Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1752 Southern Railway Transformation ([-])

On January 1677, 1, it was a sunny day in the port of Araucan in the southern cone.

In a certain shipyard of the Pacific Shipyard under the Southern Railway Company, the maintenance work on the three-masted sailboat "Andes Condor" has reached the middle stage.Dozens of craftsmen and apprentices have already replaced the ship planks that were severely damaged by sea maggots, and at the same time cleaned up a large number of barnacles, seaweed and other plankton attached to the bottom of the ship.These things are really slowing down the speed of the ship. If it is not cleaned up, the ship will hardly be able to move.

The next period of work is to put a layer of tar and sulfur mixture on the bottom of the boat, and then fix some iron nails or glass slag on it to increase the difficulty of plankton attachment.It would probably cost a thousand yuan to complete the whole process, and if the cost of replacing rotten wood, masts, cables and repairing canvas was included, it might be even higher.It can be seen from this that sailing in this era is not only a high-risk thing, but also a high-cost thing, and the boat industry has always been an enduring industry.

"This ship is only about [-] tons, and it crosses the entire Pacific Ocean. Is it reliable?" Standing on the top balcony of a villa outside the shipyard, Xu Xiangdong, holding a cigarette, pointed at the "Andean Condor" that was being renovated, and looked towards his own. My friend Yu Xingguo asked.

"This is the third time you have asked me today." Yu Xingguo, who was drinking yerba mate, put down his white porcelain teacup helplessly, spread his hands, and said, "It must be safe—— er, well, at least It is relatively safe. You must know that many of the merchant ships that shuttle between the New World and French ports such as Bordeaux, La Rochelle, and Nantes are only 50 tons, which is one-tenth of the "Andes Condor". Crossing the Pacific Ocean The Spanish galleons in Manila are only 200-250 tons, and many of the merchant ships from England to China are less than 200 tons. They are still alive and kicking, why are you worried? If it is not possible, You don't want to go this time, just send someone you can trust to go to the Far East, my lord vice president."

"The merchant ships of the British and Portuguese are alive and kicking, and the accident rate is more than one-third. Have you never heard that no ship can go back and forth between China and Europe three times in a row? Although it is the old calendar of the 16th century , now the ship is bigger and the technology is more advanced, but sailing is still a game for the brave. Otherwise, why wouldn’t a big businessman like you, Boss Yu, refuse to experience the great feat of crossing the Pacific? ?" Xu Xiangdong took a puff of cigarette, and continued to argue with his friend, as if to relieve the boredom in his heart.

"You really don't want to provoke me so much. In the years when I was a young man, I crossed the Pacific Ocean more than once with a boat. If it weren't for the fact that I am getting older and my mother strongly opposes it, I really don't mind doing it again. A brave one. In fact, it’s interesting to think about the pirates in Somo in the Caribbean Sea. You said that he would rather give up his status as a member of the Founders’ Council to his younger brother, and go to the sea freely, right? Do you also look down on those of us who are busy all day long?" Yu Xingguo leaned on a rocking chair, and there was a feeling of leisurely fascination in his expression.

"Okay, don't talk about what's there. The 500-ton three-masted sailing ship is still okay, and now it has been refurbished. If something happens and sinks midway, then I have nothing to say. Fate! I, Xu, have no destiny to continue to be rich and honored! In short, I must go to Denglei this time, otherwise, why should I be the president of the Southern Railway Company?" Xu Xiangdong took another puff of cigarette , and said with a wry smile: "Don't think that I am the executive vice president. I seem to be the second person in the company, but there are many competitors. Which one has no roots? If I don't go to Denglai this time, there must be someone else Willing to go, in case people get things done there and lay the foundation for the company's development in the next few decades, then I can only continue to sit in the position of vice president. The head of the company must be Someone else's, there's no doubt about that."

