Although the invention and use of the steam engine was not the only factor contributing to the productivity gap between the two sides, Van Dimen insisted that this was the secret weapon of Haihan's rise in just a few years. If the Haihan people had not used this kind www.biquge.info of iron equipment in many production sites, then the efficiency of their production system would not have been much better than that of the East India Company, not to mention the benefits that the use of this thing in the military field would have brought to the Haihan.

"Mr. Ning, do you really not consider exporting this kind of press to the outside world? We at the East India Company can make a very sincere offer for this!" Knowing that there was little hope, Van Dimen could not help but apply to Ning Qi.

The little abacus in the stomach of the Dutchman, how could Ning Qi not know, and just smiled when he heard this: "Regarding this kind of equipment, our current manufacturing capacity is still very limited, and there is still a gap to meet our own needs, and we will not consider selling it to the outside world in the short term." ”

Ning Qi's words are not made up casually, Haihan now has dozens of sugarcane and oil crop plantations, covering an area of hundreds of thousands of acres, and only a few places use mechanical pressing equipment driven by steam engines, which is not because the cost of use is too high to put on a large area, purely because the speed of production of steam engines can not keep up. You must know that the place where the steam engine is needed is not only the plantation, industrial production, mining, water and land transportation, many fields need to use this relatively cheap power output device, and the existing steam engine manufacturing industry scale is still relatively limited, the Ministry of Industry believes that at least in the past ten years, the manufacturing speed of the steam engine is difficult to keep up with the rapid development of Shanghai Han.

As for the real purpose of the Dutch wanting this thing, in fact, Ning Qi thinks it's okay, the principle of the steam engine will gradually lose its mystery sooner or later due to the large-scale use of Haihan, and it is not difficult to imitate it one-to-one by hand workshops, but if you want to mass-produce steam engines and use them to change the productivity level of the whole society, it is not something that the handicraft workshop can handle. This requires a whole industrial chain from mining, smelting, to design and manufacturing, in order to make the manufacturing process of the steam engine smooth.

It took almost six years for Haihan to complete the construction of the entire system with all the technical information, and these competitors whose knowledge of steam engines was limited to the level of manufacturing materials, and if they wanted to establish this production system, let alone six years, even sixteen years, they might not be able to straighten it out. Even if the Dutch could find out some about the principles or manufacturing processes of the steam engine, it would be difficult for them to manufacture such machinery and equipment on a large scale in the Far East. Of course, this kind of technological advantage is naturally maintained for as long as possible, and it is best to develop more advanced fuel engines when competitors are still figuring out steam engines, so as to continue to maintain a leading edge in science and technology.

The rejection was actually expected by Van Diemen, so although he was a little disappointed, his mood was not affected too much. The East India Company also had a lot of skilled craftsmen, and sooner or later they would figure out the mystery of the steam engine, and even if the Haihan people didn't sell it, the relevant manufacturing technology would be leaked sooner or later. But what Fan Dimen did not expect was that one day when Western craftsmen also developed a method of manufacturing steam engines, the Haihan people would not hesitate to start selling finished products, and in order to stifle the germination of Western machinery and equipment manufacturing.

There are more than 30 plantations outside of Yacheng, and new investors are constantly joining the industry recently, and the scale and variety of local plantations are amazing. He also knew that the East India Company could not copy this mode of operation in its entirety, because what these investors needed was not only the preferential policies of Haihan in terms of land use and labor employment, as well as the official purchase conditions for plantation products that were negotiated at the time of signing, but more importantly, the control of planting technology and production technology by Haihan people could ensure that investors could obtain long-term and stable income from the plantation project.

