African Nationhood

Chapter 11 Verification and Negotiation (Part )
  The middle-aged white man went from being suspicious at first to being polite now. This change was obvious, but Shi Jintang didn't pay much attention to it.

He chuckled, "The things I made are naturally as perfect as I said.

You can arrange for someone to inspect it, but I must be present during the inspection process. "

Shi Jintang's request was not excessive. The new gunpowder involved a lot, so Henry Gambel Bannerman would naturally treat it with caution.

If this matter is confirmed to be successful after military inspection, then as the handler and introducer, he will definitely be rewarded by the royal family, and a knighthood is indispensable.

So Bannerman shouted directly: "Come here!"

As soon as the master finished speaking, the formal valet opened the door and came in, "Sir, what are your orders?"

"Prepare the carriage immediately, and prepare a room for this Mr. Shi, and serve him well. He will not be allowed to leave until I come back!"

After the formal valet left, Bannerman explained to Shi Jintang: "I will report to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, the Duke of Cambridge, and Prince George immediately. When he confirms the venue and time of the experiment, we will go together."

Shi Jintang nodded in agreement, then left Bannerman's study, carrying his suitcase and following the servant to the room prepared for him.

The old white man Green White was sitting in the living room sulking when he suddenly noticed that the servants here were busy, and then he saw the big shot Mr. Henry Gambel Bannerman.

He wanted to go up and say hello, but found that the gentleman didn't notice him at all, and instead hurried out.

Watching the big man disappear from his sight, the whole manor returned to calm again.

The host has left, what about the guests?

When the old white man thought about this problem, he was told that Mr. Shi had already stayed here and he could go back.

Green White was immediately confused. What is going on?
  This yellow-skinned Oriental man was actually able to stay in the home of the big shot Henry Gambel Bannerman.

And I, a free citizen gentleman, was ruthlessly driven away. This is unfair!
  I was in charge of this matter from the beginning, so why was I excluded in the end?
  Did that Huangpi Qingguo really invent some incredible military supplies?
  Impossible, it is impossible for the ignorant and backward Qing people to be so smart.

The old white man went from being unhappy to feeling resentful.

But all this was just his incompetent rage, and it couldn't change the fact that he was driven away.

……

Shi Jintang was woken up in the middle of the night. Bannerman, who was exhausted, did not rest at all after seeing Shi Jintang, and directly pulled Shi Jintang into the carriage again.

Looking at the thick night outside the carriage, Shi Jintang couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going?"

"Well, go to the arsenal outside the city. Prince George will rush there from Cambridge."

After speaking, Bannerman closed his eyes to rest and said no more.

Naturally, Shi Jintang would not ask any more questions. He stared at the night for a while without any interest. Then he looked at the carriage and found that it was heading north.

It was now certain that the place they were going to was Enfield, a small town in the northern suburbs of London.

There was a famous Enfield arsenal in the town, and the "English 77" Lee-Enfield rifle was the masterpiece of this arsenal.

Naturally, the speed of driving in the dark cannot be guaranteed. After all, electricity has not yet become popular in this era, and gas street lights do not have the luxury of laying pipes all over the area.

So by the time they arrived at Enfield Arsenal, it was already 2 hours later. Even Shi Jintang couldn't help but rub his shoulders and back, not to mention Bannerman who was extremely tired.

It's just that this British gentleman chose to stand firm in order to maintain his dignity. I have to say that this determination to save face and suffer is admirable.

The two were able to enter this legendary arsenal after rigorous vetting, and Bannerman's identity was embarrassing.

He was still a white man at this time and had no official status.

Therefore, he does not have any privileges here and can only follow the guidance of the arsenal.

By the time they arrived at a bullet workshop, another half hour had passed.

A lot of people had gathered in the bullet workshop at this time. Henry Gambel Bannerman walked a few steps quickly and came to an old white man with gray hair. He bowed his head and saluted: "Hello, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge!"

The old white man is tall and tall, with age spots looming on his face. Perhaps because he has been in a high position for a long time, his aura is very strict.

He was wearing a woolen windbreaker, a silk top hat on his head, and the head of his gold-encrusted cane shone brightly under the light of incandescent lamps.

The electric light invented by Americans is already used here?
  Shi Jintang remembers that Edison probably hasn't found the key material of tungsten wire yet. Could it be that the light bulbs here are made of temporary materials before tungsten filament? What a waste.

No wonder Shi Jintang lamented that in most people's minds, tungsten filament is the best material for filament.

Little did they know that Edison was just a second-rate businessman, and his electric light patent was bought.

Before him, two people had achieved success in the long-term lighting experiment of carbon filaments in a vacuum state.

They were Henry Goebel, a British immigrant in 1854, but this one did not apply for a patent in time.

The other was the Englishman Joseph Swan in 1860, who obtained the patent in time and successfully completed the long-term continuous lighting experiment of carbon filaments under vacuum last year (1878).

Edison will have to wait until next year to obtain a successful 1200-hour experiment on carbonized bamboo filaments in a vacuum state.

Therefore, using electric lights at this time is not a luxury, and it is also very convenient.

It was not until the early 20th century that tungsten filament became the final filament.

If Shi Jintang discovered this time difference, he could have obtained another electric light invention patent.

……

"Your Highness the Duke, this is the Henry Stone who invented the new gunpowder I mentioned."

The old white man glanced over, and Shi Jintang looked directly at him without fear. After looking at each other for a moment, the old man spoke first: "Hello, young man, I am George Hanover."

Shi Jintang hurriedly lowered his head and greeted softly: "Hello, His Majesty the Marshal."

The old man nodded gently, "Please take out your new gunpowder, we all want to see it."

Shi Jintang leaned over and opened his Louis Vuitton suitcase, carefully took out a small strip of finished product from the glass bottle and handed it to the old man.

Prince George took it and inspected it under the light but didn't see anything. He handed it directly to another old man beside him.

This old man is thin, wearing a white wig and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his face. He is wearing a long tuxedo and a gold chain pocket watch hanging on his chest.

The old man looked at it carefully for a while, then put it to his nose and smelled it. Then he whispered in a low voice: "Acetone?"

At this time, a young man with black hair next to him came to him and said, "Mr. Abel, are you sure?"

This young man has a youthful face, and the freckles on his face are obvious. Coupled with his unique aquiline nose, he looks impressive.

The two of them studied the small piece of new gunpowder for a while, and then they leaned close to Prince George and whispered for a moment.

Then, the old man with the wig asked, "Can I experiment?"

This is what it should be, and Shi Jintang naturally agreed.

So the black-haired young man placed a small stick of gunpowder on a stone workbench not far away, struck a match and ignited the stick.

"Thorn."

The quick flames flashed away. The black-haired young man did not expect that the stick of gunpowder would burn so fast. It had burned out before he could react.

He could only look back at the old man in the wig, and the two looked at each other and shook their heads.

Shi Jintang saw everything and knew that these two people should be chemists.

They tried to determine what materials were used to passivate the gunpowder by smelling the smell of burning gunpowder sticks.

However, this requires a lot of experiments and research and cannot be achieved in a short time.

His laboratory at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals in the United States also gathered many researchers and developed this new type of gunpowder for nearly a month.

It would be ridiculous if someone figured it out in a short time.

The old man in the wig looked at Shi Jintang again, "This time I try to make bullets."

(End of this chapter)