Tangjiazhuang, Renqiu County, Zhuangnan's "Qiangmin Steelmaking Plant" is under construction. Brick buildings such as workshops and dormitories have been formed, and half of the high-rise furnace has been built in the first phase of the project. The platform next to the furnace for charging was completely built, and connected to the platform was a steel frame building, and under the steel frame above the building, an iron vessel with a diameter of about one meter and a height of about 80 centimeters was hung - this is the converter.

The invention of converter technology can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century, when the Englishman Bessemer invented the bottom-blowing acid steelmaking method in 1856, which made large-scale steelmaking possible; In 1879, it was the Englishman Thomas who invented the alkaline converter steelmaking method; In 1891, the Frenchman Tropena invented the side-blowing acid steelmaking method. The main difference between the converter steelmaking method and other steelmaking methods is that there is no need for external energy, and only the exothermic oxidation reaction of air or oxygen blown into the molten pool and various elements in the molten iron to complete the work of decarburization and removal of impurities, and heat the molten steel to the tapping temperature (1600 °C or higher). In this process, certain other elements are added as needed, and the corresponding properties of the steel are produced.

The importance of oxygen in converter steelmaking has long been recognized, but it was not until the 50s that it began to be put into use with the maturity of pure oxygen extraction technology due to technical reasons. The importance of oxygen to the quality of steel produced is self-evident - in this regard, it can be said that because of the addition of Ouyang Yun, a master plagiarist, the converter technology of the "Qiangmin Steel Mill" has been at the forefront of the times from the beginning.

In the steelmaking plant, a pure oxygen extraction workshop is also under construction, and once the delegation purchases a repatriated helium cooling system from the United States, pure oxygen will be available just around the corner. Before obtaining pure oxygen, the steelmaking plant will use the blowing method to produce first, which can not only allow workers to be familiar with the operating procedures, accumulate experience, and lay the foundation for the second and third phases of the project, but also obtain some steel products with construction requirements that are not too high, so as to provide comprehensive industrial construction services in Renqiu.

There are two investors in the steel mill, Tang Qiangmin and Chen Yonggui. Among them, Tang Qiangmin invested 1.53 million yuan, accounting for 51% of the shares, Chen Yonggui invested 600,000 yuan, accounting for 20% of the shares, and the remaining 30% belonged to Dadao Finance Company, Renqiu County Government and Ouyang Yun.

The importance of iron and steel plants to modern industry, national construction, and especially military industry is self-evident, without qualified steel, even if Ouyang Yun masters the relevant skills and has abundant funds, advanced artillery and tanks can not be built.

Because he went to Beiping tonight to attend the send-off banquet specially held by Song Zheyuan for the inspection delegation, Ouyang Yun seized the time to inspect the steel mill, the chief of the quilt, the power plant and other projects under construction, and accompanied him by Jiang Shuren, Shang Wolf, Gu Xudong, Hou Debang and others.

For the converter steelmaking technology, especially the absolutely advanced pure oxygen converter steelmaking technology at this time, Shang Wolf and others did not have any special feelings because of the layman's relationship. But in the eyes of professionals like Jiang Shuren and Hou Debang, it's different.

As an ambitious national entrepreneur, Gu Xudong not only has a soda factory in Tianjin, but also a fertilizer factory in Xijiadian in Liuhe, Nanjing, named Yongliya Factory, which is currently under construction. After China and Japan signed the "He-Mei Agreement," after discussing with Hou Debang, he once wanted to go to Nanjing and do a great job there. However, the series of events that followed and the contact with Ouyang Yun made him firm in his determination to stay!

Hou Debang stood on the blast furnace platform and looked at the converter that had been formed, his excitement was overflowing, and he said to Ouyang Yun: "Director Ouyang, with the converter, then we will be able to produce high-quality steel, so that the arsenal will have usable materials, and the 29th Army will be able to produce tanks and artillery!" "With tanks and artillery, are our Chinese troops still afraid of little devils?

Everyone heard the meaning of his words, Shang Wolf squinted, looked at the converter and then at Ouyang Yun, and asked, "This is the converter?" Is there anything special about it? ”

Hou Debang explained with a smile. Although Shang Wolf didn't know the converter technique, the ordinary iron-making technique was a little more knowledgeable, and he heard that the converter could smelt molten iron into steel without using coal and coke as fuel, so he was first surprised, and then he sighed and admired, and said: "This is what Brigade Commander Ouyang came up with, it's really not simple, it's really not simple." Looking at Ouyang Yun's eyes full of appreciation, he rewound a little "mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more she looks at it, the more happy she becomes".

