Chapter 137 Sadness and indignation

Just after the foreign calendar year, a snow fell in Shanghai in the north. There was even thin ice on the edge of the Huangpu River, and there was some fog on the river. The fog made the Huangpu River more or less complicated, but the river ships and warships on the river were also hidden in the fog.

Looking at the other side from the window, the fog made the industrial building that had been covered with three floors completely hazy, and he couldn't see it at all. Then he strode back to his desk. Chen Moran, who was in a good mood, sat on the luxurious leather chair next to the table and glanced at the report spread on the table. The report was sent in a large envelope, which was divided into two parts. One was a report written in the company's official letter paper, and the copy was a French laboratory report.

There is also a Chinese report under the report of the French laboratory. In addition to the translation of the report of the French laboratory, there is also a sample analysis report of Dr. Charles, the director of the laboratory of the Jianghuai Road Mining Company. Dr. Charles is the director of the mineral sample laboratory hired by the Jianghuai Road Mining Company. Located in Ma'anshan.

The sample analysis report was sent to Shanghai by Hu Nianzu, the general manager of Jianghuai Road Mine, by express boat. The samples tested in the laboratory were brought back from the Shaer Lake area of Shanshan County three months ago when he got lost in Xinjiang Province.

The team driver named Chen Yuan, like other drivers in the team, is an amateur player. He is a technician of the road mining company. He has studied geology in the Ziqiang School and has a certain understanding of minerals. That's why he found the mine.

Dr. Charles didn't say a word of nonsense in the report. The summary of the report is short and to the point. The samples provided by the company are high-grade sodium saltpeter, that is, Chilean saltpeter. Since the middle of the last century, Chilean saltpetre has not only been used by European countries to make fertilizer, but also the only source of gunpowder and extract nitric acid from various military factories in Europe and the United States. As an important raw material for the chemical industry, it has a very high strategic value.

Compared with Dr. Charles's laboratory report, Chen Yuan's report is the most important. In the report, he mentioned the discovery of a large number of ubiquite symbiotic sodium nitrite with gypsum, nitrite and stone salts, and it was preliminarily determined that the reserves of sodium pyrite were more than one million tons.

And he dug up some of the samples at that time, including samples associated with menthol and gypsum, as well as pure sodium saltpeter. When he asked the French to test in France, he used those saltpeter samples, and it was verified that the quality and content of clear sodium saltpeter samples were better than that of Chilean sodium pinite.

White gold! If it weren't for the figures in the report, Chen Moran would never have thought that saltpetre had the name of white gold in this era, which was also the only source of industrial extraction of nitric acid.

Leaning back against the chair and looking at the figures mentioned in the analysis report, Chen Moran whistled gently.

"A sodium nitrate mine worth billions of yuan!"

Recently, Chen Moran has been in a good mood. The Mustang team first won the race from Yanjing to Paris. Almost at the first time it won the race, the first batch of Mustang cars arrived in Britain and France. The Mustang cars sold in the European market were improved on the basis of the Mustang prototype. Car.

Who can imagine from its simple structure and simple appearance that this kind of car uses many original technologies in the automotive industry in this era. In addition to the large use of vanadium steel, the installation of planetary gear transmission system, and the use of a perfect electric ignition system, the new technology also includes a splatter lubrication system and a unique rear drive shaft and a three-point suspension working principle. Naturally, the body of the car also has the distinctive "bush" logo, and the cheap labor costs in China make cars sold at a price equivalent to only one-third of that of European and American cars.

With the Mustang team driving the Mustang car to win the race. Although the press praised it cautiously, and said that it must quote European and American technology and parts, otherwise the Chinese would never be able to make such a good car.

But the vast number of consumers in Britain and France are fascinated by this kind of superior, low-cost and easy-to-maintain product. The first batch of 1,000 Mustang cars of 200 pounds was sold out in the French and British markets in a short time.

When the Mustang team won the rally from New York to San Francisco sponsored by New Jersey Standard, the American people were also conquered by this cheap and superior car, and the order flew to the Mustang Company like snow. And those customers who bought Mustang cars in advance also contributed to newspapers and companies or called to tell their praise and love for Mustang cars.

In a few days, the news media joined in, and all kinds of praise were overwhelming, so that the whole United States was submerged in the frenzy of Mustang cars, and even a reporter wrote an article to point out.

"Silent? The greatest joy Mr. Chen brings to people with his superior and low-priced Mustang car is to read the car from the entertainment tools of the rich, and to show people such a glorious prospect: the problem that has plagued people for thousands of years is about to be solved, and a new life is about to begin!"

In October last year, less than two months after the batch launch of Mustang, in the face of orders for more than 30,000 cars, limited production capacity, the company had to issue announcements in various media through cooperative agents in the United States and Europe, announcing that all the stock of Mustang had been sold.

But even so, the enthusiasm of the European and American people for Mustang cars is still increasing. The phone calls, telegrams and letters of orders continue one after another. Even just after the Western calendar year, dozens of salesmen from the United States took a boat to China and sat at the Pudong Mustang Automobile Company. On the one hand, they were waiting for the company to deliver the goods, and on the other hand, Negotiate the agency with the company.

