Chapter 1246 DuPont's Conspiracy (Second update, please subscribe)

In an instant, synthetic ammonia technology is no longer attractive!

The reason why it is not fragrant is not because there are billions of tons of saltpeter buried in the desert on the west coast of the Ming Dynasty, nor because the empire's saltpeter is a huge industry worth hundreds of millions of yuan. What is the most fundamental reason?

Except for the Ming Dynasty, there are no large-scale saltpeter mines in the world!

This is the most crucial reason!

For countries like Britain, the United States, and Germany, the lack of saltpeter means more than just the lack of fertilizers like nitrates. What is the biggest impact?

It's nitric acid!

Without nitric acid, there would be no explosives and no smokeless propellant. Without all of these, can the war still be won?

In this case, we definitely cannot produce synthetic ammonia!

Saltpeter is the empire's trump card!

By cutting off the supply of saltpeter during wartime, we can weaken the enemy's war potential. This is almost like pulling out the teeth of Britain, the United States and other countries!

Synthetic ammonia cannot be made!

…

"then!"

In Henry duPont's office, after seeing his nephew enter the office, Henry duPont casually threw an object to Ramon.

Catching it from the air, Ramon took a look at the object in his hand - colorless, white or gray crystalline, with a glassy luster.

“Chilean saltpeter?”

Although Chile has long been extinct, "Chilean Saltpeter" is still the name people call South American saltpeter.

"Yes, remember it?"

Henry said with some pride.

"It was this that helped us earn tens of millions of dollars during the Civil War!"

This was his most proud work in his life. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Henry DuPont, the president of the Material Company, realized that once the war broke out, gunpowder would become the second most needed commodity in the market after food, and the market demand would gradually expand as the war intensified. The manufacture of gunpowder required a large amount of crude saltpeter. Henry had foresight and began to send people to various places to purchase it a long time ago. At that time, not only was the warehouse of DuPont full of saltpeter, but even the hillside by the Brandywine River where the company was located was full of saltpeter.

After the outbreak of the war, with an abundant supply of saltpeter, DuPont became the largest gunpowder supplier in the North.

"Yes, of course I remember. The war consumed an astonishing amount of gunpowder. A few months after the outbreak of the war, it was no longer possible to buy saltpeter in the country, so you sent me to Paris, France, and London, England. After I arrived in London, I immediately bought all the saltpeter raw materials in stock in the UK, totaling more than 20,000 barrels. There was even some on ships - at that time, a cargo ship was sailing from Calcutta to London, carrying 3.35 million pounds of crude saltpeter. I bought all the saltpeter that had not yet arrived at the port. The saltpeter filled four large ships, and the total cost of the goods was more than 3 million yuan."

When talking about the old things, Ramon seemed a little proud. After all, he was directly in charge of all this.

"Yes, Ramon, all the saltpeter you brought back was made into gunpowder for use in war. Our company also gained tens of thousands of wealth from it, but it was this that really made our company develop..."

Dupont said, pointing to the Chilean saltpeter in his nephew's hand.

"At that time, because the price of Indian saltpeter was soaring, our profit was very limited, so we set our sights on Chilean saltpeter. Unlike Indian potassium saltpeter, the main component of Chilean saltpeter is calcium nitrate. By using potassium carbonate as a raw material to combine calcium ions and provide potassium ions through an exchange reaction, we obtained potassium nitrate for making gunpowder. From then on, Chilean saltpeter became the main raw material for our company to make gunpowder and nitric acid."

"Uncle, that's because it's cheaper than Indian saltpeter!"

Ramon said bluntly.

"Chilean saltpeter is cheaper. Even now, it is widely used, but its production is huge and the price is relatively low, at least cheaper than Indian potassium saltpeter. There are a lot of mines in the Ming Empire that mine it."

"Yes, you are right. There are indeed a large number of mines in the Ming Empire that mine it. The annual output is two million tons, and it will soon exceed three million tons. According to the official statement of the Ming Empire, it will exceed six million tons within two years, which is enough to supply the needs of the chemical industry and fertilizer industry around the world."

Henry nodded repeatedly at his nephew's words.

"But have you ever thought about a possibility... maybe one day, we will lose it!"

"What?"

Ramon looked at his uncle in confusion.

"Lose it? How?"

"The Atacama Desert is the only place in the world where saltpeter is mined on a large scale in the open air!"

Henry said, pointing to the west coast of South America on the map.

"And that place belongs to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Empire, but it is our enemy. What would happen if one day a war broke out between us, including the British, and the Ming Dynasty and its "Four Emperors Alliance"?"

Ramon was surprised by his uncle's rhetorical question.

"This, this... they will definitely not sell saltpeter to us again."

"Yes, why did the Ming Empire continue to increase its saltpeter mining? Even their large-scale mining has caused the price of saltpeter to drop to a certain extent, which has led to the whole world being willing to buy saltpeter from them. Of course, because Chilean saltpeter is of good quality, good value for money and low price, we are of course willing to purchase it."

Henry then looked at Ramon and said.

"But this also directly led to the closure and bankruptcy of many small saltpeter mines, including the Indian saltpeter mine. Ramon, can you imagine what would happen if the war broke out and we and the British ran out of saltpeter?"

what happens?

Is there any need to ask?

In just a moment, Ramon realized the seriousness of the problem, no, it should be said that he realized the wealth hidden in it.

"Uncle, we're rich!"

Henry laughed at his nephew's reaction, and he knew that Ramon would definitely understand the key.

"That's right. Now that we've made a fortune, war will surely break out. I believe that in the next few years, once a war breaks out, the demand for saltpeter will reach an unprecedented scale. Saltpeter is the only source of nitric acid, and nitric acid is an essential raw material for making propellants and explosives. But the problem is that the supply of saltpeter is now in the hands of the Ming Empire, which is the enemy of the United States. In this case, no matter who controls saltpeter, it is equivalent to controlling the lifeline of the country and the wealth. Ramon, I need you to go to India."

"To India?"

Ramon asked, looking at his uncle.

"Going there to purchase... isn't it a little too early?"

"No, we need to go to India to buy out the bankrupt saltpeter mines!"

Henry said.

"This time, we have to control the saltpeter from the source!"

(End of this chapter)