Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 214 Hydropower Station (for Subscription)

In Rock's vision, there is no part belonging to Chinese descent.

It's not that Roque didn't consider the interests of the Chinese, but that Roque hoped that before the Chinese had the ability to protect themselves, the British could attract as much firepower from the Boers as possible, leaving more time for the Chinese to cultivate. If the British can't hold on, it's not too late for the Chinese to take over.

So, looking back, Rock still led the miners to dredge the river to prepare for the coming rainy season or next year's drought.

Now it seems that the drought is inevitable. Although it is the dry season, it is not that there is no rain in the dry season. Compared with the rainy season, the precipitation in the dry season is less.

But this year, since the beginning of May, there hasn't been a single drop of rain.

The mainstay of Johannesburg's economy is a gold mine, so the Johannesburg City Government can ignore this situation.

Rock is now the largest landowner in Johannesburg, so Rock can't rely on the city government. This trouble, after all, has to be solved by Rock himself.

"It's not difficult to dredge the river, even very simple. This is the crocodile river. There are a lot of crocodiles in the river. We sell the crocodile skins to businessmen in Johannesburg, and then use the money we get to pay for dredging the river. As a balance, if the progress of the project is not enough, we can still hire Zulu people.” Buck was very optimistic, and Tie Hook led the security guards on shift to look for crocodiles all over the world. I heard that everyone made a lot of money.

Rock will not be greedy for this little money now, and he doesn't even care about the crocodile skin. If he wants the security guards who can take a rest to come out to work, then he must give them enough benefits.

Crocodile skins are still very valuable. There are businessmen in Johannesburg who specialize in this business. They buy crocodile skins from Johannesburg, and then transport them to London and Paris to sell at high prices to those leather goods manufacturers.

These leather goods manufacturers are the famous luxury families in the future. Most of them are still small workshops, which have nothing to do with luxury goods but already have the prototype of family brands.

In fact, if Rock is willing, Rock can also get involved in the luxury jewelry industry now.

But Rock doesn't need it. Rock now has gold mines and farms, which is enough for Rock. He always has to leave food for other people. There is never enough money in this world.

So Rock doesn't care about those crocodile skins, what Rock cares about is what kind of benefits the crocodile river can bring to the farms around Johannesburg in the future.

To be honest, Rock was not very happy about the smooth progress of the project, vaguely, Rock felt as if he had overlooked something.

"I was chatting with Professor Douglas yesterday. Professor Douglas said that if we want the Crocodile River to play a full role on the surrounding farms, then we should build a reservoir, because every dry season, the Crocodile River will stop flowing and degrade into one by one. The small pond cannot provide enough water for the surrounding farms, if we build a reservoir, there will be no such problems—" Buck muttered, and Rock suddenly came to his senses.

Yes, it is the reservoir!

The role of reservoirs in agriculture does not need to be emphasized, especially in areas like Johannesburg with obvious rainy and dry seasons. Building a reservoir can store water when the river floods in the rainy season, and then ensure sufficient water supply for the farm in the dry season. .

Moreover, the reservoir can be upgraded to a hydropower station. Once the hydropower station is completed, it can provide a stable power supply for Johannesburg and even Pretoria.

At that time, if anyone offends Rock, Rock will cut off the electricity. The power of the electric tiger is not just bragging.

Good idea!

Rock did what he said and went to Douglas immediately.

"Yes, there is a possibility of building a reservoir in the upper reaches of the Crocodile River. As for the hydropower station—there is no hydropower station in Europe. The Americans seem to have built a hydropower station, but the specific situation is unclear—" Douglas agreed to build a reservoir, but he did not agree with the hydropower station. I don't know the situation in this area, so I won't make rash suggestions. This is a scientific and cautious attitude.

Douglas didn't understand hydroelectric power plants, but Rock did.

Although Rock didn't understand the technology of the hydropower station, at least Rock knew the prospect of the hydropower station.

The American hydropower station that Douglas mentioned should be the Niagara Hydropower Station built by Nikola Tesla. This is the first large-scale hydropower station in the world, and it will supply a quarter of the total electricity demand of New York State of the United States and Ontario of Canada in the future.

