Chapter 1484 - Supply Chain

Like a bomb detonating in the conference room, the audience first held silence—then quickly erupted into a chaotic buzz of discussion.

"Comrade Wu Mu," someone asked, "a case this serious—could naturalized citizens alone have done it? Could there be Senators—"

"No Senator is involved in this case. In fact, it would be impossible." Wu Mu's answer was categorical. "All the criminals have been arrested." His gaze swept over everyone in the room. "I feel that casting suspicions on comrades over this matter is very, very inappropriate."

"Delete that exchange from the meeting minutes," Jiang Shan said, raising his eyelids. "Rather than engage in pointless speculation about who did it, let us consider how to prevent it—I trust comrades in the Political Security Bureau have concrete measures. Now let us return to the question of Hale."

"Another point must be made. As everyone knows, following a Technology Department review, certain self-produced instruments have been listed in the Foreign Commerce Commission's export catalog: balances, microscopes, gauges, sextants, quadrants, levels, slide rules, vernier calipers, vacuum pumps, and so forth. Prototypes of most such instruments have already appeared in Europe. Because of high pricing, coupled with the fact that all our products use metric units, sales volume is modest. All purchasing clients are on record. But whether these instruments eventually fall into Hale's hands after changing hands several times—no one can say for certain."

"Since not many can be sold anyway, why export? What exactly is the Ministry of Colonization and Trade thinking?!"

"I see problems with this person Sikade. His tendency to go rogue is very serious!"

"Before Operation Engine, he repeatedly proposed appeasing the Zheng clique and opposed using force. His motives are suspicious!"

"We must thoroughly investigate capitulationist tendencies to the very end! I suggest launching a loyalty investigation on him!"

"Loyalty investigation my ass! Investigate his economic problems directly."

The discussion grew even noisier. Wu Mu noticed Navy Chief of Staff Li Di gesticulating vigorously to neighbors on both sides, making the case that the Ministry of Colonization and Trade—indeed, the entire Executive Committee's "treasonous crimes"—must be settled.

"Unless a decision is made to conduct a targeted trade blockade, transit trade is extremely difficult to control," Jiang Shan said, speaking only after the decibel level in the room had dropped somewhat. "All direct trade with the Philippines conducted by the Southeast Asia Company consists essentially of traditional goods. What gets shipped to Manila is raw silk, silk fabrics, porcelain, sugar, fruit products, and tea. Our specialties also include salt, distilled spirits, and glass products. These goods are roughly the same as what Chinese merchants traditionally shipped to the Philippines, squeezing their market considerably. They had to settle for second best, turning to heavy goods like copper, iron, and hardware. This coincided exactly with Spaniards purchasing metal materials in large quantities after Hale arrived in Manila—even tendering gleaming silver for iron woks and copper cash. And of course, mercury."

"Naturally, Philippine authorities do not wish to rely on only one supplier. So the Portuguese transport large quantities of Indian iron from Goa, along with tin from Malacca and copper from Burma. Portuguese competition combined with slim profits in selling bulk copper and iron has driven foreign merchants from Fujian and Guangdong to swarm toward Hong Kong, Sanya, Kaohsiung, and every trade port under our control. What do they do there? Buy our products in bulk to ship to Manila for sale. Setting aside whether it's even possible—at least before Hale's presence was completely confirmed—implementing a trade blockade made no sense. After all, trade with the Philippines remains our main channel for obtaining many important commodities and large amounts of precious-metal hard currency. Comrades in the Navy often emphasize the need for large quantities of Manila hemp to make sails, cables, and anchor ropes."

Li Di looked somewhat embarrassed. Of course, it was not long before he was vigorously advocating "a Great White Fleet striking straight into Manila Bay—kill all the white skins and seize their resources."

"Let us examine Lando's report. Intelligence he obtained from Manila port authorities indicates that Spanish colonial officials are deliberately encouraging Chinese merchants to ship and sell certain specially needed 'Australian goods.' For example, in the past two months alone they imported two hundred sixty-three cases of soap."

"Comrade Lando's influence is considerable," someone joked. "Unwashed white skins are actually being driven by him to buy soap."

"The Spaniards couldn't use that much soap even bathing daily. Comrades in the mechanical industry sector have noted that strong soapy water can serve as cooling lubricant for industrial drills, various turning tools, and punch press operations. Additionally, around the same time, Manila imported over six hundred cases of Australian matches. I fear they are not merely for lighting cigars. Comrades here all serve in the military or powerful agencies, with at least some background in military industry, so you should understand: for Hale, those are not matches at all. They are red phosphorus and potassium chlorate. The quantities may not be enormous, but they certainly save him a good deal of precious mercury fulminate in detonators and friction primers."

"Truly a clever bastard!"

"Why do we export soap at all? Is our own soap supply already abundant enough for open sale?"

