Xu Huafeng was sighing, Yang Rui only felt that he might be asking for money, and said suspiciously and carefully: "Is the Ministry of Works not enough funds?"

Yang Rui was stunned by Xu Huafeng's question. In fact, he felt that scientific research was like climbing a mountain, and hard work was useless. Although Yang Rui provided a lot of useful and mysterious materials, that was just the direction. It was only the direction. It was still a matter of luck to truly practice and successfully research the manufacturing process. ← This is his idea as a minister of the Ministry of Works and a scientific worker, but Yang Rui's question made him feel that it was extremely difficult for the prime minister who provided resources to industries and laboratories. It was nothing for the people who were not rich. For the rich gentry, the tax bureau was like a robber, such as personal income tax, corporate income tax, value-added tax, inheritance tax, resource tax, land value-added tax, arable land occupation tax, consumption tax, urban construction tax... There were nearly twenty kinds of them, whether they were available abroad or not abroad, and they were all started to be collected in China, which made the gentry often shout: "Revival will bring ten thousand taxes! Yang will bring ten thousand taxes! Greater China'

Fortunately, the main objects of these tax collection account for only 10% of the national population, basically do not involve tenants, and few involve self-cultivated farmers. In addition, the army, police, tax police, and peasant soldiers were in hand. After the founding of the country, more than 1,000 violent tax resistance were suppressed, more than 5,000 people were tried by the tax court, and more than 1,000 people were executed, which suppressed the trend of gentry's tax resistance! At a press conference, Yang Rui quoted the famous saying of Benjamin Franklin to Chinese and foreign journalists: In Greater China, only death and tax payment are inevitable! Whoever refuses to pay taxes is the enemy of the entire country!

The Prime Minister said this, foreign journalists can understand. But for some reason, they said in English newspapers that "the best thing this cabinet does is collect taxes. None of them." After the foreigners tinkered with it, those Westernized elements in foreign costumes, the sectarian party with ulterior motives, and the Sun Wen party who stolen the country to save the country. In particular, these people took out the double tax growth after the founding of the country and bewitched people's hearts, which caused an uproar in public opinion. The Congress also questioned the cabinet, but the Taxation Bureau threw out a prepared tax comparison report between China and Japan, slapped these people hard.

According to public data from the Chinese and Japanese governments, the total tax amount of Japan in the first year of Shenwu accounted for 33.4% of national income, and in the past few decades since the Meiji Restoration, Japan's tax ratio has been between 20 and 40%, the lowest is 24.4% of the nine years before Shenwu (1903); while the total tax amount of China accounts for only 11.5% of national income, less than half of Japan's lowest amount, and one-third of the average amount.

The report of the State Administration of Taxation made the clan and socialist party hiding in the concession very happy. The annual tax of the New Dynasty said that it only accounts for 11.5% of the national income. Then, "Our Qing Dynasty" collected more than 300 million taels only accounts for 5% of the national income? But before the old people were happy, another report slapped them again. That is, although the highest tax of the Qing Dynasty was only more than 300 million taels, it was said that "the open tax was light, the hidden tax was heavy, and the harsh tax was intensive. After the Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty, the actual tax of the people had reached or exceeded 10%, and after Yongzheng, it exceeded 5%, and only cleaned up Kangxi's face that never increased the tax.

Because of the existence of the concession, the struggles on the propaganda front are rich and diverse. Also because of the proliferation of tax resistance and smuggling by the gentry, the IRS has sacrificed every day for tax police in the past two years, and the deaths do not have to be a war. Xu Huafeng thought of these things and suddenly felt that Yang Rui, the prime minister, was also difficult. He pulled Yang Rui on the shoulder and said, "It's difficult! It's hard!"

