1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 127

The Ministry of Industry of the Republic first proposed to create a new company and even included Fritz's name in the new company name. As long as he came, he would be given the same treatment as a department head in a state-owned enterprise, and he was also awarded one of the first academic doctoral degrees in China. All of Fritz Harper's academic achievements and patents were recognized and protected.

The new company also allocated as much as 17 percent of its shares to Fritz and his team. They gave them everything they could, as long as they came, especially if they brought synthetic ammonia technology to China!

Fritz Harper had already begun his research on industrial nitrogen fixation, specifically in the field of ammonia synthesis, in Germany, where a number of companies and capitalists sponsored his research.

However, at the request of the German government, the Ministry of Industry of the Republic paid a hefty price of 1.4 million euros to buy back the sponsorship rights of all the capital behind Fritz, becoming the exclusive sponsor of Fritz's research in related fields.

Fritz, taking advantage of the situation, brought his research team and all their findings to Shanghai in the Far East to continue their new research. After arriving in Shanghai, the Ministry of Industry dispatched more than eighty top chemistry students from universities across the city to assist Fritz.

“Your Excellency Minister, I must once again commend your astonishing efficiency and mobilization capabilities. If such efficiency existed in Germany, my research might have already been successful.”

“Even now, industrial production can be completed. Applying research results in the field of chemistry to industrialization is the most difficult step, even more challenging than theoretical research.”

“Those investors who are stingy with even a single mark are always complaining about how much money they spend on various experiments, and they always want to get rid of the hen and directly get the eggs. It’s really a headache!”

Fritz was very satisfied with his current treatment and conditions. The Republic had invested almost all available human, material, and financial resources, within the limits of what was possible.

Zhang Jian, standing to the side, frowned deeply. He looked at Gao Song's reaction tower and the winding, complex pipes, as well as the dense array of valves and gauges whose purpose he couldn't understand. It was as if he were facing a Cthulhu monster. After looking at it for a few minutes, he felt dizzy.

"Fritz, they say that foreign monks chant better sutras, and that stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade. We've given you whatever you want, but it would be best if you could let us see the results as soon as possible."

"Such a huge investment, if it goes down the drain, not only will your years of hard work be wasted, but we will also have to bear a heavy price. Now the central government is already somewhat dissatisfied with the increasingly exorbitant demands of Zhongfu Group."

"If possible, you should try to produce some results. Even if you don't have any, you have to make something up, otherwise I won't be able to explain myself when I go back this time!"

Zhang Jian was a well-known enlightened figure in the late Qing Dynasty, and even a top scholar in the imperial examination. However, he did not pursue an official career but instead went south to develop industry. He initially joined Zhang Zhidong's tutelage, and once he made money, he returned to Nantong to set up a textile mill. He experienced ups and downs, but he always remained committed to industry.

Around 1900, he even risked his life to participate in the Southeast Self-Defense Movement, acting as a middleman for the bigwigs.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Zhidong, relying on his influence, recommended Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian then entered the officialdom of the Republic, starting as the deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and rising all the way to the position of vice minister of the Ministry of Industry, becoming a central-level official.

Currently, Zhang Jian is in charge of the Fu Group, a strategic chemical project of the Ministry of Industry. If this project is successful, Zhang Jian's future is promising, and it is not impossible for him to even challenge for the position of head of infrastructure. If things go well, he will at least be the head of a department.

But if it doesn't work out, he will be in a terrible situation. The Ministry of Industry has invested nearly eight million yuan in Zhongfu Group in terms of funds, land, manpower and resources.

If such a huge hole can't be compensated for, no one can bear it, and even the boss, Zhan Tianyou, will suffer along with it.

Zhang Qian considered himself an industrial fanatic, but after meeting Zhao Yan, he found himself becoming a little Karami, realizing that all he had accomplished over the years was to engage in the textile industry in Nantong.

Zhao Yan casually launched a chemical group, which was a huge difference. Before this, Zhang Jian didn't even know what a chemical company did. He started to study frantically last year and finally understood that the factory was a fertilizer factory.

According to what Zhao Yan told him, once Zhongfu Group successfully developed the product and it was put into production, Chinese people would no longer need to store manure or collect chicken droppings.

From now on, Chinese people can also get steamed buns and noodles from the air!

