I stayed at home with Chai Yue and Xiao Qing for another day.
The next day, Fang Er, along with Bi Deng and the First Battalion and Third Battalion of the Third Regiment of the Fifth Division, departed with all spare diesel fuel, heading towards the Panjin area.
The distance from Shenyang to Panjin was three hundred li.
It took them two days on the road. The soldier who had returned with the report led the way, and Fang Er led his troops to a tidal flat.
Looking out, all they could see was reeds and mud.
Fifth Division, Third Regiment, Second Battalion of the Skyfire Army, Zhang San, has met the Duke. Please instruct!
Fang Er returned the salute. Where is the oil well?
Please follow me, Duke.
Following behind Zhang San, before they even reached the location, Fang Er caught a faint smell of petroleum.
Duke, it’s the area ahead that’s constantly bubbling.
Looking ahead, about a hundred meters away, there was a stretch of flat land where large bubbles surged from under the mud and then burst.
The smell of petroleum became even stronger as the wind blew.
Fang Er inhaled greedily.
This substance didn't smell pleasant, but its significance was extraordinary.
The Persian merchants who dealt in naphtha chose the densely populated Chang'an as their primary distribution point.
Every time a caravan left Chang'an, it had to carry a large amount of spare oil, which was not only inconvenient but also wasted transport capacity.
Finding an oil mine in such close proximity meant they wouldn't lack fuel in the short term.
While no one was paying attention, Fang Er took out the telescopic soil auger from his spatial storage and handed it to Zhang San.
Use this to explore.
After saying that, he explained its usage to him.
Yes, Duke.
Zhang San took the soil auger, tied a rope around his waist, and slowly walked towards the bubbling tidal flat.
The soft, loose mud reached past his calves with every step, and if he stood still for too long, he would sink further down.
It took him more than ten minutes to cover the hundred-meter distance.
Zhang San aimed the auger head at the bubbling mud and pressed the switch on the handle.
Screech~!
The soil auger suddenly extended by a section.
Feeling no significant resistance, he continued to press the switch.
Screech~!
The soil auger extended again.
Each section was five meters long.
With just these two actions, it had already penetrated more than ten meters into the ground.
He wondered where the system got this cutting-edge technology; it was absolutely amazing for exploring mines and tombs!
When Zhang San pressed the telescopic switch again, the auger in his hand jumped up slightly, and his hand gripping the handle clearly felt a hard object brushing against it from below.
He retracted the auger section by section. The auger head was covered in a black, sticky substance. He dipped his finger in it, brought it to his nose, and sniffed.
Duke! It’s confirmed, it’s naphtha down there!
Before, it was just speculation, but now it was truly confirmed.
He called Zhang San back.
They set up camp on a clear, firm piece of ground.
To mine the oil here, they first needed to clear the mud around the mine; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to extract anything with their current capabilities.
The Third Regiment had a total of over thirteen hundred soldiers, and they recruited over a thousand young men from the vicinity.
Three days later, over two thousand people began to segment the tidal flat.
From the oil mine to the firm ground, there was a hundred-meter distance. Fang Er directly drew a semicircle with a radius of one hundred and fifty meters, encircling the oil mine.
This drawn semicircle would serve as an isolation zone, about five hundred meters long and one meter wide. They cleared the mud in this zone and then filled it with stones to prevent the surrounding mud from flowing in again.
Five days later, Fang Er called Zhang San to his side.
How many people in the Third Regiment know how to operate a tractor?
Zhang San scratched his head. Duke, tractors belong to the Third Division. Very few of us in the Fifth Division know how to operate them.
Why don't you ask our regiment commander? I believe there are some in his personal guards who know how to operate them.
Go and fetch him.
Yes!
Zhang San turned and walked towards the working team.
The commander of the Third Regiment was named Duan Ming. After Zhang San explained the reason, he saw Duan Ming select over a dozen soldiers from his subordinates and walk towards Fang Er.
Upon arrival, he stood at attention and saluted. Fifth Division, Third Regiment, Commander Duan Ming reports to the Duke!
Duke, these dozen or so people all know how to operate tractors. Please instruct them!
Fang Er returned the salute and nodded with satisfaction.
A dozen people are enough.
You few, follow me.
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the woods.
In the woods, three excavators and three bulldozers were parked alone.
These were what Fang Er had released discreetly earlier.
While the soldiers and the recruits were working, he hadn't been idle. He had figured out how to operate the excavators and bulldozers in the past few days.
He wasn't proficient, but he could drive them, dig, and push.
This was only possible because each operating lever in the driver's cabin had a corresponding operating instruction plate.
For example:
The left control lever: pushing down extends the arm, pulling back retracts the arm, swinging left rotates left, and swinging right rotates right.
The right control lever: pushing down lowers the boom, pulling back raises the boom, swinging left retracts the bucket, and swinging right opens the bucket.
And so on, with arrows indicating the direction for each lever and accompanying text descriptions.
Selecting two soldiers to ride with him in the excavator, he started the vehicle.
The massive steel monster roared to life instantly, emitting light blue smoke, and rushed out of the woods, startling the soldiers and recruits working in the distance.
The soldiers were relatively calm, having become accustomed to Fang Er bringing out new things every now and then.
But these local villagers had never seen anything like this before, and they immediately became flustered, discussing amongst themselves.
What is that monster!
A ghost!
Run!
Will this thing eat people?
Duan Ming saw this and quickly had the soldiers explain to the recruits and calm their emotions.
Upon learning that these were vehicles brought out by the Duke of Shenyang County, their initial panic turned into admiration.
It's so incredible that such a large thing can move on its own without the help of livestock!
And what they found even more incredible was yet to come.
Fang Er explained to the soldiers in the vehicle while maneuvering the excavator to the periphery of the segmented tidal flat.
With just one scoop, a large pit was dug in the tidal flat!
The bucket had a capacity of 1.2 cubic meters. After digging out the mud, the excavator began to back up. After retreating a distance, Fang Er maneuvered to dump the mud from the bucket to the side.
Then he returned to dig again.
This time, it wasn't just the recruits who were stunned; even the soldiers of the Skyfire Army lost focus from their work.
They all gathered around to watch.
Holy cow! It dug up so much mud at once!
The amount of mud dug up by that one scoop must be equivalent to half a day's work for one person, right?
Half a day? That’s just digging it out; what about transporting it?
In my opinion, that one scoop is equivalent to a full day's work for one person!
This thing is amazing! Digging up soil is as easy as cutting tofu!
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Author's notes: