I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 114 Women make more money

Compared with the Balkans, stability within the empire was obviously more important.

Yasan adopted Milyutin's suggestion and sent Ignaev, who had just been dismissed, to the Balkans in the name of the Tsar's special envoy, with full responsibility for the Balkan issues.

George finally returned to the Oak Group.

The artillery battalion of the Oak Regiment had suitable officers, and Vasily was unwilling to sink and took the initiative to defect to the Oak Regiment.

George was very happy. Vasily's performance in the Xie Tuan left a deep impression on George.

There are only a few qualified officers in the entire Xie Regiment.

Vasily actually didn't quite meet George's requirements for an officer, but he was still young and still had time to learn.

"Compared with the Xie Tuan, the Oak Group is great. I can get all the support I want. If I had the same conditions when I was with the Xie Tuan, I might not lose to you." Vasily's environment seemed like a different person.

When Vasily was in the army, George was impressed by his hard work and introversion, withdrawn and taciturn.

This is normal. If it were George, he would not be happy if he was being slandered and ridiculed every day based on his personal life.

George was born into the royal family, and others would only compare other grand dukes with George.

No one in Russia dared to discuss the Tsar's romantic affairs.

"Do you still have little capital?" George reminded Vasily not to get carried away.

Vasily's great-grandfather was Suvorov, and his father was an imperial army general and infantry director. He himself was the first heir to Duke Suvorov.

In the whole of Russia, there are no more than a hundred people whose overall strength is higher than Vasily's.

When competing with George, Vasily also used his father's status to get support from the sidelines.

When he needed to criticize someone, George was not soft-spoken.

Vasily was unable to say a word because of George's rebuke.

During the period when George went to the Balkans, Ye Luoxin was fully responsible for the work of the Oak Group.

When George left, Ye Luoxin's military rank was still captain.

Now the military rank is only one level lower than George, which is again due to Nicholas.

The major battalion commander sounds much better than the captain battalion commander.

"Is the Balkans fun?" Nicholas came to George immediately.

"It's pretty good. It's much more exciting than St. Petersburg." George hoped to increase Nicholas's attention to the Balkans.

Russia is the guardian and liberator of the Balkans, and the Balkans should become Russia's sphere of influence.

The Balkans in another time and space are a European powder keg, all it needs is a spark, BOOM! The four empires were played together.

"Is Georgi's health okay?" George was also concerned about his little friend, even though this little friend was a bit bad.

"It's not good. My mother is worried that I will be infected and won't allow me to take care of Georgi personally." Nicholas was very sad.

Georgi's condition has now developed into tuberculosis, which is very contagious. Not only Nikolai, but everyone except medical staff is strictly prohibited from contacting Georgi. Take a look at the protective glass windows.

"God bless, I hope Georgi will get well soon." George decided to give half of the gifts he brought back to Georgi.

Nicholas was very satisfied with the gift that George brought back. After Georgi fell ill, the sales of champagne began to decline. Being thick-skinned is still useful in business.

"To do business, you have to make money from the rich, and the poor have no money to make." George seized every opportunity to influence Nicholas.

The tsar's base was not the aristocracy or the bureaucracy, but the Russian workers and peasants.

George hoped that Nicholas would be kind to Russian workers and farmers after he succeeded to the throne.

At present, Nikolai has achieved half of this. He is good to farmers. Workers, as a group, have not yet entered Nikolai's sight.

But soon.

Before leaving St. Petersburg, George proposed to the Tsar the standardization of army logistics.

The Tsar will send someone to investigate the need for logistical standardization before deciding whether to implement it.

This work is currently in progress.

George knew the importance of logistics standardization, so regardless of whether the Tsar adopted George's suggestion or not, George would work with Nicholas to do bigger business.

"Would you like the exclusive right to sell champagne in Russia?" Nikolai presented a real gift package.

The empire's vodka monopoly earned Russia 1881 million silver rubles in 2.25.

The sales volume of vodka far exceeds that of champagne. Champagne certainly does not make as much money as vodka, but it has reached the point where even the Czar is envious.

Nicholas is a man who doesn't have much idea about money.

Ya San didn't know much about money. It wasn't until Nicholas revealed to Ya San how much money George had made by selling champagne during this period that Ya San knew how profitable the champagne business was.

So here comes the problem.

