Film and Television World Life Record

Regarding the electricity issue, Nanyang currently has eleven power plants: three in Nanyang city and eight in the counties below it. Many other counties still do not have electricity.

Li Mu plans to build another batch of thermal power plants. The main task, of course, is to provide power support for the major factories to be built next. With surplus power, it can also supply Nanyang City and the people.

Currently, Nanyang City has three power plants, but none of them have high power output. Due to the outbreak of war, some machinery could not be purchased, so it was impossible to expand or build new power plants.

Currently, less than one-tenth of households in Nanyang City have access to electricity. This is because electricity is too expensive for ordinary families, and there is simply not enough electricity to supply the population.

If there is a surplus after the thermal power plants are built in the future, it can supply a portion of the electricity to the private sector.

Then there was the issue of communication. Li Mu planned to use telegraph and telephone to build a communication network covering Nanyang.

Telephone and telegram services were to be established in every county town, important stronghold, township, factory, and school.

These are not difficult. Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, many coastal areas and large cities had communication networks on a much larger scale than this.

The last issue is the recruitment of soldiers and the development of the militia and reserve forces.

With the territory expanded and money and weapons readily available, a reinforced regiment was clearly insufficient.

Li Mu plans to recruit 20,000 new soldiers and at the same time establish a militia reserve of about 100,000 people.

Nanyang itself had a population of over five million, and with the addition of a large number of people fleeing disasters, the population was even greater.

The recruitment of 20,000 new soldiers and the formation of a 100,000-strong militia reserve will not place a heavy burden on the local area.

With war raging on the front lines and chaos reigning everywhere, the stability and prosperity of Nanyang also require the army to maintain them. This proposal was naturally passed without any surprise.

Next comes the implementation and construction phase.

Chapter 418 University Relocation

Major construction projects and conscription efforts are in full swing in Nanyang.

Here, in front of a newly built school building, Li Mu was shaking hands with a middle-aged man.

"Principal Liu, welcome, welcome to Nanyang."

Principal Liu was deeply moved as he looked at the brand-new school building. He repeatedly said, "Thank you, Commissioner Li. Thank you, Commissioner Li, for taking us in, preparing the school building for us, and allocating funds for us."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Don't be so polite. Universities are the hope for China's future, and college students are the seeds of China's future. At this time of national crisis, how can we stand idly by?"

Principal Liu's eyes reddened with emotion. In such a chaotic situation, relocating the university and finding a good location was incredibly difficult. The conditions in Nanyang were better than they had imagined.

The president in front of us, Mr. Liu, is actually the president of Jiaozuo Institute of Technology. Jiaozuo Institute of Technology may not be well-known, and many people may not have heard of it. However, this university will be renamed China University of Mining and Technology in the future, and it was Jiaozuo Institute of Technology that was the predecessor of China University of Mining and Technology.

The Jiaozuo Railway and Mining School, founded in 1909 by the British Fook Coal Company, was the first higher education institution specializing in mining in Chinese history. At that time, the school was located in Jiaozuo Village near the Zemei Sheng Factory in Xiuwu County, Henan Province, hence the name Jiaozuo Railway and Mining School.

The program lasted four years and trained specialists in mining, metallurgy, and railways. In 1933, the Department of Road and Bridge Engineering and the Department of Hydraulic Engineering were added to the Civil Engineering Department.

However, according to the original history, after the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, Jiaozuo Institute of Technology searched for a place to settle down, first to Xi'an, and finally to Tianshui. All its equipment, instruments, books, specimens, and teaching tools such as machine tools from the training factory, along with its faculty, staff, and students, were moved there.

This time, because Li Mu acted in advance, the other side not only prepared the school buildings in advance, but also offered excellent conditions, thus directly intercepting the deal.

Of course, it's not accurate to call it "hijacking" these universities. Given the current situation in China, many cities don't care much about these universities; some are even worried that their arrival will increase the burden on the local area. In this era of constant conflict, people can't even take care of their own local needs, let alone anything else.

In comparison, it is extremely rare for someone to offer such favorable conditions as Li Mu.

Even after the National Southwest Associated University moved to Kunming, the conditions weren't much better. During the war, funding was extremely tight; they lacked even money to build a single building. In the end, only the classrooms had tin roofs, while the student dormitories had thatched roofs.

