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Chapter 814 Rubber
What were the two top intelligence chiefs of the Ming Dynasty going to do so early in the morning? They were going to secretly pick up someone from the railway carriage terminal to go to the palace to meet the emperor. When they passed by East Station Street, they happened to see Xiao Annan's shop selling novelty goods.

If other people saw it, they would at most think it was novelty, and maybe even pay for one or two. But both of them were in the intelligence work, and they knew what these goods meant.

Rubber. As early as eight years ago, the emperor had planted this foreign tree in small areas in Guangdong and Fujian. Later, in the name of the New Deal, he promoted rubber plantations on a large scale in Annan and Luzon Island.

At that time, few people knew the purpose of planting so many trees. They thought it was for future shipbuilding. Anyway, as long as there was money to be made, it would be fine to plant grass, not to mention trees.

The answer was finally revealed three years ago. When the trunk of a rubber tree that has been planted for more than six years is cut, it will secrete a white sticky sap. The sap is collected, washed with acid and dried naturally to form an elastic substance, which the emperor said is called natural rubber.

What is the use of natural rubber? The General Staff built a rubber factory in Huizhou, which specializes in making products with natural rubber. After adding ether or turpentine, the rubber will melt, and the solution will be brushed on cotton cloth. After the solvent evaporates, it becomes a light and waterproof raincoat.

If you shape the cotton or linen cloth in advance and then brush it with a rubber solution, you can make waterproof backpacks, tents, clothes, hats, boots, gloves, hoses, etc. It has many uses.

However, the navy soon discovered the shortcomings of rubber, which is afraid of both heat and cold. When the temperature is high, it becomes soft and sticky, and when the temperature is low, it becomes hard and brittle, which is too difficult to handle.

Then began the arduous research work. A dozen craftsmen from the Luanzhou Alkali Factory stayed in the rubber factory for nearly two years, making the area around the factory always filled with the smell of rotten eggs. Eventually, the hard work paid off, and the weaknesses of natural rubber were finally overcome.

The General Staff and the Statistics Department certainly didn't understand what vulcanization was, but the effect was obvious. After this process, natural rubber became vulcanized rubber, which would not become soft and sticky under the sun, nor would it become hard and brittle due to cold weather, and could be used normally.

From then on, there was no longer any question about the use of the rubber plantation. The navy was in a better position to get the upper hand, so those with money rushed to Annan and the Luzon Special Administrative Region to buy land, while those without money tried to find ways to get loans from the Sun Moon Bank, also for the purpose of buying land.

They are scrambling to become rubber plantation owners because they see the huge uses of rubber. The number of tents, raincoats, rain pants, rain capes, rain boots, backpacks, waterproof gun jackets, and ammunition bags that the army needs to purchase is not enough with the current scale of plantations, so they can only focus on manufacturing the urgently needed ones.

If this is extended to civilian use, even if all of Annan and Luzon are planted with rubber trees, it may not be enough. The price of natural rubber will definitely rise in the future. It is not that difficult to run a rubber factory, so just plant trees.

What the astronauts wanted to ask was why military raincoats and rain boots appeared in the civilian population so quickly. As the top leader of the Statistics Department, Tan Mingming obviously knew the answer.

This southern food store named Xiao An Nan was opened by Wang Datou. No, it was not opened by Wang Datou, but was an asset of the Nanyang Division of the Statistics Department.

Wang Datou heard about the rubber factory from somewhere and went there in person. Then he ran to the capital to complain to the emperor, saying that the Nanyang Office had hired countless intelligence agents and shops to gather intelligence, but that the funds were not enough.

However, in order not to add burden to His Majesty, he remained steadfast in raising funds on his own. He just wanted to ask His Majesty for permission to sell the defective products eliminated by the rubber factory to him so that he could sell them to the public at a high price.

The emperor didn't know what was wrong with him, he actually believed Wang Datou's lies, and personally wrote a handwritten order to approve the rubber factory to sell the defective products to Wang Datou at cost price. "He is always looking around with sneaky eyes, always thinking about the benefits in other people's pockets. He will lose friends if he does this. You should control him!"

The more the astronaut listened, the more depressed he became. Although the rubber factory was temporarily placed under the name of the Navy General Staff, it would sooner or later be managed by the General Staff. It was a big loss to let an outsider get there first when such a good thing happened! The Emperor could not say anything, so he could only start with Wang Datou and give him a small injection first!

"How dare you talk like that? You neither give him any money nor give him any reward. You let him take more than 20 people to be in charge of the intelligence of the entire Nanyang. Try someone else!" Although the Statistics Department is under the General Staff, Tan Mingming is not a bureaucrat who only knows how to deceive his superiors and hide the truth from his subordinates. He is very concerned about the nature and conditions of his subordinates' work.

Moreover, he could not tell Wang Datou what to do and what not to do. The nature of the Statistics Department was very special. In theory, each member could report to the emperor individually. Their positions were limited to work arrangements and they had no more control. Wang Datou's work achievements were obvious to all, so he could not find a way to make things difficult for him.

"Oh, this is really unfair to me. His Majesty has too high requirements for the Statistics Department. I have already searched through the Haihu Department, and this is all I can use. Even if you don't mind, I dare not be perfunctory.

Oh, by the way, the person I'm going to meet today is also a freak in your Statistics Department. He went to North Korea with a few people. After more than three years, he not only established a firm foothold in Seoul, but also made friends with many local dignitaries and even entered the harem. No wonder the Emperor took a liking to him at first sight. He is really wise!"

Feeling that he could not make sense on this issue, the astronaut naturally changed the subject and turned to another person, who also had a very close relationship with the Statistics Department.

"Thirty-eight is back!?" Tan Mingming was stunned when he heard this, and instantly thought of who this person was, and his face was full of astonishment.

"If he comes back, then he comes back. Why are you so excited?" This expression also affected the astronauts. Even if they were all from the first period of the Sea House Division, there was no need to be so excited.

"...Last month, His Majesty specifically asked me to compile and report on the intelligence on Japan and North Korea in recent years. At the time, I thought it was just a routine inquiry. If Thirty-Eight comes back, it's probably not a coincidence, right?"

As expected of a professional intelligence officer, just one sentence and one name reminded Tan Mingming of a conversation a month ago. Sensitivity is indeed a gift, and it is difficult to cultivate it. For example, astronauts are not very sensitive.

"Do you think His Majesty is going to attack North Korea? That's unlikely. North Korea is a country after all, with a complete army and defense system. Even if a small force is sent to raid the palace and capture all the royal family, it would not be easy to hold the emperor hostage and control the princes.

If His Majesty had an idea, the General Staff would not be silent, at least the navy would have to prepare in advance. When they raided Thang Long, they did several months of targeted training. "

Astronauts don't have sensitive talents, but they are not lacking in careful thinking. After a brief thought in his mind, Tan Mingming's guess was overturned. The emperor controls the army and navy of the Ming Dynasty through the General Staff. Conversely, if the emperor wants to make large-scale military moves, he cannot bypass the General Staff.

(End of this chapter)