But now Zhang Jian was very uneasy and couldn't sleep well at night. This was an investment of eight million! If all that money were poured into building a textile factory in Nantong, how much cloth could be produced!

"Minister, it's just a few results. It's very simple. The first production workshop has completed experimental production. It only needs about a month of debugging before it can be put into direct production. You can take a few bags of fertilizer back with you then, which will completely shut those officials up!"

Fritz Harper said confidently, "Isn't it just about fooling investors, giving them some hope to keep them throwing money at you? He's very good at this. A successful chemist also has to be a successful pie-in-the-sky artist."

Academic success is secondary; the most important thing is to be able to make a good promise so that you can attract a lot of investment. Then, you need to turn your academic achievements into real industrial applications. Turning paper gold into cash is much harder than research.

Upon hearing that fertilizer production was possible, Zhang Jian exclaimed excitedly, "Mr. Fritz, has the nitrogen fertilizer production been successful?!"

Zhang Jian's eyes lit up. He had invested eight million to build such a large factory covering thousands of acres. It was finally a success. Regardless of whether it was experimental production, as long as he could take fertilizer back, everything was settled.

Seeing this, Fritz quickly explained, "It's not nitrogen fertilizer. Industrial nitrogen fixation isn't that easy. I'm talking about phosphate fertilizer, which is much simpler, even though the raw materials are imported Chilean nitrate ore and island bird droppings."

However, after processing in our factory, the effect is significantly enhanced compared to directly using bird droppings as fertilizer in the past. This is one of the achievements of industrial technology, which means our investment has not been in vain.

Zhang Jian almost lost his temper and started cursing, but he held back in the end. At least until Fritz succeeded, he was a treasure that couldn't be hit or scolded. Being able to fabricate some achievements to fool people was already acceptable.

Fritz changed the subject and continued to impart chemical knowledge to Zhang Jian, also mentioning the development of the chemical industry in Europe, especially in the fertilizer sector.

What technicians fear most is not officials making outrageous demands, but officials who know nothing yet continue to make outrageous demands. When Fritz first came to China, central officials treated him like an alchemist and wanted him to demonstrate his ability to turn lead into gold. Fritz almost lost his composure.

In the eyes of some officials in the central government, if they spend millions to recruit such a person, then he must have the Midas touch, otherwise how could such a huge investment be justified?

Fritz is now giving Zhang Jian a heads-up, making him understand what Europe is like, what the chemical industry is like, and what China will follow suit.

Around 1840, around the time of the Opium War, the British scientist Liebig proposed the important role of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in soil and crops, and nearly doubled the wheat yield in his experimental fields.

This marked the beginning of the era of chemical fertilizers in human agriculture. Shortly afterward, a potato epidemic broke out in Europe, causing potato production to plummet and leading to unrest and labor movements in various countries.

While millions of Irish people starved to death in Britain, Germany quickly overcame the crisis because the Germans placed greater emphasis on the power of chemistry. Liebig went to Germany and helped them establish phosphate fertilizer plants, which enabled Germany to escape the land crisis and increase production.

Subsequently, a wave of fertilizer development swept across Europe, with countries importing large quantities of nitrate from Chile in South America to process into phosphate fertilizer, supporting the development of European agriculture and leading to a surge in population.

Subsequently, Chile's nitrate mines became not only needed for European wars but also for European agriculture. Nitrate mines could be used to manufacture munitions and ammunition as well as fertilizers to increase production.

But soon the British used their influence to control Chile's nitrate exports, thus seizing control of Europe's land lifeline.

Other countries naturally became unhappy and began to study how to bypass nitrates to produce other fertilizers, among which nitrogen-containing fertilizers had the most significant effect on increasing agricultural production.

Initially, the main way people obtained nitrogen fertilizer was through the coal industry, using ammonia from washing water and coal gas to produce nitrogen fertilizer. Unfortunately, the output was too small; only three kilograms of associated ammonia could be obtained from processing one ton of coal.

Furthermore, ammonia is also one of the raw materials for making explosives; basically, anything containing nitrogen can be associated with explosives.

The military and agriculture are inseparable. What can fertilize the land can also be used to make explosives. On one hand, there is the miracle of feeding the population, and on the other hand, there is the abyss of destroying the population. That's how strange chemistry is!

