Chapter Thirty: What Delight Is There in Not Doing
In the ancient East, there is a dragon, its name is China. In the long and endless river of history, countless nations have been buried, but only the Chinese nation has been thriving in this river, a nation with dragon as its totem culture. As the spiritual bond and centripetal force for the whole nation, the dragon has been the source of cohesion for the Huaxia nation through thousands of years of hardships, and it has always existed as an integral entity, because we are all descendants of the dragon.
"The dragon's feet, for the nine states listed in the border. The dragon's heart, for the nation's hope. The dragon's soul, for the Chinese writing chapter. The dragon's bones, for China's casting ridgepole." Dragon culture has always run through the lives of Chinese people, and the spirit of the dragon and its proud bones have always stood tall in the depths of every person's soul. When the wheel of time turned to the year of the dragon, the twelfth zodiac sign of the dragon year unique to China, a year that belongs only to the descendants of the dragon, this year the various performances of Chinese people are indeed different from previous years.
January 16, 1916, the Yunnan Military Government, which had already declared opposition to Yuan Shikai's imperial system, formally took the first step in opposing Yuan. The First Army of the National Protection Army led by Cai E officially launched an attack on Sichuan, and soon after, Liu Xianshi, the governor of Guizhou, declared Guizhou's independence, and on the 30th, Guangxi declared absolute independence.
The dark clouds of civil war rose again over the land of China, but only swirled around Sichuan and Yunnan in the southwest, while other places remained restrained. Seizing the opportunity that imperialist countries were deeply embroiled in the world war, the national industry of the entire Chinese territory began to flourish, with the development of industries such as textiles, flour, and mining booming, while some events that occurred in Guangxi, which should have been the most eye-catching but were actually suppressed the most.
Modern industry has long abandoned inefficient steam power and transitioned to electricity, with all industries now maturely using electric power as their energy source. The large number of modernized industrial and mining enterprises established in Guangxi also all use electric power, with the initial power supply coming from the three thermal power plants in Heshan, an important coal base, which provided a constant stream of power for industrial development. However, on February 1, 1915, they could announce that they would soon be able to officially rest.
Power generation is mainly wind power, hydro power and thermal power. Of course, with the advancement of technology, there will be more ways, such as nuclear energy and solar energy, etc. However, for the early 20th century world, only hydropower and thermal power had very good feasibility and were also the main power generation methods of global electric energy. Guangxi, which occupies an absolute natural advantage, has a dense distribution of large rivers with rich water resources, especially the hydroelectric resources of the Honghe River are particularly abundant.
The main feature of the Red Water River is its abundant water volume, large river bed drop and great hydropower potential. The 638-kilometer-long Red Water River has a natural drop of 762 meters, with an average slope of 0.676 kilometers per kilometer. Among them, the section from Tianxing Bridge to Nagon has a length of 14.5 kilometers, with a concentrated drop of 181 meters. The average drop per kilometer is about 13 meters, and the maximum drop per kilometer reaches an astonishing 50 meters. At the exit of Qianjiang, the multi-year average flow rate is 4100 cubic meters per second, and the multi-year average runoff is 136 billion cubic meters, accounting for 39% of the annual runoff in the Pearl River Basin, equivalent to twice that of the Yellow River. The abundant water volume and natural drop make the Red Water River provide a unique condition for human benefit.
However, the Honghe River is not only rich in hydropower resources, but also has an astonishing amount of natural resources within its basin. The Honghe River Basin is a gathering place for the Zhuang and Yao ethnic groups, with agricultural production mainly consisting of drought-resistant crops such as corn due to the widespread karst distribution and lack of surface water.
The mineral resources in the basin are rich, mainly with non-ferrous metals and black metals. After a long period of exploration, the Guangxi government has grasped a large amount of gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, zinc, tungsten and other reserves in the Hongshui River Basin, especially manganese and coal resources. The tin mine in Nandan and the manganese mine in Laibin Fenghuang are both of high quality, while the coal mine in Hezhou is the largest in Guangxi. Without a large amount of coal output, the industry in the autonomous region would come to a standstill due to lack of thermal power support, and trains would not be able to run without fuel. It can be said that the Hongshui River has made a great contribution to the development of the autonomous region, and the recent completion of a series of projects is a direct manifestation of the river's greater contribution.