Jiang Shuren looked at him, and then at Ouyang Yun, and then remembered the story that had happened between them, and couldn't help but smile, and said, "Elder Shang, have you taken a fancy to us Ouyang?" ”

Shang Wolf smiled, looking at Ouyang Yun's eyes becoming more and more special, which made the subject of the look break out in a cold sweat. The father and daughter of the businessman are definitely outliers, the father doesn't say anything, he is old and crazy, and there is no sign to follow when he talks and does things; Shang Lian'er is only 16 years old, but her degree of madness is no worse than that of her father, no, when she saw Ouyang Yun a few days ago, in front of everyone, she could blurt out: "Ouyang Yun, I can catch ...... this time"

Coming out of the steel mill, the group went to the military uniform. Although the factory building of the military quilt chief is still under construction, in the temporarily rented private house, the workers have already begun to produce, and the first batch of clothing produced is the camouflage uniform customized by the cadet brigade.

However, because there is no zipper factory in China, one of the major features of this batch of camouflage uniforms compared with modern times is that they are all button-type. Of course, the delegation to the United States will definitely introduce zipper production equipment.

In addition to inspecting the progress of the quilt factory, Ouyang Yun also has a purpose of obtaining a few sets of samples and bringing them to the United States for exhibition and sales, to see if it can attract the attention of the US military, obtain orders or achieve other purposes.

Camouflage uniforms are naturally different in China at the moment, but in Europe, the Germans designed them in 1929. Of course, due to various reasons, there is still a considerable gap between the camouflage uniforms of the German army and those designed by Ouyang Yun.

The merchants who accompanied Ouyang Yun on the inspection didn't understand military affairs, and when they saw the camouflage uniform, they didn't realize the huge military value contained in it, but they were attracted by its format and so many pockets. At this time, Ouyang Yun naturally did not hesitate to show off, and explained the military value of the camouflage uniform in a shallow manner, which immediately aroused the praise of the merchants, especially the merchant wolf, who said to him: "No wonder everyone calls you a genius, this statement is not false at all, steelmaking, fighting, clothing, all understand!" ”

Gu Xudong and the others also felt the same way, looking at Ouyang Yun's eyes, they naturally showed a look of research, and obviously had this thought: What kind of person is this young man?

Ouyang Yun and his entourage spent half a day inspecting the corresponding factories and enterprises, and then went to Beiping to meet the other members who were already waiting there, and gathered at the Quanjude Restaurant at half past six in the evening to participate in the send-off banquet specially held by Song Zheyuan for them.

It is not difficult to see from the high-grade level of the banquet that Song Zheyuan attached great importance to the inspection delegation's trip to the United States, and all the generals above the division commander level of the 29 th Army were present, and in addition, some celebrities and gentlemen from the Pingjin area were also invited to attend. The banquet lasted for more than three hours, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves at the end.

After the banquet, Song Zheyuan left Ouyang Yun and Jiang Shuren behind, and had an open and honest conversation with them with Qin Dechun.

Just when Ouyang Yun was making great achievements in Renqiu, Song Zheyuan and Qin Dechun both noticed the changes in Renqiu. This change undoubtedly gave them confidence, and Song Zheyuan's position on Japan became more and more firm, and the reason why he wanted to leave Ouyang Yun and Jiang Shuren after the banquet was to show concern and let Ouyang Yun pay attention to safety; On the other hand, he showed his determination and sincerely consulted Ouyang Yun about the defense of Tanggu.

I have to admit that as a simple soldier, Song Zheyuan's military literacy is still very high, and this can also be seen from his military deployment during the July 7 Incident. At that time, the deployment of the four divisions of the main force of the 29th Army was like a huge trident, on the west side, it was Liu Ruming's 143rd Division in Zhangjiakou, and on the east side, it was Zhang Zizhong's 38th Division in Tianjin, and in the center, including Beiping and south of Beiping until Baoding, was Feng Zhi'an's 37th Division, which was the three blades of the trident, and there was an independent 39th Brigade in front as a barrier. The handle of the trident is the 132nd Division of Zhao Dengyu, which served as a reserve in the area of Kawama and Daimyo. This layout was relatively weak in the center, strong on the flanks, and there were also strong reserves in the rear. If the Japanese army first takes the central Feng Public Security Department, it may be attacked by the two flanks and the rear Liu, Zhang, and Zhao, and if they take the two wings first, its threat will be beyond the reach of the Beiping area at the core of the Song Dynasty. There are other northern warlords Wan Fulin and Feng Zhanhai on the periphery, and they can expect to get their response once the war starts.

It is a pity that Song Zheyuan thought that the Japanese army would not launch a war of aggression in the near future, and although the 29th Army had a good formation, it was not prepared for battle, coupled with the confusion of command in the Nanyun area and the negligence of the student corps, which made the Japanese army seize this only weakness and break it with one blow. Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that Liu Ruming's 143rd Division did not rescue in time and the traitors betrayed.

But this is history, and with Ouyang Yun's appearance out of thin air, it is destined to be changed. For example, Tanggu has historically lost its due role without a single shot from the little devils, thus becoming the landing ground for the little devils, but now it is impossible. The importance of Tanggu is self-evident, Ouyang Yun will also consider its arming when he has time, and now seeing that he took the initiative, he readily said his thoughts.