Qingdao, North Queensland

Colorful flags, firecrackers are ringing in unison, and the joyful dragon and lion dance teams are noisy, attracting countless crowds to watch the excitement.

In the square in front of the tall and brand-new factory, the jubilant noble gentlemen wore flowers on their chests, and were participating in the inauguration and opening ceremony of the Qingdao production base of Dongfanghong Machinery Company, the scale of the factory area of hundreds of acres was quite large, and more than 1,800 workers were recruited at the beginning of the opening.

Now speaking of Dongfanghong Machinery Company, in the field of agricultural machinery in the world is also a well-known golden signboard, its production of Dongfanghong 2.0 crawler tractor is famous, just a few years to open the overseas market, best-selling at home and abroad.

The predecessor of the Dongfanghong 2.0 tracked tractor, the Wolf light tank, was stopped immediately after the dawn of victory in the Civil War in early 1891, and a large number of unfinished tracked chassis were placed in the production workshop, which once put Dongfanghong Machinery Company in a difficult situation.

It cannot be said that the military is ruthless, it can only be said that it is too realistic.

After having a medium tank research and development project, the War Department's attention has been deeply attracted, compared with the medium tank that can erect artillery and has strong combat effectiveness, the small thin skin pee can no longer arouse any interest in the War Department, and it is not surprising that it is abandoned as a foothold.

There were a lot of army officers who said mockingly; "The Wolf Tank is a mobile machine gun tower, and if you are hit by any grenade of more than 20 mm, you can save money on a coffin."

This is not unreasonable, the early equipment of the A and B corps each has an experimental tank battalion, a total of 72 light tanks (including four reserves), although these two tank battalions in the war are in the limelight, but they also suffered heavy losses, and the battle loss ratio is extremely high.

After an initial period of extreme panic, the southern rebels soon discovered that the Wolf light tanks could not withstand artillery fire at all, and no matter what caliber of artillery fire, as long as one hit would be reimbursed, and even heavy machine guns could penetrate the side armor and kill the crew inside.

After finding a way to deal with it, the tank battalion was tragic.

At the end of the war, only 7 tanks remained in the experimental tank battalion of Corps A, and only 12 tanks remained in the experimental tank battalion of Corps B, and the rest were damaged and destroyed, with more than 7 and a half percent of the battle losses.

With such heavy casualties, and at an expensive price, how can the military be expected to like the Wolf light tank?

Fortunately, with the support of the military's strong technical force, it has made many important technical contributions to the improvement of the Dongfanghong 2.0 crawler tractor chassis, and has added a lot of professional machine tools and machinery and equipment for large-scale production.

The tank battalion was in the limelight in the war, and also accumulated a lot of first-hand data during the months-long war, exposing many hidden problems, and making up for the last shortcoming for the final technical improvement.

The 2.0 crawler tractor chassis has completely entered the mature period, and has the value of large-scale promotion and application.

The company's main shareholder, Baron Zhao Qishan (a lifelong nobleman, awarded for the tractor project), although he is not highly educated, he respects science very much, believes in the words of experts, and has been investing in and supporting this project.

After a trough from 1891 to 1893, crawler tractors could only be promoted on some large farms in Australia, such as Star Lake Ranch was the first place to apply crawler agricultural machinery, and achieved excellent profits.

However, Dongfanghong Machinery Co., Ltd. in Europe and the United States to promote most of the feathers, many farmers are not interested in this kind of machinery without wheels, and are not willing to spend a lot of money to try, the promotion is quite difficult.

The change appeared in 1893, this year, Dongfanghong Machinery Company participated in the World's Fair held in Chicago at its own expense, and in the actual operation of the muddy farmland, it was reported by dozens of media with its dazzling results, and its reputation instantly became loud.

Thousands of farmers flocked to Chicago to see for themselves the extraordinary capabilities of the rumored field artifact ~ track-type tractor.

So, during the World Expo, the most glorious scene of the tracked tractor appeared.

The 23-acre plot of land outside Chicago attracted more than 3,700 onlookers, most of them farmers from all over the United States, as well as agricultural machinery workers, journalists, businessmen and a few members of the military.

In the four-day on-site demonstration, a crawler tractor independently harvested the barley planted on this large area of land, crushed the barley straw and returned it to the field, ploughed the field and turned the soil, raked and leveled, and opened a ditch, completing a complete set of farmland operation facilities, during which there was no failure and the use was stable.

This last point, in particular, is particularly appealing.

