Rise of the Argentine Empire

If Saint-Hesse is always under the protection of Commander Thompson, he will not be able to achieve greater growth. Therefore, after considering the opinions of Commander Thompson and Professor Perkins.

Which political party to join in order to strengthen himself and attract more people is also a very serious question.

And his real purpose is to improve his relationship with the two big shots for this purpose. After all, asking elders for life experience and showing humility, most of them will be happy to give you pointers, which will invisibly bring you closer.

Most people like those who are humble, polite, and willing to listen to the guidance of their elders. Saint-Hesse also had a lot of casual and heartfelt conversations with the two big shots, establishing many personas.

"Hello, who is this?" Saint-Hesse suppressed his voice, not letting his waking anger affect his emotions.

"Boss, this is Sean, Sean Tarde from the explosives factory. I have bad news to report to you. You need to be mentally prepared."

Saint-Hesse's ears were ringing. Mental preparation? Things were a bit serious. Could it be that old brother Cavo had passed away? Or had the explosives factory taken off?

"Did someone pass away, Sean?"

"That's not it. It's another matter, oh no, not a person's matter, or rather, no one passed away,"

"Every day, you don't sleep at noon, what are you up to? Did the explosives factory explode, or can't you sell the fireworks?"

Saint-Hesse suppressed his anger, relieved in his heart, and spat out the words one by one.

"Boss, it's not that. The situation is like this, it's just that, well, when we, the explosives factory and the mold factory, jointly developed and imitated the M1911A, the pistol exploded during testing. The other few that didn't explode also had various minor problems."

Sean's opening was a sign of big trouble.

"Was anyone injured? Send them to the hospital immediately. Don't talk too much nonsense. Let Rosa in the finance department pay all the medical and nutritional expenses first, and just report it at the end of the month."

"It's already okay. Originally, Phillip and I didn't want to disturb your rest, but there was really no way. The mold factory lacks senior engineers. The people Lucifer recruited can make parts, but there are indeed great difficulties in reverse engineering firearms.

Boss, can you find some people to come and take a look? The parts produced are all one-to-one imitations, but after assembly, there are various minor problems. This time the situation is indeed more serious."

"The stability during testing is very poor. Some fired hundreds of bullets, some had parts deformed, and some exploded directly. The problem with the bullets can be ruled out, and some can't pass the test."

Saint-Hesse also felt that he was a bit careless. Although the mold factory was developing well, rushing to imitate the M1911A was a bit hasty.

"By the way, boss, this time the injured person is the factory director of the mold factory, Phillip. He insisted on testing, and as a result... it exploded..."

"Was he sent to the hospital? I'll solve the problem of firearms talent experts. I've really neglected this issue in the past few months. Let Cross handle the aftermath, and don't worry about the money."

Saint-Hesse was a little worried about Phillip's injuries. Phillip had done a good job with the mold factory and was very motivated and reliable in his work.

"Boss, it's already okay. Actually, we used blank cartridges for the test... There's also a problem, that is, the imitation cost of the M1911A pistol is too high.

It may be a problem with the process, or it may be that the quality of Brazilian steel is poor. Our parts have a very low yield rate, and stamping and lathe production are difficult. This is what Phillip relayed."

"Did the wound heal if you sent him later?" Damn you, it's good if he's okay, don't be so alarmed.

"Boss, how did you know? Hehe."

I didn't expect it to be so troublesome to imitate a pistol. It shouldn't be. Saint-Hesse clearly remembered the famous Peshawar International Vegetable Market in Pakistan.

The crude knockoffs produced in their village, hand-forged weapons, are very cheap and can be used. Could it be that so many machine tool equipment can't even make a pistol?

"Okay, I'll solve this problem. I'll find someone to get a few Beretta M series pistol samples and send them to you. See if this will be simpler."

These were brought over from Europe by Saine, made in Italy, relatively inexpensive and of good quality. The production process should be simpler, and the material strength doesn't need to be so high.

"Boss, there's another matter, it's good news. The first batch of capacity of the Rein Fertilizer Factory is in sight. The factory building has also been built, but the debugging of the production equipment will take several months. The raw materials connected with Thunder Mining have also been put in place.

