Chapter 72

The long whistle of the ship sounded, and Yang Yuanzhao, along with four others, stood on the dock at the port. On one side were the send-off crowd from the Yang family, and on the other side were Hapi and a few employees of the trading company.

In the past three days, Yang Yuanzhao had spent almost all his time with Hapi. The 100 30mm guns and 100 47mm guns were handed over to Hapi. Hapi didn't think much of these small guns; in Germany, 75mm guns had already been reduced to regimental firepower, no longer serving as support for large units. The real support firepower had been upgraded to 105mm and 155mm guns, and the power of heavy artillery far exceeded that of small guns.

Fortunately, the sales of Chinese artillery were not high, only 200 guns, so it didn't matter much if they were left aside.

In just three short days, Yang Yuanzhao gave Hapi many instructions, the most important of which was to recruit a group of people, between 100 and 200, to take with him when he went to Germany in May or June. As for the goods, he would instruct the Yang family's chamber of commerce to purchase them on his behalf.

Of course, the most important goods to be sent to Germany were the high-purity tungsten powder. The Jiangxi chamber of commerce of the Yang family had delivered six batches of black ore, totaling over 300,000 tons. The refined tungsten amounted to about 300 tons. They prepared over 60 boxes, each containing 5 tons. Later, considering that cranes and other equipment were not available in this era, they changed to boxes containing about 1 ton each. These were specially sealed, and even Hapi only knew about this batch of goods, not their specific contents.

Hapi's main difficulty was recruiting 100 to 200 students. In China, studying abroad had become a trend, and many wealthy families sent their children overseas. The idea that the moon was brighter in foreign countries had taken root in this era.

However, large-scale overseas study like Yang Yuanzhao's was rare. Apart from the large number of students sent to the United States with the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship, most were individual efforts. Yang Yuanzhao's idea was very challenging.

Yang Yuanzhao had no easy solution. If he had come to China two years earlier, he might have been able to cultivate a group of people. But now, he could only rely on the Yang family and others to provide some of the students. China was far behind in natural science research and needed to catch up. He hoped that this batch of students could enter mainstream engineering schools in Germany.

"Ha Pi, I entrust everything in Shanghai to you, but the more difficult part will be the overseas arrangements!"

"I understand, boss. I will handle everything well!" Although it had been less than a month, the large daily cash flow and the control of a region had changed Hapi's mental state. He now had a hint of the demeanor of a leader.

Yang Yuanzhao nodded. In just one month in Shanghai, he had not only obtained a large number of blueprints and most of the factory information needed for initial industrialization but also secured a substantial amount of funds. In just one month, the sale of arms alone had brought in nearly 500,000 pounds.

He used only a small portion of this money as start-up and emergency funds for Baotou, and the rest would be given to Hapi. Most of the goods he was taking with him would also be used as funds to purchase various machines from abroad. Establishing an initial industrial base required a huge amount of money. The tungsten refined during this period was just enough for the initial stage. Yang Yuanzhao would not introduce everything; he would only bring in the most important and what China could not produce. The rest would be handled by him personally after the situation in Baotou stabilized. For example, hydraulic presses, forging machines, shipyards over 10,000 tons, and large cranes, which were closely related to heavy industry and the production of high-end weapons, were the most advanced machinery in various countries. Even if you paid a lot of money, you couldn't acquire them.

Yang Yuanzhao was very clear about this. Industrial development was not something that could be achieved overnight; it required steady progress. These machines were very important, and in the future, he would certainly set them up in Baotou. But for now, the existing equipment was sufficient.

The ship's whistle sounded again, and the passenger ship from Shanghai to Tianjin was about to depart. Hapi and others saw Yang Yuanzhao and his group off at the gangway, waving goodbye until they disappeared from the deck.

The ship slowly set sail, leaving the largest city in the Far East. Yang Yuanzhao sighed and walked into the cabin. This was a first-class cabin, much larger than the steamship he had taken on the way there. The ship was enormous, and compared to the river steamships that could only carry 200 people, the ocean liner on the Shanghai-Tianjin route was much larger, with a tonnage of about 10,000 tons, capable of accommodating over 1,000 people. The layout was much better, but the largest private cabins were only sold to foreigners, even if they were empty, they would not be sold to Chinese people. Although Hapi could afford to buy one, Yang Yuanzhao would be staying in it, and it would be served by foreigners, which was not feasible.

Fortunately, the first-class cabin was still quite good. Although the cabin area was no more than 15 square meters and had two single beds, it was much better than the bunk beds on the river steamship.

As the ship's speed increased, Yang Yuanzhao closed his eyes. After boarding, he had copied the ship's information. This was an American ship with a total tonnage of 18,000 tons, a behemoth for its time. It was not specifically for the Shanghai-Tianjin route. After boarding, Yang Yuanzhao learned that the ship would travel from Shanghai to Tianjin, then to Tokyo, Japan, and finally to the United States. About half of the passengers were heading to the United States, and some were going to Japan. Therefore, the ship was almost full when it left Shanghai, with people everywhere.

In early April, there were no typhoons or other severe weather conditions. The ocean liner was a fast ship, and the 1,500-kilometer journey from Shanghai to Tianjin, at a speed of about 14 knots, would take a maximum of three days.

During the journey, due to the noise on the ship, Yang Yuanzhao did not go out. He finally had the opportunity to plan for the future. To be honest, what China lacked most was heavy industry, especially the military industry. However, Yang Yuanzhao knew this was impossible. Industrialization was a very rigorous process. Without sufficient training and skilled workers, even if a complete and perfect industrial system were established, it would be useless and unable to function properly.

The more he had, the more he thought, and the more he needed to consider. Many of his previous plans might need to be slightly adjusted. Initially, he focused on agriculture, establishing basic construction materials and gradually cultivating industrial workers. However, the acquisitions in Shanghai and Wuhan, and the upcoming trip to Tianjin, centered around establishing a heavy industrial city in the Beiyang region. While it might not match Shanghai in commerce and light industry, it was the highest in heavy industry, shipbuilding, and various repair works, making it the most industrially advanced in all of China.

The ship's whistle sounded again, and Tianjin finally arrived. Tianjin was a port city that developed gradually during the Qing Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, it was just a small town. With the development of technology, especially the replacement of the Grand Canal by maritime transport, Tianjin slowly developed. Later, with the establishment of the Beiyang Navy, a large number of industries were built in Tianjin, such as the Tianjin Arsenal, the Beiyang Navy repair yard, and the gunpowder factory. The city expanded several times, taking on the appearance of a new city.

The ship slowly docked at the deep-water pier in Tianjin. It would stay for three hours to allow passengers to disembark and for those traveling from Tianjin to the United States to board.