Finally, Titus changed the topic and put forward a new and constructive idea. "Can we learn from the idea of saltpeter ice making and try to make Wildfire in solid form?"
Titus was thinking, since we can't get the normal version of solid explosives, how about we get an alien magic version?
When Gao Goosi heard this, he frowned and admitted that it was too difficult.
This Alchemists' Guild wise man no longer bothered Titus and fell into deep thought all the way.
Soon after, everyone arrived at the scheduled construction site near Torrentine.
The goal of expanding the river this time was not to flatten the height difference of the waterfall as before - they had already passed that stage. Otherwise, they would not have come all the way to the border of Blamont, and those ships would not be able to get to Jinshan Port.
This time, it is to open up the many cracks near the intersection and inside Torrentine, so that the entire river channel becomes smoother and deeper, so that larger ocean-going ships can pass.
In Titus's vision, Jinshan Port has never been just a commercial port, it must carry some military purposes.
Russell used a little trick he had stolen from his old enemy Dodge. With a whistle, the soldiers of the Survey Corps immediately set up defenses around the area and were on alert to prevent unauthorized persons from intruding.
Gao Gousi took his "graduate" assistants and "undergraduate" apprentices to busy themselves.
They unloaded the deadly refrigerated cans of various sizes from the carriage, arranged the Wildfire cans in reasonable locations according to the basic explosion points pre-investigated and marked by Whitegrove Bachelor Nelson, and laid long leads.
Some locations also need to be covered with a waterproof layer.
Every step needs to be rigorous and meticulous, and all operators supervise each other.
No one dares to risk being blown up.
Even if multiple people return to work multiple times, we must ensure that nothing goes wrong.
Although Titus has led them to carry out several similar fixed-point blasts in the past two years, everyone still treats it with caution.
After all the preparations were completed, Titus personally gave the order, "Ignite!"
The fuse burns quickly and makes a sizzling sound.
A moment later, an earth-shaking loud noise vibrated and reverberated throughout the river valley, and then, several fluorescent green flames shot up into the sky, carrying gravel and water vapor and filling the air.
Not bad, no Mushroom cloud.
Titus and Wenda covered their ears at the same time. When the roar of the explosion dissipated, they looked at each other and smiled, with a hint of excitement in their eyes.
Otherwise, the two of them would get along well. They are both born to be bold fighters and destructive maniacs.
The people around looked at the green fire that was still smoking and raging in the distance, and their hearts filled with the pride of conquering nature.
Even though many people present actually don't know what "nature" is.
If you tell them about Old and New Gods, they may be more in awe.
Titus looked at the completely changed outline of the river and the protruding corners of the bank, with a confident smile on his lips, and thought to himself that I had even conquered the "King of Torrentine", so why can't I conquer this little Torrentine like you?
The blasting operation of Torrentine came to a successful conclusion, taking one step closer to completing the core goal of river channel reconstruction.
With the ambition to conquer Torrentine, Titus, Wenda and others spent the night in the Hunter castle.
Early the next morning, we headed back north.
On the way.
Captain Wenda, who had escorted Pyromancer and was on a business trip in the past few days and missed many things, finally had the opportunity to ask about his current situation.
She was driving on the left side of Titus and asked curiously, "Sir, Gulian Earl of Stonehelm, have you agreed to your intention to cooperate?"
Titus heard this, shook his head slightly, and said in a calm tone, "No, Gulian Siwen refused."
A trace of surprise flashed through Wenda's single eye, as if he had never expected that Stonehelm Earl would actually reject the proposal that would benefit both sides.
Previously, Titus had written to Stonehelm, proposing that House Swann's armed fleet that could defend Dornish Sea all year round could be integrated into its own star shuttle fleet.
The two parties collaborated to carry out a series of operations on the east coast of the mainland and shared waterway and trade intelligence.
This will not only enhance the coastal defense power of Stormlands's eastern coast, but also allow the Star Shuttle fleet to divert its empty ships to other routes, thereby increasing each other's maritime benefits.
This is a mutually beneficial and win-win thing.
But obviously, Gulian Shiwen had other ideas and did not agree. Instead, he chose to decline politely.
It seems that even Titus·Peake, who are becoming increasingly powerful, may not always be able to go as they wish.
The guard captain's eyes suddenly turned fierce, and he exuded a fierce temperament. He lowered his voice and said with murderous intent, "Since he doesn't know how to praise, why don't you let me bring someone over to show Gulian Siwen a little color and let him know the consequences of rejecting you!"
What color should I show him?
One look at the guard captain's expression, and Titus could guess that the color must be very bright red.
"No need."
He smiled and waved his hand, his tone relaxed.
"I am not an unreasonable person. This matter is beneficial to both parties, so I proposed it. Since the head of the Shiwen family does not agree, there is no need for me to force it.
Anyway, it's not like we don't have other friends on the east coast of the mainland."
He paused, smiled, stretched out his hand, and pulled the small hand of the captain who was still unabated.