It is expected that a portion of the capacity can be put into production as early as January next year, about 20,000 tons.

I would like to apply to you in the near future to further expand the production scale of the explosives factory. Pulari International has already contacted an Australian coal mining company. They need a very large amount of mining explosives.

The current demand orders have already begun to pile up a lot. I have already prepared a telegram and plan. If you have time, see if it is feasible."

"Okay, next time you call, call in the evening, don't call at noon, otherwise something will happen sooner or later.

Your boss is also a person who needs to rest."

"Understood, boss, you go to rest first, I will definitely, definitely next time."

Saint-Hesse hung up the phone. Sean reported three messages. One was that the M1911A knockoff plan might be aborted. This was a big problem.

Saint-Hesse realized that he still underestimated the pistol production process. The knockoffs he produced were even more expensive than the original, so what's the point? He couldn't make money and couldn't get orders from the Ministry of Defense.

This definitely wouldn't work. He made his own production line, but he didn't have research and development capabilities. Even if it was a precise imitation, reverse engineering, it still required technical expertise. Purchasing a production line was the way to break the problem.

The second was that the first phase of the fertilizer plant's capacity would be put into production in January next year, which was good news. Saint-Hesse himself could solve the sales of fertilizer. It was estimated that the surrounding areas of Ke City and Maria would be sold out.

And then there was the expansion of the explosives factory's capacity, which was good news, but it meant spending money again.

By the way, in my impression, Australia not only has coal mines, but also high-grade iron ore!

It seems that I need to investigate the current situation of iron ore in Australia when I have time. It seems that it won't be mined until the 1960s in my memory. Australia is not an iron ore exporting country now. If I can invest or establish an iron ore company,

The iron ore source for the steel plant will be no problem in the future, and maybe I can make a fortune.

After all, Vale is Brazilian, and the infrastructure in Bolivia, which has iron ore, is poor, and the mining investment is not cost-effective. It takes too long.

Now I don't have the strength to occupy the Bolivian iron ore.

Bolivia now has a lot of guerrillas and indigenous tribes, and getting caught in it is a bottomless pit.

Thunder Mining hasn't even gained a foothold in the Potassium Triangle, and it's too early to develop Bolivian iron ore and coal mines. The upfront investment alone can't be sustained.

I'm not in the mood to continue taking a nap, and I plan to go to the engineering department to see if there are any weapons development talents in Bu City.

...

Maria Mold Factory, Sean, who hung up the boss's phone, turned to look at the ten-person team drawn from the mold factory and the explosives factory. Most of them were small processing experts, as well as Cruz, the person in charge of the Thunder Cross Maria branch.

Now the atmosphere in the entire factory is very depressing, and everyone's mood is very heavy.

Phillip's physical condition was not as optimistic as Sean said. Bandages wrapped around his right hand and were fixed with splints. His left hand was burned by explosives and was a bit dark. He applied wound medicine, which didn't look as serious as his right hand.

"Phillip, are you sure you don't want to notify the boss about this physical condition? Hey, it's not that I'm talking about you, just use blank cartridges for testing, why do you have to test it yourself?" Sean couldn't help but sigh. In the past three or four months, the two had a lot of contact and became good friends.

"This is the first time our mold factory has developed firearms, and it is also the boss's first important task. I can't let down the boss's hope. It is right for me to do dangerous things, otherwise the boss will give me so much salary, and every day I just produce these covers and iron mouth rings and other small things, which have no technical content at all." Phillip was also producing high-precision products for the first time, and he was indeed a bit overwhelmed.

The trial-produced pistol has reached the final stage. It has been tested for seven rounds in the past few days.

Looking at the results of the test reaction, the entire design performance results of the gun have come out. It was originally possible to basically finalize the design, this is the prototype gun, but there are too many problems, which led to a big problem, and there is no professional solution.

"I'm a bit sorry for the boss. It's clear that everything is right, but the performance and safety are far from good, and the bullets used are all the same." The general manager of the production department, Lotte, was also a bit worried, with a worried look on his face.

"Is the craftsmanship of this pistol too complicated, leading to metal fatigue, or is it a problem with our craftsmanship, is there a problem with stamping."

