Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Since the city was not affected by the war, the city of Xinzhou returned to normal within two days.

The number of people entering and leaving the city gates every day is significantly higher than before the war.

A strong army is an important guarantee for the order and stability of a region. Because everyone has witnessed the strength of the Restoration Army, they have confidence in the safety of Xinzhou City.

Having suffered such a heavy loss at the Battle of Xinzhou, and judging from the deployment of Zheng's troops in Jiangxi, Zheng's army is unlikely to launch another war in the short term.

Unless they don't want the watershed anymore.

The threat from Fenshuiguan has been temporarily eliminated. As for other directions, as long as Nanchang does not send troops, Li Chengming is confident that he can annihilate the enemy outside Xinzhou City.

Therefore, Xinzhou City will enjoy a period of peace.

The patrol teams maintaining order and the tax collectors in the city are still the same people, but they are a mixed bag. Li Chengming plans to replace them all!

We had no choice but to use these people before. The Restoration Army had just entered the city and were not familiar with everything. In order to maintain order and stability in the city, we had to make do with these people for the time being.

Because of the spies' attacks within the city, Li Chengming developed a distrust of the troops previously used by Zheng Jun and planned to select people from the Xingfu Army to replace the original patrol teams and tax officials.

As Xinzhou City gradually prospers, the collection of commercial taxes and tolls will amount to a considerable sum. It is essential to replace all those responsible for collecting these fees with our own people to prevent the hard-earned money from flowing into other people's pockets.

Soldiers need to be trained, money needs to be earned, and industry needs to be developed.

There has never been a stable environment, so industrial development has never been put on the agenda.

Now is the time to consider developing industry.

Li Chengming called the other assault team members together to discuss industrial development.

First, Liang Zicheng said, "Steel is the backbone of industry. Without steel, everything is meaningless. We must start by smelting iron and steel!"

Li Chengming nodded: "Zicheng, you're a materials science major, so you'll be in charge of the steel section. The three Hongyi cannons we captured were all cast iron. We don't need such heavy cannons. Take them, melt them down, and rebuild a few steel cannons, prioritizing practicality!"

Liang Zicheng said with difficulty, "These large machines are really not easy to divide and melt. First, I need a lot of coal to make coke, then I need some manpower and a large enough site to build blast furnaces! Only then can I turn pig iron into steel."

Li Chengming nodded and said, "Just make a list of what you need, and I'll try to get the supplies. Let me know anytime you need manpower or supplies!"

Steel is the foundation of industry; the development of modern industry has always been accompanied by the development of the steel industry.

Therefore, the steel sector, which Leung Chi-shing is in charge of, is the most important!

Li Chengming had even been inquiring about nearby coal and iron mines, and if they weren't too far away, he would send troops to capture them first.

After discussing the plan to establish a steel industry, Li Chengming said to Huang Longkun, "Longkun, you're an expert in explosives and also a chemistry major, so I'll put you in charge of manufacturing modern gunpowder."

Huang Longkun nodded and said, "Even the simplest modern gunpowder manufacturing cannot do without concentrated sulfuric acid and concentrated nitric acid. Sulfuric acid can be made from sulfur, as for nitric acid..."

Huang Longkun pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "I'll try to produce nitric acid using potassium nitrate. If we can prepare concentrated sulfuric acid and concentrated nitric acid, then we can produce mercuric fulminate, nitrocellulose, and nitroglycerin. So I need sulfur and saltpeter!"

Li Chengming said, "I've already purchased the sulfur and saltpeter from Manager Huang. Just tell me if you need anything else!"

After discussing the topic of chemical engineering, medical staff member Song Yourong said, "Is it my turn? I studied clinical medicine, but I also know quite a bit about biomedicine. Please provide me with steamed buns, rice, and fruit so I can try to culture penicillin. Also, please provide some lab rabbits and glassware, or ceramic containers if you don't have glass."

Li Chengming said, "Medical supplies are just as important. The production of penicillin is no less important than steelmaking and gunpowder manufacturing. I'll leave the pharmaceutical aspect to you, Yourong. Also, if you encounter any difficulties, just tell me."

Then everyone looked at Yan Huidong.

Yan Huidong said, "I studied electrical engineering. Give me copper wire and magnets, and I'll handcraft generators and motors!"

Huang Longkun interjected, "Originally, I thought the method of using potassium nitrate to produce concentrated nitric acid was too dangerous. If you can make a generator by hand, I'll switch to the electric arc method to produce nitric acid."

Yan Huidong said, "No problem. The captain will prepare the materials for me. It shouldn't be too difficult for me to make three or five generators by hand."

Li Chengming also said, "Preparing copper wire and magnets is not difficult, the problem is how to generate electricity after we twist it into a generator? We can't rely on manpower to generate electricity, can we? We don't have a steam engine yet."

Yan Huidong laughed and said, "Even the captain has his moments of being clueless. The Xinjiang River isn't far outside the city; why not install a few water turbines to generate electricity?"

Li Chengming chuckled awkwardly, "I didn't expect that once the generator was up and running, we could use electricity immediately. Motors, lights, telegraphs... they'll be so useful!"

Yan Huidong said, "If there is electricity, it is the same as the electric arc method for producing nitric acid that I just mentioned. It can also be used to produce ammonia. Ammonia can not only be used in agriculture, but ammonium nitrate is also a powerful explosive."

Liang Zicheng said, "If we had electricity, it would be even more useful in the field of materials. Aside from the electrolytic production of copper and aluminum, with enough electricity, we could smelt even higher-performance steel!"

Zhou Lei said, "I majored in communications engineering. Now our small radios and walkie-talkies can achieve long-distance communication, but if there's electricity, I can also make wireless telegraphs and cordless phones by hand!"

The commandos were all majoring in science and engineering, and had a wide range of interests. Once the topic was brought up, they became more and more excited as they discussed it, and their thinking expanded. They seemed to be able to conjure up an atomic bomb by hand tomorrow.

Li Chengming poured cold water on everyone's enthusiasm, saying, "We'll get the basics right first, and then improve step by step! But starting from scratch in science and technology and industry will take a lot of time and effort, and we'll encounter many difficulties. Everyone needs to be mentally prepared..."

At this moment, He Mingqiu pointed to himself, then to Chen Shaoping, and said, "Captain, it seems we haven't been assigned any work, have we?"

Li Chengming said, "You two, one a physics major and the other a mathematics major, will not be assigned specific tasks. During the day, you will be responsible for training the troops, and in your spare time, you will organize the knowledge you have learned."

Mathematics and physics are so important; they are the foundation of all natural sciences. Scientific progress in this era could have avoided hundreds of years of detours because of you two!

Seeing He Mingqiu and Chen Shaoping's aggrieved expressions, everyone laughed.

Liang Zicheng said, "Don't be sad. The captain values ​​you all highly and has entrusted you with the most important training work."

Song Yourong: "However, mathematics and physics are indeed very important subjects. If I encounter any problems in these areas in the future, I will ask you two for help."

Liang Zicheng said, "You are generals who can become great scientists!"

He Mingqiu said with a wry smile, "But I studied applied physics..."

The characteristic of applied physics majors is that they know a little about everything but are not proficient in anything.

The conversation lasted until late at night, from the start of the meeting to casual chats. Li Chengming chaired the meeting and took notes, and the important points he recorded at the end were less than a page long. The most important of these was the materials needed for industrial development.

The supplies that need to be purchased are all kinds of things. Some supplies need to be purchased in large quantities, while others are very rare and precious, the kind that will cost a lot of money.

Li Chengming sighed, "It seems we still need more money!"