Xiao Zishan came back from Guangzhou. 【Read the latest chapter】
They didn't go to Guangzhou to sell things and make money. On the contrary, they were a standard "purchasing group going to Guangzhou." Just like in previous years, the Chinese government would always send out a huge purchase list whenever the Americans wanted to go crazy. They also have a purchase list with many items. Each department listed what they urgently needed, and the biggest item among them was pig iron.
Hainan has the best and largest rich iron ore in China, but whether it is Tiandu or Shilu, the traverser is temporarily unable to open it, and Hainan has a fatal problem as a coal-iron complex - it has no coal.
The rise of an industrialized country often plays a vital role in the establishment of a coal-iron complex. Britain's ability to become the first country to enter industrialization has a lot to do with its rich iron ore and coal mines; the United States is blessed with the Great Lakes, which not only has supporting resources but also has convenient and cheap water transportation; Russia has the Urals; Germany There is Ruhr. In the past, the Executive Committee only understood these things literally. When they actually came to Lingao and tried to establish an industrial system, they realized that the steel problem could not be solved and that industrialization was an empty talk. They transported complete sets of equipment, various machine tools, various measuring tools, built electrical equipment, and made cement. However, they were trapped by the problem of steel. They did not have the cheapest Panyuan steel bars or even a common reinforced concrete floor slab. , a steel nail, a hammer can't make it. There were tons of steel ingots piled on the ship, all of which were special steel that they couldn't make in a short time - no one was willing to use them.
After discussion, the leaders of several major groups of the Industrial Committee decided that since the iron ore cannot be opened immediately, they should skip the blast furnace stage and make steel first! Regardless of the quality, the crude steel with the greatest daily demand is refined. The large amount of pig iron needed for steelmaking was first tried to be purchased from Guangdong.
Pig iron can not only be used as a material for steelmaking, but it is also a very good material in itself. Some of the more bulky components can be made of pig iron. The purchase list issued by the metallurgical team is to purchase 50 tons of pig iron. It is said to be the bare minimum. Among the several small converters they brought, even if they only started operating the smallest one with a capacity of one ton, 50 tons of pig iron would not be enough to produce a month's worth of pig iron.
This plan is entirely feasible on paper. Guangdong's pig iron production in the Ming Dynasty was extremely considerable. According to the statistics of the iron class of the Chief Secretary of Guangdong in the 13th year of Jiajing (1534), the annual output was 61,27500 kilograms, or 3100 tons. 3100 tons of pig iron is just a small steel factory in modern times. production per day, but Russia's total steel production in 1670 was only more than 2,700 tons. The early steelmaking industry of the time traveler was based on the input of pig iron, and there was still a certain guarantee.
(Note: The number of steel production is currently in great debate. This is purely for the purpose of fiction and should not be taken seriously.
But for Xiao Zishan, things are not that simple. Although he knows nothing about steel, he still knows about economic history. In the Guangdong Province of the Ming Dynasty, there is probably no iron smelting yard that has 50 tons of pig iron ready for purchase. *You have to search everywhere to get it. After collecting them, how to transport them out? Xiao Zishan probably remembers that pig iron seems not to be exported. He wants to load 50 tons of iron onto the ship. What will happen if the government finds out? This was enough to trouble his brain.
It's a headache, but you still have to do what needs to be done. In addition to buying things, this purchasing group also has the task of preparing to establish a Guangzhou intelligence network and break into Guangdong's wealthy businessmen and even the government. Therefore, the staffing was strong enough. In addition to him as the general person in charge, Xi Yazhou was originally going to be sent as a military specialist. Later, because he could not escape from the mass movement in Yanchang Village, Bei Wei was sent from the salt field instead. After being transferred out of the village, Xiao Zishan thought it would be good. There would be a scout by his side as a bodyguard, so he would feel at ease wherever he went. Bei Wei took the four best students in the reconnaissance team and used this trip to Guangzhou as a graduation inspection for the training.
Accompanying the team were several people who were preparing to open an advance station in Guangzhou. Yan Maoda was a manager of a jewelry company in the past and was very familiar with this industry. His suggestion to the executive committee was to use existing real estate facilities to open a business store specializing in luxury goods in Guangzhou as a cover. This kind of business business has several advantages. : First, it requires huge capital and frequent transactions. The frequent movement of huge amounts of cash and personnel is not easy to attract suspicion; secondly, the people who come into contact are all the families of high-ranking officials and nobles, making it easy to penetrate into the enemy's interior; thirdly, the barriers that can be used openly are tight.
Lu Rong followed the group just after returning from Li District. He is proficient in a variety of southern dialects, loves to read ancient prose such as "Guwen Guanzhi" and "Selected Works", and can write passable calligraphy. He is physically strong, can do equestrian skills, and knows some boxing skills. He is a suitable candidate to be stationed on the secret front.
