Chapter 37 Chapter Four: Shen Wenrong, the "Sand King" of the Yangtze River

Now we have to talk about another Zhangjiagang native, Shen Wenrong, who is known as the "Chinese Sand King". "The development of Zhangjiagang is inseparable from a group of heroes. One of them is Shen Wenrong. I highly appreciate and praise him, so that all entrepreneurs can learn from him. Later, I tried my best to recommend him as the chairman of the CPPCC... "Qin Zhenhua told me. It can be said that in the history of Zhangjiagang City, including today's modernization process, without Qin Zhenhua and Shen Wenrong, the brilliance of Zhangjiagang City will definitely weaken a lot, and it is even unimaginable.Although in Shazhou County, the predecessor of Zhangjiagang, there was a glorious history of thriving township enterprises in this land, I still want to say that if there is no pioneer and outstanding leader Qin Zhenhua With its strong governance ability, Zhangjiagang City cannot have the reputation and rapid development foundation it has today.

In fact, Qin Zhenhua's influence on Zhangjiagang still plays a role today, many years after his retirement. One thing can prove it. There was a Hongbao company that was doing very well in Zhangjiagang. Its leader, Zhu Yubao, was also an economic leader during the Qin Zhenhua period. Slacking off made this company, which has grown from a township enterprise to a listed company, fall behind.The city was very anxious, and it seemed that no one could touch Zhu Yubao.After Qin Zhenhua found out, he said, "Let me talk about him." Qin Zhenhua went and brought a group of people to find Zhu Yubao and really mobilized him.Seeing the old secretary Qin Zhenhua appearing in front of him, Zhu Yubao was very moved. During the meal, like an old soldier who had followed the South and North Wars for many years meeting the old chief, he immediately issued a military order to Qin Zhenhua with great arrogance: "Old secretary, don't worry, I must work hard and double the output value within three years!" Qin Zhenhua smiled, patted Zhu Yubao on the shoulder and said, "This is just like us Zhangjiagang people."

In the past three years, Hongbao Company has indeed taken off again.why?In the words of Zhangjiagang people: Zhu Yubao "serves" Qin Zhenhua, and he, Qin Zhenhua, is a burning fire that can "heat up" people's passion wherever he goes. There are many people in Zhangjiagang who "conquer" Qin Zhenhua, and almost all capable people in Zhangjiagang "conquer" him. The word "serve" in the discourse of my hometown means admiration and prestige. "Sand King" Shen Wenrong is also very "obedient" to Qin Zhenhua.In Zhangjiagang, if there is no Shen Wenrong, the city may still have achieved so many achievements in spiritual civilization, but it will certainly be difficult for the total economic volume to enter the top ten of China's "Top 100 Counties".This is because Shen Wenrong's "Shagang", a giant "steel aircraft carrier", has an output value of 100 million yuan a year, and if this piece is taken away, Zhangjiagang is equivalent to changing from Yao Ming to Pan Changjiang - a lot shorter.

Shen Wenrong is very important in Zhangjiagang.The weight of Shen Wenrong also plays a decisive role in China's steel industry.This is also one of the important reasons why Zhangjiagang is famous in the land of China.In an economy-centered era, strength is the key, strength is related to influence, and influence is supported by strength. Who is Shen Wenrong?Almost everyone in my hometown knows that this person can be described as a "legend".Think about it: An ordinary farmer by the Yangtze River turned out to be a "steel giant" after seven tosses and eight tosses.The annual steel production of his enterprises has defeated all the state-owned steel giants in the country except Baosteel in Shanghai. Do you think it is legendary or not?

In the era of planned economy, the strength of a country or a region was measured mainly by how many steel plants there were and how much steel could be smelted.For two or three hundred years since the British Industrial Revolution, steel has been in a dominant position in the world economy. Mao Zedong once regarded it as the "marshal". In China in the 1950s and 1960s, steel was the "marshal" of the national economy.If the account is promoted, the economy of the whole country will be promoted accordingly.After World War II, oil gradually replaced the iron marshal, but in many developing countries, the steel giant still plays the role of "marshal", as is the case in China.

Some foreign economists say that China's development in the past 20 to 30 years is "cement + steel", which is what they are saying.In fact, steel has not changed its status as the "marshal" in China's modern economic development. The legend of Shen Wenrong became particularly exciting precisely because he became a "steel marshal" from a farmer who "repaired the earth"... During an interview in Suzhou, Gao Dezheng, the old leader of Suzhou, was talking about Zhangjiagang and Shen Wenrong. He told me specifically: Shen Wenrong, who wrote about Zhangjiagang, must not forget to "mention" Zhang Yaosheng, the old secretary of the factory.