"We made a full 7 versions, but each one has minor problems. There's a huge gap before we can mass produce them, and they're even a complete failure," Phillip said with some pain.

Phillip was a state-owned factory director in Rosario who had been laid off. Many factories didn't dare to hire him, and it was even difficult to find work as a laborer. When Lucifer found him, he was truly on the verge of collapse.

Every day, he pretended to go to work at the factory, not daring to tell his family. Phillip was of British descent, and when you first met him, he was full of a gentlemanly air. In fact, that swallow-tailed coat hadn't been worn in ten years, and he only put it on to leave a good impression on the boss.

Moreover, the mold factory really had excellent financial management. The workers were very supportive and had a lot of affection for it. Starting with the Plarrie factory, wages were paid on time every month, without delay, even in the most difficult times.

They spared no expense to build dormitories and canteens, and the benefits were particularly good, so everyone was full of energy.

Phillip had a lot of affection for the newly established mold factory. This time, he attached great importance to the task assigned by Saint Hesser, striving for perfection even with bottle caps, but the production of gun parts was indeed not as simple as just working hard.

The process included blanks, stamping, forging, rifling, fine carving, anti-corrosion, and metal cutting. There were no ready-made molds, hand lathes, and various problems that needed to be overcome step by step.

As a result, the products produced had problems when armed. Serious ones even exploded in the chamber. It wasn't simply a technical problem. The scrap rate of parts was too high, resulting in each one being more expensive to produce than importing from the United States, and the performance wasn't great either. They couldn't even find out where the problem was.

"The problem may be in these steels, or it may be a problem with the processing. We are just mold workers and cannot solve the assembly problems that occur after a one-to-one replication," Phillip had actually tried several times, but it was indeed beyond his ability.

"We can only wait for the boss's news. It would be best to find an engineer or technical expert to check where the problem lies."

Phillip's eyes were bloodshot. He had already stayed up for several days. His hand was injured and dislocated in an explosion. It wasn't a major problem, but he estimated that his right hand would be useless for a month or two, and he could only eat with his left hand.

"In fact, it would be best to have the original production line. Our factory's development capabilities are too poor, and we can't fully understand this decades-old product.

After all, these machine tools are okay for producing small parts, but for large-scale cutting and processing, we need more powerful lathes. Our factory doesn't have the support of the entire country's talent, and there are many small problems."

Cultivating talent and developing weapons is not a task that can be accomplished overnight. The Maria Mold Factory doesn't even have a second-hand production line. It's a bit of a stretch to rely on these to produce light weapons. Saint Hesser is indeed a little too impatient.

......

Bucheng University, Engineering Department,

Saint Hesser watched Cicero and his teacher who seemed to be working on a fresh little gadget, which seemed to be an engine?

"Cicero, what are you guys working on?"

"Cohen, this is a Japanese-made motorcycle internal combustion engine. My teacher and I plan to conduct surveying and mapping to see if there is a chance to replicate one. This is my final assignment."

"That's amazing. By the way, Cicero, would you like to have dinner together tonight? I have something I want to ask you and would like to ask you for a favor."

"You're too kind, too kind."

"We're all pretty free. Why don't we go eat barbecue tonight, without drinking?"

"No problem, you guys go ahead and get busy."

Saint Hesser couldn't pin his hopes on Cicero to solve the problem. It just so happened that the intelligence team didn't have any tasks recently, so he asked them to inquire whether there were any mechanical manufacturing experts in Bucheng, preferably weapons experts.

Lucifer's side did have difficulties. If he poached people again, he would be targeted. Now, he had searched Rosario for all the free skilled workers, offending many people and almost getting shot in the back.

Argentina only has a few light weapons factories. Many of them produce weapons by importing parts from abroad.

All the gun technology experts are treasures, and they rarely flow out. Bucheng does have a few military factories, but unfortunately, they haven't found out the location yet, so it's not easy to find someone to do things. Everything is difficult at the beginning.

After all, this isn't making canned food, nor is it producing soda and beer, or clothing textile factories.

It has technical content. They can't even buy production line equipment, and even steel materials have to be imported. There are many difficulties, but they must be done.

