Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 398: Initial Success of Explosives
Qu Shaoyang arrived home on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. He returned to the government office on the morning of the sixth day to handle some matters. In the afternoon, he went to visit Anders and others.

"Master Qu, long time no see, you don't look well."

Anders and others have adapted to life in Maoer Mountain, and have also learned some Qing Chinese from Zhao Guangzhi and others.

Qu Shaoyang almost couldn't help laughing when listening to Anders's poor Chinese.

“It’s nothing, I just went on a business trip a while ago, the conditions were not very good, and I’m tired.

Anders, how is the development of explosives going? Any clues?"

This is what Qu Shaoyang is most concerned about, so he came back yesterday and came here today to inquire about the progress of the development of explosives.

Anders and the others can only understand simple Qing dialect now, and there are some things Qu Shaoyang says that they still can't understand.

Zhao Guangzhi, who was standing by, quickly translated.

"Sir, we have made some progress in developing explosives.

Anders and his team followed the formula given by the adults and after many experiments, they developed nitroglycerin and mercuric fulminate.

But our conditions are too simple, and we don’t have any formal equipment, so the purity is not ideal, and the output is not high.”

Zhao Guangzhi translated Anders' words and informed Qu Shaoyang.

“Another problem is that the storage conditions are not met, and accidents are very likely to occur.

So Anders and his team didn’t dare to continue their research for the time being. It would be better to have a laboratory that can meet the conditions.”

“It doesn’t matter, as long as we can successfully develop it, the rest can come slowly.

I'll figure out the equipment and stuff, so don't worry too much about production."

As long as it can be successfully developed, it means that there is no problem with the formula, and we can just study it slowly in the future.

As for the laboratory, we will wait until the spring of next year and find a place far away from the village and build a house with the best materials.

He had to find a way to buy the equipment, since Qu Shaoyang had money now.

The gold field alone has a net profit of 400,000 taels a year. Add to that several other mountain fields, warehouses, caravans, etc., and the annual revenue can reach 500,000 to 600,000 taels of silver.

It can be said that Qu Shaoyang is now wealthy and powerful, so he can buy whatever he wants.

"The New Year is coming soon, Guangzhi, tell Anders and the others to let them know if they need anything.

I happen to be going to Phoenix soon, so I can bring them some of what they need."

The New Year is coming soon, so I have to hurry to Phoenix to deliver New Year gifts. It’s also a good opportunity to go to Fengtian to visit Chen Yunzhe and his wife.

It doesn't take much effort to bring some things to Anders and the others on the way.

After hearing what Zhao Guangzhi said, Anders and others hurriedly said some things they wanted but were not available in Maoer Mountain.

It’s mainly about food, things like cream, cheese, butter and so on.

Although the food here is delicious, it is not easy to change eating habits, and people still prefer their own food.

Qu Shaoyang asked Zhao Guangzhi to make a list, then he put the list away and left.

On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Qu Shaoyang led his men, driving several horse-drawn sleighs, and set out for Phoenix City to deliver New Year gifts to the Taotai and the people in the East Road Yamen.

Yu Liang and others were stunned when they saw Qu Shaoyang.

Is this dark and thin man with frostbite on his face that hasn't recovered yet really Qu Shaoyang, the general manager of the Wood Tax Office? This change is too big.

Other people who become officials tend to become whiter and richer, so why has Qu Shaoyang become like this?

"Shaoyang, what's wrong with you? Is there something wrong at home?

Look at you, you have lost weight and your complexion is not good. "Yu Liang asked with concern as soon as he saw Qu Shaoyang.

"Your Excellency, I took some men to blow up the sentry posts in the upper reaches of the Songhua River.

The river wind is too strong and the weather is too cold, freezing and blowing at the same time, that's it. " Qu Shaoyang was amused when he heard this and hurried to explain. After listening to Qu Shaoyang's explanation, Yuliang suddenly realized.

"So you personally led the people to blow up the sentry post? Look at you, this job should be done by your subordinates.

I heard from someone that explosives are very dangerous. If something goes wrong with you, where can I find such a capable person?"

In fact, most of what Yuliang said was just polite talk, and few of them came from the heart.

After all, Qu Shaoyang had been around for a few years, so how could he not understand? He just smiled and didn't really take it to heart.

"Thank you for your concern, I will pay attention to it in the future.

The main reason is that the terrain is complicated in Beiliushui, and I was really worried, so I watched over there for a while. "

Everyone carried the fancy sedan, and everyone knew what was going on. It was just a show of affection for the sake of appearance.

Qu Shaoyang reported to Yuliang on matters such as blowing up checkpoints, collecting taxes, and training militia.

Yu Liang nodded repeatedly after listening to this, praising Qu Shaoyang as a capable person, and told Qu Shaoyang that his performance in the exams this year was again A-grade.

It goes without saying that Qu Shaoyang gave tens of thousands of taels of silver to Yuliang every year as a filial gift, which was enough to buy first-class jewelry.

What's more, Qu Shaoyang is indeed capable, and he does every task assigned to him by his superiors very well.

No one can find fault with this A-grade product given to him.

"Sir, I have something else to ask for your instructions." All the work has been reported, and it is time to ask for instructions.

"This is what I think. It is really too expensive to buy the explosives from a foreign company.

It would be a shame to waste three years of timber taxes on this.

I have invited several foreign engineers to study the issue of explosives, and have made some progress.

Please allow me to build a factory near Maoer Mountain to specialize in the research and manufacture of explosives and other things.

If it can be mass-produced, we won’t have to buy from foreign companies anymore.”

This matter must be approved by the higher-ups.

Otherwise, why would Qu Shaoyang, a patrol inspector, set up an explosives factory? Was he trying to rebel?
If someone really stabs you, you will definitely be in big trouble.

This is also one of the purposes of Qu Shaoyang coming to the East Road. He will ask for instructions from the Daotai first. As long as Yuliang allows it, no one else can say anything about it.

Sure enough, when Yuliang heard that Qu Shaoyang was planning to develop explosives, he was also surprised.

"Shaoyang, I'm not trying to discourage you, but this explosive is not that easy to develop.

The Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, and even the Jilin Machinery Bureau, which one of them was not learning from the foreigners and researching and manufacturing foreign guns and cannons?
Up to now, I haven’t heard what the research has achieved.

That thing requires a large sum of money and is dangerous, so I advise you to stop.

If you throw silver into the water, you can hear a sound, but if you throw it here, I'm afraid there will be no result."

Yuliang thought that Qu Shaoyang wanted the East Road Government to pay the money, so would he agree?

"My Lord, I don't have any aspirations, I just want to make things more convenient for you in the future.

At present, those foreigners have already developed some things, but they lack space and equipment.

As long as you allow me, I will find a way to pay for the money."

How could Qu Shaoyang not understand what Yuliang was worried about? So he quickly expressed his attitude.

When Yuliang heard that the government didn't have to pay for it, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, he couldn't change his mind too quickly. After thinking for a moment, he nodded in agreement.

He also told Qu Shaoyang to pay attention to safety, as explosives were not a trivial matter. If an accident really happened, especially if it involved foreigners, it would be difficult to deal with.

(End of this chapter)