Chapter 447 Changhua Progress
For any sovereign country, it is undoubtedly a hostile act for non-national warships to approach its own coast or even enter its own port. Even if Annan and Haihan have maintained a so-called alliance since the establishment of diplomatic relations, it cannot conceal the reality that there is a huge gap in the surface armed forces of the two sides. The consequences of this imbalance in strength are that Annan must bear the consequences of his country's A condition in which a coastline is permanently under the control of others.
Will the Annan court turn a blind eye to such a situation? The answer is obviously no. Annan had never even admitted defeat when facing the conquest armies of huge empires like the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. He did not hesitate to fight with the strength of the whole country, how could he be willing to bow his head in front of Haihan. The reason for keeping silent about this is just to maintain the cooperative relationship with Haihan and use Haihan's maritime transportation capacity to deal with the southern rebels.
Now Annan not only controls the main ports north of Hengshan in Zhengjiang River but also relies on Haihan for matters such as coastal defense and shipbuilding. Therefore, the Annan court has no control over the passage of Haihan warships on its own coast. There is almost no influence at all. Both parties had a tacit understanding not to bring this issue up for separate discussion before. The main reason was to maintain the not particularly strong cooperative relationship between the two parties.
Zheng Lin gritted his teeth secretly before answering: "Master Yan, have your warships ever encountered any restrictions when entering our ports?"
Yan Chujie slowly shook his head and said: "That's not true. I just don't know if your country will continue this policy. In order for our cooperative relationship to be maintained long-term and stably, we need your court to make a more formal commitment." .”
Zheng Lin took a deep breath, calmed down, and then responded: "This matter will be reported to the court after I return to Annan next time, and I will give you a reply."
Yan Chujie did not intend to push Zheng Lin too hard. He nodded and said: "In this case, I will wait for your country's reply with peace of mind."
The executive committee members raised various questions one by one, and most of them were beyond Zheng Lin's authority as a special envoy and could not be answered in the affirmative. However, for the executive committee members, Zheng Lin's attitude can basically be understood as the attitude of Annan's court. Judging from Zheng Lin's response, Annan does not just want to pay four port concessions and thousands of labor force this time. , what they wanted to exchange for on this condition was also quite valuable, and it was not a deal that Annan took the initiative to rebate as everyone thought at first.
For Zheng Lin, who came to Sanya with high hopes, his special envoy trip was destined to be disappointing. The terms of exchange proposed by Annan have many uncertain factors, and these factors are potential risks for the Executive Committee. For example, the method of determining the number of workers and the method of payment of wages. These seemingly inconspicuous details may become loopholes that delay the implementation of the project. Of course, the most difficult problem to solve is that Haihan's own engineering and technical personnel are far from enough. There is no way to supervise the road construction project in Changshulu and at the same time go to the Annan coast to build a large port area.
On July 12, Zheng Lin left Sanya and returned to Thang Long Province with the "Draft for Cooperative Development of the Southern Seaport in Annan" drafted by the Executive Committee. This draft puts forward some specific requirements for the two parties' cooperation plan to develop the port, especially in terms of the number of workers, jurisdiction, and ownership rights, and lists extremely detailed provisions. In addition, Annan's request for aid in building shipyards and purchasing large ships has also been reduced to a certain extent: in the next year, the order quantity of large-scale sea-going ships of 400 materials has been reduced to ten ships, but as compensation, an additional ten ships can be added. An order for a 200-material sea-going ship was ordered; and the three new shipyards requested by Annan were also reduced to one. However, this shipyard and the original Black Earth Port Shipyard will both have a 400-material sea-going ship. The manufacturing capacity can be regarded as making up for the gap that Annan's domestic shipyards are currently unable to manufacture large sea-going ships.
But even if the Annan court can pass this draft and sign the agreement in the shortest possible time, avoiding an endless tug-of-war with Haihan on detailed negotiations, the earliest implementation time of this agreement will still have to wait until three months later. This is because the Changqulu Traffic Engineering Headquarters needs enough time to formulate a construction plan for the next six months or even one year, and then some manpower can be allocated to Annan to take charge of the work.
