The sun never sets in America

Chapter 294 Industrial Age: National Power and Cameras

A car that had just rolled off the assembly line burst into applause as soon as it came off the assembly line.

This is the latest model locomotive from Han Guo Locomotive Company.

Using the latest steam technology, the fastest speed can reach 80 kilometers per hour.

The average speed can reach seventy kilometers per hour, an increase of twenty kilometers from the original fifty kilometers.

Don't underestimate these twenty kilometers. In this era, it can already be described as "extreme speed".

It can even be called "express train".

On the stage, Chairman Tang was speaking "impassionedly" about the difficulties of "creation".

What follows is a lot of “nonsense.”

The employees in the audience felt drowsy after listening to it, and finally ended the speech with the words "Create great achievements" amidst "warm" applause.

Early the next day, news about the latest model of steam locomotive appeared in major newspapers in Longjiang City. Even on the third day, newspapers throughout Han Dynasty would report this "good news".

On the other side of the Xijing Iron and Steel Company, a "big event" is also happening.

"Crash!!"

When a steel plate came down, everyone applauded loudly.

This is the 30,000 tons of steel produced by their Xijing Iron and Steel Company, which is of great symbolic significance.

Boss Qin Yunzhen stood in front of the speaker, "coughed" a few times, and then said:

"Everyone, today is the seventeenth year since the establishment of Xijing Steel..."

"I share the joys and sorrows with you all..."

Qin Yunzhen said "no money", and when the person underneath was about to fall asleep, he suddenly said loudly:

"I discussed with the board of directors and planned to award shares worth five million yuan to veteran employees who have worked for more than five years."

“Distributed according to grades and years!!”

clap clap clap! !

The applause this time was extremely fierce, after all, who doesn't like "spending money".

After everything was over, Qin Yunzhen told his secretary:

"Find a few reporters. Remember, ask for a big newspaper and write something good."

"By the way, each person will receive four hundred red envelopes, and the money will go to the company's account."

The secretary nodded and asked:

"Just now, Director Zhou from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce invited you to dinner to discuss the country's current steel industry."

When Qin Yunzhen heard this, he immediately stopped, turned around and said:

"Just tell me I'll go, by the way, and get some small gifts, nothing too valuable, just what I feel like."

“It’s not good to be too valuable!!”

Then they talked about what they wanted to buy, and the secretary took a note and wrote it down.

When everything was over, Qin Yunzhen put on his coat and left the factory.

On the other side, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is counting the latest industrial developments.

This year’s production has just started a few months ago, so we can only count the data at the end of last year.

When the compiled data was placed on Zhou Yuanjing's table, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon. At this time, he was busy preparing for today's dinner, or a gathering of domestic industrial leaders.

Zhou Yuanjing looked at the industrial data in his hands with a hint of joy in his eyes. Although the progress was not too great, it was still considered an achievement no matter what.

At present, the national steel production is 50,000 tons, and the pig iron production is 1.92 million tons.

What is the level of this data? Pig iron production is about half that of the UK. The gap in steel production is not big. The reason why the two sides are different is more than 10,000.

This data is actually very impressive. After all, the demand in Han Dynasty is not as huge as that in Britain. Pig iron is actually linked to demand. Britain has a large colonial market. No matter how bad it is, it will rush forward.

Steel production is the real competition between the two sides. At this point, Britain is not as good as Han. Because it is a late-developing country, steel is currently the most important thing of Han compared to pig iron.

Since the successful development of Han's No. 35 Steelmaking, the gap between Han's steelmaking technology and that of European countries has widened.

According to estimates from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, China will overtake the UK by the end of this year and become the world's largest steel producer.

Similarly, in the rubber field that Han is most familiar with, it has also achieved "far ahead".

Throughout the seventeenth year of Longwu, according to statistics from the Han Rubber Association, a total of more than 600,000 tons of rubber were produced.

