Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 61: A Steel Plant Project

Ferdinand reckons that it's time to start a steel plant. He can expect that for a long time to come, it will lose money.

This kind of big project concerns the country's future. Of course, the government should be involved in the project itself. If not, the government can not be called the state?

"Alisa, inform Konstantin to be here!" said Ferdinand.

One can not build a steel plant quickly. It is a lesson learned from Hanyang Iron Works.

"A hairless makes a thousand miles difference"!1)

In 1890, Zhang Zhidong sent an engineer to inspect Daye, who found a large open-pit iron ore mine. He then began to prepare for the building of the Hanyang Iron Works.

Due to the lack of professional expertise, they did not heed the engineers' request that 'if you want to build a steel plant, you must first test the quality of iron and coal' before deciding what kind of steel to make.

From the start, the equipment was bought modeled on a British steel plant. They also placed the factory in Hanyang. As a result, the cost of materials increased greatly, and the product lost its commercial edge.

In the former life, when Ferdinand saw this, he shook his head and lamented that Officials so crippled Asia's first steel plant.

However, in this period, the Hanyang Iron Works is also starting and still the same way it is. Ferdinand was ready to remind but found that Qing Dynasty is still arrogant. They still don't care about other countries except for Britain, France, and Russia.

There is no status in Bulgaria and so on, and the level of treatment is not as good as in North Korea. What he says is equal to fart, so Ferdinand just does not bother to care.

Ferdinand was not sure of the specific details. But the six points that are well known in the future are clear to him.

1. Try to be close to the source of raw materials.

2. Having access to a good water source (preferably near a river). Of course, based on this point, they should build the steel plant site downstream and downwind of the city. It should be far away from urban areas.

3. To have good access (port, railroad, etc.).

4. There must be a good supply of local resources (such as iron ore, coal, etc.).

5. The land should be used frugally in plant choice without a long or less area of good land.

6. The site selection should take into account the local natural terrain. Avoid building in the following areas: a. Earthquake fault zone; b. Lands with a large density of tertiary self-weighted wet sink loess areas; c. Prone to floods, mudslides, landslides, and other natural disasters prone to mountainous regions.

With a large scope, Ferdinand can locate a good future location of the Bulgarian steel plant. It certainly does not work to be copied, with different kinds of productivity, not necessarily applies to the future suitable for the present.

For specific sites, it is still up to the engineers to choose the place. The amateurs who direct the experts will most likely not have any good results.

"Your Highness, Konstantin would like to greet you!" said Konstantin, with his left hand on his chest, bowing to Ferdinand.

"Well, how are those talks going in, Konstantin?" Ferdinand asked with concern.

"Your Highness, all is going well!" Konstantin replied happily, and it was obvious that he was happy with it.

"Well, it's better to get a grip, sign the treaty as soon as possible, and get what we want in our hands! If we have trouble, let's use the money to smash it. We can still afford to pay the cost of feeding a few officials!" Ferdinand said.

"Yes, Your Highness, we signed the treaty as soon as possible!" assured Konstantin.

Ferdinand looked at the smiling Konstantin and said, "I'm looking for you today, mainly to discuss the steel plant!"

Konstantin was surprised and then said happily: "Your Highness, is someone going to invest in a steel plant? At present, Bulgaria has only a few steel workshops. Every year, we have to import from abroad, which wastes our precious foreign exchange reserves! You can rest assured that our government will provide the most favorable conditions, land for free and tax-free!"

Ferdinand looked at the spitting Konstantin and was a bit at a loss. When did he say that someone was going to invest in a steel plant? Which idiot capitalist will invest in the Bulgarian steel plant at this time? It's just a pit. Even if it is tax-free by all governments, it will not be able to recover its cost!

"Mr. Konstantin, calm down! No one wants a steel plant in Bulgaria. Capitalists are not charities!" Ferdinand said irritably.

Hearing Ferdinand's words, Konstantin knew he had gotten it wrong and explained somewhat awkwardly, "Oh, sorry! Your Highness, I lost my temper. I just thought that some idiot was coming to invest in the steel plant, so I was a little bit overexcited!"

Ferdinand smiled and said, "Yes! Mr. Konstantin, you overthink! The steel plant has to be built, and it's the same as far as land and taxes are paid or not! I plan this time it is the government to be the one to take charge of this matter!"

Konstantin was startled and said after a moment of silence, "Your Highness, isn't it too much for our government to fund the plant? At present, steel mills all over the world are founded by capitalists. I am afraid that it will destroy the free market economy and cause unwanted chaos!"

Ferdinand seems to have expected this, said with a smile: "What is the free market economy? Isn't it just the same thing? If we don't fund it, it is estimated that in another 20 years, Bulgaria will not have a decent steel plant! As for the first time, it's all done by people, isn't it? And we're not the only ones building state-owned steel plants in the world today. Isn't Qing in the East building one too?"

Konstantin was a bit baffled, was he convinced just like that? The Qing Empire in the East, he had heard of it. It was said to be a gourmet empire. Even its name carried food.2) It's not clear to him that there are neither steel plants built, as the grand duke said there are!

"Oh, Your Highness, the setting up of a state-owned steel mill by us will destroy the free market competition. I am afraid that many people will oppose it!"

"That's easy! The government can first release this news. After that, announce that if a capitalist can build a large factory with an annual output of one million tons of steel within five years, the plan will be canceled, and welcome those capitalists who love it to sign up! We can also give them tax exemptions. By the way, if they fail to complete the task, then they will be liable for delaying the industrialization of Bulgaria!" Ferdinand came up with a shady note.

If someone from the outside world had seen Ferdinand's plots, they would have said, "Crazy!"

If it were the 21st century, one million steel per year, it would be a township business belonging to the small and micro business they shut down! But this is the 19th century, 1891, the annual steel production in more than a million countries. The only countries that produced more than a million steel are France, Germany, Britain, the United States, and Russia.

Is this possible to achieve? Ferdinand can say with total certainty, no way! Even if he invests himself in the opening, he can not do it!

If they are against it, they can come out and try it if they are not afraid of being called a piece of shit! With an annual output of one million tons of steel, it can be ranked sixth in the world. It is such a big offer, can the people oppose it?

If it is completed, if Ferdinand can be shameless, Bulgaria will be able to call itself an industrial country and get a power hat to wear, by the way.

Translator:

1) It means that although the difference is tiny at the start, the result will cause a big problem.

2) I think because of the typo write by the author. The Great Qing Empire in Chinese is 'D qnggu', but the author writes 'D pnggu' that means The Great Apple Empire. So, you can guess why Konstantin thinks about gourmet. (Sorry, I can't insert the Chinese character, you know what will happen). Yes, all the names of the Qing Empire in every chapter, the author write Apple Empire. The author was never correcting his typo. If you know Chinese, you will frustrate when reading this story in Qidian. It is easier to translate other stories (like Marine's Dark Admiral) than this one.