Chapter 37

The official's inherent authority and sense of superiority arose spontaneously. Wu San, the quick-witted one, hurriedly ran up to him in a few steps, bowed deeply, and said, "Assistant Wang, I am Wu San, working in the logistics department!"

"Wu San?" Assistant Wang sized him up and down, seemingly recognizing him. His expression softened slightly as he asked, "Why are you running around the iron factory? Who are they?"

"They are guests of Director Zhao, who have some interest in the steel factory. I was ordered by Director Zhao to show these guests around the Hanyang Factory!" Wu San explained.

Yang Shixun had some knowledge of the Hanyang Iron Factory. As an assistant, he was likely directly under the Hanyang Factory. Judging by his rank badge, he seemed to be a seventh-rank official. For his age, he was already considered young and accomplished. In feudal society, passing the imperial examinations was like a thousand troops and ten thousand horses crossing a narrow bridge. The late Qing abolished the imperial examinations, but being able to reach the seventh rank by around 30 years old was still a significant achievement for a young and promising official. No wonder he was so proud.

"Visiting the Hanyang Factory, you?"

"Assistant Wang, hello. I am the manager of the Yang family chamber of commerce. This is our young master Yang, who has returned from studying abroad and is interested in the Hanyang Iron Factory, so we came to visit," Yang Shixun greeted and explained.

When Assistant Wang heard that he was the manager of the Yang family chamber of commerce, whose name he had heard before, and that they were a major merchant family from Shanxi, his expression relaxed a bit. He glanced at Yang Yuanzhao, noticing that he was dressed in Western style, and asked in a friendly manner, "You are a returnee from abroad, where did you study?"

"Our young master returned from England!" Yang Yuanzhao was about to stop him, but the manager had already spoken. He sighed inwardly but wasn't too afraid. How coincidental would it be to meet a classmate from Oxford here? Besides, foreign universities didn't have as many classmates as in China, and even if they were from the same university, not knowing each other was quite normal. His mood eased a bit.

"You came from England!" The question came from a foreigner, with a genuine British accent. Fortunately, Yang Yuanzhao had chosen to learn the more classical British English rather than the easier American English. The most advanced motorcycle industry was in Europe, and major competitions were mostly held there. To facilitate international competitions and to access the most advanced motorcycle knowledge, he had self-studied English and German in college and later took up French as a minor.

"I am, I graduated from Oxford University, majoring in mechanical engineering. I heard that Hanyang is China's leading heavy industrial enterprise, so I wanted to come and visit," Yang Yuanzhao said, his fluent English and British manner impressing the other party.

Meeting someone who had lived in Britain in the heart of China was not easy. The tall, blue-eyed British man, named Robert Kahn, came from Manchester, an industrial city in England. He had been sent to China by the steel factory over ten years ago and had learned to speak Chinese, but he was still more comfortable speaking English.

"Do you know Manchester? Young man!" Robert asked in a friendly tone.

"I do, it's a great industrial city!" Yang Yuanzhao said, somewhat insincerely. He knew Manchester mainly because of the famous football team Manchester United, which led him to learn that Manchester was an industrial city. He knew little else about it.

"Oh, have you been there?" Robert asked with interest.

Yang Yuanzhao shook his head and said, "I haven't been there, but I have classmates there."

The officials standing nearby, who were initially bored, could understand some English, but as Robert and Yang Yuanzhao spoke faster, they became increasingly lost. Those who didn't understand English were completely in the dark.

Robert seemed very interested in Yang Yuanzhao and began chatting with him, mostly about the scenery in Britain. Yang Yuanzhao listened more than he spoke, and in the subtle flattery, Robert became quite pleased. Gradually, the conversation expanded.

Robert and Yang Yuanzhao found more and more common ground. After being in China for so long, it was rare to meet someone with whom he could have such a lively conversation. In their talk, they inevitably mentioned the Hanyang Iron Factory. As the chief engineer of the steel factory, Robert's evaluation of the Hanyang Iron Factory was not high.

Robert came from an industrial family; his father was an engineer in mechanical manufacturing. During his father's time, the British textile industry was booming, and machinery was in high demand. Robert grew up around machinery and, influenced by his surroundings, became an engineer himself. He entered the Manchester Steel Factory and spent ten years there, eventually becoming a mid-level engineer in charge of a workshop, thus moving from a blue-collar worker to the middle class.