Based on the current price of rubber in China, which is 160 yuan per metric ton, the price of rubber raw materials is 112 million yuan.

But this is only the price of raw materials. If processing and additional output are included, the annual output value of the entire Han rubber industry should be more than 600 million yuan.

The annual output value of the petroleum industry that has developed in recent years is also around 300 million yuan. (Includes export data)

Another major industry in Han Dynasty, the light industry is even larger in scale. According to statistics, the output value last year exceeded 500 million yuan, making it the second largest industry after the rubber industry.

If we add coal, various minerals and heavy industry output worth hundreds of millions, Han's industrial output will exceed an unprecedented three billion yuan.

This figure exceeds 500 million pounds, and is only a hair away from 550 million pounds.

In the same year, Britain's gross industrial production was just over twice that of Han.

The joke about the difference between Han and Britain was a joke from the beginning, but now it has become a reality.

Zhou Yuanjing looked at the information in his hand, first sighed, then thought about the British information, and sighed in his heart.

Because of the time and space effect, British industry grew more rapidly during this period.

According to statistics, the UK's overseas investment assets alone amount to more than 400 million pounds.

This is almost equivalent to Han's annual gross industrial production. (Only industrial output value is calculated)

If you include the money that flows into London every year, it's even more incredible.

This is also the reason why the Han Dynasty is becoming more and more enthusiastic about "America".

In these days, only by swallowing up the Americas can the Han State be on the same track as Britain in terms of development. Otherwise, it will never be fair, because there is a guy who relies on the vast colonial market to engage in "unfair" competition.

But as Liu Peng said:

"You can fight, but how to end it is a big problem. Ending the war without interference is the real big problem!!"

Yes, this problem is none other than the British Empire. In this era, it is a huge empire that towers over all powerful countries and makes people breathless.

Zhou Yuanjing didn't think about those things, after all, they were "too far away."

After Zhou Yuanjing left, a document related to the "Internal Combustion Engine Report" was blown down from the mezzanine of the desk by a gust of wind outside the window, revealing its "true face."

It says about a start-up company called "Zhunma Technology" that recently developed a trial model, a petroleum-powered machine code-named Iron Armor. This machine is also called an internal combustion engine because of its design structure.

And below this, there is also the research and development product data of a "Tornado" company. The things are similar, but the quality is relatively poor, code-named "Guangfeng No. 1".

"Whoosh", the strong wind blew by, and the documents were swept into the trash can.

.............................................

"Buzz!!"

"Da da da……"

An old iron shell like a water tank is purring.

Around him were several young people, who finally turned off the engine with a "yah" sound.

"Ugh!!"

The sighs passed around several people, and finally turned into one sentence:

"I knew it wouldn't work this way."

Yes, they followed the steam engine method and failed again.

This company was actually established less than two months ago. It was founded as a partnership by several students from the Department of Power at Imperial University. They took the name Solar Dynamics and got started.

Now I find that they are too naive, trying to build the most advanced internal combustion engine with tens of thousands of dollars.

If it were that simple, people like Horse and Tornado wouldn't spend so much money on research and development, and they would just produce products directly.

There are many companies like this throughout the Han Dynasty. They have no capital, no connections, no experience, no factories, no machines, and they are the five-no companies.

But they are the largest providers of science and technology in Han Dynasty.

For example, the most advanced power supply and charging port at present are made by a company called "Cube".

This company is currently listed in Xijing. It makes a lot of money by providing power supply equipment and even charging interfaces for the power supply bureau and telegraph bureau. The founder's family has exceeded 10 million, and it is a role model for many start-up companies. .

In the empty factory building, several young people gathered together and continued to discuss "academics", and finally ended with "no money."

This is the fate of most start-up companies. It is often a group of young people who just get excited and do it without caring about the consequences.

.........

"Stand over there!!"

"Yes, a little to the left."

