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Text Chapter 535 Silver Glitter

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    Interest rates were cut in the aftermath of the Far East, and the Soviet Union was in full swing.

    As the Polish army confidently marched into southeastern Russia, the focus of the world's attention began to shift to Europe. Young Chinese people, immersed in the excitement of regaining their territory and all their sovereignty, had already rolled up their sleeves and worked hard to build a better era under Yang Qiu's call.

    But underneath the beauty and tranquility, there is an increasingly fierce competition between countries.  German humiliation, Japanese hatred, Italian dissatisfaction, and the Soviet-Russian civil war.  The shipyards of the world's major powers are filled with all kinds of warships!  Among them, the number of battleships in the United States alone that are currently or about to be laid down reaches 13, and their total tonnage even exceeds that of the Royal Navy at its peak!  Italy decided to expand its navy, and the Japanese army began to dismantle it. They also ignored the hunger and cold of the people and hoped to rely on the navy to regain their position as the leader in Asia!  France, which was most seriously injured in the European War, has also formulated an ambitious 1920 naval plan. Even the Chinese government officially announced its plan for 12 cruisers and 24 destroyers a few days ago.  The battle between muscle and steel has begun. Post-war recovery and the collision of the old and new world are destined to become the main theme of the 1930s.  The British Empire, which was no longer able to expand and only wanted to maintain the old order and colonies, had to bring countries to the negotiating table.  The Chinese Navy did not escape either. A delegation consisting of Ambassador to the United States Gu Weijun, the new Deputy Foreign Minister Yang Du, and the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Ye Zugui headed to London non-stop for the first round of consultations at the World Conference on Disarmament after the conflict in the Yellow Sea.

    A new round of military reform has been launched in an all-round way. Yang Qiu proposed a 10-year military strengthening plan for the first time, and made major adjustments to the current military system based on this plan. The first step is to clarify the subordinate agencies of the Ministry of National Defense.  According to the draft.  The National Defense Force will consist of seven major departments: the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, General Logistics Department, General Armament Department and General Administration of Military Intelligence. It will also set up 23 auxiliary departments such as communications, meteorology, and scientific research. The Ministry of National Defense is mainly responsible for  In the daily affairs of the army, the General Staff is the brains of the entire army.

    The Navy is the fastest to adjust.  According to the lease agreement, the Navy will officially accept two U.S. Nevada-class battleships in June for a five-year lease period.  As for the plan for eight follow-up ships, it was abandoned due to financial pressure and other factors.  The Navy persuaded Congress and Yang Qiu to immediately abolish two light cruisers in exchange for purchasing a Dunkirk-class semi-finished product for study.  This shows how much the conflict in the Yellow Sea, especially the humiliation of the Japanese combined fleet's self-imposed port closure after massive pressure on the border, stimulated the navy!  Two refitted Joint Force-class battleships have also been officially delivered to the Navy. They will be combined with two Nevada-class and four Anhai-class cruisers, as well as the rebuilt four Taiwan Island-class heavy cruisers and eight Yalu-class light cruisers.  The two Daxia-class aircraft carriers jointly shouldered the heavy task of coastal defense before 1930.

    The Air Force was established on April 1, 1920, and its commander was ace pilot Xue Muhua.  According to the plan, by 1925 the Wehrmacht would have established 16 groups and 6 bomber groups.  Each group consists of an aviation group, a ground support group and an air defense squadron.  Each brigade contains 5 squadrons, and each squadron has 5 squads.  Each squadron has 4 fighters, so each squadron has 22 aircraft (including the planes of the squadron leader and deputy squadron leader) and the group has 142 aircraft (including transport aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, etc.), for a total of 3,124 aircraft of various types.

    The sea and air are both big spenders of money, so the Army has to make appropriate sacrifices.  Disarmament and reorganization began. According to the order signed by Yang Qiu, a total of 6 military regions were established across the country: Northwest, Northeast, North China, Southwest, Central Plains, and Southeast. 40 army divisions, 3 military brigades, and 8 armored brigades were reorganized.  All have been put on the schedule.  At the same time, the National Guard headquarters was once again subdivided into 22 jurisdictions across the country, with a total of 66 brigades (2 regiments of light equipment).  There are three Coast Guard patrol areas: North, Central and South, and it was decided for the first time to build three air patrol groups.

    This reform is very powerful, with the number of President¡¯s soldiers reaching 500,000.  The outside world believed that this was due to the fact that there was no need for so many troops after peace. Britain and the United States even sent telegrams to express their appreciation. Only Yang Qiu knew that he had been quietly preparing for 20 years.