The Hongshui River, rich in hydroelectric resources, is undoubtedly the top priority for the development of electric power energy in the autonomous region. Like another time and space, the autonomous region has proposed a plan to build ten cascaded hydropower stations on the Hongshui River. The first-level station is the Tianxing Bridge First-Level Hydropower Station, which was built on the upstream main stream of the Nanpanjiang River in Longlin County, Guangxi Autonomous Region. It is the leading power station of the ten cascades of the Hongshui River and, together with the second-level station built not far away, has become one of the two major power stations providing electricity to Baise, Nanning and other places. The total installed capacity of the two major power stations is 2,500 MW, and the estimated annual power generation can reach 130 billion kWh. Both power stations completed all verification work in July 1915 and started construction simultaneously on February 1, 1916, after several months of preparation and organization.
The Pingban Hydropower Station, also belonging to the Nanpanjiang River Basin, is the third-level power station in the Hongshuihe Hydropower Cascade Development Plan. It connects with the downstream of Tianxing Bridge Power Station and the upstream of Longtan Power Station, with a relatively small installed capacity of 405 MW. However, its annual power generation of 16 billion kWh is still impressive. Its construction will follow closely behind the first two.
While the installed capacity of Dahua Hydropower Station is only 400MW, Bailongtan Hydropower Station is 192MW, Letan Hydropower Station is 600MW and Qiaogang Hydropower Station is 456MW. These four power stations are all medium-sized power stations like Pingban Hydropower Station, with flood control and navigation as the main focus. Among them, the No. 1 unit of Dahua Power Station was successfully put into operation on November 26, 2015, and Bailongtan Power Station was completed and officially connected to the autonomous region's power grid on December 29, 2015.
"So, what we are currently building is actually eight power stations?" Zhang Yusheng had always been very concerned about the various constructions in the autonomous region, but due to his limited scientific knowledge, he rarely understood the specific situation of hydropower. It wasn't until Zhang Yu asked him to attend the completion ceremony of the third factory of Honghe River Cascade Hydropower Development Company, a factory that provides generator units for larger power stations in the future, that Zhang Yusheng learned that the Red River cascade hydropower project had entered a critical period.
"It's true, the first, second and third levels of hydropower project construction are not very difficult, but the Dafeng Gorge Water Conservancy Project is the last level of the tenth-level hydropower project, and it's also the largest one. We can't afford to give up on it for now. The Tanjiang Hydropower Station and the Yanjiang Hydropower Station are the real main players! These are the materials for these two power stations. You plagiarized some things that we don't actually need here, but take a look at the specific situation and decide whether to build or not, I'll leave it up to you."
Zhang Yu, who had access to a large amount of advanced technology from later generations, established an industrial zone in Hechi that can be said to be the best hydraulic power generation equipment manufacturing base in the world today. However, the Longtan Hydroelectric Power Station is the backbone project of the Hongshui River cascade development, a giant power station and a large reservoir, which will be the fourth-level power station. The project will mainly consist of three parts: the dam, the underground power plant, and the navigation buildings. Its installed capacity accounts for nearly 40% of the developable capacity of the Hongshui River.
The Longtan Hydropower Station has a total installed capacity of 6,300 MW, with 9 units of 700 MW hydroelectric generators. The annual average power generation is 18.7 billion kWh, which means that the total power generation of the first three hydropower stations is not even equal to the power generation of this one station. With such a large capacity, there are naturally higher requirements, such as the reservoir needing to reach a normal water level of 400 meters, with a total storage capacity of 27.3 billion cubic meters and a flood control storage capacity of around 7 billion cubic meters. As a result, the dam height must be at least over 200 meters, with a crest length of around 800 meters, and the concrete volume is around 7 million cubic meters. The construction difficulty of such a large project is unimaginable in the whole world, but its unique comprehensive advantages continue to attract people to develop it.
"Is it really that difficult? It's indeed worthy of being the third largest hydropower project in China. We don't have the ability to shake up the Longtan Hydropower Project at this moment, but the construction difficulty of Yantan Hydropower Station is not high, with an installed capacity of only 1210MW, we are fully capable of starting its construction! Moreover, once it's put into operation, it will greatly support the power supply in our autonomous region, especially in the southern area. The emerging large industrial cities in the southeast also need a large power station like this to provide electricity."