"Gulian himself gave up this opportunity, so we will take advantage of the situation and increase our cooperation with Tarth.
The fleet size of House Tarth is not as large as that of Stonehelm, but it is not much different. Selwyn Tas, the father of Caledon, has always been on good terms with us, and our cooperation will only be smoother than with Stonehelm."
I don't know whether he agrees with Titus's views on the Evenfall Hall Earl, or is comforted by the former's palm.
Wenda Captain heard this, the murderous aura in his right eye slowly dissipated, he nodded and smiled sweetly, "Your Excellency, you are still thoughtful."
Flashed by the rare sweet smile of the warrior-type royal sister, Titus nodded gently, secretly pinched Wenda's palm again, and then let go.
He looked towards the rolling mountains in the distance and slowly sorted out the current Dornish Marches situation.
In the past few years, his level of control over the Stormlands border lords has changed beyond what it used to be.
Among the four families, Caron from Nightsong, needless to say, has been his staunchest ally from beginning to end;
House Selmy of the Harvest Hall, under the leadership of Astan, has always acted as a guardian and obeyed his arrangements with all his strength;
The Tower of Joy knight guarding the middle section of the Prince's Pass - Roland Storm, the Nightsong illegitimate son who changed his own destiny, lived up to his trust and managed the interior of the pass in an orderly manner.
Roland's existence well ensured the order and safety of Prince's Pass merchants, and became an important way for him to take charge of the pass.
Further east, Blackhaven Earl Simon·Dondarrion and Titus had a close personal relationship and a deep comradeship.
It is only a matter of time before Dondarrion of Blackhaven is included in his inner circle.
In addition, there is also Lord Fawn Hall who once "carried a gun" with them, and the father of the captain of the guard is also actively involved in Titus's development plan.
Cavron Earl is not only deeply involved in land trade with Dorne, but also actively supplies goods to Jinshan Port, which is an important boost to the development of New Harbor.
Covering both the Reach and Storm Realm, most of Dornish Marches is already in the hands of Titus.
It's no longer just military operations, but even business networks are beginning to form closer linkages.
Only Stonehelm, who is the farthest from Starpike's territory and the most powerful, always shows signs of wandering away.
Gulian Shiwen seems to only be willing to perform the most basic duties for the "Dornish Marches Guardian", resisting foreign enemy invasions, or launching sieges deep in the mountains - but has no inclination to join the new frontier alliance led by Titus.
Stonehelm always consciously keeps a distance.
"Gulian is a man of deep thought and low ambition. He is young and quite conservative."
Starpike Earl explained to the guard captain beside him, "The reason why he refused was because he wanted to seize the initiative and did not want to be restricted by others.
With his character, he would never leave the future of his family in the hands of others. Even if it was a seemingly mutually beneficial cooperation, he was worried that he would gradually lose his autonomy.
This time the partner is me, and Gulian is even less confident.
Wenda Captain is still a little unwilling.
"Then how should we deal with Stonehelm who wants to break away from the collective and form his own group?"
After all, Stonehelm is very powerful and its position is crucial. If it keeps wandering around like this, it will inevitably become a hidden danger in the future.
She is very familiar with many of Titus's plans and knows that without Stonehelm, they would not be able to interfere with the situation in the east of Dorne in the future.
How did "Young Dragon" and "Oakfist" rely on to conquer Dorne?
It is not the former's conscious and subtle "walking around Boneway", but the latter's blockade and control of the Dornish Sea and Greenblood.
Titus, however, didn't take it seriously and smiled very calmly, "He didn't do anything excessive. We are all still our own people." As for Stonehelm, there is no need to rush for a while.
The never-ending time will prove everything, and the unpredictable sea will also teach Gulian Siwen how to be a man——"
While talking and laughing, the team of hundreds of people had passed through the smooth mountain pass and were about to return to Starpike.
Today is the day Titus has agreed to meet with visitors from the southwest.
Titus gathered his thoughts and asked Wenda to give the order, speeding up the journey.
A meeting related to the future direction of the Reach's southwest region is waiting for him.
It is still the castle's front room that is often used to entertain foreign guests.
Titus, escorted by "White Eagle" Wenda and "Strong Man" Belworth, warmly met the three distinguished guests and a companion they each brought with them.
The visitors have different identities, covering the southwest of the Reach, as well as aristocratic forces who have returned from the east.
There is Martin Mullendall, lord of Highland City from the east of Honeywine and west of the Red Mountains, together with his illegitimate brother "Black Shield" Malone Flowers;
There is Torrentine the west bank, Red Mountains the lord of Yangwu City at the foot of the southwestern mountain Bran ton Kui, and his cousins,
Eamon Cue, wearing yellow armor with a breastplate engraved with sunflowers in relief;
There was another person, Orton Merryweather, who had returned from Essos and had just landed at Oldtown, and rushed to Starpike for an appointment.
Accompanying him was his newly married wife, Tanya from Myr, who was traveling to the East with his grandfather.
The second largest river in the south, Honeywine: