Chapter 7: Pittsburgh

Deep in thought, with his left hand tapping on the partial blueprints of the blast furnace and its components on the seat, Li Zicheng couldn't help but smile, a rich reward indeed

Jason, the Technical Director of the United States Steel Corporation, spread his hands and said to Charlie Schwab

Wherever the young master goes, I will definitely follow him

However, we already have a similar design and do not need to spend money to purchase it again

With a smile on their face, they had done their homework thoroughly before arriving

How can we determine from the drawings whether it can meet 80% of the design requirements

Charlie Schwab also remained silent; he was more aware of the condition of his factory than anyone else. However, others spoke up and engaged in discussion. Yet, everyone knew that Jason's previous remarks were merely a strategy, a tactic to lower prices

Of course

We need to verify and also consider similar designs. Before reviewing your complete design materials, we are unclear about the extent of modifications required for the existing blast furnace and the technical feasibility of constructing new high furnaces. Similarly, we cannot accurately assess the specific performance of your design. As you know, this is ultimately an individual's design, and there is still much work to be done

A Chinese person

37 years! I don't think asking for 1.4 dollars is excessive!

In the early 20th century, it was quite common for an individual to design an industrial product, as exemplified by the founding of General Electric and Ford. This was not yet the era of institutional inventions, but rather the age of individual genius

I hope to exchange it for a large sum of money

I am a lawyer myself

This is simply impossible

If I were to leave, what would the young master do? After all, both my parents are gone, and staying by the young master's side is not a bad option.

But what about the returns? Perhaps it is several tens of millions of dollars, or even possibly more

Faced with this almost exorbitant offer, Charlie Schwab, who could no longer make decisions, looked at the young man before him, who was both an inventor and a lawyer, and said

According to the current agreements signed by the American steel industry with others, I personally hope that the royalty for each ton of pig iron is 1.35 US dollars. The patent term is thirty years

This is entirely a unique style

Ultimately, Charlie Schwab made a decision; all he could do now was to go to New York to seek instructions and report to his boss.

This is a city primarily inhabited by workers, where workers dressed in blue denim work uniforms can be seen everywhere along the streets. Most of them have strong arms and dull expressions, with faces deeply tanned. The lives of American steelworkers today are far from those of their descendants a hundred years later

At this moment, Charlie Swab spoke up

Li Zicheng noticed that when he mentioned he was a lawyer, incredulous expressions appeared on all their faces

"It doesn't matter," Li Zicheng said with a smile.

That is steel! And this is iron!

Why return to New York

Of course, if a patent is not applied for, anyone can take it, right

As the car navigated through the street filled with vehicles and pedestrians, Li Zicheng, seated in the back, subconsciously tapped his right hand resting on his right knee, staring intently at the street outside the window where the rain and lights intertwined.

Is that alright

At this time, there were a total of 7 people present. After Li Zicheng took his seat, everyone formed a circle and began to examine the drawings on the table. Each person appeared very focused. The same sun-dried blueprints somewhat disappointed some individuals, especially the company's legal advisor, as without the original drawings, they could not possibly obtain these blueprints through "legal" means

Li Zicheng stood up and said after finishing the coffee in the cup in one gulp

As Li Zicheng gazed at the massive steel plant, he fell into deep contemplation. Meanwhile, a few individuals gathered around the more than one hundred detailed blueprints and further development data that Li Zicheng had just brought, engaging in quiet discussion. At the same time, Hansen, the legal advisor of the United States Steel Corporation, approached Li Zicheng with a feigned intimacy and inquired.

Mr. Li, perhaps we need to have a discussion...

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ah Si glanced at the young master in the back seat through the rearview mirror. Since becoming the young master's servant at the Chinese Guild, the young master has taken good care of him. In fact, just a month ago, the young master even asked him if he wanted to go home, offering to cover his travel expenses if he wished to return.

Li Zicheng said somewhat impatiently

In 1875, the predecessor of the United States Steel Corporation, Carnegie Company, obtained the patent fee for the Bessemer converter at 1.1 and 7 dollars per ton of steel, with a patent term of thirty years, and it has now been ... ...

In front of the office building of the United States Steel Corporation, Elbert, while welcoming Li Zicheng, selectively overlooked his ethnicity and instead focused on the blueprint folder held by his assistant, which perhaps contained the designs for the new type of efficient blast furnace.

