Opening deduction, American tycoon

Chapter 1247 Card Daying's Neck (First update, please subscribe)
Control from the source!

As long as it is blocked and controlled from the source, even if some enemies cannot take the initiative to admit defeat, it can help oneself win the final victory.

"In the hundreds of years since the rise of saltpeter throughout Europe, it was once more important and scarce than coal mines, steel, and oil, so the market value of gunpowder was greater than that of gold. The pursuit of saltpeter was all in Europe during the 15th to 19th centuries. The national strategy of the state, in England, the state employs private contractors to search for and obtain saltpeter. The Crown confers executive privileges on a government commissioner - the "Dung Commissioner". The right to enter any private property and dwelling, even The saltpeter resources they find - literally manure, urine and pigeon pee - can be collected and taken away by force."

In the conference room of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce of the Empire, Li Jiebai, the director of the Mining Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, explained to the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce the scarcity of saltpeter in Europe and even the world.

"The white crystal of saltpeter is regarded as an "incredible treasure" by the royal families of all countries, from Portugal's first voyage expedition, to the success of Henry VII, the first Tudor dynasty, to the civil war in England in the early 17th century, and then From the War of Independence and the Civil War in the United States, the Napoleonic Wars in France, until the end of the 19th century, saltpeter was a special commodity essential to national security, and countries lacking saltpeter were doomed to lose in wars.”

Then he raised his voice and said.

"During the Napoleonic Wars, although as early as the end of the 18th century, France improved the production of saltpeter under the guidance of the famous chemist Antoine Lavoisier, making its output more than one thousand tons, thus obtaining the capital to compete with Britain. This huge production capacity Later, it met the needs of Napoleon and the British Empire after the French Revolution. But in essence, French saltpeter is still not comparable to that of Britain-British occupied Bengal as early as the 18th century to obtain local saltpeter mines, which is the famous "Indian saltpeter", its output once reached as much as tons at its peak! It can not only meet the needs of Britain, but also meet the needs of its allies..."

Listening to Li Jiebai's explanation, Sun Siwei frowned and said.

"So, the saltpeter mines in India can meet their needs?"

Since His Majesty determined the war strategy of using "saltpeter as a weapon", what Sun Siwei, the minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, had to do was to cooperate fully.

Lord Shangshu's question made Li Jiebai shake his head and said.

"It depends on the period. During the Napoleonic Wars, the output of saltpeter mines in India would definitely be able to meet the needs of Britain and its allies. But that was the Napoleonic Wars period. After all, the demand at that time was limited."

Li Jiebai looked at Butang and said.

"The cannons at that time only used two or three pounds of gunpowder, at most a dozen pounds, but now? Cannons range from a few kilograms of propellant powder to as many as tens of kilograms, and the raw materials have also changed. Now the production of propellant powder is made from saltpeter. The nitric acid extracted from China, including the production of explosives, is also inseparable from nitric acid. The demand for saltpeter in the arms industry far exceeds that during the Napoleonic Wars. It is just an Indian saltpeter, which is far from meeting the needs of the arms industry. At present, only the annual production of nitric acid in the United Kingdom , thousands of tons of saltpeter are needed.”

Then Li Jiebai introduced the situation of importing saltpeter from Britain, France, Germany and other European countries one by one.

"...In short, saltpeter is the crown of the arms industry, but it cannot be synthesized artificially, and must rely heavily on artificial collection and foreign imports. Without it, it is impossible to manufacture nitric acid, and without nitric acid, there is no arms industry. Britain relies on During the Napoleonic Wars, the British promised the Russians that they would supply them with 1200 tons of saltpeter every year, but Napoleon could not give Russia such a guarantee, which also determined the final outcome of Russia. towards."

Afterwards, Li Jiebai took a deep breath and said.

"Butang, as long as we control the source of the saltpeter, the British arms industry will definitely suffer a heavy blow!"

……

"Stuck neck!"

Putting down the teacup, Emperor Zhu said with a smile.

"Actually, it's just a stuck neck,"

Emperor Zhu is very familiar with this word. In another world, European and American countries have no shortage of Huaxia's necks.

This is an old tradition in Europe and the United States. Once upon a time, controlling saltpeter from the source was also Britain's trump card.After all, before sodium saltpeter was put into the production of gunpowder, Britain, which had mastered Indian saltpeter, used saltpeter to buy off other countries, and used saltpeter to embargo France and its allies.

Now, let them try the taste of being stuck.

"Your Majesty Shengming, it's just that they are stuck in the neck, and they can't breathe! Finally suffocate them to death!"

Sun Siwei said,
"According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, the UK imports 12.3 tons of saltpeter from my country and 1.5 tons from India every year, 90% of which are used in agriculture, and the rest are used in arms and chemical industries. If a war breaks out, their demand will expand. Several times, without our supply, it will be difficult to meet the demand of the UK just by relying on India,"

Nodding slightly, Emperor Zhu said.

"Not only England, but America, Germany, and Italy! They all need saltpeter, they need nitric acid. The question is, where do they get enough saltpeter? Without saltpeter, what do they use to make explosives?"

Without saltpeter, there would be no nitric acid, without nitric acid, there would be no explosives, and without explosives... Is it still possible to win the war?
Even in Emperor Zhu's view, those laymen in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce simply don't know how much gunpowder is needed in war. Let's take the World War I in history as an example. The production of participating countries consumed tens of millions of tons of ammunition. With so many ammunition, how many propellants and explosives are needed, and their production is inseparable from nitric acid, that is, saltpeter.

Thank you for not inventing synthetic ammonia right now, otherwise you will have to repeat the mistakes made by Britain during the First World War. After the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, many people estimated that the war would only last half a year at most because of the lack of nitric acid in Germany. —Germany also needs to import Chilean saltpeter. The naval blockade caused by the outbreak of the war made it impossible for Germany to import saltpeter from Chile as before the war, and its gunpowder production was naturally restricted.

But now?
There is no synthetic ammonia in the world!This skill tree has not been lit up yet. Of course, Emperor Zhu will not take the initiative to light it up. Skills that can choke others' necks, of course, take it easy and take your time.

After thinking about it, Emperor Zhu said.

"Then draw up a plan! Investigate their demand for saltpeter and prevent them from building reserves..."

(End of this chapter)