Chapter 313 Customs (IV)
In the third year of Emperor Kunlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, in Springfield in 1732, as the power equipment rumbled, the forging workers wearing earplugs and earmuffs watched the hammers driven by the machines continuously hammering the red-hot metal.
The loud sound of metal colliding echoed in the workshop. In the heat, the workers' faces were sweaty. They wiped the sweat from their foreheads and eyelids with towels tied around their necks and continued to work hard.
After visiting the production, Huo Chong felt that the world was quiet when he walked out of the workshop. However, Huo Chong knew that the actual situation was not the case. This was an illusion caused by the hearing not fully recovered under the stimulation of too loud sound .
If possible, this should be forged with a hydraulic press. However, current technology does not support the manufacture of such equipment. As a second choice, we can only rely on the hammering process to produce denser and more uniform steel. Then such steel is processed into a spindle, and such a spindle is used to manufacture more compact mechanical equipment.
However, this is just wishful thinking. Without more advanced annealing technology, these hammered steels need to be placed for at least a year to use the natural passage of time to eliminate the stress after metal processing.
As for the knowledge Huo Chong refers to. From the aluminum alloy steel frame of a space satellite to a small screw, any workpiece produced will generate stress. How to quickly and environmentally handle the stress of the workpiece is a headache for all companies related to the word "mechanical". All companies related to the word "mechanical" need to face the problem of eliminating the stress of the workpiece.
So Huo Chong went to visit the warehouse where the metal parts were stored and saw a large number of metal parts in the warehouse, and some of them had rust on them. It seemed that they had been stored there for quite some time.
After visiting these, Huo Chong went to the machining department. Although the machining machinery needs to eliminate stress, the main shafts of the hot ball machine and the steam engine are not large in size, so they can be maintained by regularly replacing parts.
The metal processing workshop of the steam turbine production plant was filled with all kinds of industrial noise. Huo Chong walked around for a long time and fully felt the difficult working environment of the workers in this era.
After coming out, the secretary of the Metallurgical Department said to Huo Chong: "Teacher, I heard from Director Zhang that you want us to export steel to Japan?"
"Yes. Trade with Japan can exchange for a large amount of sulfur. Even if we don't mention the manufacture of gunpowder, sulfur is still needed to make tri-acid."
"Oh. If that's the case, I'll transfer a batch over."
Hearing this, Huo Chong felt a little distressed. "We don't need the best ones, just steel bars or iron bars. The Japanese have their own craftsmanship, we just need to sell the goods."
The secretary of the Metallurgical Department nodded. Some things only need to be explained here to science and engineering men. Everyone's understanding is enough to figure out what is going on.
"Teacher, why do some people say that the capital should be moved to Xuzhou?" asked the secretary of the Metallurgical Department.
It seems that even if a man of science and engineering has an understanding of technology, it does not mean that he also has an understanding of politics. Huo Chong just said, "We'll talk about it later," but he did not want to explain.
According to the current situation, temporarily moving the capital to Jiangning is a very good choice. However, such a temporary capital needs to be functional. Jiangning is Nanjing. This place has many advantages, but also too many disadvantages. The biggest problem at the moment is that Jiangning is a standard war zone.
If the temporary capital is placed in Jiangning, it is a choice with political significance above all else. Another purpose is to facilitate management.
From this perspective, the reason for moving the capital to Xuzhou was also to facilitate management. After all, Shandong Linzi was too close to the "border" compared to Xuzhou.
At the subsequent committee meeting, everyone knew that the most important task was spring ploughing. Qian Qing still raised the possibility of a war on behalf of the military.
Huo Chong smiled and said, "If the Qing Dynasty has the ability to cross the Yellow River, then we can fight."
Qian Qing asked half-seriously, "Sir, the Yellow River didn't freeze last year, but what about this year? What about in the future?"
Huo Chong answered confidently: "Global warming means that the entire earth is warming. And warming is a cycle, which can easily last for ten or twenty years. It is definitely not the case that it will warm one year and suddenly become cold the next year. Don't worry."
After saying this, Huo Chong looked at the committee members. They looked at each other, and it seemed that they understood what Huo Chong said, but they didn't understand what he said at all.
Huo Chong just felt a little nostalgic for the 21st century. If this was said in Europe and the United States, many people would probably jump up and down in opposition. However, Huo Chong firmly believed that the global warming that Europe and the United States were clamoring about was nonsense.
20,000 years ago, the Earth experienced the Younger Dryas event, which saw an ice sheet covering the entire North American continent, stretching from the Arctic to Mexico.
The climate is as cold as you can imagine. Much colder than in the 21st century.
After that, there was a warm and humid climate in Henan Province, and the temperature was as high as you can imagine, at least much higher than the global average temperature in the 21st century.
In the past 20,000 years, there has been no greenhouse gas emissions caused by industrial production. From this perspective, preventing pollution is one thing. But blindly arguing about global warming is absolutely a commercial operation, not respecting the earth's climate.
Compared to the Earth, human greenhouse gases are really meaningless.
After seeing the current industrial development of the base, Huo Chong has made up his mind. Greenhouse gas emissions must start from now!
