Chapter 23 Castel's Plan

When Hughes woke up from bed, the sunlight was already quite hot.

After ringing the bell, the maids soon brought a low but slender table and carefully placed it on Zeus' bed.

The breakfast was not large in quantity, but it was exquisite and rich. Hughes noticed that they were all his favorite breakfasts.

This detail was also noticed, the life of the nobles was really corrupt.

Waving his hand to send the servants away, Zeus changed his clothes by himself. After being here for several days, he was still not used to changing clothes with the help of others.

"master."

When I opened the door, Connor was already waiting there.

"How's things going in the lab?"

"It has been basically completed, and the materials you asked Butler Alexei to prepare have been placed in the warehouse."

"Very good. I will go and do the experiment later. Ask Alexi to come to me with the output book of the territory. We have to find a way to develop the territory."

After a pause, Hughes searched his memories and spoke again: "I met an alchemist in the Rhine. He gave me a notebook with a lot of interesting things in it. I plan to give it a try."

There are alchemists in this world. Some are similar to the chemists of Blue Star, mixed with some of the mysticism. Some also make some sophisticated gadgets, and some work part-time as alchemists.

All in all it highlights a hodgepodge.

He had found a musket before, and the gunpowder in the gun was the creation of the alchemist, but it was much more expensive.

He had indeed met several alchemists before, but those noble masters only chatted with him for the sake of his father, and he gained nothing from them.

But now, he is a genius who has been carefully taught by several alchemy masters, and it is very reasonable for him to research some small things.

Of course, we need to understand the output of the territory first before we can decide how to develop industry.

Alexei walked quickly towards the reception room of the manor, with the clerical assistant behind him carrying a pile of books.

He had already read the contents of these books many times, all of which contained various information about the territory.

He really wants to do something practical for the territory, so that the territory can develop and his abilities can be appreciated, which is a win-win situation.

So when he heard the news from Xiu Si, he immediately came over with the materials.

He received a salary from the Queen, and Zeus was a count appointed by the Queen. Alexei did not see anything wrong in helping Zeus.

The salary made him do his job, but it was the recognition of Hughes that made him willing to give his all.

Alexei knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Hughes was sitting at the long table. He greeted Alexei and began to look through the documents he brought.

"Can you give me a brief introduction to the territory?"

"Of course, sir." After a brief recollection, Alexei said, "The island we are on is Castel, which is quite large and an important part of your territory."

The rest only exist on maps and books of titles, and are basically in the hands of pirates.

"There is a small pier at the northernmost part of Castel. Currently, only fishing boats are docked there."

"I've been to see it. It's a good deep-water port. After some renovation, it can accommodate large cargo ships."

"Large cargo ship? Okay." Alexei swallowed the rest of the words. How could a large ship come to this broken island? "Near the dock is the northern plain of Castel. Your manor is on the east side of the plain. This is the most densely populated area in the entire Castel. Most of the workshops are built here."

"What workshops are there?"

"It's mainly a wine-making workshop. In the past, there was also oil pressing. There are a lot of olives on the island, but unfortunately the olive oil sales are not good, so no merchants will come here."

"Olive oil?" Zeus' eyes lit up. This was a good thing. The rise and fall of the Mediterranean on Blue Star was closely related to it. It was even the main economic pillar of monasteries and monks during the Byzantine period.

The empire's demand for olive oil was not high. The country did not have a similar cultural tradition and had never linked this oil to religion.

Olive oil can indeed be produced on Castel Island, but in the Storm Ocean where shipping is not well developed, the value of this cargo is limited. Even the pirates of Gem Bay would rather use sweet fruit wine as tax rather than olive oil.

But Hughes knew more uses for olive oil.

For example, Zeus searched his memory and then smiled.

Soap, one of the time traveler’s magical tools, is easy to make and has amazing effects.

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The empire did not have similar items, and this one product alone was enough for him to gain a foothold in the Storm Ocean and make a fortune.

Making soap with olive oil is not complicated, and Hughes has a complete set of feasible processes in his mind.

And his ambitions were not limited to those small bars of soap.

Saponification reaction is the basis of many chemical processes. As long as he can successfully establish a soap production line, the future of Castell Island will be limitless.

"Besides that, is there anything else?"

"There are still some mineral veins on the island, with many varieties, but unfortunately they are not worth mining." Alexei recalled, "This place is too far from the empire, and the pirates in Gem Bay don't have any smelting capabilities. They can only be sent to the White Crow Principality nearby. There is no shortage of ore there, and I can't sell it at a high price."

"Is there a list of mineral veins?"

"Uh," Alexei was stuck. "I'll go back and look for it. There are only records from a long time ago, when the first residents of Castel arrived and surveyed it."

"Organize some people to conduct a detailed survey, issue a notice in the name of the City Hall, and I will pay them for their work."

"Okay." Alexei nodded. "Most of these minerals are located in the southwest of Castel."

"Southwest, Alexi, I remember there is a volcano on the island, right?" Hughes walked to the balcony, opened the window, and looked towards the southwest corner of the island.

There are high mountains there, the lower part is covered with lush trees, but the top is bare and covered with white snow. A cloud like ice mist is hovering on the top of the mountain, blocking the view, and the top of the mountain is completely invisible.

Castres has a fairly stable climate, being warm and humid most of the year. Even in the coldest seasons, you only need to put on extra clothes, and there is never any snowfall.

"For every thousand meters of altitude increase, the temperature drops by 6 degrees Celsius. The top of that mountain is covered with snow all year round. This altitude is not low." Xius thought to himself.

"Yes, sir. It is an active volcano. It is said that it erupted several decades ago. I heard from the local residents that you can see the roiling magma on the top of the mountain."

Zeus nodded. Volcanoes are good things. Every time a volcano erupts, it brings a large amount of minerals from the ground. No wonder there are so many mineral veins on this small island.

And generally where there are volcanoes, there must be sulfur mines. Sulfur is essential for making gunpowder, and volcanic ash is also an excellent fertilizer. No wonder the island can export sweet fruit wine. If development is organized, Castel will not be short of food at least.

(End of this chapter)