It's just that those who try to make a fortune by acting for Mustang sales do not know that the agency of Mustang has been handed over to a car sales company under Rockefeller's name, and New Jersey Standard Oil Company has mature sales channels all over the world.

The large-scale export of Mustang cars, perhaps since the end of the tea and silk era, China's export products have won orders from all over the world for the first time, and it has increased unabated, but limited by production capacity, Mustang Motor Company can only produce up to 8,000 cars this year, unless waiting for the annual production. The main factory of the Mustang Automobile Factory has been put into use, otherwise it is impossible to meet the increasing orders.

On the other hand, the news came from the capital that the position of the governors of the two rivers was fiercely contested by all parties. The generals who controlled the southeast did not want to see the two rivers being infected by the imperial court, so that the governors of the two rivers were temporarily subordinate to Zhang Zhidong, which also made Chen Moran, who had been worried. Take a breath.

What's more, Zhang Zhidong specially sent someone to Shanghai and told him, "You can rest assured about everything, and the promise of Daengzhuang will not be abandoned!" This sentence is undoubtedly not a reassurance. The only concern is that with the position of the governor of the two rivers, it is always like a sharp sword hanging in his heart, but generally speaking, everything is fine.

At present, the company found another "big gold mine". When people were stimulated by the silver, their mood naturally became better. Chen Moran picked up the phone from the table.

"Zheqin, come here right away."

In just one minute, Guan Mingtang came across the manager's office of the two offices. Since he became the general manager of the industrial company, although he has adjusted the development direction of the industrial company, the car mania was beyond his expectation. The only unexpected thing is that Chen Moran used his oil field. He "tied" Rockefeller to his car.

For Rockefeller and even the British bankers who have obtained shares in the Mexican oil field, how to expand the application scope of oil is the only thing they need to consider. The increase in the number of cars has made the gasoline that has been discarded as waste oil after extracting kerosene has a place to use. Naturally, they are happy. It is intended to help the sales of Mustang cars in Europe and the United States, and even Rockefeller's tankers, to help the industry deliver cars to the United States at cost.

Unexpected help has made the Mustang Automobile Company, which is now a subsidiary of the industrial company. As of New Year's Day, the deposit received only as high as 10 million US dollars, which can't help but make Guan Mingtang sigh.

When Guan Mingtang walked into the room, Chen Moran had stuffed the report on Hell Island and Huangpu Sports School on the table into a drawer, and only Chen Yuan's sodium nitrate report was placed in the record book.

After showing a kind smile to Guan Mingtang, Chen Moran pointed to the table in front of him.

"Zheqin, sit down, I have something for you to help me think about!"

After waiting for Guan Mingtang to speak, Chen Moran handed him the report.

"Well, you see, a report was sent from the mine on Jianghuai Road. Our people accidentally found a large sodium ore mine, that is, Chilean saltpeter. It is estimated that the saltpeter there can be worth billions, or even more..."

When Chen Moran spoke, although Guan Mingtang only glanced through a few pages, he noticed some key terms mentioned in the report.

"Chairman, have we sent someone to carry out detailed exploration?"

"I haven't carried out detailed exploration yet. I'm going to send some people to explore there first, or buy the land there first. In short, we are going to run this mine, which is worth billions of yuan!"

Guan Mingtang just continued to read the report. He is not an insider in doing this, but he is an insider in other aspects.

"Hmm! Chairman, this may indeed be a big gold mine. I know something about sodium nitrate, which is called "white gold" in the outside world.

"Yes, you see, if we go to explore this saltpeter mine, we may find a large mine similar to that of a saltpetre in Chile!"

"Hmm!"

After roughly reading the report in his hand, the report will be combined, but Guan Mingtang looked at Chen Moran.

"If we want to start this mine, we must consider two points!"

"Two points?"

"One is transportation. The mine is in Xinjiang Province. If you want to be mined and exported on a large scale, you need to build a transportation railway. This railway should be roughly calculated... It should exceed 2,000 kilometers, and it needs about 100 million yuan of investment!"

Guan Mingtang's words changed Chen Moran's surprised face. He only thought about the "white gold" but forgot that the white gold was buried in Xinjiang Province. That place was not Huainan. He built a railway for hundreds of kilometers and transported the ore out.

"In addition, do you know the saltpeter war!"

Almost after reading this report, Guan Mingtang recognized that the company's mining of this sodium nitrate mine was completely delusional, but it could not be said directly, so he said so much as a foreshadowing.

"The Saltpeter War?"

Chen Moran was stunned. When will there be a saltpeter war?

"Twenty-three years ago, in order to monopolize this mineral of economic value, Chile wanted to annex part of the saltpeter resources in the territory of neighboring Peru and Bolivia. So in 1879, Chile declared war on Bolivia and Peru at the same time, which was the "Pacific War" carried out by the three Latin American countries. As a result, Chile won the war and signed the Treaty of Amcon in 1883. The treaty stipulates that the entire Atacama Desert shall be transferred to Chile, that is to say, the part of the world's largest saltpeter mine owned by Bolivia and Peru will be ceded to Chile. Chile has become the only saltpeter producer and exporter in the world, which is why sodium saltpeter is called Chilean saltpeter.