"We are just difficult. But no matter how difficult it is, it is not as hard as the people!" Xu Huafeng thought that it was difficult for everyone, but Yang Rui, who was sitting in the prime minister, knew what the situation of the people was: the family lived in a shack, only one decent clothes were worn in turn, and the trousers were worn in turn, and those who ate wild vegetables at the wedding banquet were not seen. The wooden fish did not see real fish, because they were afraid that the girl would not be able to support them and the boys sold them... The people were so poor. They wanted to collect taxes from these people. Many taxpayers of the State Administration of China resigned in one day at work, and some members even wrote a letter to Yang Rui, saying that the people were too hard and that they could not bear to collect taxes. Yang Rui had no choice but to write an open letter warning that if they did not collect taxes, they would have the shame of being in a hurry. The pain of Xinchou, the compensation would not be 200 million, 450 million, but to pay one billion or even two billion.

"Mr. Huafeng, the money that the people have between their teeth is used to build state-owned enterprises. If that bastard wants to privatize state-owned enterprises or enrich their personal pockets in the future, I, Yang Jingcheng, will be the first to kill him!" Yang Rui thought about the various things in his later generations, and his teeth were clattering and murderous intent. To be fair, he is an angry young man, and the reason why he is angry is because of the unfair things. Although the revolutionary things have distorted his mind, he hopes that everything is fair and his nature is still his nature.

Most of the others did not hear the conversation between Xu Huafeng and Yang Rui, but the sentence "I, Yang Jingcheng, was the first to kill him." Because of the loud words, the others were shocked when they heard the sound. The Prime Minister was wearing a civil servant robe. Although he was tall but kind, he must not forget that he was a murderer who committed rebellion and founded the country, and his intention to kill him was not diminished.

Everyone else's hearts were hanging, but Xu Huafeng didn't feel it. He said, "What if it was like the previous Steamship Merchants Corporation?"

"Here," Yang Rui glanced at Jiang Lifu, the general manager of the engine factory. "Cultivate professional managers and give these people stocks. Some Western companies are not managed by shareholders themselves. If they leave the company to professionals, they can grow and grow. If they cut a piece of the profit they create, then these people will be motivated. In addition, the employment system is adopted in state-owned enterprises. If they are brought to death, they will not be able to tell whether it is a nursing home or a commercial company."

Greater China has never had any advanced nature of workers, which allowed Yang Rui to squeeze workers. Xu Huafeng did not understand the disadvantages of the iron rice bowl in later generations. He only thought that the former was effective. While twisting his beard, he began to pay attention to Jiang Lifu, a young man.

Under the arrangement of Governor Sun Songling, Yang Rui first visited the electrolytic aluminum factory, then the aluminum alloy factory, and then the engine factory. The factory production area is very large, and the huge electrolytic workshop alone has been wandering around for more than half an hour. The electrolytic workshop corridor is wide, and Yang Rui walking in it feels like he is in the later game console hall, or in the morning when no one is around. These electrolytic cells look very much like the electronic game consoles of later generations. They stand side by side, and thick wires stretch out from the bracket at the top of the workshop and insert them into the electrolytic tank. Each electrolytic is working, and every once in a while. Workers have to suck the liquid aluminum in the electrolytic tank into the insulation barrel with a siphon. When an insulation barrel is filled, the liquid aluminum will be sent to the aluminum workshop to remove impurities, and then either cool the ingot directly or send it to the aluminum alloy workshop to melt cast aluminum alloy.

Yang Rui had no understanding of aluminum electrolysis technology and did not need to know it. He only focused on the cost of aluminum. He interrupted Yu Dechang's introduction and asked: "How much is the cost of a ton of aluminum?"

"Cost..." Yu Dechang, the general manager, was not surprised. Tianzi was cost accounting, and all costs were clear. He said now: "After sir, each ton is calculated from about 100 gold pounds to 100 hardware pounds."

"One hundred to one hundred and one hundred hardware pounds? This is not more expensive than copper. I remember that the price of copper is 450 taels per ton, which is more than 60 pounds." Yang Rui repeated that the international common currency is pound now, so he also has to multiply pounds by five to convert it into US dollars. The currency unit used in the briefing on the development of the world aluminum industry is US dollars.