    It is irresponsible to let 500,000 soldiers go at once.  In particular, soldiers of the National Defense Forces have cultural education courses every day after joining the army. Many of them have actually reached the level of junior high school education. Therefore, the Ministry of National Defense has specially set up a one-year military camp technical training class to help retired soldiers learn work and survival skills.  In order to absorb these high-quality manpower, Yang Qiu also deliberately purchased all production lines and equipment from 7 labor-intensive enterprises in the United States and France, including 3 large automobile factories, to further promote the development of the country's automobile and industry.  Also used to recruit retired soldiers.

    After the vigorous military transformation began, the whole country once again ushered in the important spring plowing season.  Hunan is a major grain-producing province in the country and is known as "the two lakes are enough for the world", so there are busy scenes everywhere.  The dredging of waterways and the penetration of the southwest railway network, in addition to the Chengdu-Chongqing Line and the Sichuan-Hankong Line that are about to be merged, have ensured the development of Hunan.  Vendors traveling from north to south can easily reach Sichuan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan and Hubei from here.  The construction of the southwest railway network since 1912, the rear area far away from the war, and the unique resources have injected abundant vitality into this place.

      Each province in the southwest has its own advantages. Hubei, Chongqing and Sichuan rely on steel, industry, salt industry and developed handicrafts. Jiangxi¡¯s tungsten and coal, Guizhou¡¯s tobacco and sugar, Guangxi¡¯s rubber and camphor, Yunnan¡¯s  Grain, copper and zinc, and the million-ton Shuicheng Steel Plant under construction.  In addition to traditional industries such as grain, tung oil, tea, coal and mining, Hunan also has abundant water conservancy resources. Xiangtan and Zhuzhou, which are not far away, are even the three acid and two alkali chemical bases invested by the central government. Especially after the Rhineland Plan, a large number of German  The arrival of chemical experts further promoted the progress of chemical technology and led to the construction of many small private chemical factories in Changsha, most of which were in soap, alcohol, paint, dyeing and other industries.

    Bayama rushed to the factory on his bicycle.  The Yunhua Aircraft Manufacturing Factory named after him is located at the foot of Yuelu Mountain on the outskirts of Changsha, only 40 kilometers away from the chemical industry zone established by the central government.  The southwest transportation network can bring a variety of materials and technologies. Changsha is also the earliest treaty port in the country, with progressive ideas and several universities nearby.  What¡¯s more, after the Southwest Five-Year Industrial Plan in 1912, the number of workers increased sharply.  It was also the first region to implement free education and literacy cram schools. Its industrial base is not much worse than that of Hanyang and Shanghai, making it one of the most suitable regions for private enterprises.

    When he came here to build a factory, he received strong support from the Hunan Provincial Government and the Air Force, including Tan Yankai. Not only did he sell the wasteland at the foot of Yuelu Mountain at a low price, but he also reported the location of the Changsha Airport selected by the Air Force to Nanjing and moved it several kilometers.  When the factory lacked funds in the early stages of business, it could use the air force airport to conduct flight tests.

    Nowadays, when industrialists get rich, they like to buy cars for transportation.  Bayama also took advantage of the surge in European war and air force orders to make a small profit, but he insisted on riding a bicycle to work.  This was not because he was reluctant to spend money, but because the factory had just started.  Although there is government support, the government will not help you pay. At most, it will be more convenient to get a loan. He must save everything.

    What¡¯s more, when he resigned from Chongqing Aircraft Factory, the largest and most advanced aircraft factory in the country.  It also caused a lot of family conflicts. The parents were angry and the wife complained. Even old classmate Wang Zhu and the others were puzzled and approached the group general manager Wu Qingdu to persuade him to stay. At one time, the news even reached the ears of the vice president.  Many people think that he is trying to get ahead of himself and is ready to fight against Chongqing.  On the contrary, Yang Qiu personally wrote a letter to support him, and personally dug into his pocket to ask Lei Meng to send him 50,000 yuan in entrepreneurial funds.  This moved him very much, and he secretly determined to run the factory well and manufacture the best aircraft in the world.

    But it is not an easy thing to realize this dream.

    "Yunhua. You are finally here. Hurry" Before the person reached the door, Zhou Houkun's voice came from a distance.  Zhou Houkun just returned from the United States in the middle of last year. At that time, Yang Qiu promised to let dozens of international students, including him, who had not completed their studies, stay for a few more years.  His return also triggered rush invitations from three aircraft manufacturing plants in Chongqing, Henan and Fengtian.

