Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 224 Another batch of equipment arrived

A week later
Fleets from North America arrived at the port of Manila one after another. This was part of the second large batch of purchased materials, including a lot of light industrial machinery.

Among them were the small stamping machines needed for the cannery to make thin iron can lids. 42 of them were imported at one time, as well as shears and other auxiliary machinery. This was to package and ship a bankrupt medium-sized American food factory.

So much equipment is enough to build 7 to 8 canning factories.

The reason for building factories in a dispersed manner is that the fruit raw materials are scattered in various counties. Many fruits are seasonal fruits with high juice and thin fruits. They are not easy to transport and cannot be stored. It is more in line with the actual situation to build food canning factories in a dispersed manner.

There are many similar light industrial machinery and equipment, such as looms, mixers, rice mills, oil rollers, etc., which are all equipment needed for the development of light industry.

According to the list
The US$120 million loan from the Bank of China was used to purchase a full set of equipment from 79.6 bankrupt companies and 27 bankrupt mining companies in North America, totaling 6 sets, with US$7212 spent in the second phase of goods.

Many devices were purchased at the price of scrap metal, which was a huge bargain.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu also came to the Manila dock. High-ranking officials including Prime Minister Li Hezhang, Minister of Agriculture Zhongqiu, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Transportation Father Wehorst, Minister of Commerce and Culture He Ruilin, Minister of Industry Zheng Guotai, Director of the General Administration of Taxation Lu Junxi and others gathered together.

They inspected these tightly wrapped machines and equipment in the dock warehouse, whispering to each other with joy on their faces. These were the hopes for the development of Chu's industry, and were also the industrial facilities that were urgently needed in various places.

As the scale of immigration and settlement expanded, the number of prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of the Chu State increased.

The Chinese immigrant population in the Cagayan area of ​​the Tongzhou Islands has grown to 7.75, and has been officially upgraded to Cagayan Province, divided into one prefecture and two counties, both of which are new colonization counties.

The Chinese immigrant population in Angel Harbor has reached 4.35, and it has been officially upgraded to Angel City, divided into one prefecture and one county.

so far

New Chinese immigrants are no longer flowing into the Tongzhou Islands (Note: formerly Mindanao) and the Palawan Islands. The Chinese immigrant population in the above two archipelagos has been saturated in a short period of time.

It is necessary to further cultivate land, develop agricultural production and light industrial production, and further enhance the ability to absorb population in order to restart the Chinese immigration process.

Zamboanga Province has one province and three counties (note, one newly added agricultural county), Davao Province has one province and six counties (note, two newly added agricultural counties), Cagayan Province has one province and two counties, and Angeles City has one province and one county. A large number of rice mills, oil presses, flour mills, agricultural tool factories, lumber mills, brick kilns, lime kilns, coal kilns and other basic industrial facilities need to be established to meet the housing construction and agricultural production needs of local Chinese immigrants.

Due to the relatively inconvenient transportation, this is the hardware that every newly established settlement county needs, and this batch of light industrial machinery and equipment from North America has solved the urgent need.

In addition, in the Greater Manila and Cebu areas, which have been heavily influxing Chinese immigrants, there are now 17 prefectures and 69 counties, all of which need to address related light industrial machinery and equipment issues.

The Greater Manila area includes Manila, Quezon, Pasay, San Fernando, Angeles, Aolongapo, Cabanatuan, and Ilha Verde.

The Cavite Peninsula region includes the provinces of Cavite, Batangas, and Ilha Verde.

Mindoro Province and Romblon Province are outer islands.

Cebu, Dauin, Tacloban, and Concepcion, which belong to the Cebu Islands region, are all larger islands with larger indigenous populations and are currently implementing the "empty cage and replace bird" policy.

The natives of these islands have nowhere to hide. Even if they hide in the deep mountains and jungles, they will soon be forced out.

The tropical jungle is not suitable for human survival. It is okay for a small group of thirty to fifty people, but if the number of people increases, the wild fruits and food will not be enough.

The Great Chu Kingdom implemented a strategy of advancing island by island. After landing on and conquering an island, it would plan to divert the natives to one island, immigrate to another island, and so on.

Compared to the vast Greater Manila area, immigration to the Cebu Islands is progressing very smoothly.

There is no need for the army to block the roads and unplanned indigenous settlements to prevent confrontations and mob violence that would affect regional stability.

These larger islands are three to five kilometers away from the central Cebu Island, and more than ten to twenty kilometers away. They are naturally divided by the ocean, which is very conducive to the Chu State's implementation of the "island-by-island colonization policy" and there is little resistance.

Due to the vigorous promotion of Chinese immigration, there are many newly built Chinese prefectures and cities in the Greater Manila and Cebu areas, and a large number of machinery and equipment are urgently needed to prepare for the upcoming agricultural harvest.

The Chinese who immigrated to the Hainan Islands are very enthusiastic about farming. Most of the time, they are busy in the fields, working so hard that the natives cannot compare to them.

No sweat, no gain.

The yield per mu of land cultivated by the Chinese is generally two to three times higher than that of the indigenous people. With three crops of grain plus one intercropping each year, the yield is quite considerable.

