Zaichun is so shameless! His face turned purple, how could such an idiot become an official? The roosters and hens have all come out, and the workers around are holding back their laughter, feeling as uncomfortable as constipation.
"Shut up!" Emperor Tongzhi turned back and glared at him.
"So...the Northern Special Zone can already manufacture high-quality breech-loading cannons?" Zai Chun asked.
Before Xin Jian could answer, Prince Chun Yipei said in a low voice, "Yes, the first batch here is called imitation Prussian 88 rear-loaded steel cannons...all of them have been sent to the army to conquer the west!"
"Zuo Zongtang tried artillery in the northwest. It was very easy to use. The gun with a fast rate of fire is a good weapon to restrain the cavalry!"
"The rebels in Agub are at the end of their rope. Many of their war horses are not real war horses and have not been trained to listen to the sound of gunfire... As soon as the cannon goes off, many of the war horses are frightened!"
Zai Chun listened to his fifth uncle's words with bitterness in his heart. From the moment he saw the forging bed, he could basically make a guess.
"How many heavy-duty forging machines are there in this special zone?"
"This is the largest one with a capacity of 1,500 tons. None of the others exceeds 1,000 tons. There are probably more than 20 units!"
Zai Chun let out a long sigh, "Uncle Wu... now you know how the foreign ships got their strong guns, right? Without this heavy forging machine, you can't even make cannons!"
"Really good gun barrels are all made by forging. It is not finished as soon as the molten steel is poured into shape... The gap between us and others comes from the furnaces of molten steel and the forging machines... "
"If we don't make progress, maybe there will be a 10,000-ton hydraulic press in the future, and then there will be shocking cannons that you can't think of!"
"A huge cannon? How big can this cannon be?" Weng Tonghe obviously didn't want to increase the prestige of others.
"How big? Haha... It's so big that one shot can blow up the Zhengyang Gate tower!" Zai Chun said and walked away!
The subsequent visit made Zai Chun feel more and more heavy. He still remembered the situation when he went to study here five years ago. The special zone at that time was already very prosperous, but at that time the special zone was still mainly light industry.
Production of nails, oil lamps, spinning, weaving, printing and dyeing...etc. are all light industries that focus on life and are concentrated together!
It was not that there were no military factories, but at that time they could only produce some light weapons, including rifle assembly, grenades, explosives... Even the barrels of rifles needed to be imported from the United States and Prussia.
In only five years, Xiao Letian relied on strategic deception to buy himself five years of peaceful development. As a result, heavy industry has suddenly become the mainstream of the special zone.
Steel blast furnaces have also been built, heavy-duty forging machines are available, turning, milling, planing, grinding, and drilling...the basic machinery for industry is also complete!
What’s even more terrifying is that Xiao Letian is training thousands of technical workers and then selecting malleable engineers from these technical blue-collar workers.
Look at those greasy lathes. A European-looking master has to lead at least ten apprentices. Their hungry expressions are so focused!
The master is building a system, that is, an industrial system. What he wants is that the Chinese industry must not have shortcomings!
Maybe at the beginning, the things produced by the Chinese were not very precise, reliable, and had very low standards... But it doesn't matter. There is a world of difference between those who have them and those who don't!
If it can be produced, at least it will not be choked by others. As for whether the quality of the produced things is good or not, it can be improved little by little with time!
Once this system is established, the greatest security will come during the war. When the Western trade embargo begins, at least the Chinese will be able to produce a batch of mediocre quality substitutes and make do with it.
What about the Qing Dynasty? What's there? What can be produced? It’s not like you just look up to others!
Emperor Tongzhi finally turned down the grand luncheon prepared by the special zone and left hungry after only four hours of inspection.
At the West Water Gate of the Special Economic Zone, the Haihe River system leads directly to the Grand Canal. From here, you can return to Sijiu City smoothly by boat. When Zaichun got on the boat, he did not wave to the people on the shore to see him off, but immediately held his own imperial meeting. .
