Chapter 877: Road Construction (5)

The change first came from within Chen, when the Railroad Group held a press conference to announce Chen's appointment as president of North American Railroad. And noted: "If the matter is urgent, it can be arbitrary." "It's a big deal, and it's fair to say that he's right to say it to North American Railroad. The second change came from the Songjiang Shipyard, a shipyard whose main business was the production of steam-powered boats, and established a new company on its own, with the little-known Zhou Hao as its president. There is also news that no one cares about, the first steam-powered fast cruiser of the North American Fleet was officially commissioned, and the captain Ye Hai will lead his troops to the North American Fleet.

What outsiders can't see doesn't mean that the Chen family can't understand it internally, so Chen Ping and Chen Fan got together to discuss for an afternoon. There is no doubt that since the two brothers emerged in the Chen family, some people have been taken by their fathers. As a junior, Chen Pu is certainly worth paying attention to, but it is Ye Hai who is more worthy of attention. Among Chen Xie's children, this guy, who was born late and was only thirty years old, was the only officer in the navy. Others, all in industries that have nothing to do with the military.

"Well, I'll look at the time, there are still three days, and I'll rush over and deliver it when it's time." Chen Ping said to Chen Fan, and what he got was an affirmative nod and said: "It's okay, this wave down, the rise of the Chen clan in Jiangnan has become a fait accompli." "Why do you say that? In the past, the Jiangnan Chen family, Songjiang Mansion, and Nanjing Mansion did not have clear powerful figures. It's different now, one Zhou Hao, one Chen Pu, and one Ye Hai. The first two are also very good trades, representing the most dynamic industry today, which is not comparable to textiles and tea at all. The last one is even more unacceptable, the training object of Chen's spokesperson in the navy in the future.

Why did the brothers attach so much importance to this adjustment? The reason is actually very simple, the most promising section of the Chen family has been officially divided. That's what these two people think. A railway, a shipbuilding, a navy, originally there was no clear heir to the three major sections, but now they are all solved at once. Everything else doesn't matter to them.

It's like a newspaper. What kind of textile, to be honest, is also very promising, but the weight obviously can't be compared with these three. Two are representatives of today's scientific and technological development direction, and one is the blank space of the navy. As for the army, it is not that it has no future, but that it has been constrained too much, and the Ming Dynasty itself is a mainland country, and the competition is even more intense. In contrast, the Navy piece. It has always been Chen Xie's personal self-cultivation.

There is also one of the most important sections, the brothers are not unaware, but no one has ever thought about it. This section is heavy industry. Steel, military industry, who dares to care? No one dared. Who is this piece for in the future? No one dares to guarantee it. However, the two brothers secretly bought a lot of steel and heavy industry stocks, who knows what will happen in the future? The shares circulating in the market in these two sections only account for 40% of the total shares, and 60% is in whose hands? Everyone knows that no one is watching.

However, there was still a slight error in the analysis of the two brothers. That is to underestimate the weight of Chen Pu.

Regardless of the turmoil in the domestic shipbuilding field, Ye Hai packed his luggage and prepared to set off. The first fast cruiser of the North American fleet, the USS Kanayama. It was also the first steam-powered cruiser of the Ming Navy. With a standard displacement of 2,200 tons, it was equipped with two 150-mm main guns, six 75-mm secondary guns, and eighteen Montini machine guns as supplementary firepower. The total number of people is 336.

This is the most ferocious existence among today's Ming fast warships, with a maximum speed of 11 knots and a cruising speed of 8 knots. No sail warship can outrun it. The entire structure is still mainly wooden, but the exterior is covered with a layer of copper skin one centimeter thick, and a new turret structure is adopted. It can be said that it is a collection of the latest technology. In contrast, the previous 3,500-ton warship was eliminated, and the navy argued that there was no need for its existence. As a result, an even more ferocious warship is being designed, and it is designed as the main warship of the Ming Navy in the next twenty years. The standard displacement is 4,500 tons, and it is made of all steel. The design drawings of this battleship belong to the high secret of the Ming Dynasty, and no one knows how it came about. If it weren't for the fact that the development of rivet technology had reached the level, the plans for this battleship would not have been mentioned.