In fact, to a certain extent, Xu Xiangdong was right.Although he is the executive vice president of the company and the next head of the Southern Railway Company recognized by many army veterans, he has not been officially appointed after all.Moreover, the Army is a group that pays attention to rules after all. Once someone is willing to travel across the ocean to Denglai at this time, negotiate with local officials on the construction of the Jiaoyan Line and the Taorong Line Railway, and determine the future number of the South Railway Company. If the profit growth point of ten years, one can imagine how much credit this is, and it is not impossible to be promoted from the middle and high level of the company to the president.Therefore, Xu Xiangdong, the prince of the South Railway, had to go to Yantai by boat, lest his reserved throne be cut off by others.

"Actually, the South Railway has basically decided to shift its focus of development to mainland China. It is also your intention to travel across the ocean to Denglai. Go, go, go there and build a good team. Draw some benefits, and the company will not escape your palm in the future." Yu Xingguo said softly: "My 'Antarctic Wolf' has been out for two years and hasn't come back. This time, the 'Andes Condor' will send you to Denglai. , It will be half a year on the road. If you talk about something and do some work, I guess I won’t see you in three years, right? Thinking about it, it’s strange to miss, or I’ll go all out this time and go with you Let's go, how about it? You know, I am also a senior captain, registered in the Port of Araucan, and a serious navigator."

"Three years? You are too optimistic, less than!" Xu Xiangdong dusted off the cigarette ash and said with a smile: "Without four or five years, I will never come back. It will take a year on the way to go—if I am lucky If it is good enough to be able to arrive in Yantai alive-then deal with various affairs, run for the railway line, negotiate conditions with the local government, ask for land, money, and supplies, and then participate in the planning of the specific railway route and other preliminary work, and finally personally Supervising the construction of the railway line for some time, it would be nice if I could come back before the new year in 1681, how could I return home in three years. Hehe, that can only be imagined in my dreams! So, less than, I am really special sometimes I envy you, you are free, without too much pressure, how wonderful!"

"Hehe, every family has scriptures that are difficult to recite, but I seldom recite them in front of you." Yu Xingguo smiled when he heard this, lay on the rocking chair and waved his hands, saying: "Go, go, anyway The franchise monopoly of Peru trade will expire at the end of next year. By then, your company’s business volume should shrink to a certain extent. Even if it still occupies the largest share of trade at the beginning, as time goes by, decline is inevitable. Now is the time to look for new profit growth. But with all due respect, you may never find a business that makes as much money as the Southern Cone Railroad. You know what I mean, and I'm not talking about railroads. The freight, but the benefits brought by the accompanying trade monopoly. Even if you repair it in the future, what are they called—ah, yes, they are called Jiaoyan Line and Taorong Line—two railways, it is estimated that the You can only earn some freight, and if you are exhausted, there will be some income from the railway annex, which is nothing compared to the benefits of the Peru trade."

"This is also inevitable. We have monopolized Peru's trade for so many years, and we have achieved business in the five major trade centers of Maureen, Lima, Guayaquil, Panama, and Acapulco. We do business worth several million yuan every year. I know how many people are jealous. Therefore, the trade monopoly will expire at the end of next year, and once the railway is handed over ten years later, there will really be nothing left. As you can see, the local government affairs have basically been handed over to the Government Council in the past two years Many counties have been separated from the jurisdiction of Nantie, and they are serious national lands, and Nantie's power has shrunk dramatically." Xu Xiangdong sat back in the house, lit a cigarette for himself, and frowned Said: "So this time, President Mao Desheng Mao worked hard and finally got the executive committee to agree to build a railway in the Far East Denglai area. Otherwise, the future of the Southern Railway may not be very optimistic."

In the past one or two years, the Southern Railway Company has consciously begun to transform. For example, some unimportant assets have gradually been liquidated and cashed out to obtain enough funds to purchase various railway equipment and go to the Far East to build railways. Strictly speaking, the Southern Railway The company is actually not very short of money, but this time they want to build the Jiaoyan Line and the Taorong Line Railway at the same time. This is just to make big news, and the financial burden has suddenly increased. The sale of assets of the Southern Railway Transportation Company, the Southern Iron Flour Mill, the Southern Iron Tannery, the Southern Iron Oil Press, the Southern Iron Brick Kiln, and several scattered lumber mills and timber Processing plant for sale.