George was not the first person to engage in the champagne business. Since the champagne business is so profitable, how much income did the empire get from champagne?

After asking Finance Minister Nicholas Bunge, Asan learned that the tax revenue the Russian Empire received from champagne last year was only a measly 60 rubles, which was not as much as Nicholas earned.

Half of the money Nicholas earned from selling champagne should be given to Georgi.

Therefore, the Russian princes and nobles worked hard to drink champagne all year round, but all their money was taken away by wine merchants and their backers, and the empire could only eat the leftovers.

I don’t know how long it’s left.

George did not cheat Nikolai in business, and he should give Nikolai a lot of money.

Moreover, George's champagne is taxed in accordance with the imperial tax rate, and there has never been tax evasion or other illegal activities.

It is already very difficult to avoid tax evasion. Is every bottle of Champagne on the Russian market imported through formal channels?

surely not.

Although Ya San does not know the exact amount of champagne flowing into Russia through illegal channels, the tax the empire should receive must be much more than 60 rubles.

Honest people should be rewarded.

That's why the Champagne Monopoly came about.

"Of course!" George wanted it so much, he needed a lot of money now.

Although George has many ways to make money and spend a lot, Vladivostok is a gold-swallowing behemoth. The monthly expenses required are more than 20 rubles. Without the support of the champagne business, George really cannot afford it.

The houses in Vladivostok cannot all be made of wood. The masonry structure is stronger and more conducive to central heating in winter. From an architectural perspective, the masonry structure is also more cost-effective.

The hired workers in Vladivostok cannot afford a wooden house each, so Tongzilou Datongpu is more in line with George's requirements.

These days, the grassroots have no human rights. It is normal for dozens or hundreds of people to live in bunk beds in a room. Some permanent buildings in Vladivostok, such as churches and hospitals, also have higher requirements for the sturdiness of the buildings.

After the beginning of spring, those hired workers who left Vladivostok in the winter brought back more hired workers.

Mikhail has a heavy task. He has to dig mountains, quarry stone, and open kilns to bake bricks. The sailors of the Siberian fleet are still logging wood. Mikhail established four collective farms in Vladivostok in one fell swoop. This year’s goal is to cultivate 10,000 Acres of wasteland.

Ten thousand dessiatines equals 15 acres. In the era without large-scale agricultural machinery, it was not easy to complete this task.

George tried every means to support Mikhail. Last month he sent 150 horses to Mikhail, and this month he sent 200 cattle to Mikhail.

It is unrealistic to purchase all large livestock such as cattle and horses from Europe.

Fortunately, Vladivostok can still purchase it from the Qing Empire.

George hopes that Vladivostok can be self-sufficient within five years, and cannot be like now, even food must be imported from Europe.

There is bad news, but there is also a lot of good news.

Vladivostok is very rich in products. It’s really like beating roe deer with a stick and scooping fish with a gourd, and pheasants flying into the iron pot.

Mikhail obtained several trawlers from the Siberian fleet. After the beginning of spring, he fished every day. If the fish he caught was not finished, he dried it in the sun, which is more conducive to long-term preservation. It is estimated that in the next few years, dried fish will become Vladivostok The main food of the residents.

Mikhail sent George some local specialties of Vladivostok, mink skins, ginseng, pearls, and sea cucumbers.

George didn't pay much attention to other things, but pearls made George's eyes shine.

Whether it's champagne or cigars, it's all about making money from men.

But no matter when the time comes, it is women who make more money.

Pearls are not only used to wear, but can also be used to make cosmetics.

In his previous life, George bought pearl cream and pearl powder with his girlfriend.

Although George didn't know the specific ingredients of pearl cream and pearl powder, the main ingredient was definitely pearls.

It’s easy to handle if you know that the main ingredient is pearls.

George didn't know that cucumbers can beautify people. George knew that when beauties on TV take milk baths, they usually sprinkle some rose petals in the bathtub.

Now they are all alive.

Pearl powder, cucumber water, cream, and rose oil from Bulgaria were mixed together, and George got a bowl of pearl cream.

Although the thing is available, George still doesn't know whether it is effective or not. He has to find someone to test it.

The soldiers are all men, and even the military horses and dogs are male. No one uses these things.

George takes Peter back to the manor.

