Chapter 10

Returning to Feng County in 1924, Gao Yang found himself with a set of teaware again. In the original timeline, this set of equipment could barely generate a small amount of electricity, but in 1924, it was undoubtedly black technology. Not only did the people of this era not know how to use or install it, but Gao Yang also dared not use the locals, for fear that if the secret leaked, it would attract the attention of all the world's major powers.

"Announce a new task: build a modern power station in 1924. This task has no time limit, and you will receive 8,000 energy points upon completion." Yuan Dian announced the task with a serious tone.

"Well, I have to build it even if I don't want to," Gao Yang muttered.

Gao Yang thought for a long time in his office and finally made a decision. First, he returned to the original timeline to contact the manufacturer and obtain all the installation, construction, daily operation, and regular maintenance documents. When he reviewed the documents, Gao Yang was again troubled. A 220MW unit would burn 66 tons of standard coal per hour, and 1,584 tons per day!

Although the coal quality in Feng County was sufficient, the production was far from enough. Regardless, he decided to build the power station first.

Back in Feng County, he used all the energy points to create bio-warriors. With the knowledge of a college graduate, building a power station was not a problem. For the manual labor, he selected a group of strong young men from the security team who were clean, uneducated, and had no worldly experience.

With complete documentation, the bio-warriors quickly mastered all the techniques. He then selected a group of trustworthy warriors from the construction team to serve as apprentices. After a period of operation, he could hand over the work to them, as long as the secrets were not leaked.

A location was chosen by the river near the mine, and construction began immediately. On the other side, Gao Yang started to offer money to encourage everyone in the county to dig coal and transport it to the power station for storage.

Large construction equipment was purchased from the original timeline, and the construction progressed quickly. In just twenty days, the assembly was completed, and preparations were made to start the generator. During this time, Gao Yang had already installed all the coal mining and coal selection equipment, ready for power generation.

The generator officially started, and Gao Yang received 8,000 energy points. He immediately used them to continue creating bio-warriors. The several kilometers of railway tracks and steam locomotives purchased in the original timeline under the name of a mining company were also completed.

Led by the bio-warriors, the selected miners operated the advanced equipment from the modern timeline, significantly increasing mining efficiency. After a few days of operation, the power generation far exceeded the consumption of the mine. Gao Yang began to consider building more factories.

After reviewing the 1924 data, Gao Yang returned to the original timeline and ordered a set of small textile factory equipment under the name of the SC Trading Company registered in the North Capital. Yuan Dian explained to Gao Yang that building any factory that was ahead of 1924 technology would earn energy points, the amount depending on the type of factory.

Stimulated, Gao Yang excitedly purchased various small factory equipment, transporting it to Feng County for construction and production. With the energy points earned, he continued to create bio-warriors, who were more than sufficient for basic technical work. Gao Yang spent extra energy points to impart specialized technical knowledge to some bio-warriors, making them professional engineers. They would lead the selected local workers as apprentices, preparing for future expansion.

Regarding the issue of leaks, Gao Yang, driven by the energy points, could only focus on maintaining secrecy. If he used only bio-warriors, each costing 100 energy points, he could not afford it. He had to be more cautious.

Time passed quickly, and three months later, a cluster of factories centered around the power station had been established in Feng County. These included textile mills, dyeing factories, clothing factories, flour mills, canneries, tobacco factories, light bulb factories, machinery factories, and bicycle factories.

When the machinery factory successfully produced standard screws, Yuan Dian's voice rang out, "The machinery factory has been successfully built, earning 9,200 energy points. With a total of over 100,000 energy points, you can earn 10 points per hour in this timeline, and the storage space has been expanded to 200 meters in length, width, and height."

Gao Yang was stunned. "Can it be upgraded? When is the next upgrade?" Yuan Dian calmly replied, "When the total energy points exceed 1,000,000, you will earn 100 points per hour, and the storage space will be expanded to 400 meters in length, width, and height."

1,000,000? Gao Yang was speechless. How many factories would he need to build? Although the two paintings had earned him over 140 million euros, he had spent a lot, and he did not have much money left. He also needed to reserve funds for buying raw materials for the factories. As for the gold, it was not yet clean and could not be used.

