xymnovel Chapter 139 Taking Down Noru
Chapter 139 Taking Down Noru
Chapter 139 Taking Down Noru
San Francisco, Chemical Plant No. 1.
Inside a laboratory, Su Song pointed to a large pile of mineral samples sent back from the island on the table and said to the chemistry team's assassins, "Each of you pick one and calculate the results as soon as possible. Lin Asi and the others are still waiting."
"Alright."
"Yes, boss."
"It will be done within two hours."
Su Song also selected a sample of ore, placed it in the mortar, and began to grind it with a pestle. The ore broke apart, and a faint rustling sound was heard between the pestle and the mortar. Grayish-white powder gradually accumulated at the bottom of the mortar.
At the same time, similar rustling sounds echoed throughout the laboratory.
The chemistry team's assassins all used the same method: wet analysis.
First, the ore is crushed into powder, then dissolved in a specific acid. After precipitation and transformation, the phosphate ions in the acid solution are converted into a pure and accurately weighable solid, allowing the content to be calculated.
After grinding was complete, Su Song used a small shovel to scrape the powder onto a copper weighing pan, and placed calibrated weights on another pan.
The two pointers gradually aligned. He noted the weight, then placed the powder into the conical flask and slowly poured in sulfuric acid. The gray powder dissolved silently, and the solution became clear as a spring.
Filter the residue, then add the reagent drop by drop. Soon, countless tiny crystals in the solution precipitate out in a swirling motion and settle at the bottom of the conical flask.
After filtering, drying, and weighing, Su Song looked at the weight of the sediment and began to calculate the percentage content of phosphorus pentoxide in the ore.
"The content is 37.2%."
"Boss, we've figured it out on our end too."
Just as Su Song calculated it, the chemistry team reported from the other end: "The lowest content is 28.5%, and the highest is 4%."
0.6%.
""
"Lin Asi and the others should have found the right island."
"Tell them the results and tell them to take the entire island as soon as possible, then build fortresses and docks," Su Song said.
I went to see my lord and asked him to allocate some men to Noru.
He took off his gloves and suddenly asked, "By the way, how's the progress on smokeless powder?"
One of the assassins replied, "Nitrocellulose is not a problem. The industrial method for mass-producing nitric acid and sulfuric acid has been optimized, and the technology for recycling waste acid is also mature. All that's missing is the raw materials."
"Dark Angels are buying large quantities of cotton linters in several southern states of the United States, and Pakistan in Shanghai has also sent purchase intentions to Suzhou and Songjiang Prefecture."
"Nobody wants this stuff now. When they hear we want to buy it, they practically sell it to us for free."
Su Song nodded and continued, "What about nitroglycerin?"
The assassin shrugged and said, "There's not much hope for mass production in the short term. Boss, you know that glycerin is a byproduct of soap making."
Currently, there are only a handful of soap factories in the entire Lingxi Province, and glycerin production is too low, so naturally, nitroglycerin production cannot be increased either.
Su Song said, "I'll go and discuss it with Guilliman later, and ask him to raise the priority of building the soap factory."
"For smokeless gunpowder, let's use nitrocellulose for now; the power of single-base propellant is sufficient for the time being. Contact the military industry group, and we'll start production immediately once the first batch of cotton linters arrives at the port."
"Roger that, boss!"
Nauru, in the central Pacific Ocean.
After a day of reconnaissance, Lin Asi returned to the ship with his men and began to communicate.
"In terms of population, judging from the number of houses, there are at least 1,200 natives on Nauru Island."
"The island's native inhabitants are divided into seven tribes, each occupying a section of the coast. Two of these tribes have been at war, and the one we saw yesterday was one of them."
"In terms of terrain, the overall terrain is low and flat, with only one ridge that is a few dozen meters high. In addition, there are no rivers on the entire island, so if you want to drink water, you can only wait for rainfall or desalinate the seawater yourself."
"The entire island is surrounded by a coral reef, which is even exposed above the water at low tide, making it impossible for large ships to dock. In the future, when mining phosphate, the only way to transport the phosphate deposits is by small boats."
While eating, the group summarized the intelligence they had gathered and quickly came up with a plan.
Lin Asi slowly said, "Once the reinforcements arrive, we'll start by taking down those two tribes that are currently at war. By crushing these two easy targets and making an example of them, the other indigenous tribes won't dare to act rashly."
"What's the specific plan?" one of the assassins asked.
Lin Asi spread his hands and said, "What specific plan do we need to deal with a group of natives?"
"The ship's cannons will fire a few rounds at those two tribes, then we'll charge in and disarm them."