Since the late 19th century, Europeans have been constantly seeking breakthroughs, trying to use chemical technology to turn nitrogen in the air into ammonia, which is known as industrial nitrogen fixation technology.

However, the third law of thermodynamics soon proved this to be highly unreliable, which led many chemists to despair until Fritz Haper appeared, which brought a turning point.

However, Fritz Harper has only completed theoretical research so far, proving that it is possible to successfully produce ammonia through industrial nitrogen fixation, but the conditions for production are extremely harsh, requiring pressures of 500 atmospheres and temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius.

This poses a huge challenge to current human industrial technology. It's hundreds of atmospheres of pressure! Keep in mind that the pressure inside a steam train boiler is only a few dozen atmospheres, and even the boilers of warships don't have that much pressure.

Even so, Fritz still managed to secure substantial investment and sponsorship for this great challenge, with even Zhao Yan personally stepping in to snatch the deal.

The German government is well aware of the significance of this research, but it cannot guarantee success. Since the Chinese are once again willing to step forward as test subjects, the German government is happy to cooperate.

The methods Europeans have tried—cyanamide process, ammonia-oxygen process, and even the electric arc method that mimics the nitrogen production of lightning in nature—have either resulted in too low a yield or too high a cost.

If this were to be used to synthesize gold, everyone would sell their possessions and do it, but to incur such high costs just to manufacture fertilizer and explosives is something no one can afford.

After all, if the cost of fertilizing an acre of land exceeds the value of the crop output, then the existence of chemical fertilizers is meaningless.

What Fritz Harper is trying to do now is to turn the free nitrogen in the air into nitrogen that can be spread into farmland and stuffed into artillery shells.

If this matter is accomplished, Zhao Yan can fulfill his promise in no time, ensuring that every Chinese person has a cotton-padded coat and a bowl of white rice every day!

Agriculture supported by chemical fertilizers and agriculture that relies solely on human and animal manure for fertilization are two different concepts. Currently, the population limit that China's existing arable land can support is only 500 to 600 million people. Any more than that and a process of elimination will occur.

However, with a continuous supply of urea (nitrogen fertilizer), the carrying capacity of Chinese agriculture can be doubled, enough to support a population of one billion.

If there were a billion people, plus a continuous supply of food, Zhao Yan would have the guts to cut his way to Europe and drink from the Atlantic Ocean, even if each person was given a watermelon knife!

Chapter 212 Jiangnan Power Plant

Zhang Jian inspected the Zhongfu Group for three full days, and in the end only took away two bags of phosphate fertilizer. One of them, as the first bag of fertilizer produced in the Republic, will be listed as a treasure in the Ministry of Industry's exhibition hall, and the other bag will be given to Zhao Yan as a gift.

After leaving Zhongfu Group, Zhang Jian continued his inspection tour to the Jiangnan Gun and Cannon Manufacturing Bureau. Since it was in Shanghai anyway, he figured he might as well take a look at how the country's high-end manufacturing industry had developed.

After Zhang Jian returns from his inspection tour of Beijing, he will definitely have to report back. It's not enough to just look at the Zhongfo Group. If Zhao Yan asks about it later, he won't be able to explain himself.

As the Vice Minister of Industry, Zhao Yan would definitely curse if he heard that he went to inspect the local areas, spending so much on travel expenses, only to visit Zhongfu Group and then leave.

Zhang Jian, accompanied by his entourage, went straight to the headquarters of the Jiangnan Arsenal without giving any prior notice. When he arrived at the door, the people from the Jiangnan Arsenal were already prepared to greet him.

With the vice minister's arrival in Shanghai, officials in the relevant industrial systems must have all heard about it; it would be impossible for them not to have made preparations.

Zhang Jian had a meal at the headquarters of the Gun and Cannon Bureau, and was then asked where he was going next. The Gun and Cannon Bureau had quite a few subordinate agencies, including a shipyard, a gun and cannon factory, a naval ordnance factory, a precision instrument factory, and a power plant.

Without wasting any words, Zhang Jian directly asked the people at the Jiangnan Gun and Cannon Bureau which project was the most outstanding and best reflected the results this year. The Gun and Cannon Bureau needed to demonstrate its achievements to the Vice Minister, and Zhang Jian also needed outstanding results to report back to Beijing.