Once again, cast one's gaze upon the streets of Pittsburgh

A rhetorical question rendered Elbert immediately speechless. Although he had brought more detailed development data today, it was difficult to make a final decision based solely on what was on paper. If that Mr. Li had already completed... This is simply impossible; such a blast furnace requires at least several million dollars.

Li Zicheng curled his lips, the same design? The same design, it will take at least another ten years for the American steel technology personnel to design it. Comfortably leaning on the sofa, sipping coffee, he remained silent

The experts' analysis made Charlie Schwab understand what this 35% signifies, indicating that after the blast furnace renovation, the iron produced by the United States Steel Corporation will reach the total pig iron output of the entire United States this year

Is it designed by you

As soon as Li Zicheng turned to leave the office, the room erupted in noise. In the eyes of almost everyone, as long as this blueprint could meet 80% of the design requirements, it would be worth the expenditure.

This is impossible

Elbert expressed his appreciation with a glance. In response to his admiration, Li Zicheng merely turned his gaze towards the window, observing the smoke and clouds swirling around the production area of the American Steel Company. This steel production is equivalent to the annual output of the three major powers in the world, and it is the first large-scale steel enterprise in the world to exceed an annual output of 10 million tons.

Pittsburgh, the steel industry center of the United States, is also known as the Steel City of the World, producing more steel in a year than the combined output of the United Kingdom and Germany

As the President of the United States Steel Corporation, Charles Schwab rarely used his own office; for the vast majority of the time, his office was, in fact, a luxurious car compartment provided to him by Morgan. The heart of the United States Steel Corporation is in Pittsburgh, but its factories and iron mines are spread throughout the entire United States

In his heart, Li Zicheng was secretly rejoicing over the transaction he had made, realizing that all he needed to do for the library was to load the microfilm into the dedicated printing machine, consuming merely a few thousand sheets of printing paper.

If one day I could establish such a steel enterprise in China

Looking at the blueprint of the blast furnace before him, Charlie Swabber still harbored some doubts about whether the company's experts had made a mistake. Could a Chinese individual possibly design the world's most efficient large-capacity iron-making blast furnace?

What happy thought has the young master come up with

How is it that you have never seen a young master act so arrogantly? Did I not tell you before that you are still young and should read more books? Once you have read enough, you will understand what I, the young master, mean

Li Zicheng's response was indeed in line with the expectations of those gentlemen who have been accustomed to registering every single item as a patent since the time of their grandfathers

As Li Zicheng walked into the conference room on the third floor of the United States Steel Corporation, he did not speak. Instead, he spread the drawings he held on the round table in the center. These were merely descriptive drawings, far from the actual production-ready blueprints.

Young Master

After leaving the United States Steel Corporation, A Si sat in the taxi, looking at the young master with an expression of wanting to say something but hesitating. He had never seen anyone like the young master, who would put on airs in front of foreigners. As for the talk of 1.35 dollars, he had no idea what they were discussing. In the end, the young master even chose not to negotiate with them and directly decided to return to New York. What could be the reason for this?

Money! If I return to my home country, I will need a lot of money. In the case of insufficient funds, what I can do is to make full use of every available resource at my disposal

As Mr. Li said, we have no decision-making power at all

In 1901, after returning from Skibo Castle, Carnegie played a game of golf with Schwab at the St. Andrew's Club in New York. The two then entered Carnegie's study, where he hastily wrote on a piece of paper: "1.5." He instructed Schwab that if Morgan was willing to pay 1.5 times the market price, he would sell. Ultimately, this transaction was agreed upon for over 400 million dollars, a truly astonishing figure

Is it a show-off?

Today, Charlie Schwab, who rarely stays in the office, formally invited a guest to come to the office. When he received a call from wwwhetushucomcom at the train station, Charlie Schwab wore an expression of disbelief, unable to resist returning to the drawing board once again. He looked at the blueprints sent along with the letter; although there were only a dozen or so sheets, they were insufficient to represent the structure of the blast furnace, let alone for production purposes. However, when combined with some development data, they were adequate for expert analysis.

Mr. Li, have you registered the patent

Unlike New York, the air in Pittsburgh is always permeated with a faint smell of "rotten eggs," which is the scent of the coking plant. I am not unfamiliar with this odor, as I have worked in a steel mill myself. In contrast to the opulence of New York, the streets here exude an indescribable essence, reminiscent of...! ... Hmm! A kind of toughness, the kind that belongs to steelworkers, where the actions of both the carriage drivers and the automobile operators are exceedingly rough. Unlike New York, the air in Pittsburgh is always permeated with a faint smell of "rotten eggs," which is the scent of the coking plant. I am not unfamiliar with this odor, as I have worked in a steel mill myself. In contrast to the opulence of New York, the streets here exude an indescribable essence, reminiscent of...! ... Hmm! A kind of toughness, the kind that belongs to steelworkers, where the actions of both the carriage drivers and the automobile operators are exceedingly rough.

