"Professor Cheng, I was looking forward to the stars and the moon, but I finally looked forward to you, and I thought you didn't plan to come."

Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, General Manager Zhang Guogan personally brought Cheng Nuo a cup of tea, and said politely: "The office is relatively simple, if the hospitality is not good, please ask Professor Cheng to be more tolerant!" ”

"Chief Zhang is joking in what he said, it's enough to come to you to drink saliva, it's too late to thank you." Cheng Nuo hurriedly stood up to take the tea and said politely: "What's more, President Zhang is also dedicated to the development of the national industry, which is more worthy of my respect." ”

Speaking of which, although Zhang Guogan was born in the imperial examination and has held important positions in the Manchu government and the Beiyang government for a long time, he is actually a high-spirited and upright person, and he attaches great importance to state affairs everywhere.

Later, he disdained to be in the company of these people, and just now he was absolutely devoted to politics and devoted himself to academics, and he also became a generation of historians.

So for this type of person, Cheng Nuo has always exchanged sincerity for sincerity, and all the words of praise are heartfelt.

Originally, there was some estrangement between the two before they met, but as the chat deepened, they suddenly found that everyone was a like-minded person, and the relationship became more and more familiar.

"Zhiyuan, do you know what I admire most about you?" Zhang Guogan's eyes were full of smiles, he looked at the young man in front of him and asked, "Or, what do you think we have in common now?" ”

Cheng Nuo thought for a moment and said uncertainly: "Industry? ”

Zhang Guogan smiled: "That's right, but what if you want to make the answer more specific?" ”

Thinking of the purpose of being invited to this trip, Cheng Nuo said without thinking: "That is steel, and last year I was fortunate to see the "Outline of the Plan for New Construction after Participating in the War" drafted by General Manager Zhang, which inspired me deeply. ”

Zhang Guogan's eyes lit up, although he was not interested in fame and fortune, but when he heard the praise of the juniors he admired, he was still very happy: "You are right, what I appreciate is that you do industry, and what you do is still a steel industry that benefits the country and the people, which makes me very admired, and this is what I want to do and am doing." ”

At that time, in order to allow China to participate in World War I, the United States and Japan specially promised to provide China with a loan to participate in the war, and Zhang Guogan, then minister of agriculture and commerce, in order to use the loan, specially drafted the "Outline of the Plan for New Construction after Participating in the War", and one of the very important construction plans was to develop the iron and steel industry.

"Of course, I'm not saying that cotton textile, porcelain, tea and other industries are bad, but compared with the national economy and people's livelihood, the importance of the steel industry is more prominent." After a pause, Zhang Guogan went on to explain:

"World competition is based on steel, China's land is huge, minerals are rich, all the iron produced, there is no iron factory in the country to refine, has to sell iron sand to outsiders, the most painful."

Cheng Nuo deeply agreed: "Especially now that it is the European war, various countries have controlled steel, which is enough to reflect the vision of the general manager, and its strategic significance is by no means comparable to other industries, which is also the situation we want to change now." ”

"First steel, second steel, this is my previous idea, but now I have to make a change." After saying this, Zhang Guogan turned around and took out a document from the bookcase behind him, opened it to confirm that the contents were correct, and then took it and handed it to Cheng Nuo: "This is the document we have just drafted, you can take a look." ”

Cheng Nuo opened the document and found that it was neither a policy support document nor a directive policy, but a scattered mineral exploration report from all over the country.

However, after careful reading, Cheng Nuo found that there are very few geological surveys about iron ore above, and only a few provinces such as Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong are relatively clear and clear, and remote areas such as northwest and southwest are basically not involved.

While lamenting the lack of geological data and the scarcity of talents, Cheng Nuo also felt a little lucky, at least the southwest direction is temporarily in a research gap, if it is published at this time, it may be able to intensify Japan's aggression, and the losses will be even greater.

However, after reading the information, Cheng Nuo still didn't understand the other party's intentions, put down the things and asked, "Chief Zhang, I don't know what you mean by letting me see these things?" ”

Zhang Guogan sighed, looked at the information and said: "Since ancient times, the Chinese people have regarded themselves as the superior country of the Celestial Empire, boasting that they have abundant products and everything. In particular, the ubiquitous iron ore is often described as ubiquitous and innumerable, and China has never realized that there will be a shortage of iron ore resources. ”

Cheng Nuo seemed to understand the meaning of this, and tentatively continued the topic: "So we want to tell the Chinese people that our iron ore resources are limited through geological surveys, alert the world, and make our compatriots worried, so as to trigger the domestic call for iron ore resources?" ”

Zhang Guogan sighed and said: "Although the scope of our investigation is not very wide at present, it can basically be deduced that the amount of iron ore in the country is convenient, convenient and easy to mine, but the amount of ore is only about 300,000 tons, of which Fengtian and Zhili are more abundant.

