Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 18

#18. A Small Movement (2)

Considering the hygiene of the Ottomans and Europe during this period, the Ottomans were clearly better off.

Europe also had a decent level of cleanliness when Roman bathing culture remained.

This changed after the Black Death spread and many people contracted sexually transmitted diseases from promiscuous behavior in bathhouses. Medical scholars at the time concluded that ‘soaking in warm water opens the pores, allowing epidemics to penetrate.’

‘The belief that washing leads to death is probably spreading, so they’re likely destroying public bathhouses diligently by now.’

The belief that contact with water causes illness will likely persist for another 200 years, and we’ll be entering an era where washing hands before eating is considered fortunate.

In comparison, the Ottoman Empire was much better off, with Turkish bathhouses [hamams], which were steam rooms where people sweated on heated marble, serving as social venues, and people washing their hands regularly for Islamic religious reasons.

‘Well, even just looking at the water and sewage systems, the Ottomans are far superior.’

The ultimate in hygiene was the water and sewage system, and ancient Rome was the one that accomplished this difficult feat.

This isn’t something that can be done just by digging canals.

To keep water flowing endlessly, advanced surveying technology was needed, as well as scientific principles like siphons that allow water to go up and down.

‘It wouldn’t be strange if Romans had alien blood mixed in them.’

So much so that later Western Europeans said, ‘This defies God’s will,’ or ‘I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t seem like humans made it,’ and destroyed aqueducts in most areas except Spain and Italy.

In contrast, the Ottomans repaired the water and sewage systems built during Roman times and even extended them when necessary.

“Honestly, at this point, aren’t the Ottomans the true successors of Rome?”

Of course, I don’t really care about Roman legitimacy.

Yusuf unfolded the map of Trabzon Castle.

As mentioned earlier, in Constantinople [modern-day Istanbul], they utilized the water and sewage systems to some extent, so hygiene issues weren’t a major concern.

However, coming here made the problems clear.

“At least it’s good that there are public restrooms.”

The restrooms marked on the map were sufficient for the people in the castle, and they were consistently maintained.

It’s only natural since it’s a country that recognized the need to build additional public restrooms after capturing Constantinople.

“But why are they just throwing feces outside the castle?”

It’s generous of them to throw it away, but the problem is that the river flowing next to the castle is the source of drinking water.

Hygiene problems are bound to arise.

You might think that they could use the feces to make compost, but using feces is common in the East, while in the West, it’s something that would earn you a ‘Are you crazy, human?’ response.

This is because there’s a deep-seated perception of how can you eat crops grown with human waste.

“Even if they handle it well here, it’s the same problem if they dump it upstream.”

The best solution for the drinking water issue is to boil it before drinking.

As Yusuf was organizing his thoughts, a knock was heard at his office, and Ayesha entered after receiving permission.

“Your Highness, I’ve brought what you asked for.”

“I’ve been waiting.”

As Yusuf welcomed her, Ayesha gestured for the maids waiting behind her to come in.

Five bowls were placed in front of him, and the color of the liquid inside ranged from light brown to black.

Yusuf nodded at the smell that filled the room in an instant.

“It’s definitely barley tea.”

Since it wasn’t brewed with tea leaves, the expression ‘soup’ is more appropriate than ‘tea.’

Honestly, I had many concerns.

No matter how much I promote the idea that it’s good to boil water before drinking, the possibility of it actually being applied was small.

‘First of all, starting a fire to boil water is not an easy task in itself.’

Those who have done it themselves would agree, but even in modern times with gas stoves, boiling water is a very troublesome task.

Not to mention in this era where you have to wrestle with firewood just to start a fire once.

In the end, there needs to be a factor that induces people to boil it before drinking.

‘Like how England has tea time with black tea.’

However, I can’t tell them to drink tea with those expensive tea leaves, so I came up with barley tea.

Yusuf took a sip of the moderately brewed barley tea and nodded.

It was the familiar taste of barley tea.

“Your Highness, is it alright?”

At Ayesha’s question, filled with worry about whether she had made it properly according to his orders, Yusuf handed her the bowl he had taken a sip from.

“Try it.”

“…Yes.”

Ayesha shyly received the bowl, carefully took a sip, and had a slight smile on her face.

It was an expression that didn’t require asking separately if it suited her taste.

“How is it? Isn’t it nutty?”

“It really is.”

Since barley is a familiar grain to the people here, there was no reason to dislike it, and Yusuf had a satisfied look on his face.

Barley tea was better than tea if you’re thinking about a substitute for drinking water.

‘First of all, there are no side effects no matter how much you drink. It’s also good for poor appetite and weak digestion.’

Black tea and green tea contain caffeine, which can cause diarrhea or abdominal pain if consumed instead of drinking water.

For drinking water, barley tea, brown rice tea, and beet tea are good, but brown rice requires rice, which is hard to obtain here, and beets are grown in the Mediterranean but are much rarer than barley because they are used for medicinal purposes.

This means that barley tea is the most suitable.

‘Now, it’s a matter of how to package this.’

In England, when tea was first introduced, it was promoted as a panacea [a cure-all].

“Bring Hassan and Sinan.”

At this command, Ayesha brought Hassan and Sinan shortly after, and Yusuf asked Sinan.

“How is what I ordered you to do before going?”

“We are still looking for cows with ulcers in their udders and runny noses, and we are checking if there are people among the cattle farmers who have had symptoms like boils and then contracted smallpox.”

The smallpox that humans get and the cowpox that cows get are different diseases.

Smallpox is a disease that only humans get, but cowpox is a zoonotic disease [a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans] that both cows and humans can get.

However, since the two are genetically close, the immunity created by cowpox also works for smallpox.

