by an alcohol lamp and had a hot pot with his family. It's just that without chili peppers and hot sauce, Marlin always feels less authentic......