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Truman: "So, to what extent can this counterattack change the unfavorable situation of the past week? Can we use this counterattack to return to the [-]th parallel? Or at least regain Seoul?"

Bradley: "Admiral Ridgway and General Van Vleet have developed a detailed counterattack plan, but at present I cannot assure you which cities or regions will be gained in the counterattack. Because I did not ask Ridgway to do it to me. For any commitment, the front-line staff and commanders work out the details of the battle, not us. The only guarantee is that the UN forces will launch a counterattack and gain a certain degree of initiative on the battlefield to facilitate negotiations.”

Chapter 152, Building while fighting

In May 1951, Truman wasn't alone in worrying about money.

The Korean War doubled U.S. military spending, so much so that Truman would roar at the venue, and China’s war spending was also an extremely huge figure.

In the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, China’s war expenditure was equivalent to 26 billion U.S. dollars, which was an order of magnitude less than that spent by the United States in the Korean War.But this amount of money is definitely a heavy burden in terms of China's current national strength.

The 26 billion US dollars is still the war expenses of China in the history of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea.Tang Hua calculated that from September last year when he was preparing to enter the DPRK to May this year, due to his beating around the bush, the war cost was at least 9% higher than that of the same period of the year.Of course, this money is very meaningful. From the statistics of the battle reports I have seen now, the casualties of the volunteers have been reduced by 5, and the number of US troops killed has increased by 20. The most exaggerated is the number of captured enemies. Now there are more than three US troops in the POW camp In the original War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the Volunteers only captured more than 4 U.S. troops in three years.So the money was well spent, and Tang Hua even began to make assumptions. If the prisoners of war were returned in the form of ransom, an American soldier would ask for 8000 US dollars, and the prisoner-of-war camp would cost more than 6000 million US dollars.

Of course, this is only a hypothesis.The current more than 3 American prisoners of war cannot be cashed in dollars, and it should not be easy for us to ask for ransom directly in the armistice negotiations.These more than 3 Americans have to eat and consume food every day. Among them, Lieutenant General Walker, Major General Lawrence, and Major General Blackshire, the volunteers also provided Western food.

All this made Tang Hua's direct superior, the chief accountant, scratch his head.As the vice premier of the Government Administration Council, director of the Financial and Economic Committee, and minister of the Ministry of Heavy Industry, Lao Chen felt that the financial and economic sector was about to fail again.

"Now there are too many problems in the field of finance and economics, and the problems are very big. I must focus on finance and economics for a while." The chief accountant said, "The Government Administration Council will soon issue a document on additional agricultural tax collection estimates. This year's agricultural tax will be increased by 10%. Agricultural tax If you think about it, you will know how big it is. In the next few months, I will definitely have to run around in Northeast China, Henan, Hubei and Jiangsu. You will be in charge of the Soviet aid industry negotiations in June. Anyway, the second batch in July You also have to participate in the Soviet aid arms negotiation, and do it together.”

Tang Hua nodded, "I will call the team members of Suyuan Industry for a preparatory meeting as soon as possible."

Chief accountant: "By the way, I remember that some projects may start to be implemented in July 789th. You can supervise them at the Bureau of Chemical Industry and the Non-ferrous Bureau of Iron and Steel Bureau."

At last year's meeting on the decision to send troops to resist US aggression and aid Korea, the chief accountant said that difficulties were the most talked about. After the decision was finalized, he was also the one who adjusted the work of the Finance and Economics Committee to "defense first, market stability second, and others third".In order to stabilize the economy, the chief accountant has to do more than increase the agricultural tax by 10%.From December 1950, there was a gap of 12 to 6 trillion yuan in central cash. The chief accountant adjusted the monetary and credit policy. The crisis eased at the beginning of the year and prices continued to fall.Now the chief accountant goes to all parts of the country to monitor the increase of agricultural tax and check the land to determine production, which can solve the food problem to a certain extent.Then there should be cotton sales tax, temporary commercial tax, vehicle license tax, deed tax, tobacco and alcohol monopoly...

Liu Nai, Director of the General Administration of Military Industry and Deputy Minister of Heavy Industry, has been locked up in Dalian-Shenyang since the end of last year. He has no time to go home during the Spring Festival. Sometimes he calls 996 and sometimes 007.

The Dalian Jianxin Company, which has been deployed since 1946, has now become a weapon city located in the Luda area, but to support the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea—even light weapons and light artillery must be overloaded.Especially at the beginning of 1951, the central government decided that the troops to resist US aggression and aid Korea would have three rounds of battles, and Lao Liu was even ordered to die.Take the Type 50 semi-automatic rifle and the Type 50 light machine gun as an example. After Liu Nai adjusted production, the monthly output was 3 rifles and 3500 light machine guns. After finishing the costume change, now, it is time to start preparing guns for the third round of the corps.

