Chapter 185 Cooperation between Production and Sales
"What you see is not magic, but the power of science!"
At this time, all Li Nai could think of was this sentence that Schneider often said after arriving at Victory Port. This was certainly not a magic spell, and Li Nai was not an uneducated village woman. Although he could not understand most of the explanations given to him by the Haihan people, this did not prevent him from judging the credibility of the Haihan people's statements. He believed that the breathtaking sights he saw when he came to Victory Port were indeed the achievements of the Haihan people relying on "science". They were things that were visible and tangible, rather than mysterious magic.
What is science? Science is the way Haihan people understand things and change the world - this is the explanation given by Tao Donglai, the leader of Haihan. Unfortunately, this method does not seem to be mastered by Akito.
Although Foshan also has a very developed iron smelting industry, from what Li Nai has seen, it is certain that the technical level of the two places is not at the same level at all. The only thing Foshan is proud of is probably that there are more blacksmiths—— The entire population of Shengli Port combined is not as large as the number of blacksmiths in Foshan. But just having more people is useless. For example, a machine like this that can reciprocate on its own and is extremely powerful can replace the non-stop work of at least hundreds of people. Li Nai felt that even if there were 100,000 blacksmiths in Foshan, they probably wouldn't be able to build such an exquisitely designed mechanical monster.
Li Nai noticed that the ore transported into the mineral processing workshop was all a square car running on two parallel rails. This kind of cart is pulled by oxen, and behind the two oxen are often a long string of carts filled with ore. The trolley that has unloaded the ore will go around to the parallel track on the other side and return in the direction in which the empty trolley came.
Li Nai pointed to the empty mine cart and asked Schneider: "Can I follow you and have a look?"
Schneider thought that the executive committee had not said that he would not be allowed to see the mining, so he agreed to his request, and the two of them followed the ore truck eastward along the railroad tracks. After climbing a three-hundred-meter-long gentle slope, a huge mine appeared in front of Li Nai.
The ore veins of Tiandu Iron Mine are very shallow, and open-pit mining can be carried out with almost no need to dig tunnels. In this regard, it is similar to the coal mine of Heitu Port. At present, there are more than 400 miners in Tiandu Iron Mine, and they can mine about 60 to 70 tons of iron ore every day.
This production efficiency is naturally relatively low, but considering that the mining process is almost entirely based on manpower, and the executive committee does not use an extractive management method for the miners, it is not too outrageous. Of course, this situation will improve after the coal problem is resolved. At that time, the Executive Committee will establish a special mining bureau to manage mineral development work. The main targets are Tiandu Iron Mine and Damao Phosphorus located farther inland. Manganese ore.
With sufficient coal guaranteed, large-scale steelmaking is almost an inevitable industrial project. By then, the current ore output will not be able to meet production needs, and it will be necessary to introduce more mechanical power into production. means. For example, in current mining, ore is transported from the bottom of the mine to trucks by people carrying it on their backs and shoulders. The transportation efficiency is low and it also takes up a lot of limited mining manpower. If mechanical lifting methods are used, the current situation of one-third of the labor force being used for transportation can be changed, and more labor force can be invested in mining work.
Of course, the current mine also has steam engine-driven machinery and equipment - a mine pump driven in turn by two 20-horsepower steam engines. This water pump is used to ensure that the groundwater seeping out of the bottom of the mine can be continuously pumped away. Because the processing accuracy of the steam engines currently used is limited, the continuous operation time is often only a few hours, so this kind of equipment that needs to work continuously is Two steam engines were necessary to take turns providing power.
When Li Nai listened to Schneider explain the executive committee's "ambition" for the Tiandu Iron Mine, his face turned a little pale. Soon the Haihan people will be able to reach the level of smelting 30,000 jins of iron per day. As long as they continue to expand the scale of production and ensure sufficient coal supply, they will be able to produce 100,000 jins or even hundreds of thousands jins per day in the future - just Just in Shengli Port, the iron production volume in the future may be equal to that of the entire Guangdong.
Even Li Nai, a businessman, did not dare to say anything casually about how much change such a large amount of iron could bring to society. But one thing is a very clear fact. The military power that can be armed with so much pig iron is probably not an opponent that the weak defenders of Qiongzhou Prefecture can resist!
