1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 185 Cooperation in Production and Sales
"What you see is not magic, but the power of science!"

At this time, what Li Nai could think of was this sentence that Schneider would often hear after coming to Victory Port.Of course, this is not some kind of magic, and Li Nai is not an uneducated villager and foolish woman. Although he can't understand more than half of the explanations given to him by the Haihan people, this does not prevent him from judging the credibility of the Haihan people's statements.He believed that the breathtaking sights he saw when he came to Victory Port were indeed the achievements of the Haihan people relying on "science", and they were tangible things, not mysterious magic.

What is science?Science is the way Haihan people understand things and change the world - this is the explanation given by Tao Donglai, the leader of Haihan.Unfortunately, this method does not seem to be mastered by Ming people.

Although Foshan also has a well-developed iron smelting industry, based on what Li Nai has seen, it is certain that the technical level of the two places is not at the same level. The only thing Foshan can be proud of is that there are more blacksmiths—— The entire population of Shengli Port combined does not have as many blacksmiths as Foshan.But it's useless to have too many people. For example, this kind of mechanism that can reciprocate on its own and is extremely powerful can replace the non-stop labor of at least hundreds of people.Li Nai felt that even if there were 10 blacksmiths in Foshan, they might not be able to manufacture such an exquisitely designed mechanical monster.

Li Nai noticed that the ores transported into the beneficiation workshop were all square trolleys running on two parallel rails.This kind of cart is pulled by oxen, and behind the two oxen there is often a long line of carts full of ore.The trolley after unloading the ore will go around to the parallel track on the other side, and return in the same direction as the empty trolley.

Li Nai pointed to the empty mine cart and asked Schneider, "Can I follow you to have a look?"

Schneider thought to himself that the executive committee hadn't said that the mining was not allowed, so he agreed to his request, so the two followed the ore truck to the east along the railroad tracks.After climbing a 300-meter-long gentle slope, a huge mine pit appeared in front of Li Nai.

The ore veins of Tiandu Iron Mine are very shallow, and open-pit mining can be carried out almost without digging tunnels. In this regard, it is similar to the coal mine in Heitugang.At present, there are more than [-] miners in Tiandu Iron Mine, who can mine about [-] to [-] tons of iron ore every day.

This production efficiency is naturally relatively low, but considering that the mining process is almost entirely by manpower, and the Executive Committee does not have a squeeze-like management method for the miners, it is not too outrageous.Of course, after the coal problem is resolved, this situation will improve. At that time, the executive committee will set up a special mining bureau to manage the mineral development work. The main targets are the Tiandu Iron Mine and the Damao Phosphorus located further inland. manganese ore.

With sufficient coal guarantees, large-scale iron and steel smelting will almost inevitably be launched as an industrial project. At that time, the current ore output will not be able to meet production needs, and more mechanical power will be introduced in production. It will become necessary means.For example, in the current mining, the ore is transported from the bottom of the pit by means of people's backs and shoulders for loading. The transportation efficiency is low, and it also greatly occupies the limited mining manpower.And if a mechanical lifting method is used, the current situation where one-third of the labor force is used for transportation can be changed, and more labor force can be invested in mining work.

Of course, the current pit also has steam-driven machinery—mine pumps driven by two 20-horsepower steam engines in turn.This water pump is used to ensure that the groundwater permeated from the bottom of the mine can be continuously pumped away. Because the steam engines currently used have limited machining accuracy, and the continuous operation time is often only a few hours, so this kind of equipment that needs to work continuously There must be two steam engines to provide power in turn.

When Li Nai heard Schneider explain the executive committee's "ambition" for Tiandu Iron Mine, his face turned pale.Soon the Haihan people will be able to reach the level of [-] catties of iron smelting per day. As long as they continue to expand the production scale and ensure sufficient coal supply, they may be able to produce [-] catties or even hundreds of thousands of catties a day. Only in Shengli Port, the amount of iron produced in the future may be equal to that of the whole of Guangdong.

How much change so much iron can bring to society, even Li Nai, who is a businessman, dare not speak casually.But one thing is very clear. The military force that can be armed with so much pig iron is probably not an opponent that the weak defenders of Qiongzhou Mansion can resist now!
Of course, so far, Li Nai has not felt that the Haihan people have shown any hostility towards Daming. On the contrary, they are very happy to introduce Daming's population as hired workers.Even those Limiao mountain people who could not read a word, the Haihan people were all eclectic and treated them equally.Regarding the local government of Daming, although the Haihan people are not very cooperative, they have not adopted a confrontational attitude. Inspection Wei Ping in the stage of attitude transformation.It can be seen that the Haihan people do not intend to take the route of military confrontation with the Ming government, and their armed forces seem to be more likely to be used for self-protection.