In an open space, a young man wearing a black hat and overalls was tinkering with a machine covered with gray cloth. The machine was not small, as big as a "small TV" in later generations, and it also had a stand.

Opposite him were a middle-aged man wearing a round-neck official uniform and two children of four or five years old. On the far right was a woman wearing an autumn-colored dress with a bun.

The child looked at the machine opposite and wanted to laugh, but because he had just been "taught", he could only "hold his breath" and stood motionless. And when their family was "settling down", a "cracking" white smoke sounded. If it hadn't been too fast, the two children might have been photographed crying.

While he was crying, the middle-aged man took out a pack of cigarettes and stuffed them into the young man's hands. After a few "pleasers", the young man accepted them with a smile.

"Little brother, how long have you been doing this? How is it? Is the salary okay??"

The middle-aged man surnamed Bai, who has a bit of "official authority", started chatting while smoking.

"Mr. Bai is joking, my line of work is just like that. I won't starve to death, nor will I make a fortune."

The photographer replied with a smile while puffing away at the clouds.

"Oh, you can't say that. There is no distinction between high and low in work. It's all for the empire!!"

Mr. Bai spoke with great style, and the photographer opposite smiled and echoed a few words.

After the chat ended, Mr. Bai asked:

"Little brother, how long will it take for this photo to come out? My family is preparing to use it."

"In a while, it will be my mother's fiftieth birthday. I am busy with official duties and cannot go back. If this person doesn't go back, he must go back, doesn't he?"

Mr. Bai looks like a "filial son".

The photographer thought for a while and finally gave an ambiguous answer of "about eight or nine days."

Mr. Bai was very dissatisfied with this statement. In his opinion, he was so polite that he had to be given "priority".

In the end, the photographer was so "annoyed" that he couldn't help it, so he agreed to get it out within a week, install the wooden frame and bring it to him.

When Mr. Bai was happy, he took a few more packs of cigarettes to the photographer. Before giving them, he said:

"This is a blessing to celebrate the Queen Mother's 60th birthday!!"

"You are so lucky!!"

The photographer was happy in his mouth but disdainful in his heart. He didn't like this "hypocrisy" very much, as if smoking this happy cigarette could "become an immortal".

And when he returned to the photo studio, he was shocked to see that there were people everywhere in this "first sight" photo studio.

But after he finally squeezed in, he was pulled aside by the curator before he could ask.

"Xiao Lu, there are so many people now, so I can only trouble you. I have to work overtime in the past few days."

"In this case, I will give you three times more salary."

"Okay, that's it, let's go and do it!!"

When Photographer Lu wanted to answer, the people had already left. When he looked back and saw those who were still registering, he suddenly wanted to cry.

Not only this store, but also the entire photography market in Han Dynasty has entered a booming market.

The reason is still due to the current advancement of photography technology in Han Dynasty.

The earliest photos, to be honest, it would be nice to have a rough resemblance. However, after several generations of improvements, current cameras can basically produce "black and white" photos stably. This is undoubtedly a huge improvement from an industry perspective. improvement.

What really triggered this hot market was a piece of news, that is, the Han royal family took a "family portrait" a few days ago.

Originally, this was not a big deal, but for those who didn’t take pictures much, or who were “disgusted” by early cameras because they stretched their hips, or even didn’t understand them at all, it was a huge shock.

Even in today's Han Dynasty, taking pictures has become a must-do for every household. It seems that if you don't do it, you will have no soul.

With the advancement of photography technology, the demand for "wedding photos", "personal photos", "family photos", etc. is constantly expanding.

In the words of Hanguo Daily, Hanguo’s photography industry has great potential! !

.........

In the palace, Liu Peng looked at the photo frames hanging on the wall and the black and white photos in the middle. Although he was a little uncomfortable with this "old" photography, in this emerging era, cameras and photography were even more important than trains. Has impact.

After all, it is absolutely incredible for people of this era to have a complete and extremely realistic portrait engraved on a piece of paper.

