Liu Zheng talked about some business matters again. When Bai Guoshi saw that it was almost done, he quickly left with the others. [Read the latest chapter] Liu Zheng also wanted to leave, but was left behind - there were new tasks to be assigned.
"Your next mission happens to be to go to sea. The exploration team organized manpower and took this opportunity to experience life at sea." Ma Qianxu said.
The task assigned by the Planning Commission to the exploration team was to explore the iron ore deposits in Hainan, to be precise, to investigate the iron deposits in Shilu and Tiandu. Both of these sites are rare high-grade iron ore deposits of 1u day in China. The task of the exploration team is to find out exactly where they are, draw topographic maps together with the surveying and mapping team, and evaluate the difficulty and value of mining.
Wen Desi said: "The mining of Shilu is probably relatively difficult, but we still have to see how big it is, so that we can estimate how far our industry should develop before we start mining."
At this time, Mo Xiao'an suggested: "Why don't all ministries and commissions organize a joint expedition."
"Joint expedition?!" Navy representative Li Haiping immediately became energetic.
"Yes, Commissioner Wu just proposed a trade expedition. I think that since ships will be used to investigate iron ore this time, in order to ensure safety and the scale cannot be too small, it is better to organize a large expedition."
"I agree." Minister of Trade Lu Rong became energetic. The recent situation of intra-island trade is not satisfactory, and the current situation of travelers using Dongmen City to purchase industrial raw materials is far less than expected. Everyone has forgotten that the transportation situation in this time and space is very bad.
It turned out to be just a small plan to conduct coastal surveys with exploration teams, ships and sailors from the Navy, but it eventually turned into a joint multi-ministerial operation. In addition to the two old partners of the exploration team and the special reconnaissance team, there are also members from the Maritime Power Department, Survey Team, Foreign Affairs Department, and Foreign Trade Company. The Industrial Energy Commission and the Agriculture Committee sent professional and technical personnel to provide support. Several students will also be brought on board as trainees.
In order to meet the needs of Li and Miao work, Mu Min was also temporarily seconded from the police headquarters and went out with the team.
In addition to exploring resources, this expedition team is also responsible for measuring topography, drawing maps, and investigating people's conditions; it also needs to obtain resources useful to travelers through trade, hunting, gathering, or other means.
"We are just like those European adventurers, understand? All the way. Explore new routes, trade all the way..."
“By the way, we burned sand and robbed people—” Li Haiping said.
"This is not acceptable! Three major disciplines and eight points of attention!" Ma Qianzhu said sternly, "Of course, the natives who dare to challenge the authority of the crossing country are enemies."
Be as ruthless as winter to your enemies. Everyone knows this.
"We must target the acquisition of coconuts and coconut products. Whether our oil supply can keep up with industrial development is crucial." Zhan Wuya quickly made his request.
Wu Nanhai said: "I also want to use more oil for cooking."
"Wood." Wu Kuangming said, "I have cut down almost half of the mangrove resources in Bopu. There are only miscellaneous woods on both sides of the Wenlan River, which are of little use. In order to maintain water and soil, I cannot cut too much."
"Can't you buy it?"
"You can't buy it. It's difficult to trade timber in Lingao. The Li people are willing to sell it to us. The problem is that it can't be transported - there is a lack of water system here to allow the timber to come out of the mountains."
"Wood takes up a lot of space and is heavy -"
"They don't need to take up space on the boat. They can be organized into rows and towed by the boat."
"Is it possible? This is not an ordinary river, but the sea."
"We don't go out to the open sea, and the wind and waves along the coast are light, so it should be okay. According to the data, North African countries in the Middle Ages transported wood in this way in the Mediterranean."
"I also want something. It may be difficult to get, but it is very useful." Zhan Wuya also made his own request.
"What?"
"Deerskin," Zhan Wuya said, "is used to replace rubber as transmission belts."
This is indeed a more urgent demand. With the production of prime movers and various self-made machinery, the demand for belts in mechanical transmission has greatly increased. The machinery department has temporary reserves, but the limited reserves obviously cannot support the rubber until it matures - according to Wu Nanhai's calculations, the scale of industrial use of the traverser's raw rubber will take at least 15 years.
Of course, there are also various raw ores. If they can be collected at the beach, some should be mined and brought back. Ji Wusheng specifically mentioned quartz sand - there are abundant reserves of high-quality quartz sand in Haiwei Town, Changjiang, and it is right on the seaside, so mining and transportation are very convenient.
"You can also buy some cotton cloth back." Mo Xiaoan said that in order to prepare for the immigration wave after the new year, the demand for cotton cloth at the Ministry of Light Industry's garment factories has surged, and the inventory is almost exhausted.
“What do we exchange for these things, money to buy them?”
"There is no need for ores, but there must be commodity exchange for coconuts, wood and cotton, right?"
"Be proud and confident," Salt. "
"Please, salt is not a rare thing in Hainan. Salt farms are everywhere, and illicit salt sales are also rampant."
"The private salt we sell is cheaper, and it is delivered to your doorstep, so the other party is willing to accept it."
"What if no one wants it?"