The ammunition for the 40 rocket launchers and the 108 rocket launchers has never been enough for the frontline troops, and the commanders will not say how many thousands of them are sent to the front line.In the past two weeks, another hot-selling ammunition has been added: the Hongqi-1 air defense missile. The 112B factory in Shenyang has also become one of Liu Nai's permanent office locations.

Now the first document that Tang Hua opened has something to do with the Hongqi-1 missile, the second phase planning of the Fushun Aluminum Plant, the Fushun Magnesium Electrolysis Plant, and the Dashiqiao magnesite mine in Jinding, Liaoning.

After the electrolytic aluminum plant has been developed to the second phase and a magnesium electrolytic plant has been added, the electricity in Fushun will not be enough. Therefore, an expansion project of Fushun Power Station is planned to increase the installed capacity of coal-fired thermal power by 15 kilowatts.

If the installed capacity of 15 kilowatts is increased all of a sudden, Fushun's coal output should not be enough.Tang Hua picked up the information brochure of the coal industry, and sure enough, he found the Fushun Laohutai Coal Mine Project in it.

Fushun's annual output of such a large aluminum/magnesium alloy after some expansion is of course not just for the manufacture of Hongqi-1 missiles, but for aircraft.

After looking through the Soviet aid plan of the Nonferrous Metals Industry Bureau, Tang Hua felt that something was missing, copper.Haven't copper mines and copper smelting started yet?Now tens of millions of bullets and hundreds of thousands of shells are fired in Dalian a month, which has already eaten up the little copper output in China, and purchased copper ingots from the Soviet Union twice.

Write down the copper thing first, and then scroll down.Picking up the assistance construction plan of the Chemical Industry Bureau, Tang Hua found that it was too thin.There are only two, one of which is the ammonia synthesis project of Dalian Jianxin Company, which is a commercial procurement project that Tang Hua has previously agreed to pay directly from Dalian, not aid.Suyuan Chemical Industry has only one Taiyuan Chemical Factory, which produces sulfuric acid and caustic soda.

After confirming that the China Resources dollars transferred back to China could still be used, Tang Hua decided to call the chief accountant.

"Vice Premier Chen, I'm looking at the information about Soviet aid. The Chemical Industry Bureau's Soviet aid plan needs to be adjusted, so I have to ask you for a person," Tang Hua said, "Mr. Hou Debang, he is mainly working in the Finance and Economics Committee. I want him to transfer his main work to the Bureau of Chemical Industry, Mr. Hou was originally a chemical expert, and now he is also a technical consultant of the Ministry of Heavy Industry..."

……

"Hi, Director Zhang." Tang Hua shook hands with Zhang Su, director of the Bureau of Chemical Industry, and then Hou Debang: "Hello, Mr. Hou. The last time we met was when the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was in session. We are too busy now."

Hou Debang is not only an authority in the world's chemical industry and a pioneer in China's heavy chemical industry, but also an excellent manager who is familiar with the operation of modern enterprises, so the chief accountant recently recruited him to the Finance and Economics Committee to help.But Tang Hua now needs Lao Hou to return to the Chemical Industry Bureau.

"Director Zhang, I have read the Soviet aid plan of the Chemical Industry Bureau. Maybe the budget set by the Ministry for you was not large, so the plan I saw is relatively simple." Tang Hua said, "Now, the Prime Minister and Chen The deputy prime minister made a decision and redeployed foreign exchange. Now the Bureau of Chemical Industry has changed the plan to introduce Soviet aid. Originally, only 1 synthetic ammonia production line was introduced, but now 6 sets are introduced, all of which are medium-pressure synthetic ammonia, with an annual output of 5 tons and potential expansion. 10 tons."

Shocked, Zhang Su could only answer "Oh!" with a strong exclamation.

Tang Hua: "One of the six synthetic ammonia production lines is in Dalian, which is combined with the nitric acid production line and is dedicated to the production of raw materials for pyrotechnics. I plan to put the other five in Jilin, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, and Changsha. One. Most or all of the ammonia from these five production lines is used as raw material for fertilizers. The main purpose of this meeting is to discuss with Mr. Zhang and Mr. Hou to develop a new fertilizer production process and production line. I only plan to import synthetic ammonia equipment from the Soviet Union. , and do not plan to buy fertilizer production equipment together. Except for the one in Dalian, which will start up this year, the other five sets will not be ready until 6. We have more than two years to develop nitrogen fertilizer equipment.”

Hou Debang: "What kind of fertilizer should we use synthetic ammonia for? Only import synthetic ammonia line and not nitric acid line. Should it be ammonium bicarbonate instead of nitrate fertilizer? Or ammonium sulfate or ammonium chloride?"

Tang Hua: "Urea."

Hou Debang's eyebrows twitched, and he began to rub the scalp on his bare forehead with his right hand, lost in thought.

There are many types of nitrogen fertilizers. In fact, the ammonia water produced by synthetic ammonia can be diluted and irrigated, and can also be absorbed by crops, but the fertilizer efficiency is very low—most of it is volatilized.