Companies like the Jiangnan Gun and Cannon Bureau, Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant, and even Zhongfu Group, which were state-owned or wholly owned, were under dual jurisdiction: the Ministry of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) managed performance, while the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) managed professional matters.

Of course, anyone who is a big shot from above has the right to go and give guidance; everyone has to give them face.

After thinking for a while, the head of the gun manufacturing bureau reported two projects: a shipyard and a power plant. Both are representative products of China's high-end manufacturing industry.

There's no need to elaborate on Jiangnan Shipyard, but another star product is Jiangnan Power Plant. Unlike other state-owned enterprises, Jiangnan Power Plant mainly focused on introducing British technology.

It was specifically responsible for manufacturing large-scale power systems, mainly marine steam boilers, steam turbines, and internal combustion power systems. In terms of power output technology, it absorbed British technology, while in terms of power generation, it drew on German internal combustion engine technology.

Among the domestic power companies, Jiangnan Power has the best technical capabilities in the manufacture of large power systems.

Zhang Jian chose to visit the power plant first. This time, Zhang Jian and his party did not continue to take the horse-drawn carriage, but instead took a car to the power plant.

"You guys always come up with something new! Is this thing a car? It runs on gas, right?"

After Zhang Jian got into the car, he felt the vehicle smoothly driving on the street. Looking out the window, he saw electric trams passing by on the streets of Shanghai, and the people on the roadside were all watching the convoy of cars speeding by.

"Deputy Minister, this is the latest Tongda car produced by Wuhu Tongda Group. It is powered by a 35-horsepower gasoline engine newly produced by our Jiangnan Power Plant. It feels great to drive, much more comfortable than a horse-drawn carriage. Moreover, there is no need to keep horses. It only needs regular maintenance and some gasoline."

"This car is currently in the trial production stage, and it is expected to be mass-produced and supplied to the market starting next year!"

Zhang Jian asked, "What is the production volume? What is the selling price?"

The person in charge replied, "Currently, production is only 45 vehicles per month. It is expected that after large-scale production next year, the scale can reach about 400 vehicles per month. As for the price, it is relatively expensive. It is estimated that the price after mass production will reach 1,700 yuan per vehicle."

Zhang Jian touched the interior of the car, slowly experiencing the feeling of sitting in it, and occasionally craning his neck to see how the driver operated the vehicle.

This is a typical black sedan. Instead of adopting the convertible design found abroad, it features a fully enclosed cabin, four doors, two rows of seats, and no trunk.

The engine and transmission system are domestically produced, but some precision gear structures still need to be imported from Germany.

The price is a bit high, at 1,700 yuan per vehicle. This is no longer an ordinary consumer product, but a toy for the rich. Even the middle class in China cannot afford it.

Even Zhang Jian was astonished after hearing this: "It's a bit expensive, 1,700 yuan. I was originally planning to have the Ministry of Industry purchase dozens of them to replace horse-drawn carriages, but now it seems I was overthinking it."

The person in charge said somewhat embarrassedly, "Deputy Minister, I believe the price will definitely come down in the future. The current production scale is too small, and the unit price cannot cover the R&D costs, which is why it is so expensive."

Tongda Auto has already begun expanding its production line in accordance with the standards of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It is expected to adopt an assembly line manufacturing model and standardize all parts according to national industrial standards.

"Once production scales up, the unit price will naturally come down. If the ministry really wants to replace its vehicles, I can put in a word with them to sponsor a batch of official vehicles to donate to the ministry. I believe they would be very happy to do so."

Zhang Jian waved his hand: "The central government departments don't need donations. What kind of system is this? It won't do!"

Zhang Jian would absolutely not agree to this, and even began to suspect that the person in charge in front of him had received a bribe from Tongda Auto to speak on his behalf.

The person in charge realized he had misspoke and immediately stopped mentioning the topic. He had done everything he could to help, and almost got himself into trouble in the process.

Zhang Jian understood the thoughts of his subordinates, and in order to leave some room for maneuver, he continued, "Let's not mention the donation again, but buying a few vehicles to take back to the capital is still possible. We can use your gun and cannon bureau's account, and you can get reimbursed by the ministry at the end of the year."

"Don't buy too many, just five cars. I'll take them back to the capital and let the ministers and grand secretaries see them. After all, it's the first private company in the country to manufacture cars, so we should encourage them."