In the world, we are only one-eighth in the United States, two-fifths in the United Kingdom, one-sixth in France, and one-sixth in Germany. ”

Hearing this, Cheng Nuo, who was originally well-thought-out, was a little confused again, and said suspiciously: "But the problem now is that now, China's iron ore resources are exported in large quantities, and most of them are also shipped to Japan. ”

Zhang Guogan's face was embarrassed, and he hesitated for a long time before finally saying: "This is also the main reason why I want you to come, the public can't push inside, someone needs to start from the outside, and this is not something that just one person can do, look for it, and I will find you." ”

In fact, in modern China, the iron and steel metallurgical industry has not yet been managed as an independent industrial sector, and its management has always been under the jurisdiction of the mining administration.

In the early days of the Republic of China, directly promulgated and implemented the "Mining Regulations", the establishment of the Mining Supervision Office directly under the central government to strengthen the supervision of the local mining industry, although it seems to be the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce of the dispatched agencies, but in fact, many of the powers, the Director of the Mining Supervision Bureau and the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce have the same administrative effect.

This move not only ensured the efficiency of the decree, but also played an active role in the investigation of mineral resources and resistance to the plundering of foreign powers.

Unfortunately, with the departure of Zhang Jian, the agency could not be preserved, and later the Beiyang government abolished the Mining Supervision Office and delegated power to the local government in the name of saving money and reducing redundant personnel.

Just in time for the signing of the "Twenty-One Articles" agreement, the decentralization of mining management once again gave the green light to Japanese aggression.

With the progress of World War I, the price of iron and steel has risen one day a day, and there has also been an upsurge in the establishment of iron ore companies in our country, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce has also remembered the units that have been abolished before, and promulgated the "Regulations on the Supervision and Authority of Iron Ore Companies" to strengthen central management and prevent miners from colluding with outsiders to sell ore.

Unfortunately, at this time, the Beiyang government could not withstand the pressure from Japan at all, and had to come forward to compromise, which finally made the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce's goal of restraining Japan's plundering behavior by supervising local iron ore companies come to naught.

Of course, Zhang Guogan was unwilling to be reconciled to this, since the public could not count on it, he would jointly exert pressure from the outside, and it happened that the news that Cheng Nuo led the team to successfully produce Krupp steel spread all over the country, which naturally attracted his attention.

"Our country's iron ore resources are extremely limited, and most of them are monopolized by Japan, and if we export an extra ton of iron sand at present, we will definitely reduce half a ton of steel in the future, that is, the peasants, workers and soldiers lack a sharp weapon," this is just the same as Cheng Nuo's plan, and naturally he will not refuse: "Chief Zhang, I agree with your approach." ”

Zhang Guogan said happily: "So you are willing to join forces with me?" ”

Cheng Nuo smiled: "Why not, the goal is the same, the direction is the same, I have no reason to refuse, but steel production is a complex production phenomenon, the dependence on resources and energy is huge, whether the supply of raw fuel is sufficient, and the convenience of transportation conditions, these are very important......

Zhang Guogan laughed after hearing this, and couldn't help but point his finger at Cheng Nuo: "Okay, you are Zhiyuan, don't you talk to me about the conditions here?" ”

Cheng Nuo had an innocent face: "Chief Zhang, you have wronged me, and now it has been confirmed that there are only a few iron ore areas with rich reserves, such as Daye Iron Ore Area, South Manchurian Liaoning Iron Ore Area, Southern Anhui Iron Ore Area and Shandong Jinling Town Iron Ore Area.

But now Daye Iron Mine has long been inextricably linked with Japanese capital, Nanman Iron Mine is within Japan's sphere of influence, Jinling Town Iron Mine was also occupied by Germany at that time, and Southern Anhui Iron Mine also has a contract with Japanese businessmen to sell ore, and we now want to develop the iron and steel industry, there is almost no use of iron ore. ”

Hearing this, Zhang Guogan was also full of helplessness, hesitated for a moment and turned to the bookcase, rummaged for a while and took out a document again: "If you don't dislike it, you can take a look at this thing, it can be regarded as my support for your new quest." ”

After taking the document, Cheng Nuo took a closer look, and it was the state-owned steel plant construction plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.

"Mr. Zhang, can I watch this? Won't it affect this plan? Cheng Nuo held the plan in his hand and said cautiously.

