Chapter 761: Cash constraints and insufficient funds
After listening to Qian Kang's suggestion, Zhao Xin pondered for a long time. He knew that if he didn't solve the power problem, Beihai Town's industrial development would soon enter a bottleneck period.
It is said that in order to establish a complete industrialization system, the most important thing is to have heavy industry represented by military industry, and heavy industry is extremely dependent on products produced by basic industries. Metallurgy, coal, petroleum, electricity, chemistry, machinery, materials, these seven
All are basic industries, each of which requires huge investment, long construction period, and large energy consumption.
Now after seven or eight years of construction in Beihai Town, the first four categories have reached the scale of village-run enterprises in another time and space, while the last three categories only deal with whether there are.
In addition to the shortage of high-quality technical workers due to the failure of vocational education to keep up, the huge expenditure on equipment procurement also gave Zhao Xin a headache. He could only buy the most urgently needed items first and put off the rest as long as he could.
The energy storage power station solution proposed by Qian Kang seems to be very good, and the investment is low. But what about in the future? As the number of operating equipment increases, the power consumption during the day reaches full load, and some production will have to be adjusted to the night, when the peak power is
The valley difference will become smaller and smaller, and in the end we have to return to the fundamental issue of power plant expansion.
To be honest, Zhao Xin actually really wants to expand the thermal power plant on the east bank of the Xila River. The problem is that building a power plant is too expensive, costing hundreds of millions or billions. The previous installed capacity of only 60 megawatts cost him five
billion, now to expand to 600 megawatts is equivalent to multiple times, almost 11 tons of gold!
By the end of 1793, there were five gold mining areas mined in Beihai Town, with an annual gold output of 5.7 tons. These include Solenki Island, Konomai District in Ezo, Urupu Island in the Kuril Islands, and Minami Kyushu.
Linggao Mining Area, and Huma Mining Area in the north of Heilongjiang City. In addition, a little more than five tons of gold were purchased from various mining areas in Borneo in the past two years, for which Beihai Town paid nearly 3 million Beihai silver dollars.
As for the Coloma mining area on the other side of the ocean, it has not yet been officially mined. Although the first batch of 300 Chinese miners from Borneo has arrived, the main work is to find mineral veins, build roads, and widen the channel of the Round House River.
.When Lu Qi and the others were on their previous expedition, some sections of the river were inaccessible even to rubber boats, so it was difficult to transport mining equipment and food supplies, not to mention gold ore.
The most terrible thing is that the gold in Zhao Xin's hands cannot appear openly in the international gold market in another time and space. It has to be laundered through special channels every time. The other party will deduct 30% of the intermediate fees alone, so the actual expansion of the power plant is
The investment requires approximately sixteen tons of gold.
Zhao Xin does not have sixteen tons of gold. He now has less than five tons in hand, of which he has saved more than half a ton bit by bit through his teeth over the years, mainly to ensure the wages of the time travellers and to recruit new people; in addition,
The four tons were mined in the first half of this year. The reason why the output has increased compared with last year is mainly because this year the Linggao mining area has added mining and excavation equipment and ten ore crushers.
In fact, the Linggai mining area is only the highest grade in Asia, and the largest number of gold mining areas is in Southeast Asia; especially gold mines are everywhere in East Java, Borneo and Papua, and the world's largest "Grasberg Gold Mine" is there.
On the island of Papua.
The problem is that the natural conditions in Southeast Asia are too harsh these days. Most areas are undeveloped virgin forests; cannibals, disease, transportation, and food supply are all difficult to solve problems. If you want to develop the gold mines there,
Sending 500,000 people there is not too much. Therefore, Zhao Xin's task for Wang Yuanfang is mainly to get rid of the sultanates, large and small, and seize the trap first.
Everyone needs money, and they all need gold to buy materials from another time and space to support development. In fact, Zhao Xin can't even get money for energy storage power stations now. The gold he has on hand will soon be used to pay for weapons for military expansion.
Equipment and related transaction details were negotiated by Zhao Xin personally three months ago.
The Northern Navy has been developing for nearly ten years and now has more than 170,000 troops. Among them, the navy has 18,000, the army has 140,000, and the logistics support force has 13,000.
