xymnovel Chapter 132 The Age of Bird Droppings
Chapter 132 The Age of Bird Droppings
Chapter 132 The Age of Bird Droppings
It was already close to mid-August.
The dry season is coming to an end, and the heat in California has not completely subsided, but the morning and evening breezes are already carrying a hint of coolness.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the suicide squad and white slaves, all the wheat planted in various regions has been harvested. After drying, it can be threshed, bagged, and sent to the granaries.
"September is just around the corner, and the next round of winter wheat planting in California will begin. But according to reports from our spies in various locations, the land situation is not very optimistic."
Guilliman flipped through the documents and said slowly, "From the Spanish colonial period to the present, the farmland in the Santa Clara Valley, which has been cultivated for decades, has clearly shown signs of lightening in color and becoming sticky in the soil, indicating that the fertility of the land is declining."
"Currently, there are only two options: crop rotation and fallow, or artificial fertilization."
Zeng Tai asked, "What's the situation in the Central Valley?"
Guilliman flipped through the documents and said, "The Americans have only been cultivating the land in the Central Valley for a few years, so the fertility is not a big problem."
The biggest problem there is water. The central valley is arid in summer, so agriculture can only be carried out near the Sacramento River and its tributaries. Further out, without irrigation facilities, agriculture is simply impossible.
"This is simple."
Su Song laughed and said, "Before the Qin state built the Zheng Guo Canal, wasn't the Guanzhong Plain also a marshy and saline land? We can follow the example of the ancients and build dozens of main canals and thousands of branch canals across the valley."
"You just say it's simple, so you're not the one in charge of scheduling, are you?"
Guilliman rolled his eyes and retorted, "Don't you even look at how many projects we have on our hands right now? Mines, railways..."
Municipal projects, shipbuilding, and this doesn't even include the various chemical plants and machinery factories that are to be built.
"The money in our hands isn't just flowing out like water, it's like a flood being released!"
Su Song shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Money is worthless. You can always earn more. Consider it a way to promote economic circulation."
Zeng Tai watched the two bickering with a smile, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip. He suddenly remembered something and asked, "Speaking of money, how are the progress at the National Bank and the Mint?"
Guilliman said, "It's almost ready. The manpower is all set. We're using the San Francisco Mint directly. We just need to add a few more sets of banknote manufacturing equipment, and our own currency can officially begin production."
"What's the estimated time?"
"Gold coins and silver coins will arrive in three days, paper money in one month."
Zeng Tai nodded and changed the subject: "Let's get back to the original topic, do you have any ideas about the fertilizer?"
Su Song said, "My lord, as you know, the chemistry group has been trying to overcome the challenge of synthesizing ammonia, but the progress is really slow. They haven't even produced any laboratory products yet."
"There's really nothing I can do to help with fertilizers."
There was a hint of helplessness in his voice when he said this.
Since Zeng Tai proposed the cyanidation method, the chemistry group has been producing synthetic ammonia. However, from raw materials to equipment to catalysts, there have been many obstacles.
Guilliman then pulled a document from his pocket and said, "I had the assassins in the Santa Clara Valley ask the slaves, and they basically use traditional manure, wood ash, and ashes."
"However, one person's answer was quite interesting; he said he used bird droppings."
"guano?"
"Yes."
Guilliman nodded and said, "I also asked Hosea and Dutch, and they said that farmers in the eastern United States do indeed use a lot of bird guano as fertilizer."
Right, how could he forget about that?
Bird droppings are a high-quality natural fertilizer, rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, making them perfect for supplementing fertilizer.
Zeng Tai slapped his forehead and asked, "Where did they import them from? Nauru?"
"My lord, where is Noru?"
Guilliman asked with a slightly bewildered look, "Most of America's bird droppings come from Peru. Three years ago, the United States unilaterally claimed jurisdiction over the Lobos Islands of Peru, which almost triggered a war between the two countries."
Su Song exclaimed, "How shameless! These Americans. I remember the Lobos Islands are only sixteen kilometers from mainland Peru, and they dare to claim jurisdiction over them?"
"These Anglo-Saxons have been shameless for a long time," Guilliman shrugged.
Zeng Tai was stunned.
Because he suddenly recalled a memory from his past life.