When I was talking to Shen Wenrong, this "Sand King" mentioned his "mentor" Zhang Yaosheng at the very beginning.This is because the old secretary of Zhang Yaosheng is the old leader of Shen Wenrong's current "Shagang" predecessor, and it is precisely because Zhang Yaosheng's initial entrepreneurship laid the foundation for Shen Wenrong to embark on the road of "Sand King". The predecessor of Shen Wenrong's current "Shagang" was Shazhou County Cotton Processing Factory, which was the largest enterprise in Shazhou County at that time. Before the 1970s, when Zhangjiagang was still called Shazhou, this factory was the leading state-owned enterprise in Shazhou, mainly serving Cotton processing and production in cotton-producing counties. In the mid-1970s, a profound rural industrial revolution began to be born in the Suzhou area—the upsurge of large-scale development of township enterprises.Zhang Yaosheng, then Secretary of the Party Branch of the Shazhou Cotton Processing Plant, was relatively liberated. With the support of Gao Dezheng, Secretary of the County Party Committee, he began to diversify his business.His so-called "diversification" at that time was to invest a little money to set up a paper mill, using reeds as raw materials.Because he wanted to build a paper mill, he found that steel was not available in the market, so he had to use wood instead of some machine tools in the paper mill.

"You might as well try to build a steel factory!" Zhang Yaosheng proposed at the factory meeting.So during the third transformation of the "diversification" of the cotton processing factory, he began to work in a small steel mill.At that time, the annual demand for steel in Shazhou was 400 tons, but Zhang Yaosheng's factory only produced 6 tons of steel in a "small way", which was a huge gap.Zhang Yaosheng then proposed to Gao Dezheng "to build a steel factory". "Okay, I fully support it!" County Party Secretary Gao Dezheng approved. In the era of food as the key link, some people set up steel mills in a whimsical way, and some people publicly expressed their support for building steel mills. In today's words: "That is a great advanced consciousness!"

Zhang Yaosheng's merit lies in this.At that time, Shen Wenrong was just an ordinary fitter in the workshop. In 1975, the young Shen Wenrong joined the leadership team of the cotton processing factory because of his outstanding work. "I was born interested in steel, so I was very active and supportive of a steel rolling workshop that the old secretary Zhang Yaosheng advocated at that time." Shen Wenrong said when recalling the initial "steel love". In 1974, Shen Wenrong joined the party at the hand of Zhang Yaosheng, entered the leadership team, and became the deputy secretary of the party branch.At that time, more than 2,000 tons of steel were smelted in the factory, but unfortunately there was not even a smelting furnace—the pure adobe smelting method followed the method of the Great Leap Forward era.By 1982 and 1983, the annual output of iron and steel produced by Zhang Yaosheng's Shazhou cotton processing plant had reached 50,000 tons through "diversification".It’s not a small amount, but at that time no one saw the “marshal” demeanor of the earthen steel furnace by the Yangtze River. In fact, the domestic steel market was still quite poor at the time, and there was a time when the steel that had been smelted could not be sold at all. .

In 1984, the old secretary left, and Shen Wenrong became the "top leader" of the factory.Obsessed with "steel love", he dreamed of a "steel general dream" - "rush out of the province to participate in the competition, and achieve the two major goals of production and sales and product quality in the country within three to five years".Of course, Shen Wenrong did not dare to focus on the amount of steelmaking, but made steel products—steel window materials.In the early 1980s, farmers in southern Jiangsu had begun to get rich, and building houses with steel windows became a fashion, and Shen Wenrong's "dream of a general of steel" came from this.

Don't think that being a "steel general" is so easy. For this reason, Shen Wenrong took a group of migrant workers to the Wuxian Steel Factory to study for 28 days.After learning the technology, he became more courageous and went to 9 production lines at once.At that time, people and units using steel windows were already very common, but Shen Wenrong and his company were a new factory, so sales were a problem. "What are you afraid of? At worst, we'll be like peddlers walking through villages and alleys!" Shen Wenrong was born as a farmer, and farmers are the most shameless people in society, so he came up with such a poor way, and he sold more and more, and kept doing it. It was able to produce 9 series of products and 35 specifications, and became the "boss" in the production of window frame steel with the most complete specifications and the most up-to-date products in China at that time, accounting for 65% of the country's similar market products! Shen Wenrong has truly become a "steel general" - a "general" who produces steel window materials. "Don't