Go back to the past and be a schoolboy

Chapter 267 Layout of the Future Iron and Steel Industry
"Right now, it seems that there is really no money in the public pocket."

Looking at the newspaper that just published the news, Jiang Jiangzuo's little joy of winning the European War was completely dissipated, and replaced by a backlog of melancholy that could not be dispelled for a long time.

"What's the matter, isn't it obvious that the government has no money? It's nothing more than borrowing some money from Japan today and continuing to sell a mine tomorrow. It's no longer a big news." After brewing two cups of hot tea, Cheng Nuoduan come over.

"No, this time it's not the same as before." Jiang Jiangzuo moved over from the sofa, spread out the newspaper, pointed to the article and said: "On the 6th of this month, the Bank of the Four Kingdoms paid the remaining 450 million yuan in salt tax. To the Beiyang government, to maintain government expenditures..."

"Are they so kind? I remember the last time the Allied Consulates in Tianjin requested that Britain and France jointly manage the German and Austrian concessions in Tianjin. Naturally, such unreasonable demands were strictly rejected by our side. I didn't expect that this time Modified? That's really the sun coming out from the west." Cheng Nuo asked curiously when he heard the back.

Jiang Jiangzuo rattled the newspaper in his hand tremblingly: "Hey, one yard counts for one yard. These two things don't conflict. It's not a war between the North and the South. I'm afraid that the Beiyang government will fall? Where will they go to find this?" A good agent to go?"

Cheng Nuo didn't answer in a hurry. Instead, he took the newspaper and read it for himself. Unexpectedly, he found something: "No, look at this news. If we think about it, it seems to be very helpful for our business development."

Hearing this, Jiang Jiangzuo was immediately full of interest, and quickly moved his head over, the title said.

"Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce accepts Sino-German joint mine economics"

"Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce... Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce." After Jiang Jiangzuo muttered a few words, his eyes lit up instantly: "This is a great thing for us. The Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce happens to be on good terms with us. Mr. Zhang Guogan, if we take the initiative to communicate with him this time, we don’t have to worry so much about the issue of steel raw materials.”

Speaking of which, this Jingxing mine is located at the foot of the Taihang Mountains in the west, where the mineral resources are very rich, such as limestone used for making alkali, calcium carbide and special cement, silica for refractory materials, dolomite for metallurgy, etc. The most important thing is Cheng Nuo is quite fancy about coal resources.

At the same time, during this period, the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway and the Zhengtai Railway were completed and opened to traffic one after another.As the Jinghan and Zhengtai railways were built at different times to Shijiazhuang, and the gauges are also different, Shijiazhuang, as the intersection of the two railways, has become one of the hubs of the modern North China railway network.

It is precisely because of this special transportation location that not only enables the mountainous and inconvenient transportation of coal and iron resources in various parts of Shanxi Province to be transported abroad, but also promotes the development of coal and iron mining industries in Shanxi Province, and also makes the local area an important place for the development of the steel and coal industry in China. A place not to be ignored.

And this so-called Jingxing Minerals was the three major coal production and trading companies jointly with Zhengfeng and Baojin at that time.

Taking out a pencil to circle the word "Jingxing" on it, Cheng Nuo emphasized on it: "From the geographical point of view, it takes about 7 and a half hours to get to Beijing by Jinghan Road train, and 243 kilometers to Taiyuan in the west. It takes about 8 hours by Zhengtai train, and there are roads to Zhaozhou, Luancheng, Ningjin, Longping, Baixiang and other counties in the east.”

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the location of the place was superior. Cheng Nuo simply found a large piece of manuscript paper and drew a map on it. It can not only connect Pingjin and Shanxi, but also reach as far as the Northeast and the Central Plains.”

Looking at the map, Jiang Jiangzuo couldn't help saying: "The barrier land in North China can choke the throats of several provinces!"

"Yes, that's the reason!" After drawing the map, Cheng Nuo threw the pencil in his hand: "Even if there is no railway, the coal from Jingxing Mine can still be transported by carts, water, and even donkey carts. There are thousands of roads. There is always a way to transport this mineral resource out."

After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Jiangzuo said: "Compared with various transportation methods, inland waterway transportation is the cheapest, followed by railway. The other transportation methods are too expensive and can only play an auxiliary role in special circumstances."

