Chapter 243: The Grand Plan for Farming

Chapter 243: The Grand Plan for Farming

The issue of firearms is largely settled; next, Chen Jian intends to set his sights on ammunition.

Of course, bullets serve the guns, yet the production of bullets is not tightly bound to the production of guns.

The reason for taking this step is that Chen Jian values most of the chemical industries required for bullet manufacturing.

The most crucial ingredients in a bullet are mercury fulminate and smokeless powder, both of which demand a single chemical: nitric acid.

If bullets can be the catalyst to erect the entire tri‑acid, dual‑base chemical industrial complex, it would be a tremendous boon to the future industrial development of the Huaxia army.

Yet how to construct this system, and by what path to develop it, remains a decision fraught with difficulty.

According to Fuxi’s blueprint, the Huaxia army should first establish a complete steel‑production apparatus—mining, transport, smelting, rolling mills, machine tools, and the like—then gradually assemble the machinery required for the chemical industry using those assets.

This plan is steady and conservative, yet plainly it may not be safe.

The reason is simple: the Huaxia army may not have enough time.

The beast tide looms, the hidden puppeteers and the secrets of Mountain City have yet to surface, and Chen Jian cannot afford to linger on overly complete yet marginally useful industrial modules.

Thus, after incorporating his own counsel, Fuxi ultimately produced a streamlined, somewhat short‑sighted scheme that would nonetheless deliver the greatest effect in the shortest span.

“So, our next aim is to kick off the enamel‑making segment, then?”

“Is this thing hard to make?”

Shen Yue asked.

“It’s not exactly difficult.”

Beside them, Lei Jie shook his head and replied:

“The process is actually simple—just three steps: apply glaze, dry, then fire.”

“But the composition of the glaze”

“We need an acid‑resistant enamel for reaction vessels, and its formula is rather intricate.”

“Aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide, potassium carbonate, nickel oxide, cobalt oxide, zirconium oxide.”

“If we were to follow the recipe to the letter, we wouldn’t even know when or where to source all those raw materials.”

“So my point is, a rough approximation will do.”

“Nickel and cobalt ores are abundant near Jinling; as for zirconium oxide, no mining is needed—scrap the reactor cores of the downed aircraft in Tongling, and you’ll find the zirconium metal used to encase nuclear fuel.”

“Grab whatever else you can; if you can’t find it, let it go.”

“In any case, keep it simple; a slight drop in performance is acceptable as long as it works.”

“Our philosophy is to make do—first solve the existence problem, then worry about quality.”

“Agreed.”

Chen Jian nodded and continued:

“What about lead? We need vast quantities of metallic lead for lead chambers and various shielding devices—where shall we obtain it?”

“Just buy it.”

Through the headset, He Shuo’s voice rang out.

“The Mechanical Cult has a fairly clear grasp of lead; they even once forged lead bullets. At present, the metal lead circulating in Jinling’s market yields roughly one to two tons per month.”

“The reserves should be ample; in any case, it’s enough for our initial equipment.”

“That should indeed suffice.”

Chen Jian nodded approvingly.

With the raw materials for these two prerequisite units secured, the next question is whether to first produce nitric acid via synthetic ammonia or to start with a calcination furnace for sulfuric acid.

There is no fixed order, yet given the productivity of workshop 011, Chen Jian leans toward making nitric acid first.

After all, once nitric acid is in hand, we can immediately attempt the primitive production of nitrated fibers.

Moreover, this route offers a smoother technology tree.

We already have a coking plant; the second most abundant gas it yields is methane, which, once collected, can be converted to nitric acid via the ammonia‑oxygen method.

If that fails, an extra step—using the ambient‑pressure method with a catalytic bed—can also produce nitric acid.

Chen Jian intends to hand the finer details straight to Fuxi, making only minor tweaks to the path Fuxi has laid out.

With that in mind, Chen Jian exhaled deeply and said:

“The industrial side will follow this route; what of agriculture?”

“Farming, forestry, fishing, herding—how shall we develop them?”