Liu Peng looked at himself, who was a little "sluggish" because of the black and white, and burst into laughter. Finally, he ordered someone to send this photo to the Queen Mother.

No matter how "pleased" and "novel" the Queen Mother would be.

After the news came out, the entire palace was taking pictures one after another.

It even got to the point where I even wanted to take pictures of a cat, even though that cat was a royal cat.

"Your Highness, this is a photo for you."

A palace maid held several photos and "held them" in front of Liu Yu.

After Liu Yu flipped through a few pictures, he shook his head and his face became increasingly ugly.

He had just turned fourteen when his father asked him to marry him, saying that he could get engaged first and get married when he turned eighteen.

But for him, no matter if he is fourteen or eighteen, if he is asked to choose a princess now, he will not be willing to do so.

But it is hard to disobey the "father's order", so you can only choose one carefully. Count how many days you can deceive until you can no longer deceive.

After looking at it for a few times, Liu Yu threw the photo away and muttered:

"Photos are black, white and black. No one can see clearly, but it's all in vain!!"

The palace maid bent down to pick up the photo and said to Liu Yu:

"Your Highness, these are all girls from noble families with decent family traditions and some reputation in Xijing. Some of them can also calligraphy, so they are quite educated!!"

The palace maid was very envious of these noble ladies. She often wondered if she could also be a "Crown Princess" if she were also a noble lady.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Liu Yu and lowered his head instantly.

But Liu Yu didn't care about a palace maid's "little thoughts", so he just replied disdainfully:

"Your Majesty, huh, they are just a bunch of idlers!!"

Then he stood up and told the palace maid: "I'm going to see my teacher. You go and tell your mother, just say that I don't like it, and tell her not to choose!!"

The palace maid wanted to say something, but Liu Yu had already left the palace gate.

In the queen's bedroom, Queen Mo looked at the palace maid kneeling on the ground, frowned, and shouted in a low voice:

"Get up."

The palace maid said "yes" and then got up.

Queen Mo looked helplessly at the photo in her hand and finally asked:

“Where is the prince??”

"Reporting to the Empress, Your Highness the Prince has left the palace and said he was looking for a teacher."

"Master Cai??"

"kindness!!"

After hearing this answer, Queen Mo "sighed" and then ordered:

"Go and receive the reward. Remember, from now on, if the prince is interested in any girl from a family or has contact with any girl from outside, he must inform me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I know this!"

The maid took several hundred reward dollars and left the queen's palace.

Cai Mansion...

"Master Cai, he is getting older and stronger!!"

Liu Yu and Cai Shi were playing Go. Looking at the appearance on the chessboard, they sighed that they "can't play".

"His Royal Highness, your eyebrows have not shown up recently. I'm afraid you are still worried about the Crown Princess??"

Master Cai calmly asked the key point, "pop", the white chess fell down and got stuck.

Liu Yu looked at the chessboard, undecided, and finally sighed:

"Now that America is not at peace, why should we call it home?"

"Ha ha!!"

"His Royal Highness is really good at joking. What does America have to do with the Crown Princess?"

"I'm afraid I still want to make contributions!!"

Listening to Master Cai's words, Liu Yu blushed as he was "pricked" in his mind.

For him, his father is like a mountain that is "forever" difficult to climb. No matter how hard he tries, he is just an "imitator".

That’s why he was so focused on “making contributions”.

"The prince should decide on the princess first, and then talk about it."

"Master Cai, this..."

It's okay if others don't understand. Master Cai also persuaded him to marry a concubine, but Liu Yu couldn't hold back and was "discourteous".

Master Cai smiled "hehe" and then whispered:

"The so-called starting a family and establishing a career, but if you don't start a family, how can you establish a career, and how can the prince live outside??"

"What does Master Cai mean??"

Seeing Master Cai's smiling face, Liu Yu reacted immediately.

On the chessboard, the black dragon is dead.

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(End of this chapter)