Ammonium bicarbonate is actually ammonium bicarbonate. Its production cost is not high, and its fertilizer effect is fast. It is still used more often as top dressing.The biggest problem is that the volatility is still very strong. If the seal is not good, the ammonium bicarbonate residue will be left after a period of time, and all of it will decompose and volatilize into the air.

Ammonium sulfate is ammonium sulfate and ammonium chloride is ammonium chloride.These two types of nitrogen fertilizers are not very volatile, but they are low in nitrogen content, and they are expensive-unless they are made from the acidic wastewater of certain kinds of large chemical plants.Lao Hou broke through the ammonia-alkali alkali-making technology, and the by-products produced included ammonium chloride fertilizer.But this is only the use of by-products and cannot meet the national demand for fertilizers.

Ammonium nitrate (ammonium nitrate) has a high nitrogen content and is not very volatile. The problem is that this stuff is basically an explosive.The farmer bought it and saw that it was damp and agglomerated. Son, bring me a hammer. I will smash it and scatter it in the field.When the hammer hit, bang bang, the whole village ate.Only ammonium nitrate that has been specially added with anti-knocking agents can be sold to farmers as fertilizer. However, the production cost of ammonium nitrate is high, and it will become more expensive after adding anti-knocking agents.

The nitrogen content of urea is higher than that of ammonium nitrate, and its volatility is not too strong. It is still neutral. Urea + ammonium bicarbonate is the most common combination of chemical fertilizers in the 21st century (ammonium bicarbonate fertilizer is fast and can be used as top dressing). Its problems Yes - in 1951, the cost of making urea with the technology people mastered was higher than that of several other fertilizers...

If you can only earn 100 yuan a year for planting one mu of land, the price of fertilizer at this time is 15 yuan or 10 yuan, and the difference is very big.Farmers must plan carefully when using chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers are too expensive, so he simply doesn't use them. He collects his family's xiang and waters the fields. The farmyard manure mixed with a yield of two hundred catties per mu can feed the whole family.

...But your whole family is full, what do people in the city eat?

Lao Hou rubbed his bare head for a while, then raised his head and asked Tang Hua, "Minister Tang, do you want me to develop a new low-cost production process for urea?"

Tang Hua nodded.Lao Hou's title is a chemical expert. Designing the production process of chemicals is his specialty if he maximizes the use of raw materials, reduces energy consumption, and increases the output ratio.

Lao Hou: "Bazarov, the idea of ​​dehydrating methylamine into urea should be feasible."

Tang Hua: "The key is how to synthesize methylamine from ammonia and carbon dioxide. This process must be a perfect cycle. It is best not to waste a drop of ammonia."

Lao Hou: "...I have to go back and look up the manual, and think about it."

Tang Hua: "Chemical fertilizers are food. With food in hand, we can industrialize without worries. So this is not only a matter of the Chemical Industry Bureau, but also a matter that indirectly affects the entire industrial system. Please wait."

Chapter 153, Blood-red Han River

After the 1st Army Corps of the People's Army captured Seoul on May 5, it was responsible for deploying defenses along the Han River. The 5st Division was stationed in Seoul to guard the Han River there, the 1nd Division was stationed in Goyang City, and the 2rd Division was stationed in Wutou Mountain. The Han River at the estuary is under the responsibility of the 3st Army Group all the way to the mouth of the sea.

Opposite the 1st Army Corps of the People's Army are the 27th, 29th and Turkish Brigades of the British Army.

The two sides stared and blew their beards across the Han River with a width of more than 800 meters. The People's Army repaired the trenches near the Han River, and so did the British.If heavy machine guns are deployed at the front of the trenches, both sides can block the river.It's just that these repaired trenches usually only have one or two squads of lookouts, and the main force is assembled a little later.

Because the artillery of the People's Army and the British Army plowed the opposite riverside defense line from time to time.

Every morning, the British 87.5mm howitzers covered the trenches of the People's Army, and the People's Army even the lookout squad retracted into the cat's ear hole to hide the shells.In the afternoon, the people's army's 76mm cannon and 122mm howitzer were roaring, covering the trenches dug by the British on the opposite side. At this time, the British army was also hiding from anyone.

This morning, the morning fog had just dissipated, and the British lookout looked at his watch. There was still more than an hour before the bombardment of the People's Army, so there was no rush.Three or two British soldiers were in the trenches on the bank of the Han River, tearing open their field rations and chewing slowly, while casually looking at the surface of the Han River.

"Old man, look, what is that?"

"Is there something in the river? Wait a minute, I'll take a closer look with a telescope."

"...Oh! God!"

"What the hell is that?"

"Tom, here's the telescope. See for yourself, my God, I'm going to waste all my breakfast."

Tom took the binoculars and quickly figured out what the little black dot floating in the Han River was—the corpse of an American soldier wearing a life jacket!

Within the visual range, more than a dozen chubby American corpses drifted with the current. The fine waves of the Han River lifted these corpses up for a while and then sank back to the surface. Tom couldn't tell which corpses were swollen and deformed by blisters, and which corpses were American soldiers fat.