Speaking of which, Mr. Li has been away from the Bayi Sugar Factory for many years, because before he retired, he was sent by his superiors to several sugar factories for technical guidance and served as chief engineer.
White sugar is a daily condiment. In our opinion, sugar is very ordinary, but sugar is an important strategic resource during the war and is a hard currency. Especially in Japan during World War II, sugar is much more important than gold.
In 1943, the price of sugar in the black market in Japan was nearly a hundred times more expensive than in 1933.
By 1946, with Japan's defeat, domestic prices in Japan soared, and the price of sugar on the black market rose by more than 2,000 times. At that time, sugar was worthy of gold in Japan. In addition, there was shortage of materials, even if there was gold, it might not be possible to buy it.
In 1945, a story about white sugar occurred at the Etashima Naval School in Japan. At that time, a student specially left the candy allocated to him by the Japanese government and took it home for his family to eat in order to allow his family to eat.
So, why can sugar become a wartime hard currency? Especially in Japan during World War II, sugar was even more important than gold?
First of all, we need to understand what hard currency is. Regarding hard currency, there are three meanings online: metal currency; currency with stable currency; some currencies in the international financial market that have no foreign exchange controls and can be freely and unlimitedly exchanged for gold and other currencies in various countries.
For example, the US dollar, the euro, and the pound are all hard currency. However, although hard currency has high liquidity in the market, it is also relatively common and will change according to the influence of a country's economic factors.
The above are all in the normal world order. If it is during war periods, such as during World War II, hard currency is not the so-called gold and currency, but weapons, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, food, and sugar are included, and they can be regarded as a basic need.
On the battlefield, life is the most important thing, and food, medicine and weapons can save lives. These things are inseparable from sugar, so sugar is such an important material in wartime.
1. Sugar can replace medicine to treat wounds when necessary.
The principle of infiltration of sugar can treat wounds. High concentrations of sugar solutions can cause cells and other microorganisms to lose water to death. During World War II, casualties were very heavy, with the death toll of the Japanese army reaching 1.85 million.
On the battlefield, salt water and medicine are very scarce medical resources, and the combat conditions are arduous, so the injuries and bleeding cannot be treated in time.
In an emergency, sugar can be used to simply treat wounds. You can sprinkle sugar water instead of salt water on the wound, which is helpful for inhibiting bacteria, cleaning and drying wounds.
However, sugar is also a nutrient for bacteria. Inadequate treatment can also cause infection. Sugar water can only be treated with simple sterilization and cannot treat wounds, so it is generally not recommended to use under normal circumstances.
2. Sugar can be made into very powerful ammunition.
There have been plots of using sugar as ammunition in many domestic and foreign film and television dramas. Many people think that it is exaggerated, but in fact, sugar can be really used to make ammunition.
White sugar is made of molasses squeezed from sugarcane and beets. At a high temperature of 186 degrees Celsius, the sugar will turn into caramel, burning to form carbon dioxide and water after contact with oxygen. If sugar is mixed with an oxidant, it can be made into a very powerful fuel.
During the war, many fuels, explosives and grenades were made of sugar as one of the raw materials. As soon as the Syrian opposition showed that they used sugar to make bombs at home, with a range of 12 kilometers!
This "bomb master" said that he had no choice but to rely on his own innovation in war. Ammunition and weapons are consumables in war and are also scarce supplies. If military supplies are insufficient during wartime, this will be one of the biggest problems they face.
The same problem would also be faced for Japan during World War II, but the price of sugar continued to double as it worked.
In addition, growing sugar crops requires strict natural conditions, climate, soil and rainfall to be suitable for high yields. This has increased the price of sugar several times, which is more valuable than gold.
3. Sugar provides energy to the human body.
During World War II, the battle was difficult, so it was necessary to ensure that soldiers had sufficient physical strength to fight. High-calorie food was essential.
Sugar is one of the main sources of nutrients in the human body, replenishing the heat energy and elements required by the human body. Each gram of sugar can produce 4 kcal of energy. 70% of the body's energy is provided by sugar. In addition, sugar can also protect human tissues and liver.
During the war, sugar was essential in the rations of each national army. Compressed biscuits, chocolate and other foods made of high-content sugar were not only small in size, good transportation, easy to carry, but also high in calories and a long shelf life.