Seeing that Yang Rui felt it was expensive, Yu Dechang said again: "Prime Minister. According to American technology, every kilogram of aluminum is required to produce 28 kilograms of aluminum, and two kilograms of coal is required to build one ton of aluminum. This means that it takes fifty-six tons of coal. The coal price is 4.5 2.5 ounces, which is more than two hundred and fifty taels; bauxite needs to be dissolved and purified by caustic soda, and the amount of caustic soda is not small. After the precipitation of sanhydrate alumina stone, it will be roasted. The labor is a lot of money, but the last big piece is depreciation of fixed assets. There are so many of these closings."

"By what you calculate, the gap is quite big. Why are there so few aluminum-producing factories?" Yang Rui couldn't tell him that Hou Debang's alkali production has been started in Shanghai, and the cost of caustic soda will drop sharply in the future. He just doesn't understand why a ton of aluminum can make two or three hundred dollars, and why the world's aluminum production is so small.

Unexpectedly, Yang Rui asked this, Yu Dechang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sir, those aluminum factories in the West are small factories with hundreds of tons and dozens of tons. It is rare for coal and bauxite to coexist together. Even if there are such places, small factories still need to build power stations, dissolution workshops, precipitation workshops, and roasting workshops. Otherwise, there will be no electrolysis. Therefore, the fixed cost of factories with small output is higher... Their costs are much higher than ours, and generally more than 110,000 gold pounds per ton, which is around 120 gold pounds. In addition, the amount of aluminum is not large and the demand is small, so the output will naturally be less."

There is little demand and little output. Yu Dechang's statement is completely correct. Yang Ruiji's head room has left the electrolysis workshop and walked towards the aluminum output workshop on the head of the workshop. The aluminum liquid from the electrolytic tank is three hundred degrees higher than the melting point of aluminum. After these aluminum liquids are put into the insulation barrel, they can be stored for a lot of time. Because the amount of aluminum alloy is not large now, many of the produced aluminum ingots are neatly coded in the warehouse and are rarely sold.

Yu Dechang didn't understand why the court and the Ministry of Works were not in a hurry to sell aluminum ingots. He just felt that if he only produced but did not sell, the aluminum factory would have to be cut off in one day and could not continue. At this time, he happened to see Yang Rui looking at the aluminum ingots, and he said politely: "Sir, after the factory started construction, many foreign companies came here to negotiate sales..."

Yang Rui understood his concerns, but he couldn't say why he didn't sell aluminum. He only asked: "How much does it cost to pay workers and suppliers to produce a ton of aluminum in this way without selling it?"

The coal mine is a state-owned enterprise, and caustic soda also comes from the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park. There are only some electrolytic tank anode carbon rods and some machine consumables that need to be purchased from outside, and then the workers' wages are paid. However, there are not many workers in the electrolytic plant, and there are only more than two thousand people in the 5,000-ton factory. After Yu Dechang's mind was turned around, he said: "Sir, it will cost more than one hundred and seventy taels of a ton of aluminum."

"Then let's stock up first. Haven't you heard that foreigners are going to fight?" Yang Rui said with a smile.

'Foreigners are about to fight' is Yang Rui's catchphrase, which he used to convince the cabinet and parliament, and the cabinet and parliament were passed on to the newspaper industry, making this sentence become a joke. When Hua Yang couldn't argue with the argument, someone would say this: 'Don't be arrogant. Haven't you heard that foreigners are about to fight?'. The prophet's judgment became a catchphrase of the foreigners. Yang Rui was helpless about this, but fortunately the more people he said, the less people believed it, and he felt relieved.

As soon as Yang Rui's catchphrase of "foreigners are going to fight" came out, Yu Dechang was just stunned. Sun Songling, Xu Baoyu, and Jiang Lifu next to him were all laughing. They knew that this sentence was used by Yang Rui to fool the opposition parties during a congressional question.

