Once the most important dual-use saltpeter problem is solved, the next discussion about phosphate fertilizers is easy: struvite.

Struvite is a high-grade phosphate fertilizer, and the countries with struvite resources in later generations have all made a fortune - Nauru, a small island country in the Pacific, once became the world's largest per capita GDP in the 80s, relying on struvite. Of course, after the resources were dug up, these people instantly turned back into dicks.

In the 19th century, only the strudite islands of Cotton Island, Maoyu Island, Caoyu Island, Taiping Island and Dongsha were left around Taiwan.

...... In the 17th century, guano accumulated by migratory birds over thousands of years was everywhere. Needless to say, Penghu, the eastern and western sandy islands are the places where migratory birds stop, even the primitive lagoons distributed along the north and south coastlines of Dayuan, and the small struvite mines left by waterfowl around are also numerous.

So there is no need to say anything, just send someone to dig it now. If you are too lazy to look for it in the lagoon area, then send a sand boat to the uninhabited island near Penghu to go around, and you can pull dozens of tons of struvite back.

The phosphate problem is now half solved.

Why say half? Because the latter half involves sulfuric acid.

Natural struvite is in the form of phosphate, and if this fertilizer is applied directly, the fertilizer effect is slow, and it is a slow-release fertilizer.

The correct way to do this is to react with struvite with materials such as sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Sulfuric acid precipitates the calcium salts in struvite and turns struvite into superphosphate – the standard phosphate fertilizer with significant fertilizer efficiency.

At this point, the meeting began to crookedly: get the sulfuric acid first.

The importance of three acids and two alkalis will not be repeated here, sulfuric acid is the most important chemical raw material, and the kiln area has always had a production plan.

There was no sense of urgency before, because the construction of the kiln area focused on infrastructure and basic metallurgy, small agricultural machinery, and other fields; The industrial level that crosses the whole force is expanding downward, and there is no strength to jump to the level of chemical industry.

Nowadays, with the gradual stabilization of a certain force, in terms of industrial upgrading, three acids and two alkalis have become an obstacle - today from the phosphate fertilizer is an example.

Of course, the solution to sulfuric acid is simple: Datun Mountain.

The extinct volcanoes of Datun Mountain are located in Taipei, which is rich in geothermal resources and pleasant scenery, and in later generations, the sulfur hot springs here are very famous.

The most important material that the savages of Taipei traded with Fujian merchants for thousands of years was sulfur.

The bright yellow volcanic sulfur block is the easiest and purest natural material for the preparation of sulfuric acid.

"Regarding the Spaniards in Taipei, does the Navy have any plans?"

After realizing the importance of sulfur, a certain Zhongtang, who has a logical mind, quickly turned his attention to the white skin of Taipei: the Spaniards.

After hearing Xia Xianze's inquiry, Liu Zhe, the naval commander who was sitting on the sidelines and wandering the world, was clever, and hurriedly sat up straight and replied: "There is no problem with the strong attack, if the army cooperates, we can take the city of San Salvador in one morning!" We have a number of plans to sweep the north of the platform. ”

"Of course, if you are stationed for a long time, you will need to allocate resources from all sides." After thinking about it, Liu Zhe added.

As a traverser, Xia Xianze naturally knows the Spaniards entrenched in Taipei at this time. After habitually tapping the table with his middle finger a few times, Xia Xianze said slowly: "Even if we don't need to attack, the Philippine side will take the initiative to eliminate the two castles in Taipei in the future, which shows that the Spaniards' investment is a failure." ”

"But we can't wait now, and besides, the population and food of the Philippines are also very important." When Xia Xianze said this, he clarified his thoughts and began to speed up his speech: "My opinion is that deterrence and engagement should go hand in hand, and with reference to the relationship between the Netherlands and on the basis of trade rights, the Taipei issue should be included in a package of negotiations with Spain. Of course, this process should be based on me, and there should be no ambiguity when it is time to make a move. You go down and go to Lao Cai and discuss a charter. ”

Liu Zhe didn't expect to take on such a big job in a daze, so he could only nod his head first and say yes after the meeting.

......

After the resolution of phosphorus and sulfur, the meeting moved on to the final discussion of the day: potassium.

Potash is a bit like saltpeter. Are there any mines? Yes!

So where is the mine? Answer: Qaidam Basin, Ordos Basin, deep in Lop Nur, northern Tibet...... This is a place where only those who have attained the level of piety can go.

In short, those highland salt marshes rich in potash, some people don't count on it. The closest to Dayuan are one or two potash mines in the interior of Shandong and in the depths of Yunnan and Guizhou, which are out of reach.

The only thing that has room for maneuver is that when the fleet goes to Thailand in the future, it can bring back a little potash - Thailand has very high potash reserves.

The poor traversers, looking at the saltpeter mines of the Chilean desert with one eye and the salt marshes in the highland basin with the other, drooled and left to fend for themselves to produce saltpeter and potash in inefficient ways.

The easiest way to get potash is plant ash.

