Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry.

Chapter 155 A Complicated Transaction

The border region's reaction was faster than Ren Zhong had imagined.

On the third day, an unexpected person came.

"Brother Ren, this comrade is Staff Officer Ye. He will be responsible for the negotiations with the Seventh Route and a Half. I came to visit you today because I want to communicate with you about the key points of the negotiations." Jiang Chongjing was in high spirits and found Ren Zhong with a familiar person.

Although he was extremely shocked inside, Ren Zhong remained calm on the surface.

"Welcome Comrade Ye to the Liming Research Institute. Please take a seat. I wonder what Comrade Ye would like to know about the transaction with Qiluban?" Ren Zhong invited the two guests to take a seat while pouring tea.

The tea is brick tea, and its main feature is its strong taste.

"I am sorry to bother Mr. Ren by coming here abruptly." Staff Officer Ye smiled without any airs. He simply glanced at the cave where Ren Zhong lived, just like an ordinary person visiting a neighbor. He nodded slightly and sat down on a long bench beside him.

There is no sign of any of the top officials in the border area.

"Mr. Ren, after our discussion, we believe that the deal you proposed is very constructive, but there are a few questions that we are confused about." Staff Officer Ye went straight to the point.

"Can we confirm the matter about Wuyuan Mineral Resources? Especially how can we prove to Qiluban that these iron and copper mines exist?"

Although his expression was gentle, the questions he asked were very pointed.

"I can solve this problem," Ren Zhong said seriously. "In fact, the first stage of our negotiation with Qiluban is to explore and discover the existence of this iron ore for them. As for the copper ore, it is something we need and can be discussed later. We only need to confirm the right of Qiluban to explore, mine and smelt on site, and then allow us to bring the crude copper back to the border area."

"If they can't find the iron ore, there's nothing to lose for Seven and a Half Roads, right? I can't imagine he would refuse."

Staff Officer Ye nodded slightly, obviously agreeing with Ren Zhong's explanation.

"The second question is, if the earthen blast furnace technology you provided is built for the Seventh Route and a Half, will they learn this technology and then build new earthen blast furnaces on their own to significantly expand production?"

Ren Zhong thought about it carefully before answering seriously, "It's possible, but there are several key technologies involved. Even if they disassemble a blast furnace for research, I estimate it will take at least two years to fully understand and successfully copy it. Most importantly, unless they use the same iron ore, the smelting parameters we gave them may not be able to smelt qualified gray cast iron if they use other iron ore."

"Because I will personally research and formulate this formula before I can confirm it. Currently, only I can master this research method."

After hearing what Ren Zhong said, Staff Officer Ye heaved a sigh of relief. Obviously, this was what he was most concerned about. Even if Ren Zhong's answer could not completely dispel his doubts, it at least dispelled most of them.

"The third question is, we need to provide the equipment for bullet processing. Do you think the Seventh Road and a Half has the ability to produce imitations?"

This question was also very crucial, so after asking it, Staff Officer Ye looked at Ren Zhong nervously.

"No, they won't be able to successfully copy our equipment for at least ten years." Ren Zhong said with a smile. "They can't produce the special steel required for these equipment. If they use other steel instead, the life of the equipment will be very short."

Without tool steel, Qiluban can’t even make imitations, and all broken parts must be repaired by Ren Zhong.

"The fourth question is, we want to expand the scale of this deal and get 5000 tons of grain back from Qiluban. How much do we need to pay? How are we going to transport so much grain back?"

Thinking of the powerful organization behind Ren Zhong, Staff Officer Ye really wanted Ren Zhong to bring all the grain back, but it was a pity. "I'm not sure about 5000 tons, I can only say that we should do our best. As for the issue of grain transportation, I think the most appropriate place to deliver the grain is the junction of Wuhai and Yanchi. It is relatively safe here. We can agree on a time. If we transport 500 tons at a time, a few hundred trucks can bring it back." Ren Zhong had no choice. In this era, transportation basically relied on walking, although he had several means of transportation.

But it is useless to develop these means of transportation now. There are not many roads that can accommodate sports cars. The so-called big roads now are those that can accommodate horse-drawn carts or large carts pulled by mules or oxen!
Although he often deceives others by saying that he has a powerful organization, this is pure bragging.

After hearing this, Staff Officer Ye was slightly disappointed.

But he didn't say anything, instead he continued, "One last question, after this autumn harvest, can we harvest 10,000 tons of grain from our newly opened farmland?"

These issues are linked together, and it is obvious that the border areas are extremely concerned about food.

"If there are no major natural disasters, such as droughts or floods, 3 tons of grain will not be a problem." Ren Zhong thought about it and decided to be conservative, even though he believed in his heart that anything less than tons would be a failure.

Staff Officer Ye nodded slightly. Finally, there were no major questions. He began to discuss the details of the negotiation with Ren Zhong.

In principle, this time Staff Officer Ye will lead the delegation to Wuyuan, while Jiang Chongjing, as the deputy head, will make a secret visit in the name of assisting defense and communication. Ren Zhong, as one of the experts, is responsible for leading people to explore iron ore and assist Jiang Chongjing in completing technical exchanges.

Although the journey is long and arduous, it is worth the arduous task to go to Suiyuan. It is impossible for the Seventh Route Army to disband the delegation just for this matter.

The location of the iron mine was naturally found in the main world. Even if the name of the place has changed in the world of Bright Sword, Ren Zhong is not afraid. After the detection of the Heyuan iron mine, Ren Zhong already has a complete set of equipment support for the detection of metal minerals.

As long as you walk around the general area, you will definitely not go wrong.

A day later, the ready delegation of more than 20 people set off on horseback.

Heading north quickly at a speed of 70 to 80 kilometers a day, Ren Zhong did not expect the delegation to be in such a hurry. Apparently, the food shortage in the border area was more serious than he had imagined.

Ren Zhong thought for a while and then understood. Due to his participation, in this time and space, the counterattack did not involve 100 regiments and the losses were not as heavy as in the original time and space. The complete set of ordnance production lines that Ren Zhong provided to the border areas and bases enabled the border areas to absorb more population and expand more troops than before.

Although Ren Zhong did not pay attention to these changes, just looking at the weapons produced by the border area’s ordnance industry with the several-fold increase in manpower, they are enough to arm five regiments!

Although most of these weapons will be sent to northwest Shanxi, the weapons that have been eliminated by the original troops will not be thrown away. Many old weapons such as the old Hanyang-made ones will be brought back for repair and continued use, which is just right for the second-line troops such as the Border Guard Regiment to train.

In this way, the food supply to the border area, including the troops and workers, will increase by at least tens of thousands!

Even if the supply is calculated based on 30 kilograms of grain, there will be more than 40 kilograms of grain extra per month. No wonder Staff Officer Ye wants to exchange it for 5000 tons of grain.

These 6 additional people will consume one pound of food per day, which means they will consume more than 500 million pounds of food in months.

If 5000 tons can be exchanged, the border area will have enough food to get through the current difficult period. Even if less can be exchanged, 2500 tons of food can be exchanged, and the border area will not suffer from hunger for half a year.

First update, please vote!

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(End of this chapter)