Wild North America 1846

Chapter 629 The cost of developing industry

Author: Portuguese toothless

The development of the Royal Navy in the Tang Empire was a long-term process. The military budget was allocated on an annual basis. It never compared with the rich and powerful British Royal Navy and steadily advanced at its own pace;

In addition to the government's military budget, the Royal Home Office will also allocate special funds to help the Royal Navy pay part of its ship purchase bill.

In the three years of 1873, 1874 and 1875, the Royal Household Office allocated 2.2 million, 3.15 million and 3.56 million Tangyuan special funds for the equipment updating of a series of key enterprises such as Royal Salem Shipyard and Chang'an Heavy Industry.

, and also subsidize the cost of purchasing ships for the Royal Navy.

After Emperor Richard inspected the new warships, he was generally satisfied, but he still felt a little worried in his heart;

in the original history

More than ten years later, the Manchu and Qing court ordered two giant ironclad ships, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, from Germany. They were derived from the German-made "Saxon" class ironclads. They also had two 305mm twin main guns, a 150mm secondary gun and a 76mm

The secondary battery and firepower configuration are basically the same as those of the "Zhenyang" class.

The only difference is that the main gun is set up in the armored gun room amidships, and the forward and rear firing ranges are relatively limited, so it can only fire sideways.

In the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War

The fleets led by the two giant ships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan performed poorly and were defeated by the Fusang fleet's faster ships and more powerful rapid-fire artillery fire, which ultimately led to the national disaster of the Chinese nation.

Therefore, ship strength and artillery power are not the key factors for winning a decisive battle at sea. The level of ship maneuvering of the Royal Navy officers and soldiers, their strong fighting spirit and the commander's ability to assess the situation will all be important factors that affect the decisive battle at sea.

"...

The Royal Navy is a highly specialized and highly technical military force. It must pay attention to formalized military education and select elites who are loyal and passionate about navigation to join the Royal Navy..." Emperor Richard said with a serious expression.

The royal personal secretary standing aside quickly took notes with a pen in his hand, which will be compiled into a guidance document in the future and will be implemented by the Royal Navy as the main theme.

After a few words of advice, Emperor Richard changed the subject and asked, "How are the preparations for the Royal Naval Academy in Salem going? Where exactly is it placed?"

Marshal Pan Hengchen, Minister of the Royal Navy, stepped forward quickly, saluted respectfully and replied;

"The Royal Navy is complying with His Majesty's decree and in reply to His Majesty's inquiry. All preparations for the Royal Naval Academy in Salem have been completed, and the campus construction is generally ready. The official enrollment will begin next month.

The college is located on the Gulf of Maine, 27 kilometers north of Salem. The campus covers an area of ​​about 377 acres, with beautiful scenery and an exclusive pier for the college.

The three-masted sailing battleship USS Constitution captured during the North American War is now one of the teaching ships of the college and is equipped with a strong teaching staff.

The Naval Academy has a complete range of departments including Command Department, Navigation Department, Communications Department, Torpedo Department, Gunslinger Department, Marine Engineering Department, Mechanical and Electrical Department, Steam Machinery Department, etc., which will continue to provide high-quality grassroots officers to the Royal Navy.

This is a deep confidence.”

"Oh... the Gulf of Maine, that's a nice place." Emperor Richard responded with sudden realization.

He just thought of it and asked, Salem Royal Naval Academy is already the fourth naval academy.

Previously, the Navy Department had accumulated rich experience in running schools and also had a considerable talent reserve. As long as financial allocations were in place and the construction of school facilities was in place, preparations could be made very quickly.

Do the math on your fingers

The last time the emperor visited the north was more than ten years ago. Major northern cities such as Salem, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver had not been visited for a long time, and now they saw that they had changed drastically.

There is really no way around this. The territory of the empire is too vast. His Majesty the Emperor's southern tour would take half a year. That was already three years ago.

It was during that time in 1873 that he visited Panama in the south and inspected the Nicaragua Canal project.

Whether it is the eastern provinces of the Tang Dynasty, the southeastern provinces, or the northern provinces, a tour may take as little as two or three months, or as long as half a year or even longer.

It will take more than ten years to complete the circle?

As an important industrial town in the northern part of the Tang Empire, Salem was also a metropolis with a population of over one million. It was as famous as the central city Chicago and the southern city Los Angeles, collectively known as the "Three Industrial Cities".

When it comes to this, Portland, the capital of Oregon Province, feels a bit lonely. In the decades-long industrial development competition with Salem, Portland finally lost.

Today, Portland is ranked as a second-tier industrial city along with Detroit, Taoyuan, Seattle, Houston, Mexico City, etc. Its industrial industry scale, category and output value are far inferior to the first three.

The development of industry in Salem is not without cost. In the more than 40 kilometers of coastal industrial zone, tall chimneys stand like a forest, spewing thick black smoke day and night.

The entire city's buildings and streets seemed to be coated with a layer of smoky gray. Clean clothes became dirty after being worn for a day, and the rainwater collected after it rained was gray-black.

every winter

The snow layer below is gray-black and the top is white. Soon, the snow above will also turn gray-black. The layers are distinct.

