Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Especially in recent years, China's coal production has been increasing, and there is no shortage of coal.

"Is there any difficulty?"

This three-legged approach is still very targeted.

Lin Dafeng immediately said, "With too much investment in other areas, the power industry has been unable to keep up with the pace of overall industrial development, resulting in a serious power shortage. Therefore, our Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power recommends that we concentrate resources in 1961 and 1962 to drastically develop my country's power industry. For example, we should import large-capacity generators of over 1400 kilowatts, at least ten of which should be used in the construction and expansion of large power plants. This way, by the time of the Third Five-Year Plan, my country's power generation capacity should ideally exceed billion kilowatt-hours. Only in this way can we ensure the continued development of our industry."

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the power industry developed very rapidly. During the First Five-Year Plan, the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany all provided aid to China in building power plants.

China has also introduced a large amount of technology related to the power industry.

In addition, the near-complete takeover of Northeast and North China's industries led to the expansion of many existing power plants during the subsequent construction assistance. As a result, power generation increased rapidly.

"Comrade Chen Yun, Comrade Deng Xixian, what are you thinking?"

"The power shortage situation really needs to change as soon as possible."

Chen Yun nodded.

The power shortage is becoming more and more serious. We should concentrate resources to build a number of power plants in a short period of time.

Especially when many areas of the power industry can already be domestically produced, it is entirely possible for some provinces to use their own coal resources to build a number of small and medium-sized power plants.

"For large-scale power generation units, in addition to negotiating with Eastern European countries, the main source of funds still needs to be found from the Soviet Union."

The capacity of China's domestically produced generators is too small. If we want to increase power generation in a short period of time, we still need to import a batch of large-capacity generators.

Deng Xixian turned his attention to the Soviet Union. China had borrowed so much from the Soviet Union that Deng Xixian no longer cared about it.

Anyway, with the current trade volume of $80 billion between China and the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union was not afraid that China would not repay the debt. If the Soviet Union was not afraid, Deng Xixian was even less afraid.

Wei Hongjun nodded and said, "The final decision really depends on the Soviet Union. Comrade Deng Xixian, you need to step in on this matter."

"no problem."

Deng Xixian had already figured out how to negotiate with the Soviet Union, so he was very confident.

Wei Hongjun looked at Zhou Bin again and said, "Given the trade situation between my country and Eastern European countries, can we import a batch of large-capacity generators from countries like East Germany and Poland as soon as possible?"

The government intervened heavily in trade within the socialist camp, so importing generators required government-to-government negotiations.

"can."

Zhou Bin said confidently: "The current situation between my country and Eastern Europe is that my country exports more and imports less. Therefore, Eastern European countries need my country to import more of their industrial products to balance their accounts."

"In the past few years, my country imported machinery, equipment, trucks, and industrial products like instruments. But as the amount of machinery, equipment, and industrial products imported from Eastern Europe has decreased in the past two years, we have been running a trade surplus and can't balance the accounts. If we import large-capacity generators, they will also be happy."

China used to import a lot of machinery and equipment from Eastern European countries. However, as China began to manufacture some of its own machinery and equipment, the amount imported from Eastern European countries has decreased. This has led to a significant imbalance in trade between China and Eastern European countries.

"Very well. Comrade Chen Yun, Comrade Deng Xixian, we must also adjust our industrial plans. We should adjust some of the industrial plans that don't have urgent needs, or delegate them to local governments or large factories. We should focus on developing a number of power plants to solve the electricity shortage problem."

"it is good."

This industrial adjustment is the responsibility of the Finance and Economics Work Committee, and Wei Hongjun is mainly responsible for looking at the final plan.

"Comrade Lin Dafeng, how is the small hydropower project being implemented now?"

"The drought has affected the development of small hydropower projects in northern China. However, Comrade Li Xuezhi organized the compilation of a small hydropower construction plan and distributed it to hydropower departments nationwide in the name of the Ministry of Water Resources. He also traveled across the country to identify supporting factories suitable for small hydropower development and included them in a shortlist. This way, any county, township, or rural area that wants to develop small hydropower can quickly find a parts factory without having to worry about technical issues."

"According to data from the Agricultural Bank of China, in just six months after 1960, over 1700 applications were received for loans from the Agricultural Bank of China for small hydropower projects. Over 1200 small hydropower projects have already been approved."

"We have also received confirmation of this data from various small hydropower supporting factories. It is far more than the Agricultural Bank's data. In 1960, over 2000 small hydropower projects were started nationwide, with a total installed capacity of 17 kilowatts."

Wei Hongjun was very satisfied with the work of the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power. He felt that transferring Li Xuezhi to the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power was a perfect decision.

Whether it is compiling a small hydropower construction plan or integrating small hydropower supporting factories across the country, it can quickly promote the development of small hydropower across the country.

The industrial development of New China was too fast, and the power plants built by the state, provinces and cities left no room for counties, towns and rural areas.