Everyone laughed, and Yang Rui also smiled and said, "Five thousand tons a year. Six aircraft need almost one ton of aluminum, and 30,000 aircraft are enough for 5,000 tons. Don't worry. With aluminum alloys, aluminum will definitely be in short supply. Besides, aluminum is so expensive now. It's because the electrolytic efficiency is too low. One kilogram of aluminum requires twenty-eight degrees of electricity, which is really too high."

Yang Rui said 30,000 planes as soon as he spoke, which scared everyone. Only Xu Baoyu knew the use of aluminum alloys. He also understood that the situation there was indeed a war that was about to break out, and he kept nodding. As for the 30,000 planes, he didn't know how many planes the foreigners would build when fighting. But the aluminum ingots can be stored for a long time, and it doesn't matter if they can't be sold.

In order to save the cost of reheating aluminum liquid, the aluminum alloy workshop is almost connected to the aluminum workshop. However, due to the principle of confidentiality, Yu Dechang walked to the door of the aluminum alloy workshop and retreated.

The aluminum alloy workshop is extremely high because there is also a hydraulic press inside. Although it is only 5,000 tons, its height and momentum are not much weaker than the 10,000 tons in Nanjing Shipyard. When Yang Rui and Xu Huafeng were still in the electrolysis workshop, they heard the rumbling sound here. Now as soon as they entered the workshop, they saw the hydraulic press nearly twenty meters high. At this time, the machine was running. Although it was standing far away, they could still feel the heat and pressure during forging. However, it was different from what Yang Rui imagined. The beam under the hydraulic press would only press down slowly, rather than hammering down like a gas hammer. Thinking of this, Yang Rui suddenly laughed at himself, "I used to think it was hammering hard like a hammer. I didn't expect it to only press."

A man who was determined to buy a water press never knew how the water press worked, which made the few generals next to him laugh at all. Instead, they thought Yang Rui was respectable. Jiang Lifu, the general manager of the engine factory, explained: "Prime Minister. This hydraulic press relies on a high-pressure water pump to accumulate energy, so it can only press down. Although the method is simple, it is of great use. Before the crankshaft of the aircraft engine can only cast 1,000 kilograms of steel ingots without a water press, and then use a lathe to reach 45 kilograms. Not to mention this time, the crankshaft made is not durable. The early engine had only a 50-hour lifespan, which is precisely because of this."

"What about now?" Yang Rui knew that the hydraulic press was important, but there was no specific comparison data. Jiang Lifu's words were very interested.

"Sir, the engine life is now more than 150 hours, and production is easy. After the crankshaft is melted and cast, it can be pressed by a hydraulic press forging and then turned properly, which is more than twenty times faster than before." Jiang Lifu said.

"Oh...then you are pressing the crankshaft now?" Yang Rui nodded with satisfaction. He watched the huge lower beam of the hydraulic press lift up and moved the workbench outward, and knew that this forging should be over.

"Prime Minister, this is not forging a crankshaft, but wing ribs used on forging aircraft." Although Xu Baoyu did not know the production plan, he guessed that it was forging ribs when he saw the pattern of the workbench press. The dive bomber requires higher body strength, wings and tail wings, which are prone to breakage, must be made of forged materials. After he said that, he said something to the workshop director who followed the person, and soon a few forged parts were sent over. "Prime Minister, be careful of the burrs. This aluminum alloy is extremely hard and sharp." Seeing that Yang Rui wanted to touch those parts, Xu Baoyu quickly said.

What they were sent were various parts on the plane, landing gear, frame, ribs, moving rings, and immovable rings. Yang Rui actually saw the piston head. He picked up the piston and asked, "Isn't the melting point of this aluminum very low? How can it be used in the cylinder?"

"Prime Minister, this piston head will also be fitted with a steel cylinder liner. As long as the expansion coefficient is appropriate, the two will be tightened. The engine weight accounts for about one-third of the aircraft's weight. As long as the engine weight can be reduced, it is equivalent to increasing the power. Now Kunlun Type 3 is only 8.43 kilograms heavier than Type 2, which is because the piston has been replaced by aluminum." Jiang Lifu said.

