Chapter 20 Changjiang 750 and Dongfeng Brand
Although it is not possible to build a factory for mass production, small-scale production of a few trial cars can still be used to improve the production process and adjust the product design. In the following two months, Liu spent most of his time at the research institute with the research team, solving problems such as rubber vulcanization, shock-absorbing spring materials, and transmission gearboxes. After that, they successively produced several cars and motorcycles, and finally finalized the Dongfeng brand small passenger and cargo vehicle and the Yangtze River brand two-wheeled/three-wheeled motorcycle.
The Dongfeng brand small passenger and cargo vehicle was designed by Liu Wei's team after referencing the pickup truck models of later generations. It adopted a counterfeit Long March 1-type diesel engine, with 120 horsepower, a body length of nearly 6 meters, and a width of 2 meters. It doesn't look much like a pickup truck, but rather like a smaller version of an old GAZ. This vehicle can carry 4 people while carrying a load of 500 kg, with a designed top speed of 70 km/h on highways and 40 km/h off-road. Due to the use of a counterfeit modern diesel engine, its performance is very stable, and fuel consumption is not high. However, due to many materials not meeting the standards of this era, this vehicle has many drawbacks, such as a small load capacity, easily damaged headlights, hard shock absorption, and poor ride comfort. Nevertheless, these drawbacks are what Liu Wei himself thought, while in the research institute, everyone unanimously believed that this vehicle was more beautiful than the goddess of fortune, despite not even having a coat of paint yet, with its body made up of various steel plates in their original colors, some red, some yellow.
Changjiang motorcycle is a replica of Changjiang 750 in the cabin, although many parameters have some differences, but the appearance has been kept as original as possible.
Changjiang 750 motorcycle, also known as the sidecar motorcycle, was originally a copy of the Soviet M-72 motorcycle. The Soviet M-72 was in turn a copy of the German BMW R71. It can be said to be a three-country hybrid. This type of motorcycle was widely equipped in the German army during World War II. After the war, the Soviet Union obtained the original design and produced the M-72 based on the R71. Later, it was transferred to New China, resulting in the Changjiang 750.
This motorcycle was born in China in the 1950s and has had a very high output and utilization rate ever since, mainly equipped with military and public security systems. In movies from the 1970s and 1980s, it is generally the police officers wearing white clothes riding this motorcycle that appear on stage.
After the reform and opening up, various advanced motorcycles flooded into China, and the Changjiang 750 was no longer unique and gradually exited the historical stage. However, as a collectible, this motorcycle, which is only produced in one country, China, and sold to many countries around the world, has been rebranded "BlcakStar" or Black Star in Europe. This motorcycle has strong power, reliability, easy maintenance, excellent off-road performance, durability, and can be used for multiple purposes such as military and civilian use.
Here is the translation:
In 1889, it was a year of harvest. The seeds Liu had sown earlier finally bloomed and bore fruit. First, the railway from Taipei to Keelung was completed and opened to traffic, and the roadbed from Taipei to Hsinchu was also laid out for more than half of the distance, estimated to be open to traffic by the end of the year; then, the steel mill and machinery factory were partially put into production, although they were not yet fully completed, but already had some production capacity; the power plant and chemical plant were basically put into production, but due to insufficient raw materials, the output and products were not many; the port was basically completed, and the shipyard was building two small fishing boats for training workers; the gold mine and coal mine had long been mechanized, with a significant increase in output, but except for the coal given to the old father, all the rest were sealed up as strategic reserves. The newly built oil refinery was still under basic construction, and it would take next year to see the effect. The gun factory and bullet factory were all completed, and they were imitating Germany's 1888-style commission rifle and smokeless powder.
Through David's efforts, the first two French submarines have been towed to Keelung Harbor and are being secretly dismantled and studied at the shipyard. The remaining four German submarines and a batch of torpedoes and sea mines are also on their way, accompanied by retired submarine soldiers hired from Germany.
The research progress of the institute has also been improved to varying degrees, although no results have been achieved yet. As more and more people join in, it is inevitable that they will bloom and bear fruit, not to mention that Liu Ye provides them with various super-era samples.
"Jinxiang Pharmacy" has established 11 pharmacies in major coastal cities, with the current pharmacists and owners being high-quality, culturally advanced and loyal factory guards from the first two batches. Their main work is not to sell medicine, but to collect various intelligence under the guise of selling medicine, mainly targeting local governments and foreign embassies and consulates.
"Shandu Pharmaceutical Company" also developed well in the United States, although there were also large family conglomerates trying to intervene. However, due to the overly mysterious source of the medicine, combined with David's substantial funds and European background, they all came to nothing. Liu Mo did not yet have the ability to intervene in European and American affairs, but Liu Mo specially instructed David to use his extensive sales network in Europe and America to appropriately understand the trends of science and technology and politics in various countries, on the grounds that it was preparation for future development in Europe and America.
"Jilong Mining", "Jilong Heavy Industry" and "Jilong Chemicals" have been managed by professional management teams, which cannot be said to be making rapid progress, but are gradually improving. Not only do they provide a number of products for Taiwan Railways and shipyards, but they also received several small orders from the United States, which can be considered as earning foreign exchange through exports. What makes Liu Mei most satisfied is that the management team has consistently adhered to its training approach, providing cultural knowledge and professional skills training to all employees in the factory in batches and at different times. Those with good performance are recommended to Liu Mei, who arranges for them to study abroad, and their salaries are evaluated based on their training performance and level. For this purpose, Liu Mei specially established three vocational technical schools in the Jilong Industrial Zone, with teachers mostly hired from European and mainland students, specifically for short-term cultural knowledge improvement for workers and factory guards.
The guard team has developed to the third batch of members, with a total of over 1,300 people. Some are equipped with Taiwan-made imitation 1887 Committee rifles. In addition to daily military training, cultural courses have been added, and those who fail to meet the standards will not be promoted.
The development of the water patrol team is relatively slow, with only over 200 people, due to the lack of suitable ships for training. Liu Ye also had no choice but to wait, as the submarines for training were still on their way, and they could only wait a little longer.
There are no significant achievements in education, and the two primary schools that have been open for two years are said to be free, but the enrollment rate is not high. The main reason is that local people are afraid of foreigners and do not want to send their children into the tiger's mouth. Most students in school are children of factory workers who have more contact with foreign technical personnel and are not very afraid of foreigners. Another primary school is still managed by those three American entrepreneurial college students, basically with militarized management, going to the base of the guard team near the gold mine for training twice a week, brainwashing work is done every day without exception.
