Qijiang County on January 1, 1941
After General Chen made up his mind, he took the initiative to speak to Li Yunlong and expressed the hope that the Eighth Route Army would help the government build an industrial system of the same scale as Qijiang County. He stated that the government was willing to invest 10 million silver dollars to build 5,000 industrial systems like Qijiang County. Various workshops, of course, mainly include the prices of small blast furnaces, small open-hearth furnaces, and coking kilns, as well as related technical training costs.
Unexpectedly, Li Yunlong gave General Chen a thick booklet - "Industrial Construction Plan for the Rear Area in 1941". After opening it, General Chen's eyes almost popped out. It turned out that the Eighth Route Army had already Helped the government to formulate a complete industrial construction plan, with Sichuan Province as the center and Guizhou and Yunnan provinces as supplements, a plan to build 100,000 small factories and workshops in the rear area at one time, a scale that is a full 20 times the current scale of Qijiang County times, once this plan is implemented.
The government's steel production alone will reach more than three million tons, including pig iron, crude steel, straight steel bars, and light rail. Except for a very small amount of special steel, the government not only does not need to import steel, but also has a lot of surplus. of steel is used in construction.
Others, such as three acids and two bases, explosives, gunpowder, shale oil, bio-fuel, cloth, hardware, ready-made clothing and many other aspects can meet the demand.
At the same time, this plan can also directly create 1.2 million jobs, support 1.2 million families, indirectly create more than 5 million jobs, benefit tens of millions of people, and completely solve the growing problem in the rear area. population pressure and economic chaos.
Admiral Chen doesn't understand economics. He knows that the current rear area has serious employment and economic problems due to excessive inward migration of people. The government's finances have gone bankrupt and can only be maintained by relying on over-issuance of currency, which can be accompanied by loans from various countries. With the expiration date, the government's financial situation will become increasingly difficult in the next few years. When the national economy will collapse will only depend on the tolerance of the people.
In the most pessimistic times, the highest authorities say that they are waiting for death, either because of defeat or economic collapse. Under the current circumstances, the highest authorities believe that when they commit suicide to thank the people, it must be because of the country's economic collapse. After all, It is different now than after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, because he has no way to retreat and will retreat to the plateau. Then it will be useless to fight back.
Looking at the total price, it is 400 million silver yuan. As long as 500 million silver yuan is paid, the Eighth Route Army will be responsible for building these, then training the workers, and completing trial production. In Li Yunlong's words, this is called a turnkey project.
Is 500 million silver dollars expensive? It is indeed very expensive. The government's fiscal revenue for the whole year of 1940 was only 400 million in silver dollars, and cash was only a part of it. This fiscal revenue did not even account for a quarter of the national fiscal expenditure. The government Its operations are all maintained by borrowing money and over-issuance of currency. In a word, the government has no money at all! Let alone 500 million silver yuan, there is no cash of 50 million silver yuan in the Treasury of the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance even used a lot of gold ingots to pay Wang Yue several times in the past.
But these are 100,000 factories and workshops, 100,000, each with an average of only 5,000 silver dollars. As long as this money is spent, the country has achieved preliminary industrialization. Although the water content of this industrialization is not small, but that The industrial output value of each item is there. As long as it is done, there will be no problem at all in catching up with those second-tier imperialist countries, not to mention those first-tier imperialist countries.
Coupled with the country's strong population advantage, it is enough to make the country a leading power in the world. However, the war of resistance and rejuvenation is no longer a simple slogan. As long as they defeat the Japanese, they will be equivalent to entering the club of great powers. In order to carve up the power to carve up the world, carve up the world, how long has it been since the late Qing Dynasty that Chinese people dare not imagine this word?
Although it was very different from the plan of the highest authority, General Chen understood that this time the highest authority would definitely agree to this plan, even if it was to sell the iron. What kind of small factory was this? This is hope, the hope of defeating the Japanese! This is an opportunity, an opportunity for national rejuvenation!
The highest authorities have no choice and will not make a choice!
"The government can't afford 500 million silver dollars." Admiral Chen said with embarrassment. The price of 500 million silver dollars for a package solution is definitely preferential. With the same industrial scale, if the government does it on its own, it will cost 50 million yuan. It may not be possible to produce 100 million silver dollars. If the foreign devils are allowed to do it, it will probably be doubled, and many things they sell are technology.
Just like nitrated starch, it is very simple and can be prepared in the laboratory. It can be produced in large-scale, low-cost, safe and stable industries. There are many technical routes and involve a lot of patents. You don’t have to pay for it. There is no need to think about the cost of ten times or twenty times.
