Chapter 50

Seek recommendations, seek collections.

The carriage drove through the main gate of Blenheim Palace, and from a distance, the splendid lights of the palace could be seen. After driving for a short while, a lawn filled with carriages and the faint sound of music could be heard.

It seemed that another grand banquet of British high society was taking place at Blenheim Palace!

After getting off the carriage and walking a bit further, they indeed saw inside the open palace gates, where more than a dozen musicians in tuxedos were playing Western instruments, swaying their heads. There were violins, violas, and a huge piano.

A butler in a floral Western suit and a wig stood solemnly at the door, respectfully welcoming guests. However, the guests tonight were all dressed in peculiar costumes, some as head-wrapped Arabs, some in outdated European military uniforms, some as Native Americans, and others in what seemed to be ancient Roman or Greek attire.

The fat man who came with Zhu Jishi grinned, "Jason, look, we seem to be dressed in the wrong clothes..."

His loud voice immediately caught the attention of many guests, who looked over and, seeing Zhu Jishi in formal Western attire, covered their mouths and laughed.

"Today is a masquerade ball," the fat man tugged at Zhu Jishi's arm and said with a smile, "I wonder what George will dress up as? I remember last time he dressed as a Chinese emperor, wearing a silk dragon robe and a tie to mimic a queue."

Zhu Jishi laughed a couple of times in response and then walked in with the fat man. The butler at the door, of course, did not ask Zhu Jishi for an invitation and respectfully addressed him as "Sir."

The last time Zhu Jishi came to Blenheim Palace, he did not enter the palace but only attended a party on the lawn. So today was his first time experiencing the luxurious interior of this so-called first mansion in Britain (more than a hundred years later, the interior of Blenheim Palace was not open to the public). However, he had already served as a temporary royal physician at Windsor Castle for a month and had seen similar grand scenes. Therefore, he had little interest in visiting and instead firmly held onto a briefcase—inside which were important items—and followed the fat man upstairs.

As they passed through the hall, many guests greeted the fat man, both men and women, indicating that this fat man had quite good relations with them.

"Sir, Sir Zhu." Zhu Jishi suddenly heard someone calling him. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a "black chief" who looked familiar, but he couldn't recall who it was. The man said, "I am John Brown, the butler of Windsor Castle."

"Oh, Mr. Brown, I almost didn't recognize you," Zhu Jishi smiled awkwardly, walked to Brown's side, and whispered, "How are the Prince and the Queen?"

"They are both well," Brown leaned close to Zhu Jishi's ear, "When will the medicine be ready?"

"It's already ready," Zhu Jishi knew the other party was referring to the medicine for Victoria's illness. "I will deliver it to Windsor Castle next week."

"I will send a carriage to pick you up."

"Thank you."

Their conversation ended there. As soon as they reached the second floor, the fat man gave Zhu Jishi a thumbs up and said, "Jason, you're great, you've even made friends with John Brown, who is Prince Albert's confidant."

Zhu Jishi shook his head and did not respond. He would rather be friends with John Brown than Prince Albert. Although the Prince and the Queen seemed approachable, they were still rulers, and the saying "serving a ruler is like serving a tiger" was something Zhu Jishi had heard before. Now that Albert was lowering himself to befriend him, there must be some ulterior motive. Victoria's illness was a minor issue; the Prince's true intention was probably to influence China through him and the University of Hong Kong!

The second floor of Blenheim Palace was also lavishly decorated, with works by European painting masters hanging everywhere. After passing through several open corridors, Zhu Jishi and the fat man stopped at a pair of heavy doors. The fat man gently knocked on the door and said, "George, it's me, Robert. Mr. Zhu has arrived."

A voice from inside said, "Please come in."

Pushing the door open, Zhu Jishi found the room very spacious, with a long row of bookshelves against the walls, filled with thick hardcover books. The Duke of Marlborough was not dressed as a Chinese emperor this time but in a Turkish robe, possibly as a Sultan or a minister of the Ottoman Empire.

On the other side of the desk sat another person, Jardine, the former master of White, who, like Zhu Jishi and the fat man, was dressed normally. The two men only nodded slightly when they saw Zhu Jishi enter and did not stand up to greet him.

The fat man pulled over a chair, invited Zhu Jishi to sit down, and then left, apparently eager to join the ball downstairs.

"Would you like coffee or tea?" the Duke asked Zhu Jishi with a smile.

"No, I think we will be leaving this room soon," Zhu Jishi placed the briefcase on the desk, took out a package, and placed it on the desk. He took a deep breath and smiled, "George, this is the bomb I told you about, with ten times the power of black powder!" He glanced at the Duke's cigar, "If it explodes in this room, none of us will survive."

The Duke gasped and quickly extinguished his cigar, then asked with interest, "Jason, what is this... bomb made of?"

"It's made by mixing ammonium nitrate powder with kerosene at low temperatures."

"Can ammonium nitrate explode?" Jardine asked coldly.

Zhu Jishi ignored this consumptive, having already learned from White about Jardine's background, knowing he was an opium dealer and thus a competitor, with no hope of friendship.

"Can't we just test it to see?" the Duke of Marlborough smiled at Zhu Jishi, "How do you detonate it? By lighting it directly?"

"Throw it into a fire, and it will explode. The ignition point of ammonium nitrate is 300 degrees Celsius, and it becomes easier to detonate when mixed with kerosene." He took a small copper tube from his pocket and carefully placed it on the desk. "This is called an L-tube, containing mercury fulminate, which can be used to detonate the ammonium nitrate explosive. George, would you like to find a place to test it?"

"Alright, let's go to the lawn outside to test it." The Duke of Marlborough stood up but did not immediately step out. He suddenly added, "Jason, what do you plan to do with this ammonium nitrate explosive?"

In fact, Zhu Jishi had already tested this explosive in the Manchester factory, and someone had reported the results to the Duke of Marlborough, so the Duke already knew the outcome of the test. However, the formalities still needed to be observed.

"This explosive is a big business opportunity, not only for military use but also for road construction and mining." Zhu Jishi had already prepared a cooperation plan, sticking to his usual approach: he would provide the technology patent, and others would provide the capital. "George, I think the patents for ammonium nitrate explosive and ** are worth at least 30,000 pounds. How about Jishi Holdings taking 60% of the shares?"

"30,000 pounds? That's too expensive," the Duke of Marlborough had not yet spoken when Jardine interjected, "Mr. Zhu, do you know how much black powder sells for per pound? Even if your ammonium nitrate explosive sells for ten times the price of black powder, the two patents are not worth 10,000 pounds."

"Ten times?" Zhu Jishi grinned, "Can the Royal Grenadiers throw a black powder grenade ten times the weight of an ammonium nitrate grenade?" He then looked at the Duke of Marlborough, "George, as an officer, you should understand the military significance of ammonium nitrate explosives, right?"

The Duke of Marlborough smiled faintly, "Let's see its power first."