underestimate the material for steel windows. Since my products and output account for 65% of the country's total, I can control the entire market. If I increase 100 yuan, the national market will follow suit. If I decrease 100 yuan, other markets will certainly also A reduction of 100 yuan. I have the initiative of the price, and I feel a bit like a general who always wins." "General" said so. After becoming a "general", Shen Wenrong once felt a sense of loss: the real "steel regular army" is made of steel billets, and the steel they supply and sell is for bridges and rails and even large steel towers for launching spaceships, not like Shen Wenrong and others The kind of "walking through villages and alleys", "guerrillas", and "commanders of idiots", some people use this to mock the "steel general" Shen Wenrong on the banks of the Yangtze River. Why can't we be "Iron Marshals"?Shen Wenrong grew up drinking water from the Yangtze River, and his personality is similar to that of Qin Zhenhua. Everyone in Zhangjiagang has this kind of personality—different from traditional Suzhou people, they are bold, bold, and dare to do things! Shen "General" began to dream of being a "Marshal".This was around 1987. At that time, "generals" who were farmers could also wear suits and ties to go abroad.Shen Wenrong aimed at the old empire of the industrial revolution—Britain.He found that the steel industry in the UK and Europe was undergoing industry transformation, and steel companies were restricted by quotas.A British Bidston steel mill has an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons, but it only has a quota of 100,000 tons, so it loses money every year. The boss is struggling to survive and wants to find a buyer.When Shen Wenrong heard about it, he was eager to move, and through Gu Xiulian, the governor of Jiangsu Province at the time, asked someone to get this "international sale and purchase" into his own hands. "Crazy! You, a local farmer, want to introduce such a large foreign equipment, who knows its technology?" "The life of our factory has been pretty good, are you crazy?" Well-meaning people came to persuade Shen Wenrong.The introduction of a full set of "75-ton ultra-high-power electric furnace, continuous casting, continuous rolling" integrated short-process production line is the first in China. In the 1980s, China's iron and steel industry was still dominated by state-owned enterprises. The introduction of such advanced equipment was something that even those "big" state-owned iron and steel factories dared not do easily. A non-professional iron and steel enterprise in a small county by the Yangtze River wanted to Isn't it a bit whimsical to swallow the "Big Mac" alone! what to do? On the night of the sixth day of the first lunar month in 1988, the conference room on the fifth floor of the factory was brightly lit.According to the usual working hours, the next day is the real working day after the Spring Festival. In order to unify the thinking of the cadres and workers of the whole factory, Shen Wenrong hosted a discussion meeting attended by more than 140 middle-level cadres. There was only one theme: collective decision to introduce or not to introduce The equipment at Bidston Steel Works, UK. "I think it should be introduced. Deng Xiaoping is right, science and technology are productive forces. If we want to raise the factory's production to a higher level, it is imperative to introduce advanced technology." "If such large equipment cannot reach the ideal level when imported, or if something goes wrong and cannot be moved, then our factory will be miserable and must be closed." "So we have to think carefully before we say it. We should wait two years before we say it." "Is it okay to wait? The competition in the steel market is getting more and more fierce. Once you wait, you will become a day lily!" "Yes, we can't wait. Let's listen to Director Shen." Seeing the divergent opinions, someone stood up and shouted at Shen Wenrong, "Director Shen, you should explain the truth to everyone!" "Yes, listen to what the factory manager said..." At this time, the hour hand pointed to more than ten o'clock in the evening.Shen Wenrong stood up, and saw that he glanced at the whole meeting place with a pair of piercing eyes, and then asserted: "With regard to this 75-ton ultra-high-power electric furnace project, our team's determination has not changed. There are five reasons: 1. 