Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 44 The tree wants to be quiet but the wind keeps on

  A day in early July

  Detroit

  Detroit is a port city located in the northeastern part of the United States, adjacent to Canada, a territory of the British Empire. It is located in the Great Lakes region with convenient water transportation and developed steel and shipbuilding industries. It is an important industrial town in the northeastern United States.

  In the top-floor luxury suite of the famous Mayflower Hotel

Li Fushou wore thin silk pajamas, holding a few documents in her hand and was reviewing. Fiona came in with a cup of freshly brewed coffee, placed it gently on the table, and glanced at Li Fushou and stopped talking. .

"What's up?"

   "Sir, I saw the new summer dresses in high-end stores are so beautiful, can you buy them! Please, I really like them."

   "Well, Fiona, how many years will it take to work for the money you owe me?"

"It's probably more than 270 years. I can't remember the details. Anyway, I have accepted my fate. This time I will add another 100 years. When I buy my favorite dress, perfume and leather bag, I can feel at ease. Stay by your side and serve."

  Li Fushou laughed and laughed and took a sip of coffee. Fiona shook his hands around the skirt, begging not to let go.

  She is now in debt, and she will never end her life anyway.

   "Li—Xian—Sheng, okay—Well, please."

   "Okay, okay, let someone arrange a carriage to take you there."

   "Wow, dear Li, you are the best master in this world."

   Fiona jumped up with joy, and turned away excitedly. She vowed to go to the department store to purchase as much as she could, huh, how can it be done in a hundred years? At least two hundred years of debt should be added.

  Fiona is responsible for Li Fushou’s daily life, acting as a personal secretary. The two young men and women are chatting together. Their affection is deepening, but they have not broken through the last line of defense.

  Love...what the **** is that?

  Li Fushou did not think about how to place Fiona. Being a regular wife is definitely not feasible. Being a concubine or an underground lover is a bit wronged for Fiona.

  Fiona comes from the prestigious family of the Earl of Normandy. She is an aristocratic girl and a devout Protestant. Improper behavior before marriage is strictly forbidden to tarnish the honor of the aristocracy.

  Although the Third Reich of France no longer exists, the European monarchies and the United States both recognize the status of the French aristocracy in exile.

   Bullying a troubled orphan European aristocrat, the white spit star can drown Li Fushou, it is terrible!

  This matter is very tricky, even if it is not so simple to overthrow, he can't do irresponsible things.

  So the current strange relationship is formed;

Fiona said she was a financial consultant, but she was actually more like a personal secretary. She said she was an ambiguous lover and she did not break through the last line of defense. She did her work as a personal secretary every day, mainly taking care of Li Fushou. Daily life, just hanging without embarrassment.

  Fortunately, Fiona is a girl with little scheming, and she is somewhat complacent about this relationship.

  Li Fushou must be concerned that his basic board is a Chinese influence. What is the matter of marrying a foreigner?

   Shaking his head and temporarily setting aside these, Li Fushou picked up the file in his hand and looked at it.

  A schedule for recruiting skilled shipyard workers, technicians and shipyard operation dispatchers in Detroit. Everything is going well.

  In Detroit, there are tens of thousands of people in the shipbuilding industry at the same time, and there are hundreds of large and small shipyards, and competition is fierce.

  The 19th Century United Shipping Company under Li Fushou, the first batch of three 5,000-ton ocean freighters, if built in Detroit, the price will be at least 20% cheaper, which can save tens of thousands of pounds.

  But this kind of good thing can only be thought of, it is not feasible.

  Ocean-going freighters built in Detroit in the northeastern part of the United States must travel thousands of miles around Central and South America, then pass through the southernmost point of Argentina, Cape Horn all the way north, and it took more than half a year to reach Oakland on the west coast and make a large circle around the Americas.

This long voyage requires at least three stops for supplies, and it must avoid Antarctica’s harsh winters and capricious summers. In these two seasons, the violent polar ocean currents and the tens of feet of waves are a nightmare that humans cannot resist. I don't know how many ships died here.

  If you want to bypass Cape Horn, which is ravaged by the storm, you can only choose the safe period of spring and autumn, experience the test of the stormy waves in the polar region, and arrive safely.

The North American continent has the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Basically, ships built in the east of the United States can only be used for Atlantic routes. Ships built in the west of the United States are used on Pacific routes. As a last resort, there will never be a crew willing to gamble on their lives. Go to Cape Horn, known as the "end of the world".

  This means that tens of thousands of pounds of shipbuilding costs cannot be saved.

  Because the transportation demand of the Atlantic route far exceeds the west coast of the United States, Detroit's shipbuilding industry is particularly developed, and the technology level also exceeds that of the west coast. This is the purpose of Li Fushou and his entourage.

  Ocean-going freighters cannot pass Cape Horn at the end of the world. Skilled shipbuilding technicians and advanced shipbuilding equipment can traverse the continental United States through the Central Pacific Railway and reach Oakland directly. All they pay is a train ticket.