Regardless of whether these speculations are true or not, Li Nai can only use this idea to comfort himself for the time being, not to be too worried that the Haihan people will pose a threat to Daming.

Standing on a high place beside the mine pit, Li Nai could look down on the industrial area that covered the entire river valley from here.On the farthest west bank of the Tiandu River is a stretch of bamboo and wooden houses. It is said that there is a village where laborers live concentratedly, and the Haihan people call it a "residential area".There is a conspicuous dam on the Tiandu River, which is said to have been built by the Haihan people. Li Nai didn’t quite understand the function of that dam, because he really didn’t understand what Schneider meant by “converting water into electricity”.

Next to the dam on the east bank of the Tiandu River is the No. [-] base where the Haihan people live. Looking from a height, the wall around the entire base presents a peculiar polygonal shape, combining dozens of warehouses and several rows of barracks. surrounded by it.The large area along the river to the east and south of Base No. [-] is where the industrial zone is located. In addition to the few places I visited just now, there is also a large area of ​​factories to the south that Schneider called "forbidden areas". The executive committee expressly forbids outsiders from entering the house—the "outsiders" of course include Li Nai.

Although very helpless, after all, an agreement was reached beforehand, and Li Nai could only abide by Schneider's arrangement.However, Schneider still properly disclosed some information to him: Those forbidden areas are basically military industrial units, specializing in the production of guns, gunpowder and other things.

When Schneider said this, Li Nai felt relieved. These things are technical secrets for both the craftsman and the manufacturing unit, and it is normal to keep them secret from outsiders.What's more, the Haihan people want to sell their gunfire to the mainland. If they want to make money from this business for a long time, they must first ensure that the secrets of their production technology are not leaked.Although "Fu Ruifeng" is the business partner of the Haihan people, the Haihan people have no obligation to let Li Nai know the advanced technologies they have mastered.

Although there are still many places that have not been approved by the executive committee, Li Nai believes that it is not difficult to judge the degree of specialization of Haihan people in the field of production just from the places he has seen.In terms of what they can produce, I am afraid that there are very few merchants and craftsmen in the entire Ming Dynasty who can match them.In the face of such a partner, the biggest advantage of "Furuifeng" lies in the distribution channels. The commercial firm can not only organize fleets to travel between Guangzhou and Shengli Port, but also has a wide range of sales channels in Daming. Necessary - the various products they produce are for export, this purpose is very obvious and never concealed.

Li Nai firmly believes that the Haihan people will not be able to catch up with the advantages of their own firm in a short period of time, even if they have "science" in their hands.Because these sales networks and personal connections throughout the southeast and even Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions were gradually established by several generations of shopkeepers of "Furuifeng" for hundreds of years. Many of these intricate interest relationships required a lot of time and effort. It is impossible for the Haihan people who are newcomers to have such an ability.

As long as the Haihan people need the commodity sales market of Daming, and always need to import various raw materials and craftsmen from Daming, they will definitely need a partner like "Furuifeng".The strength demonstrated by the Haihan people made Li Nai feel very relieved, and he could also purchase some industries here in Shengli Port in the future to further stabilize the cooperative relationship between the two parties.

That night, accompanied by Schneider, Li Nai returned to the station in Victory Harbor in an ox cart.Not long after returning to his residence, Schneider came to visit again: "Mr. Li, the Executive Committee has already made a decision about your proposal to open gambling stalls and brothels in Shengli Port. There is good news and bad news. You Which one are you going to listen to first?"

Li Nai was obviously not used to Schneider's way of talking like a joke, so he was taken aback for a moment before responding: "Then... shall we hear the bad news first?"

"The bad news is that before your proposal, the Executive Committee has relevant regulations. There must be no casinos or gambling stalls in the Shengli Harbor area. Any public gambling activities for profit are expressly prohibited!"

"Then what's the good news?" Li Nai didn't feel depressed because of this, but felt faintly that something good was about to happen.

"The good news is that the proposal to open a brothel has been approved by the executive committee..." Schneider said with a smile.

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(End of this chapter)