Chen Ming has very little understanding of metallurgical technology, only knowing that in the process of the great development of metallurgical technology, there are oxygen blowing and alkali blowing technology, and he doesn't even know that it is for steelmaking rather than ironmaking. But his side guidance gave the people in the research group a little clue.

Therefore, Chen Han's metallurgical technology has made good progress, although it is unlikely to be as superb as in the second half of the 19th century. This is also the reason why Chen Ming nailed his target high to the 5 million tons.

If there is no great progress in metallurgical technology, Chen Ming would not dare to set such a high goal. But even so, the cabinet has issued a reward order to the whole country, if someone can improve the current steel smelting technology and greatly increase the output, in addition to the legitimate rights and interests such as patented inventions, the government will also give 10 million Chinese yuan as a reward for inventions.

This is not to say that it will be given to one person all at once, technological inventions are sought gradually, and there will be a regulatory meeting for this 10 million funds, and most of the people in it are experts in the metallurgical industry, and they will evaluate the practicability and role of the invention, and then release funds according to the situation.

When the cabinet made this decision, several of Chen Han's major iron and steel companies were present, and then the 10 million special funds were quickly accumulated to 23 million. That's not a small number! It can be 5.75 metric tons in gold and 6.7 million in pounds, which is a huge amount of money that can be put anywhere in the East and West.

And this is just the beginning, as time goes on, there will definitely be more and more funds remitted into it, and even the steel companies themselves will offer rewards for inventions, and no one can say how far the latter can eventually develop.

However, in order to prevent this big plan from being seen by businessmen from Western countries and frightening Europeans, the Chen Han government did not announce it thoroughly, but as soon as the reward of 23 million Chinese yuan came out, it still caused a huge sensation on the whole earth. Money touches people's hearts, and countless people are red and hot, which is inevitable. Many people who have never been exposed to steel smelting at all are also concerned about this, dreaming of a bounty, and many Europeans are also ready to move, six or seven hundred thousand pounds, even if they can only get half, one-third, one-quarter, one-fifth of it, a hundred thousand pounds is also a first-class rich man in Europe, so that the whole family can live a carefree aristocratic life from now on.

It's a pity that these rewards are not so easy to get, Europeans want to get it is simply impossible, at this time Europe in various basic theories although not worse than China, and even continue to walk in front of China, but the practical application is much behind China, many of their countries use very traditional technology in steel smelting.

So, it's nearly the most likely thing to get is the Chinese researchers and front-line technicians.

At present, the metallurgical technology promoted by the Chen Han government comes from the Central South Institute of Metallurgical Geology. The blast furnace he improved adopted the method of blowing preheated air from the lower part of the furnace along the vent around the furnace, so that the blast furnace with a daily output of several tons could produce more than ten tons per day, and the production capacity increased significantly.

If China's blast furnace can be completely changed to a new blast furnace, then there is no need to build a factory with heart, and the blast furnace of the heart is put into operation, and the output of 5 million iron is not too difficult. But the market of the future will be a buyer's market, and there will definitely be people, a large number of people who are unwilling to reform production technology, because they can make a lot of money with the old methods.

This is like the small blast furnace of later generations, which was forbidden by the state to be shut down, but by the time Chen Ming traveled from the 21st century, he believed that there were still small blast furnaces on the land of China. Although the small blast furnace of that era is definitely a first-class furnace for now.

Because of this patent, the institute made a fortune. It is said that the institute gave a reward of at least 5 million yuan to the research group, which consisted of only a dozen people. But everyone knows that the real value of this patent is not such a small amount of money at all. It is reported that in the future, if China's iron and steel production industry adopts a new production method, it will be necessary to pay 5 yuan per ton of iron to the Central South Institute of Metallurgical Geology.

From five yuan/ton in the first year, to four yuan/ton in the second year, it has been decreasing to one piece/ton in the fifth year, and then it has been this price until the patent right of the Central South Institute of Metallurgical Geology expires. That's a lot of money from the boss. Twenty percent of them belong to the study group forever.

This news was published in the newspaper, and I don't know how many people across the country have insomnia, and they are thinking about how much silver the institute can get in the future. No one knows exactly how much money the members of the study group will get, but that is an astronomical amount for the average family.

More than a dozen people share 20% of the patent fee, even if it is only one percentage point per person, and each person will easily earn millions in 20 years.

It's just one person.

Although there have been more than once or twice of people who have made a fortune because of patents over the years, many people can't help but salivate when they see such an amount of money.