There are also earth-open furnaces like the Eighth Route Army, which can actually refine a small amount of special steel, and then use a manual extruder to squeeze it into short seamless steel pipes, including 37mm\/40mm\/50mm\/60mm, for There is no problem at all in manufacturing small-caliber mortars, and they are even comparable to imported gun barrels. With this technology, the equipment cost will definitely not exceed one thousand oceans, but if you go out and buy it, you can save one hundred thousand oceans without even thinking about it. , and more importantly, the foreign devils simply don’t have this technology.
"At least 100 million oceans in cash, and the other 400 million oceans will be settled in materials. Considering the government's financial situation, Mr. Wang promises to put at least 100 million first-year silver coins on the market in the next year. Of course, we will not issue first-year silver coins. Collected." Li Yunlong said with a smile. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance will have no problem cobbling together 100 million silver yuan in cash. After all, they don't have to ask for silver yuan, gold ingots, silver ingots, gold bars, and foreign exchange. of.
"The Ministry of Finance will not give money so readily." Admiral Chen was a little helpless. Oceans are not legal tender, so they cannot just turn on the printing press. The little money collected by the Ministry of Finance has to be given to the military leaders below. It has to be given to some senior officials to maintain the operation of some important departments, which is really not enough.
"Sir, this is really non-negotiable. According to the information obtained by the Ministry of Social Affairs, as long as the fat man is captured, 500 million oceans in cash will be fine." Li Yunlong leaned into Admiral Chen's ear and reminded him maliciously.
"Stop dreaming. Director Dai wants to do this more than you do. No way, the guy above can't trust that guy, but he can't trust anyone else even more. He can't be more obedient than Uncle Guo, right?" Admiral Chen curled his lips. There are many things that even the highest The authorities want to do it, but what happens after they do it? There are all these things in the government. If you replace them with one, they may be even more greedy, and those who are not greedy are not good at it. The current economic situation is really not something that a decent man can handle.
In the words of the highest authority, if it had been my uncle, the national army would have been defeated in three months. The reason is very simple - no money!
"Sir, please discuss this with the highest authorities. Just 100 million silver dollars in cash is really nothing. Not all 100,000 factories need to be directly controlled by the government. At worst, they can be sold. I dare not say if there are more. Hundreds of millions of dollars are worth it. Or just casually, right?" Li Yunlong reminded.
To put it bluntly, it is not caused by the government’s messy monopoly orders. All profitable transactions are controlled by the government. It is reluctant to let national capital make money. This is tantamount to tightening the shackles around your own neck and committing suicide slowly. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, you will It is the stubborn stubbornness that will eventually push the entire national bourgeoisie to oppose itself, and it will kill the little experts.
"How long will it take to build it?" Admiral Chen asked. How to sell it and whether it can be sold is a headache for the Ministry of Finance and the government. What he is concerned about is when these factories can be put into production and delivered.
"Construction will begin immediately after the cash of 100 million yuan is received. All factories will be put into operation within one month to half a year and start low-efficiency production." Li Yunlong said confidently. In fact, this speed can be faster. The main limitation Or the employee training cycle.
"So fast!" General Chen exclaimed. Everything was put into operation within half a year. This speed was already incredible. Thinking that he would have the strength to challenge the Japanese in half a year, he couldn't help but feel excited.
Of course, this is just his wishful thinking. The operation of 100,000 factories requires coordination and organization in all aspects. As far as the efficiency of the mountain city government is concerned, even if they are all built, they will not be able to achieve the efficiency of Qijiang County.
"Of course, this requires the government's full assistance. If the government doesn't cooperate, there's nothing we can do. But here's the ugly word, if there is a delay due to reasons on the government's side, we will not refund the money!" Li Yunlong smiled evilly.
"I also want a thousand sets of 'seven-man backs', and you have to help me train a thousand technical personnel. Is there any problem?" Admiral Chen nodded, agreeing with Li Yunlong's words, although it still needs the approval of the highest authority. , but basically there won’t be any problems, it just depends on how the highest authorities deal with the fat man.
"Sir, the grenades here are cheap. You can get as many as you want. The quantities are large and can be customized." Li Yunlong was a little disappointed. The cost of a set of seven-man backpacks is only a few oceans at most. Just find a few craftsmen and throw the work away. Fang Guan can get it started in one day, and it only costs a few dollars for a thousand sets. He is too embarrassed to ask General Chen for it. After all, we are people with hundreds of millions of dollars to spend.
"Transportation to the rear is inconvenient. The cost of transporting a box of grenades to the front line is almost ten times higher, and the losses are still high. Even the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs cannot afford it." General Chen explained sheepishly, but what he said was good. The key is that many times, even if you spend money on things, you can't transport them. Even if you transport them, it doesn't mean you have a chance to use them on the battlefield. In many cases, they may be captured by the Japanese.