“Leave the rest aside; first we must burn the wasteland and clear the fields.”

Shen Yue spoke:

“I mean we could set the entire Jinling ruins ablaze.”

“The copious fungal humus the level‑two beast left behind is already a fine fertilizer; with the weather warming, a single blaze will clear it, and after simple tillage we can sow straight away.”

“We’ll forgo any meticulous management for now—plant whatever we have.”

“Potatoes, corn, peanuts, rice.”

“As long as we fill that expanse, sustaining a few thousand souls should pose no great difficulty.”

“Don’t the potatoes need detoxification?”

Lei Jie asked curiously.

“Just a quick strip.”

Shen Yue shook his head and replied:

“Detoxification techniques weren’t invented until the 1950s; before that, did people simply not eat potatoes?”

“In truth, reduced potato yields aren’t the biggest worry; monoculture is.”

“If monoculture meets late blight, a single wave could wipe out farmers with no grain reserves.”

“Nevertheless, we have no reason to fret over that.”

“Indeed.”

Lei Jie nodded thoughtfully, then added:

“I feel we should carve out time to visit the major breeding stations and retrieve their stored seed stock.”

“That will be a later chapter.”

Chen Jian waved his hand and said:

“The population hasn’t even risen yet; pondering high‑yield varieties now is meaningless.”

“Shen Yue’s line of thought is correct—plant first, worry later.”

“Rather than obsess over seed stock, let’s first solve the fertilizer issue.”

“Once the synthetic‑ammonia industry is up, we’ll essentially be self‑sufficient in that regard.”

Understood.

Lei Jie nodded, rose to his feet, and said:

"That's essentially it. Let Fuxi draft the concrete plan, then break it down and disseminate it."

"By the way, what's next for us? Expand reconnaissance outward? Keep hunting monsters?"

"Shen Yue will handle this part."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"Moving forward, aside from farming, our tasks split into several sections."

"Shen Yue will lead the Huaxia troops outward for reconnaissance, coordinating with the imminent Holy Blooded, as well as a contingent of Mechanist clergy guards, to clear monsters, set up watch, and shelter refugees."

"He Shuo will continue to amplify our external influence, gathering intelligence, propagating ideas, and preparing for subversive infiltration."

"Lei Jie, in the near term you are tasked with assisting Fuxi to assemble DF-26 rockets, construct launch silos, and create launch conditions."

"Understood."

"Copy that."

The others responded in turn, and Lei Jie followed up with:

"What about you? Are you heading out again?" "Not for now."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"I am in charge of overall fortification and the comprehensive management of Base 011."

"Perpetual nomadic expansion is untenable; the beast tide is imminent, and we must hold our core ground."

"We have to fight a positional war with them."

"If we’re to wage a positional battle on our own ground, we must first build it properly!"

Generally, in modern warfare, towering walls, sturdy forts, and massive citadels hold little tactical value.

After all, no matter how high your walls, they cannot stop aircraft; no matter how solid your bastion, it cannot withstand a single bunker‑busting missile.

Yet now, though Chen Jian’s squad wields abundant modern arms, the battle they face is far from a conventional modern war.

Their foes are not equally armed human forces, but a horde of colossal monsters, devastating to living targets yet lacking sufficient armor‑piercing or siege capabilities.

Thus, in such circumstances, forts acquire great significance.

Chen Jian, accompanied by several Holy Blooded and piloting a cat‑car along the G25 Expressway, surveyed the terrain and spoke:

"The G25 Expressway serves as a reliable defensive line; using this road as a spine, we have several well‑paved routes leading to the Jinling Ruins at our disposal."

"If we position our first line of defense here, support, logistics, and retreat will all be conveniently handled."

"The sole issue is that this ring road around the Jinling Ruins stretches a bit too far."

"At a total length of 65 km, we cannot erect enough permanent fortifications."

"Thus, the optimal solution is to line this route with twenty to thirty makeshift forts."

"Through these forts we can deploy all the artillery captured at Huadu to the front."