Huo Chong made the decision, and the base immediately started working. The fleet, supplemented by paddle steamers, loaded a large amount of supplies and set sail, heading straight for Hashima Island in Japan.
When the fleet reached the island, they first unloaded a large amount of fresh water, and the engineering team members who were already on the island surrounded them and poured the water down.
After drinking, the captain of the island wiped his mouth, tears already in his eyes, "When will you let us go back?"
The leader of the transport team sighed, "Just bear with it. The teacher said you guys are really working hard. But we still have to dig the coal here!"
The captain of the island heard this and pointed to the bare island, "Can people live here?"
As he spoke, tears rolled down his face.
The transport team leader quickly pointed at the materials being unloaded and said, "The materials for repairing the house have arrived! This time we must make sure everyone can live well first!"
Hashima Island is only 15 kilometers away from Nagasaki. Although Japan knew that the Chinese court had established a "transit station" here, it did not come to disturb it.
This is not because Japan is too arrogant, but because Hashima Island is a deserted island with a bad natural environment. In addition to no fresh water , there is no place to live. It is even more dangerous after a typhoon. Moreover, the island is not big, only 0.063 square kilometers, or 63,000 square meters. It is 400 meters long and more than 150 meters wide.
The people in Nagasaki, Japan, just pretended not to see it.
However, this place has another more famous name in later generations, Gunkanjima.
In 1810, the Japanese government discovered that Gunkanjima was rich in coal resources, but the natural conditions on the island were harsh and the coal mining industry stagnated. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan's thirst for resources and wealth reached an extreme, but Japan's narrow land, scarce resources, and weak reserve forces made it difficult to support its growing ambitions.
In 1890, Mitsubishi Corporation bought the island and developed the coal resources under the sea. This attracted people's attention. The glory of Hashima Island began. For nearly a century, it was one of the major coal mining areas in Japan.
Japan's first large concrete building was built on the island in 1916. This building could accommodate all the offshore workers and protect them from hurricanes.
During World War II, the Japanese army abducted more than 40,000 Chinese to Japan as laborers, and 3,765 of them were assigned to Mitsubishi Corporation. They were taken on board and sent to Gunkanjima. In addition to Chinese compatriots, many Korean laborers were also sent to the island, but Japan felt that there were not enough workers, and even called Gunkanjima a paradise in the media, deceiving uninformed people to go there. Therefore, there were not only prisoners of war among the laborers, but also school teachers, businessmen, and more ordinary farmers who were kidnapped. Laborers were sent to the island in an endless stream. The population of Gunkanjima was as high as 1,391 people per hectare, and the population density was once 9 times that of Tokyo, becoming the most densely populated place in the world at that time. However, in this so-called paradise, the laborers began the most tragic fate. By the end of World War II, a total of 722 Chinese laborers (according to Mitsubishi Corporation) and 1,442 Korean laborers (according to Korean officials) were tortured to death on Gunkanjima.
In the 1960s, oil replaced coal as the main energy source in Japan, and coal mines across the country were closed one after another. In 1974, Mitsubishi Corporation officially announced the closure of this coal mine. All residents on Hashima Island were evacuated, and Hashima Island declined.
Huo Chong had no choice but to develop here. Shanxi was still under the control of the Qing Dynasty, and the industrial sector of the Chinese court did not have the technical ability to mine deep coal in the Huai River and Huai River regions. Huo Chong thought about it and decided that the coal mine on Gunkanjima was a stable source. He would wait until he had the strength to develop the Hongji coal mine in Vietnam.
Once the steel bars and cement were unloaded, construction work began immediately, and the fleet continued to Edo, where the remaining steel bars and cement were unloaded.
The land allocated by the Shogun had been secured, the foundation had been dug, and construction began as soon as the building materials arrived.
Japan does not lack labor, especially when a fair price is given. With Chinese engineers in charge of the technical part, the project is proceeding at an astonishing speed.
Of course, it has to be amazing. The fired cement absorbs moisture. If it is left there, it will soon hydrate and become ineffective.
In short, prefabricated panels, reinforced concrete and poured, a gray three-story building soon had a frame. But after that, construction did not continue, and it was left hanging.
As the minister in charge of trade with the Ming Dynasty, Hojo Keiichiro was very puzzled by this kind of building. The gray frame looked stiff and was completely inconsistent with the architectural aesthetics of Japan.
And how come the construction was so fast at first, it suddenly stopped? Did the people in the Ming Dynasty make a mistake and couldn't continue?
The Trade Office didn't really understand what was going on. However, not long after, Japan entered early summer and the rain began to pour down.
The gray frame was full of moisture, and under the dark sky, the gray frame surface looked even darker. It even felt like it was haunted.
The project resumed after the weather cleared up. This time, instead of using the workers who only did manual labor, we directly used the renovation workers from the base. The progress of the project became very fast again.
After all, the framework was there and the bricks were delivered. This standard building model of later generations could even build several floors in one day. Three floors is really nothing.
By the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the beginning of the sixth lunar month, the building was basically completed as the interior walls were painted white.
The glass windows were installed, the furniture was brought in, and the building entered the stage of being ready for operation.
