Mediterranean Hegemony Road

In 1891, the British Empire was still at its peak, and its economy and culture were in their heyday.

The whole world is shrouded in the shadow of the British Empire. Although the bear still considers itself a challenger, France is making small moves in East Africa, and Germany's quiet activities in South Africa are still crushed to death!

As in the same London minor:

Oh Britain's greatest wealth

Undoubtedly belonging to honest laborers...

see thousands of people meet

very happy

...

(Forget it, let’s omit it, it’s a nice little tune, but the translation becomes nondescript!)

During this period, London was the most prosperous city in the world, and the citizens of London were sharing the prosperity and hope brought by the industrial revolution in the first half century.

People's diets have also changed. In addition to potatoes and bread, beef and mutton have also entered people's tables, and milk has become a necessities of life.

Housing conditions have also improved, soap prices have become cheaper, houses have become tidy, and individuals have become more hygienic.

People live and work in peace and contentment, and the increase in wages allows people to strive for decency in addition to daily expenses.

All in all, everything is going for the better.

In Chekov's eyes, London, as the capital of the British Empire, is the dream capital in the hearts of the world's elites.

On October 28, 1891, the Bulgarian delegation headed by Chekov arrived in London, the Dream City.

Thick smoke filled the air, and it felt a bit like a dream. Oh, it's a pity that there is a bit of weird smell mixed with it, which ruins this beautiful scenery.

Proud of the good relations between the two countries, the Chekov delegation came to make a big purchase this time, so the treatment was good.

British Foreign Secretary Robert Arthur Gascoigne-Sisi hosted a welcome banquet for them.

Oh, there were quite a few people attending the banquet. The British business community all sent representatives.

Well, Chekov found that he thought too much, and he was not as important as he thought. Although a lot of people come, but most of them are capitalists, the goal is very clear is the order, the charm of money is infinite.

This kind of life is really not suitable for Chekov, nor is it suitable for everyone in the delegation. They had never seen such a scene before, so they could only be cautious, for fear of saying the wrong thing and being laughed at.

A group of Bulgarian elites instantly turned into bumpkins at the banquet. Although it may be due to the gentleman's demeanor, no one said anything; but the contempt in his bones is still inadvertently revealed in his eyes.

Chekov, the honest man, waited until the end of the dinner, then dragged his exhausted body back to the hotel, unable to sleep all night.

Early in the morning, the fog is white and damp, after which it becomes more like smoke. Small particles in the air mix with soot, making your breath dry and tingling.

At some intersections, traffic was completely blocked and people had to ditch some buses and vans.

Chekov's London dream was shattered, and neither the flamboyant high society nor the bad air was acceptable to him.

London's smog not only damages human health, but also threatens buildings. The soot in the smog can blacken the building. The smog contains a large amount of sulfide, which is acidic when combined with the water vapor, forming an acid fog that is lethal to the building, which can gradually erode the building.

In order to combat smog, the British have also specially developed anti-corrosion building materials. In fact, the smog in London lasted until after World War II before it was managed.

The reasons are also very strange, the blockade in Germany, the lack of fuel in London. The British government adopted a strict rationing system, controlled coal burning, and promoted electric energy.

Far more than one Chekov has broken dreams. It is difficult for anyone who has been to London in the 19th century to have a good impression.

...

no matter what the weather,

Work must continue. In order to leave London as soon as possible, the delegation exerted all its energy to negotiate with the capitalists.

Oh, Robert Arthur Gascoigne-Sisi, the big guy, except for showing up at the welcome banquet, he no longer pays attention to Chekov and others.

No way, who said Bulgaria has a low sense of existence! The cabinet ministers of Bulgaria are not yet qualified to be personally received by the foreign ministers of the British Empire. If you change the cabinet ministers of Germany, France, Russia and other countries, the treatment will be different.

...

Since the British inventor Bessemer invented the low-cost converter steelmaking method in the 1850s, Britain has gradually become the world's steel center, and the steel industry has also become an important contributor to the British economy.