"When monsters enter the artillery’s direct fire zone, regardless of their position, they will be simultaneously hammered by at least three guns."

"In theory, no matter how formidable the beasts in the tide, they cannot endure such firepower."

"Even if this line is breached, our troops can swiftly withdraw along the road to the second defensive line."

"What do you think? Does this approach seem viable?"

Chen Jian turned to Ji Xing and the others; after a brief silence, Xie Liu answered:

"There is one issue."

"This place is far from the base, it’s the front line, and each fort is spaced far apart."

"How can we ensure the soldiers stationed here won’t flee in terror?"

"The beast tide differs from ordinary monsters; our men already remain calm when facing the latter."

"But what if thousands of beasts appear before them?"

"We can’t deploy ant‑swarm robots, right? The beast tide could sever communications and render electronics useless."

"That is indeed a problem."

Chen Jian nodded, sighed, and said:

"Humans are the most reliable yet the most unreliable 'tools.'"

"We cannot predict when they will break; in fact, no commander in history has ever foreseen the moment his troops will collapse."

"Unless he knows from the outset that his men march onto the field with a resolve to die."

"Therefore, we must proceed according to this line of thought."

"We must tell those stationed here that they will die once they arrive."

"Only those who survive such selection yet still willingly obey are worthy of entering the forts."

"Of course, we will have contingency plans, such as the ant‑swarm robots you just mentioned."

"Or we could employ wired remote control to operate the artillery here."

"A distance of a dozen kilometers is not far; with our cable reserves, coverage is feasible."

"Understood."

Xie Liu nodded thoughtfully, and at that moment Ji Xing spoke up:

"Thus we must commence a selection in advance."

"We must artificially create a death‑certain scenario to test our unit."

"Exactly."

Chen Jian eased off the throttle slightly, then said:

"Shen Yue is already drafting the plan; execution should begin within the next two days."

"So, what do you think? Want to take part and see if you can withstand the pressure?"

As he finished speaking, Xie Liu and Ji Xing burst into simultaneous laughter.

Then Ji Xing cleared his throat and said:

"Commander, you ought to spend more time in the Imperial Capital."

"If you had seen how the Holy Blooded are trained from childhood, you'd understand that, for us then, death was a relief compared to living."

"No Holy Blooded fears death, unless he ascends to a higher seat."

"Thus."

Chen Jian said no more, gave the steering wheel a turn, and steered the vehicle onto the S87 Expressway.

Immediately thereafter, he spoke:

"From here, moving toward the ruins, lies our second defensive line — our minefield."

“We will lay about ten nuclear weapons here, each with a yield of roughly three hundred thousand tons, and detonate them one by one if the situation demands.”

“Why not spread them outward? Because the number of nukes is limited; stretching the coverage too far would dilute the devastation.”

“We must wait until the monsters crowd together before we trigger them, to achieve the greatest effect.”

“Yet, in doing so, our own living space becomes rather cramped.”

“This is a one‑off deal; unless absolutely necessary, we will refrain from using nuclear bombs.”

“Is this the only minefield?”

Xie Liu suddenly asked.

“The dense minefield is limited to this area alone.”

Chen Jian nodded and continued:

“However, twenty kilometres beyond the first line of defense we will also position a few mobile nukes mounted on trucks, intended to decapitate high‑threat targets.”

“If we detect first‑ or second‑tier monsters in advance, these proven suicide trucks will be dispatched back home at the opportune moment.”

“Understood.”

Ji Xing pondered briefly and said:

“A very comprehensive defense.”

“Even a beast tide of thousands would find it hard to breach such a defense.”

“Though there are no impregnable walls, each line of defense is a death line for them.”

“However.”

At that point, Ji Xing fell silent for a moment.

Chen Jian then pressed on, following her thread.

“However, should all three lines be breached, the final line would leave only us standing.”

“By then, we would be forced into close‑quarters combat with those monsters.”

“Who will survive”

“will depend on who dares to gamble with their life.”

(End of chapter)