Moreover, white sugar can be quickly absorbed by the human body, and a small amount of intake can replenish a large amount of calories.
Sugar was an essential food among the rations that Japan distributed to field troops and garrison troops during World War II. At the beginning, the Japanese army stipulated that each soldier's rations were rice, biscuits, jerky meat, dried salted fish, compressed biscuits, miso seasoning, dried vegetables, salt, and sugar. In addition, there were canned meat, which was rich in variety.
However, as the war became more and more intense, food resources were short of sugar and very limited sugar, so the Japanese army reduced the supply. The original amount of food rations brought by 6 days was reduced to 2-3 days. The sugar also changed from the original 120 grams to 15 grams, but at the same time, 40 grams of candied food was added.
In addition to Japanese soldiers, American soldiers also carried candy with them; during World War II, the United States had 670,000 tons of sugar among the food supplies that the United States aided the Soviet Union. It can be seen how important it was to reserve sugar during the war.
4. Sugar can produce alcohol
Many people don’t know that white sugar can actually produce alcohol. In 1926, in Saipan, the “kingdom” that produced sugar at that time, an alcohol manufacturing factory was built at the same time because alcohol is a natural by-product of the sugar industry.
The importance of alcohol to wartime is self-evident. It can make chemical raw materials and fuel additives, and can also be used for medical purposes.
5. Japan lacks sugar, but loves sugar very much.
Japanese people love desserts very much, and sugar is indispensable for making desserts. However, Japan has a temperate and sub-cold climate and is not suitable for growing sugar crops.
After the Nara era, sugar was introduced to Japan and was initially used as a precious medicinal material. Later, Japan tried to grow sugarcane, but the yield was very low and the development was bleak.
After colonial expansion, Japan planted sugar and made sugar on a large scale in China, the Philippines, and Saipan, such as Tieling Sugar Farm, Fengtian Sugar Farm, etc. In the 1830s, every time the sugar harvest season was in the sugar, the amount transported to Japan was 1,200 tons.
From the 1860s to the present, Japan has formed a unique dessert style. The popular Daifuku, Toroyaki, Milk, Kyoko, etc. on the market are all famous Japanese desserts.
However, inflation during World War II caused the price of sugar to rise by 400 times, which gave Japan a headache.
In the late World War II, Japan was blocked by economic blockade, and it was even more costly to buy sugar. It was reported at the time that the shipbuilding captains might not be able to afford white sugar.
There are so many uses for sugar, and it is not surprising that sugar, as a strategic material, has become a wartime hard currency.
In the era of war, if you bring gold, you may be targeted and cause disaster. But if you bring sugar, it is obviously more valuable. Things that can save lives at critical moments cannot be exchanged for any real money or silver.
After Mr. Li entered the workshop, he talked endlessly about Liu Junken and others to popularize all the knowledge about sugar.
Although Liu Junken graduated from the military academy and was from the army, he really doesn't know much about these things.
He knew that sugar belonged to strategic materials, but he really didn't study the reasons why it belonged to strategic materials.
Now listening to Mr. Li’s story, the group of people’s understanding of sugar has been greatly improved. And the experts from the Military Reclamation University have added some more, which made Liu Junken unable to help but make the decision to make the sugar factory alive at any cost, not for ideals and beliefs, but just in case.
Although he is the mayor, he is also a military reclamation soldier. For such an important enterprise, he must be preserved.
The specific people left behind to discuss the renovation plan for the sugar factory, and Shi Lei accompanied Liu Junken to the cotton and wool spinning factory.
The current difficulties these factories are actually facing are the same. The equipment is outdated and backward, the production capacity is low, the product sales are not smooth, and the things produced cannot be sold.
These things are actually nothing to the Military Reclamation City. These simple assembly line equipment, as long as there are drawings, the Military Reclamation Machinery Factory can fully produce them.
Textile machinery is not backward in China now. Northern Xinjiang is a high-quality long-length cotton base in my country and has a large amount of fur, so production is not a problem at all, and a part of the funds will be solved.
The most important thing to help them solve the problem is sales problems. Basically, when sales are available, things will be completely solved.
Nowadays, the products of the Military Reclamation City are all facing the whole world. How can they resist selling this little output?
