Chapter 2359 explosion (middle)

Since the 15th century, Venetian glass has been regarded as an international luxury and the "star thing" on the table of the upper class. It was first considered to be an imitation of crystal.

The more transparent and close to colorless, the higher the "purity". However, even if some Venetian glass craftsmen imitate the dazzling Venetian glass in Antwerp and other regions, because the melting technology, furnace manufacturing technology, craftsmanship, etc. are kept strictly confidential, The development of the glass industry in various countries is still restricted.

Until the second half of the 17th century, an important change occurred in the production and use of glass, but this change had nothing to do with the "spread" of Venetian craftsmanship, but the result of the British invention, with whom George Ravenscroft He was involved in the Venetian trade with his brothers, and he also wanted to go to the island to steal secrets. However, the strict guarding on the island dissuaded them, and then he discovered through observation that there is a kind of pebble called flint on the riverbed in Italy. After high-temperature forging, a kind of white, clear, and heavy-weight pebble can be obtained. Glossy glass varieties, in addition, he also extracted soda from Italian grass alkali, and then added a "mysterious substance", the glass became easier to cut, and the final result was that the British invented a colorless glass in imitation activities. Glass.

The luxury mirrors that were originally held in the hands of noble ladies became the glass windows and wine bottles of ordinary people. In the 18th century, this technology was introduced to France, and glass bottles were used instead of clay pots to hold all kinds of wine. The Dutch and Venetians later also adopted this technique.

The Batavians accidentally discovered a special phenomenon when making glass. If the molten glass is naturally dropped into cold water under gravity, it will form a teardrop-shaped "glass teardrop". It can't be smashed, but if you grab its slender "tail" and pinch it a little, the whole glass tear will burst instantly and shatter completely.

The craftsmen dedicate their discoveries to Prince Rupert, son of Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate, who was king of the Czech Republic after Prague was thrown out of a window before being crushed by Austria , was forced to abdicate and went into exile, and the title of elector was also deprived.

Because of his father, Rupert was in exile when he was young, and was once under house arrest by the Austrians when he was a teenager. He joined the Royal Navy as an adult and was once a well-known general.

He dedicated the glass teardrop presented to him by the craftsman to Charles II, and then this thing was named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and it was called "Rupert's Tears".

It would be no surprise if the story stopped there, but Prince Rupert of the Rhine was not so content with himself. Due to the shortage of funds during the war, the Prince of Wales allowed Prince Rupert to plunder the merchant ships of "all enemies of England", so that the seven warships under Prince Rupert not only did not need to be allocated funds to support them, but could also earn money for the royalist party .

Originally, the royalist navy only had these seven ships, and the Prince of Wales bought six more after raising enough money, but Prince Rupert thought that he could incorporate the British royal family’s guard team on the Isles of Scilly and join him. troops. Unexpectedly, this plan was known in advance by the British Federal Parliament. After the naval battle with two cruisers, Prince Rupert fled back to Port Kinsale. Then the new admiral encircled and suppressed Prince Rupert. Continue to plunder England's merchant ships.

At that time, Cromwell was victorious in Ireland. If Cromwell occupied Ireland, then Prince Rupert of the Rhine would have only two consequences if he stayed in Port Kinsale. He would either be killed on the battlefield or be pushed into the guillotine. It was at this time that a strong wind blew up at sea, and the fleet of the English Parliament was blown to pieces, and Prince Rupert was able to escape to Portugal.

On the way to Portugal, Prince Rupert plundered several English merchant ships, and the trophies he obtained added four million pounds to the royalists' income.

After arriving in Portugal, Prince Rupert of the Rhine received the king's courtesy and was allowed to continue to profit from private plundering. English businessmen complained about this, so the British Parliament sent a navy to clean it up.

Despite threats from the British Parliament that anyone who takes in Prince Rupert is an enemy of the Commonwealth, the King of Portugal did not expel Prince Rupert outright, but instead gave him a sum of money to leave on his own, Lisbon There is a Portuguese fleet from Brazil on the sea, and he can go there. Prince Rupert of the Rhine promised the king that he would not start private plundering in Portuguese waters in the future, but instead of going to Brazil, he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean Sea, looking for opportunities to continue plundering English merchant ships.

