Qijiang County on January 1, 1941
The weather today is very good and cloudless. Everyone feels that this is a good sign. In the new year, the country will definitely see a turn for the better. As for the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, everyone has no extravagant hopes that it will be like 1940. Just fight the Japanese back and forth and that's it.
A Li-2 transport aircraft belonging to the temporary 68th Division Flying Team was hovering in the sky at low speed. Eight brand-new P-39 fighter jets were escorting next to the transport aircraft. The silver-gray paint was shining in the sun. If it were not on the transport aircraft, The Tasha Airlines logo has not been erased, and you can assume that it is a special plane belonging to the highest authority.
Behind the hanging window of the transport plane, the ambassadors, consuls, and military attachés from various countries stationed in the mountain city were all using telescopes to observe the situation on the ground with great interest. At this moment, the blond and blue-eyed faces showed expressions of astonishment. It was really the people under the plane. The sight was really shocking.
Between the high mountains and ridges of Qijiang County, thousands of thick smoke pillars rose one after another. Some smoke pillars were heavier in color, and some were lighter in color. Not long after, Qijiang County was enveloped in a gray smoke, so huge. The county seat is looming, very unreal.
"Everyone, today, on behalf of the government, I am here to announce to you that the 'Qijiang Steel City' is officially put into operation today. It will be able to produce 200,000 tons of crude steel, 200,000 tons of gray pig iron, and 500,000 tons of high-quality coke every year. .” Minister Chen held the in-cabin broadcast in his hand and announced very proudly that he was really proud that in the past 1940, the country only produced 45,000 tons of pig iron and 1,500 tons of steel. Less than 50,000 tons. With this output, most of it is still low-quality white pig iron. That stuff is too brittle and can only be used to make farm tools, not weapons. Li Yunlong was full of resentment for the border area. It's white pig iron. Once it's exploded, both halves are good. If it's used to make mortar bombs, the probability of exploding the barrel is over 50%.
In the war of resistance, it is important to have the determination and will to resist, but you also need to have weapons to fight. With just a little steel, it is still at the standard of the agricultural era, so it can only maintain the combat of the cold weapon era, and it is difficult to deal with the dynamics of modern war. The amount of tens of thousands of tons of ammunition is really not enough. It all depends on the later generations who smashed the pots and sold the iron during the steel smelting. In fact, this time was similar. In order to resist the invaders, the common people donated all the iron at home. Many people simply Pottery was used.
The person said, can't it be imported? But how to import? Imports need to be transported by road from Southeast Asia. Not to mention the limited transportation volume, the cost is extremely high. It cannot meet the needs of the war at all. It cannot even guarantee the operation of the existing production lines, and even the most basic bullets and rifles cannot be replenished. No, the only thing that can meet the demand is grenades. As for the quality, it is only a little better than "made in the border area".
As the Minister of Military and Political Affairs, General Chen has also exhausted his efforts on this issue, but he is not a god and cannot change steel. There are not many capable people below him. In addition, there are intrigues within the government. But now the government The steel resources at our disposal were less than one-third of those before the war.
But now, Li Yunlong has quietly created such a huge mess. With just one county, even the poorest county, the country's steel output has far exceeded that before the war, and the military has been completely solved in one fell swoop. There is even a surplus of demand for steel, but only crude steel? Don't be ridiculous, even before the war, besides Shenyang, didn't steel from other factories still need to be imported on a large scale?
As for whether the Eighth Route Army will give precious steel to the government? There is no need to worry about this. The Eighth Route Army has no shortage of these. The situation in Jin Province is very stable. Small steelmaking facilities of the Eighth Route Army are also blooming everywhere. The number is estimated to be only a lot more than here in Qijiang. Although the technology is not as mature as here in Qijiang, it is still It's not a big difference. The Eighth Route Army's military production capacity is sufficient.
"Mr. Minister, how many blast furnaces are there here?" the alliance ambassador asked with a displeased look on his face. What a liar! The entire county is almost covered in smoke. You told us that this is just a blast furnace with an annual output of hundreds of thousands of tons. Steel City, bah, still a steel city, a few hundred thousand tons is just a steel factory, okay?
The alliance is cautious about the development of the great eastern country. After all, there are many disputes between the two countries. If nothing else, the prairie between the two countries is an issue that cannot be circumvented. It is important to know that the prairie It is still on the official map of Shancheng Government.
Once the Eastern Powers defeat Japan and rise, the Alliance will then face the challenge from the Eastern Powers. Now in Europe, Hans is unstoppable and has bordered the Alliance. In the foreseeable future, the outbreak of war is inevitable. Once the time comes If the Eastern powers also go north to attack the Alliance, the Alliance may be in doom.