"That's right. Although railway freight is not as cheap as river freight, it has the advantages of large volume, high efficiency, fast speed, and is not affected by seasons. The economic benefits are very obvious." At this point, Cheng Nuo changed the subject: "But some We can do without things, but we can’t do without, who knows if there will be problems with the railway one day?”

Jiang Jiangzuo nodded: "That's right, it seems that it is necessary for us to sell this Jingxing mine."

Unexpectedly, here, Cheng Nuo voluntarily rejected the proposal: "How likely do you think we are to be able to give this Jingxing mine to the next? The European war has just ended, and there are more than one people who smell fishy smells." Our family."

Jiang Jiangzuo suddenly realized, and sat back on his seat: "If according to the legal provisions on the surface, the private property of the enemy country must not be confiscated, used, or leased. Since Jingxing Mining is jointly organized by China and Germany, then I believe that after the war The disposal will not be so simple."

"This is the difference between us and the Allied countries of Britain and France." Cheng Nuoyang raised his eyebrows, holding his teacup in both hands to keep warm: "As far as I know, Britain and France directly liquidated and sold the properties of enemy overseas Chinese, while the Beiyang government Their takeover has been very lenient, and now it is more of a collateral for post-war compensation."

Jiang Jiangzuo was thoughtful: "Can I understand it this way? It is precisely because of the differences in the treatment of German property between us and the British and French Allies that their countries are dissatisfied with us."

Cheng Nuo took a sip of tea and said, "Your understanding is absolutely correct. During the war, because our government did not strictly clean up the enemy's property, the Allied countries were deeply dissatisfied with this, even when the European War was about to end. , but also to warn the public that they are not doing their best to help, if we take advantage of this..."

Jiang Jiangzuo instantly understood the meaning of what he said. It was nothing more than pretending to be on the side of the great powers to threaten the Beiyang government and let it "properly" deal with the ownership of Jingxing Minerals.

Afterwards, the two discussed some details in detail, and the greater the possibility of winning Jingxing Minerals, the greater the possibility.

But the plan is just a plan after all. Talking about the variables, Jiang Jiangzuo was worried, and suggested: "If it is really according to what you said, the Jingxing Mine belonging to Shijiazhuang has a superior geographical location, why don't we just establish it locally? Wouldn't it be better for our industrial base?"

In this regard, Cheng Nuo certainly knows that the mass production, distribution and circulation of industries are based on transportation, especially railway transportation, and only railway transportation can make the raw materials and products needed by industries in various places to be distributed in larger quantities and faster. more stable and efficient flow, thereby stimulating the continuous development of the industry.

But the problem is that the railway is also too vulnerable to the turmoil of the current situation, and it is basically no danger to defend in the Central Plains.

"The confrontation between the North and the South has been going on for so long, and you and I should be aware of the negative impact on the railway, and when the war will end, most people can't give a definite date." Cheng Nuo picked up the cup and relaxed. Take a sip slowly: "Even if this confrontation ends, will there be another civil war?"

The impact of the civil war alone is not too bad, but the problem is that later, especially when the Central Plains War came, Jiang Guangtou directly transferred a large number of wagons for military use, let alone commercial and passenger transportation. The names of the goods in it are not in the hands of this kind of initiative.

"That's not okay, that's not right. If I let you see, what should we do, we can't just simply get this Jingxing mine, and we have to say whether we can get it or not." Jiang Jiangzuo said a little anxiously said.

"If you don't drink any more, the tea will be cold in a while." Cheng Nuo pointed to the teacup in front of the other party, and said with a smile, "As the hub of Shanxi coal transportation, we naturally can't see it as simple as that. The location is also favorable, and what we need to do next is to have a local presence.”

Talk about puzzled: "Station? What does this mean?"

Cheng Nuo smiled: "Send some of our personnel to build a storage station locally. Usually, we can purchase and stockpile raw materials locally, and then use railways or waterways to transport resources to our other industrial bases."

After going around for a long time, there was only such a result in the end. Jiang Jiangzuo couldn't help hesitating: "Such a big battle, but the last thing you want is only this little, isn't it a bit too conservative?"

Cheng Nuo put down his cup and said with a wry smile: "Conservative? I don't think it's conservative at all. Take the Hanyeping Company we are more familiar with as an example. During the /French/ war, the price of steel soared, and the amount of production of the company determined the amount of profit, but why did he still lose money?"

Jiang Jiangzuo tentatively replied: "Because they adjusted their business strategy and missed this peak period?"