Of course, so far, Li Nai has not felt that the Haihan people have shown any hostility towards the Ming Dynasty. On the contrary, they are happy to introduce the Ming Dynasty's population as employees. Even the illiterate Li-Miao people and the Hai-Han people are all inclusive and treat everyone equally. Regarding the local officials of the Ming Dynasty, although the Haihan people were not too cooperative, they did not adopt a confrontational attitude. Instead, they gradually used a softer method to win over the officials, such as Shuizhai Chief Luo Shengdong, and others who are currently out of Wei Ping inspects the attitude transformation stage. It can be seen that the Haihan people do not intend to pursue a military confrontation with the Ming government, and their armed forces seem to be more likely to be used for self-protection.
Regardless of whether these speculations are true or not, Li Nai can only comfort himself with this thought for the time being. Don't worry too much about the threat the Haihan people will pose to the Ming Dynasty.
Standing on the high ground beside the mine, Li Nai could overlook the industrial area throughout the valley. On the farthest west bank of the Tiandu River are patches of bamboo and wooden houses. It is said that this is a village where workers live together, and the Haihan people call it a "residential area." There is a conspicuous dam on the Tiandu River, which is said to have been built by the Haihan people. Li Nai didn't quite understand the function of that dam, because he really didn't understand what Schneider meant by "converting water energy into electrical energy." Next to the dam on the east bank of the Tiandu River is the No. 2 base where the Haihan people live. Viewed from a high place, the wall outside the entire base presents a peculiar polygonal shape, dividing dozens of warehouses and several neat rows of barracks. Surrounded by it. The large areas along the river to the east and south of Base No. 2 are where the industrial zone is located. In addition to the few places I visited just now, there is also a large area of factories to the south that Schneider calls a "forbidden area". The Executive Committee has explicitly prohibited outsiders from entering - this "outsider", of course, includes Li Nai.
Although he was very helpless, after all, an agreement had been reached beforehand, and Li Nai could only abide by Schneider's arrangement. However, Schneider still disclosed some information to him appropriately: those restricted areas were basically military industrial units, specializing in the production of guns, gunpowder and the like.
When Schneider said this, Li Nai felt relieved. These things were technical secrets for both the craftsmen and the manufacturing units, and it was normal to keep them secret from outsiders. What's more, the Haihan people want to sell arms to the mainland. If they want to make long-term money from this business, they must first ensure that the secrets of their production technology are not leaked. Although "Furuifeng" is the business partner of the Haihan people, the Haihan people have no obligation to let Li Nai know about the advanced technologies they have mastered.
Although there are still many places that have not received permission from the executive committee to visit, Li Nai believes that it is not difficult to judge the level of expertise of the Haihan people in the production field just from the places he has seen. In terms of what they can produce, I am afraid that it is difficult for merchants and craftsmen in the entire Ming Dynasty to compete with them. In the face of such a partner, the biggest advantage of "Furuifeng" lies in its circulation channels. The trading company can not only organize fleets to travel between Guangzhou and Victory Port, but also has a wide range of sales channels in Daming. Needed - all the products they produce are for export. This purpose is very obvious and there is never any concealment.
Li Nai firmly believed that the Haihan people could not catch up with this advantage of his own firm in a short time, even if they had "science" in their hands. Because these sales networks and personal relationships throughout the southeast and even Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas were gradually established by generations of "Furuifeng" shopkeepers over hundreds of years. Many of these intricate interest relationships require a lot of time and effort. It is impossible for the Haihan people who have just arrived to have such ability if they have no energy to carry out maintenance.
As long as the Haihan people need Daming as a commodity sales market and always need to import various raw materials and craftsmen from Daming, they will inevitably need partners like "Fu Ruifeng". The strength shown by the Haihan people made Li Nai feel reassured. He could also purchase some properties in Victory Port in the future to further consolidate the cooperative relationship between the two parties.
That night, Li Nai, accompanied by Schneider, returned to the station in Port Victory in an ox cart. Not long after returning to his residence, Schneider came to visit again: "Mr. Li, regarding your proposal to open gambling stalls and brothels in Shengli Port, the executive committee has now made a decision. There is good news and bad news. You Which one do you want to listen to first? ”
Li Nai was obviously not used to Schneider's tactful way of speaking. He was stunned for a moment before responding: "Then... let's hear the bad news first?"
"The bad news is that before your proposal, the Executive Committee had relevant regulations. There must be no casinos or gambling stalls in the Victory Port area. Any public gambling activities for profit are expressly prohibited!"
"So what's the good news?" Li Nai didn't feel depressed because of this. Instead, he vaguely felt that something good was about to happen.
"The good news is that the proposal to open a brothel has been approved by the executive committee..." Schneider said with a smile.
Today is the last day of October. If you have any unvoted monthly votes in your account, remember to vote!
(End of chapter)