Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 232 Nitrate Field
"Are we going to make compost?"

Several immigrants pulled a cart of cow dung to a shallow pit, and then used shovels to laboriously unload the filthy stuff and piled it in the pit.

At this time, it was late April and the temperature was rising. The entire pit was filled with bursts of foul odor.

Although they covered their mouths and noses with cloths, the pungent smell still continued to come, and after inhaling it, people almost felt nauseous.

This large pit covers an area of ​​about half an acre square and is about one or two feet deep. A layer of wood ash and plant residue (nitrogen-containing organic matter) is spread on the bottom. Every time a layer of manure is covered, a layer of wood ash (to adjust the pH value) is sprinkled on it, and then a layer of soil is covered. This process is repeated until it is piled up to more than one foot high.

Not far away, there are several such manure pits, the top layer of which is covered with straw or leaves to ensure that they can maintain the appropriate humidity and temperature.

This method is almost the same as the composting process used by farmers.

After Zhang Xiaowu shoveled the last bit of manure from the car into the pit, he stood up, stretched his back vigorously, and then wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeves.

After removing the cloth covering his face and spitting a mouthful of thick phlegm into the pit, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "I see the officials above often send militiamen to inspect these pits. Are they worried that someone will steal the compost?"

"If you don't know anything, don't make wild guesses! The filth from these manure pits isn't meant to be used as compost in the fields." Sun Yuanfu tossed a stick representing the number of cart trips over and said with disdain, "This is a saltpeter field built specifically here by our Xinhua military! ... Do you know what a saltpeter field is? It's the raw material for making gunpowder."

"Nitrate field?" Zhang Xiaowu looked at the manure pit in front of him in surprise, with a look of disbelief on his face, "Can these filthy things be used to make gunpowder?"

"Of course! This stuff is just like composting in farmland. After a few months, a lot of saltpeter will be precipitated. Then, these saltpeter can be collected and used to make gunpowder. Hey, with gunpowder, our Xinhua cannons and muskets can fire powder bullets and subdue those natives."

"Oh!..." Zhang Xiaowu was a little confused, but seeing the other party's arrogant look, he didn't want to ask any more questions, so he pretended to understand. "Our Xinhua officials are really capable. They can actually get gunpowder from a cesspool!"

"What's so strange about this! There are also such saltpeter fields in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but you just haven't seen them." Sun Yuanfu was very happy to see the other party's ignorant look, and felt particularly happy.

Since arriving in Xinhua, these new immigrants have not only been greedy, but also found everything strange and acted as if they had never seen the world.

Unlike us men, we not only learned some words in literacy classes, but also saw all kinds of strange things, and often listened to young men who read newspapers talk about major events around the world.

Those officials and military craftsmen said that the process of making saltpeter was a kind of "biochemical reaction". Through the biochemical action of "biochemical microorganisms", organic matter containing "eggs" was turned into saltpeter.

This "biochemical reaction" is a very complicated process that most people cannot understand.

The establishment of saltpeter fields is similar to the steps of composting. Both require choosing a place with low terrain and good drainage to avoid water accumulation in the manure pit.

Also, choose some good soil, preferably one that contains a lot of "organic matter", is well ventilated, and promotes nitrification.

The dirty things needed for saltpeter fields are all animal manure, such as horse manure, cow manure, urine, as well as plant residues, wheat straw, etc.

After the saltpeter field is piled up, it is necessary to water it regularly to keep it moist, but water must not accumulate.

Every once in a while, these nitrate field maintenance workers are required to turn over the piles to promote ventilation in the nitrate fields and promote biochemical reactions.

After a few months, when the feces in the saltpeter field have completely "biochemically reacted", military craftsmen will rush to extract saltpeter.

This stage is when those who maintain the saltpeter fields suffer the most.

Because they need to endure the pungent stench and shovel the manure from the nitrate field into the water bit by bit to allow the reactants (nitrates) in it to dissolve.

Then, pour the soaked liquid into a large iron pot and boil it, and remove impurities attached to the surface at any time. Use a wooden block to soak the liquid and drop it on the ironware. When it quickly solidifies to form crystals, stop heating. After standing for a day, a large amount of crystals (potassium nitrate) will precipitate, which is saltpeter.