Outside the wall, many Edo citizens were watching. For them, the castle tower only had a few floors, but this building inside the wall actually had three floors, so they had to come and see it.
However, the people of Edo could only watch from outside the wall, because the gatekeepers were all samurai from the shogunate. They were wearing samurai swords and their eyes were very unfriendly , as if they were ready to draw their swords and chop down the people who came too close.
If a commoner was killed by a samurai, especially for such a reason of getting too close, it would be a waste of life. The citizens did not dare to get too close and could only watch from outside the marked position.
At this moment, with shouts, a sedan chair came over. The people hurriedly made way, not daring to stand in front of the important man.
The person in the sedan chair was Hojo Bugyo. After the sedan chair entered through a certain door, he immediately got off the sedan chair and followed Song Chenglian to the rooftop.
Looking down from above, there are several doors on the wall. Song Chenglian pointed at the doors and explained which doors are open to which people according to the rules of Japan.
Although he had understood this a long time ago, Song Chenglian still felt quite sad. The Japanese rule was really strict.
Samurai of different levels had to enter through different doors, which led directly to shops serving samurai of that level.
Even the warriors who entered through the same door had different passages after entering the building.
For example, Hojo Keiichirō boasted that among the sales privileges he had secured for the Ming Dynasty, one included shops for the wives of high-ranking Japanese officials.
These noble women had a special independent passage, and the door was only open to nobles. Intermediate warriors were not allowed to walk in, let alone look in.
The strict hierarchy is not only in the passages, but also in the interior decoration. The floors of the passages cannot be the same for different levels. Japanese people have to take off their shoes when entering the house. According to the initial consideration of the Chinese engineers, it is enough to lay wooden floors on the cement floor. Unexpectedly, the Japanese side requires different levels.
This trading house serves middle-class and above customers, so middle-class customers use wooden floors, while high-class customers use tatami mats.
The two sides of the passage are either decorated with paintings or directly covered with wallpaper. The decorative paintings and patterns are also divided into different levels.
In short, as long as you walk into a certain passage, there is no need for special signs. Just by looking at the decoration, you can know who can enter this passage.
Hojo looked at it and was satisfied. He lowered his voice and asked, "Song-san, do you know who to invite first?"
Song Chenglian originally had his own plans, but he had already given them up. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If he acted on his own, it would only make the Japanese unhappy. "Hojo-san, is there any arrangement from the shogunate?"
Seeing that Song Chenglian finally stopped insisting on his own opinion, Hojo was relieved, "Please don't worry, Song Sang. Since the general asked you to open this trading house, you will not break your promise."
"Thank you very much." Song Chenglian said sarcastically with a feeling of giving up.
Soon, Song Chenglian realized that he had underestimated the Japanese hierarchy. When he was supposed to open the business, he waited and waited but no business license was issued.
After waiting for more than half a month, and seeing that Qixi Festival was almost here, Hojo came running over excitedly, "Song-san, get ready quickly."
"How come it's OK?" Song Chenglian asked with a wry smile.
"The general was unwell for a while, but he finally recovered recently."
"The general wants to come first?" Song Chenglian even doubted whether he had heard it wrong.
Beijo looked at Song Chenglian in confusion, "Shouldn't the general be the first one to come?"
Song Chenglian knew he couldn't deny it, so he could only laugh dryly.
On the day of the seventh month of the seventh lunar month, the general arrived. Long before the general arrived, a large number of warriors came to the trading house. There was really a guard every three steps and a sentry every five steps. Those who knew would think that it was to protect the general's safety. Those who didn't would think that they were treating the trading house as a fortress and preparing for war.
After all this, the general only showed up for less than ten minutes. According to Hojo's arrangement, some gifts of gold and silver utensils were presented. The general sat on the upper seat and looked at them for a few seconds, then nodded. He only said a few words to Song Chenglian, and then left for home.
The general was accompanied by a large number of samurai who took away bags of gifts.
After all the people had left, Hojo ran back excitedly and said to Song Chenglian, "Song Sang, the general is very satisfied."
Song Chenglian smiled and said, "As long as you are satisfied, that's good."
Song Chenglian didn't believe it at all. From what he could see, the general was surrounded by a group of people around him, and it was extremely difficult for others to get close to the general.
In such a situation, whether the general is happy or unhappy is entirely determined by the people around him. Since Hojo said the general is happy, then let's just assume he is happy.
As for whether the general is really happy or not, it is completely unimportant.
Perhaps it was with this mentality that Song Chenglian was very happy in the next few days. The general was the first customer to accept the service of the trading house. Various middle and high-level samurai and even Japanese daimyos began to visit.
Don't mention it, the Japanese are really clear about hierarchy. Just seeing the floor materials on different passages, the warriors naturally stopped or continued forward.
With the help of the maids, Song Chenglian found that the group of people did not take the wrong road in the past few days. This ability made Song Chenglian feel astonished.
Apart from this Japanese characteristic, the business itself is unexpectedly good.
These warriors all paid with real money and were very clear about their purchases. They bought a lot of all kinds of goods, and judging from their expressions, they didn't think the prices were too high. It seems that the Japanese upper class is not poor, but very rich.
