Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 499 Zhonghua Automobile Company
United States.

Qiao Zhiyong handed over the Hollywood affairs to Edison, took Yan Weifan and others on the train, and rushed all the way to Detroit, an emerging industrial city in the Midwest.

Detroit is the largest city in Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Founded by French fur traders in 1701, it is an important port city and music capital located in the Midwest of the United States, north of Windsor, Canada, and along the Detroit River.The city is named after the Detroit River connecting Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, which is derived from the French "RiviereduDetroit", which means "river of the strait".

On the way, Qiao Zhiyong calculated that it was already 1902.Detroit, like Pittsburgh, has thousands of workshops.Pittsburgh is a steel workshop, Detroit is an automobile workshop.

In China, the German Karl Benz invented the first three-wheeled vehicle, and later the German Tribe Daimler invented the internal combustion engine and the first four-wheeled vehicle.From then on.The age of the automobile began.Although the United States did not start as early as China's auto industry.However, Detroit has a latecomer advantage here.The internal combustion engine and automobile-related technologies were first invented by the Germans. What American inventors need is to improve and absorb German technologies through research and development.In the United States in 1892, Charles Durier created the first American-made car, which created a sensation.Since then, many technical publications and magazines have often serialized some knowledge about automobile manufacturing.

Of course, although in theory, the core internal combustion engine technology of modern automobiles has been invented, it seems that on the basis of the internal combustion engine, it is enough to install four brothers wheels on the iron box to make it run.However, if they are not proficient in mechanical knowledge, even if ordinary people come up with a full set of technology sent by Germans Karl Benz and Trib Daimler, and teach them hand in hand, they will not be able to tinker with cars.

But there is one person who is special, this person is Henry Ford, and Qiao Zhiyong came here for him.

In the city of Detroit, there are a large number of car enthusiasts who have invested in the ranks of car inventions, and Ford, who is proficient in mechanical manufacturing technology, is such a person.

Henry Ford was a born mechanic, and his childhood toys were all kinds of tools.From the age of 13, he repaired watches and machines. At the age of 17, he worked as an apprentice and mechanic in a machinery factory.At the age of 23, Henry Ford, who was increasingly experienced in manufacturing, began to develop vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.This year, he reached a compromise with his father: his father gave him 40 acres of timber land, on condition that his son give up being a mechanic.Ford agreed, returned to the farm, and built his own log cabin from some of the felled wood, but concealed a mechanical workshop inside.From this period of seclusion, Ford devoted himself to studying mechanical principles while logging, mastered the key to automobile production and assembly, and began to experiment with twin-cylinder engines. At this time, he received a letter of appointment from an electric company with a monthly salary of 45 US dollars, and all the wood was chopped. It was over, and from then on he bid farewell to the farm and became an engineer for the Edison Lighting Company. In 1896 he built his first automobile, which he named "Quadrangle"

He later left the Edison Lighting Company with a number of other inventors, and together they formed the Detroit Motor Company.But the company soon collapsed because Ford was too focused on researching new cars to sell them.He races his car against other companies' cars to prove the quality of his car.His second own company, the main product is his racing car, and even drove the race himself and won the championship.But soon his backers forced him to leave the Henry Ford Company, which has since been renamed Cadillac.

Since then, Ford has been obsessed with racing, and he is eager to make a name for himself by building a car that will allow him to win various championships.Through this way of increasing popularity, attract the attention of investors again and let yourself make a comeback.in Detroit.Ford's bad luck has become famous.So, even if investors knew he was a good car expert, no one would try to invest money in him.

When Qiao Zhiyong came to Detroit, there was a wonderful and intense racing competition being held here.

I saw a red car far ahead in the field, because the speed of this car is several times that of other cars!Even when it was running, the engine of this car kept spraying long tongues of flame towards the back.This orange flame makes this racing car the focus of people's eyes.

Qiao Zhiyong looked at it with interest for a while, then pointed to the red car and asked, "Who made that car?"

The organizer of the race introduced politely: "Mr. Qiao Zhiyong, that car is driven by Ford, a famous driver in Detroit."

"I didn't ask the driver, I asked who the car was designed and built."

"Most of the competitors in the competition built their own cars, and that car was built by Ford himself."

Seeing the red racing car driven by Ford cross the finish line, the audience was full of excitement.

"Good job, Ford."

"Ford is the best racer in America."

"Wrong, Ford makes the best and fastest cars in America."

The excited audience was shouting.

In the distance, Ford, who had just stepped out of the cab, was immediately surrounded by a group of car fans. Qiao Zhiyong said to Yan Weifan, "Let's go and see Ford."