Nikola Tesla should be in bad luck now. His laboratory was burned down by a bizarre fire. He himself was threatened by some unknown forces and had to give up the "patent of alternating current".

This is a good thing for Roque, which means that Roque does not need to pay the patent fee for alternating current.

The patent fee at this time was so expensive that no one could imagine it. The patent fee for a horse of alternating current was one dollar, so if Nikola Tesla did not give up the "patent of alternating current", then only a few In October, Nikola Tesla will become the richest man in the world.

Although Roque knew it was immoral, he still wanted to thank Edison for suppressing Nikola Tesla, which allowed Roque to invest in hydropower stations at a minimal cost.

In fact, it is not just an investment. The power of the patent fee lies in that if Nikola Tesla does not give up the patent right of alternating current, then within a certain period of time, as long as the hydropower station continues to operate, Rock will continue to pay the patent fee. Until the term of protection of the patent right expires.

Uh, it seems that the patent rights in this period can still be renewed for a fee.

"Sir Locke, this is an infrastructure project, you can apply for government support." Douglas kindly reminded Rock.

"I will fight for it. You should contact the United States first." Rock will definitely not let go of the opportunity to apply for financial support, but if the Johannesburg City Government or the Governor's Office do not support it, Rock doesn't care.

It is true that things like hydropower stations are infrastructure projects, but in the case of the Transvaal, no one stipulates that infrastructure projects must be undertaken by the government.

Not only the Transvaal, but all the projects in this period can actually be invested by private individuals. For example, basic transportation facilities such as railways are even completely invested by private individuals. The government also wants to invest, but has no money, so for economic development , the government even provides subsidiary conditions to attract private investment.

The purpose of capital is to make a profit, so the pricing of privately invested basic transportation facilities does not depend on the government. Capital has the final say on how much people want to use those privately invested basic transportation facilities.

Therefore, the rich men in the United States during this period were basically related to railways and shipping.

The same is true for Johannesburg. Even if the two levels of government in Johannesburg and Pretoria don't care, Rock will fund the construction of the hydropower station alone. At most, it is a matter of selling more gold.

But if the two levels of government don’t care about it, then the two levels of government will lose the pricing power of electricity. After the hydropower station is put into operation, the electricity supply will definitely not be free. At one point no one cared about how much Rock would charge.

The key point is that things like hydropower stations are highly exclusive. If Rock builds a hydropower station in the upper reaches of the Crocodile River, then there will be no living space for a second hydropower station in the entire upper reaches of the Crocodile River. Even if it is built, it will be useless. If the upstream sluices are not opened, the downstream reservoirs will die of thirst.

So can Roque do such a thing?

The answer is yes!

That's right, Rock can do it, and it can go even further than that.

Therefore, because of the importance of the hydropower station, it is impossible for Rock to swallow this piece of fat all by himself.

Eating alone may cause him to be exhausted. If Roque builds a hydropower station with sole proprietorship, it will be cool to collect electricity bills in the future, but it will also make Roque a public enemy.

At that time, those who pay high electricity prices and enjoy the convenient services brought by electricity will not think about who built the hydropower station. They will only be envious and jealous, wishing that Rock would be like Nikola Tesla Free electricity would be nice.

Therefore, Rock needs to find enough important people to take the blame together.

In Johannesburg, all important people are in the Mining Union, so Rock's first thought was the Mining Union.

"Reservoir? We are mining, we don't need that thing, and building a reservoir seems to affect the groundwater level, so we have to be cautious on this issue." At the Mining Union meeting that Rock requested to convene, Rock just threw As soon as this proposal was made, someone jumped out to oppose it.

The guy who took the initiative to jump out is called Adam Stephen. It is said that he is the white glove of a local nobleman. The gold mine managed by Adam Stephen is larger than the Locke Gold Mine, but the output approved by the city government is smaller than that of the Locke Gold Mine. Lower, which seems to verify the authenticity of "supposedly".

"Yes, the reservoir does affect the water table—"

"It will increase the cost of our mining—"

"This sort of thing should be done by the government—"

Adam Stephen still has some influence. As soon as his words fell, the conference room immediately started talking.

