Iron Dynasty Chapter 1033

“Your Majesty, the Dutch have declared war against us. Their garrison in Zeelandia tried to grab our machine guns and Han-style rifles, yet we stopped them successfully.”

Around midday, Qian Dafu’s voice pulled Xiao Ming from his afternoon rest, followed by the arrival of a telegram right to his side.

Grabbing the telegram from Qian Dafu, Xiao Ming scanned it thoroughly, his brows knitting together. “That sly fox has at last revealed its true colors. Hurry and dispatch a telegram to Yue Yun, instructing him to take the fleet straightaway and wipe out every Dutch warship across Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, direct Lei Ming to strike at Jakarta and Manila, securing total dominance over the Philippines and Indonesia.”

“Understood, Your Majesty!” Qian Dafu accepted the command and swiftly departed.

Dressing quickly, Xiao Ming headed to the Imperial Study, summoning Cui Shang’an without delay. With the Dutch shifting abruptly from allies to foes, it was crucial for the General Staff to craft a thorough strategy to handle this crisis.

Simultaneously, he alerted the Cabinet, commanding them to halt all trade dealings with the Dutch at once and boot out the personnel from the Dutch embassy.

Having completed these steps, Xiao Ming approached the grand world map adorning the Imperial Study wall. His eyes locked onto the Philippines and Indonesia.

The Dutch betrayal certainly affected the Empire’s commerce to some degree, but in comparison, the Dutch endured far heavier blows, losing Manila as the Philippine hub and Jakarta as Indonesia’s key city.

Henceforth, these vast island chains would officially fall under the Empire’s rule.

Based on the details from the technology crystals, the Philippines boasted a staggering 4.8 billion tons of copper, 1 billion tons of nickel, and 130 million tons of gold. Such riches were truly plentiful.

Moreover, the Philippines overflowed with Borneo camphor, a spice that commanded high demand in the West, long dominated by the Dutch and Spanish monopolies.

Back in antiquity, across both Eastern and Western realms, Borneo camphor was cherished as a rare gem. In the eras of Tang and Song, diplomats from Persia and the Arab Caliphate—key producers of this treasure—went out of their way to offer it as tribute to Chinese rulers.

Indonesia outshone even the Philippines in resource wealth, holding close to 60 billion tons of coal and nickel deposits, plus roughly 1.5 million carats of diamonds. It also harbored numerous rare metals.

Gaining command of these territories would supply the Empire with abundant materials to fuel its growth.

Thus, Xiao Ming felt no overwhelming rage at the Dutch choice. Hailing from the modern world, he was accustomed to the fickle alliances among nations and the wild turns in Western governance.

This very background fueled his ongoing suspicion of the Dutch, viewing them as a nation lacking the makings of a true superpower.

Shifting his focus from the Philippines and Manila, Xiao Ming turned his attention to France’s holdings in Indochina and Britain’s colony in Burma.

The Dutch abrupt turnabout vividly illustrated Europe’s stance on the surging Chinese Empire. With clashes inevitable, an all-out conflict loomed inescapably. Following a century of waning power, the moment had arrived for him to restore the Empire’s majestic domains from its heyday.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, someone approached the entrance of the Imperial Study. It turned out to be Lu Tong.

“Your Majesty!” Lu Tong’s expression beamed with joy, hinting at promising tidings.

Xiao Ming pivoted to face Lu Tong. He relished visits from folks like him, as they frequently signaled a leap in technology.

True to form, Lu Tong stepped inside the Imperial Study and whispered intriguingly, “Your Majesty, today I’ve come bearing a genuine treasure for you.”

“Is that so? Let me see it. If it proves to be a true gem, I’ll reward you with one in return,” Xiao Ming replied, grinning.

Joy overflowed on Lu Tong’s face, his grin wide and unrelenting. He pulled a tube-shaped item from his pocket and set it down on the desk.

Upon spotting this invention, Xiao Ming offered a thumbs-up immediately. “This is truly a marvel. Bringing you back from the grasslands years ago was a wise move indeed.”

Grinning broadly, Lu Tong responded, “Your Majesty has a keen eye for promising talents. Would Your Majesty care to test out this battery?”

What Lu Tong presented was precisely a battery. Once electricity spread through Qingzhou, Xiao Ming tasked him with recreating battery tech during his off hours.

Through sporadic experiments, he at last integrated the lab battery’s core idea into this zinc container.

“You’ve grown quite the chatterbox lately. Here, hand over the light bulb,” Xiao Ming remarked, extending his hand to grasp the bulb attached to two leads from Lu Tong. Linking the poles together, the bulb glowed brightly in an instant.

Beneath the soft illumination, Xiao Ming’s features softened with satisfaction. Batteries like this would resolve numerous issues for powering devices out in the field.

As Xiao Ming tested the battery, Lu Tong elaborated, “Your Majesty, this represents a zinc-manganese dry cell battery. For now, this approach to battery making is fairly straightforward to achieve.”

Xiao Ming gave a nod of approval. A dry cell battery, by definition, features an electrolyte turned into a thick paste via binders like sawdust or starch gelatin. Since its electrolyte stays put without leaking, it earns the name dry cell.

Batteries powering flashlights and radios fall under the dry cell type. The zinc-manganese dry cell’s design was quite simple, merely assembling a carbon rod, zinc casing, manganese dioxide, and binder. Back in the modern world of 1860, this dry cell variety first came to life.

“Excellent work. Now, with this dry cell battery, portable wireless comms won’t pose a challenge anymore,” Xiao Ming commented, beaming.

Besides, basic portable lights such as flashlights ought to be produced and distributed to both troops and civilians alike.

Upon hearing this, Lu Tong noted, “Your Majesty, what timing! On my way here, I stopped by the physics academy lab and caught word that electron tubes are now complete. It appears wireless tech is within reach.”

This development didn’t catch Xiao Ming off guard. Given the current industrial prowess, crafting these basic gadgets from known methods was no tall order.

Beyond telegraphy, wireless systems, and batteries, he’d also slotted telephones into the development agenda.

This initiative featured in the blueprint he handed to the Cabinet. Telegraphy felt too inflexible, after all. Promoting wired phones would streamline info exchange tremendously.

As the Empire’s lands grew ever larger, he desperately required robust oversight across all areas.

“Wonderful, just wonderful. The Empire’s tech progress is booming spectacularly these days. I don’t need to meddle anymore—you all are delivering breakthroughs independently.” Xiao Ming stated, smiling warmly.

“Your Majesty, academy scholars have toiled for more than a decade. Should every step demand your direct oversight, we’d be no better than dead weight. For basic innovations, feel free to entrust them to us,” Lu Tong affirmed.

“That’s exactly the sight that gladdens my heart,” Xiao Ming replied, filled with contentment. The start was tough, yet once momentum built, things flowed steadily.

Over just more than ten years, academies had cultivated tens of thousands of skilled minds. Those experts, in turn, mentored fresh waves of specialists. Through this ongoing process, the Empire teemed with proficient technical experts.