In the cathedral, a crowd of guests bustling together to wait for the demonstration.

Queen Anna stood at the front and addressed the crowd. However, everyone was very anxious to know the specific content today, so she didn't delay the time. After a few brief words, he gave up his position and beckoned Guo Kang to come over.

Guo Kang also has a lot of things. He was still directing the monks to put the huge statue of Brother Heaven in place. Now while taking care of the demonstration, I have to greet all the dignitaries and dignitaries, and I am very busy.

This is the first time since the turmoil that the sweat room has held an event that is open to the public. Therefore, most of the middle and upper class people in the capital attach great importance to this.

The turmoil and subsequent investigation were widely implicated. Many people feel weak about this, for fear that the things that were not very clean before themselves will also be turned out together. So everyone showed their powers, and went around to find out the news, trying to figure out the situation.

According to the tradition of the time, when this turmoil was about to end, the central Khan court would hold some activities to calm the people's hearts. Sometimes it's a banquet, sometimes it's a group outing, and sometimes it's just a charity project, and so on. The people who convene and preside over the event are generally some people who still have prestige, but are not on the front line of power. The older generation of royal families and retired princes may be the undertakers.

Generally speaking, receiving this kind of invitation means that you are still "your own person", and you will have to get along with everyone in the future, and basically you will not be punished too harshly. Therefore, the atmosphere of the event was also very relaxed, especially some of the people who were implicated, they all breathed a long sigh of relief, and even their attitude towards the people around them was a lot polite.

And this event was jointly initiated by the queen and the church. The theme of the proclamation is to show the results of the church's recent efforts and to solicit donations for future religious expenses.

Some of the guests are more guilty of this, because they have just been collected once a few days ago, and they have to take a lot of money, and now they have no confidence when they hear about the donation. But most people are still immersed in joy, especially the machinery in front of them, which is too shocking, so that they can't care about so many things.

In the main hall of the Niangniang Temple, there is a huge statue of Brother Tian, which temporarily replaces the previous one. The statue is two stories high, bowing slightly, and striding in front of a workbench.

The masters of the art employed by the church put a lot of effort into it, using the new techniques that are now in vogue, so that the muscles are very natural and toned. Brother Tian was dressed in simple short clothes, with bulging muscles on his back and arms, his expression was focused and peaceful, pressing the platform in one hand and holding a long wooden saw in the other, as if he was about to work.

In the midst of everyone's astonished gaze, several monks really took out a wooden plank, placed it on the workbench and fixed it, and then said hello. A few puffs of heat came out of Brother Tian's body, and the wooden saw in his hand really began to move back and forth. After a few strokes, the wood was sawed.

Brother Tian's movements were fast and accurate, and his strength was still very strong, and after a while, the thick plank was sawn in half. The monks unbuttoned the switch behind it and stopped it. Then push your arm back into place, turn the board in a different direction, align it with the ink line, and restart. Soon, Brother Tian started working again.

Although the Church has been studying this machinery for quite some time, more often than not, it is only an internal display. Most of the audience saw this kind of scene for the first time. All of a sudden, everyone exclaimed, and some people looked around to see if there were any waterwheels or places where people were hidden.

But this machine is really only steam-powered. The only source of power is a steam pipe under the workbench. However, they didn't understand this very well, and when they saw that Brother Tian had already sawed a wooden board in the roar of steam, they couldn't react for a while.

"What a god-like machine." Everyone sighed with emotion.

Seeing that the performance was quite successful, Guo Kang was also quite satisfied. Then, the priest appointed by the Great Lama came out with a few assistants and began to preach and collect donations. After that, it's the work of these professional theologians.

He retreated into the cloister to the side and saw Theodora also coming out of the crowd. She also looked around at the statue of Brother Tian a few times, and then asked Guo Kang curiously, "Has it improved again this time?" I feel more powerful than the previous ones. ”

"The church had enough money this time, so we spent a lot of money and specially customized a cylinder." Guo Kang said: "The previous cylinder was very rough in process. This time, we invited some Seiko masters who made clocks and watches to process the pistons little by little, and also specially designed a lock to lock the hemp rope that filled the gaps. Therefore, the situation of air leakage this time has improved a lot. ”

"If only it could come in handy." Theodora thought for a moment and said.

"It's coming in handy now." Guo Kang told her: "Originally, what we were going to do was an ordinary person-sized model, and the main research direction was to increase the complexity of the movements. Later, I don't know who took the lead, but the priests said that since there was a movement, it should be used to process wood. ”

"Maybe this is more in line with Brother Tian's background." Guo Kang scratched his head: "Anyway, it ended up like this." ”

"Of course, these are the products of considering the artistic image, and there are still a lot of compromises. If you want to be more efficient, you should replace the saw with a disc shape, and there is no need to make many parts of the statue. On the whole, it's about the same as a water-powered sawmill. ”

"Of course, there are people who are very supportive of that line of thinking." He thought about it for a moment and said, "Some people are more fanatical about the technology itself, and think that these portraits are just formalities, but they are unnecessary. At that time, some people felt that there was no need to do such a complicated thing, and it was enough to keep only the upper body. Later, this plan did not pass, and they also said some strange things like 'Brother Tian's legs are just ornaments, and the bishops above will not understand'......"

"Well......" Theodora didn't know much about it, and when it came to technical details, he didn't know what to say.

"We were supposed to show this to the believers during the Chinese New Year." Guo Kang did not continue to elaborate, and roughly introduced: "Because Master Wang said that there was a temporary event, he moved out in advance. The church's plan was to sell the sawn planks and the like as money for charity — I don't know if it would work. ”

"It should be fine." Theodora thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's a pretty good idea. Even if there are no political considerations, it is estimated that many people will be happy to buy these woodworking products. ”

"It seems to be." Guo Kang probably understood. As the most famous carpenter in the entire Mediterranean world, Brother Tian's popularity is quite high, and all kinds of woodware related to him must have the blessing of brand effect.

