Chapter 183

After the most critical issue of nitre — vital for both military and agricultural use — was resolved, the subsequent discussion on phosphate fertilizer was quite relaxed: guano stone.

Guano stone is a high-grade phosphate fertilizer. In later generations, every country that possessed guano stone resources grew immensely wealthy — the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru, for instance, once leapt to number one globally in per capita GDP during the 1980s, all thanks to guano stone. Of course, once the resource was mined out, those people instantly reverted back to paupers.

By the 19th century, the only guano-rich islands remaining around Taiwan were Cotton Islet, Cat Islet, Grass Islet, Taiping Island, and Dongsha. After entering the Japanese occupation period, every last bit of guano on them was mined clean.

... But in the 17th century where the Transmigrators now found themselves, the guano accumulated by migratory birds over millions of years was everywhere. Not just Penghu or the East and West Sand Islands — stopover points for migratory birds — even along the chain of primordial lagoons dotting the north-south coastline of Dayuan, there were plenty of small guano stone deposits left behind by waterfowl.

So no need for anything fancy; the Transmigrators just had to send people to mine it now. If they couldn't be bothered to search the Xiehu District, they could simply dispatch a Sand Ship to circle the uninhabited islets near Penghu and haul back several dozen tons of guano stone.

The phosphate fertilizer problem was now half solved.

Why only half? Because the other half involved sulfuric acid.

Natural guano stone exists in phosphate form. If this fertilizer is applied directly, its effect is slow; it counts as a slow-release fertilizer.

The correct method is to use substances like sulfuric acid or nitric acid to react with the guano stone. The sulfuric acid will precipitate the calcium salts within the guano stone, thereby converting it into superphosphate — this is the standard phosphate fertilizer with notably potent effects.

At this point, the meeting began to veer off-topic: deal with sulfuric acid first.

The importance of the "Three Acids and Two Alkalis" needs no further elaboration here. As the most important chemical raw material, sulfuric acid had always been part of the Kiln District's production plans.

The lack of urgency before was because the Kiln District's construction focus had been on infrastructure, basic metallurgy, and agricultural machinery; the overall industrial level of the Crossing Faction was expanding downward and lacked the capability to leap onto the step of the chemical industry.

Now, as a certain faction's foundation gradually stabilized, the Three Acids and Two Alkalis had become a Road Blocking Tiger in terms of industrial upgrading — the phosphate fertilizer issue jumping out today was a prime example.

Of course, the solution for sulfuric acid was very simple: Datun Mountain.

The Datun Mountain dormant volcanic group is located in Taipei. This area is rich in geothermal resources and has pleasant scenery; in later generations, its sulfur hot springs were quite famous.

For centuries, the most important commodity the savages of Taipei traded with Fujian Merchants was sulfur.

And those blocks of bright Ming-yellow volcanic sulfur were the most convenient and purest natural material for producing sulfuric acid.

"Regarding the Spanish in Taipei, does the Navy have any contingency plans?"

Realizing the importance of sulfur, a certain Grand Secretary possessing logical thinking quickly turned his gaze toward the White-Skins in Taipei: the Spanish.

Upon hearing Xia Xianze's inquiry, Navy Commander Liu Zhe, who had been sitting to the side with his mind wandering, snapped to attention. He quickly sat up straight and replied: "A direct assault is no problem. With Army coordination, we could take San Salvador City in a single morning! We have multiple contingency plans for sweeping through Taipei."

"Of course, if it involves long-term garrisoning, then that requires coordinating resources from all sides." After thinking for a moment, Liu Zhe added another sentence.

As a Transmigrator, Xia Xianze was naturally thoroughly familiar with the Spanish entrenched in Taipei during this period. Habitually tapping the tabletop with his middle finger a few times, Xia Xianze said slowly: "Even without us attacking, the Philippines side would eventually take the initiative to dismantle those two forts in Taipei. It's clear that this investment by the Spanish was a failure."

"However, we're somewhat impatient now. Besides, the population and food supplies of the Philippines are also very important." Having said this, Xia Xianze sorted out his thoughts and began speaking faster: "My opinion is to proceed with deterrence and engagement in parallel. Referencing our relations with the Dutch, use trade rights as the foundation, and incorporate the Taipei issue into a comprehensive negotiation package with Spain. Of course, this process must be led by us, and we shouldn't hesitate to act when the time comes. Go find Old Cai later and discuss a plan of action."

Liu Zhe hadn't expected to be so muddle-headedly saddled with such a major task. At this moment, he could only nod in agreement first and leave the rest for after the meeting.

With phosphorus and sulfur resolved, the meeting no longer veered off-topic and entered the final discussion item of the day: potassium.

This stuff, potassium salt, is a bit like nitre. Are there deposits? Yes!

So where are the deposits? The answer: the Qaidam Basin, the Ordos Basin, deep within Lop Nur, Northern Tibet... These are all places only reachable by those whose piety stat is maxed out.

In short, those high-altitude salt marshes rich in potassium salt were beyond the hopes of certain people. The closest deposits to Dayuan were one or two potassium salt mines deep in the interior of Shandong and Yunnan-Guizhou — all visible but out of reach.

The only area with room to maneuver was that future fleets heading to Thailand could bring back a little potassium salt — Thailand's potassium salt reserves are very high.

The pitiful Transmigrators, one eye gazing at the nitre deposits in the Chilean desert, the other eye gazing at the salt marshes in the highland basins, mouths watering, yet could only rely on their own efforts, using inefficient methods to produce nitre and potassium salt.

The simplest method to obtain potassium fertilizer is plant ash.