1. Without this production line, Shagang would not be able to form a moderate scale, and would never be able to get rid of the hat of backward technology and equipment. Starting point, high-end projects that can fill the gaps in the country can only be competitive in the market. Third, our Shagang’s strength is still weak at the moment, but we have joint venture support from Hong Kong, and we will become stronger with a good partner 4. Judging from the development status of China's iron and steel industry, it is sure to recover the investment. The last point is that if the iron and steel industry wants to engage in technological transformation and new construction projects, it must have a ten-year advance consideration, otherwise the competitive advantage will not be long-term. In summary From these five points, our conclusion is: To start a business, you must have the drive to rush, fight, and fight. Opportunities are fleeting, and waiting is the biggest mistake. Now we have to study how to introduce and how to build a new type of enterprise. Iron and steel plants, rather than importing or not, building or not. Do you think so?" "Yes!" There was an echo in the venue. "The voice is not loud enough, is it?" Shen Wenrong asked again. "Yes!" The response was earth-shattering, causing the Yangtze River to roll up and down, and the night sky to be full of stars twinkling... The next step is the specific operation process, which is not easy.At that time, there was no precedent in China for the joint venture with Hong Kong to run a steel plant, and bank loans were difficult. As a municipal enterprise, the government must pay attention to such a large import project. "Shen Wenrong, what are you doing? Why is it all a pile of broken copper and iron?" When the imported equipment costing more than 30 million US dollars arrived in Zhangjiagang, some government leaders came to the scene to see it and asked loudly. Shen Wenrong.This can't be blamed on others, how much RMB is 30 million US dollars!Why did you, Shen Wenrong, make a bunch of useless foreign junk! The situation at the scene really made people who don’t know how to do it frightened, because all the equipment was disassembled and shipped from the UK, and once the steel assembly line was dismantled, even the best advanced equipment looked “dilapidated”.Because of this, Shen Wenrong had to explain it to people countless times, and had to accept the scolding of countless people—it’s not obvious that you, Shen Wenrong, spent the country’s foreign exchange to introduce such a lot of crap! "If this is the case, I have built a failed exhibition hall for Zhangjiagang." Shen Wenrong replied confidently. "You are crazy, I think you must be crazy!" Many friends left Shen Wenrong.They were afraid, because if they failed, Shen Wenrong would never stand up. However, Shen Wenrong didn't feel any fear at all. As usual, he mobilized hundreds of thousands of migrant workers to carry the "broken copper and iron" for him, and organized a professional technical installation team to assemble it part by part. The production line of the Dayton Steel Plant is exactly the same. "Chinese migrant workers are amazing. As long as you teach them, they are all masters. Once a foreign thing is touched in their hands, it becomes their own thing and their own ability. We hired a foreign engineer. It costs a few hundred dollars a day to work, but our migrant workers earn more than ten yuan a day and can take over the work of foreign engineers. We planned to invest more than 40 million U.S. dollars in the introduction project, but we only spent more than 30 million U.S. dollars in the end. This is how money is saved..." Shen Wenrong said. In 23 months, from introduction to installation, to one-time successful production, this is Shen Wenrong's first big handwriting before 1991.For such an imported project and scale, the general construction period is 30 to 36 months, and he even realized it without hiring a foreign expert.Therefore, after the success of the "75-ton ultra-high-power electric furnace steelmaking, continuous casting, and continuous rolling project", Shen Wenrong, the "dark horse", became famous in the Chinese steel industry. In 1992, after Deng Xiaoping made a speech on his southern tour, an unprecedented upsurge of economic construction was set off across the country, and the steel market was booming. Shen Wenrong's "Shagang" whose main product was the production of "rebar" could not have been better. Seeing the money, the partners in Hong Kong were a little jealous and said they wanted to share dividends.At the beginning, Shen Wenrong felt a lot of pressure, but now he has shown the demeanor of a "marshal", so he said: "We can't pay dividends now, and we still have bank loans to repay." The Hong Kong people said: "Would you like to give the newly built steel factory to you, or give it to me." This is a separation and a separation.Shen Wenrong felt pain in his heart, but this was for profit, and the purpose of any collaborator was for profit, so he couldn't hate others.So he said calmly: "You make a price. If I don't want it, you have to buy it. If I make a price and you want it, I'll give it to you." The trick Shen Wenrong said was fair and absolutely perfect.You are forced to choose.Now that this is the case, friends can only do so. The final asking price is: RMB 36 million (the share price of the 35% shares of the Hong Kong joint venture). The Hong Kong people did the math for a long time, and thought it was okay, which was equivalent to earning a little more than the 20 million yuan he invested in the joint venture at the time. The partner took away 36 million yuan, and Shen Wenrong became the real boss and the only boss of the steel factory.Two years later, the Hong Kong partner who broke up with Shen Wenrong approached Shen