The 400-meter-long wooden track covered an area about the size of a school field. Five wagons pulled by six horses were overturned on the track. One of the drivers was dead and the other was injured. The horses were pulled by the overturned carriage and fell to the ground, neighing pitifully.
The newly established Rail Vehicle Bureau was responsible for testing the entire freight system and was also responsible for cleaning up the accident scene. When Zhou Qingfeng heard that someone had died, he rushed over in person. Zhao Ze from the mechanical department also rushed over from Jinzhou for consultation.
"It's because of the wheel material." Zhao Ze bent over and picked up a broken piece of the wheel from the ground. He looked at the fracture and said dejectedly, "The wheel is cast. The material contains too much phosphorus, causing it to be too brittle. If the pressure is too high, it will shatter."
Clang, clang … Zhao Ze threw away the wheel fragment, indicating that he was helpless.
"Can't you forge it?" Zhou Qingfeng asked with a frown.
"The key is the material. Forging can't solve the problem of high phosphorus and sulfur impurities in our current steel." Zhao Ze sighed. "I'm trying to find a way to make a converter for Shi Dong. If it's done, it should be able to increase the quality and output of steel several times. But the technical aspects involved are too broad, and it needs to be tackled in many ways. I can't do it alone. "
When it came to technological progress, Zhao Ze and Shi Dong both complained.
The current scientific and technological system of the Revolutionary Army was just making do with what was needed. It was also making do with what was needed. On the surface, the industrial system seemed to be improving everywhere, but in fact, it was all based on the original method, with all kinds of defects that couldn't be bypassed. Zhao Ze said to Zhou Qingfeng in a deep voice, "Our current system has only been developed for a year. We can't spoil it any further. We have to focus on training professional technicians. "
Zhao Ze's words had a hidden meaning. The day before yesterday, he was furious about something. In order to support the northern detachment in attacking the capital region, he specially built a 500-ton steam barge. The barge recently returned to Lushun for maintenance and found that the steam engine with 100 horsepower was completely scrapped.
The reason was that the operator was lazy and directly poured seawater into the boiler to burn. Not only was the boiler broken, but even the steam engine's cylinder was broken.
"The steam engine we produced last year has a theoretical life of at least a few years, but now half of it can't be used. Only 10% of them are quality problems, 10% accidents, and 80% are human error.
Last month, two workers in the Machinery Factory had died because they did not follow the standard operating procedures. Shi Dong's steel plant is even scarier. Every month, there is learning and publicity about safety in production, but every month, more than five people die. "
Zhao Ze shrugged at Zhou Qingfeng, indicating that the current industrial system of the Revolutionary Army was like this. He even joked, "Now we're going to open a mine again. That's a man-eating pit. Early industrial development was built on piles of corpses. Every article in the industrial safety manual has a large number of human lives behind it. "
Zhou Qingfeng scratched his head and stared at the corpses that were being carried away under the overturned carriage. He said, "Forget it, I won't use a freight vehicle with a load of more than five tons. I'll get someone to directly modify the structure of the four-wheeled carriage so that it can carry two tons and run slowly. "
The technology of the four-wheeled carriage had been widely tested, and there was basically no problem. Although two tons was not much, at least it was safe.
Zhao Ze nodded. Zhou Qingfeng's compromise allowed him to heave a sigh of relief. His mood lightened as he said with a smile, "I'll go back and arrange for some people from the wood processing factory to support your railway station. They can directly build a carriage factory in Tianjin or Tangshan and solve the production and maintenance problems on the spot. "
Zhou Qingfeng agreed. His agreement meant that the entire industrial development of the Revolutionary Army would change from seeking innovation and speed to seeking stability and safety. However, the pressure on Zhao Ze and Shi Dong would be greatly reduced. They would have the time to deeply standardize the existing technology and improve the quality. Therefore, Zhao Ze asked with a smile, "How's the repair of your recent road?"
"How else can it be? All kinds of monsters have come out. "Speaking of the Tiantang Wooden Railway that he had been focusing on recently, Zhou Qingfeng was also filled with anger.
It was now the end of June 1617, almost July. The third phase of the Imperial Guard's expansion was about to be completed, and the quality of the soldiers was still satisfactory. With twenty-five thousand elite soldiers, the Revolutionary Army was not afraid of the enemy's attack in any direction. The next step would be to carry out officer training and work hard to complete the allocation of officers for five brigades before the end of the year, as well as conduct a combined combat exercise for multiple arms.
The construction of the fifty-kilometer city circle around Tianjin was also going smoothly. A large number of houses and roads were completed continuously, and the transformation of farmland and water conservancy facilities were progressing according to schedule. After accepting a large number of refugees from the north, the city circle had a sufficient labor force of one million and two hundred thousand people. There was no shortage of manpower for anything.
Foreign trade was also going well.
Zhou Qingfeng had wanted to carry out a small armed demonstration and attack Cangzhou along the canal to the south, entering Shandong for a round of looting. However, the Cao Clan eventually gave in and were willing to open up the canal route to work with the Revolutionary Army in exchange for goods from both Tianjin and Shandong, profiting from it. Therefore, the military operation was dropped.
As for the cloth and salt merchants in Jiangnan, they were too far away, so they could only bear with it.
Under such a good situation, the only thing that could make Zhou Qingfeng angry was the Revolutionary Army's biggest investment project of the year, the Tangshan Coal and Steel Consortium. As a supporting project that had to be completed first, the Tiantang Wooden Railway had really put Zhou Qingfeng in a difficult position.