Zhang Guogan smiled bitterly: "What can't you see about this, a plan that has long been aborted, it was ambitious and submitted to the above, but unfortunately it was all vetoed, and now it is considered to save you from your preliminary preparations, although the support will not be as strong as planned, but it is enough for you." ”

Cheng Nuo sighed in his heart, opened the file and looked at it.

Sure enough, the steel plan is very detailed and well suited to the future plans of the new machinery factory.

The location is near Pukou in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, using the iron of Nanjing Phoenix Mountain, Anhui Tongguan Mountain Taochong, Zhongxing Yixian and Jiawang, first iron, and then steel. When the scale is large enough and an industrial park is spontaneously formed next to it, the factories will be opened on a large scale.

Watching the young people look deeper and deeper, Zhang Guogan completely passed on his hopes to the other party: "In this way, it will be small and all factories, large and arsenals, ten or twenty years later, when there are achievements to speak of, the nation has hope, and the country is hopeful!" ”

After a series of operations, Cheng Nuo couldn't help but be in awe, and solemnly put away the documents: "Okay, I will discuss this matter with our comrades, and I will definitely give you a clear answer later." ”

Zhang Guogan smiled and said: "Don't be in such a hurry, you can go back and have a good field survey, maybe it doesn't meet your standards, not to mention the matter of the Phoenix Mountain Iron Mine, the Japanese are also making up their minds, and it's not a good thing if the goal is too big."

However, there is one thing that Zhang Yiou, director of the Jiangsu Industrial Department, has always been good friends with me, and he is good at dealing with Britain and the United States, and can buy machines at a very good discount......

In this regard, the United States has always been wary of Japan, and does not want it to monopolize China's iron and steel industry, and at this time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce has come forward to deal with it, which is also in line with the needs of the United States, and there is a high probability that the negotiations will be able to do what Zhang Guogan said.

So, the two continued to talk about some specific cooperation, and basically got the desired results.

Even the topics of conversation are no longer limited to steel, such as the cultivation of geological talents.

In this regard, there are geological research institutes, survey institutes, among which the geological research institute focuses on cultivating talents, and 22 students were trained in the first class of students the year before last, which is known as China's own modern geology education, the beginning of systematically imparting modern geology knowledge, and is the cradle of the development of modern geology in China.

Among the first batch of graduates, at least 13 were hired by the Geological Survey Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, becoming pioneers and new forces in China's early geological undertakings.

It's a pity that there is only a class of students who are recruited and trained, and then they have to give up for various reasons, which is regrettable.

Now that I heard that Cheng Nuo has plans to engage in this area, Zhang Guogan naturally wants to ask him to help continue to cultivate talents, after all, our country has a vast territory, covering almost all typical terrain and landforms in the world, and the shortage of professional talents is quite large.

In this regard, Cheng Nuo naturally agreed.

With these good bases for cooperation, Cheng Nuo also tried to ask for help with radio telegraphy.

Although 200,000 seems like a lot, in fact, Zhang Guogan is here, and it is only just in sight, and the budget for the Phoenix Mountain Iron Mine planned to be built earlier has reached 50 million.

Of course, it is precisely because of the large budget that the main reason for the abortion of the plan.

However, in order to prevent Duan Qirui from selling the country's minerals to Japan, Zhang Guogan directly refused the promise of 2.4 million yuan, which is enough to see his great man.

Almost without hesitation, Zhang Guogan said that as long as the technology is not bad, he can push the radio technology of the Academy of Sciences to the top, and even have a pretty good chance of winning.

In other words, as long as Cheng Nuo can take out the product in time, then this order is very likely to be in his hands.

It's just that these 200,000 have to be mentally prepared, what kind of goods are inside, he knows too well.

Just as the two were almost chatting and were about to separate, Zhang Guogan suddenly asked: "Zhiyuan, I often read your "National" periodical, and the most common thing it says is to realize the industrialization of our Chinese nation, so what is industrialization?" With automobiles and railways, does this count as industrialization? ”

Cheng Nuo was stunned, and he didn't expect to ask this question, but if you think about it carefully, it is indeed easy to talk about industrialization, and it is normal for the other party to have this confusion.

Organizing the language a little, Cheng Nuo said: "In fact, whether it is railways, automobiles, or even airplanes and ships, they are all industrialized, which is just a manifestation of it, and it does not mean that we have these things, which means that we have the ability to industrialize."

The deeper and broader the division of labor, the stronger our industrialization capacity will be. Of course, there are also higher requirements for infrastructure and comprehensive governance capabilities.

But in the final analysis, the final foothold of industrialization is still on people. ”

Zhang Guogan thoughtfully: "So this is also the reason why you choose to continue to attract talents into your academy?" ”

Cheng Nuo did not deny it, nor did he admit it: "The road is long, and I will go up and down to seek." ”

(End of chapter)