The office of the Mining Union is temporarily located in Olinspo, and the official office is under construction, next to the city government.

"De Beers Consolidated Mining Company has agreed to contribute one hundred thousand pounds—" Aiden suddenly spoke, clearly supporting Rock.

"Russell Gold Mine agrees to contribute [-] pounds—" Joe Russell also personally came forward this time.

"Matilda Gold Mine agrees to contribute fifty thousand pounds--" Sam was not to be outdone.

The situation suddenly reversed.

Adam Stephen's face was livid.

Needles can be heard in the conference room.

The hydropower station requires a huge amount of investment. According to the news from the United States, referring to the cost of the Niagara Hydropower Station, the construction cost of the Crocodile Bay Hydropower Station is about 100 million pounds. This is the main reason why Adam Stephen opposes it. If it is 3000 and [-], Adam · Stephen just took it out, tens of thousands of pounds of business, Adam Stephen is a white glove, can't be the master.

"The initial investment in the Rock Gold Mine is 10 pounds. If the funds raised in the end are insufficient, additional funds can be added at that time." Rock has confidence. The money is actually paid in installments, and gold can also be used to pay, so Rock can afford it. .

"De Beers Unified Mining Company's [-] pounds is also the first installment. If there is insufficient funds, no matter how much is lacking, De Beers Unified Mining Company can directly make up for it." K would definitely ask Cecil Rhodes Jr. to thank him in person.

The atmosphere in the conference room became active. Although most people didn't understand what the hydropower station meant, or even what changes the hydropower station would bring to Johannesburg, it was definitely right to follow the boss's footsteps. Is Rock an idiot? ?

Is De Beers Consolidated Mining Company a fool?

I'm afraid whoever thinks so is stupid!

"Gresham Gold Mine agrees to contribute [-] pounds—" Someone finally came forward to respond.

"Wadsworth Gold Mine agrees to contribute five thousand—"

"Jim Clayton Goldfields agrees to contribute ten thousand—"

As for the gold mine owners, they still have a lot of money. Someone took the lead, and soon the 100 million pounds of equity was subscribed by the mine owners for 60 pounds.

There is still room, so Rock adds another 10 pounds.

De Beers Unified Mining Company is really rich and powerful. Aiden wanted to cover all the rest, but was rejected by Roque. Roque only gave Aiden an additional amount of 10 pounds. Roque still had use for the rest.

In fact, just to build a hydropower station, 80 pounds is enough, and Rock will use the remaining part to run the relationship.

The hydropower station is located in Johannesburg, so it is necessary to reserve part of it for the city government, so that after the completion of the hydropower station in the future, the city government will not interfere with the price of electricity.

For the same reason, the Governor's Palace can't be ignored. I have paid 24 prayers, which is not bad. Regardless of whether Alfred Milner and Philip Matilda support it or not, the filial piety that should be given should not be missed at all. , otherwise, don't blame others if you get stuck in the neck.

Of course, for this part, Rock didn't need to bring it to the meeting and say that anyone who has a mine at home understands what's going on, and those who don't understand are not qualified to sit in this room at all.

No matter what time it is, people who are too ugly to eat usually have no great prospects. In a small business, you must consider the interests of your employees, and in a large business, you must consider the interests of your allies. Can become a lonely person, this kind of person often doesn't know how to reflect on himself, and only complains that he has no chance, the society is unfair, and the general environment is not good. As everyone knows, the road is gone by himself.

After finishing the meeting of the Mining Union, Rock went out to find Philip Matilda.

"Reservoir? Why build a reservoir? Johannesburg doesn't need a reservoir." The baron's first reaction was indeed objection.

"The reservoir and the hydropower station are linked together. The gold mine in Johannesburg needs power supply, and the surrounding farms need reservoirs. Building a reservoir is beneficial to everyone." Rock is right. A large project like a hydropower station is actually beneficial to everyone after it is launched. Everyone benefits, including city governments.

To build a hydropower station, you need construction materials, related equipment, transportation, and a lot of labor. These labors also need to eat and drink, which is all money.

　This is the real first update——

　　

　

(End of this chapter)