Chapter 227: Scavenging

His hard work would not be in vain. At the very least, dismantling the iron ribs of the wreckage would be a valuable prize for him. They were all made of wrought iron, which would save him a great deal of manpower and resources in metallurgy.

However, he soon received a gift more precious than iron. The pearl divers he had hired quickly discovered a “surprisingly large cannon” on a reef two meters underwater. Evaristo Okamoto went into the water himself. Through the clear, blue seawater, he saw that it was a Dahlgren gun.

This was one of the two main guns of the 901. One had been dismantled from the ship by the naval rescue team with a winch, but this one could not be salvaged because it had sunk into a deep part of the reef.

The recent typhoon had pushed it from the depths of the reef onto the shallows. The storm had destroyed its gun carriage, but the barrel itself was completely intact. Marine life had not even had time to cover the entire barrel.

He Er immediately ordered the salvage of this cannon. With the help of pulleys and the reef, several hundred coolies toiled for three full days and finally managed to lift the Dahlgren gun from the reef onto the shore.

Evaristo Okamoto, overjoyed with his prize, immediately measured the cannon. He soon discovered that it was not made to the imperial system. Although he had no metric measuring tools with him, it was easy to deduce that the cannon’s caliber was 130mm.

“For a Dahlgren gun, this caliber is a bit small,” was Evaristo Okamoto’s first assessment of the cannon.

With the technology and craftsmanship he currently possessed, he could not yet manufacture such a powerful front-loading rifled cannon. However, this cannon could serve as an important weapon for the defense of Manila. In addition, it gave him a reference sample for the experimental manufacture of such cannons in the future.

He soon received a second, even better gift: a small cannon. He had already seen the small naval cannons cast by the Australians on the Ganghai Patrol 64, which were still traditional smoothbore cannons. But this one was completely different. It was a 75mm caliber Dahlgren gun.

It was the first time He Er had seen such a small-caliber Dahlgren gun. Dahlgren guns were rarely made in small or medium calibers. In the mid-to-late 19th century, when this type of cannon was popular, it was mainly used as coastal artillery and fortress artillery. Most of the Dahlgren guns on the coastal fortresses in the United States had calibers of over 200mm, and 406mm caliber Dahlgren guns were not uncommon.

These Chinese had actually manufactured a 75mm Dahlgren gun! This was truly beyond Evaristo Okamoto’s imagination. Besides the fact that they didn’t want to waste resources making their warships overpowered, He Er could find no other reason.

“Immediately load the two cannons onto the ship and transport them back to Manila. Give them to Marcos,” he ordered. “Tell him I want them restored to their best condition as soon as possible!”

“Yes, master.”

“Reward the diver who found the cannon with twenty pesos!” He Er commanded. “One peso for each person who participated in the salvage! Report any new discoveries to me immediately!”

Under the stimulation of material rewards, the coolies, who had been struggling in the seawater under the scorching sun, were re-energized. More things were salvaged. First, several shells were recovered, then gunpowder barrels containing propellant charges. These things were of little value, of course, but he was not stingy with the rewards.

Thus, a steady stream of all kinds of junk was salvaged: a few damaged naval short-barreled Minié rifles, a 12-gauge shotgun, more shells, and a small amount of propellant. Then came the remains of the boiler and steam engine. These had been blown to smithereens in the storm and explosion, and many of the remains were gone. However, Evaristo Okamoto still carefully directed the coolies to lay out the remains on the beach for his detailed study.

Neither the boiler nor the engine could be reused. He Er was well aware of this. The other side were experts, and their destruction of the Nongchao was thorough. But by observing these remains, he could still infer what kind of industrial capacity his opponents possessed.

Through previously collected intelligence and this analysis of the wreckage, these Chinese from the same time and space as himself could not yet build iron-hulled ships. All their ships, including their warships, were wooden-hulled. Clearly, they did not believe that anyone in this time had the firepower to threaten their ships. This was in line with their thinking of equipping their main warships with small and medium-caliber Dahlgren guns—”just enough.”

He silently browsed through these highest crystallizations of “Australian” industry, the shock in his heart beyond words. Knowing what they had was one thing, seeing it with his own eyes was another.

“The gap is too big!” he thought to himself. What he saw today completely confirmed all the intelligence he had collected so far. The Chinese on Hainan Island had a surprisingly large advantage in industrial system strength.