    It¡¯s no wonder that he is the first graduate with a master¡¯s degree in aeronautical engineering in the history of the United States. He worked as an engineer at the Curtiss Aircraft Company during the European War.  He also won the American Aeronautical Club Award in 1916.  He is another top talent of Chinese Airlines after Bayuzao and Wang Zhu.  After Yang Qiu visited the United States, he went to study subjects such as fluid mechanics and mechanical manufacturing. Therefore, before returning to China, Boeing, Curtiss, and even Fokker all waved olive branches to him. Curtiss, in particular, offered him a weekly salary of US$1,000.  High price to retain.

    In order to give the motherland wings to take off, he and the stranded students finally insisted on returning to the country.

    ¡°At first he planned to go to Chongqing, because that is where China¡¯s aviation industry is now the most developed.  Even the technologically leading region in the world's aviation industry.  Not only did they produce world-famous machines such as the Sparrow, Haidong Qing, and Dapeng, but also Chinese designers such as Feng Ru and Wang Zhu who were also beginning to become well-known, as well as dozens of foreign designers such as Sikorsky.  Famous aviation expert.  Chongqing also took the lead in building wind tunnels, static tests and other laboratories in the country. But when he heard that Bayuzao was opening his own aircraft factory and was in urgent need of technicians, he came to start a business with him.

    This was a choice that shocked the aviation industry across the country and even the world, but Zhou Houkun was happy with it. He trotted all the way and rushed into the factory, completely unaware that a motorcade was approaching here in the distance.

    Since both of them were outstanding students studying in the United States, they accepted American-style industrial construction ideas, so they divided the factory into many areas.  Including final assembly, engines, spare parts and design, experiments, life, etc.  Of course, compared with Chongqing's flagship products, their current main business is to help Chongqing produce spare parts. They also do a small amount of assembly and processing, and even have a lot of mechanical equipment parts business that has nothing to do with aviation. It is enough to support themselves for the time being, but they  The product has not yet been released.

    This incident also made the two of them very anxious, because industry is a weird thing.  No matter how much investment, no matter how much government support, no matter how good the equipment is, if it does not have its own products and core technologies, it cannot be considered a real enterprise.?, sooner or later it will be merged by others or go bankrupt.

    In fact, according to the level of the two of them, it is not difficult to design an aircraft of the same level as the Sparrow and Haidongqing. As long as they work hard, it is not impossible to surpass them. However, they do not want to follow the path of their predecessors, so they have been making money through contract processing.  The method subsidizes research and development funds, and the accumulated technology is waiting to soar.

    When the two hurriedly arrived at the experimental area, two 9-cylinder radial engines they developed themselves had been hoisted on the iron frame, and workers and technicians were installing various test instruments around them.  Among them are old masters hired at high prices, young workers who have just graduated, and even international students who have returned from overseas and domestic university graduates. It is the dream of flying that attracts them and brings them together.

    The radial engine is no longer considered high technology.  In 2017, Chongqing took the lead in manufacturing the first domestic 9-cylinder 300-horsepower air-cooled radial engine. By the end of 2018, it had reached 350 horsepower and entered the experimental installation stage.  Technically speaking, whether it is Hanyang's V-type water cooling or Chongqing's star-type air cooling, the power has reached the same domestic level or even exceeded it, but there are still many gaps in durability, maintainability and manufacturing technology.  Moreover, the latter will take time to accumulate and depend on the country's basic industrial capabilities, materials and metallurgical technology, worker levels and other things that cannot be rushed out.

    The 350-horsepower star-type air-cooled engine is sufficient for current aircraft use abroad.  But it was still not enough for the two people. Their goal was to build a 550-horsepower engine, because what they wanted to build was not wood boards and canvas!

    "I modified the cylinder and piston. Use German double-layer sealing rings, change the oil supply to straight pipes, expand the heat sink area. Increase the exhaust volume" While Zhou Houkun was chattering, the engine experiment began.  After the worker turned the handle, the one on the left roared first.  It was bearable outdoors, but the test area was a semi-sealed factory building. When the engine spewed out black smoke and screamed, several people involuntarily covered their ears.  But Bayuzao seemed not to hear the noise, lowering his head to check every instrument.  Everything from the speed to the displacement to the fuel consumption was looked at very carefully, while several testers next to him took out pens and paper to quickly record the changes in the instruments, and reported the figures for the calculation by the calculator.