Wuhan University also moved to Leshan, which was the most difficult period in the university's history in terms of material living conditions.

With salaries decreasing and prices soaring, even university professors' salaries are not enough to support themselves and their families, while students struggle to even make ends meet, eating "eight-treasure rice" mixed with sand and millet, and wearing tattered clothes covered in patches.

Due to poor living and medical conditions, more than ten teachers lost their lives to poverty and illness, while the number of student deaths exceeded one hundred. The school cemetery had to be expanded repeatedly and was even called the "Eighth Dormitory," as the school only had seven dormitories at the time.

Not only Jiaozuo Institute of Technology within the province, but also universities in Beijing, Tianjin, and most of Hebei province fell to the Japanese. Many universities, due to their large student populations, even had their individual departments split off and relocate separately.

Many universities, due to their close ties with the Beiyang government, were not valued by the Nationalist government and had to contact local authorities on their own.

Through Li Mu's contact and communication over the past few months, the former Peking University, which had long since disappeared from history, as well as the College of Science and the College of Engineering of Beiyang University, were quite tempted by the conditions offered by Li Mu.

We've already sent people over to inspect the site, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the relocation will take place soon.

In addition, there is the National Henan University in this province. During the War of Resistance against Japan, Henan University moved around the province, hiding and running the school everywhere. Although it suffered great losses, it did not move to another province in the end.

Two months ago, Li Mu sent someone to communicate with them. Since they were in the same province and didn't need to move to another province, they took it quite seriously.

After the fall of Nanjing, Henan Province, located in the Central Plains, was in turmoil, and the provincial capital was becoming increasingly dangerous. Although Henan University did not want to move, the situation forced it to do so.

Currently, both sides are still in communication and negotiation regarding how and when the move will take place, and what conditions this side can offer.

Another institution that is still undecided and is currently in urgent communication is National Shandong University. Due to the tense situation and the fact that Shandong is a coastal province, Shandong University's relocation inland is progressing quite quickly.

In November, Shandong University moved from Qingdao to Anqing, Anhui. However, after only one month there, Nanjing University was gone.

If Nanjing could not be defended, Anqing naturally could not be defended either, so they had no choice but to find another place to settle down and continue to move inland.

Historically, they moved to Wanxian, but there were simply no extra resources there. They barely settled in before it was annexed. Only after the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan were they able to reopen the school on its original site in Qingdao.

Shandong University is also facing a dilemma. During this period, they made countless trips to the relevant authorities and coordinated numerous times before finally finding a place in Wanxian County willing to accept them. Although the conditions are somewhat poor, it was ultimately thanks to the efforts of the relevant authorities who helped them find this place.

On the other hand, Nanyang proactively contacted them, offering very attractive terms. Moreover, they knew that as National Shandong University, they would definitely return to Shandong after the victory of the War of Resistance and wouldn't stay in the local area. Yet, they still offered such good conditions, selflessly supporting the university, which is even more commendable.

In fact, this is also why it's not easy for some prestigious universities to find a suitable location. Everyone knows they can't retain them; they'll definitely return after the war. There are no benefits, yet they have to rely on local resources for everything—food, drink, and shelter. How many places have that kind of awareness and resources?

After much consideration, they still preferred Nanyang, but they needed to give a proper explanation to the relevant authorities.

Actually, universities at that time had a lot of autonomy, especially well-known ones. For example, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University decided on their own where to move from Changsha to Kunming, including the specific location.

Once it's decided, we just need to get the relevant departments to coordinate.

It's similar here at Shandong University. If you want to move anywhere, as long as the local area is willing to accept you, there won't be much of a hindrance.

……

The plan for several universities to relocate to Nanyang was quietly launched. After arranging things in Nanyang, Li Mu once again quietly came to Wuhan.

After unloading the other half of the goods from the space, they also put the pig bristles and tung oil they had acquired in the last two months into the space.

After spending two days in Wuhan overseeing the development plan of Muwu Trading Company, the next step is to expand its branches and outlets to the southwest and northwest regions.

