Chapter 731 E-shaped scroll coal-iron complex

"Mr. Zhuang, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Our Great Zhou is a great country. If we are not as good as the Xiyi people in these aspects, and are even surpassed by the Japanese, Koreans, and Annan people around us, then we Where is the face of the Celestial Kingdom? Moreover, these technologies are even used to manufacture the country’s most important weapons. The Xiyi people are far away thousands of miles away. But ten years later, Annan and Dongwu are still harassing our borderlands. If they can use self-generated firecrackers to deal with us, but we can only use ordinary firecrackers, what should we do? Should we let our Zhou soldiers go to death? ?”

  Feng Ziying's tone became a little heavy, "The Japanese, Annan, and Dongwu are all diseases of ringworm and scabies. What if the Jurchens also master these things? What should we do?"

  Zhuang Limin didn't seem to believe it, "Master Feng, this is a bit alarmist. Those savages who can't even make armor want to make firecrackers?"

"Mr. Zhuang, how old are you? Jianzhou Jurchens are not Mongols. They are brutal, but they are also cunning and good at fighting. They are especially good at learning and absorbing. They are not inferior to our Great Zhou. If we don't pay attention to them, then It will only pay a higher price, I don't want to see my father's loyal followers suffer heavy losses under the Jurchens' crossbow,..." Feng Ziying said coldly.

  Zhuang Limin then realized that since the other party's father was appointed Governor of Jiliao, he must have a deep enough understanding of the biggest enemy in Liaodong, so it is naturally impossible to make alarmist remarks.

"Master Feng, I just have some ideas to discuss with you when I come here this time." Of course Zhuang Limin didn't just go there just for the firecrackers, since Feng Ziying mentioned last time that the imperial court hoped to promote the development of the iron smelting industry in the Northland After introducing him to a group of Shanxi merchants, Zhuang Limin understood.

  As the leader of Foshan iron smelting industry and arms manufacturing industry, Zhuang Limin is certainly not a simple businessman.

He got in touch with Xiao Daheng many years ago, but what disappointed him was that the court officials including Xiao Daheng seriously did not pay enough attention to weapons such as firecrackers, and the manufacture and production of cold weapons such as swords were basically ignored. Monopolized by the imperial court's own war bureau, the lack of demand for firecrackers made it difficult for Lao Zhuang Ji to make a major breakthrough in this area.

When Xiao Daheng stepped down and left, Zhuang Limin thought that his business would probably be dead. Without Xiao Daheng's care, it would be difficult for him to even get the follow-up payment for the thousands of firecrackers that had been invested in the production, but Unexpectedly, the Beijing Master and his party gave him an unexpected harvest.

The new governor of Jiliao, Feng Tang, a new dark horse, has sprung up. The key is that Liaodong pays far more attention to firearms than anyone else in the Great Zhou Dynasty. He ordered such a large number of firecrackers from himself in one go. This made Zhuang Limin feel incredible.

   Such a big pillar, Zhuang Limin, of course wanted to hold on to him, so at first he came to deal with Feng and his son as if they were friends with Daheng Xiao.

But after getting in touch with Feng Ziying, Zhuang Limin discovered that his initial judgment had gone wrong. He originally thought that Governor Ji Liao should be the leader, but after getting in touch with him, he realized that the real trader was actually Feng Tang's son—Xiao Xiao. Written by Feng Xiu.

  But to him, it doesn't matter who is in charge, the key is whether he has the ability.

Soon Feng Ziying's foresight, insight and decisiveness impressed Zhuang Limin, and when the bird guns he bought from Japan were sent to Liaodong, he got an invitation to join hands with Shanxi merchants to participate in the Beidi coal project. Iron development consortium project.

Only at this time did he know that the purchase of Japanese guns was an investigation. Only after the successful completion and satisfaction of the Liaodong side could he be able to participate in such a development project that is said to be quite large, although this project is still in a rather loose early stage of preparation. However, with Haitong Yinzhuang, Shanxi Merchants and himself joining in, Zhuang Limin estimated that such a strange mixture would be released soon.

   "Please tell me." Feng Ziying actually had a rough idea of ​​Zhuang Limin's intentions. He came not for the firecrackers, but for the coal-iron complex project.

   This is also a major event that Feng Ziying has been working on.

  Haitong Yinzhuang has capital, Shanxi merchants have strong contacts and basic manpower in the North, and Zhuang Limin has technology, talents and sales. If they join forces, it seems that this should be a very perfect partner.

Of course, Feng Ziying also knows that if such a thing is to be done, it is not possible to just say a few words or write a plan, but also requires complicated and cumbersome preliminary preparations. There are also many problems on the Shanxi merchant side, and Zhuang Limin's side should also be skeptical, and they have to practice and discuss repeatedly.

  He also originally planned to take advantage of the fact that the Hanlin Academy had nothing to do after he got married, so as to sort out this matter.

   Unexpectedly, Zhuang Limin was so eager and came first.

"Mr. Feng, today is your big happy event, so you shouldn't talk too much about it, but you will be very busy in the next few days, so I think it's better to talk about it now." Seeing Feng Ziying nodding, Zhuang Limin didn't agree. You are polite, "What is the progress of the site selection in the Northland that you told me last time? I am very interested. You said that you need to prepare the people and property on our side. I have already prepared them properly, but the Shanxi Merchants seem to be There's not much movement."