Although three months is definitely a long period for the Annan court, for the technical staff of the Haihan Construction Department, these three months mean that they have to work overtime to complete what was originally supposed to be a longer period of time. Work tasks undertaken during the construction period.
The straight-line distance from Changhua Port on the seaside to Shilu's mineral mining area is as long as eighty miles. Fortunately, most of the area along this stretch is plain, so the difficulty of road construction is not particularly great. The plan of the Engineering Command is to build the road in sections. After building one section, they will lay a section of track forward and gradually advance inland. The benefits of this are also obvious. All kinds of engineering materials and construction personnel can be transported to the frontline construction site in the fastest way. After the entire line is completed, the convenience of railway transportation will also improve the construction efficiency of the development of Shilu Iron Mine.
On the same day that Zheng Lin left Sanya and returned to Annan, the steam locomotive carried by the modified "Expedition-class" No. 3 ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy finally arrived safely at Changhua Port after a week of drifting at sea.
The locomotives prepared by the industrial sector for the future Shilu Iron Mine are the modified "Hercules II" which were produced only this year. This new locomotive is the same as the "Hercules I" currently used on the Sanya to Tiandu track. In comparison, without much change in volume and weight, the power output increased by 20%, and the trouble-free operation time was also nearly doubled. Some parts that exposed problems on the "Hercules Type 1" have been technically improved in the new model, and some key pipe valves have even used crossing material reserves. It can be said that this kind of locomotive has represented what the current industrial sector can do. the highest technical level achieved.
While this large iron lump with a total length of more than seven meters was being manufactured in the Tiandu Industrial Zone, the shipyard was already modifying ships to address its transportation issues. At present, none of Haihan's ships can directly carry this heavy behemoth. In the end, the Ministry of Shipping can only report and ask the Military Commission to provide an "exploration-class" warship that has already begun service, and carry out inspections on its hull. The technology was modified to meet the needs of this special mission.
So under the order of the Executive Committee, an "exploration-class" warship with a displacement of 500 tons was towed onto the slipway again and underwent modifications that lasted more than a month. The shipwrights removed the original main deck and the second deck used for the placement of naval guns, and created a huge grooved cargo hold to accommodate the intended large cargo. At the same time, the cargo terminals of Shengli Port and Changhua Port were also renovated accordingly, and two sets of hoisting facilities removed from the "New World" were installed on the terminals.
If it had not been in operation for two years, this kind of project that requires the cooperation of many units would probably have many problems. This time, the executive committee personally coordinated, and all units worked together. After determining the development period of the Shilu project, it took only two months to complete the corresponding work.
After the locomotive was transported to Victory Port, it was towed directly to the dock from a special track using animal power, and then hoisted. This part is probably the most nervous part for everyone. The locomotive head, which weighs several tons, is slowly put into the special cargo hold under the traction of the steel cable. It is not until the cable is released that the hull does not tilt significantly, and everyone can Finally, there was a collective sigh of relief. The carrying capacity of the "exploration-class" warship is not a problem. The original weight of the cannons on the ship has greatly exceeded the weight of this steam locomotive. However, the initial placement of the cannons was a matter of repeated calculations and long-term counterweight balancing tests. , but the big thing of hoisting cannot be adjusted in advance at all, and can only be completed by relying on the experience of technicians. Fortunately, everything went smoothly in the end, and the balance of the ship was not affected after the locomotive was put on board.
However, during the transportation process, there was still no carelessness. Yue Zhiyun personally served as the captain and escorted the ship. Ships have been traveling along offshore routes to avoid the swells of the sea as much as possible. With the performance of the "exploration-class" warship, it could have arrived in Changhua in two or three days, but after loading this big guy, it took a full week of walking on the sea to arrive.
After arriving in Changhua, it took a full two hours to hoist the locomotive from the ship to the shore again. However, the locomotive cannot be put into use immediately after it arrives. In order to prevent accidents, a considerable number of important parts are disassembled in advance before shipping and transported separately, and they all need to be reassembled in Changhua. In addition, the track distance laid in Changhua is also very limited. In just over a month of construction time, only two or three kilometers of roadbed from Changhua Port to the northern part of Changhua County have been completed. Even the railway tracks are still in use. Not completely laid in place.
