Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 346, Waiting for the Right Time

Fang Yong looked at the drop of liquid, on which the flame burned steadily. The flame was slightly larger than that of a candle and was very stable. It continued like this for more than three minutes until the fuel was completely burned out, leaving only a small circle of pale yellow, greasy residue.

"This material..."

Fang Yong pondered.

A wealth of knowledge flooded my mind.

Stable combustion materials, high-density energy, entropy increase, entropy decrease, oxidants, catalysts...

The cultivation technique significantly enhanced his mental strength, and he also recalled much of his knowledge from his previous life. However, unfortunately, he could not recall any knowledge that he had not mastered.

In his previous life, he had no interest in this area. High school chemistry was the pinnacle he could achieve. Currently, he could only determine that this new material had extremely high value, but he was powerless to figure out how to apply it.

Is it for use as ignition material? Or for energy?

The price of six pounds per liter is clearly prohibitive for most people.

Used as rocket propellant?

There is definitely enough energy.

Current rockets are still very primitive. Take the Congreve rocket as an example; it's just a large firework with black powder as its internal propulsion material. Combined with a metal kinetic shell and launch pad calibration, its range can reach two to three kilometers.

Rick Congreve's new liquid fuel far surpasses previous black powder in both energy and volume. If fully utilized, it will create a "rocket" with far greater power and range than before.

Rick Congreve shared the same idea.

Unfortunately, this material currently lacks the most crucial step: a catalyst or oxidant.

This material has very high energy, but it is too stable.

A rocket needs a burst of energy to propel it forward and then detonate.

This material can only burn little by little to release energy, lacking a reliable combustion aid or catalyst to help it quickly release its enormous energy.

Rick Congreve got stuck at this step.

Currently, mainstream catalysts are not ideal.

He could only try the process of elimination little by little, which was very difficult and expensive.

He had experimented countless times, and his hometown laboratory was filled with a whole box of experimental records, but he still hadn't succeeded.

His invention was unsuccessful and became nothing more than a useless invention.

No one will agree.

Fang Yong recalled the catalysts he had encountered during his high school years and named a few, but Rick Congreve said he had already experimented with them, so Fang Yong had no other options.

However, this still cannot hide the fact that this guy is a talent.

Putting everything else aside, Fang Yong's knowledge as a Cambridge graduate and his expertise in rocket manufacturing alone were enough to keep him here.

"Welcome to join the Chinese nationality!"

Fang Yong reached out and patted Rick Congreve firmly on the shoulder.

“I will set up a laboratory for you in the suburbs of Beijing and provide you with a capable assistant. Before that, I will need to bring your family over.”

The handover ceremony was held as scheduled the following day.

Burn incense and pray, and the sky will be clear for ten thousand miles.

Several Huaiyin soldiers worked together to carry the jade Buddha over.

The envoy of the fourteenth prince stepped forward solemnly, followed by a dozen or so Siamese monks half-clothed in their robes. Some of the monks looked at the Chinese people around them with a hint of hatred in their eyes.

Fang Yong didn't pay attention to such minor characters.

As the ceremony began, a dozen or so Siamese monks knelt down devoutly and recited an unidentified scripture. Then, the monks rose and carefully lifted the jade Buddha, taking it back to their country. They had to carry the jade Buddha through the streets and alleys, and finally, after a series of rituals, onto their own boats.

After the handover of the Emerald Buddha was completed, the Siamese envoy took his leave.

Fang Yong casually sent a few ministers from the Ministry of Rites to see him off.

Then, another handover ceremony was held.

Forget about the crown and scepter inherited from the Rama royal family; those two items are too intricately crafted, inlaid with various gemstones and openwork gold wire, making them too troublesome to imitate.

Fang Yong decided to give Earl Sweet another national treasure.

The golden Buddha at Jinfo Temple.

This treasure is in no way inferior to the previous national treasure, the Jade Buddha. Not only is it of great symbolic significance, but its materials are also extremely precious. Putting aside its historical significance, the value of its gold alone is comparable to the ransom offered by the Fourteenth Prince.

Perhaps for this reason, Earl Sweet had some doubts.

"Your Majesty, this golden Buddha..."

Fang Yong smiled and said, "Don't worry, I've already had it appraised. It's definitely a genuine golden Buddha!"

Fang Yong really went all out this time.

Not only did they use a large piece of copper to imitate the Buddha statue, but they also hired special craftsmen to wrap the bronze statue with a thick layer of gold weighing over ten kilograms, making it impossible to tell from the outside.

As for the weight being incorrect, that's none of Fang Yong's business.

Surely General Hanuk wouldn't be so stupid as to ask someone else to authenticate the Buddha statue, would he?
Anyway, the golden Buddha has always been enshrined in the Golden Buddha Temple and no one has ever moved it, so it has always been like this!

After another solemn handover ceremony, the Siamese envoy, carrying the golden Buddha, happily returned to report.

What a perfect win-win situation!

Oh no, it's a win-win-win situation!

Fang Yong received the money, the Siamese envoy completed the mission of redeeming the national treasure, and the fourteenth prince and General Hanuman gained prestige from the national treasure.

Alas, it's a pity that Fang Yong's strength is not yet sufficient.

Otherwise, he could have taken advantage of the internal strife in Siam to establish his own power base there, just like the British Empire and the July Monarchy, and bring a better life to the people of Siam.

That would be a win-win-win situation.

The rest of the time passed by uneventfully.

Zhai Xun, Ma Laohei, and He Ai from Changsha frequently sent military reports, detailing the situation they encountered on the ground.

Zhai Xun entered Shaanxi smoothly, and the local powerful families offered little resistance and were generally very cooperative.

Among them, the Jiao family in Weinan also presented a map containing intelligence about the defenses of Liu Xiang's army in the mountains near Xi'an.

Liu Xiang had occupied Hanzhong, which was not far away, and quite some time had passed since then. Naturally, his army had also infiltrated the nearby mountains.

Although Zhai Xun could have investigated this information himself, having the Jiao family's map would save him a lot of time.

Fang Yong looked through the list of candidates from prominent families that Wu Yuan had compiled earlier, and sure enough, he saw the Jiao family's name on it.

There are three people: Jiao Chengxian, Jiao Chengyan, and Jiao Chengzuo.

Fang Yong sent someone to instruct Wu Yuan that, regardless of their academic abilities, at least one of these three people must pass the exam.

Ma Laohei's side has now arrived in Nanyang.

He has already sent military scouts to infiltrate Xiangyang City, and they found that everything in Xiangyang City was normal and there was not much defense. This shows that the powerful families in Hubei Province did not show any signs of uniting and had no intention of resisting Fang Yong's rule.

However, there are many martial arts figures in the city, and when these people gather together, Fang Yong has some complaints.

(End of this chapter)