Sodium saltpeter is also known as Chilean saltpeter. Chile has indeed gained a huge economic income from saltpetre exports. In the 10 years from 1879 to 1889, Chile's nitrate export tax alone was close to 600 million US dollars, and the total value of nitrate exports exceeded 1.4 billion US dollars. This is indeed an amazing wealth, and the return is far more than the military spending invested by Chile.

Looking at Chen Moran, Guan Mingtang continued to talk.

"Sodium saltpeter is an extremely important strategic resource. All industrial countries use Chilean saltpeter as raw materials for the manufacture of explosives, chemical products and fertilizers. However, Chile can fight a saltpeter war for saltpeter. Xinjiang Province, Xinjiang Province is bordered by Russian Turkestan in the west and British India in the south. These two countries need to import every year. A large amount of saltpeter, if there is a large saltpetre mine, chairman, who can guarantee that they will not fight a saltpetre war? What's more, Russia has always wanted to get involved in Xinjiang, and the saltpetre mine will become the best economic motivation. Therefore, this should still be cautious.

Guan Mingtang's words made Chen Moran wake up and fight for mineral resources. Even a hundred years later, it is not uncommon. What's more, now, if there is really a saltpeter mine, in the face of billions of returns, how can Russia not be involved in Xinjiang Province, with the weakness and incompetence of the Qing Dynasty, now even their so-called "ancestor" The northeastern part of the country is occupied by the Russians, and they don't even dare to let go, let alone Xinjiang Province.

"You mean..."

Not finished speaking, Chen Moran stood up, paced back and forth, walked to the window and stared out of the window again. After the fog dissipated, the construction site of the Industrial Bank Building had appeared.

What have you done since you came to this time and space? In the face of the helpless reality, we constantly sacrificed short-term benefits in exchange for the so-called long-term benefits, exchanged oil fields for a large amount of liquidity, as well as the support of Rockefeller and British financiers for cars, and even in Fisher's 20-year oil supply guarantee, on the one hand, for themselves, on the other hand, it is not useless. To get the "friendship" of the future British Secretary of the Navy.

Although the return is far greater than that of the oil field to a certain extent, Rockefeller and British financiers helped the Mustangs stand in Europe and the United States for the sake of the market, but Fisher can't guarantee Britain's bottom-most interference when that day comes. This return seems to be rich, but there is more or less helplessness.

This is the helplessness of national power! If this Qing Dynasty is a powerful country, how can it sacrifice part of its external interests again and again, and even not be mined together with this mineral in China's territory, just for fear of Russian interference or triggering a war? If Xinjiang is really annexed by Russia because of saltpetre, then it is really a nation. Sinner.

"Oh!"

With a long sigh, Chen Moran's expression became a little complicated. He said abruptly to Guan Mingtang behind him.

"Why is it unfortunate to be born in China!"

After hearing this sentence spit out of Chen Moran's mouth, Guan Mingtang frowned. Looking at Chen Moran's back, his eyes became a little complicated, but after the complexity, it was lighter.

"Why is it unfortunate to be born in China!"

How unfortunate it is to be born in this country. Even if you want to achieve a career, you still need to consider foreign interference. Is this country really a country?

"I want to do a big business, Pudong, Ma'anshan, Huainan, Mustang Automobile, uh-huh! And our Yangtze River Shipbuilding, I tried to save the decline of this country with all my strength, but what about the result? Look at it..."

Perhaps provoked by this incident, Chen Moran pointed to the bridge not far away.

"Those Jews who were squeezed in Europe pressed me and forced me to lose a tael of silver, forcing me to build a bridge into this spiral bridge, and even now they are still thinking about how to make me unable to build the bridge. Now we have found a saltpeter mine, but we have to worry about the Russians and the British who have occupied Xinjiang for the sake of saltpetre! This country should have been screwed up a long time ago!"

Chen Moran's face was full of anger and calculated. From the arrival of this era, almost every frustration was more or less related to the weakness and incompetence of the "Qing Kingdom". The hatred in his heart naturally increased by one point. Maybe he was afraid of poverty, so he valued money.

Turning around, he ignored the surprise on Guan Mingtang's face. When he sat back on the leather European chair again, Chen Moran said something hatefully.

"Sor later, sooner or later, I have to set this captive Qing Dynasty up!"

Listening to these words, Guan Mingtang, who was in shock, stared at Chen Moran, as if he wanted to find out whether it was a joke or not, but the result made him find that Chen Moran said this sentence, which was definitely not just that simple. Thinking of some unknown situations in the company, he suddenly realized some problems.

"However...ran! You can't say these words outside. I don't know how many eyes are staring at you now!"

He raised his head and looked at Guan Mingtang, and Chen Moran asked coldly.

"What about you? Zheqin, will you stare at me?

(to be continued)