Wenrong again, and regretted it: "I didn't expect the domestic steel market to be so good. I really shouldn't have withdrawn the shares at the beginning." Shen Wenrong smiled and thought: Yes, if you hadn’t quit the shares at that time, my “Shagang” would have lost at least hundreds of millions of yuan in the past two years! "Haha, in business, we earn and lose, we are still friends!" Shen Wenrong looked like a "Marshal". However, in the steel industry, there is still a considerable distance from "general" to "marshal".After fighting a beautiful battle in 1992, Shen Wenrong found that although he now has a 75-ton electric furnace production line, and the technical level in the same industry in China is also one of the few, there is still a gap compared with the steel industry in developed countries in the world. . "For an accomplished entrepreneur, striving for the first place in the country is not the ultimate goal, but the ability to dare to participate in international competition. Shagang not only has the ability to face the country and dare to compete with strong players, but also has to face the future, face the world, and participate International competition requires confidence in the ability to resist the impact of products from developed countries flooding into China after joining the WTO. At the same time, we must also have the strength to push our products to the international market and redefine the market structure with the traditional steel powers. This is what Shen Wenrong said in the early 1990s. After hearing this, a steel expert in Beijing whispered to Shen Wenrong happily and nervously: "You 'Shagang' will not only become China's steel giant, I believe you will gain a foothold in the world's steel industry! You, Shen Wenrong, have become a 'tsar'." "tsar"?Tsar Alexander of Russia?The tsar who was finally executed by the family of the Red Army in the Lenin era?No, no, I can't be the tsar, I can at most be the "sand king" of our Shazhou Iron and Steel Plant.King of Sandbank Enterprises!The king of China's steel industry!I am willing to be this.King style, the world my own way.In the era of fierce competition in the market economy, Shagang should have such vigor and courage.This "king" I would like to be! This is what Shen Wenrong said in his heart. He didn't tell me himself, but everyone who knows him said: "Our President Shen has the air of a king! He wants to become the real 'Sand King' in the steel industry!" We can see his "King" way from the propositions he often expounded to people during that period: use the best technical equipment and the best enterprise management to achieve the highest product quality and the lowest product cost, Shagang will achieve "six first-class": first-class products, first-class indicators, first-class management, first-class enterprise, first-class team, and first-class distribution. Isn't this what the "king" thinks and does? In the hot summer of this year, Shen Wenrong started another big leap after he was promoted from "general" to "marshal" - aiming at the world-class steel production line and realizing the goal of building a first-class steel enterprise.For this reason, he braved the heat and ran to the province and Beijing to apply to the relevant departments for a brand new, world's most advanced electric furnace steel production line. "Your 75-ton electric furnace is advanced enough, do you want to start a new line?" "Yes, I want to go to a more advanced one!" "Then what scale do you want to go on? What kind of product line do you want to go on?" "I want to go to the hard high line." Shen Wenrong replied.This was a suggestion he received from an expert from the Ministry of Metallurgy.This proposal contains a huge business opportunity: China's metal products industry was still very backward at that time, and the hard high line means that the industry will be more advanced and advanced.At that time, after the expert proposed to Shen Wenrong, for Shen Wenrong, who had a strong sense of the market, his heart of king almost jumped out, because Shen Wenrong knew that if this goal could be realized, his "Shagang " will be the champion in the Chinese market and the world market, and firmly sit on the "throne". "I fully support you!" Shen Wenrong reported his thoughts to Qin Zhenhua, secretary of the municipal party committee, who was raising the flag to go out. Dare to do great things!" Since then, Zhangjiagang's "two kings" have joined forces to build this Yangtze River beach, which is unstoppable! Business negotiations for the introduction of new equipment have begun.After investigation and investigation, Shen Wenrong chose Germany, Switzerland, and the United States as the bidding opponents.This time, Shen Wenrong adopted a new idea of ​​introduction based on me, that is, inviting guests to Zhangjiagang, staying in the "Shagang" hotel, and then negotiating round after round, country by country. The negotiation process is all about money, but sometimes the result of the negotiation is far from the concept of money, because negotiation is more about wisdom and art, and the final result will be very different from the