Feng Ziying said calmly without much hesitation: "Indeed, their progress is a bit slower, but it is expected that there should be a result after the beginning of the year. The main reason is that there are some disputes over the location. Some people hope to settle in Shanxi. That side is close to their hometown, with stronger connections and sufficient manpower, so it can be built faster, but I don’t agree with it. First, the quality of the ore there is not very good, and it is difficult to transport it in Shanxi, so I suggest that they put it in the north. Right now, they have basically agreed with my opinion, and they are stepping up the selection of a site in Beizhi,..."

If Beidi wants to engage in a coal-iron complex project, it can only be done in Beizhi, and other places are not suitable. To put it bluntly, Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, which is the Tangshan area of ​​later generations, are the most suitable. There is no shortage of coal to make up for the lack of iron. Ore is easy to mine, and it is close to Jiliao, Xuanda, and Jingshi City. It can be said that the origin of raw materials and the consumer market are all occupied, so there is no reason to choose Shanxi.

   As for other reasons are not important.

"Master Feng, using coal to make iron is not fashionable in our south, but there is a lot of coal in the north, so this is not a difficult technique, but it is said that the quality of iron produced by using coal in the north is very poor. I don't know about this, Master Feng. Did you know?"

   What Zhuang Limin is most worried about is that Xiao Feng Xiuzhuan is just slapping his head. He just thinks that this can be done, so he concentrates on doing it. If there is too much interference, then this kind of thing may turn into a mess in the end.

"This is up to Mr. Zhuang and you to discuss in detail, but as far as I know, there is already some experience in the Northland, that is, to roast the charcoal first to improve its quality and turn it into processed charcoal. Some people in the Northland also call it For coke, and coke smelting iron, it is said that the effect is more effective than charcoal,..."

There is indeed a coking operation in the Northland, but Feng Ziying has carefully understood that there is basically no standardized or systematic coking system technology, or some scattered behaviors, and there is no real coal coking as a breakthrough technology. Summarizing and processing, not to mention popularization.

   This is what Feng Ziying regrets the most. Of course, now that he has this opportunity to change all this, coal coking is not a problem, and this technology itself exists, but it needs some technical improvements and optimizations.

"Oh?" Zhuang Limin obviously didn't know much about this, and he was very excited after hearing this. The biggest problem in Beidi's iron smelting is the lack of charcoal, and if Beidi wants to burn charcoal, the cost will increase significantly. As Feng Ziying said, this charcoal can be roasted and converted into "coke", and "coke" can greatly improve the effect of iron smelting, that would be great.

   "I don't know if Mr. Feng's charcoal roasting and refining technology can be used on a large scale?"

   "Of course, but there may be some experiments to explore the quality of coal in various places in order to achieve the best results, but these should be details." Feng Ziying is still very sure about this point.

This local method of coking is indeed not a difficult technology. The main thing is to understand the principle, basically everyone can understand it. The quality of coke is also not consistent, so it has not formed a correct system.

"Well, today is Mrs. Feng's big day, so I won't delay Mrs. Feng. Well, I don't know if Mrs. Feng has considered that once this matter is done, who on your side will be responsible for unifying the parties? ?” This is also what Zhuang Limin is most concerned about.

"Alright, I originally said that I would invite everyone to meet after my marriage. Since Mr. Zhuang is also here, and there are a few from Shanxi Merchants, why don't you guys meet first to get acquainted with me? This person, Bian, had already been in contact with representatives and Shanxi merchants in the early stage,..." Feng Ziying called out: "Baoxiang, go and call Gu Dengfeng, Mr. Gu for me."

  Gu Dengfeng is Feng Ziying's choice to represent herself, and to a certain extent also represents Haitong Yinzhuang.

In the future, Haitong Yinzhuang will play a big role in the entire industrial chain of coal coking, coke iron smelting, and iron products, and the loans issued will also be hundreds of thousands or even millions. At present, Haitong Yinzhuang still has no There are enough talents to supervise such an investment project, so Gu Dengfeng will be responsible to a certain extent.

In the early stage, Gu Dengfeng was there to maintain and deal with the follow-up relationship with some officials in Nanzhili. He only went to Beijing in October, and was sent by Feng Ziying to get acquainted with Haitong Yinzhuang first, and then to discuss with Shanxi merchants. The matter of opening a mine and building a factory in the Northland.

  At first, Feng Ziying also wanted not to participate in such matters, and let Shanxi Merchants, Zhuangji and Haitong Yinzhuang cooperate on their own, but he soon found that his thinking was too simple.

   Didn't come forward, the three parties don't trust each other, and the cooperation between Haitong Yinzhuang and Shanxi Merchants alone has made a lot of mistakes.

Although Shanxi merchants agreed to open accounts in Haitong Yinzhuang, the distrust in their bones is still deep-rooted, and now they have to cooperate to open mines and build factories, which involves not only Shanxi merchants contributing capital, but also borrowing from Yinzhuang in the future, so it is quite complex.

  If it is necessary to bring in Zhuang Ji, who is talented and skilled, it will be even more complicated. Without a strong coordination ability and a down-to-earth role, Feng Ziying herself is not at ease, so Gu Dengfeng is the most suitable candidate.

  (end of this chapter)