On the basis of plant ash, the salt field can also provide a part of the potassium: the brine left over after salt production is used to produce potassium salt by evaporation crystallization method. In later generations, those seawater potassium factories used advanced technologies such as ion exchange membranes, and they did not have this condition.

Salt brine and plant ash are basically all the potash obtained in the kiln area. This output is certainly not enough to meet not only the fertilization of farmland, but also the expanding arms industry. So at the end of the meeting, Professor Luo put forward a new idea: alum.

The chemical name of alum is potassium aluminum sulfate docahydrate, which is called potassium alum.

The potassium element in potassium alum is often replaced by sodium, which is called sodium alum.

If potassium alum is obtained, two important industrial raw materials, alumina and potassium sulfate, can be prepared.

Alum is a mineral that has many uses in itself: paints, tanning, clarifiers, papermaking, ......

Alum stone mine is one of the important advantageous minerals in Zhejiang Province, with reserves accounting for 53% of the country's total, ranking first in the country, mainly distributed in Cangnan, Pingyang and Ruian. In later generations, Jinshan Town, Cangnan County, Zhejiang Province, is the famous "Alum Capital" and the only potassium alum mine in the mainland.

In the 17th century, the so-called Cangnan County Jinshan Town was under the jurisdiction of Pingyang County, Wenzhou Prefecture.

The plan proposed by Professor Luo here is that the crossing forces can build roads on the spot near the town of Jinshan, dredge the streams and rivers, and buy a large number of alum. If the conditions are ripe, it can even be pre-processed and then shipped back to the company.

The plan immediately aroused the interest of the participants.

After a brief check of the information, it was immediately pointed out that the town is only 10 kilometers away from the nearest seaport: Chixi Port, which is fully equipped to establish a joint water and land terminal and acquisition base.

And a person from the intelligence bureau, who had been unknown and inconspicuous at the venue, provided a message to everyone at this time: A certain person who hates dogs, and has reached an indescribable point is the landlord of Pingyang County, who has seven sons in his family and is a local tyrant.

......

The fertilizer seminar, which lasted for most of the day, finally came to an end.

The results of the meeting are still quite outstanding: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, sulfuric acid, aluminum, Spaniards, Pingyang County, Ganzhang people...... There are a lot of keywords, and there are many tasks assigned after the meeting.

As soon as the meeting was over, he hurriedly walked out of the tattered Dayuan Merchant House and went straight to a row of bungalows outside the Merchant Hall.

It is now May 1628, and more than four months have passed since the Japanese vermilion ship returned to China loaded with raw silk. Therefore, the Japanese ship carrying silver and copper bars had already returned to the office at this time, and the senior managers of the book had been living outside the merchant hall for more than a month.

...... As a large number of people migrated to the high-end community on the other side of the Taijiang River, the dilapidated merchant house on Dayuan Island was completely reduced to a barracks and a temporary office building. The previous accommodation, storage, and foreign reception functions have all been cancelled - according to the construction period, the Imperial City will be completed in two months, and the merchant hall will be demolished at that time.

Considering that foreign businessmen, including the Ming people, Japanese, Dutch, etc., would soon come to Dayuan, two months ago, the crossing people built several temporary villas next to the Dayuan Merchant House.

The so-called villa is actually an American-style cottage built with standard boards. These huts are purely temporary structures - there are no ground piles, and they will be turned into flying houses when the storm comes. Now everyone is waiting for the imperial city to be built, and when the time comes, Xia Xianze will all go to work in the imperial city, and a row of beautiful red brick and cement merchant halls will be built on the original site of the merchant hall for envoys and merchants from various countries to live.

And today, as soon as Liu Zhe came out of the commercial hall, he went straight to the first one of the temporary huts in this row: the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Commander Liu entered the door and saw that it was very good, Brother Cai Feiming was arrested. This gentleman was sitting behind a wooden table, chatting with a few maritime merchants in the room.

These notebook maritime merchants, including old friends Comrade Toru Higashino and Comrade Kobayashi Xun, and a tall, hard-faced, and moon-dwarfed man are the old hooligan Comrade Hamada Yabei who has left a heavy mark in the history of Japan and the Netherlands.

......

Seeing Liu Zhe enter the door, Cai Feiming was a little surprised, and after a brief question, Cai Feiming nodded and said something to the book.

The three Japanese businessmen quickly understood, stood up collectively and bowed to Cai Feiming and Liu Zhe, and then went out to leave.

After Liu Zhe waited for no one in the room, he gave Lao Cai a briefing on the situation at today's meeting, focusing on repeating the instructions of Lord Zhongtang's cloud-mountain fog cover, and then spread his hands: "You have an idea." ”

After hearing this, Cai Feiming shook his head and smiled, and then said to Liu Zhe: "Hehe, this instruction is very clear." ”

"What's the clear law?"

"Well, contact the exploration team, and organize a trading ship to go to Taipei in the past two days to find savages to exchange sulfur first."

"And then?"

"Then blockade Tainan and intercept those big-faced ships, it's not easy...... Take me as the main thing, force trade, force negotiation, you don't care about this, if you stop the ship when the time comes, I will take care of it. ”

Liu Zhe: "......".