Even in the occupied territories, a new business should be established to continue commercial activities. Whether or not it makes money is not important; what matters is knowing the news and developments there.

After arranging this matter, Li Mu boarded a plane to Kunming, and three days later, he arrived in Singapore again.

After delivering the pig bristles and tung oil, he received another three and a half million US dollars.

Li Mu came to Singapore this time to purchase quite a few things, starting with firearms: 20,000 Mauser 98K rifles. Unfortunately, they didn't have that many in stock, only 5,000. The remaining 15,000 would have to be ordered in advance.

The same applies to the Czech light machine guns; there were only 500 in stock here, so Li Mu placed another order for 1,000.

Li Mu took all of the 150 German-made Grw 34 medium mortars from their stockpile, which was about enough.

There were 500 Browning pistols in stock here, and Li Mu bought them all.

As for hand grenades, we won't buy them this time. The manufacturing process for hand grenades is very simple; as long as you have the raw materials, it's easy to make them. Moreover, the cost is cheap; one silver dollar can make two or three hand grenades.

All of these together:

Five thousand Mauser 98K rifles, each with five hundred rounds of ammunition, cost $45 each, totaling $225,000.

Five hundred Czech-made light machine guns, each boat equipped with two thousand rounds of ammunition, at a unit price of two hundred and twenty US dollars, totaling one hundred and one hundred and twenty US dollars.

One hundred and fifty German-made Grw 34 medium mortars, each equipped with three hundred shells, at a unit price of $1,100. The total cost was $165,000.

Five hundred Browning pistols, each with one thousand rounds of ammunition, cost $70 each. The total price for all five hundred is $35,000.

All of these add up to a total of $535,000.

The current price of gold is about $32 per ounce. One ounce of gold is about 31 grams. In terms of conversion, the US dollar is indeed the current dollar, with one dollar being equivalent to one gram of gold.

US$535,000, equivalent to 535 kilograms of gold.

These weapons may not look expensive at first glance, but they are actually quite pricey.

After purchasing these items, Li Mu's next plan was to establish an artillery unit, and he ultimately chose the Bofors M1930 75mm mountain gun. This gun weighed 800 kilograms, had a 20-caliber barrel, and a maximum range of 9.15 kilometers.

The gun is characterized by its ingenious construction and easy disassembly. Many design features take into account practical combat use and ease of movement on poor terrain, features that most mountain guns at the time lacked, making it very suitable for the domestic battlefield.

We happen to have six units in stock in Singapore.

The price wasn't cheap; it cost $12,000 per cannon, which was equivalent to the value of twelve kilograms of gold.

Actually, despite the high price, it's quite cheap compared to the purchase price of Guofu.

The government had also purchased this model of mountain gun, with each one reportedly costing as much as $16,000.

In those days, when the government went abroad to purchase weapons, it was practically like being ripped off; it was common for foreign companies to mark up the price several times over. But, you couldn't refuse to buy them. Light weapons like firearms could be manufactured domestically, but for heavy weapons like artillery, there were very few domestic factories capable of producing them. Even those that could be manufactured had low production volumes, and the quality wasn't necessarily high.

With the fighting already underway, and the other side demanding exorbitant prices, we had no choice but to swallow our pride and accept it.

Actually, this type of artillery wasn't only imported by China; several small European countries also imported it. However, their import prices were much cheaper than those in China.

Chapter 419: Large-scale procurement of supplies

The weapons Li Mu is currently purchasing are all from the international open arms market, similar to the procurement channels used by small European countries. They do not require approval from domestic departments and do not appear to have any connection with the Guo family, thus avoiding giving others any reason to speculate or inflate prices.

Actually, the reason why the weapons purchased by the government were so expensive was not only because others were raising prices, but also because of problems within their own ranks, since taking kickbacks is an old tradition.

Not only weapons, but also cars.

According to Li Mu's understanding, for example, Ford cars now have two prices, one in China and one in overseas markets. They cost $260 a car in overseas markets and over $800 a car in China.

This isn't about foreign companies raising prices arbitrarily; after all, they sell hundreds of thousands a year, so they don't care about a few thousand units in China. Nor is it because the tariffs are too high; during the Republic of China era, the import tariffs on luxury goods like cars were only 20%.