Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1744 Big Inspection ([-])

It's 1677, almost 47 years since the East Coasters first landed.In these 47 years, various undertakings have made great progress. They have established a country with a population of more than 300 million in the southern New World. They produce a large amount of materials every year, and hundreds of thousands of tons of ships gallop all over the world. , spreading the glory of the East Coast Republic of China to the outside world all the time.

47 years later, agriculture is still the largest industry on the east coast, but the forms of agricultural management have become more and more diversified. There are not only large-scale farmers who lease state land, but also small businesses such as market gardeners and fruit growers. Mode of operation.Of course, there are more business forms such as agricultural cooperatives now, and the rural economy is becoming more and more dynamic. Although there is a certain gap in overall income compared with that of the working class, it is still quite good.

Many people criticize the agricultural policy that has been gradually established since the time of Liu Weimin, which has caused a large number of people to be fixed on the land. However, when the population has reached 400 million (including non-national laborers) and the torrent of life has become irresistible, the labor force in other industries Although it is still lacking, it does not have the feeling of a huge gap.Many people have already begun to predict that, perhaps within a few years, the crowds in streets, mines, factories, shops, and farms will become denser, and the development of industry and commerce will reach a new level.

In this semi-industrialized country with an increasing population, many of the commodities produced each year are more than what they need. Depending on the product category, it may range from 20% to 80%.In 1675, the East Coast Republic of China exported a total of 1210 million yuan of various materials (including exports to the colonies), including a large number of weapons and ammunition, hardware products-this is the third largest industry in the country, second only to agriculture and construction , that is, the processing and manufacturing of the five traditional metals such as gold, silver, copper, iron and tin - daily necessities, machinery and equipment, and unprocessed agricultural products.

The above-mentioned exports of goods on the east coast corresponded to the re-export of the same large number of foreign and colonial goods in that year.The scale of this kind of trade is huge, and the variety is dazzling. Almost all kinds of specialties that can be collected in the Far East San Francisco, Australia, Tahiti, Rabaul, and Xinhua Island are listed one by one, sometimes even including some Strange things, such as narwhal teeth, appeared one by one in the warehouses of Qingdao Port, and then sold them at the fair.Of course, commodities like narwhal teeth are rare after all. The most common commodities are still tea, porcelain, brocade, silk cloth, coffee, sugar, tobacco, cocoa, pepper, sisal, vanilla, etc. Now there is a lot of rubber.

"The re-export trade is very large almost every year, especially in some special years with active economic activities. This is based on the rising overseas economic power of our country. Many years ago we exported coconuts to the old continent. Recently, some Years disappeared, and sisal was added quickly. That is to say, every time a commodity disappears from the re-export list, a new commodity will appear, so this kind of re-export trade is actually very stable. Yes." In the most luxurious office of the Qingdao Port Expo Hall, Huang Chao, the magistrate of the county, was explaining to Qi Wangping.

Qi Wangping is over 70 years old this year, and has served as the chairman of the executive committee for more than two terms. It is basically determined that he will retire by the end of this year or next year.Therefore, before retiring, he intends to take a train to tour the main places of the country to see what the country they have built all their lives looks like now.

The Star of La Plata train that Qi Wangping took departed from the capital Dongfang County. After arriving at the Qingdao County Railway Station, he went straight to the Qingdao Expo Hall.Local officials such as the county magistrate of Qingdao and the curator of the Expo also temporarily stopped their work, and they all attended the scene to report various situations to Chairman Qi Da.

"Qingdao County is now the country's largest commodity export port, and it is also an undoubted shipping center and financial center. Bank of Plata, Commercial Clearing Bank and other institutions have their headquarters here, and they all go here because of the unique conditions.” The county magistrate Huang Chao continued to introduce: “So we are not only goods—whether it is harvested from the field creditors to hundreds of ships, banks, insurance companies and various labor activities, especially ship labor services , our country now has a merchant shipping tonnage of over 20 tons, an astonishing amount, second only to the United Provinces and England."