At present, the total strength of the Western Front Corps in charge of Liu Sheng and Fan Tong is 40,000, the Eastern Front Corps in charge of Deng Fei is 25,000, the Shandong Army in charge of Sheng Haizhou is 25,000, the Nanyang Army in charge of Wang Yuanfang is 15,000, Beihai Town
The existing garrison force is 10,000, and the remaining 25,000 are deployed like pepper noodles at key points from Khalkha to Siberia.
Such a small number of troops is definitely not enough to enter and exit the pass. The total strength of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the pass is about 600,000, of which the total strength of Zhili, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong is 180,000, and the total strength of the five Jiangnan provinces
Nearly 150,000. 330,000 are only the number of Green Camp soldiers and Eight Banners soldiers. There are nearly 100,000 local regiments training and armed forces in the entire northern region.
Zhao Xin's plan was to rely on Shandong's population advantage to expand the total strength of the Eastern Front Corps and Shandong Army to 250,000 by the end of March 1795, so as to achieve the strategic goal of seizing the Central Plains and the five Jiangnan provinces in one fell swoop.
Although the Northern Navy's attack on the Qing army was like a strong man beating a child, no matter how hard they bully people, tens of thousands of troops cannot conquer more than 700 counties. You can't defeat them with the front foot, then abandon the city and move on to the next one, right?
After this year's summer offensive, Beihai Town's territory in Shandong has expanded to 43 counties in five prefectures. The corresponding total population exceeds 14 million. 2000 vs. 14 million, and the recruitment ratio is only 1.4%, which means that young people can be picked at will.
In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, Shandong had the worst relationship between man and land in northern China, worse than Henan. With the population explosion during the Qianlong era, the registered population of Shandong Province has now exceeded 26 million, and the reclamation of arable land is
It basically ended during the Kangxi period; after that, all the land that was reclaimed was the size of the riverbanks and mountain cols, which was extremely barren, and there was no harvest in the year of floods and droughts.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Don’t look at Kong Shaoan’s large-scale farmers’ associations across Tengzhou, using cash and bonds to redeem land from landlords and then lease it to landless farmers; in fact, even if Tengzhou is
After overthrowing all the landowners and gentry, and dividing all the good and bad land equally, the per capita cultivated land was just over three acres, and the average monthly grain possession was only 30 kilograms, which could not reach the minimum survival demand line of 36 kilograms.
In order to solve the problem of food shortage in Jiaodong area, Beihai Town has successively transported more than 200,000 tons of food to Dengzhou in the past two years. On the one hand, the military control commissions in various places provide free lunch and dinner to school-age children to encourage them to study; on the other hand, through counties and villages
The third-level peasant association recruited more than 200,000 farmers to carry out public projects, implement relief for work, and build and improve a large number of infrastructure. The seaport alone was newly built and expanded, and others such as widening and dredging of rivers, and strengthening of river dams
, farmland water conservancy, roads, urban drainage and other projects are countless.
It is said that organized workers are a good source of soldiers, and organized farmers are also a good source of soldiers.
However, 200,000 people are easy to recruit, but 200,000 guns are not enough. They have to be bought from the other side, and they cannot be bought along the right side. All types of weapons must be purchased at 1.2 times, and there must be spare ones.
.
Different from the weapons used by the servant army, the regular troops of the North Navy have always been issued semi-automatic and automatic weapons from another time and space. The purpose is to realize the difference in weapons so that fewer people can bully more enemies.
When the committee met to discuss this matter before, someone once asked why it could not be equipped with a "1790-style rifle" instead of having to buy weapons from another time and space?
There was no need for Zhao Xin to personally take action on this matter. Wu Siyu, the head of the Military and Political Department, explained it.
To put it simply, the training and combat rules of flintlock weapons troops are quite different from those of troops using semi-automatic weapons. One regiment cannot use the "three-three system" tactics, while another regiment lines up and shoots. Let's talk about the logistics arsenal.
There are not more than 100,000 flintlock rifles in it, but only more than 20,000 rifles in total.
Later, someone suggested a "breech-loaded mercury-loaded percussion gun". Zhao Liang, the head of the military industry, refuted it with the history of the development of firearms in another time and space. That is completely heresy, don't insult me.
Qian Kang and Zhao Xin talked for more than an hour. After talking about the expansion issue, they also talked about equipment procurement. Zhao Xin listened patiently and carefully, and was already dizzy. He put out the unburned cigarette butt in his hand and said
: "Old Qian, I will add it all up and give you an answer in a week."
"Okay, I'll wait for your news."