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"Even if they were all fearless, they would still perish in the face of artillery and firearms."
Late at night, fifty assassins who came to provide support were teleported onto the ship.
Without much small talk, after leaving enough people on the boat to steer and fire the cannons, the rest of the people went ashore in small boats in batches.
As the morning sun dipped below the beach, the first shell roared out of the barrel.
The shell didn't hit the center of the tribe directly, but grazed the edge of the tribe and landed on a grove of coconut trees.
A terrifying explosion rang out, startling countless seabirds into flight. Several coconut trees were snapped in two, with shards of coconut shell and broken branches flying everywhere.
The tribespeople rushed out of their thatched huts, creating chaos.
Some picked up spears and wooden shields, some held their children and were at a loss, and some knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the sky, thinking that divine punishment had descended.
A tall, middle-aged indigenous man stood in the open space in the center of the tribe, waving his arms and roaring something to the surroundings.
But before he could successfully organize the crowd, a second shell landed.
Boom!
The shell exploded at the edge of the beach, creating a huge crater. Sand was thrown into the air and then fell back down in a curtain of sand.
The natives were completely terrified and began to scatter and flee, no matter how much the middle-aged native shouted, it was to no avail.
"Alright, it's our turn."
Zheng He emerged from the woods with fifty men, firing two volleys of his rifles into the air.
Gunshots echoed through the rainforest, bullets flying over the heads of the natives and shattering the leaves of several pandanus trees.
"Make them all kneel down!"
Standing next to Zheng He was a translator-turned-assassin who knew some Hawaiian and shouted a few words.
Not a single native could understand it; the local language on Nauru is completely different from Hawaiian.
But the sound of gunfire itself is the best translation.
The tall chieftain took the lead in kneeling down, placing his spear horizontally on the ground with his forehead pressed against the shaft.
Half an hour later, all the adult men in the tribe were gathered on the beach.
Zheng He did not kill them, since they would need laborers for mining in the future, and the death of one would mean one less person to work.
Spears, wooden shields, stone axes, slings, shark-tooth knives—everything that could be called a weapon was confiscated, piled on the beach, doused with whale oil, and set ablaze. Flames licked at the wood and vines, crackling and popping. Black smoke rose over the rainforest, visible for miles.
Zheng He then had the chieftain and several elderly men who looked somewhat prestigious led to the phosphate mine, pointing to the grayish-white ore on the ground.
The chief didn't understand what he said, but he understood the gesture and quickly nodded.
"Give them pickaxes and let them dig."
In the following days, the same process was repeated in the other six tribes.
They bombarded the chieftain with artillery fire, unleashed a volley of rifle fire, captured him alive, and confiscated his weapons.
All seven tribes submitted within two days. None of them survived the second round of bombardment. Their spears and wooden shields were no different from paper when facing cannons and rifles.
With Nauru officially falling into Zeng Tai's hands, mining operations immediately commenced.
Zheng He had a row of mine pits dug on the thickest phosphate vein on the east side of the island. The indigenous laborers, shirtless, used pickaxes to chip away at the grayish-white ore piece by piece, filling wicker baskets, which were then pushed to the beach by wheelbarrows by the suicide soldiers.
The ore was piled up into several small hills on the beach. Once the cargo ships from San Francisco arrived, the ore would be loaded onto larger ships and then sent back to San Francisco.
Zheng Size led his men to build a military camp on the high ground on the north side of the island. The camp was square, with coconut wood stakes driven into the ground to form walls, and watchtowers were built at the four corners. Deep trenches were dug inside the walls, and two small cannons taken from sailboats were mounted on the walls facing the sea.
A reservoir was dug in the center of the village. The bottom of the pit was covered with clay and compacted. A drainage ditch was built around the edge of the pit to collect rainwater.
Heading south from Hexiwu, dust filled the air on the official road.
Senggelinqin's main infantry force has arrived at Yangcun.
More than 5,000 soldiers, including infantrymen from the Eight Banners of Mongolia and Green Standard Army troops drawn from various garrisons in Zhili, set up camps along both banks of the North Canal.
The camp stretched out in a continuous line, with tents next to tents. Cooks set up large pots to cook, and smoke rose from all directions, leaving streaks of gray smoke in the sky above the North Canal.
The central command tent was set up in the yamen (government office) in Yangcun. This yamen was originally a three-courtyard compound. After it was requisitioned by Senggelinqin, the front courtyard was converted into a council hall, while the middle and rear courtyards housed his personal guards.