"At that time, some people asked if they wanted to make religious objects like crosses." He told Theodora: "But we think it's a bit ...... to have Brother Heaven make a cross Too weird? In the end, there was no consent. ”

"Now that's probably enough. Anyway, it's better to be more serious than selling indulgences or something. He concluded.

Theodora nodded.

"We have agreed with the church that we will give one-tenth of the income this time as the fund of the cathedral. This part of the money will be used by your research group. She said: "I hope that next time, there will be other surprises." ”

Guo Kang was overjoyed by this and thanked him again and again.

This time, he estimated that the income would not be less.

A few days ago, whether it was the Criminal Department and Theodora's side, or the militia group organized by Zhu Wenkui, many people were arrested. All of a sudden, the entire Lower City, the forces that had been entrenched for decades, were almost uprooted.

In the past, I am afraid that this situation would not have been imagined. For one, these forces have more or less protectors from above; Second, these forces themselves are also the forces that maintain the daily operation of most of the capital, and without them, the city will indeed not be able to function normally. The gains are limited compared to the losses and turmoil caused by taking them out. Therefore, everyone thinks that even if the imperial court is ready to rectify, it will be a gradual way. It is unlikely that there will be a sudden and drastic change.

But Guo Kang this time is not for the interests of the city. His own actions may have been motivated by blood, but the fact that he was able to attract the direct support of so many pillar countries was largely because of his previous plan.

In this larger project, he showed everyone the enormous benefits of the development of the Rus region. In the eyes of far-sighted people, this is much more important than the little profit that most of them have now. In the same way, it was in order to carry out this plan that he was eager to rely on the poor people of the Rus' in the capital to organize an armed army.

In the process, this led to a series of conflicts and unrest. But it was also in the turmoil that Guo Kang himself, and his followers of Rose, showed enough strength and potential. Although the battle itself was not good-looking, the organizational skills and resilience they showed in their haste obviously satisfied the Zhu Guo, and they decided that Guo Kang had great appeal among these people, and it was worth investing in additional investment at any short-term cost to support his plan. It can be said that he and his followers have passed the most important practical "exam".

As for the gangs and illegal traders in the city, unfortunately, they are the price to be sacrificed this time. Guo Kang himself didn't believe it, only the unlucky guys of the Wang family had dealings with these people. In fact, even the Guo family itself has someone who is specifically responsible for purchasing in the city. He didn't believe it, these people had no contact with the gangs in the lower city.

None of that matters, though.

What Guo Kang wanted was to organize an army as a seed from the Rus' people in Dadu. In his detailed plan, this brigade needs to be adequately supplied and trained, as well as observed and corresponding institutional improvements. At the same time, taking them as a model, ten new war regiments were formed in the north of Crimea, to the area around Kiev, on both sides of the Dnieper River, commonly known as "Little North". It is expected that it will take 10 to 15 years to formalize the initial military and civilian establishment that the Purple Horde had previously established here.

If there is still room for it, or if the locals are particularly active, the area between the Dnieper and the Don River, north of the Sea of Azov, which is commonly known as the "Little East" of the Purple Horde, can also be put in personnel and materials to consolidate the previous management of this area.

If these places can be stabilized, they should be relocated to the vast area north of Kiev and up to Novgorod, which is commonly known as the "Great North", and the "Great East" east of the Don River. These two regions are vast and have a large number of no-man's land, but there are also many local forces that exist, and the establishment of tight rule here will inevitably clash with them. So, you have to be prepared.

However, the benefits of this are also clear. According to Guo Kang's calculations, through the reorganization of the local population, even without considering any technological innovations, without estimating the snowballing increase in productivity caused by the improvement of local agriculture and mining, and only calculating the increase in the scale itself, the romanization of the Rus region can be completed in a hundred years.

With this new territory, one hundred and eighty new military districts can be added. By 1550, if the Purple Horde could indeed surpass the Han Dynasty, and still be around after 200 years, it was expected to be able to draw fifty regular legions from the Rus' region—not the serfs they have now, but a fully manned Romanized army.

In this way, the diplomacy and marriage of Europeans are nothing more than playing house. All those games around power and crowns will lose their meaning the moment they start their lives. No matter how skillful you use your diplomatic skills, you will be pushed all the way by hundreds of thousands of troops. In Guo Kang's view, this is the real strategic layout.

If it was before, everyone would only think that this was just a child's big talk. After all, everyone has grown up since childhood, and who hasn't dreamed and played a map coloring game? However, Guo Kang's performance proves that this time, he is really not just a game or a gimmick.

The gangs in the city were the first to be unlucky. Once they get serious, then, in the face of such a national strategic level of movement, what they can bring is only petty profits. So, they were also abandoned in an instant.

Guo Kang actually knows a lot about this. Moreover, he also understands what the greater value of the Steam Heavenly Brother lies.

"I plan to use this money to hire some monks and craftsmen to go to the Crimea." He told Theodora: "There are quite a few deposits in the south of the Rus region, some of which are very close to the Crimea, which are convenient for mining and transportation. There are some mining areas that seem to have been mined now. ”

"There is no shortage of resources in the Rus region, coal, timber and iron ore are abundant. And the land is vast and sparsely populated, so the machine is even more important. If we can make good use of these resources, the difficulty of reclamation will be reduced a lot. Our plans can be accelerated a lot. ”

"I agree now that you should make your own decisions about these things." For some reason, Theodora suddenly said seriously: "If you think it's good, just do it." I'll find a way to support you. ”

(End of chapter)