If it really doesn't work, they will have to consider buying a production line in Europe. Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden, Austria, these countries all have light weapons production lines,

It's just that I don't know if they will sell it, after all, I am not the Argentine government. The introduction of weapons production lines is mostly a matter between countries. It's a pity to give up.

If I can take advantage of the situation to cultivate my own mechanical equipment enterprises, even if I lose some money in the early stage, it will be very useful, especially in terms of talent training.

The French also have some weapons production lines, while the German military factories were almost completely dismantled by the Americans and the Soviets, leaving not much left, and the remaining ones are not for sale.

The problem of the bullet production line is not big. The 9mm bullet is the future standard caliber of NATO. If we can get a bullet production line, we can at least eat a bite of the international market. Of course, the production of bullets also has very high requirements for metal smelting technology.

Six o'clock in the afternoon, Masrila Barbecue Restaurant,

Cicero, with his teacher and some senior brothers, slowly arrived late. There were a total of five people.

Saint Hesser hurriedly greeted everyone to sit down. The waiter had just brought up the dishes, including corn chowder, steamed corn flour, alpaca sashimi, charcoal grilled beef, beef-filled empanadas, and sausage sandwiches, all classic Argentine delicacies.

Saint Hesser took a sip of the chowder and ate a piece of cake.

"Cohen, this is my professional teacher, Professor Williams Mackie."

"Hello, Professor Williams, I am very honored to meet you."

Cicero introduced his senior brothers who were also mechanical experts, Tom Parker, Louis Danpas, Martin Bugle.

Everyone was a happy host and guest, chatting for a long time, including the automobile industry, and Saint Hesser got to the point.

"Professor, I want to ask, are there any kind of mechanical experts in Bucheng who are relatively free, preferably those who understand some weapons production?"

"Oh? What is your purpose?" The old professor put down the barbecue in his hand, raised his eyebrows, and found that things were not simple.

"I am helping a factory called Rein Military Gun Factory to find a mechanical expert. We are preparing to produce a pistol for the Ministry of Defense that has a problem. All the parts are the same, but it just can't be assembled well. There are also problems with the test firing, and it even exploded in the chamber."

Saint Hesser put gold on his mold factory and gunpowder factory cooperation, and it is indeed necessary to produce them separately in the future.

"In that case, I do know some people, but they all have confidentiality agreements. There are also those who are not in the military machinery field, and I can introduce them to you."

The professor relaxed and picked up a piece of alpaca sashimi. The aroma was very simple.

"Safety is very important for military standard weapons." He didn't forget to give Saint Hesser some pointers while eating meat.

"That's great, Professor, thank you for your help this time." Saint Hesser decided to set up a gun laboratory in Bucheng for research and development, and the real production would still be in Maria Town.

Then Saint Hesser introduced the productivity tools of the Maria Mold Factory and introduced those specific equipment, he remembered them clearly.

"Cohen, I'll tell you a possibility, just listen to it"

"I think you may have been scammed by the Americans. There is already a more advanced machine tool."

"That is... a CNC machine tool!"

"CNC machine tool, CNC machine tool..." Saint Hesser murmured to himself, his eyes became dull, his face suddenly turned pale, and he didn't speak for a long time.

"Damn Americans, they scammed me out of more than a million US dollars, more than a million, this is a long time of hard work." These words kept echoing in his mind.

"It seems that their factory was really scammed by the Americans. It's not just that they bought a bunch of low-precision second-hand machine tools at a high price, it's just a pile of scrap iron," No wonder there was no problem producing beer bottle caps, and it was even quite smooth.

"Don't be so pessimistic, it's not as serious as you said.

Old machine tools are still very useful, and they are not useless. They can still produce some small things, but for guns, even a little bit of precision can cause big problems, and then there is the steel you mentioned, it is best to use higher performance ones."

"With the participation and assistance of MIT, CNC machine tools were successfully developed in 1949. They officially made the first prototype of a vacuum tube CNC machine tool, successfully solving the automation problem of processing complex parts in small batches of multiple varieties." He also paid close attention to the new machine tools internationally, and even wanted to buy one to try, but the Ministry of Education did not approve it.

"In the end, our motherland is too backward and has too little knowledge."

"Damn Americans." Saint Hesser said with gritted teeth.