……

It's August. It's another winter year in the north. The Sino-Russian battlefield has changed a lot in the past year, and the war in Astrakhan seems to be calming down.

Bagration was indeed very well prepared at the beginning, but now that the siege has lasted for a year, Bagration has been fully prepared, and now it is necessary to pay attention to the dilemma of exhausting the ammunition.

The arrival of a large number of Wehrmacht follow-up troops has pushed the fighting between China and Russia back to Tulinsk from the vicinity of Novoastrakhan. Even the Russian army has again come with a large number of reinforcements.

Alexander I had already returned to Moscow, and he was even considering moving the Russian capital back to Moscow. Because in the future, the main enemy of Russia will not be in the West, but in the East. Moscow clearly has an advantage over St. Petersburg.

The war in the south went well, at least the Russians conquered the lost lands along the western Black Sea coastline beyond the Crimean Peninsula, but their attack on Moldova, together with Austria and a large number of volunteers, also suffered setbacks.

Although the coup d'état within the Ottomans helped Russia at a critical moment, the fighting spirit of the Ottomans fighting in Russia was completely different from fighting in the Ottomans' own sphere of influence. At one point, the European coalition attacked Chisinau [the capital of Moldova], but in the end they were defeated and retreated.

The Ottomans also had their own pride, and when it came to defending their national interests, their soldiers also emerged with great fighting power.

Coupled with the fact that Arandar Mustafa was soon back on the battlefield rather than staying in Istanbul to fight for power, Chen Han made it clear that he supported the new Sultan Abdul Mejid I, who had risen to the throne in the midst of chaos but was quick to secure the deal with China's promises. Then Arandal Mustafa was driven back to the battlefield again.

Arendar Mustafa clearly coveted the Grand Vizier, but as long as Abdul-Mejid I's mind was not in the water, he would not teach Arundal Mustafa the position of the Grand Vizier. Even if the 'Great Vizier' belongs to Muhammad Ali.

The latter played very well on the Crimean Peninsula, although he did not take the Sevastopol fortress, but he took all the other places. Moreover, after Nova Kakhovka was conquered by the Russian army, it firmly held the Gulf of Karkinit and Zhankoy, blocking the Russian army in the area north of the peninsula.

The Chinese defense forces entered Ottoman territory from Persia, which greatly encouraged the Ottoman spirit of resistance. In addition, a large amount of aid from China also arrived in the summer and autumn, so that the latter's finances and military supplies were greatly alleviated.

Seriously, it's hard to say whether the Ottomans were really short of money after a turmoil.

The rise of the conservatives slaughtered the reformers in Istanbul, and in turn, Arandar Mustapha led the army into Istanbul and bloodied the conservatives. The blood of the people killed in Istanbul was pouring and the heads were rolling. A courtier like Arandar Mustafa has great merit, but what if that monarch dares to put the power in his hands?

That is, the Ottoman politics were loose, and the power of the Sultan was not as great as it was back then. Otherwise, Arandar Mustafa is definitely dead or alive.

This guy is not like Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen, Cao Jixiang, etc. in Zhu Qizhen's change to seize the door, this is a butcher with a knife in his hand. How could Abdul-Mejid I not guard against him. If this were in China, Arandar Mustafa would have been killed.

The current situation of the war is that the Ottomans have turned from offensive to defensive, Austria in the west, Russia in the north, and the British in the south are stirring up trouble, and the pressure on the Ottoman Empire is not small. The British also sent secret envoys to contact the Elamite family in Egypt.

The elder Ilam has been dead for several years, and his eldest son, Saddam Abdul Aziz ibn Ilam, has been dead for several years, but Saddam Hussein has always clung to China's thighs.

According to the reports of Chinese advisers around him, Saddam Hussein has no intention of independence, and he is very content with his current life.

The Elam family is the real power of Egypt, controlling tens of thousands of troops with the Elam army as the core, backed by the Chinese, and the Ottomans to help, he is very satisfied with the current power.

In Chinese parlance, this is a dog that guards the house. A few years ago, when the Chinese side was entrusted by Istanbul to settle the rebellion of the Wahhabis on the Tianfang Peninsula, it 'borrowed' the army of the tens of thousands of Elam families, and it was very easy to use.

So, the old Elam is dead, but the new Ilam's position has not changed at all.

The Ottomans are now under great pressure, and they have more than enough to defend but not enough to attack, and whether they can end this war will ultimately depend on the Sino-Russian battlefield and China.