After Liu Junken discussed the details with Shi Lei in detail, he withdrew. After all, he took office, and Junken City also needed him to make decisions.
After the matter was over, Shi Lei was a little unhappy because although Liu Junken agreed to inject capital into underwriting products for these companies, he also put forward a strict requirement, that is, investors should occupy 51% of the shares.
This is equivalent to becoming the actual person in disguise of these factories.
Shi Lei had no choice but to object if he was unhappy. If he didn't agree, he would ignore it. Then the company would have the only way to go bankrupt.
In fact, this process has been implemented on a large scale in the 1990s. The fact that several companies can maintain their current status is really the result of the long-term efforts of the competent authorities.
However, Shi Lei still misunderstood Liu Junken. The reason why he did this was really for the development of these companies.
Compared with the dominance of the Military Reclamation City and letting them dominate themselves, the advantages and disadvantages can be imagined. At least there will be no such thing as a factory manager destroying a company.
Director Dadui has been invited by a comrade in the Discipline Inspection Commission for tea. Wan Haiquan is being scolded in Wang Lecheng's office at this moment.
However, Wang Lecheng will definitely not let him come back. He will find a unit on it to hang up for him, and he will retire soon.
The reason why he brought so many corporate bosses here was that Liu Junken originally planned to provide counterpart assistance, but like these companies, it really didn't take the government to come forward.
Besides, the government is an agency, not an economic entity, and it is impossible to use the form of fiscal appropriations to help other companies.
Zeng Rou was the first to raise her hand and said that she was responsible for the assistance of the sugar factory, and that the investment in military reclamation pharmaceuticals did not need to be repaid, and she just needed to rent her land as a medicinal material base. Shi Lei immediately agreed to this condition because there was no shortage of land here.
The equipment drawings of the sugar factory were jointly completed by Mr. Li and Shen Junken, and they need to be sent to the Warrior Machinery Factory for customization.
Zeng Rou drove off-road vehicles to the military reclamation city with Shen Junken. Mr. Li was a little worried that the young people were doing things, so he went there together.
Zeng Rou opened her rising little mouth and muttered: "Are you a big man so embarrassed to watch someone's beautiful woman driving?"
Shen Junken scratched his head: "Your car is too high-end, I don't understand a lot of performance."
"Just just tell you, don't be able to? Just say it's lazy, don't find reasons for yourself."
Speaking of which, Zeng Rou is only thirty years old, and has been running around over the years, which has delayed her marriage.
In fact, it is not a delay. There are many people in their thirties who are not married in their military camp, which makes Ma Rong and Zhao Linger anxious.
After the team was adjusted, Yi Fei and Ye Qianqian became the secretary-generals of the municipal party committee and government respectively, and their levels were also raised. It seems that the headquarters wanted to train these two young people as successors.
"You just have a while for her, why don't you have any gentlemanly demeanor? No wonder you can't find a wife!"
Mr. Li couldn't bear to see it and started scolding his apprentice.
In fact, Shen Junken only went to work after Mr. Li was transferred. Shen Junken started as an engineer and often asked Mr. Li for advice due to some technical issues.
Over time, Mr. Li likes this young man who is as diligent as his hands, so he teaches his skills with all his strength.
Who is Mr. Li? He has seen countless people and can see through Zeng Rou's interest in this closed disciple at a glance, but his stupid disciple couldn't help but curse.
After being scolded by his master, Shen Junken had to ask Zeng Rou to stop him and drive. Shen Junken was smart and could drive several cars in the factory.
It’s not that he is lazy, but that Zeng Rou drove the latest warrior off-road model. He couldn’t understand many things, especially those dashboards, which he had been observing for a long time, but he didn’t know how to set them up?
When he moved to the driver's seat, Zeng Rou patiently told him how to operate it. Today's warrior cars have begun to develop towards intelligence.
Such as remote control switch, one-click start, automatic windows and trunk, these are all upgrades to the intelligence of the car after the institute was independent.
Although these small functions were very common in later generations, they were a stunning existence at that time.
It is precisely because of these advanced configurations that Warrior Automobile has been at the forefront and cannot be surpassed.
In fact, technology is mysterious, but it is actually a pile of inventions. Whoever is at the forefront will take a big step forward and leave behind the people far behind.
Chapter completed!