Chapter 1594
Chapter 1594 - 1590: Big Strides
1,573 words
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8 min read
No one truly likes war.
Except arms dealers.
Perhaps, ambition-driven individuals, food traders, extremists, bankers, heavy equipment manufacturers, mercenaries, mine owners, steel industries, industrial workers... Uh, although it’s unwelcome to admit, wars that bring about endless miseries can indeed yield wages for certain groups and individuals, perhaps even those around you.
War is not worth glorifying, if possible, everyone should disdain war. However, when war becomes inevitable, one must shift their mindset and actively consider the changes and impacts brought by war, ensuring everything is on "track."
"Pork and other food prices have suddenly dropped by more than thirty percent... has the Eastern Country started releasing strategic materials?"
"Fifty-three types of common steel have seen a general price increase... Uh, and seventeen types have been ordered to cut production?!"
It’s not quite accurate to say that war is a catalyst for societal evolution; it’s more like a disease, forcing you to adapt and evolve... Those who can’t adapt, simply perish. It can’t be called a "blessing"; it’s a more ruthless force for change, eliminating those who can’t keep up.
The interests of the Steel Industry Consortium and the labor unions are actually different, but when most outsiders think they would be happy to welcome a surge in income...
"Help, the cost of raw materials has risen too severely, and, many production lines have been shut down, a lot of workers are going to be laid off..."
War brings a surge of orders, directly leading to the prosperity of the military-industrial sector, but it also forces them to upgrade, especially when "Mechanic Spiritualists" are removed from the taboo list, unlocking a massive amount of stockpiled technology... Humanity is almost at its end, reaching our homeland, so there’s no need to think too far ahead.
However, those in the military-industrial industry, with their new orders, naturally roll out better performing new products, causing a huge shock in the domestic steel industry.
New weapons and equipment, new technology, and even cross-era products from the Foreign Domain naturally demand new raw materials.
The original crude and low-end steel naturally won’t suffice... Insufficient strength is a critical flaw; the more advanced the weapon, the stricter the material requirements.
The steel industry of the Eastern Country is actually mostly low-end... Having not experienced the tribulations of another world, it mainly continues the old capacities from the 70s and 80s, and now, with orders from the early 2020s elevated by technology from the Foreign Domain, it completely fails to meet the standards.
Even if the Eastern Country adopts the corresponding technology, it needs localization, industrialization, and the establishment of production lines... Directly listing a series of specialty steels in the national industrial plan isn’t an issue, but categorizing another part as obsolete capacity inevitably leads to substantial unemployment and personnel changes.
The steel industry of Ancient city has capable people; they saw it coming and reached out to Lu Ping’an ahead of time.
".... Lieutenant General Lu, you are also a native of Ancient city. Even if you didn’t experience the glory of our steel city last century, your elders did. Our furnaces and production lines are suited to the industrial needs of that time; now they want us to change, to stop everything within three years..."
Don’t misunderstand, they are not resisting change because any rational person knows that the market doesn’t believe in "resistance." Forcibly resisting the changes of the times will naturally be crushed by the wheels of the era.
New products with better cost-effectiveness will directly crush the competition... Local protection is only effective in the short term, and war, as a pressure valve, leaves no opportunity for resistance or protection.
".... I can bring out a portion of the investment, but that’s probably not what you want."
"That’s right, the official bodies of Ancient city, our industry consortium, and other related departments, after ten days of internal democratic life meetings and extensive discussions, have reached a consensus that what we most need is industrial upgrading, to break away from the current situation of low-end manufacturing and raw material preliminary processing."
".... Have you found the wrong person? Such grand narratives to a person who’s not even thirty, who graduated only a few years ago?!"
Lu Ping’an was genuinely confused, he was just starting to plan, and new troubles had already arrived.
As the frontline upgrades, the Officials of the Eastern Country have begun to adjust domestic policies... from a normal state to a war state, it needs to be gradually activated.
