Chapter 2841
Judging from the general trend of historical development, it is impossible to completely prevent the outflow of advanced technology. It is only a matter of time. Sooner or later, the industrial products and production technologies that Haihan is proud of will be introduced to other countries and become the targets of imitation. But as long as Haihan can take the lead in completing the industrialization process and entering the era of industrial civilization, it will have a large enough advantage to widen the gap with latecomers, and set up barriers in the development process of some key technologies to delay contemporary competitors. catching speed.
In the original history, the Manchu Qing Dynasty implemented a policy of seclusion for a long period of time and refused to accept the development achievements of industrial civilization. As a result, it later turned from a kingdom of heaven into a backward and beaten empire. But the situation in this time and space is very different. What the Manchu and Qing Dynasties are facing is the Haihan Kingdom, which has mastered industrial technology and has huge military advantages. They can personally feel the power of Haihan and have stronger motivation to imitate.
Haihan's own development process has undoubtedly made neighboring countries such as the Ming Dynasty and the Manchu Qing Dynasty realize what is the correct way to strengthen a country. Although those advanced industrial technologies are difficult to copy in a short period of time, which industries should be paid attention to and resources should be invested in priority development. With a successful model like Haihan, it is not difficult to imitate.
The development route of the Northern Region has been aimed at industrialization from the beginning. Almost all proactive military operations are essentially to capture more mineral deposits and population resources, both of which are necessary conditions for the realization of industrialization.
Even though the Manchus did not understand industrialization at all, according to their understanding, steel production capacity and military strength can be equated, and Haihan's development and utilization of related mineral deposits can be imitated. Even if it can only learn some superficial knowledge from Haihan, it can greatly improve its own industrial level, which is exactly what the executive committee does not want to see.
Since this topic was brought up, Chen Yixin simply explained some of the situations he knew to Bai Kesi.
Compared with Haihan, the development of the coal and iron industry in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties was still at a relatively primitive stage. It basically relied on manual mining and the efficiency was relatively low. However, as Haihan has successively put into operation several mines in Liaodong in recent years, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties also stole some mining, mineral processing, smelting and other technologies, and then immediately used them in the production of their own mines.
"In the past two years, the other side has secretly sent many people over to work as miners." Chen Yixin said this with a smile on his lips: "While working for us, they secretly learned skills. They are really good at calculating. ! ”
Bai Kesi said: "It doesn't matter if you are a miner, but you must pay close attention to technical positions, so as not to be taken advantage of by the other side."
Chen Yixin nodded and said: "Don't worry, they can't learn important techniques easily."
Haihan's ruling area in Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated, with a huge labor gap. For industries such as mining, miners can only be obtained through large-scale open recruitment, during which Manchus will inevitably be mixed in. However, as long as they do not openly cause trouble in the mine, Haihan generally does not conduct identity screening on such people.
As for how much the technologies learned from the Haihan Mine have improved Manchu Qing's mining production capacity, judging from the data Chen Yixin has, there is no need to worry too much. The current steel production capacity in Manchuria is similar to the level in the early days of Haihan's development of Shilu Iron Mine, which is only a few thousand tons a year.
In addition to meeting daily needs, this production capacity is extremely limited in what can really be used for military manufacturing. Forge dozens of heavy cannons, make muskets, and use the rest to build hundreds of pairs of armor. If you add more cold weapons such as swords, guns, swords and halberds, the production capacity will be almost exhausted. If you want to arm a strong army of ten thousand people, it will probably take several years to complete. The iron ore mined in Anshan, Liaoyang, and Benxi in the Northern Region is of considerable scale. In terms of current mining capabilities, the proven reserves are enough to be mined for hundreds of years. As long as the government is willing to invest more resources to increase coal and iron ore production capacity, steel production will rise accordingly, and in a short period of time it will be able to leave Manchu Qing's steel production capacity far behind.
"The opposite side is still relatively backward in workshop-style mining, and it is impossible for them to obtain our country's mining machinery and equipment, so I think that within a foreseeable period of time, their steel production capacity will not be enough to support an independent arms industry."< br>
Chen Yixin's view is still more optimistic. He believes that the technological gap between the two sides is not so easy to close. Even if the Manchus are trying to learn from their masters, as long as they have not crossed the threshold of industrialized production, there will be no real significance. improvement.
The next day, Chen Yixin continued to accompany Bai Kesi to inspect Jinzhou.
The Dongjiang Colonial Area was an area specially planned by Haihan in Jinzhou to settle the soldiers and civilians of Pi Island after he conquered Dongjiang Town. This area is adjacent to Jinzhou Bay and has flat terrain. There were no disputes over land ownership when Haihan took over, so it was perfect for settling this group of immigrants.
It is worth mentioning that the location of the Dongjiang Colonial Area is very close to the Jinzhou Camp, and the cavalry can arrive in an instant.
When Bai Kesi came to Jinzhou last time, it was just a temporary settlement composed of many tents and shacks, and even basic living facilities were relatively lacking. However, when I revisited the place twenty years later, it had a completely different look.
Several villages and towns are scattered in an orderly manner on this plain near the sea. The villages are surrounded by criss-crossing streets and large fields that are neatly divided. If you don’t know the local history, it would be hard to imagine that twenty years ago this place was just a post-war ruin with ten rooms and nine empty rooms.
Civil Affairs Officer Jin Ping introduced to Bai Kesi and others: "Dongjiang District was changed into a county six years ago. It now governs five towns with a population of 31,000. In addition to the farmland you have seen, Dongjiang County's fishery industry It has also developed quite well, with more than 300 large and small fishing boats.”
In fact, in addition to farming and fishing, Dongjiang people also have another career direction, which is to join the army. During the Ming Dynasty, Dongjiang Town was an integrated army and civilians, and almost all the young adults had military experience. After the Northern Region conquered Dongjiang Town, it moved them all to Jinzhou for resettlement, and screened and reorganized its original troops. , but did not deliberately change the tradition of Dongjiang Town, and still allowed the children of Dongjiang to continue to sign up to join the army.
And this tradition has indeed been well preserved. For more than ten years, at least thousands of Dongjiang descendants have served in the Haihan Army, becoming a major source of troops for the Liaodong garrison. Many of them chose to remain in the military after their service terms expired and became professional soldiers.
(End of chapter)