In comparison, the small situation he had painstakingly created in Manila was truly vulnerable in front of them.

If these Chinese decided to intervene militarily in Manila, everything he had done in the Philippines so far would be reduced to ashes. Evaristo Okamoto worried secretly. Fortunately, God had sent him this cannon, giving him a few more chips in his hand. Now he had to do whatever it took to improve Manila’s defense level as soon as possible. The new large-caliber rifled cannons had to be started as soon as possible, and the progress of the naval mines and spar torpedo boats had to be accelerated.

The scavenging of the Nongchao continued. Although the boiler and steam engine had no possibility of repair or reuse, this pile of scrap metal was still loaded onto a ship and transported back to Manila. Then, a part of the anchor chain salvaged from underwater, the remains of the anchor windlass, and all the iron ship ribs were dismantled.

Evaristo Okamoto didn’t even spare the copper sheathing on the bottom of the ship, organizing coolies to strip it all off, piece by piece.

“The dam downstream of the San Juan River has been completed. The water it stores can be used to drive multiple sets of waterwheels, each consisting of two to four waterwheels of different sizes. I have observed that all the waterwheels are equipped with drive gear sets, making the power they transmit to the factory machinery stable and efficient…

Even the local Spanish in Manila were surprised by the swift and decisive work efficiency of the colonial government, as delay and laziness were its normal style. The newly built gunpowder factory recently had an explosion accident, which burned down the wooden sheds that served as workshops. However, in less than half a month, they had brought in new timber and repaired the damaged buildings. Even under the strict orders of the Governor, the workers had resumed production before the factory repairs were fully completed. This military-industrial complex has now recruited no less than a thousand Chinese workers, as well as several thousand Tagalog coolies. The head of the royal shipyard has publicly complained that the new arsenal has attracted too many Chinese craftsmen, leaving him with insufficient manpower to complete the orders of the royal colony. Therefore, the Manila authorities have decided to further expand the recruitment of Chinese craftsmen. For this purpose, special personnel have already been sent to Macau. The Chinese working in the military-industrial complex can earn twice as much as they would doing odd jobs in Manila and the Parián, and craftsmen with special skills earn even more, but they must complete the service period stipulated in the contract before they can receive their wages. And they are housed in camps attached to several specially built factories, their every move closely monitored and controlled, almost like prisoners…

“Fort San Antonio has been equipped with a large-caliber cannon similar in appearance to a Dahlgren gun. The cannon was brought by ship. The specific origin of this cannon and whether it is actually rifled is still unclear. However, the Spanish are heavily guarding the Dahlgren gun, and no one is allowed to approach it. It is said that a new gun platform is being built in the fortress for this cannon, and the gun carriage is also a new design.

“Draidekar’s whereabouts and specific address are still unknown. According to colonial military officers and priests who have had close contact with him, he sometimes lives in a church, but more often he hides in a cave outside Manila to practice asceticism, or lives in a hut in a valley in his own territory—it is said that he built a hermitage for himself in the valley. But I personally believe that he is mainly active in the newly built arsenal outside Manila. It is heavily guarded, and no outsider can enter without the Governor’s warrant. The guards have been ordered to shoot directly at anyone who tries to enter the factory area without permission.

“Undoubtedly, he is doing this to avoid the interference of the foolish and meddling Catholic priests in the design and testing of weapons. I think it is very necessary to take some proactive actions at this time. If Draidekar feels some kind of threat and confines his movements to Manila or the arsenal, it will be to our advantage…”

Jiang Shan put down the thick stack of decoded telegrams and pressed his temples. Weiss Rando’s reports were always long, rambling essays that kept the decoding room busy for half a day. Fortunately, he could read English directly, otherwise this thing would be as slow as the Japanese embassy’s declaration of war. He writes his reports like novels, Jiang Shan thought. It’s a pity this guy didn’t become a journalist or write 007 stories.

It was already late at night. In the office building, only the footsteps of the night shift personnel could be heard. The sound of typing came from the secretariat from time to time. Jiang Shan put away the documents, locked them in the safe, locked the door, and then went to the dormitory downstairs for a quick shower. It was all work and no play. He hadn’t been back to his apartment for several days, only having his personal secretary deliver meals and clean clothes to the gatehouse. If it weren’t for his daily five-kilometer run or a 1,500-meter swim in the sea, he probably wouldn’t have been able to keep up with this continuous work schedule.