"Yes, Minister!" The person in charge smiled. He also owned five percent of the shares in Tongda Automobile. As a state-owned enterprise under the Gun and Cannon Bureau, no matter how capable he was, he could never get shares in the Gun and Cannon Bureau.

With some spare cash, he could only invest in private enterprises. Tongda Automobile was established through his initiative, which led to joint investment from several Jiangnan financial groups.

This time, he took a huge risk by placing the advertisement with Zhang Jian, but fortunately, Zhang Jian was an enlightened official who was still happy to help domestic enterprises develop.

A dozen minutes later, the convoy arrived at Jiangnan Power Plant, where it was warmly welcomed by the plant's officials.

Zhang Jian didn't bother with pleasantries. The difference in their ranks was too great. The power plant worker was only at the section chief level, while he was at the driver level. There was nothing to talk about, so he simply went straight into the factory to take a look.

The power plant's factory area was divided into several production zones, each responsible for production orders in its respective field. Zhang Jian didn't have time to visit them one by one, so he went directly to the marine power production workshop.

This place specializes in manufacturing and assembling various marine power systems, mainly traditional steam engines and the latest models of steam turbines.

The Jiangnan Gun and Cannon Bureau and the Central Industrial Department paid a high price to introduce these technologies and equipment. British technology was not easy to obtain, and even certain diplomatic compromises had to be made.

In short, it took a huge loss to obtain these technologies and equipment from the British and bring them into the country. Fortunately, the British did not attach much importance to these new technologies.

Steam turbines were invented more than a decade ago. The first Sparsen steam turbine was installed on a ship in 1897. During a British naval review, a speedboat equipped with a steam turbine reached a speed of more than 30 knots, which shocked the entire audience.

And that was about it. The British Navy was notoriously conservative and stubborn. At most, they equipped small ships such as destroyers with steam turbines, while large ships were still driven by traditional steam engines.

The central government of the Republic has its eye on this technology because they currently lack the capacity to build large warships, and the navy cannot afford to maintain them. Buying this technology to build some destroyers for fun would be a good idea, as long as they can run fast. The navy doesn't care about the risks of new technologies; having something is better than having nothing.

Therefore, after this power system was introduced to China, the shipyard immediately abandoned the original power design and directly adopted this steam turbine as the ship's power source instead of the German system.

The navy's needs are there, so a higher price is acceptable, and higher risks are also acceptable, as long as it can move quickly, that's better than anything else.

The defenses of the Star-class destroyers are what they are, relying entirely on serpentine maneuvers to dodge shells. They are essentially naked in battle, and if they are hit by a shell, they can only gamble on getting through. The navy has simply given up and is relying on speed to gamble with their lives.

"Vice Minister, this is our latest and improved Hercules-1 steam turbine. It performs very well in terms of power output, with a single unit power of 6,700 horsepower. However, it is a bit large and cannot be used on small ships. Fortunately, the Navy's destroyers have a tonnage of more than 3,000 tons, so it is suitable to install it."

This power system uses a small water-tube boiler made of oil to generate high-pressure steam, which then drives the turbine to output power. It has great potential for improvement, but we do not yet have the ability to explore it further.

Many precision core components were still heavily reliant on imports from Britain. The Germans suggested we use the mature, conventional expansion steam engine, but the navy felt that steam turbines were faster and insisted on using that.

The person in charge's report not only mentioned the good points but also the bad ones, and the presentation was quite comprehensive. They didn't use any incomprehensible technical jargon to fool their superiors.

"Sigh, we still lack talent and technology, but I believe things will get better in the future."

"We need to lay a solid foundation now. Don't rush to improve R&D. First, thoroughly understand what we have at hand and increase the localization rate before we talk about other things."

"Don't meddle with those crazy guys in the navy, just let them do what they want."

Zhang Jian reached out and stroked the cold machine, feeling the unique industrial weight in his hand. This was the romance of a great nation.

The steam turbine in front of you looks very complicated and sounds extremely high-tech, but you can just think of it as a paper windmill you played with as a child. However, this thing is made of steel and is not driven by wind, but by high-pressure steam.

The basic version of the steam turbine had been invented decades ago and was not a particularly difficult technology; most industrialized countries could manufacture it.