When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 737 - 693: Twin-Roller Sugar Press Machine

There was still at least an hour before the banquet at dusk, but the entrance to the Celestial Maiden Palace was already crowded with various carriages and riding horses.

Unlike the soothing music of traditional Empire banquets, Black Snake Bay had a bit of a country feast feel.

Drumbeats, bagpipes, and tremolo-sounding citterns were somewhat harsh; vivid flowers and green ponds surrounded the cleared dance floor.

Young male and female wizards donned newly bought fitted jackets and off-shoulder dresses from the Thousand River Valley, linking arms in laughter, dancing taps around the accompanying musicians.

Unlike the Imperial Nobility, the witches of Black Snake Bay did not like to apply too much white powder to cover their wheat-colored skin; they preferred to accentuate it with bright red rouge lipstick.

Beneath the fence and grape arbor by the garden, stone tables and stone stools were set up, where higher-ranking middle-aged wizards were seated.

In the wispy smoke of burning spices, they rubbed their feet with thick fingers and then peeled off the skin of dried lizard with the same hand.

The crispy dried lizard meat, paired with murky fruit wine, coupled with a few dirty jokes and church jokes from the Thousand River Valley, made this banquet nearly perfect.

The only drawback was the ban on carrying poison frogs; otherwise, tossing them into the wine would be the most thrilling way to drink.

The poison frogs themselves had no addictive properties and wouldn't cause hallucinations, but their paralyzing effect could alleviate the neural pain commonly possessed by wizards.

Many wizards who climbed up from humble beginnings had a mental dependency on these things; if they didn't think about it, it was fine, but once they did, they had to indulge a bit.

Meanwhile, in a second-floor room of the inner palace, Horn, in his black service uniform, rubbed his temples, pacing back and forth.

What kind of nonsense customs did Black Snake Bay have? In the Empire, it was always the female relatives of the host or the highest-ranking female taking on similar roles, all agreed upon in advance; how could they have people select on the spot?

And to choose the prettiest one, wouldn't that imply that in the host Horn's eyes, no other woman was as beautiful as the banquet queen?

Most importantly, according to Empire customs, previous banquets hosted by Horn had Jeanne, the only female relative, playing a similar role.

By convention, it should still be Jeanne assuming the role of this so-called "banquet queen."

But the problem was, this was Black Snake Bay, and Louise and other Secret Faction bosses were watching.

The Ruo'an Faction had previously supported Horn's actions; could it be that Horn's imposing presence made them bow down?

The essence was that, in Louise's eyes, Horn and the Ruo'an Faction were family.

After all that help from the Ruo'an Faction, especially in Black Snake Bay, their own turf, and yet Horn chose Jeanne, it wouldn't bode well with Louise.

Conversely, choosing Moliat would be the same.

After much thought, Horn finally made up his mind.

No, fine, choose Novia; she's a pure child and won't cause misunderstandings. Neither side will be satisfied, but if neither is satisfied, then neither will be; at least it's fair.

In any case, the main event must not be delayed, and if worse comes to worst, adapt to the situation when the time comes.

Prince Kongdai has already been dealt with, so why fear this?

Pressing his trembling hand, Horn grabbed the fruit wine on the table and downed it in one gulp, descending the stairs into the small garden beside the inner palace.

Underneath the white walls covered with lush vines, High-tier Wizards and Secret Faction leaders from the Southern, Central, and Northern Counties gathered.

They wore traditional black linen wizard robes, each carrying rare treasures and exotic plants and animals, whispering to gather information and insights.

Originally the "nobles" of Black Snake Bay, they had to shed their robes, anxiously waiting here.

In the ongoing half-year anti-cleansing war, the power dynamics in Black Snake Bay had been thoroughly reshuffled.

Under the control of the Ruo'an Faction, the Northern County formed the Northern County Council, demonstrating for the first time the extraordinary dialogue power of all Secret Factions uniting within a county.

Meanwhile, the Southern County relied entirely on Horn's protection, essentially following his lead.

The Central County Council was also actively reforming and organizing, and with pressure from the north and south, efficiency and progress had reached the doorsteps of these traditional Secret Factions.

To ask who currently holds the most power in Black Snake Bay, no one would doubt that it's Saint's Grandson Horn.

Seeing the flattering smiles of the wizards, Horn, who had just stepped out of the house, curved his lips into a smile.

He didn't invite these people randomly.

Most of them have one identity, which is being criminal Secret Faction members with relatively minor offenses and moderate opposition, also known as the moderates among the old guards.

In politics, it's best to turn enemies into friends as much as possible, and completely eliminate those who can't be turned into friends.

