Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

Jiang Fan ran to the scrap heap and collected a large bag of sharp, broken steel fragments and iron filings that were completely unusable.

I found a well-ventilated, open corner, poured all the materials together strictly according to the proportions, and stirred them thoroughly.

The chemical principle behind this is not complicated at all: ammonium nitrate is an extremely strong oxidizing agent. When dry sawdust is added as a carbon-rich combustible material, and a certain amount of diesel oil is added as a binder and combustion aid, the classic ammonium nitrate explosive can be prepared.

As for the steel and iron fragments mixed in, that's naturally the core of the shrapnel's lethality.

Once this large bowl of yellowish-black mixture is thoroughly stirred, it will instantly trigger an extremely violent deflagration reaction when ignited with a fuse.

Although its detonation velocity and power are not as fierce as pure military TNT, it is still suitable for detonating a thin-walled gas cylinder filled with volatile gases...

This is more than enough, and could even produce an extremely terrifying secondary temperature and pressure shock effect.

...

Late at night, two headlights pierced the darkness as a Dodge T234 truck drove into the Ansteel plant area.

In the back of the truck, seven or eight iron barrels were tightly bound together with thick hemp rope.

Although it wasn't very large, the presence of armed security personnel standing behind the truck bed to escort it demonstrated its importance.

As the truck arrived, the factory leaders, who had been waiting in the wings, rushed to greet it.

Guided by the flashlight, the car stopped in the designated spot.

He Xiying immediately called the workers to rush forward and unload the barrels of crude oil as if they were her precious treasures.

However, He Xiying looked around the crowd and her brows immediately furrowed.

Zhou Chunsheng is not here, and neither is Jiang Fan!

"Quickly, send someone to find it. The crude oil has arrived. We'll have to ask them what to do with it next."

Meanwhile, in the machining workshop on the other side, Master Zhou, who had been busy for several hours, finally welded out the military-grade "gas cylinder" sample with a tail fin.

Meanwhile, in a secluded corner, Jiang Fan was directing several workers to compact the prepared mixture into a detonator resembling a large detonator, and then tightly wrap it with thick tape.

"It must be wrapped tightly and compacted; this is for detonation. If it's scattered, the explosive force won't be released!"

"Also, the fuse must be lengthened, with at least two meters of safety length to facilitate retreat after lighting it."

Finally, the cadre sent by He Xiying to search for the person came running over, panting, and anxiously called out:

"Engineer Jiang, my goodness, what are you still doing here?"

"The crude oil has arrived, and the factory manager is urging you to go check on what to do!"

Fortunately, Jiang Fan's process was also nearing completion.

He nodded, instructed the workers to clean up the mess, then picked up two finished detonators and followed the cadres over.

The truck was parked not far from the "deethaner tower" that had just been set up during the day.

Zhou Chunsheng happened to be pushing a small cart, delivering the finished military gas cylinders from the workshop.

Several barrels of crude oil were unloaded to the side, and everyone was anxiously waiting for Jiang Fan.

As soon as Jiang Fan arrived at the scene, he saw the first batch of crude oil, which represented the hope of the new China's industry, from afar, and couldn't help but nod inwardly.

In his previous life, when he was doing research for popular science, he only heard that in the early days of the People's Republic of China, oil was transported in iron barrels, and that it was only after production surged that it was quickly replaced by pipeline transportation.

Today, he finally saw the real thing.

"It seems we still need to raise our concerns with higher-ups and establish a proper oil refinery as soon as possible. Relying solely on transporting oil in iron drums cannot support the industrial foundation of a major country."

As he pondered this in his mind, he approached the group, intending to greet the leaders, but was immediately interrupted by the impatient He Xiying waving her hand:

"Comrade Jiang, skip the formalities, let's get started!"

Now that the factory manager had spoken, Jiang Fan stopped with the formalities and immediately directed everyone to begin extracting liquefied gas.

He first instructed Zhou Chunsheng to connect the empty gas cylinder to the end of the condenser pipe, and then waved his hand to have the workers ignite the coke at the bottom to start a fire for heating.

Following the instructions, the site immediately entered a state of intense operation.

The purification process was quite lengthy, but no one left the site.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the rudimentary equipment, anxiously awaiting the final result.

Only after Jiang Fan felt the pressure through the valve and confirmed that the gas cylinder was full of high-pressure liquefied gas did he turn off the valve and ask:

"Is the launch pad ready?"

"Ready!" someone shouted from the crowd.

The so-called "launching rack" is actually a simple device modified from a thick iron barrel, with an inclined angle steel bracket welded to the bottom, which fixes it into a makeshift launch tube similar to a mortar.

Seeing that all the procedures were ready, even He Xiying nervously swallowed, then said to Jiang Fan:

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, shall we head to the test firing range now?"

This was something Jiang Fan had discussed when he was doing it, so that He Xiying could find a suitable position.

"Okay, factory manager!"

Immediately afterwards, he turned and waved to several strong workers:

"Load the shelves and gas cylinders, let's go."

This so-called high-standard test site is actually just a barren hillside opposite the factory's open space.

A few kerosene lamps were placed at the bottom of the slope, serving as bullseyes for testing.

When Jiang Fan arrived at the location, he first looked around to make sure there were no tall trees nearby before he felt relieved.

He then immediately ordered everyone to retreat quickly and find cover.

Are you kidding me?

This canister was not only filled with high-pressure flammable gas, but also stuffed with a bunch of sharp scrap iron pieces.

Who can guarantee how large the kill radius of this thing is after it explodes? If shrapnel gets injure our own people, it's no joke.

Everyone was on high alert and immediately obeyed orders, obediently hiding behind a thick brick wall dozens of meters away.

He Xiying had originally arranged for a daring worker to light the fire in place of Jiang Fan, but Jiang Fan was really worried and feared that an amateur might make a fatal mistake, so he stopped the worker and decided to do it himself.

Soon, under the guidance of a veteran military industrial cadre with combat experience, the tilt angle of the launching barrel was carefully adjusted, and the muzzle pointed directly at the distant hillside.

Jiang Fan took a deep breath and carefully used tape to wrap the prepared detonator in the designated position, then straightened the two-meter-long fuse outwards.

With Zhou Chunsheng's help, the two of them worked together to slide the gas cylinder into the iron barrel, leaving only the fuse outside the barrel.

Everything is ready.