Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

Anshan Iron and Steel Plant on February 22, 1949.

Zhao Ping'an stood beneath the No. 1 blast furnace, his fingers tracing the mottled rust marks on the furnace shell.

Military representative Li Weimin stood behind him, his voice hoarse: "...Last month, Anshan Iron and Steel produced 2780 tons of steel."

"Not a single pipe rolling mill is left?" Zhao Pingan asked.

"The Japanese destroyed the mainframe and took away the core components when they retreated," Li Weimin said, pointing to a pile of twisted steel in the distance of the workshop.

"Currently, the front lines are short of gun barrels and cannon barrels, and the bullet production line can only operate at 30% capacity."

Zhao Ping'an silently gazed at the ruins. He only possessed a superficial understanding of the technology, not even that.

But how do you build a complete industrial system from scratch? This is not a problem that can be solved by courage or a few advanced pieces of equipment alone.

I need a blueprint. Since I don't have one myself, the history of the Republic does!

That night, the lights flickered in the temporary command post.

Zhao Ping'an unfolded a map of Northeast China, his gaze shifting from Anshan to Shenyang, then to Changchun, Harbin, Fushun...

In the coming years, these cities will see 156 key industrial projects—the “156 Projects” assisted by the Red Empire, forming the backbone of the new China’s industrialization.

He remembered the number. Although he couldn't recall the exact location of each project, he had a system in place, with energy, steel, machinery, and chemicals forming a complete industrial network across Northeast China.

The layout is reasonable. Those Soviet experts spent years investigating resources, transportation, and geographical conditions, and the framework is sound.

But the technology... is too outdated.

Zhao Pingan wrote a few lines in his notebook:

The framework is usable, but all the technology needs to be replaced.

Replace outdated solutions from the 1950s with cutting-edge technology from 2000-2006.

"Slap!" Zhao Ping'an suddenly slapped himself. "Why did it take me so long to think about using the computer?"

At midnight, a light that seemed out of place in this era shone in the command center.

Zhao Ping'an exchanged a Lenovo laptop, a projector, and a laser printer from the system space.

The Windows XP startup screen looked particularly jarring on a winter night in 1949.

He opened PowerPoint, created a new document, and titled it: "General Outline for the Construction of the Northeast Industrial System (Technology Upgrade Version)".

Page 1: General Provisions

- Based on the geographical and industrial layout of 156 Soviet engineering projects

- Fully upgraded to the international advanced technology level of 2000-2006.

- Construction period reduced to 20-30% of the original plan, investment saved by 40-50%.

Page 2: Energy Sector – Foundational Elements

Zhao Ping'an retrieved the technical data from the system's database.

Project 1: Fushun Thermal Power Plant (formerly Project No. 156: Electricity-01)

- Original Soviet plan: 4×50MW medium-temperature and medium-pressure units, thermal efficiency 28%, annual power supply 10 billion kWh

- Upgrade plan: 2×1000MW ultra-supercritical units (technology source: Harbin Electric introduced Mitsubishi technology from Japan in 2006)

- Upgraded data: Single unit thermal efficiency 51.5%, annual power supply 150 billion kWh (1400% improvement)

- Key parameters: Main steam pressure 28MPa, temperature 600℃, coal consumption 290g/kWh (original plan 450g/kWh)

Project 2: Fuxin Power Plant (Power-03)

- Original Soviet plan: 6×25MW units

- Upgrade plan: 4×600MW ultra-supercritical units (Shanghai Electric localized technology in 2005)

- Upgraded data: Total installed capacity 2400MW (1600% increase)

Zhao Pingan wrote in the remarks column: "Electricity must come first. The supporting power plant must be put into operation three months in advance before any industrial project starts."

Page 3: Steel Sector – Anshan Core

Project 3: Anshan Iron and Steel Base (Iron and Steel-01)

- Iron smelting section:

- Original Soviet plan: 5 blast furnaces with a capacity of 1000m³, coke ratio of 0.65, and an annual iron production of 300 million tons.