When he got closer, Qiao Zhiyong could see the red car clearly. What attracted the most attention of this car was the huge cylinder.

"Hello, Mr. Ford." Qiao Zhiyong stretched out his hand to the busy Ford, "I learned from Mr. Edison's introduction that you are a car design expert in Detroit. Sure enough, your car won the championship. I want to thank you Congratulations."

"You are?" Ford hesitated.

Yan Weifan took a newspaper, pointed to the photo on it and said, "No, Qiao Group from China, this is our owner, Qiao Zhiyong.

Ford was taken aback: "You are Mr. Qiao Zhiyong?"

"Yes, it's down."

The audience at the scene started to commotion and rushed over one after another, shouting like they saw a big star: "Oh my God! That's Qiao Zhiyong."

"We actually saw Qiao Zhiyong."

Qiao Zhiyong, a great philanthropist, Qiao Zhiyong, a great gold mine owner, and Qiao Zhiyong, a real estate businessman. Today, Qiao Zhiyong has an amazing appeal to Americans. He is simply the savior and God of Wealth of the United States.

However, the bodyguards of the Qiao Group separated the enthusiastic audience from all directions, while Qiao Zhiyong ignored Ford's oil stains, pulled Ford and said, "Go, I am very interested in the car you designed, we are looking for A quiet place to talk about the car in detail."

Ford couldn't believe his eyes. During the past few years in Detroit, no one cared about him. Now that such a prominent investor Qiao Zhiyong came suddenly, he couldn't accept it for a while.

Qiao Zhiyong squeezed Ford's hand and said with a smile, "Mr. Ford, don't you want to make me a Chinese friend?"

"Good! If you want to know about cars, I will tell you everything I know!"

Qiao Zhiyong invited Ford to the hotel.After obtaining Ford's permission, he kindly asked people to invite Ford's wife and children to the hotel. At the same time, he also sent people to pay off some old debts such as rent for Ford.

"Mr. Ford, not long ago, I learned about you through Edison. I sincerely admire inventors like you. It is because of your continuous exploration of technology that the world will change with each passing day. Automobiles are a newly emerging industry. The future of this industry is immeasurable. However, today's automobile technology is particularly rough and crude, and it is not enough to completely replace the status of traditional transportation such as horse-drawn carriages. I think this is only temporary. The future of the United States and the future of the world will be It has been completely changed by these four wheels, a box, and a gasoline engine!" Qiao Zhiyong was expressing his opinions eloquently, and at this moment he appeared to be unusually talkative.

"Yes! I think so too. Although some people think that there will be clean trams to replace horse-drawn carriages in the future, I think the technology of trams is even more immature, especially the problem of batteries that cannot be solved for many years. And Automobile is undoubtedly an ideal choice with low cost and high efficiency, and it is also the most likely means of transportation to replace horse-drawn carriages." Ford's face flushed, and he seemed a little excited.

Qiao Zhiyong nodded, and suddenly said: "Since our views are surprisingly consistent, you have the technology and I have the funds. So, would you like to join the car manufacturing company I founded?"

"Really? If you're willing to invest in the auto industry, I'd like to work for no pay at your new company."

Qiao Zhiyong smiled. He saw the young man's love and dedication to cars, "Mr. Ford, I will not only give you a generous reward, but also hire you as the executive manager and technical director of the new company."

Ford stared at the other party blankly, unable to speak for a while, and his eyes gradually became moist.

A few days later, Huaxia (Detroit) Motor Company, a subsidiary of Joe's Group, was announced to be established. On this day, Ford wore a high-end and neat suit and became the focus of most attention in Detroit!

For the development of the new company, Qiao Zhiyong gave Ford 500 million US dollars in one fell swoop, with this unprecedented abundance of funds.Ford started recruiting.first.Ford hired a large number of carpenters with experience in building freight wagons.Although there are considerable differences between cars and carriages, they also have a lot in common. As the saying goes, there are specialties in the art industry. These carpenters are still very proficient in the structure of the car and the axle device.

Of course, there are still many car manufacturing enthusiasts like Ford in Detroit. They are attracted by the high salary of the new company to join, and Ford's employees have grown rapidly.

With the background of such a powerful enterprise as the Trader Joe's Group, Ford's entrepreneurship began to become handy.Not long after the establishment of Zhonghua Motor Company, engineers began to design drawings and produce experimental models.Since most of these engineers are mechanical generalists with strong hands-on ability, almost two or three people can design a car, and they can turn the drawings into finished cars by themselves.

(End of this chapter)