original amount of money.Therefore, foreign experts finally sighed: Why is China's "Sand King" so familiar with technical problems and technical indicators?And so shrewd? In those days, while Shen Wenrong had to preside over the normal work of the factory, on the other hand he kept haggling with his opponents for "less money and bigger things", so his right foot suffered from gout again, and the bend of his foot was swollen like a steamed bun. Unable to walk, he could only lie on the bed with hanging needles.Seeing this, the negotiating opponent was very moved.They said: "Although we can't talk to you at the negotiating table, we are still willing to give up some prices, because we believe that you have a 'king' who can lead you to a great cause." In fact, there is one thing that foreign businessmen do not understand, which is that in the hands of Shen Wenrong at this time, funds are still his "weakness", so he must use as little money as possible to accomplish a big event. "Picking" is his only "shortcoming" in negotiating with foreign businessmen-foreigners say this about him, and because of this, they can't do anything about Shen Wenrong. In this regard, the opponent "Little Morgan" has the deepest experience. The price of the equipment that was later called "Asia's first furnace" was 51 million U.S. dollars. Shen Wenrong and his negotiating team finally pressed down to 36 million U.S. dollars through polite negotiations and contests. In the end, for the negotiating price difference of 600,000 U.S. dollars, "Little Morgan" and Shen Wenrong came to a "see-saw" deadlock in which no one would let the other. "Little Morgan" is also a stingy guy. Facing a "stingy sand king" like Shen Wenrong, he really has no tricks, and "Little Morgan" actually cried in anxiety. "If you don't let me, we won't talk!" "If we don't talk about it, we won't talk about it. We will find another client." Shen Wenrong said firmly. "Little Morgan" left angrily, got in a car and went straight to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. "Leave as soon as you go, if you don't send me off!" Shen Wenrong had a straight face, looking angry.But as soon as the car delivered to "Little Morgan" left the factory, he smiled and said, "Lovely guy, he will definitely come back. Let's wait!" "I'm not going to be fooled by your 'Sand King'! Not a penny less! Apart from you, Shen Wenrong, there are many idiots in China who will buy my goods!" The furious "Little Morgan" was driving to Hongqiao Airport On the way, he kept cursing "Sand King" Shen Wenrong. Here, Shen Wenrong sat in the office as if nothing had happened, making a cup of strong tea, sipping it with a smile, chatting and laughing with his colleagues as if waiting for a good news that would arrive soon. "Ding Lingling—" At this moment, the phone rang suddenly. "Hello, Mr. Shen? I'm Morgan Jr.'s translator. Let me ask you again on behalf of him: Do you have any intention of cooperating?" said the phone. Shen Wenrong smiled, with a sly look on his face, and replied: "Why not? Shagang and I sincerely want to cooperate with Mr. Morgan Jr. What does he think?" "Mr. said that if you are really sincere, he is willing to give up the last 600,000 US dollars for 400,000! Do you think it will work?" When Shen Wenrong heard it, his face immediately glowed, and he replied loudly: "Okay, we have agreed: the remaining 200,000 yuan is mine!" "Then—we'll go back to Zhangjiagang immediately!" "I'll meet you at the gate of the factory!" Shen Wenrong put down the phone, sat on the chair in front of the desk, and said to his colleagues with a tired but victorious face: "We want him to have 6 production lines, and the total payment is 2.4 million US dollars less than the original plan!" 2.4 million US dollars is too important for Shen Wenrong, who has not yet sat on the throne of the "Sand King" of steel! That's how business is done. "Little Morgan" did not suffer in the end. Shen Wenrong bought 6 of his production lines. Later, because of the deal with Zhangjiagang, he also sold 8 of the same production lines in other places in China, which was cheaper than selling to Shen Wenrong's price was 30% higher. "Sand King" made "Little Morgan" a big profit!This is called a win-win situation. The opponents at the negotiating table finally become good friends for life because they have gained mutual trust and admiration after such a fierce duel. After the negotiation was over, Shen Wenrong saw his assistants slipping involuntarily from their seats to under the negotiation table. Within a few seconds, the entire conference hall of the hotel was snoring loudly.Shen Wenrong laughed, and then joined the snoring team. He suddenly saw the arc of the 90-ton ultra-high-power vertical AC electric furnace roaring strongly on the hot land in his hometown, and then the 5 machines and 5 streams. The rainbow-like steaming steel billets that billet continuous casting will spit out are piled up to form high mountains around him, and he himself actually sits on those billets that reach into the sky and looks up at the situation in all corners of the country, with a victorious look on his