But a grain of sand in the era, falling into a specific industry, could mean tremendous profits or countless tears of blood.
Ancient city is an old Industrial City, not defined by backwardness... Over thirty years ago, it was at the forefront of the era, a favored one, but past successes made it difficult to pivot, with over seventy percent of its steel output listed on the "phase-out list."
New technologies are not difficult to obtain; at this point in time, the Official directly purchased and "announced" the technologies, but acquiring technologies and industrial chains requires money and production zones, and employees need training or even reeducation.
Can’t learn it? Unemployment happens every year, and you wouldn’t be the first, but what’s helpless is that many old workers, no matter how trained, simply can’t learn... nor want to.
Even if everything goes smoothly and adjustments and integrations are completed... the workforce required for the new production lines will still be much lower than before, and substantial unemployment will persist.
The Official and the local workers’ union hope to push for technological upgrades and industrial restructuring, hoping to establish three or four Development Zones, and fundamentally change the situation in Ancient city.
This is not a whimsical notion but a plan gradually advancing with the Nirvana Plan, only that the imminent War has accelerated everything.
They sought out Lu Ping’an, not only because he is capable of summoning resources from across worlds, but also because he is "trustworthy"... Such treatment is exceedingly rare, especially towards an Extraordinary bound to lose control someday.
"...You think too highly of me."
This equates to entrusting the city’s recent development and safety to him. Even though Lu Ping’an is quite confident, even a bit fearless, he still does not want to take responsibility.
I’m not, I don’t, it’s not mine; these three denials he used quite fluidly, but the organization has decided it’s you, you can do it, you are capable...
"We are planning to build a Special Zone and a Direct to Harbor construction, hoping to expand foreign trade and technological introduction..."
At this moment, the Official suddenly started discussing policies with Lu Ping’an, who didn’t understand any of it after listening for a while... Finally, in desperation, the other side told the whole truthful intention.
"...We plan to carve out an independent Special Zone, circumventing Changping and Wanjing’s restrictions, directly opening access to foreigners and the Foreign Domain, allowing them to enjoy preferential policies here, planning to double the city’s industrial output within a year... and the population too!"
Once the officials took a hard stance, it took Lu Ping’an half a beat to finally get it, even he showed a surprised expression.
Under normal circumstances, solving unemployment and economic issues means slowly shifting industries and continuously expanding, but today’s era clearly doesn’t afford this time.
A War may break out comprehensively within three months; any policy longer than three months needs to consider feasibility... Ancient city officials gambled on previous development and won, and this time, they’re going all in, pushing the plan to its final Chapter.
They plan to directly carve out a region, much like the initial development of the Special Zone, directly inviting outsiders to reside, hoping to leverage foreign and Foreign Domain industries to enlarge the entire development’s scope and solve employment issues... By then, employment won’t be an issue anymore.
A greater concern is the safety of these foreign inhabitants here, as well as various political and public security issues.
Moreover, many of these outsiders are "smuggled" in... Ancient city Official plans to bypass current policies, circumventing Wanjing and Changping’s review processes and taking a direct route.
As for the needed territory... Surrounding villages, mountains, and rivers are all possible, using the technology of foreign people to transform these wastelands into new suburban areas of the City.
Right in front of Lu Ping’an, the official passionately talked about their plans to let the Guest from Mercury reside in the Yangtze River, utilizing its resources while establishing a defensive line.
"You come, I come, let’s consider it. I can’t do this..."
Is it up to Lu Ping’an to discern which outsiders can enter? He can’t do that, since neither ambition nor bastardry is written on anyone’s face.
"No, no, no, we mainly need you as a military threat... And if possible, we hope to promote your Courtyard, your ’Give up five years of life to become an Extraordinary safely’ reality. It might not be tempting enough for our citizens, but in the Multi-universe, it’s an extremely enticing bargaining chip. Also, as a threat, if you could actually reach eighth-tier as the legend says, that would be even better."
— End of Chapter 1594 —