Tao Tech 275-200BCE

Uru: Long distance trade requires large boats. The current dhow, while fast, are not large enough for the trade being done. New designs of dhow which are wider and have deeper hulls have developed. These large boats are capable of carrying much much more than dhow as well as can handle much rougher weather. Built on the southern tip of Bakku in al-Jjien, the city where petroleum is distilled into Naphtha, they quickly began replacing dhow for the long routes. Dhow are still used for trading with the Didao[residents in Dao-Lei] and around Bakku, though barges are used for the canals. Dhow have also became more common as fishing boats because of it.

Over Shot Water Wheels: In Bakku aqueducts are very very common, in the heavily populated plains around al-Bakku at least. These aqueducts normally run parallel to irrigation canals so that noria may raise water up. Occasionally aqueducts would break. There are also large number of sakia, normally of the wheel variety, used to pull water up from water pits, common in the more extreme karst of the south east, these sakia normally take the water from the pit up into an aqueduct to be used for irrigation elsewhere or for baths.

One such time, in a winter rainstorm, an aqueduct wall broke and water came pouring out. The farmers in the nearby village watched in horror from their homes fearful that the sakia would break. Much to their surprise the water pouring down simply made the sakia spin.

After the storm passed the Miller wanted to experiment with this new design. Extending a small sluice from the aqueduct and over the sakia while they mixed the cement he measured the results. Finding them incredible he, being the elected village headman. Organized them to extend the aqueduct over to the mill and dig a new trench for the new overshot wheel. After weeks of bringing in stone, surveying the area, preparing the cement mix, burning lime, and digging the trench, while the Miller set up the extra wheel on the newly dug side and set up a make shift grindstone, they began constructing the aqueduct extension. Placing the stones then layering cement over then. Building the simple aqueduct across the town they set it up so the water would flow directly over the water wheel. When it was finally time to get going the whole town went out to watch. It was successful starting and went strong throughout the night. The Miller found it rotating the mill stone very very quickly, too quickly in fact. Worried that the town would be angry at their work being wasted he rode to a nearby academy and offered to sell them the secrets of his new water wheel. Accepting he was paid handsomely in Rhinu for the secret. Soon the academy moved in to the building and began doing experiments with it.

While deemed not worth it for current mills it is certain to have an impact on other fields...

Reflex Bows: As crossbows begin to make up more and more of the Tao armies it has been noticed that their versions are much weaker than those of the Calassians. An examination into the wood yielded no changes. Finally they came to the almost too obvious conclusion that the shape, a strange s, was the cause of the extra power.

A deal was struck between al-Zoha, general of the Tao armies, and a moderately influential Calassi lord. The Calassians would provide a bower, lightning bow maker, and crossbow maker, in exchange two engineers would be sent. This group also brought with them ten Yin-Lei missionaries. Young men dressed in tights and neat shirts arrived in Tissan. Renting out a house near the city centre they would preach each day in the main squares. Offering religious pamphlets for free to all who was literate and interested. I digress, the bower, upon arriving in Bakku, took apprentices and showed their method of forming a recurve on the bows of the Tao. Meanwhile the crossbow maker worked with Tao crossbow makers to improve their spoon triggers and the grips.

Soon enough Tao crossbows took on a new design. A short curved bow piece, an ergonomic grip fairly far up, a longer spoon trigger on the top, and two handles to pull back the bowstring. Loaded by kneeling, placing the butt of the crossbow on the [padded] upper thigh and grabbing the twin handles and pulling them down till the string clicks. With smaller crossbows they're loaded keeping the butt on the shoulder and pulling towards oneself. These small changes massively increased the power of the crossbows and have enabled a substantial portion, 50%, of the Tao army to be equipped with crossbows. Used in line formations they fire at the other side. This method has proved very effective against the massed levies of the Tenebrae and small revolts, though it's questionable how it will stand against cavalry or heavy infantry.

The lightening bow was very important as well. The powerful bow designed to throw incendiary canisters long distances has been invaluable to the Calassians and will most definitely be to the Tao as well. The creator took apprentices from te military and taught them how to construct them. The four pair design is the most popular among the Tao given its symmetry and added strength. Tao incendiaries typically are primarily naphtha or petrol with quicklime added to the mix. Typically an oil soaked wick is attached to it and lit but it's been shown to erupt in flames when mixed with water, though that's probably just a fluke. Most Tao war ships now have one of these devices to compliment their Rams and boarding parties. The flag ship of the Tao navy has eleven on board it's whole length, the front most one with a whopping 8 pairs of bow staffs capable of launching small boulders.