[The Bizarre Country 05: How to Become the World's Richest Person by Collecting Poop?]
"Nauru is located 60 kilometers south of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean. It is 6 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide."
"In 1798, the British discovered this place and named it Pleasant Island."
"Germany occupied this area in 1888 and restored the local name for it, Nauru—"
The voice of the Tongliao Pigeon Clan echoed in Zeng Tai's mind, and he suddenly burst into laughter: "That's right, that's right, no one in Nuoru has realized its value yet!"
The phosphate mines there were not discovered and officially mined until 1901.
"My lord, what's wrong?"
Completely baffled, Su Song asked, "Has some good news happened?"
Zeng Tai grinned: "This is truly wonderful news! We no longer need to worry about fertilizer. Because I've found an island made entirely of bird guano, with reserves exceeding ten million tons!"
One hundred million tons?
Upon hearing this number, Guilliman and Suson couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances.
It's important to understand that agriculture in Europe and the United States is currently suffering greatly from soil depletion. Bird guano, a remarkable fertilizer that can double crop yields, is in high demand worldwide.
It can sell for $55 to $65 per ton in the eastern United States and £9 to £11 per ton in the United Kingdom.
In other words, billions of dollars in wealth fell from the sky?
"My lord, where is the island? Take it!"
Guilliman's eyes lit up instantly, and he exclaimed excitedly, "If we take it, we'll never have to worry about food again! We can even export the surplus and exchange it for some of the supplies we desperately need!"
Zeng Tai said, "The island is in the central Pacific Ocean, but as for its specific latitude and longitude, I really don't know."
Su Song pondered for a moment and said, "My lord said earlier that the British discovered that island in 1798, so it must have been marked on the Royal Navy's nautical charts."
"Have Harvey in Hong Kong find a way to steal a nautical chart marked with the latitude and longitude of Happy Island and send it to Yongle in Honolulu so that he can send people to search for it."
Hong Kong, Royal Navy base.
It was late at night, and the tide in the harbor was gently lapping against the stone embankment, making a rhythmic sound.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Boyce Harvey blew out the candle, closed his eyes to go to sleep, and then suddenly opened them again.
He put his clothes and hat back on, then pushed open the door and went out.
He greeted many colleagues who passed by along the way, and then arrived at the outside of a two-story brick building in the very center of the base.
This is the Royal Navy's chart room.
The guards at the door saluted Harvey and escorted him into the chart room.
Upon entering, one is greeted by more than a dozen large bookshelves, densely packed with maps and books, the air thick with the smell of paper, ink, and aged leather.
To facilitate navigation, the Royal Navy uses a mixed alphanumeric numbering system for its nautical charts. The first letter indicates the world's oceans, with subsequent numbers specifying the sub-ocean.
For example, E represents regions such as the Far East, Southeast Asia, the China Sea, and the Sea of Japan, and 14 represents the China Sea. The map code for the sea area near Hong Kong is E1437.
"The first letter of the chart number for the Central Pacific is F."
Harvey muttered to himself as he approached the F-numbered bookshelf and began searching. His fingers traced the spines of the books, row by row, until they finally stopped on a neatly folded nautical chart.
He carefully pulled it out and unfolded it on the table.
The beautifully printed paper was densely covered with latitude and longitude lines and island names. His eyes quickly scanned the small print and soon found his target.
A small dot marked "Pleasantland" lies quietly amidst a vast expanse of blue.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one around him was paying attention, he began to communicate with Zeng Tai and used subspace teleportation to send the sea chart in his hand to Honolulu.
Honolulu.
The night was thick, and the sea breeze blowing in from the Pacific Ocean carried a salty smell.
Yongle stood at the window on the second floor of the manor and asked, "Have you figured everything out?"
"Understood."
Zhang Qi, the assassin standing behind him, said, "The three plantations have a total of about three hundred people, including the owners and servants. The guards are all hired Americans, and they only have revolvers and muzzle-loading guns."
"Then tonight."
Yongle coldly said, "Leave no one alive from these three families."
Zhang Qi responded and turned to go downstairs. A moment later, the assassins filed out of the various rooms and lined up in the courtyard.
These people were the personnel Zeng Tai had initially assigned to him to develop Hawaii.