Although Horn is prepared to clear out these criminal Secret Faction members, he's not planning to give them no chance at all.

"I know, for you, abolishing the tax card is a difficult thing to accept, and I must tell all of you that even with tariffs, it will be used for building dams and road traffic." Horn spoke unceremoniously to the many old guards, "You'd best think about new paths forward."

These old guards looked at each other, their lips moved, but they didn't know what to say.

Finally, a Wizard who was on good terms with the Ruo'an Faction stood out: "Your Highness Horn, transformation isn't something that can happen instantly; how about we slow down the pace of removing cards a little and give us a bit of buffer time?"

They haven't operated plantations, and it takes two to three years from establishing a Sweet Branch Plantation to harvesting, not that fast.

As for spices, it's even more so; most spices require careful care, and slaves who understand how to care for spice crops, such as those Snake-men, could fetch quite a high price.

Transitioning from just sitting and collecting money to hard labor is also a huge test for many Secret Faction members' ways of life.

"Enacting tariffs cannot be delayed; I'm sorry, I cannot agree." Before they could exclaim, Horn shouted first, "However, I'm not some bishop (a term in Black Snake Bay equated to a devil), I won't leave you empty-handed for transformation."

Under the curious gazes of the Wizards, Horn walked to a corner of the courtyard, where something large was covered with a black cloth.

"I know, for you, building plantations or workshops to obtain orders is a very challenging thing, so I specially found a starting job for you."

With that, Horn personally unveiled the black cloth covering the huge object, revealing the half-human tall machine below.

"What is this?" Looking at the machine that looked like a stone mill, some well-informed Old Wizards were a bit puzzled.

"It's quite simple, aren't you unable to operate plantations in time or without a livelihood? I'll give you a livelihood." Horn pointed to the machine in front of him, "This is the masterpiece of the ry Court Barracks Royal Engineering Academy—a double-roller sugarcane press."

This double-roller sugarcane press looks a lot like two parallel stone mills, with two thick ironwood shafts running through the middle, and there's a large wooden gear wrapped in iron on top of each stone mill cylinder.

The principle is to use animal or water power to rotate one of the gears, thereby driving one stone mill to rotate clockwise while the other stone mill rotates counterclockwise.

"So what's the use of this thing?"

"Quite simple, your previous sugar pressing methods were too primitive, this is a more advanced version." Horn snapped his fingers, "Seeing is believing, come on, demonstrate and you'll understand."

At the sound of Horn's snap, two servants from the Celestial Maiden Palace each picked up a sweet branch and stood in front of this new sugarcane press and the original wooden lever sugarcane press.

The first servant took out a hacksaw and began cutting the sweet branch, while the second servant directly inserted the sweet branch between the two stone mills.

With the sound of two whips cracking and under the neighing of two mules, one of the stone mills began to rotate, its gear driving the other gear to move as well, as the sweet branch was slowly squeezed forward by the two stone mills.

Under the attentive gaze of the crowd, murky sugar water dripped into the tray at the bottom of the stone mill, then slowly flowed out through the groove from the pulp outlet.

A few Black Snake Bay bees immediately swarmed up, flying around the pulp outlet like a dance.

However, it wasn't over yet; the flattened sweet branch was folded and reinserted into the double-roller sugarcane press, and another stream of murky sugar water flowed out from the pulp outlet.

This sugarcane press had already pressed the sugar twice, while on the other side, the wooden lever sugarcane press was just beginning to press the first segment of the sweet branch.

What is called a wooden lever sugarcane press is simply putting the sweet branch between two wooden boards and clamping it with force.

The sweet branch is pressed in the groove of the lower wooden board, and the upper wooden board presses down with it, as light-colored murky sugar water drips into the wooden basin below through the gaps.

Looking to the left at the wooden lever sugarcane press then to the right at the double-roller sugarcane press, even without considering efficiency, just the sugar yield rate alone, the double-roller sugarcane press far surpasses the wooden lever sugarcane press.

These Wizards are smart people; they understood immediately.

They live by the river and have rich experience in building dams and utilizing water power. If applied here, they could just use water power to drive this sugarcane press.

"I have a demand for importing no less than ten thousand tons of brown sugar every year; there are many plantations, but the efficiency is too poor and too much is wasted." Horn cleared his throat, "Under the United Spice Company, you can establish sugar pressing workshops using these double-roller presses to make profit through pressing and sugar boiling."

In the next three years, I'll try to ensure every sugar pressing workshop receives enough orders, but after three years, you'll have to rely on your own skills to get orders."