In this era, there was little awareness of environmental protection and little awareness of worker protection. When people saw the tall chimneys, they would only feel sincerely proud and admire the great power of industry.

Emperor Richard was well aware of the dangers of environmental pollution, but he had no good solution. The only requirement was that workers wear masks.

In the early stages of industrial development, due to the limitations of technological level, it was impossible to emphasize any environmental protection measures.

Petrochemical plants burn a large amount of separated useless gasoline or pour it into the sea. The thick black smoke from the factory chimney shows that the thermal efficiency is not high and the combustion is not sufficient.

This is not intentional, but is limited by today's technological level.

This is the case in Senem. Isn't it the same in big European cities such as London, Paris, and Berlin?

When the Royal Navy in Salem inspected the shipyard, there was countless amounts of fly ash and dust floating in the air, as well as a pungent smell.

The pungent smell came from the fertilizer factory of the nearby Coast Chemical Industry Company, which is a heavily guarded factory area and outsiders are strictly prohibited from entering.

The rich harvests of agriculture and animal husbandry in the Tang Empire were inseparable from the precious resources of fertilizer factories and guano mines, but this strange smell really made people sick!

After leaving the Royal Naval Dockyard in Salem, Emperor Richard had no intention of staying longer and took the royal train directly to the Portland Palace, where the emperor was stationed.

On the train

Emperor Richard washed his face and was speechless when he saw most of the black water in the gold basin.

Just for a moment

There was black dust all over my hair, face, ears, eyes and nostrils. It would be difficult to get clean unless I changed all my clothes and washed them thoroughly from top to bottom.

After cleaning, he went to the royal luxury box and saw Liang Bojun and Lu Dawei, deputy directors of the Royal Secretariat, standing by the side. He hesitated and gave instructions;

"The industrial chimneys in Salem raise so much dust. Is there any harm in eating so much soot? Is there any way to solve it?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this...Wei Chen has no countermeasures for a while. Can we allow this time to convene some experts and scholars to study this issue and find a solution?"

"I have an idea..."

"Your Majesty, please make it clear."

"The large amount of smoke and dust is obviously a drawback caused by insufficient combustion. If a sprinkler system is installed, that is, spraying water to form a water mist curtain, it should be able to greatly reduce the generation of dust. What do you think?"

"This... is wonderful, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Liang Bojun looked stunned for a moment and then showed surprise, and lost no time in flattering him.

"Your Majesty is so wise, we ordinary people are far inferior to you." Lu Dawei's compliment came completely from his heart.

The measures His Majesty mentioned are simple, easy to implement, not expensive and have remarkable results.

Just think about it

As long as a water mist spray system is installed at an appropriate position in the chimney, it is possible to intercept more than 90% of the smoke and dust. It is a brilliant idea!

Emperor Li Chahun waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "That's it, Lu Aiqing will take the lead in supervising this matter. Once it is proven feasible, it will be promoted to all major industrial zones in the empire."

"The humble minister obeys the decree."

"Well, step back."

"I'll take my leave."

After seeing the two people leaving, Emperor Richard sat down in a comfortable luxury seat and lit a cigar. Soon, the thick cigar smoke filled the carriage.

The royal train moved forward with a roar, and the scenery outside the window continued to recede.

The city scene of Salem outside the window is like that of the Crusoe Steam Age. Among the tall gray-black urban buildings, thick steam pipes can often be seen passing across the sky, and the tall chimneys make the sky darken.

The entire city is filled with the industrial power of the steam age, gray, dirty and rough, accompanied by the regular noise of mechanical operation, like a strong beating heart.

As the train speeds forward, urban buildings and chimneys gradually become rarer, and large tracts of fields appear in the wilderness, as well as herds of cattle and sheep.

Unconsciously

The special train has left the urban area of ​​Salem. The dark clouds and mists in the sky quietly passed away, and large areas of blue sky and white clouds appeared again. The river water was clear again...

Looking back at the city shrouded in gray clouds and fog, Emperor Richard sighed sincerely; perhaps, this is the price that must be paid for the development of industry!

At the end of July this year, the national economic output of the Tang Empire had surpassed the United Kingdom and ranked first in the world.

The severe world economic crisis that lasted for two and a half years has finally come to an end. The Tang Empire's foreign trade rebounded strongly in the third quarter, driving economic growth to 4.7% in the third quarter, showing signs of strong recovery.

If nothing unexpected happens

The Tang Empire's total economic output for the year will surpass that of the United Kingdom, stabilizing its position as the world's largest economic power.

In this way, Emperor Richard finally breathed a sigh of relief. The worst days were over, but could the good days of prosperity be far behind?

Various indicators in the third quarter of this year show that there are clear signs of recovery from international trade to domestic production and consumption. Residents’ willingness to invest has increased, factories are operating more, and even the prices of agricultural products have a further upward trend, which is undoubtedly a good thing.

Omen.