"Therefore, in a country like ours, in a city like the port of Tsingtao, any news about changes in the supply or price of commodities is extremely sensitive, and we are used to dealing with all this, and the sophisticated financial machinery on the Avenue of the Fair will put All this is recorded. Sometimes larger turmoil—such as the changes brought about by the contraction of the Franco-Dutch War, such as the difficulties brought about by the harsh weather on the Atlantic Ocean—will cause trouble for Merlin, Chengshan, Tieling, Pingan, etc. Major industrial areas bring difficulties. Of course wars don't always bring depressions, the war between Poland and Turkey has brought us huge benefits, which smooths out some of the wounds caused by the Dutch tearing up commercial agreements. At the end of the introduction, Huang Chao talked about the current international trade situation and some domestic countermeasures, and only heard him say: "Of course, it is a series of government projects vigorously promoted by the state that have completely reversed the above problems, such as railways, highways, Huge investments in docks, municipal construction, flood control, etc. are decisive."

"It's very good, and I'm very pleased to hear it." After the report came to an end, Qi Wangping nodded slightly and said: "We built this country with a lot of hard work, but we didn't expect that it would develop into what it is today in a few decades. Look, at the beginning, we could only ride horses when we went out, but now we have such a beautiful train ride; when we caught a fish in the Big Fish Lake, several people shared it, but now Nanhai Fishery Company and other enterprises transport it every three months Back to all kinds of catches; Needless to say, the tens of thousands of bison on the Pampa Plain are the best gift given to believers by Tianzun, which is inexhaustible. I am over 70 years old this year, jumping In a few years, this country will still rely on you to steer it, promise me not to let it sink, but to make it great forever."

After meeting with a group of officials, Qi Wangping went down to a super-large conference room on the second floor of the Expo Hall to hold a discussion with some businessmen with large scale and high social status.In fact, he is also very familiar with the businessmen present here, such as the brothers Ku Youcai (investment in shipping and trade), Ku Youfu (investment in stocks and road goods), such as the three brothers of the Liang family, Liang Shoucheng, Liang Gang, and Liang Qiangdong. Qiang Xiaoman of the pawn shop (actually a financial broker and lender) and so on.

These people are basically the second generation, and they did not choose to go into politics, but made their way in the business world.After many years of operation, he has accumulated a lot of wealth, and he is also a member of the new Qingdao County Political Consultative Conference. Both wealth and social reputation are quite high. When it comes to this Political Consultative Conference, the country is probably already More than 70 counties have set up such institutions, and the committee members are divided strictly according to the proportion to ensure that there are representatives from all walks of life, but the largest number are undoubtedly business owners, because they have great influence and experience far beyond those farmers, Worker or sailor representative.

Political consultation meetings are also held regularly. The committee speaks freely at the meeting, discusses the affairs of the country, and offers suggestions on matters related to the county's economic development, publicity and education, and then forms a written report to the county leaders for review and discretion.This model is now being promoted more and more across the country, especially in some newly established counties, because the arduous land reclamation or construction work requires the joint efforts of the whole county, so the suggestions of the Political Consultative Conference have a very important effect on the county leaders. so big.

Even, I heard that the central government is also preparing to build the National Political Consultative Conference, intending to select representatives of various industries to enter, as a powerful supplement to the National People's Congress (it is said that it is currently preparing to be renamed the "Conference of the Founders") dominated by time-travelers and their direct descendants, This seems to herald the germs of a change in the political model on the East Bank.

Qi Wangping still had an impression of many business representatives present, especially Liang Qiangdong, the boss of Qiangdong Trading Company who had just returned to Qingdao from the Free State of North America, and the youngest son of Liang Xiangjian, the current executive member of the Central Committee.So as soon as he was seated, he called Liang Qiangdong's name and said, "Liang Qiangdong, I still remember you! Back then, in order to get the approval to export arms to the Free State, he ran around various departments for three days, and his temper was irritable, and he was a little unsatisfactory." Just quarreling with people, even I have heard your name. How about it, after so many years, Qiangdong Trading Company should grow into a large enterprise, right?"

