America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 297 The Key to Smokeless Gunpowder

A few months after the longshoremen's fire, the San Francisco Archives also went up in flames.

Fires are not a rare thing in San Francisco.

From 1849 to 1851 alone, there were at least six fires in downtown San Francisco, and buildings including City Hall were burned down.

At its most exaggerated, half of San Francisco was burning, and it was said that the reflection of the flames could be seen on the sea from a hundred nautical miles away.

Therefore, the fire in the archives did not cause much repercussions.

Everything that could be burned at the scene was burned to ashes.

On the other hand, the San Francisco police officers routinely investigated the cause of the fire.

However, they found something interesting at the scene:

Two burned corpses, two revolvers, one unregistered and one registered, and a Pinkerton badge.

William Pinkerton wished he could throw this piece of trash into the sea and feed it to the sharks.

This energized the police.

The next day, after explaining the follow-up matters to Huang Qingyun, Chen Jianqiu took several others and embarked on the return journey.

"Oh, boss, that smokeless gunpowder you mentioned is really too dangerous." Hudson sniffed.

In Chen Jianqiu's impression, Maxim's younger brother was bold and careful. He had been studying explosives for a long time, and he had never been seen to be afraid.

"Actually, the development of smokeless gunpowder is not a big secret in the industry. Everyone recognizes that nitrocellulose is a direction. But..."

But he was scolded by William Pinkerton:

"You know that after the bill was enacted, it was illegal to hire undocumented Chinese workers. Can you now prove that that person is an American citizen?"

"What's going on? Is it serious?" He asked eagerly, rarely looking anxious.

"Where is your brother?" Chen Jianqiu scanned the crowd and found no trace of Maxim's younger brother, Hudson Maxim.

Chen Jianqiu was shocked.

They drafted a draft bill restricting the Pinkerton Detective Agency's law enforcement power in California and submitted it to the state House of Representatives.

The image of Hudson missing his arms and legs, with his body covered in bandages, already appeared in his mind.

Hudson paused, looking frightened: "This thing is too unstable and too dangerous. Boss, do you know how many times I blew it up?"

It’s really a miracle that this guy hasn’t lost any parts even after researching it.

He was indeed too busy some time ago and forgot to give the chemist and inventor some tips.

He began to reorganize Pinkerton's team in the west, preparing to regroup, vowing to dig out this shadowy opponent and crush it completely.

The old man was seriously ill and did not have much time left. William knew that if something went wrong again at this time, the family property would belong to his brother and he would lose all his hair.

Of course Chen Jianqiu knows what the problem is.

Chen Jianqiu shook his head.

During Chen Jianqiu's absence, Maxim and Browning worked hard to improve the heavy machine gun, but with little success.

He wanted to see the explosives expert quickly.

On the filling gunpowder of the bullet.

The main reason why Master William is so interested is because his father, Allan Pinkerton, the founder of Pinkerton Detective Agency, sent a telegram from New York.

Naturally, William Pinkerton would not admit that this matter had anything to do with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He insisted that this was a frame-up.

After several months of tug-of-war and gaming, the final outcome of the incident ended with Detective Pinkerton completely withdrawing from California.

"I'm going to meet with Hudson first, so you can get familiar with each other first." Chen Jianqiu said to Wyatt and others in the meeting hall.

"I now know why they are not very interested in researching smokeless gunpowder. If the problem of instability of nitrocellulose cannot be solved, this thing has no practical value." Hudson lay dejectedly on the bench in the clinic.

.

"Luckily, nothing happened. He was just a little dizzy and nauseous from the shock wave. My mother said he needs to stay in the clinic for observation." Holly interjected from the side.

There were only two people with sad faces.

She turned around and said to Chen Jianqiu.

"There is no progress, the problems with the machine gun are still there." Maxim sighed.

The San Francisco police pursued the case, insisting on multiple occasions that the fire was caused by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, and sued these "foreign monks" in state court.

He packed a large bag of things, but Chen Jianqiu told him that these things were not important and that he would have whatever he wanted when he got to Roswell.

In anger, William Pinkerton laid off all personnel in the original California office and moved the Western Command to Austin, Texas.

It appears to be a concussion.

However, the badge can be forged, but the registered revolver cannot be forged. No matter how powerful the fire is, the registration serial number on it cannot be burned away.

These annoying guys can finally get out.

Everyone is very happy because the core team of this town has grown again.

Chen Jianqiu breathed a sigh of relief and had a snack, but he still walked quickly towards the door.

"What's wrong?" Chen Jianqiu walked to Maxim and Browning and asked with a smile.

Chen Jianqiu looked Hudson up and down.

The tone is always "elegant and easy-going".

The captain lowered his head and remained silent.

"Five times! Didn't Maxim tell you that I changed laboratories? I blew all the glass in the windows of the laboratory last time."

When he stepped into the door of Theresa's clinic, Mrs. Theresa was examining Hudson's eyes.

Nige had already figured it out. To be precise, he made his decision from the moment Chen Jianqiu walked downstairs yesterday.

The captain who recruited Li Shiri gave his boss an idea. He thought that he could follow the example of the labor union and emphasize that this was Li Shiri's personal behavior, a Chinese, and steer the matter towards the bad nature of the Chinese, thereby diverting the attention of public opinion.

.

In addition to the badge, there was other evidence that identified one of the two bodies as a Pinkerton detective.

Chen Jianqiu slapped his head.

Everyone gathered in the newly completed Roswell Chamber to welcome Chen Jianqiu's return.

Who are these Pinkerton cadres in the West?

No wonder we have lost troops and generals in a few months, and now we don't even know who our opponent is.

"He was bombed and is lying in Madame Teresa's clinic." Maxim replied.

State legislators did not miss this opportunity. They were also worried about the impact of Pinkerton's power on the political balance in the state.

These days, if something happens to someone playing with explosives, they may not be able to survive.

He went to visit the painter again.

"The brain suffered some shock, and there shouldn't be any big problems now." Teresa noticed Chen Jianqiu's arrival.

When he left New Mexico, there were three people, and when he came back, the number doubled to six.

He said that if William would ever again disgrace the company he had devoted his whole life to, he would just go to the grassroots and become an ordinary detective.

On the other hand, after leaving the scene of the crime, Chen Jianqiu was not anxious at all.

There is money and there are people.

Who can have trouble with money?

"There are actually experiments that scare you?"

These are brilliant, smart people who often just need a little hint:

"How about you try ether." Chen Jianqiu sat next to Hudson, "And ethanol, dissolve the nitrocellulose in it."

Hudson was staring at the ceiling in a daze. When he heard what Chen Jianqiu said, he thought for a while and jumped up from the bench.

"Boss, you are such a genius!"

He ran out of Theresa's consulting room and ran towards his laboratory.

(End of chapter)