Therefore, if counties, towns, and rural areas want to solve the problem of power shortage, they can only solve it themselves. The fastest way is to develop small hydropower on a large scale.

"Comrade Xu Daben, the Ministry of Coal Industry must not hold back at this time. You must supply all the coal the thermal power plants need."

"Secretary Wei, our Ministry of Coal Industry will definitely not let us down."

Xu Daben immediately patted his chest and made a promise.

Whether it was the First Five-Year Plan or the Second Five-Year Plan, the Ministry of Coal Industry has always been at the forefront and has never known what it means to fall behind.

Wei Hongjun believed in Xu Daben. The coal industry had grown rapidly in recent years, providing a strong foundation for China's industry. The Ministry of Coal Industry's biggest challenge now wasn't coal production, but rather transportation: how to get the coal it produced to where it was needed.

"Now let's talk about the steel issue. Comrade Wang Heshou, please share your thoughts on the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry."

"Secretary Wei, steel isn't easy to grow. The 600 million tons increase in steel production over the past two years is the result of concerted efforts from all levels of the nation, especially from over 40 local steel mills."

"But the construction of so many steel mills in the past two years has already consumed a lot of local finances. It is very difficult to continue to promote this model."

"Moreover, the problem for many steel mills in my country now is that their output is far from reaching their designed output. How to make the output of our steel mills reach their designed output is the top priority."

Wang Heshou's hair has turned white in recent years because of steel problems.

Both the central government and local governments constantly complain about the shortage of steel and demand increased steel production. However, the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry is not a god and cannot produce the required steel.

In fact, the current designed output of the national steel industry is over 2500 million tons. However, the designed output and actual output are completely different, and the gap between the two is huge.

Steel mills with strong technical capabilities, such as Anshan Iron and Steel, are able to almost reach their designed output. However, most other steel mills struggle to reach their designed output. Some even produce only about one-third of their designed output.

Therefore, the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry's main work in recent years, in addition to continuing to build some steel mills, has mainly been to improve the technical capabilities of the steel industry, so that the actual output of these steel mills can reach the designed output.

“Is there no other solution at this stage?”

Wei Hongjun also knows that the steel industry is not easy. Many countries have invested heavily in large steel mills, but due to insufficient technical capabilities, their actual steel production has not met the requirements.

But this is something that cannot be rushed. The construction of such a large steel plant is only the first step. Cadres, technicians, and workers must be fully familiar with the operation of the steel plant before they can increase production, but this takes time.

It is not possible to increase production quickly just by being anxious.

"Secretary Wei, there is a technical route currently, and it seems to be working well."

Wang Heshou hesitated for a moment, then spoke up, "Comrade Ye Zhupei, former advisor to the Ministry of Heavy Industry and now director of the Metallurgical Research Institute, has always insisted on the oxygen converter steelmaking method."

"But his plan was rejected by Soviet experts. Because the Soviet Union used open-hearth steelmaking, our steel industry also uses open-hearth steelmaking."

Wei Hongjun looked at Li Fuchun.

Li Fuchun nodded and said, "Comrade Ye Zhupei returned to China in 1949 to serve as an advisor to the Ministry of Heavy Industry. He was a renowned expert in the metallurgical industry. He proposed the converter steelmaking scheme, but Soviet experts opposed it. At the time, all the machinery and equipment for my country's steel industry was imported from the Soviet Union, so my country's steel industry has always relied on open-hearth steelmaking."

Li Fuchun was the Minister of Heavy Industry at the time, and the steel industry happened to be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Heavy Industry at that time, not the current Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. Therefore, he still has a deep impression of this incident.

During the development of China's steel industry, there was a debate over the use of converters versus open-hearth steelmaking. However, China, at the time, had largely copied Soviet industrial technology, particularly in the steel industry, so the debate was short-lived. After the Soviet experts spoke up, the Ministry of Heavy Industry immediately opted for open-hearth steelmaking.

"Comrade Wang Heshou, please continue. Has there been a new breakthrough in the oxygen converter steelmaking technology that Comrade Ye Zhupei has been advocating for?"

"Yes."

Wang Heshou nodded and said, "Comrade Wang Heshou proposed the development of oxygen converter steelmaking in his early years, but his proposal was rejected by the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Soviet experts. Later, when Comrade Bo Shuchun was the Director of the Third Office of the State Council, he supported Comrade Ye Zhupei's idea."

“所以当时叶渚沛同志就在宣钢建立一座1．5吨氧气顶吹试验转炉。后来又组织了300千克和1．5吨氧气转炉的中间试验，成功地吹炼铸钢生铁、高磷生铁。”

"After obtaining the experimental data, Comrade Bo Shuchun at the State Science and Technology Commission again approved Comrade Ye Zhupei's idea of ​​further experiments, and the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry also supported it. So in 1957, Comrade Ye Zhupei built a 30-ton industrial oxygen converter steelmaking workshop at Xuangang, which officially went into production in 1958."

