After returning to Shenzhou City, Li Xin, Zhao Bingzhang, Wei Dahai and others immediately went to the Liaodong Ironworks near Fushun Pass.
After two or three months of construction, several huge blast furnaces now stand in the Liaodong Ironworks.
Nearby, the ore crushing workshop had already begun its work, its engines roaring.
Even the coal mined from the Fushun coal mine is coked after being transported to the vicinity of the Liaodong Ironworks.
Although the blast furnace is not yet fully completed, other preparatory work at the Liaodong Ironworks is in full swing.
Upon hearing of Li Xin's arrival, Zhang Hong and the others hurriedly came to greet him.
Covered in dust and somewhat disheveled, Zhang Hong approached Li Xin, gently patted his clothes, and said, "This humble servant greets Your Highness Prince Xin!"
"Get up!"
Li Xin quickly reached out his hands to help Zhang Hong up.
Zhang Hong was startled and quickly said, "Your Highness, this humble servant is dirty..."
"It's alright."
Li Xin smiled and said, "This is the fruit of our labor, what's dirty about it? This is all the hope of our Liaodong!"
After helping Zhang Hong up, Li Xin ignored the noisy and messy surroundings and the choking air, and strode inside.
As they walked, Li Xin asked, "On the way here, I saw that coking had already started. Iron ore crushing and screening have also begun."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Zhang Hong nodded and said, "The Fushun coal mine started operations a month or two ago, and most of the coal produced has been transported to the ironworks."
It's not winter now, so coal briquette stove production isn't high, and honeycomb briquettes aren't selling very well either. Plus, they haven't found a market in Liaodong yet.
Therefore, after the coal was delivered, it couldn't be left unused. So I had them coke-process it first to prepare for the ironworks to start production.
As for iron ore processing, it's more complex and slower, so construction started relatively early.
"Uh-huh."
Li Xin nodded and continued, "It's good to prepare early!"
I see that several blast furnaces have already been built, and their scale is indeed much larger than that of the Dongning Ironworks.
"Zhang Hong, when will these blast furnaces be completed?"
"Your Highness,"
Zhang Hong pointed to several towering blast furnaces not far away and introduced them, saying, "The blast furnaces here that are being built relatively quickly are all iron smelting blast furnaces."
The project is now basically completed, and the final inspection and debugging are underway. It is expected to be put into operation in another six or seven days.
The blast furnace was put into operation first, and ironmaking began immediately after it went into production.
As for the converters still under construction on the other side, they are all for steelmaking.
This part is progressing rather slowly; it's estimated to take at least another month.
"Not bad, the progress is quite fast!"
Li Xin nodded and said, "Compared to the Dongning Ironworks back then, it has made great progress! It has also become more and more experienced. After the Liaodong Ironworks here is built, we will go to the Benxi Iron Mine Area in Anshan to build a branch of the Liaodong Ironworks."
Being close to iron ore producing areas also saves us the trouble of transporting iron ore.
Zhang Hong's eyes lit up, and he stared wide-eyed at Li Xin.
Are they going to build a branch factory so soon?
That means the construction of the third steel plant is about to begin!
That's surprisingly fast!
After a moment, Zhang Hong reacted, looked at Li Xin, and said with a face full of surprise, "Your Highness, so fast?"
"We have to hurry!"
Li Xin said with a smile, "Our war with Li Ming has entered a war of attrition. In the coming period, it will depend on which side can outlast the other."
On the front lines, the daily consumption of bullets, shells, and grenades is enormous.
Moreover, we are constantly expanding our military.
Weapons and ammunition both require large quantities of steel.
Once the Liaodong Ironworks is completed, the Liaodong Manufacturing Bureau can also begin construction simultaneously.
Only here can it truly become an important logistical base!
"Your Highness, I understand!"
Zhang Hong nodded.
In the two years since Zhang Hong took charge of the Dongning Ironworks, he has accumulated a wealth of experience.
Moreover, he also trained many apprentices.
The experience gained during the construction of the Liaodong Ironworks was also refined.
Next, the construction of the Liaodong Ironworks branch plant was accelerated even further!
Hearing Li Xin's words, Zhang Hong felt more confident.
After walking a while further ahead, Li Xin and the others also saw the converter steelmaking area.
Although this place is still under construction, it has already taken shape.
"Your Highness, look."
Zhang Hong pointed to this area and said, "In order to reduce the number of steps, the molten iron produced after we smelt iron is directly transported to the converter by subcontractor and poured into the converter to be smelted into steel."
It saves time in steelmaking and also improves steelmaking efficiency!
This is the gantry crane we built specifically for subcontracting molten iron.
Following the direction Zhang Hong pointed, Li Xin looked at the huge gantry crane above his head.
The gantry crane is erected on a solid reinforced concrete wall, with several steel beams running horizontally above it and pulleys and iron chains pulling a huge ladle of molten iron below.
Have you tried it?
Li Xin frowned and asked, "Can these gantry cranes withstand such heavy weight?"
"It has already been tested."
Zhang Hong nodded and said, "These gantry cranes can lift nearly 20,000 jin of iron blocks at a time. Although the transportation process is slow, they can still be transferred to the converter."
The load-bearing capacity of the molten iron ladle has also been tested. Moreover, we tested loading molten iron during iron smelting some time ago, and everything was quite safe.
"Your Highness, please rest assured!"
"Uh-huh!"
Li Xin nodded and reiterated, "Safety is the most important thing! Be careful in everything you do!"
"I will heed Your Highness's instructions!"
Zhang Hong quickly agreed.
After walking a short distance further, railway tracks appeared on the ground.
Zhang Hong pointed to the railway tracks and explained, "These tracks are connected to the outside tracks, and this direction leads to the Liaodong Manufacturing Bureau."
In the converter steelmaking area, the produced steel is rolled and stretched, then cast into steel blocks, and then transported by rail to the Dongning Manufacturing Bureau for secondary processing while still hot.
This can also save the Liaodong Manufacturing Bureau a large portion of its production time!
Increase production efficiency!
"Not bad!"
Li Xin couldn't help but give a thumbs up. He hadn't expected that Zhang Hong and his team could make full use of the convenient proximity of the Liaodong Ironworks and the Liaodong Manufacturing Bureau. They were truly impressive!
Li Xin praised, "This idea is excellent. It saves time and improves efficiency. Very good!"
Wei Dahai, remember to remind me when you get back to give them a commendation!
Upon hearing the commendation, Zhang Hong quickly clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Your Highness!"
"We, your humble servants, will certainly do our best and live up to our mission!"
"good!"
Li Xin readily nodded.
The area around the Liaodong Ironworks was also very pleasant to look at.
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