"Have you seen it? Have you seen it all? This is what the Chinese have done in the past few years. What about us? Fuqing, you are from the Prime Minister's Office. Can you tell me how the other special zones in the Qing Dynasty are doing?"
Sweat broke out on Mr. Qing's forehead. When Xiao Letian rented the Tanggu Special Economic Zone, the Qing Dynasty also joined in the fun and set up special zones, one in Shanghai and one in Guangzhou.
Shanghai was just okay, with a few ceramic factories, tea factories, silk reeling, and weaving built to some extent... Anyway, profits had been generated through the original industries in the south.
But what do you say here in Guangzhou? The land was enclosed, and as a result, people were furious that the planned factory could not even recruit workers. In the end, it was divided and rented out, and the land was given to merchants to build warehouses and shops.
This is not a special zone at all, that is, the generals of Guangzhou and the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi are working together to speculate in real estate!
With the decree of the imperial court, he forcibly enclosed the people's land. As a result, he had no ability to build an industrial zone. In the end, he directly subleased and sold it to businessmen.
In just one change of hands, the profit was more than a million, and the amount of money sent to the big shots in the capital was not a small amount!
This pot of water is so dirty and mixed that Mr. Qing doesn’t even dare to mention it!
"Your Majesty...I am only in charge of the telegraph office in the Prime Minister's Yamen. I really don't know anything about this special zone..."
"Haha... you don't know. Okay, does anyone else know?"
"You won't tell me that none of you know it, right?"
Listening to Emperor Tongzhi's questioning, all the officials lowered their heads and closed their mouths. Only the clattering sound of the dragon boat piercing the water rang in people's ears.
Zai Chun's face is getting worse and worse. This is a sign of going crazy! At this time, only the emperor's fifth uncle came to smooth things over.
"Ahem...Your Majesty...Although I have not been involved in specific government affairs, I still know a little bit about the situation!"
"The industrial zone in the south of the Yangtze River relied on the convenience of the opening of Shanghai to engage in foreign trade. It built a number of porcelain factories, silk reeling factories, weaving factories and refined tea factories..."
"It is said that they have also instituted something...the rule of determining production based on sales, accepting overseas orders from foreigners, and producing products according to their requirements..."
"For example, the scenery of their country is painted on the porcelain! The silk and satin should have the most gorgeous colors and patterns! Even the grade of tea is produced according to foreign standards..."
"Not to mention, the special zone in Jiangnan has made money in the past five years, which is very good!"
"The officials in Guangzhou are not very familiar with it, but I heard from the court that it has already made a profit. Long live this, don't worry too much!"
Zai Chun couldn't help but give face to his fifth uncle. He sighed, "Uncle Emperor! This is not a matter of money. Is the purpose of setting up a special zone just to make money?"
"Why not make money?"
"Oh... In the end, our Qing Dynasty still has to develop our industry. We have to produce steel and foreign guns and cannons!"
"As long as the Qing Dynasty can produce its own foreign guns, cannons and warships, I would rather the Ministry of Revenue subsidize it! I would rather it lose money every day!"
"We in the Qing Dynasty are backward not because we are poor, but because we have no industry!"
Zai Chunqi's head hurt, and he waved his hand, "Let's go first, let's go first... You all have to think about it carefully on the way back to the capital... When you return to the palace for another court meeting, you have to give me a statement." !”
The impromptu meeting broke up. Weng Tonghe stopped Fu Qing and Fifth Prince Yi Pei on the deck and whispered, "Prince, Third Master... what should we do? As soon as Long Live Master returns to China, he is clamoring for industry, industry!"
"Going back to Beijing with such anger, I'm afraid there will be a conflict! Think of a way to make Long Live Lord calm down!"
"You can't mess around before you are in charge, and you can't mess around when you don't have the power in your hands!"
"We must protect the emperor's rule first!"