"No!" Cheng Nuo shook his head again and again: "This is because of social turmoil and constant wars, which made their fuel supply encounter great difficulties. The transportation lines of the three provinces of Hunan and Hubei, but the problem is that this area is the area with the most frequent turmoil."

It is no wonder that our modern iron and steel industry cannot develop. As the industry leader, Hanyeping Company, every turmoil severely damages Hanyeping's fuel transportation, which eventually leads to its cessation of steel smelting activities.

In the past year, the southern army occupied Changsha and prohibited the transportation of coal coke to Hubei. Pingzhu and Pingbao were interrupted due to the destruction of the line and the seizure of vehicles.Later, the South and North armies held each other in Yuezhou, and there were frequent incidents of plundering merchant ships.In desperation, the company transported and purchased Kaiping coal coke. However, due to the lack of vehicles during the troop transport, it could not arrive as scheduled.

Finally, the domestic situation was relatively stable, the European war was over, steel prices plummeted, and this precious development opportunity was completely missed.

If Cheng Nuo only wanted to manage the one-third-acre land of Qiuxin Machine Factory, then Cheng Nuo would not be too worried about whether it was steel or coal. Basically, the local output could meet the needs.

But once Cheng Nuo wanted to leverage the Qiuxin Machinery Factory to move the entire industry forward, the problem of raw materials, the sword of Damocles floating above Cheng Nuo, was an unavoidable thorny problem.

The iron and steel industry is a very large material production department. From the mining of ore to the smelting of pig iron, the pig iron is smelted into steel, and finally the steel is rolled into various types of steel. The production process is quite complicated, and the impact on natural resources Dependency is quite high.

Coal is one of the most important fuels in steel production. Although our coal reserves are abundant, the distribution is extremely uneven. They are mainly located in North China, Northwest and Southwest China, and the coal for ironmaking is also particular. Coking coal is metallurgical Mainly coal or main coking coal.

But it is precisely the coking coal needed for ironmaking. Our reserves are very small, accounting for only about 4% of the total, which prevents many coal resources from being used for steel production. In addition, there is no need to mention the relatively scarce iron ore resources. , All kinds of combinations gave Cheng Nuo a headache.

"It's been a long time since I stayed at Qiuxin Machine Factory last time. According to the data from my survey, for every ton of steel we produce, the average freight volume inside and outside the factory needs to be more than 1 tons, including raw materials, fuels, finished products, and semi-finished products. Transshipment, etc., transportation is also a problem." Cheng Nuo said solemnly.

Jiang Jiangzuo sighed: "Except for the fact that there are still a few rivers available in the south, in the northern regions rich in coal and iron resources, it is almost impossible to find such cheap transportation methods, whether it is artificially building railways, roads or digging canals. It’s not something we can afford.”

Picking up the cup, Cheng Nuo took a sip of tea and said with determination: "Steel production is essentially the aggregation of coal and iron. The most ideal state is naturally that coal and iron gather in one place, and there are convenient water conservancy and transportation resources to transfer products, so If we want to develop steel enterprises, we must follow this direction.”

"Coal and iron gather in one place..." Jiang Jiangzuo frowned and repeated several times, then suddenly thought of something, and hurriedly said: "Although this ideal state is rare in China, it is not without it!"

Cheng Nuo asked in surprise, "Where?"

The corner of Jiang Jiangzuo's mouth turned upwards: "Of course it's the Northeast, where coal and iron resources are abundant."

Originally, Cheng Nuo thought he had overlooked some places, so Jiang Jiangzuo checked and filled in the gaps, but he didn't expect that he was talking about the Northeast. The place is good, is there a place for us to step in?"

Originally, Jiang Jiangzuo regretted it after he finished speaking, but when Cheng Nuo said this, he didn't know how to end it, so he shook his head: "Although there are rich iron deposits along the Yangtze River and convenient transportation, coal resources Poverty, you really can’t have both your cake and your bear’s paw.”

Knowing that the other party also had good intentions, Cheng Nuo suddenly said to himself, "The state of natural resources is by no means the decisive factor affecting the development of our steel industry, and with the development of our industrial industry, its negative impact is bound to be further reduced."

Jiang Jiangzuo asked curiously, "Why do you see that?"

Cheng Nuo laughed and said, "Because it is easier to change the layout of mineral sources than to change the layout of steelmaking and ironmaking. This is why we want to get Jingxing Minerals, and it is also the reason why we develop the shipbuilding industry!"

(End of this chapter)