307: Chapter 307 A Deep-Water Port is Urgently Needed!

Xu Ning wanted to personally see if the raw ore Cai Mao and the others had excavated really contained silver.

He had the scouts who returned to report the news lead the way, taking over a hundred of his guards to the central part of the Dasen Mountains.

To prevent getting lost, Cai Mao and his group had made markers along the path they took.

Previously, these two scouts had returned by following those markers.

Now, they followed the same markers once again to the central part of the Dasen Mountains.

Being familiar with the route, they arrived at the central part of the Dasen Mountains much faster than the last time.

"General."

Guarding the tunnel, Cai Mao and the others immediately cupped their fists and called out to Xu Ning upon seeing him arrive.

"Let me see the excavated raw ore."

Xu Ning said immediately.

"Understood!"

Cai Mao immediately brought out the raw ore containing impurities.

Xu Ning took the raw ore.

Before coming to Japan, Xu Ning had specifically learned from an Old Master how to distinguish whether raw ore contained silver.

From the color and luster, silver-bearing minerals are mostly lead-gray, black, or silver-white, with a metallic luster.

In terms of structure and form, native silver appears as filaments, grains, or lumps; silver sulfide minerals are often distributed in dense lumps or fine veins.

This was just a judgment made with the naked eye.

Mixing the ore powder with lime powder and borax, melting it over a gas lamp, and observing the color of the bead after cooling.

If it contains silver, the bead might appear silver-white or grayish-white.

After Xu Ning used various identification methods, he was certain that they had indeed struck a Silver Mine.

Furthermore, the silver content of the mine here was quite high!

Xu Ning's expression became excited.

He also needed to dispatch people to station here.

Should any Savage Tribe try to lay a finger on the Silver Mine, he would not hesitate to use thunderous methods to suppress them!

Xu Ning immediately made deployments.

He dispatched over a thousand people to build a new camp here.

And he planned to build a road from the previously constructed camp, preferably connecting the two camps together.

Ideally, it should be a concrete road.

The transport capacity of concrete roads is stronger than that of dirt roads, especially during the rainy season when dirt roads become muddy, greatly hindering transport efficiency.

Once the transportation was improved, if anything happened in the Dasen Mountains, troops could be quickly transported there via the road.

To build a concrete road, various tools and materials would be needed, such as cement and rebar.

Xu Ning had not brought any cement or rebar.

He had to send someone back to Great Qin, not only to inform His Majesty the Head of State of the situation here but also to obtain funding for the road and the necessary rebar and cement.

Xu Ning immediately decided to have his subordinates take Xu Fu and sail to Great Qin.

Xu Ning paced back and forth, deep in thought.

The beach where the Shimane Tribe was located was not suitable for use as a port for large ships to dock.

Without a port, it would be difficult for transport ships to deliver supplies.

They couldn't rely on landing craft to shuttle supplies; that would be too troublesome.

A sharp light flickered in Xu Ning's eyes.

He had to seize a deep-water port.

Having been in Japan for two or three months, Xu Ning's fleet was still anchored in the deep sea.

Once July and August arrived, it would be the season of frequent typhoons.

Leaving the matter of transporting supplies aside, if they didn't find a harbor to take shelter from the wind, the fleet would likely be sunk directly by the hurricanes!

Xu Fu knew the climate conditions in Japan and had already emphasized them to Xu Ning many times.

Xu Ning also knew the problem facing him: he urgently needed a deep-water port!