face. joy…… The establishment of a steel blast furnace is the birth of a huge steel giant.For the 90-ton ultra-high-power vertical electric furnace and its matching casting production line, Shen Wenrong asked relevant professional departments to design an investment plan.The total price of the first plan is 2.2 billion yuan. "Where did I get so much money? I will take 1.5 billion yuan!" Shen Wenrong is sometimes unreasonable—an authoritative design expert scolds him so angrily, because Shen Wenrong is unreasonable at all, and he only implements it according to the idea of ​​a farmer. The poor guy's revolutionary entrepreneurial thinking. The experts had to do the calculation again, but it still cost 1.8 billion. Showing the plan and the amount to Shen Wenrong, he didn't smile at all, but said with a straight face: "I don't have that much money, so I have to suppress it!" "Why do you have no money to be world-class and Asia's number one?" The expert became a little angry. "What's the matter? If I have money, how can I fight for the world's first-class and the number one in Asia? We Chinese are poor in the past, so now we have to work hard to catch up with the world's first-class! Your design is right, it is from the science and steel industry. The correct solution is based on the basic situation, but we can start from the reality, from the reality of our Shagang, for example, we don’t need those fancy decorations, for example, we can use the steel materials produced by ourselves, instead of closing the door and designing it. Going to the market to find materials, of course the cost will be high. Is what I said unreasonable?" Shen Wenrong explained to the design experts unhurriedly. The experts understood and nodded in admiration: "If you say that, our plan can indeed greatly reduce the budget. For example, the market steel we used for calculation is 1,700 yuan per meter. If you use the cost price steel produced by yourself It's only half the price, which can save a lot of budget!" Shen Wenrong smiled: "Use local materials, save as much as you can." The final "Asia's first furnace" only used 930 million yuan. Foreign counterparts find it incredible.The counterparts in China also shook their heads: If Shagang does this, our state-owned steel plant will not know how to make investment and budget in the future! No wonder the leaders of the Ministry of Metallurgy later said: Shen Wenrong of Zhangjiagang brought the "third revolution" to China's steel industry. It is his Shagang style.The first two Chinese iron and steel revolutions were based on foreign aid and the power of the whole country. Shen Wenrong's third revolution was a grassroots market economic behavior-at the lowest cost to achieve the highest level of benefit goals.This kind of revolution is unlikely to be realized by steel enterprises under the planned economy and state-owned system. Shen Wenrong relied on the "grassroots" economic model to run a steel company. He is a farmer, a farmer entrepreneur from a small agricultural county who runs a large steel factory. What he wants in his mind is a steel giant as big as others, but he When he took out his pocket, he was an out-and-out stingy farmer.What can you do with him! He has the final say!He is a soil "tsar"! When he was soiled, those steel experts couldn't accept it.For example, when he starts construction, the workers can only work 8 hours a day. He finds all migrant workers and tells them: 8 hours is enough to feed their stomachs, and 12 hours a day can bring good food for their wives and children. Food, two days of work in a day is enough to go home and build a house.Migrant workers are seeking this goal, so they work hard for Shen Wenrong, so his "Asia's first furnace" production line usually takes 9 years to achieve normal investment returns, but Shen Wenrong only took one year, saving money. After seven or eight years of production, trial production and debugging, if he doesn't make a lot of money, who will make a lot of money? In the second year after the "Asia's first furnace" was put into operation, Shagang achieved an annual production record of one million tons! An average of 90 tons of steel is tapped in 58 minutes. This is the power of "Asia's first furnace"!When Chinese steel workers and Chinese state leaders stood in front of this steel giant and watched the harvest scene presented by such a magnificent steel torrent, their faces were full of pride and amazement. "Sand King", it seems that you, Shen Wenrong, can really be called China's "Sand King"!This is more than one national leader's words of praise to Shen Wenrong. In fact, Shen Wenrong's "Sand King" prestige has just been revealed at this time.What really impressed the world's steel industry was his deal in 2002.This sale and the "Great International Iron and Steel Migration" after the sale made Shen Wenrong and the city of Zhangjiagang truly famous all over the world... The words start in 2000. After becoming the "Sand King", Shen Wenrong was "accidentally" recommended by another king in Zhangjiagang, "Qin Shihuang" Qin Zhenhua, to the position of chairman of the CPPCC.Shen Wenrong was a