"He also proposed the 'three highs theory' for the steel industry, and his plan for a medium-sized, short-and-sturdy blast furnace was approved by the State Science and Technology Commission and the Ministry of Metallurgy. He invested 2000 million yuan in Xuangang and designed and completed a 350-cubic-meter short-and-sturdy blast furnace."

"After the trials in 1958 and 1959, Xuangang achieved great success. Whether it was the short and fat blast furnace developed based on the 'three highs' theory or the oxygen converter steelmaking method, it was a huge technological advancement in steelmaking."

"In particular, the short and fat blast furnaces developed based on the 'three highs' theory have a huge effect on the low-quality iron ore produced in China."

"Comrade Ye Zhupei believed that this technology should be promoted in steel mills across the country. However, most of my country's steel mills still use Soviet technology, and many steel mills still have Soviet experts. They are not very supportive of converter steelmaking and prefer open-hearth steelmaking."

Wang Heshou was also in a dilemma.

The new China's steel industry still needed support from the Soviet Union in many areas, including large blast furnace equipment, large open-hearth furnace equipment, and more importantly, steel rolling equipment, which was inseparable from the Soviet Union.

Therefore, Soviet consultants had a significant say in the development of the steel industry, or in other words, the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry attached great importance to the opinions of Soviet consultants.

Wei Hongjun asked directly: "Comrade Bo Shuchun, Comrade Wang Heshou, I just want to ask: Is this oxygen converter steelmaking technology beneficial to the development of my country's steel industry? Can it promote the development of my country's steel industry?"

"From the feedback we've received so far, the oxygen converter technology developed under the leadership of Comrade Ye Zhupei has clearly made a significant contribution to the advancement of my country's steel industry."

Bo Shuchun replied.

If it weren't for Bo Shuchun's support when he was in charge of heavy industry construction in the State Council, Ye Zhupei would never have achieved what he has today.

Without Bo Shuchun's support and coordination, how could Xuan Gang cooperate with Ye Zhupei's experiment?

Later, when Bo Shuchun became the director of the State Science and Technology Commission, he further supported Ye Zhupei's steel technology innovation.

Wang Heshou also nodded and said, "The Ministry of Metallurgical Industry has conducted technical verification of Xuangang's oxygen converter steelmaking. They found that oxygen converter steelmaking is more efficient than open-hearth steelmaking. A converter of the same volume is several times more efficient than an open-hearth steelmaking."

"Also, oxygen converter steelmaking requires less investment than open-hearth steelmaking and is less picky about raw materials. In all aspects, the advantages are obvious."

"It's just that the scale of our trials at Xuan Steel is small. If it's used in steel plants with production capacity of hundreds of thousands or even millions of tons, we can't guarantee its success."

"Plus, Soviet experts were more supportive of open-hearth steelmaking, so there was a lot of debate within the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry."

Wei Hongjun asked: "Can the efficiency be several times higher than the current steelmaking?"

"Based on the current Xuan Steel trials, this is indeed the case."

Upon hearing this, Wei Hongjun immediately said, "Then why hesitate? New technology is definitely riskier than old technology. But not using new technology just because of the risk is conservative. Since we've already done so many experiments and have successful experience at Xuan Steel, we should boldly use it."

"It's right to be cautious when facing new technologies, but after a certain amount of testing, if the results are good, we should boldly embrace new technologies."

"Large steel mills like Angang, Benxi Steel, Baotou Steel, and Wuhan Iron and Steel won't be using the new technology yet. Steel mills like Handan Iron and Steel and Liuzhou Iron and Steel, which have Soviet experts, should also wait a bit. We'll start with Xuangang and some local steel mills. If the transformation at these mills yields positive results, we'll officially roll it out across the entire steel industry."

"Comrade Chen Yun, Comrade Deng Xixian, Comrade Li Fuchun, what are your thoughts?"

"I support."

Chen Yun did not express his opinion immediately, but Deng Xixian directly expressed his support.

He said: "We should learn from Soviet technology, but Soviet technology is not a law of nature that we must accept unconditionally. Now that we have better technology, we should boldly try it."

"I support it too."

Li Fuchun nodded and said, "Comrade Wei Hongjun's idea is very sound. Large steel mills like Anshan Iron and Steel, Benxi Iron and Steel, Wuhan Iron and Steel, and Baotou Iron and Steel have stabilized the basic steel supply. Then, even if problems arise with the new technology, the impact will not be too significant. However, if the new technology succeeds, it will be a major steel revolution."

After Deng Xixian and Li Fuchun expressed their support, Chen Yun also nodded slowly.

If they all supported it, things would be much easier. Wei Hongjun asked, "Comrade Li Fuchun, how about you personally take charge of which steel mills should this new technology be further promoted?"

"it is good."

Li Fuchun also wanted to know whether this new technology could really improve steelmaking efficiency.

1090

After the joint meeting, Wei Hongjun specifically kept Bo Shuchun, Zhang Jinfu and Li Shiping to talk.