Qian Kang knew that Zhao Xin was in trouble, but the expansion of the army had nothing to do with him. He did not come to lead troops in the 18th century! As the person in charge of the power outlet, it would be his dereliction of duty if the power supply could not keep up, so he must prepare for a rainy day.
.In another time and space, if the power in an area is insufficient, it can be adjusted through the power grid. But in this time and space, where can he go to adjust it? He can only solve it himself.
At present, the electricity consumption in the entire Beihai Town is supported by two small thermal power plants and more than a dozen diesel generator sets. The electricity consumption in oil fields and gold mines is completely dependent on diesel generator sets. The key is that they are not cheap.
A 1800KW unit costs several million.
Zhao Xin got up and took Qian Kang to the door of the hospital. When he came back, he was about to open the door and enter the house. A puff of smoke hit his face, making him cough. The smoke he and Qian Kang were smoking in the house was so foul that they had been there before.
I didn't feel it if I stayed in there, but now I get choked up when I go back in again.
Zhao Xin simply asked the guard to open the door to disperse the smell, and walked back and forth in the yard. As he walked, he stopped in front of the tree pond at the southwest corner of the yard wall, folded his arms, and looked at the tree in front of him.
A few bamboos with withered and yellow leaves started to freeze.
Chai Rugui, the head of the guard, saw that he sometimes frowned, sometimes narrowed his eyes, and sometimes sighed. He knew that this man must have encountered something difficult and was thinking of a solution, so he made a hissing gesture to the surrounding guards.
At this time, there were no other sounds except the wind and the chirping of birds and the rustling of bamboo leaves. I don’t know how long it took, but Chai Rugui’s ears moved and he suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the yard, and they were getting closer and closer. After a while,
A "salute" command sounded, and then the heavy courtyard door was pushed open from the outside. Ding Guofeng, wearing a dark green military coat, walked in, followed by a guard, carrying a bag in his hand.
"Salute!" The guards in the yard gave a military salute in unison.
Ding Guofeng smiled and raised his hand to return the salute. At this time, he had noticed Zhao Xin who was standing still. He took a closer look and couldn't help but laugh, so he joked: "Hey~~ you are trying to learn from Wang Yangming's style of bamboo! What's going on?
, have you started to pursue the spiritual world? This is not good, you have to wait for the brothers and make progress together. What is the saying? It is really good if everyone is good."
Zhao Xin said dumbfounded: "We haven't seen each other for a few days, but you are such a talkative person. Do you have anything to do with me?"
"Why don't you come and see me if you have nothing to do?" Ding Guofeng pouted at the guard behind him and said, "I just finished prescribing medicine from the hospital and wanted to come over for a walk. Are you in trouble?"
In front of the guards in the yard, Zhao Xin did not answer, but changed the topic and said: "What did Doctor Wu say?"
Ding Guofeng said helplessly: "I still have to eat a few more, and I have to continue doing steaming."
After returning from South Asia, this person's health has not been very good. He can't cheer up every day, has stomachaches from time to time, and is too lazy to move. He didn't even attend the committee meeting. According to Wu Xianhou, a master of traditional Chinese medicine in Beihai Town, he is now
This is because we stayed in India for too long and it was too humid during the rainy season, so exogenous dampness entered the body. As the saying goes, "A thousand colds are easy to get rid of, but a dampness is difficult to get rid of." If the dampness evil is not removed, it will be useless no matter how much supplements you take.
The two of them entered the house, and Zhao Xin was about to ask someone to make tea. Ding Guofeng said no, and slowly took out a thermos cup from his coat pocket, explaining that it contained barley and red bean water made by his wife, and he would drink this now when he had nothing to do.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Ouch~~! Why do I think you have a tendency to develop towards 101? Are you going to have to ride in a car to fall asleep tomorrow? Tsk, tsk, sick.
Tiger, oh, no! It’s the King of Sickness.”
Since the year before last, the nicknames of Liu Sheng, Wang Yuanfang, Deng Fei and Ding Guofeng have changed among the time travellers. They are known as the "Four Kings of the Northern Navy", and each town has its own party. Dare! Zhao Xin will be upgraded.
As the emperor, King Kong should also be promoted to the king of heaven.
"Ahem! Can we still have a pleasant chat?" Zhao Xin's counterattack came suddenly. Ding Guofeng was caught off guard and almost choked without swallowing a mouthful of water.