little unexpected, "I am a farmer, and later I started a steel company and became famous, but I never expected to become the top leader of one of the four major teams in Zhangjiagang City. I don't want to go up, Qin The secretary thinks too much of me, his 'Qin Shihuang' is stronger and bolder than me, the 'Sand King'!" Shen Wenrong commented on Qin Zhenhua's old secretary. Therefore, for his new goals in life and the development of China's iron and steel industry, Shen Wenrong proposed in 2000 that "Shagang will become a large iron and steel enterprise with an annual output of 10 million tons by 2025." What was the concept of 10 million tons of steel production in the Mao Zedong era?It is the national level!It is the dreamed national goal of Mao Zedong, who completely broke with the Soviet Union and fought the Korean War with American imperialism! Only in the past 20 or 30 years, a small farmer by the Yangtze River actually thought about the grand goal that even Mao Zedong did not even dare to think about. "At first, I thought that Shagang would achieve its goal of producing 1 million tons to 10 million tons per year. It would take 25 years for this goal to be achieved, but then we reached the level of 10 million tons per year in only 5 years. .” Shen Wenrong said to me. Shorten the span of 20 years, what kind of Rubik's cube is this?What kind of trick? I was dumbfounded after hearing what Shen Wenrong said.So I saw before my eyes a "world war" of unparalleled scale - a "steel world war" rolling between East and West. The main battlefield is between Zhangjiagang, China in Asia and Germany in Europe: The chief planner and chief commander is still the "Sand King" Shen Wenrong.He provoked and created the original "Steel World War" in the 21st century.In his terminology, it is: to move the 6.5 million tons steel plate project of the famous German steel plant in Dortmund on the Rhine to China, and to Zhangjiagang, his hometown. joke!Big joke!当年攻下柏林城的苏联红军元帅朱可夫在天上笑话沈文荣；当年盟军总指挥艾森豪威尔将军也在天上笑话中国农民沈文荣……这两位元帅和将军有权发出这样的嘲笑，因为他们当年亲率百万大军攻克柏林、打败德国法西斯后，也曾妄想把诸多生产重武器的德国钢铁厂搬到苏联和美国去，但苏联元帅和美国将军没能实现，原因是距离太远，搬迁工程太耗费时间和财力。 大帝国元帅和盟军统帅没干成的事，时至今日，一个生长在中国长江边的农民却想要干这样的事。 当沈文荣传出这件事后，几乎国内外所有行家都惊讶万分地告诉他：这是不可能的事！ “那我就把它做成吧！”沈文荣回答得很轻松。 多特蒙德钢铁厂是德国的著名企业，在二战中曾经是一个大军工企业，这里生产的武器在德军侵略诸国中起着十分重要的作用。二战后，它又为德国恢复战后经济起着顶梁柱的作用。上世纪90年代开始，欧洲工业开始转型，这个钢铁巨人由于厂址处在城市中心，市民们意见很大，又加上欧洲经济不断萧条，德国政府不得不令其关闭停产。但此厂的钢板产品质量非常好，当它宣布关闭停产后，波兰等国就有人想买下，沈文荣这时也知道了此事，于是他通过香港朋友在第一时间赶到了德国，并将该厂的实物全部拍照下来，得知这个厂最后一次技改是1978年。 “应该是目前的世界先进水平了。”国内的专家分析得出结论。 沈文荣非常欣喜，命令办公室：“马上组织一个旅游团。” “组织旅游团干什么？” “我们要去德国考察，而且不是一个人两个人，而是几十个人，可能还要几次三番地出去。不以旅游团的名义怎么出去？”沈文荣这么一说，手下的人才知道原因所在。 想到一个庞大的钢铁厂从隔洋隔海的欧洲大陆搬到中国，想过有多少事要做？想过中间会有多少问题突然冒出来？这可不像在国内到某一个地方去参观开会，想什么时候走就什么时候动身，想去多少人就能去多少人。“沙王”沈文荣这回遇上了种种困难，仅关于派专家团到德国就得分批去，还有商务谈判团等等，怎么办？沈文荣想的招是以旅游团名义，好处在于一次就可以多去些人，否则公务代表团不知什么时候才能成行，而且还会碰到签证时名额的限制。 谈判是第一步，主要解决怎么个买法。是全部买它的厂，还是买部分？一个月谈判下来，沈文荣发现：买部分主体设备是那么多钱，买整个厂也差不多那么多钱。“这个厂我全要了！”沈文荣最后对德国人说。 日耳曼人惊愕了：“中国人，你怎么把我们的厂搬回你的国家？” “我有办法。”沈文荣狡黠地朝谈判对手一笑。 “三年内必须全部搬走这里的一切，你们行吗？”德国人不太相信中国人能做得到这样的事。 “没问题，我们会用更短一些时间。”沈文荣告诉德方。 3084万欧元。合同上的金额是这个数目。 沙钢怎么可能做得起这桩生意嘛！合同签订后，国内的同行一片哗然。这话不知怎么传到了德国，卖家有些紧张了，非要求沈文荣他们交银行担保。 结果盖有中华人民共和国中国人民银行大章的担保书迅速发往了德国有关方面，上面有这样一句话：中国张家港“沙钢”企业完全有这样的付款能力。 自己国家的著名钢铁企业要被中国人拆掉搬走了！德国民众和钢厂附近的百姓恋恋不舍地来到多特蒙德钢厂，他们像向一位英雄告别一般，成群结队地来到厂区，抚摸着已经有些生锈的钢炉和设备，有人甚至抱头痛哭…… “拜托大伙儿了，我们必须在最短的时间内把厂子里的所有设备拆卸完毕，否则就不能回家过年呀！”史无前例的钢铁巨人大拆卸、大搬运开始了。1000多人组成的中国“拆运军团”是如何到德国的，沈文荣以“沙王”的口吻告诉我：“能想到的招全都用上了：政府公务访问团的、专家出国考察团的、劳务团的、旅游团的等等等等。” “办签证说多难就有多难！”沙钢办公室的同志用了一句“不堪回首”来形容当时他们遇到的种种困难。 “沈总要求的时间太紧了，其实我们大伙知道沈总为什么这么做，道理很简单：1000多人，多在德国呆一天，我们的成本支出就是几万欧元。再算上这边早一天开工、早一天出钢材产品，那又为企业多赚多少钱嘛！”沙钢人这么说。 有德国人曾经断言：按照惯例，拆除这座大型钢厂至少需要700天工作时。沈文荣笑笑，说：“我们用100天的时间足够了。” 德国人眨眨眼，有些傲慢地朝他摇摇头。 沈文荣心想：你们德国只跟苏联人干过仗，你们当然不知道中国人其实比俄罗斯人厉害得多！ 最后100天都不到，一座用8年建起的“钢铁城”被1000余名中国农民工拆得“体无完肤”。 德国人不相信中国人是怎么干的，但有一点他们感到不可思议：星期天、节假日，甚至是喝啤酒的月光下，中国人都在挑灯夜战。“中国人不讲人权！”“中国人像奴隶似的进行劳役！”德国有关部门和所谓的人权组织开始出面干预。他们甚至在星期天和法定节假日派出飞机，在钢厂上空巡视…… “他探他的，我们照干我们的！中国人如果不是因为被帝国主义封锁几十年，又因'文革'耽误了十多年，我们也有西方世界那么现代化，我们自然用不着加班加点！但现在不行，我们必须抢夺分分秒秒！”沈文荣自有他的“王道理论”。他让工人们学会“游击战”——在拆设备现场，搭起工棚，这样德方派飞机巡视就无法知道下面到底是在干活还是在停工。如此捉迷藏式的战斗持续了几十天，最后德方仍然弄不明白中国人到底使用什么样的“先进武器”将一座至少需要700天拆卸完的“钢铁城”，在不到100天的时间内全部化为平地。 大搬运开始了！举世瞩目的举动，德国人怀着极大的好奇心在等待中国人再次出招。沈文荣太聪明、太“贼性”，他把所有用得着的设备和材料全部挑选出来，然后一车一车地细心打包装车，又将用不着的废弃物堆在一起。有几天时间里，他叫来当地多家废旧公司，潇洒地将300多万欧元的废钢材收入划到了沙钢的账面上。 大搬运走的是海路。从钢厂到附近港口有300公里远，13万吨设备将被中国人搬运回国。为了这场史无前例的战后大搬运，当地的德国政府都被中国“沙王”沈文荣调动了起来。 “通往海港的那条高速路，在我们搬运的日子里其他车辆皆被禁运。我们租用的几百辆搬运车队就这样不分日夜地来回奔驰着，许多德国民众整天整夜地站立在公路两旁，恋恋不舍地看着这支钢铁洪流从他们眼前驶过，我想他们的心里肯定是别样滋味……”沈文荣说起那一幕时，很为中国人骄傲。 “13万吨货物呀！整整13艘巨轮，不远万里从遥远的欧洲抵达张家港的那一刻，我的家乡人民欢腾了！谁也没有见过那么多洋货出现在自己的家门口。当时我们的货物，从海港码头一直堆到厂区，连绵十几里……”沈文荣说起那一幕，很为家乡张家港骄傲。 2005年，沈文荣不仅把650万吨钢板设备从欧洲的莱茵河畔全部搬运到了自己家乡，而且将这一设备全部安装完毕，并在当年投产后首次实现了沙钢年产超千万吨的纪录，从而跨入了世界钢铁产业的第一方阵。 2006年，沙钢年产达1463万吨，在全国位居第4位，销售收入587亿元，在全国冶金行业位居第5位，出口创汇8亿美元，位居同行业第3位，人均产钢量1116吨，在全国位居第一位。 “现在沙钢是除上海宝钢之外的中国第二大钢厂。”这话我是从北京的一位冶金专家那里听到的。他后面还有一句话：“宝钢是国家当年举全国之力建起来的，而沈文荣的沙钢是完全靠他们自己搞起来的，从这个意义上讲，沙钢和沈文荣是真正的中国钢铁之王。” 2008年2月19日那天，我在沙钢采访沈文荣结束后，工作人员请我吃午饭，在沙钢的内部餐厅里，我发现一个小小的细节：这里原来的雅间铭牌是“春兰”、“夏莲”、“秋菊”和“冬梅”……现在已经改成米塔尔、阿赛洛、浦项、纽柯等世界钢铁巨头，很有意思，我知道沈文荣这个张家港“沙王”是在将自己的企业定位在与这些世界钢铁巨人的平起平坐的位置上。 现在大家听完我对“沙王”沈文荣的介绍，是否同意我最初曾经讲过的“假如离开了沙钢和沈文荣，张家港等于由姚明变成了潘长江——矮了一大截”这句话呢？ 我想回答应是肯定的。