But no matter what, having hardware conditions is better than having none. As long as there is a suitable design plan and cadres and workers are organized to work hard to tackle the problem, Qingdao Shipyard will be able to produce our own torpedo boats sooner or later. And just when Hu Weidong focused on self-reliance.
While on the road, another piece of great news came from Lanzhou...
"Old Ford visited China?" Hu Weidong said in surprise after receiving the telegram. He had wanted to send an invitation to the industrial giant as early as when he went to the United States for purchasing. However, considering that he did not have such authority and the war was raging in the country,
In the end, I still didn't say anything. I didn't expect that the all-out war of resistance had just been going on for more than a year, and people actually showed up uninvited...
Since China's coastal areas were basically invaded by the Japanese army, Old Ford had to go to Germany first, and then transferred to the Soviet Union to enter the northwest border area. Since he had good relations with both the Nazis and the Soviet Union (there are factors in this regard, but in the final analysis
, or because they were rich...), they were forced to stay for a period of time to receive the warm hospitality when passing through the two countries. As a result, a full three months passed from the time of departure.
It took more than a month to arrive in Lanzhou, the capital of the border region. Fortunately, the daily work of Ford Company had already been handed over to his son. Old Ford was happy to regard this as a rare opportunity to travel around the world. However, he learned that Hu Weidong actually led his army to win the
In Qingdao, the old man still regretted it, "If I had known earlier, I would have left later. Although the sea route is not as fast as the plane, there is no delay. It couldn't have taken so long..."
"Although we have won some battles, I am not sure whether we can hold Qingdao. We lack qualified personnel to meet the requirements of a modern navy. It will take time for the captured warships to operate proficiently, not to mention that even if the training is completed, just with that little
Compared with the powerful Japanese navy, warships are completely unable to fight head-on." Hu Weidong, who flew to Lanzhou after receiving the telegram, shrugged and said truthfully.
"That's true. But with your red party's ability, I believe there will be new miracles." Old Ford smiled.
Hu Weidong was a little surprised by these words. He knew that although Ford was one of the first Western capitalists to do business with the Soviet Union, his political stance was resolute. It was really surprising that he said such words.
After Hu Weidong asked, he found out that Old Ford had arrived in Lanzhou the day before yesterday. On that day, Taizu and Zhou Gong talked with him for several hours. Both parties were very interested. If it weren't for Old Ford's old age, he would not have been able to continue talking all night.
No way...
Obviously, both sides gained a lot from the talks. The Red Party members represented by Taizu discovered for the first time that there are alternative capitalists like Old Ford in the world, which somewhat changed their views on capitalists. During this period, Taizu also said with a smile
"If all the capitalists are like you, how can anyone be willing to join us in the revolution?" Ford also noticed the obvious differences between the Red Party and the Soviet Communist Party, and was keenly aware of the huge business opportunities contained therein.
Of course, the two sides also have differences of opinion. For example, Taizu believed that relying solely on old Ford as a demonstration proved that "capitalists pay high wages to employees - employees' spending power increases - capitalists sell more products - and obtain more profits."
Profit - can issue higher wages" cycle is feasible. But it is not enough
Let all capitalists follow suit. After all, direct and brutal exploitation can make more profits, at least in the short term. Capitalists are always much more short-sighted. On the contrary, the rise of the ** movement made capitalists aware of the working class.
strength, they had to start making some concessions...
But no matter what, when both sides have huge common interests, seeking common ground while reserving differences has always been the tone of the talks, and old Ford, the rich man, did not disappoint the leaders of the Red Party. The main purpose of his coming to Lanzhou was
Utilize the iron ore in Jingtieshan and the coal mine in Shizuishan
, to build a world-class large-scale steel plant in Gansu. Because it uses advanced oxygen top-blown converter steelmaking technology, the molten iron directly enters the converter to make molten steel. Lanzhou Second Steel Plant has therefore realized a one-stop process of ironmaking and steelmaking.
Production. It is precisely because of this that this "Lanzhou No. 1
Although the investment amount of "Second Steel Plant" is slightly smaller than that of the Magnitogorsk Steel Plant built in the Soviet Union's Second Five-Year Plan, its designed production capacity is fully double that, and can produce 300 tons per year after completion.
More than 10,000 tons of crude steel, a figure equivalent to 1937
The steel output in mainland China (not counting the three northeastern provinces occupied by the Japanese army) was more than 30 times that of the previous year, and the construction speed of the plant was much faster than the historical Magnitogorsk Steel Plant. It is expected to only take five years at most.
It can be all completed, but it will take a lot of morning to tap the steel...
In addition, Ford did not forget his old business. However, because the development time of the northwest border area was too short and road construction had just begun, even if a large number of cars were produced, there would be no place to drive them. Therefore, Old Ford had to change the original plan and not
Instead of a car factory, a bicycle factory was built in Lanzhou. Once completed, it can produce more than one million bicycles per year. It won't be long before every family in the vast and sparsely populated northwest region can use them...
Moreover, old Ford has not neglected the urgently needed tractors and agricultural machinery in the northwest border region. Ford will build a large-scale agricultural machinery factory in Urumqi with an annual output of more than 30,000 large tractors and a large number of agricultural machinery, which is suitable for development.
For Xinjiang, which lacks hardware conditions for mechanized agriculture, it is undoubtedly a timely help. What Hu Weidong is more concerned about is that the production line of large tractors can be converted into a tank production line when needed. This has a great impact on the mechanization and modernization of the Chinese army.
of great practical significance.
What's even more rare is that the old Ford adopted a joint venture, with Ford providing the machinery and equipment (the corresponding technologies are basically already available in the border area, but because the industrial base is weak, it is difficult to quickly expand production capacity) and some management and technical talents.
, and the border area government
fu is responsible for providing sites, factories, manpower and all the resources currently capable of providing for joint ventures. Otherwise, even with Ford's financial resources, it may not be able to invest in so many large projects? Unless Old Ford is prepared to shift the focus of the company
Come to China, but this is not the case. During his global travel, the amount of investment in Germany and the Soviet Union was higher than that of the Northwest Frontier...
Now Hu Weidong couldn't help but be a little surprised. Although Ford was powerful, because it was an industrial group, its cash flow had never been sufficient, and the relationship between Ford and the Jewish consortium had never been good. How could he suddenly have so much money?
Have you used it to invest wildly in foreign countries?
?Fortunately, Old Ford had no intention of hiding anything. He took the initiative to tell the truth before Hu Weidong asked. After hearing this, Hu Weidong couldn't help but feel grateful that he had taken the risk of sending Mao Zemin to the helm of Zhongfu International... (Welcome