    "440 horsepower" After quickly summarizing several numbers.  The calculator immediately shouted excitedly.  But before he was happy for a long time, the two cylinders on the left spurted out flames and black smoke, then the speed dropped rapidly, and the engine stalled after a while.

    A hot cylinder misfire is the worst thing you can do when it comes to putting it on an airplane.  Now the plane can only glide and fly.  The poor performance made everyone sigh, especially Bayuzao, who felt extremely distressed. You must know that the market price of such an engine is at least 4,000 yuan.  Moreover, if you want to develop a good engine, you need at least dozens of experiments from design to finalization, which shows how expensive it is to burn money.  Just as he was secretly calculating whether the funds would be enough to support the finalization of the new engine, a voice suddenly sounded from behind: "It should be there is a problem with the heat dissipation."

    "How do you know it's heat dissipation? MaybeVice, Vice President!"

    Zhou Houkun was about to say that the sealing ring might not be tight enough. When he turned around and was about to refute, he saw Yang Qiu, Miao Luo, Tan Yankai and other officials walking in at some unknown time. The factory security guard from a distance was winking at him.  It means "We really can't stop it and we can't run away."

    In the final analysis, aviation technology before World War II was all about engines. Whoever had a better engine would have a greater advantage, so Yang Qiu paid special attention to engine technology.  From the navy's boilers and steam turbines to large diesel engines, the army's gasoline engines and diesel engines, and the air force's liquid cooling and air cooling are all of great concern. Many of the original Rhineland plans were directly related to the engine.  He actually didn't know much about engines. He just worked at the Volkswagen factory for a few years in his previous life and knew how an engine would behave when it failed. The current situation was very similar to overheating and stalling.

    Bayuzao and the surrounding staff were all startled. Many people even rubbed their eyes excitedly. Instead of looking at Yang Qiu, they focused most of their attention on Zhou Houkun, as if to make him sure.

    When Yang Qiu visited the United States in 2016, Zhou Houkun had met Yang Qiu and participated in the launching ceremony of the Navy's Anhai-class battleship together. How could he get the wrong person?  On the other hand, Yang Qiu was generous and said with a frown on purpose: "I came to see how the entrepreneurial funds were used. It seems to be pretty good now."

    The 50,000 entrepreneurial fund that Yang Qiu supported that year helped a lot. The aircraft factory also made a lot of money by taking advantage of the opportunity in the last year of the European War. However, after Zhou Houkun became the chief designer, he actively promoted new technology research, and Bayama also supported it.  Accumulate technology first, so money was consumed like running water during this period, and I burned at least 4,000 thousand just now.  So I didn't feel confident when I spoke, and said, "Thank you Vice President for your support, but now we"

    "Haha Governor Tan, look at what they have become. Don't worry, I'm just joking. Spending money on technology is better than those who just think about getting rich."Good for the nouveau riche who buy a car and buy land.  Yang Qiu smiled, pointed at the engine and said to Zhou Houkun: "What are you still doing? Let's see if my guess is accurate."  "

    Some relaxed words made everyone laugh out loud, and they started to disassemble the engine and check it.

    "The internal burning is serious. It is indeed overheated, but there is also a problem with the cylinder seal. Vice President, how did you tell?" After Zhou Houkun carefully inspected it, he suddenly remembered that Yang Qiu did not study mechanics, and couldn't help but ask curiously.

    "When I went to Chongqing in the early years, I happened to see Feng Ru's experiment, and it looked like this, so I wrote it down." After Yang Qiu finished talking, he asked: "Why not join forces with Chongqing to develop a new engine? This thing is the most expensive thing.  That¡¯s it.¡±

    Yang Qiu is right. Hanyang and Chongqing alone invest hundreds of thousands in scientific research on internal combustion engines each year.  Therefore, the aviation industry is definitely a money-burning industry. Even in the United States, most of it relies on sponsorship from wealthy businessmen.  If it were not for the stimulation of orders from the European War, the world aviation industry would not be as prosperous as it is today.

    Zhou Houkun and Bayusao looked at each other. They didn't know that this research was expensive, but they gritted their teeth and suddenly winked at the staff next to them.  Walking to the left, under the surprised eyes of Yang Qiu and others, he slowly opened the big curtain left and right.

    When the curtain that everyone thought was dustproof was opened, even Yang Qiu opened his eyes wide and took a breath.

    In front of my eyes, silver light shines!

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