- Upgrade plan: 4 sets of FINEX-500 melt reduction units (technology source: commercial technology from POSCO, South Korea in 2006)

- Upgraded data: Single unit annual iron production capacity of 500 million tons, total capacity of 2000 million tons (an increase of 567%), energy consumption per ton of iron of 0.35 tons of standard coal (a decrease of 46%), no need for coke.

- Steelmaking section:

……

- Steel rolling section:

- Key point: Seamless steel pipe factory

- Original Soviet plan: Automatic tube rolling mill unit, annual output of 6 tons, accuracy ±1.5%

- Upgrade solution: Φ508mm three-roll limited-motion continuous rolling mill (Technology source: Introduced by Tianjin Pipe Group of China in 2005 with technology from Italian company Inci).

- Upgraded data: Annual production of 150 million tons (2400% improvement), accuracy ±0.25% (600% improvement)

- Special configuration: online heat treatment line, ultrasonic flaw detection system, laser thickness gauge

- Sheet material:

……

Project 4: Benxi Special Steel Base (Steel-02)

Upgrade directions: Tank armor steel, gun barrel steel, bearing steel

- Technology employed: Dual process of vacuum induction and electroslag remelting (internationally advanced level in 2003)

Page 4: Machinery Sector – Shenyang Cluster

Project 5: Shenyang No.1 Machine Tool Factory (Machinery-01)

- Original Soviet plan: Ordinary lathes and milling machines, annual production of 2000 units.

- Upgrade Plan: Five-axis linkage machining center production base (Technology source: Localization technology of Shenyang Machine Tool Group in 2006)

- Upgrade goal: Annual production of 500 five-axis machine tools, with 100% CNC rate.

Project 6: Fularji Heavy Machinery Plant (Machinery-07)

Upgrade directions: large forging equipment, heavy-duty machine tools

- Objective: To manufacture "machine tools" for steel and power projects.

Zhao Ping'an continued working on the pages one by one.

The Jilin Petrochemical Base, part of the chemical sector, adopts million-ton ethylene technology (2005 level).

FAW Changchun, part of the transportation sector, is directly planning a fully automated production line...

At four o'clock in the morning, Zhao Pingan pressed the following key.

The laser printer hummed, spitting out more than fifty pages of illustrated proposals.

He bound it into a book, and on the cover, he wrote two lines of text with a brush:

General Outline for the Extraordinary Industrial Development in Northeast China

Top Secret - Accessible only to Central Leaders

The messenger had been waiting outside for a long time. Zhao Ping'an handed over the document: "Send it to Beiping immediately and deliver it to Comrade Xu Yuanshan in person. Do not stop en route."

"Yes, sir!" The communications officer saluted, put the documents into his waterproof briefcase, and turned to disappear into the night.

March 23st, 6:00 AM.

Eight hundred people stood in the cold wind on an open space in the eastern district of Ansteel.

Before them lay a flat piece of land, 800 meters long and 200 meters wide—a place that had been piled with rubble and debris just yesterday, but had been cleared away overnight.

Zhao Ping'an didn't preach any grand principles.

He walked to the front of the crowd and said only one sentence:

"A seamless steel pipe plant was built here in three months. It has an annual output of 150 million tons and the highest precision in the world. Construction has now begun."

He turned and walked to the edge of the site. There were five pieces of equipment that had just been "delivered" there—a Sany Heavy Industry SY235C excavator and a XCMG QP30 tower crane.

Zhao Ping'an climbed onto one of the excavators, and with a few quick-witted soldiers, started the engine under the system's guidance.

The diesel engine roared, the bucket rose, and then slammed down.

The first shovelful of frozen soil was dug up and thrown onto the open ground beside it. Dust flew everywhere.

That afternoon, the four surveying teams set off simultaneously.

The first team went to Fushun; the site for the power plant needed to be determined within three days.

The second team headed to Benxi, where geological exploration of the special steel base would begin simultaneously.

The third team remained in Anshan, and the site for the FINEX melting reduction unit began to be leveled.

The fourth team headed straight for Shenyang—Zhao Ping'an's task for them was to complete the surveying of the land for the expansion of the First Machine Tool Factory within a week.

In the evening, a reply arrived from Beiping. The telegram was very simple:

"The general outline has been submitted to the highest level. It has been approved in principle; proceed with implementation." - Xu