Those who own these enterprises are either rich local households (generally need to unite to take over one), or foreign investors, or state-owned enterprises (such as Nanhai Group, which swallowed the Southern Railway Transportation Company), providing the Southern Railway Company with They paid close to 100 million yuan in cash, which is enough for them to build more than [-] kilometers of railways in the Far East.

Of course, the more profitable enterprises under the Southern Railway, such as the Southern Railway Trading Company, the Southern Railway Brewery, the Southern Railway Fishery Company, the Southern Railway Machinery Processing Plant, and the Pacific Shipyard, are still under control. means to sell.In addition, institutions such as Nantie Weekly News, Nantie Sanatorium, Nantie Medical Research Institute, Nantie Women's and Children's Hospital, and Nantie Guest House, which still undertake many functions, will not be sold for the time being and will remain in the company's hands.

All in all, after obtaining the permission of the executive committee to build overseas railways, the Southern Railway Company has now strengthened its determination and began to sell some unnecessary assets on the east coast, so that it can have greater strength to start investing in the Jiaoyan Line, Taorong The construction of the first-line railway, after all, is the future of the Southern Railway Company.

As the executive vice president of the company, Xu Xiangdong has reviewed many documents and checked many accounts. He knows that the company has communicated with shareholders several years in advance and greatly reduced the proportion of dividends. Undistributed profits of more than 100 million yuan.If you count the small 100 million cash raised from the sale of various assets under its name, the Southern Railway Company now holds 200 million yuan in cash. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as "wealthy and powerful", because this Money, really can do too many things!

According to the plan of the Southern Railway Company, the 200 million yuan will basically be spent in the local area to purchase and stockpile a large amount of railway equipment, recruit qualified technical personnel, and rent transport ships.As for the labor costs for leveling the foundation and laying the railroad tracks in Denglai, as well as the workers’ board and lodging and medical expenses, we will have to figure out a way at that time—since the Denglai pioneer team wants to lure them to repair the railway, how can they do nothing, and there is no benefit at all. out?Lastly, they also have to find a way to recruit a large number of laborers to reduce the labor costs of the railway construction department.In addition, it is also reasonable to seek a certain amount of low-interest loans from companies such as the Bank of Taiwan. Otherwise, why would the Southern Railway Company go there to build the railway?

This time Xu Xiangdong went to Denglai by boat. One of the main tasks was to negotiate with local officials on details such as personnel requisition, food supply, and bank loans. In addition, technical issues related to railway construction would be involved. .It can even be said that the progress of the construction of Jiaoyan Line and Taorong Line directly depends on the support of the Denglai Pioneering Team Government for their Southern Railway Company.Originally, the South Railway had already talked with Liao Xiaoyao, the commander of the Denglai Pioneering Team. Commander Liao also supported this very much. Conscript manpower locally to assist them in building railways.

However, when the Southern Railway Company learned that Commander Liao Xiaoyao had boarded a ship and returned to the mainland on the east coast (currently the captain of the Denglai pioneering team was represented by Liu Jianguo, while the captain of the Blackwater pioneering team was transferred from the local area by Chen Ke They realized that there might be variables in all this, so they finally decided to send a high-level figure to the Far East in person to deal with the current relatively complicated situation there.

Therefore, under such a background, Xu Xiangdong finally took the initiative to ask for a job, and after obtaining the approval of the company's president Mao Desheng, he decided to leave for Denglai to run for the future of the Southern Railway Company.Today is the first ten days of January 1677, and he and about a dozen of his entourage have been waiting in the port of Araucan for several days. According to the current work progress of the Pacific Shipyard, it will be over in about a week or so. After the maintenance work of the ship, the cargo and personnel were loaded, and the journey arrived at Yantai Port under the jurisdiction of the Denglai Pioneering Team via the Turtle Islands, Tahiti, and Rabaul.Calculating the time, we arrived in Shandong almost exactly in the summer and autumn when the southeast wind blows off the coast of China, and the whole journey took about half a year.

(End of this chapter)