You must know that the biggest headache for American farmers is the high failure rate of steam machinery, the steam plow will have serious failures almost every 8~9 hours, and the repair time is longer than the working time, which is really a headache.

The high efficiency and reliability of crawler tractors, the comprehensiveness of field operations, especially suitable for muddy field operations, immediately grasped the hearts of American farmers.

As end-users, farmers are the most vocal group.

Although the price of a crawler tractor is high, a basic model costs 2,750 gold oceans, which is equivalent to 6,600 US dollars, or the price of six small walk-behind tractors.

However, buyers remained extremely enthusiastic, with 720 orders received during the expo alone, most of them from farms in the eastern United States.

So far, Dongfanghong crawler tractor became an instant hit, and then it was out of control, and orders from European and American countries flew like snowflakes, filling up all the production capacity in the next few years.

It is under such circumstances that the second factory of Dongfanghong, which has expanded its production scale by five times, began to build in Qingdao, and it will soon be completed and will be put into operation.

There is a reason why crawler tractors are expensive, even if you don't count the large investment of the military, over the years, Dongfanghong Machinery Company's shareholders have invested more than 300,000 pounds in the project.

Such a huge amount of R&D expenses need to be recovered, so in the early stage of product launch, it is necessary to maintain a certain degree of profiteering, because the annual production capacity is four or five hundred units, which is still the expanded production capacity.

Today

The annual production capacity of the factory in the large ship area is more than 600 crawler tractors, which is simply unable to cope with more and more overseas orders, which is the realistic demand of the construction of the Qingdao factory.

It can be seen from the development history of small 4-wheel tractors that the price of a tractor was as high as more than 1,300 pounds at the beginning, after more than ten years of development, with the continuous rise in production, the production of a large number of complete sets of accessories, the price has decreased sharply.

Today, a small 4-wheeled walk-behind tractor costs just over £280, which is almost 15 years old a decade ago, and it can still maintain a considerable profit margin.

Therefore, expanding the scale of production is a top priority.

"Congratulations, Sir Zhao." Foreign Minister Tang Zhaoyi personally attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and all the noble squires present felt a great honor and their faces were bright.

"Tongxi, Tongxi, Lord Tang can come in his busy schedule, it is really face-saving, it is the joy of my Qingdao fathers and villagers, thank you very much."

Sir Zhao Qishan hugged his fists with a red face and thanked him, personally led the way to the center of the ceremony, and asked Viscount Tang Zhaoyi to cut the ribbon in the center.

Instantly, cheers rang out, firecrackers rang out, gongs and drums were noisy, and the opening scene evolved into a sea of joy.

Above the celebration

The white-haired Daddy Mack, Daddy Anderson, Zhao Qishan, Ma Weimin, Mai Guangtian, and Sir Lu Qiang, who came all the way from afar, gathered together, and the former "kitchen knife group of 4" are now famous.

Looking back on the past now, I am full of emotion.

In the chairman's office of the Qingdao factory, old friends from the past gathered, and Foreign Minister Tang Zhaoyi, as the most important guest of honor, was surrounded by stars and moons, talking about the shortcomings of parents with a smile.

"It's still Lord Tang's foresight, if it weren't for Lord Tang's efforts to persuade us to take a stake in Qingdao Port, our brothers are still ranchers in the countryside who don't know anything, how can we have today's scenery?"

"Yes, don't forget the well diggers, Lord Tang has worked hard, I must toast a few more glasses today."

"Old Ma, can you just toast a few more glasses?"

"Hahaha, I'm not a stingy person, I recently asked for a few ancient paintings from the Manchu Qing Kingdom, I know that Lord Tang likes this tune, and I have been ready for a long time."

"Well, this is still a bit presentable, if we are stingy, we will be ashamed of you!"

"Hahahaha......"

Tang Shaoyi smiled and waved his hand, he is now one of the major shareholders of Qingdao Port, and he also occupies a stake in the vegetable base, and also has a stake in Dongfanghong Machinery Company, plus everyone here is a friend for more than ten years, so he will take time out of his busy schedule to come to Qingdao, otherwise who will be idle and hurt!

But what do you say, let's carry the sedan chair!

"Qishan, Ah Qiang, you two are now aristocrats, I won't say anything superfluous, nobles have to have a good reputation, they are enthusiastic about public welfare on weekdays, and it is indispensable to build blessings and Sangzi, and they must actively participate in the state council election and leave a blessing for future generations, which Ma Weimin and Mai Guangtian should pay special attention to, you two are lagging behind!"

