America 1881: Legend of the West

Chen Jianqiu is a little annoyed now.

Of course he didn't know how heavy a blow the Italian technician he inadvertently fired had brought to the once-prominent DuPont family.

This behemoth's counterattack caught him a bit unexpectedly.

If the last battle with the Rockefeller family ended in a draw because Rockefeller had no time to care, or simply looked down on the backwaters of New Mexico.

What the Gunpowder Association did this time finally allowed Chen Jianqiu to see how powerful these capitalist families were in the United States in the 19th century.

Almost simultaneously, all suppliers of nitric acid and saltpeter stopped supplying Roswell Ordnance Factory.

They will not offend the entire Gunpowder Association for the sake of a small company.

Chen Jianqiu originally thought about collecting some scattered things, even things from the handicraft workshop.

For example, in some southern states, potassium nitrate is still extracted from the feces of animals, such as bats.

He even thought about the bats and toilets in the previous treasure cave.

But Chen Jianqiu found that these were just a drop in the bucket.

The sporadic supply is simply not enough to meet the current production needs of the Roswell Ordnance Factory.

If smokeless powder bullets cannot be produced, there is no reason to sell the Roswell 1882.

Browning can now see Chen Jianqiu in the workshop almost every day.

"Browning, how much raw material inventory do we have?" Chen Jianqiu asked, looking at the busy workers in the workshop.

"There are still quite a few." Browning pointed to the large warehouses outside the door, "But if we can't purchase more, they will be used up in a few months."

"You have to think of a way." He looked at Chen Jianqiu eagerly.

Chen Jianqiu did not speak, but fell into deep thought.

If that doesn't work, then I have no choice but to go to New York to find Astor and see if he can find a way to contact the seller in Europe.

But even if someone is willing to sell it, the price will definitely be astonishing.

These capitalists have never been charitable, they are best at taking advantage of the situation.

In addition, he had to beware of Dupont's gang stumbling upon customs at the border.

Really, it's a bit troublesome.

After walking out of the workshop of the ordnance factory, Chen Jianqiu rode a black carrot along the streets of Roswell Town to relax.

The town of Roswell now is completely different from the run-down town it was a year ago.

There are nearly three thousand residents in the town.

Most of them are Chinese who have obtained citizenship through "special means", as well as some whites, Mexicans, and Latinos.

Thanks to the fact that there are no gold or silver mines here, the climate is dry and the quality of the pasture is a mess.

Although the railway was connected, many people still didn't know the existence of this place, thinking that it was just a desert that was spurned by God.

But in fact, the size of this town has far exceeded that of many other western towns.

The most important thing is that there is actually everything here, and it is very safe.

Chen Jianqiu passed by the gate of the night school.

"abandon,abandon,abandon"

"In all actions, follow the command, do not take advantage of the masses, and all seizures must be returned to the public!"

The sound of reading and singing came from the school.

Chen Jianqiu thought for a while, then dismounted at the gate and turned into the night school.

He originally had an impromptu idea to give an "ideological and political" class.

But when he walked into the yard, he found Zhang Danian sitting on the steps of the house, holding a letter in his hand and enjoying himself.

Chen Jianqiu walked up to Zhang Danian.

Zhang Danian, who was reading the letter, suddenly felt that the sunlight in front of him was blocked by someone.

He raised his head, still smiling.

"What are you enjoying? Uncle Danian?" Chen Jianqiu sat down next to Zhang Danian and asked with a smile.

"Letter from an old friend." Zhang Danian rubbed the crumpled paper with his hands and said, "I don't know some of them very well, so I went to school to find someone to read them for me."

"Finished reading?"

"Yeah." Zhang Danian started to laugh again.

It seems that he already knows what is written in the letter, but he may just sit here and reflect on it.

old friend?

Chen Jianqiu didn't quite understand.

Zhang Danian, a TPJ general, traveled across the ocean to the United States and lived incognito in Colorado. Where did he get his friends?

Seeing that Chen Jianqiu was silent, Zhang Danian handed the letter in his hand to Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu opened the letter and took a look, and was immediately attracted by the neat handwriting on it.

This letter comes from South America, Chile, Iquique region.

The person who wrote the letter is named Weng Derong, and the content of the letter is suspected to have been dictated by a ghostwriter.

This old acquaintance of Zhang Danian escaped from that continent and traveled across the ocean to the continent of South America.

They were treated as piglets and sold to the Peruvians.

Here they were not treated as ordinary workers at all, but became slaves in the saltpeter mines in the Iquique area.

Every day before dawn, they are forced to walk down the 100-meter-deep mine pit with excavation tools, and carry out long-lasting and high-intensity work under dim electric lights.

But as the three countries of Chile, Peru, and Bolivia fought over the saltpeter mines in the Atacama Desert.

They revolted!

So, they are now part of the Chilean Army!

Chen Jianqiu took a deep breath.

He didn't expect that on the other side of this continent, there was actually a TPJ team fighting for their own survival.

"How did you get in touch?" Chen Jianqiu turned his head and asked Zhang Danian curiously.

"That means he has a firm foothold there. Besides, the war is urgent, so he sent people to find old comrades all the way."

Zhang Danian laughed heartily.

"He knew that some of us were in the United States, so he also sent people to the United States. Do you remember that I was recruiting people for you before? His people saw it and came over. That's how we happened to meet."

"This letter was brought back to me from Colorado. It's the first letter. It's not easy. It takes a long time to come back and forth."

Zhang Danian said with emotion.

Chen Jianqiu originally wanted to ask Zhang Danian why he had never mentioned this matter to him before, but out of respect, he did not ask the question.

Maybe the old man didn't realize it.

Or perhaps, the old man believes that the United States and Chile are far apart, and any contact between the two sides is of little significance.

However, it's different now.

Because he thinks about it day and night, the word "nitrate" and the letter "N" appear in his mind all the time.

His eyes have automatic perception of these two things.

Therefore, on the letter just now, he keenly captured the three words "saltpeter mine".

Far? So what if it's far?

Wherever there are mines, I will be there! What's more, there are still Zhang Danian's old friends there.

"Holmes! Holmes!" Chen Jianqiu stood up from the steps and shouted twice into the classroom.

The geologist poked his head out of the second-floor window and looked at Chen Jianqiu standing in the yard with a blank look on his face.

"Assemble in the conference hall in half an hour!" Chen Jianqiu shouted, then turned and walked out of the yard.

Half an hour later, Roswell Chamber.

"In the Atacama Desert, located on the Pacific coast of South America, guano has accumulated on the dry desert for tens of thousands of years, forming an inexhaustible resource of saltpeter."

"It is now the largest and most important saltpeter mine in the world."

Holmes used his professional knowledge to introduce the information there to Chen Jianqiu.

“Unlike the saltpeter produced in Bangladesh, India, the main component of the saltpeter produced here is calcium nitrate, which is easier to develop and use.”

Chen Jianqiu touched his chin.

He didn't expect that this place was actually the world's largest saltpeter supplier.

"DuPont must have gotten involved here, right?" Chen Jianqiu suddenly thought.

"Guess why the British Empire supports Chile in this war." The usually stern lawyer actually chuckled, "The Chilean government and the federation are not easy to deal with, because our former president planned to support Peru."

Chen Jianqiu nodded repeatedly, with a smile on his face.

He has made his decision.

"How long does it take to get to Chile from here?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"If you go along the coastline, it will take about a month. If you get on the boat from California, it may take a little longer." Holmes roughly measured the coastline and replied.

Chen Jianqiu shook his head.

"We're not going to California, we're going to Mexico."