"Just like His Majesty said just now, there is nothing wrong with the steel smelting itself, and Vice Premier Li's original intention is also good. The problem is that all the members of our cabinet do not grasp the true intention of His Majesty, and think that increasing the production of molten iron is a great smelting of steel. In fact, there is a lot to be done in the big steel, but we don't have a way to do it!

I believe that with Your Majesty's sage, you have long been holding the pearl of wisdom, and Weichen is dull, please show your Majesty! ”

Sure enough, when Luo Zenan said this, Li Hongzhang looked at him in disbelief.

Li Hongzhang thought that even if Luo Zenan did not fall into the ground, he would directly talk about the disadvantages of large-scale steel-making, etc., but he didn't expect to directly say that he would also implement large-scale steelmaking, and also helped him to expose this time, and the responsibility seemed to let the entire cabinet members resist together, which undoubtedly surprised Li Hongzhang. Moreover, Luo Zenan spoke very beautifully, figured out the emperor's thoughts, and directly asked the emperor to decide how to carry out large-scale steel smelting.

Feng Yunshan couldn't help but chuckle, pointed at Luo Zenan and said, "Luo Aiqing, I didn't expect you to be so slippery." That's it, I'll talk about it, and you have to study the detailed plan in your cabinet, otherwise what do I want you courtiers to do?

Continue to promote large-scale steel smelting and accelerate the development of the imperial steel industry! Moreover, it must be developed! Don't come up with any more moths like that!

I heard that a large number of people in several provinces have mobilized a large number of people to search for iron ore in search of iron ore across the mountains and mountains, and found many iron ore mines that they had not paid attention to before, and even the old farmers in the countryside knew what iron ore looked like. This is good and needs to be strengthened. And, taking this opportunity to continue to promote this large-scale steelmaking campaign, find a number of iron ore with mining value across the country, and select suitable ones for planned and large-scale mining!

However, smelting steel is still very technical, not everyone can smelt it casually, and even if it is smelted, it is only molten iron whose quality cannot be guaranteed, and it will also invest several times the manpower and material resources, wasting a lot of raw materials such as iron ore and coal coke. For example, the small blast furnace in Hangzhou Province also produces a ton of molten iron, and the cost is at least five times that of the small steel plant Zhenghe Iron and Steel Plant, and more than seven times that of the Ma'anshan Iron and Steel Plant.

Therefore, the large-scale iron and steel smelting I am talking about is based on the extensive discovery of iron ore and coal mines, and the establishment of large and medium-sized comprehensive iron and steel plants in the vicinity, and those who cannot make steel will not be established, and the empire will not lack pig iron at all, but what is lacking is usable steel and high-quality cast iron equivalent to steel.

In addition, the establishment of all iron and steel plants, medium-sized must be approved by the provincial governor, and large-scale must be approved by the cabinet. ”

"The cabinet should think more about how to support the development of the steel industry, instead of desperately encouraging the number of participants and the number of small blast furnaces to be built!

I thought about it for a moment, and there are a few things:

First, policy support. The Cabinet can set up an agency in charge of iron ore and iron and steel smelting, called the Ministry of Minerals and Metallurgy, which will be separated from the Ministry of Public Works and be in charge of mining and metal smelting, of course, the most important of which is iron and steel smelting! The Ministry of Minerals and Metallurgy is in charge of the affairs of smelting steel, and the so-called specialization in the industry should be much better for the improvement of the steel industry and other smelting and mining industries.

The second is technical support. As I just said, the Ministry of Minerals and Metallurgy has various departments under its jurisdiction, and the Iron and Steel Department and the Planning Department must be the largest departments, and we must train enough technical personnel in the steel industry. No matter where a steel plant is to be built, professional engineers can and must be sent in advance from the Iron and Steel Department and the Planning Department of the Ministry of Minerals and Metallurgy to help with planning, design and smelting technology checks, and the most reasonable, most efficient, most advanced technology, and the best quality products must be brought into play.

The third is fiscal and tax support. The Ministry of Finance and Taxation can provide fiscal and tax support to iron and steel companies established by private capital, reduce taxes, provide loans, and conditionally sell mineral resources for rational use. At the same time, the Ministry of Communications can speed up the transportation investment in the places where steel plants have been built or where steel plants are planned to be built, and simultaneously build suitable and convenient transportation routes, so that the purchase and shipment problems of steel plants and mines can be solved smoothly.

Fourth, talent support. The Ministry of Minerals and Metallurgy, together with the Ministry of Education, has set up specialized schools for iron and steel smelting and mineral exploration, especially practical technical schools focusing on iron and steel smelting, to train a large number of talents in iron and steel smelting. State-owned iron and steel plants should actively cooperate with the intern students of these technical schools to impart smelting knowledge. On the other hand, among the farmers who participated in the large-scale steelmaking, if there are those who are particularly interested in ironmaking or have talent, they can be recruited as steelworkers. In a word, a certain number of indicators and quotas are given every year according to the actual situation, and a group of iron and steel workers are selected from among the vast number of rural farmers, who can retain the original place of origin of the field, or they can leave their nationality to join the iron and steel company, and give a certain amount of settlement expenses to attract a large number of potential laborers from the people to enter the iron and steel industry.

In addition, to see what other support aspects of the steel industry, the cabinet will think about it and speed up the launch.

One principle, the iron and steel industry can not completely follow the model of the Shengfei factory, not requiring every province to build a steel plant, but as much as possible to take into account the uniform distribution, bigger and stronger, in the large iron ore mining area, the port city with good conditions to set up a super-large iron and steel company.

Okay, that's it. Specifically, the cabinet will come up with a charter and show it to me! ”

After listening to Feng Yunshan's views on the steel industry, the five members of the cabinet secretly admired and hated why they couldn't think of such a thorough and feasible idea. This is a rough opinion, it is simply a good way to pave the road to heaven for the steel industry of the Chinese Empire.

Li Hongzhang bowed: "Your Majesty is insightful, Hongzhang admires it so much." ”

Luo Zenan and the others were also full of admiration, they knew that recently, the emperor had been working with a group of technical engineers who didn't know where to find them, including many foreigners, to set up the Royal Academy of Sciences and study some strange things, saying that as long as these things and technologies are developed, it will bring the Chinese Empire to lead the world for 20 years! Because of this, the emperor didn't have time to take care of these specific affairs, but even so, as soon as the emperor heard about the matter of the great steel smelting, he immediately thought of such a countermeasure, and he was really a god.

Li Hongzhang had no choice but to hurriedly say: "The cabinet will uphold His Majesty's will, introduce a new steel policy as soon as possible, continue to vigorously develop the steel industry, and at the same time combine other industries to develop in a coordinated manner." ”