These mechanical equipment are not indispensable, but they can greatly save the labor of Chinese farmers, improve people's living standards and increase their income. The benefits are not small.

Take rice milling machine as an example

Old-fashioned stone and wooden mortars can also be used to pound rice, but considering that each Chinese immigrant household has more than 10 mu of land, three crops of rice are produced each year, with a total output of up to to dan.

Based on the calculation that one dan weighs 120 kilograms, each farmer would have tens of thousands of kilograms of rice. This statistical figure will only be less, not more, and the output of many large grain growers will only be higher.

In addition to the three rice crops, ordinary farmers can also interplant rapeseed. After harvesting, they need an oil press to efficiently squeeze out new oil.

Some farmers intercrop soybeans or other grains, which all require processing.

Each county has a population of at least 10,000 to 20,000 households, and the accumulated agricultural output is quite large. Without these basic light industrial production plants, it would be impossible.

Seeing so many machines and equipment in the warehouse, Minister of Agriculture Zhong Qiu smiled so hard that his back teeth were exposed. He said to the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Transportation, Father Weghorst:

"Father, you have to hurry up and send out these goodies for me. The prefectures and counties all over the country are waiting for them, and the factories are ready.

When I go back today, I will ask the officials to compile a statistics of the machinery needed by each county and send it to the Ministry of Transportation for you. Just wait for it to be shipped!
The harvest is almost here in late January, so there's less than a month left. These are all critically needed machines and equipment, so we have to hurry."

Although Father Weghorst was appointed by the King of Chu to serve as the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Transportation, he still wore priest's attire and liked to be called "Father" instead of "Minister".

He was an extremely devout Puritan who had no worldly desires and was only willing to devote himself wholeheartedly to Christ. He was a man of very pure mind and did not ask for anything in return.

The only thing I want

We ask His Majesty the King of Chu to grant us a small church. Father Wehorst will exchange this honor for his lifelong commitment to serve the State of Chu and His Majesty's reward.

His Majesty the King of Chu rewarded a small church outside the royal city, called the Sacred Heart Church. It is a community church covering an area of ​​about a thousand square meters. It is also the residence of Father Wehorst.

In addition to his daily work for the government, Father Wehorst is also very enthusiastic about preaching in his spare time. He presides over religious masses for the community and donates all his salary to buy rice and noodles to help the poor people in the community.

After hearing Zhongqiu's words, Father Weghorst nodded seriously and replied in Jianghuai Mandarin with an exotic accent.

“Don’t worry, Master Zhong.

I will personally keep an eye on the equipment list in the warehouse. More than 130 technicians have been mobilized to maintain these machines and equipment, and some equipment still needs to be inspected.

After completing these tasks, we will ship out the goods in batches as quickly as possible according to your transportation plan, so as not to delay the production in Tunken County.

My work here is ongoing, and the first batch of machinery and equipment can be shipped out within three days at the latest.

The subsequent equipment will depend on the maintenance situation, you can make a list.

List the farthest reclamation counties, the reclamation counties in greatest need, and the reclamation counties where factory facilities have already been built. We will give priority to sending to these areas.

Once the machinery and equipment are in place, they can be quickly installed and put into production to maximize their benefits.”

"That's great. I'll arrange for this to happen when I get back." Zhongqiu also admired Father Wehorst's organized, clear, rigorous and solid way of doing things, which were the outstanding advantages of the Germans.

Unfortunately

Father Wehorst dedicated his life to Christ. Despite having such good genes, he did not marry and have children. I heard that foreign monks can marry.

If Father Wehorst were willing to marry, many high officials in the court would probably be willing to marry their daughters to him.

Two senior officials stood at the edge of the warehouse yard and decided an important matter in just a few words. This is the simplicity and efficiency of the Chu government.

Minister of Industry Zheng Guotai did not go to see the light industrial machinery. He went to see the heavy industrial machinery, such as milling machines, boring machines, planers, and punching machines. He was so happy to see them.

With so many industrial machine tools, we will no longer need to spend a lot of money to import steam engines in the future. We can produce them in large quantities ourselves and also design and improve them.

Zheng Guotai was originally a cultured person. In the past two years, he has made up for a lot of knowledge about Western science and culture. He can be regarded as the first generation of scholars who opened their eyes to the world and a talent who integrated Chinese and Western cultures.

He instructed his subordinates, "We need to mobilize a group of white technicians from the Tongzhou Islands as soon as possible. Their participation is indispensable for the installation and commissioning of these equipment and for smooth production."

"As you command, Minister."

"Well, let's transfer 120 people initially, mainly from the Jinsha Iron and Steel Plant. The No. 2 blast furnace there is almost installed, so they have a surplus of personnel."

"As you command, Minister."

"There are also some white technicians in the Jinsha Industrial Zone who will be transferred back to Manila one after another. We have a lot of factories and equipment going on here, so we can't afford to be short-staffed. Please make a transfer plan and submit it. It must be completed before I leave tomorrow."

"As you command, my Lord, I have written it down. Even if I have to work overtime tonight, I will definitely finish it on time."

"Ah."

(End of this chapter)