After Ning Qi took out the investment plan template and explained it, Fan Dimen himself was a little moved, after all, this kind of investment method that only needs to lie down and collect money in the early stage as long as there is no brains to make money in the later stage sounds really relaxed and happy, and Haihan's business reputation is quite good, and there is no need to worry about losing all money after the money is invested, no wonder there are so many foreign investors who come to Hainan Island with gold and silver to take the initiative to find Haihan to cooperate. It's a pity that the East India Company doesn't seem to have much technology in agriculture and forestry, and the only plantation project that is sure to make a profit is probably spices. However, the cultivation of spice crops was not originally technical, and the East India Company lacked the technology of deep processing and the means to add value to subsequent commercial operations, so it may be difficult to attract foreign investors to join us.

Van Dimen is far more interested in the processing of agricultural and forestry products than in the plantations, but the wineries he really wants to visit are not here, where the sugarcane in Yacheng is crushed, and the molasses needed for brewing is sealed in wooden barrels and transported to Sanya, where the fermentation and distillation processes are completed. The aromatic cane wine is aged in oak barrels for three years before it is sold on the market. The uniqueness of Haihan's production of Sanya Special Brew lies in the unique process of fermentation and distillation, which will certainly not be easily displayed to outsiders.

The oil mill that followed was similar to the one used to press sugar cane, and the oil press, which was also driven by a steam engine, pressed the raw material out of oil at a speed visible to the naked eye, and Van Dimen did not achieve much more than to reconfirm that the operation of the steam engine required coal and water.

After consulting Fan Dimen's opinion, the group ended their inspection trip here on the afternoon of the second day after arriving in Yacheng, and went out of the city to board the ship before nightfall and continued to the next stop, Yinggehai. Van Dimen was in a hurry to leave, partly because there was no need to spend any more time visiting the plantations, and partly because he had escaped the local preparations, and he really didn't want to spend the whole of his expedition in a drunken state.

Awakened at midnight by the sound of sailors on deck, Van Dimen looked out of the porthole of the cabin to see that the ship had docked. Seeing the appearance of many people waiting on the shore with torches, Van Dimen estimated that he had already arrived at his destination. However, after waiting for a while, no one came to inform him to get off the boat, Fan Dimen guessed that maybe Ning Qi was already asleep, and his subordinates did not dare to disturb him at this time, and most of them had to wait until dawn before going ashore, so he also fell back to bed and continued to sleep.

As soon as the sky dawned, sailors knocked on the door of Fandimen's room and told him to disembark. Although there were not as many people waiting on the shore as in Yacheng, there were still forty or fifty people, and Fan Dimen noticed that the leader of the greeting procession was obviously an authentic Haihan person, not a so-called naturalized cadre.

Ning Qi's next performance also confirmed his guess, and the two shook hands tightly on the dock, and it seemed that the relationship was quite good. Then Ning Qi introduced this person to Fan Dimen: "This is An Xi, director of the Salt Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry of Haihan, who came here just one day earlier than us, and with him as a tour guide, it must be much better than me, a layman!"

Although the Yingge Sea Salt Works were built later than the two salt farms in Shengli Port and Tielu Port, its salt production is currently the highest among all the salt farms under the rule of Haihan. During this time, Anxi was inspecting the salt works in various places, and happened to meet the expedition team of Ningqi and Fan Dimen here in Yinggehai.

It was not surprising that Van Dimen saw the steam engine here, and the steam engine-driven irrigation equipment continuously pumped seawater water into the salt ponds on the shore, which was many times more efficient than human and animal power. Moreover, Fan Dimen also noticed that many salt ponds here are covered with cement, which can be imagined the wide application of cement in Haihan infrastructure projects.

"Yinggehai Salt Farm is one of the largest and most technologically advanced salt farms in our production, and the annual salt production here is enough to meet the market needs of the Liangguang region and the northern region of Annam. The many new technologies we have adopted in the production process have not only increased production capacity, but also significantly reduced the production cost of table salt. In fact, after we took over the supply of salt in the Liangguang region, the price of salt in the market has more than doubled compared to the past, and the people do not have to worry about not being able to afford salt. Anthy proudly briefed Fan Dimen on the situation of the Yingge Sea Salt Farm. As the founder and head of Haihan Salt Industry, he has a clear and profound understanding of the history and current situation of this industry, and is also the most vocal representative in the field of salt industry.