"I've cleaned up the local ruffians and local tyrants, and I've also used guns and spears to eradicate the power of the folk clans. I thought that this project would go smoothly, but who knew that after a month, there would be so many problems. Our own engineers are inexperienced, I can understand that. However, those peasants came to make trouble, and this made me very angry. "
The trouble that Sang Quanlai had encountered was not an isolated case, but a common phenomenon. Zhou Qingfeng also deeply understood why the future generations of the nation should be led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. Uncultured peasants were really peasants – lazy, greedy, stupid, greedy, timid, and a lot of bad habits.
In addition to the construction, the Revolutionary Army also encouraged the people to start all kinds of enterprises, and at the same time, purchased goods from the northern officials. As a result, the unscrupulous merchants and officials used the methods that they used to deal with the Ming court to deal with the Revolutionary Army. All kinds of shoddy things like passing off quality goods, missing weight, bribery, and currying favor came one after another.
The Revolutionary Army's administrative department specially set up an audit department to check the accounts and track the project. As a result, in just half a month, the first section chief was dragged down by the unscrupulous merchants after he secretly accepted two pretty maids and two thousand silver dollars from someone else. This was an old cadre who had followed Zhou Qingfeng since Fu Shun. He felt that it was hard to fight for the country and wanted to start enjoying his life, but in the end, he was personally signed by Zhou Qingfeng.
Zhao Ze said that there were many deaths and injuries in the Revolutionary Army's industrial system every month because they did not follow the safety regulations. In fact, because the administrative system involved a large amount of money and the distribution of power, there were more corrupt people who were cleaned up, but no one knew about it. Behind every big project, there were people trying to make money, but these people did not feel that they had done anything wrong.
"It's very difficult to correct the social and cultural problems. As long as I relax a little, the people below will go out of control. Even many of the people we nurtured would change after coming into contact with people from the outside world. It's much harder to sit on the throne than to fight for the country. I'm now trembling with fear like walking on thin ice. Sometimes I can't even sleep well. "
When Zhou Qingfeng said this, he was deeply touched. He had no time to manage the specific affairs now. Instead, he used most of his energy to keep a close eye on the Revolutionary Army's governance. He constantly trained new cadres, not only cleaning up the corrupt internal personnel, but also trying to find ways to strengthen the rules and regulations as much as possible to prevent the occurrence of problems.
"Fortunately, most of my men are technical personnel, so this kind of thing is relatively rare." Zhao Ze looked at Zhou Qingfeng's frown and laughed happily, which was rare. "Okay, okay, just make do. Develop first and then govern. Sometimes, making the cake bigger can also solve many problems. After a few years, everything will be better. I believe in your ability, and I believe in your knife even more. "
After a few words of comfort, Zhao Ze took the triplane back to Jinzhou. Zhou Qingfeng continued to fight with his own bureaucratic system. In his eyes, the Revolutionary Army, which was extremely crude and full of problems, was not useless trash in the eyes of others, but unimaginably powerful.
After disappearing for half a year, Liu Fucheng, Liu Qianhu, who had dealt with the Revolutionary Army, flourished again. This former benefactor of Ye Na, Yuan Qingying's master, and Imperial Concubine Zheng's lackey once again found a backer. Once again, he pretended to appear outside Tianjin City. He went downstream from Tongzhou and was shocked when he arrived at the dock north of Tianjin City.
There was an explosion not far from the dock, and a huge wave soared into the sky. The power was extremely great. This time, Liu Fucheng came secretly with ulterior motives. When he arrived, he was put on a show of strength.
"This … What's going on?" Liu Fucheng quickly asked the sailor on the same ship.
"Oh … I think they're building a dock and expanding the river." The sailor on the ship glanced at him indifferently with ridicule and disdain. Nowadays, Tianjin people were very proud. Even those who had just settled down after fleeing from the north had learned to use a calm tone to despise those foreigners who were startled.
The sailor's gaze made Liu Fucheng furious, but he didn't dare to act rashly. Behind him was a young man in his twenties, wearing a felt hat that covered most of his head, and accompanied by his family. The young man patted Liu Fucheng's shoulder and shook his head, saying, "Don't worry, Liu Qianhu. They're just building a dock. Let's go and take a look. "
The young man was followed by an old man and a young man. The old man said in a deep voice, "Master is right. That Zhou brat definitely didn't expect us to come. Why should we panic? Just calm down. I want to see what that brat has been doing since he left Liaodong for a year. That way, we'll know what to do. "
The woman behind the young man pulled his arm tightly and said in Manchu in a low voice, "My lord, is this the big city of the Han people, Tianjin? It's a very lively place. There are too many people here. Are they all the servants of that Zhou brat? "
The young man immediately frowned and reprimanded the woman and the old man in Mandarin, "Don't call me Master from now on. Call me Master Huang now. Also, don't use Manchu again to stir up trouble.
It's said that Zhou brat's spies are very powerful. We came here quietly, but we still have to be careful. "He deliberately said to his woman," I told you not to come, but you insisted. Since you're here, you must be obedient. If something happens, I won't be able to protect you. "
The old man repeatedly said yes in a fawning manner. Even the young man behind him, who was about 18 or 19 years old, also nodded in response. The woman, on the other hand, felt a bit wronged. She switched to Mandarin and said in a low voice, "Nu Nu won't dare."
Liu Fucheng turned his head again. He looked at the young man with an air of nobility and then at the beautiful woman behind him, trying to guess the man's real identity. Not long ago, a group of Shanxi businessmen came to contact him and spent a lot of money to ask him to take someone to Tianjin to broaden his horizons. He only knew that the man should be a Tatar leader with a high status, but he didn't know his specific identity.
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