Reborn in 1950: Shorting the Federal Reserve at the Start

Winter in Beijing should be crisp and clear.

But today, Beijing is shrouded in a layer of hazy smoke.

As the Hongqi sedan drove along the highway leading to Shenzhou Bureau, the smell of coal smoke became increasingly pungent as it drove further into the suburbs.

On both sides of the road, and even in the fields, earthen stoves made of bricks and mud could be seen everywhere. Red flags fluttered, gongs and drums resounded, and black smoke billowed straight into the sky.

"What are you doing?"

Lin Qinghan pushed up his glasses and looked through the car window at the groups of people carrying iron pots, doorknobs, and even iron bars, throwing them into the stoves, his face filled with bewilderment.

"Was there a war? Why did you smash all the metal things in the house?"

Chen Weiguo, the driver, sighed, honking his horn to avoid a flatbed cart carrying scrap metal, and explained helplessly:

"Assistant Lin, this is called the 'Great Leap Forward'."

"The higher-ups have issued a call to surpass Britain and catch up with the United States, and steel production must double. Now, the whole country is mobilized, with men, women, young and old all getting involved. Even school teachers are taking their students to collect scrap metal."

Chen Weiguo pointed to a makeshift blast furnace with flames billowing from the roadside:

"See that? That's a steelmaking furnace. It's said that as long as the fire is strong enough and your heart is sincere enough, you can make good steel."

"Nonsense!"

Shen Jinghong, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them, her face as black as the bottom of a pot.

His heart bled as he looked at the wood that had been burned as fuel, the destroyed ironware, and the cheap iron lumps that flowed out of the earthen stove like honeycomb briquettes.

This is hardly steelmaking.

This is burning money! This is wasting precious resources!

"parking!"

Shen Jinghong suddenly shouted.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, he jumped out, strode over to a street official who was directing the "steelmaking" operation, pointed to the pile of freshly forged "steel ingots," and asked:

"Is this the steel you forged?"

Upon seeing the high-ranking official riding in a Hongqi car, the cadres quickly bowed and scraped.

"Yes, sir! Look at the color, it's black with a reddish tinge, a good omen! Our neighborhood will be able to contribute a thousand catties this month!"

Shen Jinghong remained silent.

He bent down, picked up a cooled "steel ingot," held it above his head, and then suddenly let go.

"Clatter!"

A crisp sound.

The so-called "steel" fell onto the stone and broke into three or four pieces like a shortbread, filled with air bubbles and impurities.

"Is this what you call steel?"

Shen Jinghong patted the black ash off his hands, his voice chillingly cold:

"This is garbage! It's too brittle to even make a hoe, let alone a cannon? Are you trying to blow up our own soldiers?"

The cadre was terrified and trembled, unable to speak.

"Let's go back to the station!"

Shen Jinghong turned and got into the car; it was the first time he had ever been so angry.

"Notify the responsible comrades from the Ministry of Metallurgy and the Ministry of Industry to come to the Shenzhou Bureau for a meeting immediately! I have something to say!"

……

One hour later, in the Shenzhou Bureau conference room.

The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

On the table was a row of "earth steel" that had been picked up from outside, and next to it was a sample of a special alloy brought back from the United States.

"Comrades!"

Shen Jinghong pounded the table, heartbroken and indignant:

"Enthusiasm is good, and drive is strong. But developing industry isn't about shouting slogans, much less about using sheer numbers!"

"We're going to build airplanes, missiles, and atomic bombs!"

He picked up the piece of clay and, with a little force, crushed one corner of it.

"This thing? Sending it into the air would just result in a huge firework!"

"We don't need a bunch of useless scrap metal figures; we need special steel! We need high-temperature alloys! We need an industrial skeleton that can withstand temperatures of thousands of degrees and pressures of tens of thousands of revolutions!"

A leader from the Ministry of Industry was somewhat troubled:

"Director Shen, we understand the principles. But as you know, there are only a few legitimate steel mills left, and their production capacity simply can't keep up."

"If production capacity is insufficient, technology will make up for it."

Shen Jinghong took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

He turned around, pulled open the blackboard behind him, which was already covered with a complex factory design drawing.

"From today onwards, the China National Space Administration will no longer wait for assistance or rely on others."

"I want to build our own specialized metallurgical plant!"

"We don't need to use makeshift blast furnaces, we don't need that kind of clumsy method."

Shen Jinghong's eyes instantly sharpened like knives, revealing absolute confidence in future technology:

"We'll use an electric arc furnace! We'll use vacuum induction melting!"

"The system... oh no, the equipment I brought back from America, that's what it's for!"

With a flourish of his hand, he wrote a chemical equation heavily on the drawing.

It was a complex combination of elements.

Nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, titanium...

Each symbol represents a jewel in the crown of industry.

"What is this?" Old Li leaned closer, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Martensitic aging steel".

Shen Jinghong's voice was deep and seductive:

"It is ten times stronger than ordinary steel, has excellent toughness, and is corrosion resistant."

"With it, our centrifuges can double their rotation speed; with it, our missile casings can be made as thin as paper, yet stronger than tanks!"

"This is the kind of steel we need to forge!"

"This is the backbone that a major power's strategic equipment should have!"

The conference room erupted in commotion, followed by thunderous applause.

The experts' eyes lit up; they saw a glimmer of hope.

Just do it.

Under Shen Jinghong's personal command, a modern metallurgical factory full of science fiction elements rose from the ground at an astonishing speed in the secret base behind the Shenzhou Bureau.

The enormous electric arc furnace emitted a dazzling blue light, and the vacuum pump hummed.

There was no black smoke, and no noise.

Only the fluctuating numbers on the precision instruments and the furnaces of golden-red molten steel, pure and without any impurities, gushed forth like lava.

The day the first batch of special steel was produced.

Marshal Nie came in person.

He looked at the gleaming silver ingots that made a clear, melodious sound when struck, and his hands trembled with excitement.

"Okay! Okay!"

Marshal Nie stroked the steel ingot as if he were stroking his own child:

"With this, we can finally stand tall!"

"but……"

Marshal Nie turned his head and looked at the rows of brand-new but empty laboratories next to him, his brows furrowing again:

"Amazing! We have the equipment and the materials."

"But...where are they?"

He pointed to the sophisticated instruments and sighed:

"Our veteran workers can't handle these foreign gadgets. We're desperately short of highly skilled personnel who understand foreign languages, theory, and can decipher these complex blueprints!"

This is the status quo.

Although Shen Jinghong, a "cheater," was leading the way, a huge gap appeared in the middle.

There aren't enough older generation scientists, and the new generation hasn't grown up yet.

The State Administration of China is currently facing a situation of "a large temple but few monks," possessing a treasure trove but lacking anyone to tap into it.

"people?"

Standing on high ground, Shen Jinghong looked at the base that was full of hope, and a sly smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

He took off his helmet and dusted it off.

"Marshal Nie, have you forgotten?"

"There are several 'gold mines' hidden right here in Beijing."

"A gold mine?" Marshal Nie was taken aback.

"Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beihang University..."

Shen Jinghong counted the resounding names on his fingers, his eyes gleaming with the green light of a hungry wolf eyeing a plump lamb:

"Those schools are full of geniuses."

"Although they are students now, with just a little guidance, they will become future chief engineers and pillars of the nation!"

He turned around, straightened his collar, and saluted Marshal Nie:

"Sir, send me a car."

"Aren't you short-staffed?"

Shen Jinghong grinned, revealing a set of white teeth:

"I'll go and...bring some men back for you!"