"We can't compare with Lu Qiang, he is now a hereditary baron, a well-known tobacco king in Xixiangzhou, and the founder of Lumen City, who would have known that this guy could create such a big situation when he went to Shangri-La?"

"Yes, as His Majesty said, the potential of man is endless."

"Your Majesty is a god-like figure in the present world, and speaking is naturally ironclad truth."

"I didn't see it at all, Lu Qiang still has such an ability, it's really strange."

"Lao Ma, you don't see too much, do you know that the kid of the Lu Qiang family is now pursuing the daughter of Brother Qishan? Your daughter-in-law is about to be picked up and run away, and she still doesn't know anything. ”

"Ah...... Really, Brother Kaishan? Ma Weimin was really startled, and hurriedly grabbed Zhao Qishan with both hands and asked.

The three sons of their family all like Zhao Qishan's baby daughter, which is almost known in Qingdao.

Zhao Qishan is married to Susan, the eldest daughter of Daddy Mack, and the two have only one baby girl, this is a mixed-race little beauty, and now she is 17 years old, and she is really beautiful and outstanding, stunning and amazing.

Who knows that three sons can't do one son, how can this be reasonable?

"Calm down, how old are you, can you have a little of the calmness of a middle-aged man?" Zhao Qishan shook it off in disgust, but he didn't get rid of it. It can only be said; "You know the character of me and Susan, I will never wronged my baby girl, I recognize whoever she chooses, even if it is a poor boy on the street, I, as a father, can hold him up, so the girl's liking is the most important thing, your son will chase if he has the ability, I don't object, but don't expect me to interfere."

"Brother Qishan, we are brothers who have entrusted our lives for more than 20 years!"

"Lu Qiang, isn't he?"

"But he reneged on our oath to live and die together and flew alone, ashamed and companion, from his father, you can see what kind of person his son is, unlike me, over the years, I have been by Brother Qishan's side every step of the ......"

"Okay, don't be disgusting, being a brother is not a wife who is tired of being together every day, your rhetoric is useless to me."

"Brother Qishan, do you want me to cut open my heart and show you?"

"Get out!"

Everyone laughed, the brotherhood of the old youth was back, some two, some axes, but it was really sincere, and it was the kind that could be stripped naked for you without hesitation.

Hehe...... As for whether you want to see it or not? Will you be disgusted and unable to eat? That's not something for brothers to think about.

Well, it's good to get used to bad tastes.

Lord Tang Zhaoyi smiled very happily, he preferred to be with his friends freely than to wear a hypocritical mask and walk around among diplomats in European and American societies, this kind of life without intrigue is really good.

Unfortunately, the leisurely vacation is coming to an end soon.

On His Majesty's orders, he will follow the heavy cruiser Blue Dragon on his journey to Europe in a few days, accompanying His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on a tour of the European kingdoms and embarking on a new round of intensive and hectic diplomatic work.

For the Ocean Kingdom, this is an important foreign event.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is facing a lot of things, and now the main battlefield is in Europe, so he, as the foreign minister, has stayed in Europe for a long time, and it is his heavy responsibility to create a good international environment for the Ocean Kingdom.

On this trip to Europe, we will stop at the Kingdom of Thailand.

This is because the king of the Kingdom of Thailand sent a marriage request through secret channels, the target is the 15-year-old second princess Shirley, according to His Majesty's secret order, Lord Tang Zhaoyi wants to see with his own eyes whether the Thai prince who is ready to marry is worthy of the marriage of the Ocean Kingdom.

The situation of the new Kingdom of Thailand is not good, with the Mekong River facing the French Indochina Peninsula to the west, and the British-occupied Burma to the east.

At this time, they are desperate to find a thigh hug, the traditional eastern power of the Manchu Qing has been torn by the Fuso people to tear the last layer of hypocrisy, to be called a clay-footed giant is too far-fetched, no one wants to step on a broken ship that leaks everywhere at this time.

Looking around the entire Western Pacific, it seems that only the powerful kingdoms of the ocean can be relied upon, and marriage is naturally proposed as a means of protecting the special interests of the kingdoms without losing their dignity.

Not only the Kingdom of Thailand, but also the down-and-out Kingdom of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the Kingdom of Myanmar all submitted marriage requests to the Ocean Kingdom, but ~ His Majesty the King ignored them.

The rising kingdoms of the ocean are now widely regarded in Europe, and even the kingdoms of Greece and Bulgaria have expressed their intention to marry, whether in good faith or not, at least in terms of impeccable attitude.