It was too much to expect results already since it hasn’t been long since I arrived.

“I made you suffer because of a strange request.”

“No. I have high expectations because it’s related to smallpox. But, why did you call for me?”

“Well, I need you to vouch for something.”

“…Vouch?”

Sinan had a slightly reluctant look on his face.

Anyone would think I’m asking him to guarantee a debt.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just water boiled with roasted barley, and I just need you to guarantee that it’s good for your health.”

“If it’s boiled with barley, there shouldn’t be any health problems, so I don’t mind.”

It was a more refreshing answer than I thought.

It’s better than raising issues here and there with the knowledge of this era, but I felt a bit strange when he came out like this.

Sinan seemed to feel this too, and he smiled slightly.

“There’s no need to think too strangely about it. If it was something that would harm people, I wouldn’t have listened even if it was Your Highness’s order.”

Yusuf nodded with a serious face at the upright gaze.

“I won’t let you down.”

“That’s enough. I have a lot of work to do, so I’ll be on my way.”

As if it was enough to lend his name, Sinan left with a greeting, and Yusuf turned his head to Hassan.

“Hassan, is there any problem with the work being done in Haas?”

“Collecting yonja [clover] seeds is a bit difficult, but so far it’s progressing smoothly.”

Since clover is treated as a weed, the seeds couldn’t be obtained quickly.

“I understand that, so don’t proceed too hastily. More than that, I’m thinking of selling this water boiled with barley from now on.”

“Are you thinking of opening a store?”

Seeing his ambiguous face as if he didn’t know if it would work, Yusuf nodded.

You can just fetch water from the river to drink, so he must be wondering if it will work.

“I’m not thinking of making money with this. It’s intended to get as many people as possible to use it as drinking water.”

If it’s boiled and sold in large quantities, the unit price will be lower than boiling it yourself at home, so the burden can be reduced.

“The barley left over after boiling will be mixed with the free food center and boiled into porridge.”

“Then the unit price can be lowered even further.”

In modern times, people only drink barley tea, but in this era, even barley with some nutrients removed was an excellent food ingredient.

Of course, it won’t sell if you just sell it as is, so you have to add some medicine.

I’ve already done the medicine peddler act to the Sultan, so there’s nothing to hold back.

“Before starting sales, spread rumors that it’s good for people with indigestion and especially good for the health of young children.”

Originally, the biggest victims of contaminated drinking water are children whose immune systems are not fully developed.

In reality, you’ll quickly feel the difference even if you only eat it for a month or two, so it won’t be difficult to blend into everyday life from then on.

Even in this era where people’s lives are cheap, people still value their children.

Hassan, who was nodding at Yusuf’s instructions, hesitated and opened his mouth.

“Your Highness, it’s not difficult to proceed with the work, but I have a lot of work to do, so it’s hard to properly manage this store as well.”

“You do have a lot to do.”

For some reason, he seemed to have lost more weight than in the past.

Hassan is in charge of matters related to money, so he was exhausted from working overtime, and if I gave him more work, he might collapse from overwork.

‘That won’t do.’

How much work is there to do in the future? He has to live to 90 like Hwang Hee [a famous Korean prime minister known for his long and productive life] and help me.

Yusuf’s eyes reached Ayesha as he was slightly worried about who to entrust it to.

“Ayesha, would you like to take it on?”

“Me?”

Ayesha widened her big eyes.

“You’re already helping your mother with the free food center anyway. I’ll set it up big next to the food center, so you can get help from your mother or Nene if necessary. Of course, I’ll also attach someone under Hassan.”

“I don’t know if I can do it well…”

“You can do it well enough.”

Ayesha hesitated for a moment and bowed her head slightly.

“If it’s something that will help Your Highness, I will gladly do it.”

“Okay, I’m counting on you.”

She might make some mistakes, but she’s a smart child, so she’ll do well.

Ayesha, who was determined, carefully asked what she had been wondering about since earlier.

“Your Highness, are you also thinking of selling water brewed with barley that has been roasted to the point of turning black?”

“You mean this?”

Yusuf held up the bowl and carefully took a sip.

He felt the flavor filling his mouth for a moment and had a satisfied smile.

“I made this for myself to drink. It’s barley coffee.”

“Barley coffee?”

Ayesha tilted her head as if she didn’t know what it was.

It was a substitute coffee called Orzo that was made and drunk instead of expensive coffee in Italy.

‘It’s a fake without caffeine, but the taste is definitely similar to coffee.’

In Italy, it was a national drink enjoyed by men and women of all ages because it had no caffeine and was high in fiber.

It was characterized by a similar taste that tasted like coffee milk when milk was added.

‘I have to be satisfied with this until I occupy Mecca.’

I didn’t make barley tea because of this.

Really.

***

Yusuf’s movements were watched by all the powerful people in the Sanjak [a district or territory under Ottoman rule].

Those sent from each city were reporting Yusuf’s every move to their masters, and it didn’t take long for the information that he was opening a store with flamboyant movements to spread throughout the Sanjak.

“He’s playing shallow tricks.”

Burka snorted at the information and asked his subordinate.

“Arda, what are the investigation results?”

“We have confirmed that he has been secretly contacting the Sobashis [local administrators or police chiefs] of Ordu, Tirebolu, Kelkit, and Gümüşhane. As Sobashi thought, the store seems to be a smokescreen. What should we do?”

Burka shook his head at the sight of his subordinate who seemed willing to kill even other Sobashis if he gave the order.

“Don’t do anything reckless. However, a warning must be given.”

“I understand.”

As the subordinate bowed his head and left, Burka muttered quietly.

“Is he still an unripe fledgling after all?”

It was a mocking tone, but it contained a slight disappointment.

To the extent that he himself was unaware.