"Chairman Qi still remembers my name. I'm really flattered." Liang Qiangdong stood up immediately when he heard the words, and said with trepidation: "Thanks to the strength of the motherland, Qiangdong Trading Company is now in Xinjing, Rehe in Free State. , Fengtian and other places have taken root and opened branches. Now they sell local products from there to the mainland, and then sell some daily necessities, ironware and arms from the mainland. Oh, sometimes they also help the immigration department and South Africa. On the one hand, some Black Eight Banners officers and soldiers and their families were transported to the north to settle in the Free State. Over the years, the company has indeed grown a lot. At present, the company has got rid of the image of a pure trading company and has begun to set foot in the shipping industry. Its capacity has reached 3400 tons. There are four A flute-shaped transport ship and two armed merchant ships converted from decommissioned gunboats. Air Canada sees that we have done a good job, and now has listed us as a first-level agent, which gives the company an excellent opportunity for development. Hehe, everything It’s all thanks to the country’s blessing, and if the country is strong, our business will be easy to do.”

"It's not easy to be a first-level agent of Air Canada. As far as I know, Air Canada is still very strict in issuing the agent's license. If you can be a first-level agent, it proves that you meet their qualifications. It's really not easy." Qi Wangping was a little surprised after hearing this, and then asked with a smile: "You just came back from North America for less than a week, and all you know is first-hand news, tell me, what's going on there now gone?"

"The free state has been relatively stable and developed rapidly in the past few years." Liang Qiangdong replied: "The war between them and the Indians for many years is gradually showing signs of cessation. It has been greatly reduced, and it has started to develop the economy. Of course, this is under the guidance of our people (currently the leaders of many departments in the Free State are still Xhosa blacks, but the deputy positions are all from the East Coast, and in many cases, the deputy positions have the final say). This country has never conducted a rigorous census, but on the eve of my departure, some officials of Ming Dynasty in their country told me that after the whole country has experienced wars, plagues and famines, there are still about 2.8 people. And if you add some Indian efforts captured in the war, the national population should break 3, maybe 3.1 to 3.2."

"The religion of this country has been basically unified by our Taoism, and the belief of Tianzun has been spread to every corner. Buddhism spread from the East also has a place, but it is a minority and only spread in a small area. The children of high-level nobles Most of them have studied in the east coast and can read and write Chinese proficiently. However, the literacy rate of the lower class citizens is very low. Most of them cannot understand Chinese (or can only understand simple daily conversations), let alone write , Daily communication is in Xhosa dialect, which urgently needs to be improved.” Liang Qiangdong continued to answer: “This country mainly grows rice and corn, and exports mainly high-quality oak, medicinal herbs, leather, flax, tobacco, and plant dyes (mainly exported The country is the east coast, because the east coast policy is inclined to them, and it is stipulated that a certain amount of free state specialty products should be imported every year). A longer recuperation period, and at the same time speed up the transport of black laborers and the South African Black Eight Banners to enrich their strength. Otherwise, I am afraid that their future prospects will be bleak, because the British colony of Carolina The development of Florida is also extremely fast, and the Kingdom of Spain is also increasing immigration to Florida, which is a very real threat."

"Your worries are very reasonable, but please rest assured about this matter. As long as our Eastern China Republic remains a free state for a day, they will not have any major problems. I am still confident about this." Qi Wangping laughed after listening He smiled, and then told everyone in the room with an imposing sentence, only to hear him continue: "When we old men step back-in fact, there are not many people now-I believe that the country will be under the leadership of you young people. With hard work, it will definitely get better and better, and the Free State, as our only dependent country and a nail wedged into the North American continent, will definitely get better and better."

(End of this chapter)