"Let's have a cigarette. By the way, do you have any chewing gum here? It will be troublesome to smell it when you get home later."
The medicine Wu Xianhou prescribed for Ding Guofeng was to regulate the lungs, so he asked him not to smoke. His wife, Xuewu, who worked as a head nurse at Beihai Town Central Hospital, knew this very well, so she mobilized the whole family from top to bottom, from nannies to guards.
Keep an eye on him, Ding Guofeng is like a man with no love in his life.
Zhao Xin threw the cigarette and lighter in front of the other party, handed over the chewing gum in the drawer, and said with a smile: "You can't smoke at home, so you came here to smoke cigarettes."
"As you say, who among us brothers is following the other!" Ding Guofeng lit up his cigarette, took a few sips with satisfaction, and then asked, "How is the progress of the military expansion?"
"Kong Shao'an and Sheng Haizhou both assured me that there will be no problem with the supply of troops, as long as the support regiment arrives on time."
The so-called "shelf regiment" is a military structure with only officers and no soldiers, including regiment, battalion, company, platoon officers, deputy officers in charge of political propaganda, and communications personnel. According to the principle of "three-three system", a shelf regiment must have
There are 120 people. 200,000 recruits are 80 regiments, so the number of the shelf regiment is 10,000.
Now half of the 80 "shelf regiments" who have been transferred from various military units are in place. They are rushing to various parts of Shandong in batches to form new units, and training will begin immediately.
It is no exaggeration to say that this military expansion task is extremely arduous. It is the first large-scale expansion of the Northern Navy in history. It is already the end of September, and there are still 5 to 6 months before the full start of spring next year. Winter has begun.
At present, the military control committees of various counties in Jiaodong still have to build barracks facilities and training grounds. Kong Shaoan and Sheng Haizhou are now so busy that they can only sleep three or four hours a day.
"Hurry up and take good care of yourself. If Xiao Kong collapses from exhaustion, you have to go to Shandong to help support him for a while." After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment, and then added: "I feel uneasy lately, as if something is going to happen.
"
Ding Guofeng flicked the cigarette ashes and asked curiously: "What happened?"
Zhao Xin shook his head: "I don't know. It would be nice if I knew."
"That's what you were thinking about when you were standing outside in a daze just now?"
"Where is it! It's all about money, money is tight!" Zhao Xin smiled bitterly and briefly explained what Qian Kang was looking for him to do.
Ding Guofeng listened silently, took a cup and took a sip of water, blinked his eyes, and suddenly said: "Boss Zhao, just listen to what I'm saying next. If you don't listen, just take it as a joke."
I fart."
"Yes, if you smoke enough, you will fart quickly." Zhao Xin and Ding Guofeng teased each other for a long time, feeling much more relaxed.
"I think you are a bit left-wing when it comes to material procurement. In the past, when there were few people and a small territory, you used the money you exchanged for antique gold to buy things with Andrew, and there was still a lot left over after the purchase. But now the family is big and has a big business.
, if you use gold to fill Andrew's bottomless pit, the gain will outweigh the loss. Have you ever thought of using other methods?"
Zhao Xin frowned and asked without thinking: "What do you mean?"
"When I went home during the Spring Festival, I had nothing to do with my mobile phone to check the news. I just took the plane to Okinawa. As soon as you, Boss Zhao, took action, I would take whatever I wanted away from you!"
Zhao Xin narrowed his eyes and looked at Ding Guofeng with interest, and asked, "What next?"
"Then just sell it. Isn't a plane worth a ton of gold?" Ding Guofeng said with a smile and started to drink water again.
"Are you related?"
"Don't be ridiculous. If I had that connection, how could I still have nothing to do all day long when I was demobilized and returned home? Okay, it's almost time. It's time to go home and make medicine."
As he spoke, Ding Guofeng fastened the lid of the cup and put a piece of chewing gum into his mouth. Then he stood up and walked to the coat rack to put the cup back into his coat pocket. He picked up the coat and put it on his shoulders. He saw that Zhao Xin was motionless.
He sat behind the desk and looked at himself, shook his head and said: "Don't be fooled, don't be fooled. In fact, we can sell more than just airplanes, right? Don't give it away, I will go on my own."
After this guy finished speaking, he didn't even look at Zhao Xin's reaction. He waved his hands behind his back and pushed the door open. Soon, cheerful whistle music sounded in the yard.