Saltpeter is dissolved in hot water, then evaporated to remove some impurities (sodium chloride, etc.). After cooling, the crystals become saltpeter, which can be used as a raw material for gunpowder.

To be honest, this job is really "hurtful". After working for a whole day, my mouth and nose are full of the stench of feces, which makes it impossible to eat a single bite of food all day.

But there was no other way. The officials and military generals above were pressing for this very urgent matter, hoping to produce more gunpowder before the Western barbarians attacked.

Previously, Xinhua's gunpowder was purchased from the Ming and Western Yi territories. While the quantity wasn't large, it was sufficient. However, two years ago, after the Western Yi discovered Xinhua's existence, tensions escalated. The smuggling trade we had been engaged in halted, and this source of saltpeter was also cut off.

Although, some saltpeter can be bought from Ming Dynasty or Japan to continue making gunpowder.

However, in order to free up more space to transport more immigrants and other production and living materials back from the Ming Dynasty, the purchase volume of saltpeter was controlled at a certain scale.

Besides, carrying too much saltpeter in the cabin is not good for the health of the immigrants.

For example, it may affect the respiratory tract of immigrants, causing coughing, sore throat or difficulty breathing.

For example, it may cause certain irritation to the immigrants' skin, leading to itching or rashes.

For example, if saltpeter dust gets into the eyes, it can cause redness, swelling, pain and other problems.

During the sea voyage that can last up to one or two months, immigrants have to endure all kinds of discomfort and suffer many physical and physiological tortures. If they are not careful, they may get sick and die.

If the large amounts of saltpeter carried on ships caused unnecessary health problems for the immigrants, it would be a loss.

Since saltpeter is no longer available in the territory of the Western Yi, and the immigration fleet carries as little saltpeter as possible to ensure the health of the immigrants on board, Xinhua can only find other ways to obtain sufficient gunpowder raw materials.

After all, military training and naval warfare require the production of large quantities of gunpowder.

Mining in many mines, such as Shixing Lime Mine, Guangfeng Magnetite Mine, and Fenzhou Coal Mine, also requires the use of gunpowder blasting.

In addition, large amounts of saltpeter are also used for preservative treatment of pickled meat and dried fish.

In short, Xinhua’s demand for saltpeter is still quite large, and the supply cannot be cut off for a moment.

Therefore, starting two years ago, the Xinhua government has successively built more than ten saltpeter fields to obtain the required saltpeter raw materials through this traditional method of making saltpeter.

Perhaps considering the impact of saltpeter production on human health, the officials above distributed a lot of protective gear to these maintenance workers, including cloth towels (simple masks), leather gloves, leather aprons and waterproof leather boots, to avoid harm to their bodies as much as possible during the saltpeter production process.

In fact, the efficiency of saltpeter field production is not high, and the cycle is very long. It even "diverts" the already limited manure resources, which is really not very economical.

According to some radicals in the Xinhua government, it would be better to go directly to the desert in northern Chile (Atacama Desert) to dig saltpeter, which would be much more economical.

However, this is the "legal territory" of the Spanish. If they want to go there to mine, they are likely to face strong counterattacks from the other side.

With Xinhua's current strength, it should not be difficult to force the Spanish to give up the northwest coast of North America, including Qiming Island, through a limited war, and then obtain their formal recognition.

Because this area was not under the actual jurisdiction of the Spanish at all. In their eyes, it was a barren land. Apart from endless forests and animals everywhere, there were no valuable minerals.

Moreover, the climate here is cold, far less warm than in Mexico and Peru. If there is strong resistance from the "natives", it can be thrown away without any regrets.

However, this will only hurt the self-esteem of the proud Spaniards a little bit.

The existence of Xinhua does not actually affect the core interests of the Spanish.

However, Chile is different. It is adjacent to the core of the Viceroyalty of Peru and is also the key waterway for Spain to reach the Atlantic Ocean.

If you try to occupy territory in northern Chile and plan to mine saltpeter, the Spanish will definitely fight you to the death.

Therefore, since Xinhua is still immature and weak, there is no need for it to over-stimulate the sensitive nerves of the Spaniards.

You can fantasize, but don’t be reckless.

(End of this chapter)