"One thousand steelmaking blast furnaces, one thousand small coking blast furnaces, and five hundred earth-hearth furnaces." Admiral Chen replied with a smile. This output is nothing, the technology is also very backward, the investment is small, and the cycle is short. The technical threshold is low, and it is simply tailor-made for the current big Eastern countries. The highest authorities stayed up all night last night, and this morning they were planning to increase steel production to six million tons in 1941, catching up with Japan in one fell swoop. , and even had a quarrel with the fat man from the Ministry of Finance.
The final result was that the large-scale development plan of 6 million tons of steel was reduced to 600,000 tons. Of course, this was a figure that did not include Qijiang County and Jin Province, but even this goal made the fat man angry and shouting. "The national finances are miserable", "national money is wasted", "the people's wealth and the people's wealth", etc., made all the staff of the headquarters want to take advantage of them.
The life of the people in the highest authority is indeed quite extravagant, but this is also due to the environment. All senior military and political officials at that time were like this. The living standards of the couple in the highest authority are really not ranked high within the government, and they should also be. Within the scope of their legal income, if we really want to take advantage of the people's wealth, Fatty and Uncle Guo are definitely at the forefront.
"Mr. Minister, you are really amazing!" The Alliance Ambassador over there wanted to say something more, but here Ambassador Hans already issued a heartfelt sigh. A country in desperate situation not only did not collapse under the threat of a powerful enemy, It can still develop and progress in great strides and make progress in many aspects. The situation in the Asian battlefield is likely to change, and the empire's diplomatic and military strategies must also be adjusted accordingly.
These Japanese are really disappointing. They invaded an agricultural country and fought for several years. Their attack on the alliance was backhanded. Now even the industrial advantages they are proud of are being snatched away bit by bit. When he came back, the ambassador knew the country's industrial strength very well. Hundreds of thousands of tons of steel were enough to take the country's military industrial strength to a higher level. With the addition of purchased weapons, the mountain city government's army would no longer lack light weapons.
"Mr. Minister, with all due respect, it is very irresponsible for your country to do this. So many factories produce tens of thousands of tons of sewage every day. The Qijiang and Yangtze river systems will be polluted. This harm will last for hundreds of years." Year." Ambassador Bald Eagle said worriedly and righteously, but what he was thinking about was that this would affect the interests of Bald Eagle merchants. Although the coast of the big eastern country has been blocked, Bald Eagle's ships can still go to some small towns in Zhejiang Province. The port earns a lot of profits, and a large part of the goods is steel, but now.
"Industrial sewage not only pollutes water sources and land, but is also toxic to a certain extent and can harm the health of ordinary people. For the safety of our expatriates and staff working abroad, I hope your country can close these primitive small workshops." The Alliance Ambassador was also inspired by the Bald Eagle Ambassador and began to worry about pollution. In case these Easterners are not smart, they should really close this place, especially since this is still an area controlled by the Eighth Route Army.
"Toxic? As far as I know, during the 'Winter War', your country even distributed cans from the Tsarist period to front-line troops. Which ones are not toxic?" Ambassador Hans said mercilessly on the side.
"Rumors, those are rumors. You, you have to be responsible for what you say, otherwise, I will definitely protest, definitely!" the alliance ambassador said angrily. At this time, the tin cans are all soldered, and the storage time is Heavy metals will seriously exceed the standard, and the cans from the Tsarist period can be said to have no taste at all. When eaten in the mouth, it will definitely taste the same.
"It's so strange that Britain still rations biscuits from the Nelson era in the Middle East. The Alliance and Comrade Steel treat soldiers very well." At this time, the ambassador of the Noodle Country said in a sinister way. This scene of billowing smoke is also very common in Europe, and In addition to large factories, there are also many small and heavy-polluting enterprises in many places. As long as the fart pollution does not have a great impact on the city, who is willing to take care of it. As for the colonial areas, it is even more like this, one by one, which Aren't you trying your best to plunder and pollute in the colonies?
"The glory of Britain cannot be discredited!" The Ambassador of Noodle Country wanted to say something more, but the attaché of the British Embassy on the side suddenly took action and punched the opponent in the face.
The war between Britain and Noodles is now in full swing in North Africa. Both sides have been simmering for a long time. The military attaché learned last night that his biological brother was killed in North Africa. The sudden outburst at this moment is also reasonable. After a while, the people from Britain and the Noodle Country started fighting.
"Glory belongs to Hans!" Seeing this scene, Colonel Rudolf shouted and rushed forward. Surprisingly, people from the Alliance Embassy also joined in secretly, but this target became Britons.
Immediately afterwards, diplomats from Bald Eagle, Country F, Ottoman and other countries also joined in. After a while, more than 20 people in the cabin were fighting together.