According to the plan, the Yantan Hydropower Station should have been the first power station to start construction. Once completed, it will occupy the throne of the largest power station in the autonomous region until the Longtan Hydropower Station is built. However, due to the huge construction requirements of the Longtan Hydropower Station, the Yantan Hydropower Station will definitely be the largest power station in the autonomous region if it starts smoothly. But reality always deviates from dreams.
According to the plan, the power station is located in Yantan Town, Dahua Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi Province, in the middle reaches of the Hongshui River. It is the fifth level power station of the comprehensive utilization planning of the Hongshui River. The power station mainly generates electricity and has navigation benefits. The normal water storage level is around 220 meters, with a corresponding reservoir capacity of approximately 2.6 billion cubic meters and a regulating reservoir capacity of around 1.6 billion cubic meters. The power station is equipped with four single-machine 302.5MW mixed-flow hydroelectric generating units, with a total installed capacity of 1210MW, ensuring an output of 242MW and an average annual electricity generation of 5.66 billion kWh. The dam required for the project is partially composed of concrete gravity dams, with a maximum dam height of 110 meters; and partially composed of roller-compacted concrete dams, with a maximum dam height of 106 meters.
Not to mention how the hydroelectric generator set was transported, just flooding the reservoir would inundate nearly 50,000 acres of precious arable land and relocate tens of thousands of people. It is estimated that Zhang Yusheng and others do not have the ability to shout about opening and building it again. "We are already building two large-scale first- and second-level power stations on a large scale. The Dahua Power Station has entered the critical construction period. Without sufficient power capacity, there is no need to start up a large power station with an installed capacity of over 1,000." Zhang Yu finally summed it up to the most realistic point, not that the huge power is not enough to tempt people, but that they themselves do not have the capital to be tempted.
"It doesn't matter, as long as the power generation units of the Dahua Power Plant can successfully generate electricity and connect to the grid, plus a Bai Longtan Power Plant and three thermal power plants, our autonomous region will have enough electricity for use. By the way, what's the situation with that Pingguo Aluminum Industry Group you mentioned?" Zhang Yusheng closed the file folder of the hydroelectric project and asked Zhang Yu very seriously. "You said before that all factories nowadays need to be driven by electric power, and metallurgical enterprises are even more so, moving towards electric smelting, so I agreed to this large-scale project in a straightforward manner, precisely because of the importance of metallic aluminum."
"Everything is going smoothly, if you're not at ease, you can go take a look at the construction of the factory." Zhang Yu carefully put away those documents, locked them in the metal cabinet before continuing: "I heard that the Germans have used airships to bomb Paris? The World War battlefield has finally begun its tactical transformation?"
"Yes, the day before yesterday, the Asia-America Group's agency in Paris sent back a telegram saying that Germany had dispatched a large number of airships to bomb Paris, and one of our warehouses was unfortunately bombed, resulting in the loss of some goods. Fortunately, there were no casualties!" Zhang Yusen replied unhappily.
"That's right, the Fourth Railway Engineering Group, which completed the Hainan City railway construction project, has returned to Liuzhou. When can they start building the Liuzhou- Fangchenggang railway double track? This is not something you are in charge of, but the Second Subsidiary Company you asked for is very enthusiastic about the double-track construction project. What arrangements do you have for them? You should issue instructions as soon as possible, don't let them wait idly!"
"Oh, I really forgot about this." Zhang Yu put the key in his vest pocket and only realized it when Zhang Yusheng reminded him. He quickly said: "This is what I was thinking, I want to start building a special base, not something mysterious, but a place specifically for scientific research, project planning and so on, just like a university. In short, I plan to use them to build a new high-tech development zone in the Liuzhou area, there is no institution of higher education in the autonomous region, nor is there a specialized technical research institution."
"Is one construction company enough?" Zhang Yu Sheng, with even greater ambition, suddenly reacted and after some deliberation, said something that would make Zhang Yu Lei's words seem like a dying utterance. "Our automobile manufacturing, metallurgical engineering, shipbuilding, transportation and water conservancy projects, etc., are all being constructed in a very disorderly manner. It is essential to establish professional and efficient research institutions, construction organizations, talent cultivation mechanisms, and form a complete technical chain!"