At present, the main force of the Ming Navy is still sail warships, and steam-powered wooden-hulled ships are mainly concentrated in cargo ships. Although the Navy has been making noise and asking for the increase of new warships as soon as possible, the Cabinet and the National Assembly have not passed it for a long time. The year before last, in order to change the situation that today's sailing ships do not have an absolute speed advantage in pursuit, the Navy got the plan of two new cruisers. Just these two ships, they are both supplements to Nima's North American fleet, and there is really no place to reason. Now that the first ship has been completed and launched, the sea trials have been completed, and all kinds of patches have been applied, it is considered a qualified warship, and a sea of leaves has emerged.

Being in the barracks, Ye Hai has been getting familiar with this new warship, and he is busy every day with his subordinates. The battleship is the eldest wife for the navy, and the one in the family is second. Thirty-five-year-old Ye Hai is a newcomer in the army. After returning from a week at sea, he immediately received an order to serve, and Ye Hai had to send a letter to his family to inform him of the situation. And said: loyalty and filial piety cannot be both. The loyalty of the navy is addressed to the state, not to the emperor.

When I got up early in the morning, after Ye Hai simply freshened up, I looked around, the battleship was under maintenance, and every detail could not be missed. At this time, the soldiers came to report, and someone came to find Major Ye. Rocket-style promotions are rare in the navy, but the captain of a cutting-edge warship must be a major, right?

I hurriedly got off the ship and rushed to my dormitory, where I saw my white-haired mother and wife standing there, and couldn't help but burst into tears. A man must have ambitions, and Ye Hai feels that his ambitions are contrary to a qualified son and husband, and he feels deeply guilty in his heart.

Striding forward, Ye Hai's knees weakened, he knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times, and said: "Early in the morning, the working mother, the son is guilty." Mother Ye Shi looked proud, stepped forward and said: "My son is about to show his ambitions, why do you need to be so fond of children." In the past, your father didn't see you all year round, and your mother brought you so big. But your daughter-in-law, if you can, take her with you. ”

Ye Hai got up and said: "It's definitely not okay to get on the battleship, there are rules in the army." But you can go with the supply ship, but the son is gone. There is no one to take care of around, how to make it? Ye said: "There are more than 100 servants in the family, can they still take care of it?" It's just that my grandson is still young, and I can't bear it. ”

Since his mother spoke, Ye Hai agreed and sent his mother and wife away. Went to the garrison command for help. This problem was quickly solved, and this time there was a steam supply ship accompanying the Jinshan on the expedition, which could set off with the family.

The day before the expedition, Chen Ping rushed to the naval base, and the fleet commander personally greeted him when he heard the news. There is no way, you can offend anyone, and you dare not offend the first big financier of the Ming Dynasty. Hearing about Chen Ping's intention, the fleet commander was shocked and hurriedly sent someone to invite Ye Hai.

There is a large age gap between the two brothers. When they met, Chen Ping took the initiative to say: "You and my brother have rarely been in contact before, and you should know the reason very well in your heart." At present, you are the only one in the Navy, and if you need help in the future, just ask. ”

Ye Hai was silent and said, "I know, I wrote it down." "Didn't say much, although there were a lot of things he didn't want to do. But the reality is so. Under the premise of continuous blood separation, the combination of interests is an inevitable trend. Without waiting for the end of the talks. Zhou Hao, the most welcome guest of the navy, arrived, and few people in the navy knew about the three brothers meeting in the fleet commander's office.

There is no doubt that all three of them are outstanding people, and they have not said anything meaningless, acknowledging each other. It's not just about blood relationships, it's about ability and status.

"Chen Pu of North America, although he is a junior, has an unlimited future, so he will go to North America. Don't be lazy. Chen Ping explained again and again and hurried away. The two who were left behind smiled bitterly at each other, this one was going to come sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to be so soon.

Chen Pu has already done the things that used secret lines to inform the country and directly went to heaven, so there is no need to cover up the next things. Without waiting for a domestic reply, he directly opened the warehouse and took Dai Zhiyuan in for a visit. Dai Zhiyuan had already thought about it before, but when he really came to the warehouse and looked at the mountains of equipment, he still found that he had underestimated the ability of the railway company.