Compared with last year, the number of people in the manor has almost doubled. In addition to the natural growth, the veterans hired many workers to help farm the land. The Yuri family hired six Poles to cultivate wasteland day and night.

Dalia is not idle either. She is now the manager of the manor and is fully responsible for the management of the manor.

“The cultivated land in the manor has reached 1100 acres. We now have 150 horses, 60 cattle, 25 reindeer, 100 pigs, and 400 sheep. Including farmers, the number of poultry on the manor exceeds 10000. This year we will have endless eggs -" Dalia is very happy, this is all her achievement.

What George is thinking now is whether to send Dalia to Vladivostok to help Mikhail manage the farm.

I guess Ye Luoxin probably didn't have any objections.

"Put your eggs aside first and look at this." George wanted Dalia to test the effect of the pearl cream.

Before that, George still did some research.

There are no commercial cosmetics on the market nowadays, let alone pearl cream, not even rouge or lipstick.

The countess and ballerinas that George had met did not have the habit of wearing makeup, and kept their faces bare.

But this does not mean that women in this era, especially wealthy ladies, do not want to become more beautiful.

Some ladies make their own cosmetics.

For example, Princess Elizabeth, the wife of George's fourth brother Sergei, would mix cucumber water and sour cream to make a facial cream for whitening and sun protection.

"What is this?" Looking at Dalia, she probably wanted to taste it.

It's not impossible to eat.

The ingredients of George's pearl cream include cucumber water, cream, and rose oil. They are all edible. Pearls can also be eaten, and they are also medicinal materials with remarkable effects.

"Be careful, this stuff is precious. It's made of cream, rose oil, and pearl powder." Every time George said something, Dalia's face turned darker.

Forget about butter and rose oil, grinding pearls into powder and mixing them into mud, is this what humans do? ! ! !
  "This is used to whiten the skin, repair aging and rough skin, and achieve the effect of making the skin soft, smooth, white and rosy, thus rejuvenating and making people young and beautiful." Every time George said something, Dally said Ya's eyes lit up.

"This, is this holy water?" Dalia exclaimed, there has never been such a magical thing.

George laughed loudly: "Yes, this is holy water."

Okay, Pearl Frost has a name.

This holy water is not the holy water in Journey to the West, don’t get me wrong.

This is holy water blessed by a priest.

"For me?" Dalia hugged the bowl tightly. She would fight for whoever wanted it from her.

"Use it once a day in the morning and evening. Make sure your skin is clean before use. I'll see the effect after half a month. If the effect is good, this thing can make a lot of money." George was also unscrupulous. The price of holy water is comparable to that of pearls. The price is about the same.

Pearls are sold in grams.

Cosmetics are similar.

It's just that the pearls used in cosmetics are not large, round and top-quality pearls, but defective products that are not of good enough quality to be used to make jewelry.

Just guess how many grams of pearl cream can be made from one gram of pearls?

Saying it would scare Dalia to death.

Before George had time to see the effect, Ya San's anniversary celebration came.

George finally met the person he wanted to see.

What George wants to see is Zeng Jize, the Qing ambassador to Russia.

Zeng Jize was the second son of Zeng Guofan and the plenipotentiary ambassador of the Qing Empire to Britain, France and Russia. In 1881, Zeng Jize negotiated and signed the "Ili Treaty" with Russia on behalf of the Qing Empire and Russia, successfully restoring the Tekes River south of Ili. Territories such as river basins.

This was something that had never happened in the history of the Russian Empire.

The British Minister in Russia praised Zeng Jize for retrieving occupied land from Russia through diplomacy. Zeng was actually the first person to do this.

Through Zeng Jize, George hoped to obtain a large number of wage workers from the Qing empire.

If the number is not large, George can easily do it by finding the comprador of the empire without having to go through anyone.

If a large number of people were to be hired, the official cooperation of the Qing Empire would be indispensable.

There is precedent for this kind of thing. When the United States was building the Pacific Railway, it hired a large number of workers from the Qing Empire.

In 1879, Brazil hoped to establish diplomatic relations with the Qing Empire, with the same purpose of hiring Chinese workers.

The Qing Empire agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Brazil, but rejected Brazil's request to hire workers on the grounds that Chinese workers were mistreated by the Americans when they were building the Pacific Railway in the United States.

(End of this chapter)