The Rise of the European Emperor

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Not only Maozi and other Eastern Europeans are interested in this kind of spirits, but even the Spaniards have begun to place a large number of orders from the Chamber of Commerce in Marin.

Of course, the Spaniards are not addicted to spirits. The reason why they are willing to order spirits in large quantities is actually to blend fresh water...

Before, Marin had told Ferdinand II the "secret" of the great voyage - to bring spirits on board. Spirits do not spoil easily, while fresh water stinks in seven days. In the middle of the sea, if the fresh water stinks, top it with spirits, after all, it is also water.

In fact, that's not the method Marin used at all. Marin's men use fresh water preserved by canning heating, that is, the fresh water is steamed and "cooked" like canned food, then covered with cork, and then smeared with sealing mud and dried to achieve the effect of isolating the air. In this way, fresh water can be preserved for months like canned food. When you need to drink water, just pat open the mud. Of course, after opening the fresh water bucket, the water will deteriorate within a few days. But in any case, as long as it is not opened, it can be stored for a long time like the original can.

The spirits law, in fact, is Marin fooling the Spaniards. Of course, it's not cheating. Because this approach really works. In the 17th and 18th centuries, before the British invented lemon juice to fresh water, Europeans did bring a lot of spirits with them. And that spirit, called rum, was a favorite of sailors and pirates.

Rum is brewed using sugar cane as raw material. The principle is to use sugar cane molasses to brew shochu with mixed tastes (actually, shochu with pot head and pot tail, which has a more punchy taste), put it in oak barrels, and pass through Brewed for many years.

Of course, this is brewed in oak barrels, which actually uses the special substances of oak barrels to affect the quality of the wine. At the same time, let the more pungent parts of the pot head and pot tail in the wine decompose and change, and then make the wine more mellow.

This is the same as Erguotou. Erguotou directly avoids the parts of Guotou and Guowei that are more refreshing to drink, and only needs the mellow Erguotou part. For rum, the special ingredients of time and oak barrels are selected to dilute the strong head and tail of the pot.

Therefore, although the brewing time of Erguotou is not long, the taste is not worse than that of rum that has been brewed for one year, especially after adding brown sugar, even the caramel sweetness of the rum has been obtained.

After tasting Erguotou, the Spanish admiral highly praised it, and strongly recommended this good-tasting spirit to Ferdinand II, believing that this spirit is very beneficial to the great voyage to India.

Ferdinand II counted on the Indian route to make a fortune, and naturally paid attention to it. As a result, as the king of Aragon and the regent of the Kingdom of Castile, Ferdinand II personally ordered Erguotou in large quantities from the Chamber of Commerce that Marin sent to Spain to sell Erguotou. However, Ferdinand II requested that the wine be made stronger. In this way, the sailors can get drunk earlier and save some wine...

For this request of Ferdinand II, it is easy to handle. Because Erguotou was originally brewed to more than 50 degrees, and later, in order to adapt to the taste of Europeans, it was reduced to 40 degrees with boiled water. Since Ferdinand II has a request, I will not sell it to them with water...

As for the price, it is not as high as selling to Maozi. Erguotou is sold to Maozi for 1 gold coin per bottle (one pound), which is 60 pfennig. And selling it to Spain is 80 gold coins per barrel (200 pounds, a barrel specially made for liquor), which is three-fifths cheaper than selling it to Maozi. However, there are still several times the profiteering.

When the brandy in France has not yet appeared, and the production of whiskey in Scotland is also very low due to limited food, although the price is high, the Spaniards can only bear it with their noses...

Moreover, through the sales of Erguotou, Marin found a good way to make a fortune. Since the bulk sale of rye might attract other attention, I'm not going to get noticed if I sell wine in bulk, and in places as far away as Russia and Spain? Moreover, selling spirits like Erguotou is very profitable. Selling it to Maozi, there are ten times the huge profit.

Even if it is sold to the Spaniards, there are several times of huge profits.

If brandy came out, it would be a big deal to lower the price and compete. Anyway, no matter how you drop it, there will be twice as much profit, right? Much more cost-effective than just selling food...

At the same time, the need for a large number of cork stoppers has led to the prosperity of the cork gathering and processing industry in Portugal and Spain. Even in the regions suitable for cork cultivation in Portugal and Spain, many new cork-producing saplings have been planted. For this line, Marin can't intervene even if he has an idea. Because cork trees are suitable for the climate of Portugal and parts of Spain, the Grand Duchy of the North Sea cannot learn it.

In fact, the appearance of brandy was caused by Dutch merchants in the mid-to-late 16th century who discovered that French wine was easily spoiled during transportation. So, they simply reprocessed the low-degree French wine and processed it into a 40-degree spirit - brandy. Then, it's easy to save...

But it was the beginning of the 16th century, and the Dutch merchants had not yet risen. The hegemons of the European business world are still Hanseatic and Venetian merchants. Therefore, brandy will not appear in the short term. As for Scotch whisky, it is limited by the scarcity of food production in Scotland, which is completely out of scale and cannot compete with Marlin, which has sufficient food. Therefore, Marin can enjoy a high price monopoly for a period of time.

Of course, the technology of distilling wine is not too difficult. Marin guessed that after Maozi saw his huge profits, he would definitely be jealous and try to make similar spirits. At that time, he will have to lower the price. However, relying on the advantage of Erguotou's good taste, Marin can still maintain a high price. At the very least, double the profit is guaranteed. Other spirits want to compete? Yes, it must be placed for several years to eliminate the ingredients that affect the taste. The cost is completely different...

The case of the Spaniards ordering a large number of rye Erguotou gave Marin a great inspiration - since Spanish sailing needs a lot of spirits, then the Portuguese can also ask for it... In addition to the Portuguese, it seems that the Venetians can also develop into customers what……

Provided, of course, that they are made aware of the benefits of carrying a lot of spirits while sailing. Then, Marin can expand the market and make a lot of money...

So Malin sent people to Portugal and Venice to teach them how to carry a lot of spirits to deal with the smell of fresh water. Then, when the time is right, sell Erguotou to them...

In this way, the billions of pounds of rye in Marin's granary have a way to get rid of it, so as not to put it in the granary and mold it. Moreover, selling Erguotou for huge profits is much more cost-effective than selling food.

Selling grain in large quantities will not only expose the secret of high grain yields, but also easily impact the fall in grain prices. But selling spirits in bulk is much more hidden. Moreover, it is sold to Maozi, as well as Spain, Portugal, Venice and other places, and will not attract the attention of neighboring countries at all...

While making a lot of money, it can also greatly increase the cost of sailing for big sailing opponents (after all, Erguotou is expensive, and the demand on sailing ships is large and stable), which is simply killing two birds with one stone...

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