"One engineering construction company was enough, and only a dozen or so institutes such as the Institute of Internal Combustion Engine, the Institute of Large-scale Mining Machinery, and the Institute of Hydraulic and Hydroelectric Equipment had entered at the beginning. There wasn't even enough faculty to open a university, and we didn't have enough students with qualifications suitable for entering university studies either. The purpose of setting up a special place for many technical talents to focus on research work was still to better achieve that self-innovation thing! Of course, several institutes in the military sector also had to move in."
After the handover, the two of them quickly began to visit the completed China Electric Third Factory with a group of technical workers. In the future, individual power generation units will be born here. For electricity, such an extremely important basic energy source, no one would think it's not important at all.
"In the humming, humming sound" located in Liuzhou's three major automobile manufacturing bases, a small car frame welding workshop, workers are also skillfully using the convenience brought by electricity. One by one, the welding rods slowly weld the gaps tightly together, and the fishbone-like welding marks show off the workers' superb welding skills.
"Ka~ka~" The electrically powered cutting machine quickly cut through one piece of steel plate after another, and the neatly cut steel plates were soon sent to the next stage. The rumbling press quickly pressed the steel plates into various shapes, and the rough castings were soon transported to the grinding workshop via conveyor belt. Workers began processing each die-casting part on grinding machines, drilling holes with drill presses...
"The humming sound usually comes from the densely packed machining workshop, where workers are skilled in using lathes to process various parts. The motor outputs a stable torque, and through the control components, workers adjust to get the required speed, which is quickly obtained through the gearbox, and then satisfactory cutting and retracting can be done to produce qualified parts."
The use of electricity in modern industry is extremely important. In 1875, the first power station in the world was built at the Paris North Railway Station to supply power for nearby lighting. Electricity entered human life for the first time. In 1879, the experimental power plant in San Francisco, USA began generating electricity and became one of the earliest power plants in the world to sell electricity. The electricity generated by this power plant started to be used in industrial production, marking the beginning of the era of electric power driving human progress. In the 80s, the first batch of hydroelectric power stations were built in Britain and America. By 1913, the annual global electricity generation reached 50 billion kilowatt-hours, and the electric power industry had become an independent industrial sector, entering all fields of human production activities.
And as it has developed to this day, electricity is like every link in the automotive manufacturing process. Electricity can drive various power motors to drive the movement of processing machines. Electricity can generate heat for welding and smelting metals. For example, the large number of artillery exported to Europe, the barrel of which must be manufactured using electric slag remelting technology. The drawing process requires even more advanced machinery, of course, also driven by stable electricity. In terms of lighting, with the help of electric lights, electricity can show its alternative role very well, replacing darkness with light.
It can be said that the large-scale use of electricity has given birth to a rapid increase in productivity, greatly improving industrial production capacity, and also gradually changing the quality and way of human life itself. With the progress of the times, radios, televisions, fiber optic communications, digital phones, computers, etc., all these things will make people feel the beauty of electricity.
So, at the beginning of this Dragon Year and throughout the whole year, the booming development of Guangxi is centered around electricity as its main theme. Of course, other places in China are not just focused on developing this basic energy industry. At least, Tang Jiyao from Yunnan, Liu Xianshi from Guizhou, Long Jiguang from Guangdong and others do not think so. Many people in Europe also do not think this way. After all, in such a chaotic world, those who can calmly focus on building basic infrastructure are already few and far between, and only autonomous regions would attach such importance to hydropower, a clean and green energy source that prevents floods, generates electricity, improves navigation and regulates water resources.
More importantly, electric power lays a good foundation for the prosperous development of future industries. Electric power provides support for massive industries, education, national defense and so on, and will become as essential to human life as water and food. It's rare to have such a peaceful time, safe environment and complete conditions, why not do something beneficial for the future!
PS: The holiday of the little one has ended, and after formal classes, updates can only be made at 10 pm. Of course, the additional update time on holidays is still at noon. Thank you to all my supporters, 'Great Country Without Borders' is more wonderful with you!