"20,000 new rifles, 10 base ammunition, all here. Originally, it was intended to form a road guard, but now it is in the hands of the Governor. Chen Pu said simply, Dai Zhiyuan couldn't help but admit it, and immediately said: "Thank you for your help, how much money should it be, the Governor's Mansion will not be less." It's just that there are not enough horses now, so you can only form pure infantry. ”

Chen Pu nodded and said, "No problem, I've done it for the time being, and I'm not so particular about it." Within three months, I would like to see an infantry division advance along the way to protect the eastward extension of the railway. ”

The deal was reached, and Chen Pu felt that no one dared to object to the young man's seizure of power on the part of the North American Railroad. Anyway, in the future, it will not be on everyone's head to be investigated domestically. The first thing Chen Pu did after seizing power was to adjust the road construction plan, and the original plan to start at both ends was changed to a single line to build forward at the same time, and the other end to build the land base as much as possible.

Later, Chen Pu brought out a locomotive from the warehouse, found a bunch of skilled workers, and closed the door of the temporary repair factory, not knowing what he was doing. After a month of busy work, Chen Pu came out of the temporary repair factory. He was accompanied by a strange-shaped train. I don't know what he thinks, but he fixed a layer of steel plate on the outside with screws on the train, and made a lot of shooting holes in the carriage. Looking at this train, the overall feeling is that it is an "ugly" word, and it is only after the road escort team goes up that I realize that this thing is really cute.

First of all, there is speed, and if necessary, the speed of sixty kilometers per hour is guaranteed, and reinforcements along the railway line are available at any time. Secondly, there was firepower, two mountain guns that Chen Pu got from the Governor's Palace, one after the other, and twenty-four Montini machine guns. An infantry company full of combatants, this thing is no longer rampant in North America, it is simply invincible.

I can't help but admire this guy for daring to think and dare to do, with this thing, on both sides of the railway, whoever comes to make trouble and encounters this thing, I don't even know how to die. Soon the top management of the North American Railway Company came to the conclusion that there were too few, and that the more such good things were, the more the merrier. Why do you think so? It's very simple, everyone in this gang has a patrol mission, and when they patrol around along the railway, they set off in such a car, and the safety index is greatly improved.

Under the instigation of these guys, Chen Pu simply did not do anything, on the one hand, he submitted a report on the purchase of locomotives to China, and on the other hand, he opened the warehouse, and all three new cars were used, and all kinds of materials in the warehouse were also called to transform the train. At this time, the manpower and technical strength are not enough, Chen Pu once again calls the shots, recruits a group of apprentices, and follows to learn. There is still a feeling of lack of manpower, so let's just open a railway technical school.

Chen Pu, who originally looked very ordinary, suddenly burst out with amazing courage. After wearing a special Tang costume, the whole person became extremely high-profile. In the past, everyone expressed their stance on everything, and democracy prevailed. Now it's the other way around, just say three or five sentences, and it's done. It's getting bolder, and everyone understands it that way anyway.

After a regular meeting, Chen Pu said in front of everyone: "The railroad we want to build is not just a railroad to Salt Lake City, but a railroad to the east coast of North America." Without this awareness, one is not a qualified railway employee. At this time, Chen Pu's true ambition in his heart can be exposed in front of everyone, can it really be done? When someone questioned, Chen Pu replied without hesitation: "There will be a war between the Ming Dynasty and European countries." ”

Dai Zhiyuan's movements were not slow at all, and after selecting more than 500 veterans and retired officers from the road escort team, the formation of the second and third infantry divisions of the North American Army was very fast. The 2nd Division, which was already in the process of being formed, was completed a month later. Then he directly called Chen Pu and said: "This infantry division will go up first, and your people will just follow and cultivate." ”

Chen Pu still has some questions: "What about the natives?" Dai Zhiyuan waved his hand domineeringly: "The natives within a twenty-kilometer range along the railway must obey and be included in the system of the North American administrative region of the Ming Dynasty, and accept and obey our management." The Ming brought them civilization, and they had to reciprocate. If there is a tribe that refuses to give in, then wait for its demise, the slave labor on the railway, the army is packed. After saying some murderous words, the fate of hundreds of thousands of natives along the way was doomed.

Over time. In Dai Zhiyuan's view, the previous set of methods that focused on harmony and supplemented by strikes was no longer applicable, or he had lost patience. (To be continued......)