"Can you change the entire engine into aluminum according to this meaning?" Yang Rui asked. When he went to various places to see fruits, he often rented a Wuling van around. The chassis of the car is high and can attract people, which is very convenient. "In this way, the entire engine will be lighter." After he said that, he was worried that his current technical level would not be achieved, and he smiled and said, "I am a pure layman, and this is just a fool."

Jiang Lifu was thinking about his proposal, holding his glasses for a while before saying: "The Prime Minister has a good idea. After I go back, I can try it on the liquid-cooled engine. If the air-cooled star generator is made of aluminum, it is still a big problem after all."

He didn't say whether it was good or bad, but wanted to try it. Yang Rui liked this attitude, nodded to him immediately, and then asked Xu Baoyu: "Is the 5,000-ton water press enough now?"

"Ah..." Xu Baoyu was a little lost. Five thousand tons were used for aluminum alloy forging, which made him very excited. The Prime Minister asked this now, and it seemed that 5 thousand tons was not big enough. He said: "Prime Minister, it is enough for these 5 thousand tons of hydraulic presses to be used for aircraft forging, but if the weight speed of the aircraft increases, the hydraulic press will only increase."

During World War I, there were less than one ton of fighter jets, and during World War II, most of them were four or five tons, which was not as twenty or thirty tons as later generations. Therefore, the aircraft in World War I had very few requirements for forging. Only during World War II, the speed and weight were increased. Germany only built several hydraulic presses of more than ten thousand tons, and the largest one was 30,000 tons. So now Xu Baoyu did not think that the hydraulic press was a shortcoming of material processing. Instead, he remembered another machine in the workshop and said: "Prime Minister, what I lack now is the aluminum plate rolling mill. The width of 1,120 mm... It would be great if it could be wider. In this way, the riveting work required for the wings and fuselage would be much less, and the material strength would be much higher."

Listening to his nephew's excessive request, Xu Huafeng coughed and said, "This is already the widest in the world. You have to be wider and take my old bones."

Xu Huafeng did this, which made Xu Baoyu dare not say anything again. Yang Rui smiled and said, "It's a little wider, but even this one is specially customized, and there is no wider than this one. If you want to be wider, then you have to wait for Mr. Huafeng to rush the artificial group below."

Lathes, general parts, instruments, and these factories are all in Taiyuan. Yang Rui just walked around there and left, and he didn't understand the situation at all. Xu Huafeng said solemnly: "Making can be made, but it requires someone." After saying that, he turned his eyes around the faces of several young people around him, and then said: "I will depend on you in the future!"

Xu Huafeng's words only talked about the hearts of these young people. Since Xu Shou's first generation was responsible for Westernization, his generation was considered the second generation. Now China has bought a lot of advanced equipment, but it can only use it. Simple maintenance is fine, but overhauls are difficult to solve. I really want to design and manufacture water presses and wide-width aluminum plate rolling mills. I still have to see the third generation sent to study abroad in the late Qing Dynasty and the founding of the country.

Xu Huafeng's words were heavy, making young people afraid to speak. Yang Rui comforted him: "Don't think about the goal, you should think about what you know more today than yesterday. Take a small step forward every day, that year is a big step. The most important thing is to keep moving forward, not rushing or impatient, so that you can build the industry well. I have seen aluminum alloys. I have been talking about this thing for many years. I am very satisfied that I can do it today. Thank you for your hard work!"

Yang Rui said and bowed to them. These young people who were very heavy by Xu Huafeng quickly moved away from the gift, and the atmosphere became lively. After leaving the aluminum alloy factory, Yang Rui asked Xu Huafeng: "When you say this, he will not be able to sleep for a few days. After all, he is still young, and what he said is not unreasonable. The rolling mill should be wider, one meter and one 2 or two are still not wide enough."
Chapter completed!