Another important figure is Guo Yi. The main reason why he was entrusted with the important task is that the concept of secret front work in the group comes from movies and novels, and he is the only person who has really been exposed to practice. With a transfer order, Guo Yi suddenly discovered that he was no longer a handyman of the security team, but the person in charge of the advance station, and was going to Guangzhou City in the Ming Dynasty to engage in espionage activities - this made him feel the impermanence of life. Less than three A few months ago, he was still engaged in anti-Special Forces in Guangzhou City in another time and space...
In addition to more than a dozen traveling members, some natives are also needed to accompany them. The people from the Bairentan production team who have returned sporadically are either locals from Lingao or from Shegeng, Fujian. Not to mention going to Guangzhou, many of them have never even been to Qiongzhou Prefecture. Some of the prisoners captured after breaking Goujiazhuang were from Guangdong, but they had not passed the political review and did not dare to use them rashly. Finally, a breakthrough was found in Yanchang Village.
Tan Guihuang, deputy director of the village committee of Yanchang Village (the director is of course his uncle and brother Tan Guiqiong) heard that the short-haired gentlemen wanted to find a few reliable people to go to Guangzhou with, so he recommended Liu Gang, a salt merchant from Leizhou, to them .
Liu Gang was very familiar with Yanchang Village because of his salt trafficking business. Tan Guihuang crossed the sea to contact the salt merchants who came to buy salt. He was the first to arrive, and he also brought the grain and cloth that the village urgently needed at that time. Tan Guihuang felt that this man was loyal and trustworthy. Moreover, although he settled in Leizhou, he was a genuine native of Nanhai County, Guangzhou Prefecture. He often went to do business around Guangzhou and was familiar with the situation on the road. It would be perfect to have him accompany you. As soon as Tan Guihuang talked to Liu Gang, he naturally agreed - it didn't matter whether he agreed or not, he still wanted to continue selling salt in Yanchang Village. He also got the news that this group of short-haired men were the backstage of Salt Farm Village, and it was they who took action to bring down Gou Da, the local tycoon who controlled the salt farm. With such power, salt merchants accustomed to the world would naturally not dare to offend.
The means of transportation is a boat, which is not only the fastest and most convenient, but also the team brings a lot of things. In addition to the necessary dry food, weapons, and money, there are also radio stations and hand-cranked motors needed to build the Guangzhou intelligence station. , solar panels and other items, as well as various samples of goods that are being looked for for sale in Guangzhou - the sale of stolen goods that the Gou family failed to complete, now it is their turn to do it.
However, the ships owned by the time travelers are too eye-catching. No matter which ship they sail over, they will cause a sensation. Let’s keep a low profile for now. I asked Tan Guihuang to come forward and buy a Lingao Tuofeng from a local fisherman. This kind of boat is 22 meters long and has a displacement of up to 78 tons. It is an out-and-out large fishing boat. Traveling to Guangzhou to engage in short-distance trade is a piece of cake.
(Note: Lingao Tuofeng is a famous large traditional fishing boat in Hainan, but it appeared relatively recently.
To have a ship, you need sailors. Most people cannot serve such a large sailing ship. Talents like Chuan Zhongli are not easy to find. Although Wu De was a fisherman, he grew up watching motorboats and sailboats. In the end, Lin Chuanqing volunteered to be the captain. This smuggler who was born as a fisherman knew all kinds of work at sea because of his work needs. Fiddle with it twice. Several sailing enthusiasts in the North American team also immediately became sailors.
A group of people from North America never got any jobs after arriving in Lingao. Qian Shuiting was engaged in survey and statistics, so he was assigned to deal with numbers in the Planning Committee. Qian Shuixie and Zhou Weisen were on duty in the military group, standing guard every day, and they all faded away. . They were no better than Lin Shenhe, who could still spend time in the mechanical department doing weapons research and other things after get off work every day. This time we went to Guangzhou to recruit sailors, so they all signed up. It was just for fun. A few people also made their own plans and brought a lot of their own private weapons. They also pulled up Lin Shenhe and prepared to sail on the sea. Do the business of pirates. Lin Chuanqing was not a good man or woman, so they hit it off immediately and were ready to take action as soon as there was an opportunity.
However, it is still a bit difficult to do the pirate business. The high-towing wind is a hard sailboat, and the sailing skills of this group of sailing enthusiasts in the 21st century are soft sailboats. Although I have generally mastered how to use it after several trials, it is hard to say how proficient it is. After a few people discussed it, they went to Xiao Zishan and told him that for the sake of ease of operation and safety - after all, the Guangdong coast is not peaceful, it is best to turn the boat into a sailboat - several people in North America knew that Commissioner Xiao was the most cautious person and treated himself He was even more concerned about safety issues, so this suggestion was immediately approved by him. The industrial group was allowed to modify this large hard-sailed ship and install two 12-kilowatt single-cylinder diesel engines with normal diesel power. The industrial department has brought many of these engines. It has a simple structure, easy maintenance, and is extremely versatile. In addition to not being able to It can be used as a motive force for almost anything except aircraft motive power.