At this time, European countries have seen that the failure of the English royalist restoration is a foregone conclusion, and it is wise to maintain friendship with the Commonwealth. Prince Rupert of the Rhine can no longer represent the British government, and he quickly degenerates into a pirate.

He regarded all those who did not buy his private goods, and anyone who had a good relationship with the Commonwealth, as his opponents. At this time, there was no one in the Mediterranean Sea that was his opponent, only the navy of the British Parliament. At this time, Prince Rupert was very used to the pirate life, and he even raised the flag of the Commonwealth of Nations to deceive the fleets of other countries, and entered the Mediterranean Sea like no one.

Later he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and came to Africa to plunder. The Dutch Republic was on the eve of war with the Commonwealth and would be happy to see English merchant ships robbed.

But at this moment he encountered a storm, the flagship sank in the storm, the fleet was seriously damaged, and the sailors fled. At this time, Portugal also formed friendly relations with the Commonwealth. Rupert lost his last refuge and could not sell the looted goods. After losing another ship, he had to leave Africa and the Atlantic Islands and reached the Caribbean. , he named the bay on the west side of Dominica Island Prince Rupert Bay, and finally encountered a severe storm in the Virgin Islands, almost destroying the entire army, leaving only one ship.

No one knows what happened to him because he "disappeared". Some say he went to Barbados and bought a plantation. Charles I wanted to regain control of Barbados. However, he did not provide any troops or funds to Barbados. Instead, he appointed The governor, the new governor, was very popular with the planters, who were willing to recognize the governor's authority as long as they were not called up to fight for the cause of the royalists in England.

There is also a saying that Prince Rupert went to Virginia in the New World, surrendered to the colonial assembly of the Americas, and became the governor of the Hudson Colonial Company, so Canada has something named after him.

This world is full of various legends. Someone once said that Margaret I of Denmark poisoned her son in order to monopolize power. This rumor made many people believe it was true. There was even a Prussian peasant who pretended to be a prince. cheat. It's just that he was quickly found to be a fake, he didn't speak a word of Danish, and he was caught and burned at the stake with a fake crown on his head.

During the American War of Independence, it was actually an anti-British alliance. France was eager to restore the humiliation of the Seven Years War and India’s dominance. The Netherlands also tried to use this opportunity to retaliate because it suffered heavy blows in its maritime hegemony many times. Spain has also long been hostile to Britain, hoping that the "Invincible Fleet" can regain maritime supremacy and take back the Strait of Gibraltar. As a result, Britain fell into multi-line combat, which greatly weakened its combat strength.

Georgiana did not want to open up two "battlefields", and eventually the East and West fought.

Igor Karkaroff was so easy to find because of the Death Eater mark on his arm. Otherwise, even with the size of England, it would be difficult to find a person who deliberately hid, not to mention that it is many times larger than England. "Black Forest".

The Ministry of Magic in England has always been "nosy". Grindelwald even sent Aurors to France when he was in Paris. Was fed a monster in Uxta.

Is this person here? If you don't see it, it's murder if you have a dead body, and it's missing if you don't have a dead body.

So many people go missing in this world every year, not all of them are found, and Theseus doesn't have the Dark Mark, so it's almost impossible to locate him.

When people are gone, they are gone, and the British Ministry of Magic can only let it go, even if the "missing" is the head of the Auror Office.

The "office director" should stay in the office, what kind of field work do you do, do you really think you are 007?

Georgiana bought a bunch of Belgian fries for dinner, and she made a point of buying more to take to the guild, feeling Fresnel was still there.

Colorless glass, although transparent, is also reflective.

Some people saw the bright jewels through the colorless glass of the window, and some people found the person following them through it, although he didn't look as clear as the mirror painted with mercury behind it, it looked translucent, like a ghost , but can still be seen clearly.

This is where Fresnel's reflex is interesting. Rather than going to a crowded theater, she wants to see the excitement on the other side.