Unfortunately, the industrial depression hit, and the British steel industry suffered. Manchester was no exception. Facing the need for restructuring, he decided to come to China when a delegation from the Far East came to Britain to order steel equipment and recruit engineers. He had not expected to stay for over a decade.

At the time, the Hanyang Iron Factory was a major project. Although Robert was reluctant to leave his hometown, he had no choice. He hoped to achieve something great in China, but he never imagined that it would be a quagmire, a quagmire that had entangled him for over a decade.

He had been in China for about 12 years. When he arrived, the steel factory had already been established for 8 years, but it had not produced a single complete batch of steel, only some iron. In Britain, even a small workshop would have been more efficient. The quality was also poor, barely suitable for making farm tools, and even then, the quality was not good.

Since he was here, Robert was not the type to complain. He began to work on improving the Hanyang Iron Factory. He was a capable person, and under his leadership, the factory made some progress. The first batch of steel, the steel rail factory, and the rebar factory were all established under his direction. It could be said that the current state of the Hanyang Iron Factory was largely due to his efforts.

However, over the 12 years, he became increasingly frustrated. The Chinese bureaucratic system, with its dual guidance and multiple layers of authority, where everyone could give opinions and interfere, was a disaster for a heavy industrial enterprise like a steel factory. Over the past 12 years, countless losses had been incurred due to this.

Batch after batch of steel was wasted, and many excellent technical workers were dismissed. Greed led to the use of coal mixed with half sand for steel production. They didn't realize that steel production was a technical process, and if you cheated it, reality would mercilessly cheat you back.

Meeting a British returnee who studied mechanical engineering, they had a lot in common. Inevitably, they discussed the problems of the Hanyang Iron Factory. Robert complained about the factory's situation, and to some extent, it was already beyond repair. He even directly criticized officials like Sheng Huixuan.

Yang Yuanzhao sighed inwardly but couldn't say anything. Robert's words were like a machine gun. He glanced at the other officials, who seemed not to understand much. In Robert's complaints, Yang Yuanzhao began to understand that the biggest problem with the Hanyang Iron Factory was the mismatch between the iron ore and the steel furnaces. The iron ore used by the Hanyang Iron Factory had a high sulfur content, making it unsuitable for the equipment. The solution, as Robert saw it, was either to change the iron ore or to invest in building a new steel factory.

Robert was a seasoned engineer who had dedicated himself to researching the fundamental issues of the Hanyang Iron Factory. Later researchers studying the Hanyang Iron Factory came to the same conclusion. For a British mid-level engineer to reach this point was impressive, but such an opinion was destined to be rejected in Yang Yuanzhao's view.

Changing the ore might sound easy but was unrealistic. In Europe, it would merely mean an increase in costs, which a large-scale steel factory could bear. As long as the ore quality was good, the global production in the future would ensure that China's steel production remained the world's largest, thanks to importing iron ore from around the world.

However, in the present, with underdeveloped transportation and only light rail, it was far from easy. Most of China's iron ore was low-grade, and even if suitable ore was available, it would be far away. In Yang Yuanzhao's memory, the only rich ore suitable for the Hanyang Iron Factory was in Hainan Island, a distance that would make the cost of steel production unbearable. Therefore, changing the ore was impossible.

With one path blocked, the only other option was to change the steel-making equipment, but this was an even bigger dead end. Changing the ore would only increase costs, but changing the materials would mean scrapping all previous investments. The total investment in the Hanyang Iron Factory from its construction to the present was at least 20 million taels, a huge waste and a negation of the achievements of previous officials.

China was a society where officials held the highest status. Even in the future, officials' achievements could not be easily overturned, let alone in this era. Zhang Zhidong, one of the leaders of the Self-Strengthening Movement, was a member of the Grand Council. His achievements could not be casually negated, as it would be tantamount to declaring a mortal enemy.

This was the reality of China and the tragedy of the era. In Europe or America, designing and building steel furnaces based on the type and characteristics of the ore was essential, even if the design cost was astronomical. For any steel factory, this was a necessary investment to avoid such waste. In China, a poor and backward place, such an idea was impossible. Not only might no one recognize the importance of this investment, but even if someone did, they would choose to embezzle the money rather than invest it in design and research.

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