"Of course not. Our industrial sector mainly uses soapberry powder in similar applications—similar effect, relatively less corrosive. By comparison, soap export offers high added value, beneficial for importing more goods from the Philippines."

"Not only those items. The latest intelligence is that Manila authorities are very interested in various grain products we manufacture—particularly favoring the flagship product of Tianchu Food Company's Jeju Branch: dried potato vermicelli. They have already purchased over a ton."

"To improve meals? Or is the Little Jap cooking up some new scheme?"

"If they wanted to improve meals, they could buy Lingao rice vermicelli produced by Tianchu's Lingao Branch—genuinely cheap and good. But the Jap obviously isn't stupid: Lingao vermicelli is mixed with sweet potato flour and has too high a fiber content. By contrast, Jeju potato vermicelli, apart from a small amount of alum as an additive, is almost pure starch. According to intelligence gathered previously, Hale is trial-producing nitro-starch explosives and has experimentally produced a small quantity. If he can obtain a stable starch source without having to painstakingly grow tubers and corn and refine starch himself, he undoubtedly takes another step along the road to mass-producing high explosives."

Exclamations, curses, and complaints erupted across the conference room. "I don't understand," said General Staff representative Dongmen Chuiyu. "Three acids and two alkalis—manufacturing explosives and mercury fulminate requires at least two. Where can Hale obtain them? Ordering from Comrade Ji Tuisi?"

"News from Portuguese merchants in Macau: someone once placed orders for oddly styled lead pipes, lead sheets, and lead tanks at Goa foundries. After the orders were completed, all the items were shipped to Manila. Inferring from this, Hale used those goods to assemble a small lead chamber for manufacturing sulfuric acid. He may even have modified wine bottles and glass bowls we sold into chemical laboratory equipment. The raw material is most likely sulfur produced in the Taipei area. Recently, contact between Manila and the garrisons in Tamsui and Keelung in northern Taiwan has become quite frequent—on average one ship a month sails to those two sites to deliver supplies and return with goods. This figure is unusually high; in past years, only one or two ships per year. Intelligence indicates something noteworthy: the Spaniards on Taiwan Island have recently changed their traditional policy. They no longer pay tobacco and spices instead of sulfur as in-kind wages to the Chinese migrant workers building their forts. This may be on instructions from the Philippine Governor. All sulfur is unquestionably going to Manila. Additionally, they are reinforcing the Tamsui castle and transporting new cannons and troops. Plainly, the Spaniards will not hesitate to use force to guarantee Taiwan's sulfur supply."

"As for nitric acid, it should be manufactured using the saltpeter method. The Spaniards are shipping Indian saltpeter by the boatload from Goa. In return, Philippine Governor Juan Salamanca even withdrew the petition demanding a ban on Portuguese trading in Manila." Jiang Shan continued: "However, Comrade Lando has managed to create some obstacles for the Spaniards. He provoked a duel according to European custom and killed the chief Spanish contractor responsible for procuring Indian goods for the Philippine authorities. Manila's saltpeter import volume is already showing a downward trend."

"Sounds very impressive. Why doesn't he simply finish off Hale while he's at it?"

"I hold skepticism regarding his ability to mass-produce nitric acid," Xu Yingjie said. "Whether mercury fulminate or nitro-starch, concentrated nitric acid is required. The process for manufacturing concentrated nitric acid is quite complex. Merely having saltpeter and concentrated sulfuric acid won't suffice."

Even Lingao's chemical sector had expended great effort producing ninety-seven percent concentrated nitric acid. The principle of nitric acid concentration was simple, but the realization process was far from it.

"Then where does his mercury fulminate come from? The samples Lando retrieved were analyzed by your team; the conclusion report was also issued by your chemical sector."

"First, mercury fulminate does not require concentrated nitric acid—what's needed is nitric acid of relatively high purity. Those are two different things. The key is that nitric acid produced by heating sulfuric acid and saltpeter together contains relatively many impurities. I am very curious what method he uses to remove impurities and raise purity. What is certain is that when using this nitric acid to produce mercury fulminate or nitro-starch, he inevitably runs enormous risks. That he hasn't been blown to death yet is, frankly, surprising..."

"I suspect it's simply not him getting blown to death."

"If you're not afraid of dead men and not afraid of spending money, small-scale production should be possible; large-scale production definitely is not. As for nitro-starch, I believe under the same premises he can also manufacture it."

"In summary," Dongmen Chuiyu concluded, "the munitions industry Hale operates in Manila in fact relies heavily on external raw material supply, as well as instruments, equipment, and upstream products obtained from us. Without these, he cannot make it work."

"No matter how brilliant Hale may be, he is only one man. Building a self-sufficient, mutually supporting industrial system from scratch is nothing but a fairy tale."

(End of Chapter)