Elbert, also a technician, curiously asked Li Zicheng, who had not said a word since entering the conference room

I wonder what price you consider appropriate in your heart; has your lawyer not arrived

That is why I quoted a price of 1.4 dollars

Before Charlie Swab could finish speaking, Li Zicheng interrupted him

Mr. Swabber

If the existing blast furnace is modified using this technology, production capacity can be increased by approximately 35% and production costs can be reduced by 12.5%

That is nonsense; if the price is not raised to a level that Charlie Schwab cannot control, how would one have the opportunity to meet Morgan? Only by meeting Morgan does one have the chance...

The late winter snow struck against the car windows, forcing the driver to navigate the streets of Pittsburgh at the slowest speed. Meanwhile, Li Zicheng took the opportunity to observe the streets of Pittsburgh. Two weeks ago, he had sent a blueprint to Charlie Swabber, and three days ago, he received a telegram inviting him to Pittsburgh for a discussion regarding the patent rights for the blast furnace

In the steel barrels located in the basement, there are tens of thousands of steel patents, blueprints for steel production equipment, and production data. In 1912, the largest blast furnace owned by the United States Steel Corporation, which was also the most advanced in the world, had a volume of only 50,000 cubic feet. This was comparable to the most "outdated" 500 cubic meter blast furnace in the blueprints I possess. However, the iron production per cubic meter of volume differed significantly between the two; the "large blast furnace" of U.S. Steel produced only 1.65 tons of iron per cubic meter, while mine produced 2.28 tons. Similarly, the most advanced blast furnace in the world had a volume of only 50,000 cubic feet, comparable to the most "outdated" 500 cubic meter blast furnace in my blueprints. Yet again, the iron production per cubic meter varied greatly, with U.S. Steel's "large blast furnace" yielding only 1.65 tons, while mine yielded 2.28 tons

I will return to New York tonight, and I believe that the place capable of making this decision should be New York, not Pittsburgh

As someone who studies law, how could I be unaware of the patent application process? In fact, in order to fold the wings of that Boeing 727, I even specifically applied for patents for more than a dozen tools, including the cross lift and the plum blossom lift.

Thereafter, Morgan's U.S. Steel Corporation promptly began to lower prices, a strategy that proved quite effective. At that time, U.S. Steel Corporation produced 3/5 of the steel in the United States, thereby determining the fate of nearly 170,000 steelworkers. Furthermore, U.S. Steel Corporation became the first industrial company in American history to have assets exceeding 1 billion dollars, and within just ten years, its capital expanded more than threefold

The young master's reprimand left A Si feeling embarrassed; he realized he needed to read more, otherwise how could he assist the young master in the future? The young master is indeed a person of great ambition.

Although the young master did not mention the matter again, Ah Si had already made his own plans. Thinking this, Ah Si sat silently in front. Today, the young master was to negotiate with the foreign devils, so he needed to be more astute... to prevent the young master from being...

1.4 dollars per ton, a thirty-year patent period, based on the production of the United States Steel Corporation, this is fundamentally an astronomical figure, which also exceeds the scope of his decision-making.

Let us go to New York tonight

Mr. Li, welcome to your arrival

After a moment of silence, Charlie Swab exchanged glances with the others and spoke

Of course, you may discuss it, but I need to return to New York this evening

Li Zicheng looked at him with an utterly sincere gaze

However, what is truly astonishing is that Pierpont Morgan acquired the Carnegie Steel Company after purchasing it from Andrew Carnegie. To accelerate the company's operations, Morgan implemented high product prices to squeeze out small and medium-sized steel companies, thereby raising the industry's entry barriers. Simultaneously, as these smaller companies faced financial difficulties, he continued to acquire them—U.S. Steel Company successfully merged with over 700 related steel enterprises. To accelerate the company's operations, Morgan implemented high product prices to squeeze out small and medium-sized steel companies, thereby raising the industry's entry barriers. Simultaneously, as these smaller companies faced financial difficulties, he continued to acquire them—U.S. Steel Company successfully merged with over 700 related steel enterprises

A very good design