"There are sewing needles, soju, coarse paper, coarse porcelain, silk... I have prepared a lot of small things, and I have also prepared some mirrors."
"Who are you going to sell the mirror to? It's so expensive."
"Be respectful to the local officials, gentry and so on. We are not Spaniards. We say it is trade, but in fact we are robbing along the way."
Zhan Wuya said worriedly: "However, how many people and ships will be mobilized for such a large-scale dispatch? I am worried that it will damage the cargo transportation with Guangdong and Macau." The Works Energy Commission relies on maritime transportation more than any other department. I was a little worried after hearing their plan - wouldn't this require at least two 70-ton ships?
Wen Desi said regretfully: "If we concentrate our resources, the shipyard should be able to complete the schooner within 10 days."
"Isn't it dangerous to use a newly built ship on such a long-distance voyage immediately?"
"It's not a big problem." Wen Desi said, "Since this voyage is a circumnavigation of the island, even if something goes wrong, we can still board 6 in time. It is a good opportunity for a trial voyage."
"There are problems with tides, shoals and rocks when sailing around the island. How is the safety factor? Our investment in building this ship is not small."
"It doesn't matter. We have a complete set of charts and navigation information. The safety factor should be the highest."
"To be honest, if there is enough oil, I might as well launch the boarding boat."
"Isn't this nonsense," Ma Qianzhu said, "Actually, the reserves on the Fengcheng wheel are quite considerable, but now there are many places that use diesel: fishing boats, construction machinery, vehicles... there is no place to replenish it."
In fact, he had another reason that only the top executives of the Executive Committee knew: the Fengcheng Lunker must ensure that it had one-way fuel to escape to Taiwan—so that it could escape if the revolution suffered a serious setback.
"I think North American sailboats are very good as expedition ships. They are fast and have complete facilities on board. They are suitable for sailing expeditions." Liu Zheng has been thinking about this sailing yacht for a long time.
"You should save it. At that time, the executive committee clearly stated that the ship belonged to them."
"Is it possible to imitate a few ships? This ship is small and durable. If it does not require a motive and modern navigation equipment, the structure is not complicated, and the living facilities on the ship can also be simplified."
"It's very difficult." Wen Desi said, "This kind of modern sailing yacht is the crystallization of modern industrial technology. With our industrial standards, we will not be able to imitate it in another ten years."
"By the way," Li Haiping remembered something, "Isn't the Li Huamei 'Hangzhou' in Bopu? That ship is 1,000 tons!"
Wen Desi said: "The Hangzhou is a single-masted clipper, which is very good as a ship, but I always feel that there is something wrong with this woman's origins——"
"Are you thinking too much?" Li Haiping said, "At that time, Xiao Mengli invited her to serve us, but she still refused - she would rather make money through trade. If you really want to be careful, you should have agreed at that time."
"Don't underestimate the wisdom of the ancients." Wu De said, "It's really not a good match - it seems that such a person was specially arranged to come out. I would understand if this was a TV series."
"What do you think we should do? I'll knock her off and the ship will be confiscated." Li Haiping is indeed a person with strong realistic goals. Attitudes changed so quickly that one was stunned.
"She is also the first maritime merchant to come to Bopu. She will be unpopular if she does this." The vest from the Foreign Affairs Department said, "If it is safer, just do some business with her and get a taste of the sweetness. Don't let her get too involved with us. internal."
"It's a pity that her ship has such good transport capacity-"
Several people on the executive committee were indeed hesitant. They could not say that they were sure of this person, but for this joint expedition, only one brig was obviously not enough, let alone that the ship had not been tested in practice. ——Wen Desi said it was no problem, but felt a little hesitant in his heart.
"Let's discuss it later." Wen Desi had a headache.
…
The meeting lasted until seven or eight o'clock in the evening, and Liu Zheng's stomach was growling with hunger. In the end, the request put forward by Bai Guoshi Yuezu on his behalf was approved by the executive committee. Of course, it was discounted based on his hunch: Staffing After being cut down, only 6 time-travelers were given to them - basically all of them were useless people that were not wanted by various departments. The committee's reason is high-sounding: there are no useless people, only talents who have not been discovered. As for how to find talents, it's Liu Zheng's business.
"Why do you want me to train a loser?" Liu Zheng muttered, "I would welcome a female loser, but it's not my turn to train her."
However, he finally asked for one more person after a lot of effort. There are many reasons: mainly because several forestry majors in the team also work part-time in the biological laboratory of the Agriculture Committee. So Zhao Xue from the IT team was left to collect and sort out intelligence - anyway, the IT team was too crowded to begin with. He was quite satisfied with the transfer of Zhao Xue - although this girl is not considered a combat power, there is such a so-so-looking young girl in the department who can play a healing role, and it has a bonus effect on Bai Guoshi. .
Not much has been cut in terms of equipment: 6 crossbows have been added - all are experimental products made by the Mechanical Department, with different sizes and styles. The steel crossbows are also equipped with two domestic sights and a Russian-made infrared night vision sight. mirror. Two walkie-talkies were added, and the exploration team's computer power rights were changed from relative to absolute - 24-hour uninterrupted power supply. ! ~!
