Treasure of the tower

The captain prepared to listen attentively to the curator of the Solar System.

– The preservation and development of society, which is led by Peter the Great, directly depends on military power. And he got the kingdom dark and weak. He now went with the great embassy in Europe to gain experience in the construction of ships and weapons. For the power of the army, which he creates, they need their master’s gunsmiths and factories for smelting metal for these purposes. In the Urals, rich mines were found, and in the same city, mastermind Nikita Demidov works in one of the cities. Peter the First personally orders him the manufacture of guns and pistols. The master of this high class in his work for his time, but his children can not cope with the training in weapons. Nikita sends her son Akinfiya by royal decree to Saxony to gain knowledge of the smelting of metals and skills from German masters of ore smelting. This industry is of paramount importance for the tsar, because the viability of the state and its survival depend on it. Your task now is to take custody of the young Akinfiy Davydov, on which the development of the metallurgical industry of the Russian state will depend.

– But, I, not a metallurgist, I’m not a gunsmith. Protested Ort. Theo smiled and said:

– Yes, here you will help him, guarding against accidents. Well, reading thoughts and instant grasp of material on the wisdoms of metallurgy will help Akinfiya and you, Ort. It may be necessary and replace it, posing as Akinfiya Davydova, for the preservation of the state it is extremely important. I want to wish you, Orth, success in this matter.

– I am not capable of such a kind of activity, to eliminate people.

– You, I misunderstood, it’s not our methods of work. – Theo parried. – I mean give him something in return in order that he does not go back to his homeland, and instead you will return. And you will live under his name and surname, having organized the metallurgical industry of the Urals. Theo probed his searching eye in Orth’s black eyes. The captain realized that he had been downcast by a proposal, from which he could not refuse. And he answered with firm confidence:

“I will try to help Davydov get knowledge for the development of the iron-making industry in his homeland, or I will arrange his life in Saxony, and I’ll go to Russia instead of him, posing as Akinfiya Davydov Nikitich.”

“Both of them will suit me, especially since you are very similar with him.” It will be an ideal option. And he will arrange me. Said Theo. – Your flying machine will always be with you in the invisible dimension of space. At any time, you can easily return, abandoning this venture. But something tells me that you, Orth your mission will like it. Moreover, you will get carried away. And you will, with great pleasure, carry out the duties assigned to you.

– Oh, your supremacy, you are, as always, right. But I’m more satisfied with the option that will allow Akinfiya to gain knowledge and then go to Russia than I am instead.

– For this you have, Ort has an aircraft and a knowledge store here in Shambhala. Yes, and technology of investing knowledge in the student, developed over billions of years by the developed civilizations of the Milky Way Galaxy. Go, go for it. I’ll let you know when to fly to Task, and Kshatr will conduct preliminary consultations with you and prepare you for the fulfillment of the mission…

Chapter – 15.

Peter I was still at the shipyards of Amsterdam, when Andrei Denisovich Vinius went to Germany with ten young men to train them from foreign craftsmen. Vinius wrote to Peter in detail about his request to send young men to study in Saxony, including the 20-year-old Akinfiya, the son of the weapons business of Master Nikita Demidov, whom he brought to Freiberg in the spring of 1698. Akinfiya Vinius attributed to Wolf, Martin Zimmerman, the famous smelting master who worked in the field of copper and silver smelting.

And the first Russian students will be sent to Freiberg in 1706, when the Mining Academy was established. The main specializations are mineralogy, geology, metallurgy, materials study…

When Vinius led to Zimmerman Demidov, he, having learned the purpose of his arrival, replied:

“Your Excellency, Andrei Denisovich, Peter the First, the tsar of All Russia, has decided on the construction of smelting plants in the Urals for making iron from the local magnetic ores. Local masters do it wrong and burn the ore. I will have to go to Russia in 1701, as you told me, that an envoy from your tsar will come for me. “Zimmerman’s words were skipped past his ears, Vinius said:

“You, Mr. Wolff, prepare this young man, the son of the famous armoire Nikita Demidov.” During these two years that he will comprehend the skill of mining and smelting, you will be paid from the royal treasury. I personally will see to it that the money arrives on time. The ambassador in Saxony from the Russian Empire will pay you a fee for training this young man. And yet take it for yourself to stay, provide food and lodging.

– Of course, if this is so important for Tsar Peter the Great, then I am ready to teach the young man and transfer the skill of melting not only iron but also copper ore. In our places, good copper ore, we also melted precious metals. I will teach him all this. And here we have a cabinet of minerals, where a rich collection of stones and kinds of various ores are collected. On occasion, he can there comprehend the external differences of iron and copper ores and learn a lot of interesting things.

“Well, that’s good, Mr. Zimmermann.” Allow me to bow out. Goodbye and you, Akinfiy, wish you a successful study in acquiring knowledge of ore and smelting.

Vinius approached Akinfiy, hugged him, and patted his shoulders.

“Thank you, Your Excellency, I will justify the king’s highest confidence and learn how to make iron for the Russian Empire.” – Highly answered the guy. Vinius gave him his hand to shake. Demidov squeezed the narrow hand of Andrei Denisovich, leaving an indelible impression of the iron grip of the blacksmith’s son’s handshake from childhood, accustomed to the blacksmith’s craft of his father Nikita Demidov. Vinius rubbed his right palm involuntarily with his left hand, softening the bruised fingers of his hand. Then he climbed onto the soft seat of the droshky, harnessed by two German stallions, and drove to Dresden to other young men to distribute them to the masterful manufactories of Saxony…

Wolf Martin looked thoughtfully at this tall and broad-shouldered guy, not in the age of an adult with a beard and strong hands that had not yet grown, without knowing how and with which to begin learning this delicate craft of smelting, which he managed to master in perfection only by the age of 40. Yes, and where to settle in his house. The grown-up daughter has a separate room, and he lives in his own. Again, take the daughter to her, move her bed, and put the student in the room Gretchen. Yes, there is no other way out. No, it was when my wife died, and the girl was still small. This, of course, is an inconvenience, but judging by the money that the king promised for studying this Russian guy, you can live with it. Zimmermann So he decided, let it be better to live with me in one room. And now, when the smelting of silver is not yet ripe, he must finish the work already, and then take him to his home. While the silver smelting furnace was warming up from the charcoal, Zimmerman always dined at that lunchtime. A beautiful and slender girl came up to him with a knot in the basket and, untying the white cloth, began to take lunch from the basket. Zimmermann motioned Akinfiya to him and said something to the student. But the guy did not understand, because he did not know the German language. The girl smiled with a snow-white smile Akinfiya and gestures began to invite him to join the meal.