"Xiao Yue, you have worked hard to transport this big guy here. I asked the canteen to prepare a reception banquet. In the evening, everyone will eat and drink well, and then go back after repairing for a day or two." Liu Shanxia, on behalf of the local engineering headquarters, welcomed the person responsible for this task. The arrival of Yue Zhiyun and others from the Shipping Department for this transportation mission.
Yue Zhiyun smiled bitterly and said: "Then you have to be busy, at least you have to catch the wind for me several times. The first batch of this new locomotive is planned to be built four, all of which will be invested in the Shilu project. It is said that the small locomotive heads used in mines will be gradually phased out and replaced by the Hercules series when the double line is opened in the future. It will be troublesome to transport these big ones across the sea. I will still need them in the future. Busy time.”
"So in the future, the Heitugang Coal Mine will also need to replace this kind of large locomotive?" Tian Yeyou asked hurriedly next to him. After completing the iron ore exploration in Shilu, he went back to Shengli Port to stay for a while, but maybe he was used to staying outside. After returning to Shengli Port, he felt something was wrong. Finally, he took the initiative to file a report and apply to come to Changhua. . Although he has a background in exploration, he was directly involved in many infrastructure projects during his time in Heitu Port. Now he can be regarded as an all-rounder. Although he is far from being as professional as Liu Shanxia, he can do on-site supervision and the like. The work is still no problem.
"They all have to be replaced. The Tiandu Iron Mine has already begun to replace them. It is said that the small locomotives that have been eliminated will be used on the track line between Tiandu and Tielugang. They will be responsible for transporting salt from Tielugang to Tiandu Industrial Zone in the future. Yes." Yue Zhiyun conveyed the latest developments in the base camp to everyone present.
"Has the track line from Tielugang to Tiandu been completed?" someone in the crowd asked. It sounded like someone who had not been back to the base camp for a long time.
"Hey, what a rare visitor! Isn't this Xie Chun?" Yue Zhiyun heard the reputation and went out, and found his old colleague in the crowd: "Why don't you come back to Victory Port to see us when you are so free? Victory Port has changed a lot now. Very good, if you don’t go back and take a look, you may get lost in the future.”
Xie Chun worked in the Shipping Department from the beginning, and the two of them can be regarded as old colleagues. However, when the Black Tu Port was being developed, Xie Chun took the initiative to go to the Black Tu Port and was appointed as the local shipping officer. After Zhou Hengxing was transferred back to Sanya to take over as director of the Port Administration Committee, Xie Chun also served as the local civil affairs chief, which was considered a small promotion. In the past year or so, he has almost been staying in Annan, and indeed he has rarely been back to Sanya.
Xie Chun smiled and said: "I came to Changhua with the same mission as you. I'm afraid I won't have time to go back to Victory Port this time..."
It turned out that Xie Chun came to Changhua on his trip to escort two large ships totaling more than 70 tons of coal, as well as tar, asphalt, etc., which are special products of Heitu Port. Of course, if it were just these goods, there would be no need for him to go out personally. More importantly, there were also a group of naturalized cadres on board who had been recommended by the management committee to study in Sanya for their good performance at Heitu Port. However, Xie Chun still had to go back to look after his family, so these people could only be sent to Changhua, and then take a boat to Sanya from here.
After listening to Xie Chun's story, Yue Zhiyun nodded and said: "That's just right. I'll have a day's rest after unloading the goods here, and I can bring everyone who came from Heitu Port with me. By the way, I heard that you guys will go separately. These people from Black Earth Port all quietly got married there one by one?”
Xie Chun patted Tian Yeyou next to him and said: "It's not this guy who took the lead! Ever since he came back from Guangxi and married a young lady, the minds of the people in Heitugang have become more active. There have been several people this year. I married a girl from Daming. I estimate there will be two or three weddings to be held in the second half of the year, but it’s a pity that we are too far away to send wedding candies to everyone in the base camp.”
"Are you telling me that you are the same?" Tian Yeyou replied, "You have already made three or four trips to Lianzhou in the first half of this year. When will you bring your wife back?"
(End of chapter)