Gao Youcai and others had already reached the point where they did not even leave the camp. In the security team, there were cultural supervisors watching them, and outside, there were mines and factories being built, along with mysterious weapons. Gao Youcai and his men, who had been in the military for a long time, had not achieved much. They followed Gao Yang for the money and a place to stay, not wanting to know about other matters.

Gao Yang did not plan to heavily rely on them. Their abilities were limited, and they had not achieved much in the Beiyang Army for so many years, not just because of their character. They joined him for the money, and he could give them more.

A few months ago, Mr. Little Beard was imprisoned, and Lugger said that the recruited mercenaries and weapons had already set sail. Gao Yang was waiting for them, as the Whampoa Military Academy had just opened, and its graduates were not available. Graduates from other military academies who were capable would not come to his small temple, and those who were willing were not as good as the bio-warriors. Therefore, Gao Yang placed his hopes on the German mercenaries.

He planned to use these German soldiers as officers and non-commissioned officers, with the bio-warriors and excellent soldiers as their deputies. Before Mr. Little Beard took power and reorganized the military, he would build his own military academy to train new officers to replace the Germans.

The Germans were highly efficient, and by mid-June, the mercenaries and weapons had arrived in Shanghai. Gao Yang rushed to Shanghai to settle the final payment with Lihe Foreign Trading Company, let the mercenaries rest briefly, and then hired ships to transport them and the weapons to Xiaguan, returning to Feng County by land.

Why not take the Jinpu Line to Bengbu and get off there? It was simple; the Anhui Governor, Mr. Ma, had become quite interested in Gao Yang's recent activities. Building so many factories in a densely populated area made it difficult to keep secrets.

Passing through the Governor's territory with so many weapons would be asking for trouble. Gao Yang was not even confident about this route, so Gao Youcai had already led hundreds of soldiers to wait on the road. The many trucks purchased in Shanghai played a crucial role, capable of carrying ammunition and artillery.

Gao Yang armed all the mercenaries and led an armed parade back to Feng County. The commotion was so great that on the third day after his return, the Governor's brother-in-law visited.

"Zi Hou, this is quite a grand gesture," Chen Qirui said sincerely. He was genuinely surprised. A few hundred German mercenaries were not a big deal; the Fengtian clique had many more Japanese. However, the large amount of weapons even made General Wu envious. If not for the ongoing preparations for the Fengtian campaign and the lack of loyal troops in Anhui, he would have sent troops to seize them long ago.

The Governor had also considered it but was deterred by the news that Gao Yang had several thousand armed men and that his subordinates were not very obedient. There was no such thing as a completely sealed wall.

Chen Qirui, who had followed the Governor for many years, knew that the local army was no longer capable of fighting. They could rob and sell opium, but field battles? Don't be ridiculous.

This time, he was sent to see Gao Yang to use the Governor's name to ask for a share.

"Commander, you are truly humorous. What grand gesture?" Gao Yang feigned indifference. His attitude had changed significantly as his strength grew.

"Alright, we are all clear-headed people, so let's skip the formalities. Zi Hou, with such a big move, shouldn't you give the provincial government something?" Chen Qirui's face turned serious as he got straight to the point.

Gao Yang smiled, lit a cigarette, and watched Chen Qirui calmly. When the cigarette was almost finished, he said, "Since we are both clear-headed, I'll skip the formalities. I am willing to offer 500,000 silver dollars to the Governor, but I want the Anhui Security Brigade's establishment."

"Ha ha ha, well said. Little Brother Zi Hou, this matter is on me," Chen Qirui stood up and laughed heartily.

"Ha ha ha, it's rare for Big Brother to visit Feng County. I will host a dinner to accompany you," Gao Yang said with a harmless smile.

"This kid is a capable person," Chen Qirui thought.

"Who says that relatives are all useless? This guy is talented," Gao Yang muttered.

The 752 German mercenaries were not all veterans. At that time, Germany was experiencing hyperinflation and high unemployment. Hearing that there was a job offering two years' salary in advance, paid in pounds, not the worthless mark, many people signed up, regardless of whether it was in Africa or Asia. The truly skilled and capable mostly immigrated to America, while those who could not immigrate were left to starve with their families. Hearing that there was a job offering money, they all rushed to sign up, either through personal connections or by paying a small fee, as the money was paid in advance.