Anzay professionally introduced the process of local production of salt to Fan Dimen, of course, it is difficult to say how much Fan Dimen can understand, after all, in the professional field, interlaced like a mountain, even Ning Qi, who is from the same era as Anzai, only knows a little about the knowledge of the industrial field.

There are also salt farms near the port of Batavia, which is under the jurisdiction of the East India Company, but the scale of the pattern is much worse than the endless salt pans in the Yingge Sea, and there are no perfect production links and process requirements like here, and the level of infrastructure and the use of advanced production equipment are far from the same, and there is not much comparison in terms of production capacity and cost. If we compare the level of management of the plantations, the gap between the two sides in the operation of the salt works seems to be even greater.

As for the very professional terms that Anthy said, Fan Dimen really didn't listen to it much, he didn't know the professional knowledge of salt production, and the reason why there was an inspection itinerary for this station was actually mainly arranged by Haihan. If you can see more about the operation of the production industry under Haihan's rule, Van Dimen will naturally not object. But after seeing the operation of the place for the first time, he knew that Haihan's salt-making process could not be copied back, because the East India Company could not provide the same infrastructure and production equipment, so he did not care much about the details of the production process introduced by Anzai.

Van Dimen was more concerned about the scale of production and the impact on the surrounding area, and according to Anzai, the salt produced here would be sold to the Ming Dynasty and northern Annam, so it is clear that the Haihan must have swept away competitors in these areas, including the official salt works, with their usual price advantage. The important position of salt in the national economy and people's livelihood is the same in any country, and the fact that Haihan can control the salt industry in this area fully demonstrates their degree of local penetration. Thinking of this, Van Dimen couldn't help but be a little worried, if the Haihan people smuggled salt to the South Seas region for sale, would the East India Company have a way to resist this kind of commercial invasion?

The answer is obviously no, and with the commercial channels that Haihan currently has at their disposal, it will not be too difficult for them to bring large quantities of salt to Java into the country. If the Haihan people were relieved to mess with the local salt market price, then they would only need to dump them at a low price for a year or two, and the local salt factories would definitely go bankrupt and become completely dependent on the salt supply of the Haihan, just like Liangguang and Annam. At that time, Haihan University can use this as a coercion in exchange for the interests of other parties.

Thinking of this, Van Dimen's mood could not help but be a little depressed, and after he came to Hainan Island, he gradually discovered that Haihan's advantages were not limited to the military field, but also did an excellent job in all aspects such as commercial operation, production organization, infrastructure construction, and social management, and was more like a professional colonial operation agency than the East India Company. He really couldn't understand how this group of Haihan people who had fallen from the sky had mastered such a comprehensive skill and were able to run a powerful country from scratch in just a few years.

On the other hand, in the East India Company in charge of his own control, most of the people in the council can only talk highly, and they seriously lack the practical ability to operate like the Haihan people. The East India Company has been established in Batavia for 15 years, but its construction achievements and business conditions are far inferior to those of the Haihan people, who started eight years later, and the gap in ability can be seen from this. Although his predecessor, Governor Cohen, made an indelible contribution to the development of the East India Company, Van Diemen believes that the company's development speed is not as fast as that of the Han Dynasty, and to a certain extent it is also related to Cohen's lack of good employment methods and long-term planning during his tenure.

If Cohen had been able to suppress Haihan at the beginning of his arrival in Sanya, or even take more drastic measures, then this hidden danger would not have become the unshakable behemoth it is now. And Cohen didn't take action at the beginning, and a large part of the reason was because the people in the council thought that it was of little significance for the laborers to mobilize the people to go to Hainan Island to fight a civilian armed maritime businessman, and that it was better to use resources to expand the northern route with this effort, and that it was not a hundred times stronger to occupy an island in Hangzhou Bay than the Daming Qiongzhou Island that didn't a bird? (To be continued.) )