Carburization: The smith brought knowledge of an even stronger version of iron. Saying its composed partially of charcoal partially of iron, a Tao smith — partnering with the Calassi Smith — decided to try to create it. Building a small clay bloomery he set up his tuyere and bellows connected to it.

Getting the fire started nice and hot he put in liberal amounts of charcoal. Holding the rod of iron out over the fire it slowly melted down into the centre. Adding in charcoal intermittently until the whole iron rod was gone; he then let it all melt and form a pool in the bottom.

After letting it cool he found a a dark ingot in the middle and a bunch of slag around it. Beginning by trying to form a blade from the ingot, he found it surprisingly would begin to flake and break while being hammered. Eventually it broke in half.

Putting them on top of each other he hammered the halves together. Hammering them out into a blade he was about to start forming the edges and putting them lengthwise when it broke. Folding it one last time he began hammering the blade. Eventually he formed a very nice, albeit small, blade. Testing it he was amazed at its ability to hold an edge and its strength.

Trying again to make it didn't end up working as he added too much carbon and the blade shattered into shards. The third time he found the slag had filled up too much and it didn't end up working either. The fourth time he added in a removable clay inside mixed with fine charcoal into the bottom in a new kiln. Managing to get the ratios correct he produced more, forming a three foot blade of equally high quality steel.

Soon enough he spread the secrets to his apprentice and his patron to the other blacksmiths. Al-Nusra eventually made a deal with the patron, the army, his, and the patrons smiths will be given the secret of it.

The process is long, taking at least three hours to turn wrought iron into steel, just enough to make a knife, then folding it upon itself again and again takes many more hours. One of his students found you can skip much of the folding if you are extra careful with how you hammer it, normally he folds it once to get rid of the excess carbon after hammering the other excess out. The folding process also gives the blades beautiful lines which match well with the floral designs traditionally etched in the sides of high quality weapons. Al-Nusra began offering blacksmiths around Bakku the secret of "Izmal"[steel] if they sign a contract with him. The secret did get out, however, and the knowledge become known throughout Bakku.

Kenaf Cultivation: In Mandaria a cheap, albeit rougher, fabric is produced. Called Kenaf it grows well there, much better than linen. Noticing the similarities between the Mandarian and Bakkan climates a young noble hypothesized that it would grow better than linen in Bakku as well. Importing hundreds of seeds and plants he planted them in one of his fields. Finding them growing well he soon expanded his operation with his own seeds. Before long the plant had completely naturalized, being grown throughout Bakku for cloth.

This also destroyed the rather labour intensive local linen production, with only a few fields being kept to provide flax to the wealthy's diets.

Closed Link Mail: While fighting with the Ongin on many of the small campaigns they do together the Tao crossbowmen noticed the light yet strong armour being used by the Ongin soldiers. Purchasing sets of it while in Onginia they showed it off while at home.

Realizing they couldn't buy it from Bakku smiths one minor general, who was particularly in favour of mail armour, hired an Ongin smith to teach it to his own smiths, knowing that by arming the troops of his cousin and patron Jun al-Nusra he could assure his families dominance.

Teaching mail to the al-Nusra family smiths the Ongin smith soon assured mail armour for the most loyal and best trained troops of the family. This will most definately be important for future "endeavours" for Jun al-Nusra.

Castor Oil Domestication: Rats are a plague in the cities of Bakku. Digging into foodstuffs left and right. Areas with high rat populations are also typically dirtier and are more prone to "bad water"[what sickness is blamed for]. The wealthy and middle class traditionally would put small pots full of quicklime and mince fish by the entrance to the storerooms to kill the rats. That method has been moderately effective.

In the city of Ziran, a smaller port city on the west coast of Bakku which mainly serves as a loading and offloading point for Rawon and Nutmeg/Mace to the Canals or across the ocean, an apocatherie was gathering some of the wild castor bean. Grinding it into a mash she poured the oil into a dish — the oil being used as a laxative, as a wood finish, for massage, and as a scentless perfume base^1.

Leaving the mulch behind on the low table she walked into the other room with the oil and began oiling a hand saw for amputations. When she came back into the other room she found a small eat curled up dead beside the castor mash.

Realizing that the mash must have killed the rat she mixed some mash with papeda juice and mincemeat and left it out in small bowls around the building.

The next morning she found multiple dead rats around the house. Soon she began selling her miracle rat poison, it being much cheaper than the arsenic the rich use or even the unmixed quicklime of the middle class; before long the poison was sold throughout the country, selling her formula at a high price.

This demand in castor bean mash has led to farmers growing castor bean on their farms.

The oil has adopted more uses because of its now common availability. The most important is to keep grain safe on long voyages.

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In recent years perfumes have became very popular. This is in part due to the obsession with being clean and partially due to a connection made between "bad water" and "bad scents".