  The second document is the investigation report of major machinery factories in Detroit. This is the information obtained through the special detective agency, and the content is very detailed.

  Especially regarding steam internal combustion engine manufacturers, there are more than 5 large machinery factories in Detroit with independent production capacity.

  Li Fushou’s goal is to choose one of them for acquisition, which is related to the next development strategy of Red River Valley Ranch. Without mechanized agriculture and animal husbandry, it will never be able to become bigger and stronger.

  In 1851, Alabard of France invented the world's first steam-powered tractor, which was invented earlier than passenger cars, which shows the urgent need for agricultural machinery.

  Li Fushou’s goal is to cooperate with professors from American universities to set up a special internal combustion engine power laboratory to develop fuel-powered tractors, which will be born more than ten years earlier than the original historical time and space.

  Steam-powered tractors are too cumbersome, costly, and have poor efficiency. They are stuck in the ground at every turn, and progress in actual promotion and application is slow.

  The corresponding fuel-burning internal combustion engine can be very small. Although the power is also reduced, it is enough to cope with the daily field work. According to the current level of technology, it should be able to be developed as long as the investment is invested.

  Li Fushou’s intention is to use the scientific and technological strength of the United States and Europe to invest funds to focus on small-scale fuel-burning internal combustion engines, especially in terms of reliability and practicality, and take the lead in making breakthroughs in this area.

  In the future, the tractor and even the automobile industry will be built on the successful research and development of small fuel internal combustion engines.

  The arrangement for technological research and development in advance is a chess piece laid in advance by Li Fushou, which is related to a large industry of hundreds of millions of pounds.

  Australia can thus establish its technological advantages in internal combustion engine production and research, and take the development opportunity through related technology patents, which will become the beginning of the next step of exporting high-tech industrial products.

  This is an important strategic idea, which must be completed by Li Fushou himself.

  The third document is a market survey report, citing data from the US Government’s Department of Industrial Development. It can be seen that the steam engine industry in the late 19th century and future development trends can help to recognize the current technological level and choose the right entry point.

  After comprehensive consideration

  Li Fushou is preparing to choose small and medium-sized steam machinery as the key direction of future development. At present, he has sent people to support the laboratories of related universities in Philadelphia and New York to obtain the latest steam machinery scientific research results.

  A few years later, when the time is ripe, you can smoothly enter the field of small and medium-sized steam machinery manufacturing and create your own ace products.

  The steam engine product is the current mainstream technology, as long as the preparation work is done quickly, it can be put into production.

  The fuel-burning internal combustion engine is a future technology, and it is necessary to further accumulate the technological background and improve the R&D and manufacturing process of special steel to meet the higher requirements of the fuel-burning internal combustion engine.

  In addition, Li Fushou also conceived to build a high-level elementary, middle school and university education system to complete the entire process of talent training.

  Of course, this is all years later.

  Li Fushou paced back and forth in the room, considering every detail, suddenly raised his head and looked at the door.

  Door open

  Fiona hurriedly walked in with a piece of text in her hand, her face very serious.

   "What's the matter? I came back so soon."

   "Li, something happened to the Red River Valley. This is the transoceanic telegram that I just received."

"Oh……"

  Li Fushou unfolded the message and read it, and the anger in his heart burst into flames.

   Said in the text;

   Since May, the Royal Queensland Mounted Police have assembled to Red River Valley Ranch many times and requested searches for suspected hiding of fugitives. They were blocked by gunmen led by Liu Shan and Yuchi Shouzhuo.

  The reason is simple.

  Red River Valley Ranch is privately owned, and the Mounted Police must hold a state prosecutor’s search warrant to be reasonable and legal, and are not allowed to enter in other circumstances.

  After entering June

  Speaker Edward is at a complete disadvantage in the fierce campaign of the current Governor Frank, forced by the situation, desperately, trying to take military deterrent actions against the Red River Valley Ranch, showing a tough attitude, in order to restore the confidence of the voters.

under these circumstances

  June 24

  The old three-tier sailing ship "Old Woman" of the British Empire's South Pacific Task Force entered the Port of Brisbane for daily patrol supplies.

  The captain of the ship is Lieutenant Colonel Mendes of the British Imperial Navy, a noble officer born in Kent and the eldest son-in-law of Speaker Edward, who is suspected of using public equipment to support the election platform for Speaker Edward.

  Three days later

The "Old Woman" went up along the Brisbane River and intruded into the Red River Valley ranch. The officers and soldiers on the ship showed their strength to the Chinese. The muzzle of the black hole pointed at the manor, barn, wharf, reservoir and other facilities, causing great Panic.

Nan Huaiyu, Liu Shan, and Yuchi Shouzhuo led a group of Chinese cavalry to confront it. In the afternoon, the "Old Woman" brazenly fired its guns, killing and wounding more than 10 people and destroying more than 20 buildings. In time, more than a hundred livestock were killed.

  One day later, the battleship "Old Woman" just left, leaving a mess...

   Really the tree wants to be quiet and the wind keeps on!

  (End of this chapter)