Chekov's purpose is to first go to the British steel factory to do a field inspection. The results of the iron ore test in Bulgaria have come out. He needs to customize a complete set of equipment according to the actual situation.

Oh, although the government's slogan is very loud, the annual output of steel is half a million tons. The equipment capacity that Chekov ordered this time was much smaller, with a capacity of only 100,000 tons.

...

Mr. Vic Thomas, we have checked the equipment of your company, and the quality is very good. But unfortunately, he is not suitable for us! Chekov said with a regretful expression

Mr. Chekov, you must know that the machines in our factory are the best in the world... Vic Thomas introduced hard.

However, it is also the most expensive in the world! Although your company's product has the highest tapping rate in terms of production capacity, it also has the highest maintenance cost! We want to combine cost-effectiveness, and using your machines requires too much coke! Chekov dismantles Vic Thomas

Obviously, the Bulgarian delegation was treated as a fat sheep. The integrity of the capitalists does not need to be considered, and Vic Thomas has no heart burden.

If there is no accompanying professional, it is estimated that Chekov has been pitted by Vic Thomas now.

Like all hot-blooded intellectuals, Chekov likes to pursue the best, the most advanced, often ignoring the price/performance ratio.

Gorgeous!

This is the evaluation of Vic Thomas's equipment by peers, and there is no buyer at all in the UK.

Of course, Vic Thomas himself knows better that this equipment is only a test product, and many technical difficulties have not been overcome.

In order to avoid the patents of Bessemer converters and Siemens-Martin open-hearth furnaces, the Vic Thomas factory opened up its brains and planned to develop more advanced technologies, but later found that it could not be done.

The experimental products developed in the early stage cannot be wasted, and they are all used, so this set of equipment is added: the hoist is used to send the materials to the top of the blast furnace, and belt conveyors, trains and hand-cranked rail cars are used to move the furnace and Main rolling span.

These technological advances have greatly increased blast furnace output, while maintenance costs have also risen significantly due to immature technology.

Vic Thomas seemed to be used to being rejected, and continued to fight for it: Mr. Chekov, I am very sincere, and it is easy to negotiate the price. It is only slightly higher than the same kind, but the production capacity has also been greatly improved!

But Chekov didn't take it seriously, saying: What about maintenance costs? At present, the increased production capacity and the increased cost are almost the same, and over time, it may continue to increase!

But we are in stock! Mr. Chekov, if you want to order equipment, it will not be completed until the end of next year at the earliest, plus commissioning time, and then shipped to Bulgaria for installation, you will have to wait at least three years before production! Vic Thomas poor picture

That's right, if it wasn't for the spot, Chekov would have stopped talking to him long ago. Bulgaria has no experience in building large steel plants and underestimates many aspects, including equipment orders.

Unless Chekov learns from Zhang Zhidong and doesn't know if it is a match or not, he will force it on the horse directly! But now he already knows that the quality of the ore must be taken into account in the factory equipment, otherwise the product qualification rate will be low and doubtful.

The Vic Thomas equipment may not be the best choice, but it is the most suitable for Bulgaria at the moment. Now that the showdown has been reached, it is natural to bargain.

... (I omit hundreds of thousands of words when discussing the price. The author is afraid that he will be scolded for writing this!)

In the end, Chekov bought the full set of equipment for £2 million. It includes six large factories, including pig iron factory, hemp steel factory, steel factory, rail factory, iron cargo factory, and wrought iron factory, as well as a small factory such as machine factory, iron factory, iron factory, and fish fillet hook nail factory. .

The procurement of supporting facilities for the steel plant is just a small episode. There are also many industries that have signed large and small procurement contracts, and it is not possible to take advantage or suffer.

Bulgaria got the industrial equipment it needed for its development, and the British capitalists made a fortune from it. The entire purchase contract added up to a total of 8 million pounds, which caused a sensation in London at the time.