Building on plant ash, the Salt Field could also provide a portion of potassium: using the leftover brine after salt production, potassium salt could be extracted via evaporative crystallization. In later generations, those seawater potassium extraction factories used advanced technologies like ion-exchange membranes — the Transmigrators had no such conditions.

Salt brine and plant ash were basically the entirety of the Kiln District's means of obtaining potassium salt. This meager output had to satisfy not only farmland fertilization but also the ever-expanding munitions industry; it was certainly far from sufficient. Therefore, at the very end of the meeting, Professor Luo proposed a new line of thought: alum.

The chemical name for alum is potassium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate; this type is called potassium alum.

The potassium element in potassium alum is often replaced by sodium; this type is called sodium alum.

If the Transmigrators could obtain potassium alum, they could prepare two important industrial materials: aluminum oxide and potassium sulfate.

And the mineral alum itself has quite a few uses: paint, tanning agents, clarifying agents, papermaking...

Alunite ore is one of the important advantageous mineral types in Zhejiang Province, its reserves accounting for 53% of the national total, ranking first in the country, primarily distributed across Cangnan, Pingyang, and Ruian areas. In later generations, Alum Mountain Town in Cangnan County, Zhejiang, was the famous "Alum Capital" and the only potassium alum Mine on the mainland.

In the 17th century, the so-called Alum Mountain Town of Cangnan County fell under the jurisdiction of Pingyang County, Wenzhou Prefecture.

The plan Professor Luo proposed here was: the Crossing Faction could build roads on the spot near Alum Mountain Town, dredge streams and rivers, and purchase alum in large quantities. When conditions matured, they could even pre-process the alum before shipping it back to Dayuan.

This plan immediately piqued the interest of the meeting attendees.

After a quick check of the data, someone immediately pointed out that the straight-line distance from Alum Mountain Town to the nearest seaport, Chixi Port, was only 10 kilometers. This location perfectly met the conditions for establishing a combined water-land dock and purchasing base.

And a person from the Intelligence Bureau, who had been silent and utterly inconspicuous throughout the meeting, provided everyone with a piece of information at this moment: the nominal father-in-law of a certain juren whose odiousness had reached an indescribable level was a local rich landlord in Pingyang County. He had seven sons and was a local tyrant.

The fertilizer seminar, which had lasted most of the day, finally concluded.

The meeting's achievements were quite outstanding: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfuric acid, aluminum, the Spanish, Pingyang County, nominal father-in-law... Quite a few keywords, and no small number of tasks were assigned afterward.

As for Commander Liu Zhe, who had muddle-headedly taken on a major task, the moment the meeting adjourned, he hurriedly walked out of the dilapidated Dayuan Trading Post and headed straight for a row of simple villas outside the Trading Post.

It was now May 1628. Over four months had passed since the Japanese Red Seal Ship had sailed home fully laden with raw silk. Thus, the Japanese Red Seal Ship, carrying bars of silver and copper, had now returned to Dayuan, and the senior managers from Japan had already been living outside the Trading Post for over a month.

... As large numbers of Transmigrators moved to the upscale district across the Taijiang to live, the dilapidated Trading Post on Dayuan Island had been thoroughly reduced to a Barracks and temporary Office Building. Its previous functions of accommodation, storage, and foreign merchant reception had all been canceled — according to the construction schedule, the Imperial City would be fully completed in just two more months, at which point the Trading Post would be demolished.

Considering that foreign merchants, including Ming People, Japanese, Dutch, and others, would soon be arriving at Dayuan in a steady stream, two months prior the Transmigrators had built several temporary villas next to the Dayuan Trading Post.

The so-called villas were actually American-style houses built from standard panels. These houses were purely temporary structures — they didn't even have ground stakes and would become flying houses the moment a storm hit. Everyone was now waiting for the Imperial City to be completed. Then Xia Xianze and the others would all move to work in the Imperial City, and a row of beautiful red-brick and Cement Shang Halls would be built on the original Trading Post site to house envoys and merchants from various nations.

Now, as soon as Liu Zhe exited the Trading Post, he headed straight for the first of these temporary houses: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office.

Commander Liu entered and took a look — perfect, old brother Cai Feiming had been caught red-handed. This gentleman was sitting behind a wooden desk, casually chatting with several Sea Merchants from Japan in the room.

These Sea Merchants from Japan included the Transmigrators' old friends, Comrade Dongye Shangche and Comrade Lin Xun, as well as a tall, tough-looking man with a Moon-head Hairstyle — none other than the old rogue Comrade Hamada Yahyoe, who left a heavy mark on Japanese-Dutch history.

Seeing Liu Zhe enter, Cai Feiming was a little surprised. After a brief exchange of questions, Cai Feiming nodded and said something to the Japanese.

The three Japanese Merchants quickly understood. They collectively stood up, bowed to Cai Feiming and Liu Zhe, and left the room.

Once the room was empty, Liu Zhe briefed Old Cai on the situation from today's meeting, focusing on recounting the Grand Secretary's rambling and vague instructions. Then he spread his hands: "You take the lead on this."

After hearing him out, Cai Feiming shook his head with a smile, then said to Liu Zhe: "Heh, those instructions are actually quite clear."

"Clear in what way?"

"Well, contact the Exploration Team. First, organize a trade ship to go to Taipei and trade for sulfur with the savages."

"And then?"

"Then seal off Tainan, intercept those big-pancake-face ships — isn't that simple... I'll take the lead: forced trade, forced negotiations. Don't worry about that part; when we stop the ships, I'll handle it."

Liu Zhe: "..."