With their help, he seized several plantations within a few months, controlling nearly one-fifth of the sugarcane cultivation in Honolulu.
But this is not enough.
Several American plantation owners have been working together against him. They control the sugar supply channels in Honolulu and have even joined forces to pressure Kamehameha IV to expel all Chinese from the country.
Thus, tonight's act of revenge took place.
The group of over a hundred people split into three teams and silently dispersed into the night, heading toward the three plantations in different directions.
Soon, flames rose one after another from the three plantations, like huge oil lamps lit in the night.
The flames illuminated half the night sky, and everyone in Honolulu could see the leaping red light on the hillside.
By daybreak, the three plantations had been reduced to charred remains.
The news spread throughout Honolulu.
Yongle and his entourage had long since put the matter out of their minds.
They unfolded the nautical charts that had been sent to them on their desks and examined them carefully.
This is a standard nautical chart of the British Royal Navy, drawn three years ago, marking hundreds of islands and reefs of varying sizes in the central Pacific Ocean.
He searched the nautical chart frame by frame, his finger slowly moving from north to south, finally stopping at a position about sixty kilometers south of the equator.
A small island marked "Pleasant Island".
It is it.
Yongle looked up at Zhang Qi: "Go to the port and hire a ship, preferably a steamship, and prepare enough food and fresh water for two months. Once that's done, we'll set off."
"How many people should we send?"
"About ten."
Yongle said, "We don't know what the situation is on the island, so let's send these men first, with guns and enough ammunition. If that's not enough, we can request a teleportation from our lord."
Zhang Qi accepted the order and left.
Yongle lowered his head again and continued to study the nautical chart carefully.
Judging from the scale of the nautical chart, the straight-line distance from Honolulu to Pleasant Island is approximately two thousand nautical miles, with no resupply points along the way.
"Hopefully we can find the island on the first try."
at the same time.
Kamehameha IV sat on the throne, his face ashen.
"Chinese people, these crazy Chinese people!"
As king, he originally intended for these foreigners to check and balance each other in order to ensure his authority and the authority of the kingdom.
Use the British to counterbalance the French, use the French to counterbalance the Americans, and use the Americans to counterbalance the British. This was his father's dying wish, and it is the only reason why the Kingdom of Hawaii has not been annexed to this day.
But he never expected that the newly introduced Chinese would be so crazy.
In just three months, they killed seven white plantation owners, seized their estates, and took their land. They did it cleanly and efficiently, leaving no one alive.
Including last night's, that makes ten.
It can be said that the Chinese have almost wiped out the American influence in Honolulu.
This also means that the balance has been broken.
"His Majesty."
The head sergeant came in and whispered, "Mr. Smith, the Englishman, and Mr. Pierre, the Frenchman, are waiting outside."
Kamehameha IV took a deep breath and sat up straight: "Please let them in."
Smith and Pierre walked in one after the other, their expressions unpleasant.
"Your Majesty, you should already know what happened last night."
Smith cut to the chase: "The open massacre of hundreds of American citizens on your kingdom's territory is unacceptable in the civilized world."
King Kamal-Mekhahad IV, expressionless, countered with, "So?"
Pierre said in broken English, "Please send troops to capture those Chinese and then sentence them all to hanging."
Smith chimed in, "Right now, he's only targeting the Americans. What's next? Will he turn his attention to us, to the royal palace?"
Kamehameha IV looked at the two men's faces and sneered inwardly.
Ultimately, you're just worried that the Chinese will cause you trouble later.
He feigned reluctance: "Gentlemen, it's not that I don't want to, but the Chinese are simply too formidable in combat. With the troops I have, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to capture them."
Smith said slowly, "Your Majesty, we understand your situation. That's why we've come to offer a solution."
"What plan?"
"We will join forces to drive him out."
Pierre said, "My gunboats are docked in the harbor, and Captain Smith's armed merchant ships are also here."
"As long as Your Majesty gives the order, our marines can cooperate with your royal guards to capture that Chinese man and his men."
Smith added, "Once it's done, we'll just need some small compensation. For example, the port."
Kamehameha IV remained silent for a moment.
He knew exactly what those two were up to, but that Chinese man was simply too lawless. He burned down three manors today; tomorrow he might actually be heading straight for the palace.
Let me think about it.
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