Senggelinqin himself occupied a side room next to the main hall as his study. On the wall hung a topographical map of the area around Tianjin, and on the table was another, more detailed map of the Haihe River system. He looked at both maps over and over again countless times, until the edges were worn rough.
The guards outside the tent reported this, and the scouts they had sent out filed in.
More than one group of scouts were sent out. Several groups were dispatched to Beicang, Tianjin City, and Dagukou. Each group took a different route and focused on different areas of investigation. Scrolls of intelligence filled with writing were placed on the table in front of Senggelinqin.
"Read it to me." Senggelinqin did not look up.
The guard picked up the intelligence report and read it aloud one by one: "Your Highness, there have been some changes in Beicang compared to the past few days. I sent men to sneak up at night and sneak to within half a mile of the city wall. The number of cannons on the city wall has not changed, but new trenches have been dug around it."
The men patrolling the city walls no longer wore the Green Standard Army uniforms, nor did they wear queues.
Senggelinqin paused. Not wearing a queue meant that these people were not soldiers of the Qing Dynasty, or even subjects of the Qing Dynasty.
The guard continued, "The North Granary Gate is only opened once a day when grain is being transported; it remains closed at other times. Each grain transport convoy is escorted by at least a hundred soldiers."
"What about Tianjin City?"
"The four gates of Tianjin were tightly closed, and the banners on the city walls remained unchanged, showing no signs of anything unusual. However, several more sentry posts had been set up outside the city, and relief tents had been erected below the city walls, with the rebels distributing porridge and food on time every day."
Senggelinqin looked up from the map and fixed his gaze on the faces of his personal guards: "Are they still distributing porridge?"
"Yes, and the number of disaster victims is increasing. I estimate there are at least 20,000 to 30,000 people outside the city now."
Senggelinqin remained expressionless and coldly snorted, "Womanly compassion, courting death!"
"With the grain already in Tianjin and the grain transported from Beicang a few days ago, how long can we provide porridge every day? Once the main army arrives, cut off the external food supply, and besiege the city for another month, Tianjin will fall without a fight."
"Your Highness is truly insightful!"
The guard flattered him and then said, "Yesterday, the scouts saw something on the lower reaches of the Haihe River."
On the sea near the Dagu Forts, there are the wreckage of several sunken ships. The masts protrude diagonally from the water, and the hulls are charred black. Judging from their style, they are the hulls of the Shandong Navy's frigates. Among them is a larger ship, with its keel broken in two and a large area of debris floating in the water. It should be a Tong'an ship.
The scouts went to nearby fishing villages to inquire, and the fishermen said that they had indeed heard cannon fire from the direction of Dagukou a few days ago. The fire stopped shortly afterward, and then they saw a large number of people transporting grain from grain barges into the city.
Senggelinqin frowned, his gaze returning to the map. His finger slowly moved upwards from Dagukou, along the Haihe River to Tianjin, and then from Tianjin to Beicang.
He quickly calculated in his mind: the rebels currently control three strongholds: Beicang, Tianjin City, and Dagukou, which support each other. Beicang and Tianjin City serve as special outposts for each other, while Dagukou ensures unimpeded sea routes, allowing ships to freely enter and exit the Haihe River, bringing not only grain but also potentially more weapons and ammunition, and even more soldiers.
To attack Tianjin, his supply lines had to be cut off; to cut off the supply lines, he had to seize Beicang and Dahukou; but dealing with these three points at the same time was proving difficult, as his forces were stretched thin.
Five thousand infantry and cavalry, plus subsequent reinforcements, are insufficient to completely encircle the three strongholds of Beicang, Tianjin City, and Dagukou. Moreover, the enemy's firearms have a much greater range and power than their own; even if they manage to surround them, casualties will be considerable in a direct confrontation.
He pondered for a moment, then spoke, his voice as calm as ever: "Issue my military order."
The guards immediately knelt down.
"Order all cavalry battalions to set out. On the official road between Beicang and Tianjin, harass the grain transport wagons day and night. There is no need to engage the escorting teams head-on; shoot arrows from a distance, and once you've finished shooting, leave, circle around, and then return."
Their firearms have a long range, but the carriages still have to take the official road. If that road can be blocked for ten to fifteen days, the grain reserves in Tianjin will run out.
"Also, send someone to the Dagukou area to find out how many troops and how many cannons they have deployed on the forts."
He paused, then said, "Send another group of men to the north gate of Tianjin to keep a close eye on the porridge distribution points. Since the porridge distribution is being carried out on time every day, it means that there is no shortage of food in the city for the time being. I need to know if the scale of their porridge distribution has been reduced. If it has, it means that the food supply is decreasing."