Daming: I asked you to hang yourself, but I didn’t ask you to rebuild the Ming Dynasty

Uh!

wrong.

And sweet sorghum.

There is a kind of sorghum stalk that is specially used as sugar cane and has a relatively high sugar content.

However, the yield of this thing is not as good as that of corn stalks!

Zhu Youjian wanted to produce a large amount of sugar in a short time, but the only option was corn!

Therefore, after driving Yuan Zongdi into Xiangyang, Zhu Youjian immediately ordered that only two types of autumn crops were allowed to be grown in his jurisdiction -

High-yielding food crops, sweet potatoes, and corn, the raw material used to produce sugar!

The method of making caramel using corn stalks is very simple, and even if you don’t mind the trouble, every household can make it!

As for the "yellow mud water decolorization method" for converting malt sugar into white sugar, this thing existed in the Tang Dynasty.

During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, it became even more common.

White sugar was a rare thing before the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, although it was a little expensive, it was already common.

……

Corn, unless there is chemical fertilizer, also needs sufficient rainfall. Otherwise, this thing will not bear fruit!

The old farmers who planted corn happily looked at the green branches and leaves, the corn stalks that were "as tall as a man and a horse as big as a horse", and then looked at the sweet potato leaves crawling on the ground under their feet.

Suddenly I didn't know what to say.

That humble sweet potato leaf is a life-saving treasure.

But this corn, which is taller than a human, only grows one head and no fruit...

Some people couldn't help but murmur: "Someone must have deceived His Majesty the Emperor..."

However, the purpose of Zhu Youjian's planting was not to eat corn, but to get corn stalks!

Entering July.

Just when the corn top flowers bloomed, due to lack of fertilizer, the corn ears were only as big as a thumb, and they didn't even have beards.

Anyone who knows anything knows that this is a blind Bao Gu Tuozi.

Even if it is old, there will only be one corn cob and at most two or three sparse corn kernels.

Emperor Ming had already issued a mobilization order, asking all localities to immediately cut down corn, peel off corn leaves, and bundle corn stalks into bundles.

They also mobilized the army, businessmen, and civilians to send carts of corn to nearby docks to wait for loading.

Ships loaded with corn stalks were bound for Jun County.

……

All counties.

The banks of the Han River.

Song Yingxing stood in front of a huge roller and was making final adjustments.

This is a hydro juicer.

Looking around, there are dozens of such huge machines around!

Just around the workshop, there are stoves with freshly dried yellow mud.

This is used to make juice.

……

“Use water power to drive the crushing roller to squeeze out the juice from the corn stalks.

Simmer the juice over slow fire until the water evaporates, and the final paste is caramel.

Then, the malt sugar is converted into white sugar using the yellow mud water decolorization method. "

This is what the emperor said to him.

Song Yingxing has been busy for half a month because of the emperor's words.

After deciding on the route of the moat, he came to the Han River and was busy working on the water conservancy juicer.

This busyness means that I have not returned home for ten months.

"Your Majesty, it's done!"

Song Yingxing dropped the corn stalks in his hand and jumped off the machine.

Zhu Youjian chuckled.

This juicer is just a quick fix.

Using the method of crushing corn stalk juice to obtain corn stalk juice, only a part of the syrup can be obtained.

The best way is to chop all the corn stalks into ten centimeter-long sections, then soak them in water and boil them to extract the syrup from the corn stalks.

Then simmer it over slow fire to dry out the water and obtain the malt sugar.

Although this method produces more sugar, it is not suitable for large-scale mass production.

After much deliberation, Zhu Youjian decided on a method of squeezing and brewing juice.

……

Seeing that Song Yingxing was ready, Zhu Youjian waved his hand and ordered:

"start!"

Song Yingxing personally pulled the operating lever and connected the rotating bearing driven by the water wheel to the juicer.

"Crack, squeak, squeak!"

There was a tooth-aching friction sound, and the huge flywheel drove the pressure roller.

"Feeding!"

Song Yingxing roared.

The craftsman at the feeding port immediately held a bundle of corn stalks, waved his hand and used a sickle to cut the bundled hemp rope, spread the corn stalks, and fed them into the belly of the machine.

"Crack!"

"biu~biu~biu~!"

The corn stalks were crushed and juices splashed everywhere.

The green juice slowly flowed into the huge pool below along the diversion trough.

There are three rollers, each with a smaller gap than the other.

The first bundle of corn stalks squeezed out at least half a barrel of juice.

"Haha, it's done!"

Zhu Youjian was overjoyed.

He quickly rushed to the pool, picked up the water ladle, scooped out half the juice, and took a sip immediately without thinking it was dirty.

"Well, it's very good, quite sweet!"

"Tsk tsk!"

Zhu Youjian smashed the bar in his mouth a few times and thought about it:

"There is a hint of grass in the sweetness. I think I left it on too long."

Song Yingxing also picked up the water ladle and took a sip.

He tasted it carefully for a while and then replied:

"It's no worse than sugar water, and it has an added fragrance of plants."

While the two were talking, the bucket was already full.

In fact, as the craftsmen gradually became more proficient, the machine no longer had any wasted space.

The feeding of a large amount of corn stalks has turned the squeezed corn juice into a stream.

"Come on, let's boil a bucket first and try it!"

Although Zhu Youjian knew that corn stalks could be used to make candy, later generations even saw videos of the production.

However, this is his first production after all.

Zhu Youjian still felt a little unconfident in his heart.

The craftsmen stepped forward to lift two buckets of juice and poured them into the cauldron.

The raging flames licked the bottom of the pot.

Soon the juice is boiling.

The craftsman who lit the fire reduced the amount of firewood inserted and controlled the flames to be smaller.

Thick water vapor drifted into the air, blown by the river wind.

After burning the incense, the juice in the pot became thicker.

The craftsman uses a spoon to stir constantly to prevent the bottom from being burnt.

After a while, the thick juice turned into a paste.

It's like honey.

This is caramel!

Zhu Youjian picked up a spoon, scooped out a small ball, blew it a few times, waited until the temperature dropped, and put it in his mouth.

"Yeah, sweet!"

Zhu Youjian put down the spoon and couldn't stop the smile on his face!

As long as these caramels are sent to the sugar making workshop, after being adsorbed by the yellow mud water leaching method, these dark yellow caramels will crystallize, forming white sugar like white frost.

……

That night, the first batch of [-] kilograms of sugar was placed in front of Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian picked up a handful of white sugar and was overjoyed.

"Come on!"

"Reward Song Yingxing with one thousand silver dollars and a palace in the capital!"

"The craftsmen who have made the first contribution this time will be rewarded with one hundred silver coins each! The other craftsmen will be given ten, twenty, and fifty silver coins respectively according to the third-level meritorious service!"

"As for the people who grow corn, we will give them one silver dollar for every acre of land!"

A series of rewards were distributed by the emperor.