Regarding the development of the postal and express delivery industry, Zuo Menggeng and Lu Jingyuan hit it off.
After Zuo Menggen decided to invest, he sent an official letter to the Ministry of Transport, instructing them to conduct detailed discussions.
Once the postal system is perfected in Xia Kingdom, there will be too many benefits.
It is not only convenient for the people, but also beneficial to the country.
Especially during wartime, the postal system can become a great supplement to military logistics and significantly reduce costs.
He believed that the central government could also see the benefits.
Zuo Mengeng and Wang Siyi continued southward from Dongping Lake and soon arrived in Xuzhou.
This famous city in Huaibei, a battleground for military strategists, has now somewhat recovered its vitality.
Especially with the development of industry, the population began to gather here.
"When I came here last time, this place was still dilapidated. In just a few years, you see, the urban area has expanded more than five times."
Wang Siyi didn't know much about civil affairs, but he could still see the size and atmosphere of the city.
"The better Xuzhou develops, it will be of great benefit to us in controlling the two Huaihe Rivers and entering Huguang in the future."
Originally, Xuzhou was just an important city on the Grand Canal, connecting the south of the Yangtze River and north China. However, after the Xia Kingdom operated here, the rich mineral resources nearby were effectively developed.
In addition to Dongping and Laiyang, Xia State built the third large-scale steel factory in Xuzhou.
Perhaps because it is a rookie, Xuzhou Steel Plant does not have too heavy a production burden. In order to seize the right to speak and the market, it is very powerful in innovation.
"Your Highness, you see, this is our latest achievement. Give us some more time, and we promise to come up with a product that satisfies you."
Mei Quansheng, director of the Xuzhou Iron and Steel Plant, led the factory's capable technical workers to proudly show their results to Zuo Mengeng and Wang Siyi.
It was a steel ingot the size of a stool, square and square, exuding a bluish-white brilliance under the sun, and had a mysterious charm.
"Isn't it just a big iron block? What's so big about it?"
Wang Siyi couldn't understand and felt that Mei Quansheng and others were exaggerating.
Mei Quansheng quits.
"What the princess doesn't know is that this is currently the largest single-piece steel ingot in the world."
Zuo Mengeng also didn’t quite understand.
The size of the steel ingot made it difficult for him to see how powerful it was.
"Tell me carefully."
Mei Quansheng cheered up, knowing that whether Xuzhou Iron and Steel Plant could show its face would depend on this time.
"Your Highness, we all know that during the refining and forming process of steel, the cooling rate will be different due to the different temperatures inside and outside. As a result, the quality of the inside and outside of the steel will be different, which will greatly affect the quality. Especially
In the casting of gun barrels, this uneven phenomenon will reduce the strength of the gun barrels. After several years of painstaking research, our Xuzhou Iron and Steel Plant has finally achieved consistent cooling of the inside and outside of the 75-pound steel ingot.
In other words, if this kind of steel is used to cast a gun barrel, the gun barrel can withstand the power of guncotton propellant."
It is very clear within the entire Xia Kingdom's industrial system that the best use of guncotton is actually not explosives, but propellants.
However, due to the substandard quality of steel and insufficient production, Xia State was unable to use steel on a large scale to manufacture weapons.
The result is that most of the Xia Army's weapons today still use black powder.
Although it is enough to crush many opponents in the world, but since there is something better, who doesn't want to go further?
Solving the problem of steel quality has become the number one issue for all steel people.
No one expected that Xuzhou Iron and Steel Works, as a rising star, would be the first to conquer the problem.
It cannot be said that it has been conquered, it can only be said that great progress has been made.
After all, Xuzhou Iron and Steel Works tried its best to make this kind of steel ingot with the same internal and external quality as large as seventy-five kilograms.
No matter how big it is, it won't work.
As the size of materials increases, the technical difficulties brought about will increase exponentially.
Seventy-five pounds is fine for forging a gun barrel, but it is definitely not enough for forging a gun barrel.
Although research from the Academy of Engineering Sciences has shown that even a gun barrel made by forging can withstand the impact of guncotton propellant, it is definitely not as good as integrated steel.
Because the use of this material is really important.
Think of the support ring of a nuclear reactor in later generations.
Especially in fields such as future steel battleships and extra-large bridge support frames, it has broad application prospects.
From this perspective, the small 75-pound steel ingot in front of us represents the blooming industrial flower of the Chinese nation.
Zuo Mengeng did not expect that he would get a big surprise as soon as he arrived in Xuzhou.
"It is because of the hard work of people like you that our Xia Kingdom can become stronger and stronger. Although no one knows your achievements, you must have a place on the merit monument of the strength of the Chinese nation."
Zuo Menggeng gave generous rewards to Xuzhou Iron and Steel Plant for its achievements.
The Xuzhou Iron and Steel Plant was directly elevated to the direct jurisdiction of the ministry and became a large state-owned steel enterprise.
Zuo Mengeng even renamed the Xuzhou Iron and Steel Plant.
Xuzhou Industrial Group.
The abbreviation is...XCMG.
All those who participated in the research on integrated steel ingots also received generous rewards of honor and material.
Eight of the workers were promoted to master craftsmen, and Mei Quansheng became an academician of the Academy of Engineering.
As soon as this award was released, it caused a sensation all over the country.
As the saying goes, a brave man will emerge under a heavy reward.
Xia Guo's high regard for scientific researchers encouraged those who devoted themselves to boring subjects.
In Xuzhou, there is not only good news, but also bad news.
"What affects Xuzhou most now is this big river. It overflowed once last autumn, but fortunately the local garrison was dispatched to block it. Your Highness, the management of this river cannot be delayed any longer."
Qi Biaojia accompanied Zuo Mengeng while walking on the Yellow River embankment, not in a poetic or picturesque mood at all.
He only felt endless anger towards this big river.
In the good Xuzhou City, you must be careful whenever and wherever the river gets angry, and you must keep an eye open when you sleep.
But controlling the Yellow River is obviously not something Xuzhou can do alone.
Now that Zuo Mengeng was here, Qi Biaojia took the opportunity to make a request.
However, looking at the magnificent river water, Zuo Mengeng was even more embarrassed.
It’s not that he can’t see the harm that the Yellow River has caused to the Huaihe River region. He even bluntly said that from now until hundreds of years from now, most of the problems in the Huaihe River Basin will be caused by the Yellow River.
From his true heart, of course he also hopes to completely eradicate the Yellow River floods.
The current situation can only be fixed with minor improvements, but it cannot be solved once and for all.
Even in later generations, the management of the Yellow River was still very difficult.
Can this mother river of the Chinese nation really not be able to restore its kind side?