Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1757 Rubber Smoke Line ([-])

If Yantai Port is the political and economic center of the East Coast people in Denglai, then Jiaozhou Port is the military center of the East Coast people here.In this city formed by relying on the fortress and the military port, there are stationed the Seventh Mixed Battalion (which has been rebuilt from the south), the Qingdao Fortress Garrison, and a servant division that is normally rotated. The Sixth Division of Zhen's Servant Army has 5000 soldiers—in addition, in nearby Jimo County, there are 3000 members of Chen Quanzhong's Fourth Division, and the total strength is about 1.2.

Jiaozhou Port is also an important military port. Ships from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk Squadron of the Navy’s Third Fleet go south to spend the winter here every winter to maintain ships, train soldiers, go out to patrol, etc. The workers of the Navy’s Jiaozhou Ship Repair Plant come here every year. Always busy.

Some people once had some objections to the establishment of modern ship repair yards in Denglai cities such as Yantai and Jiaozhou. They believed that this might lead to the diffusion of technology and violate the local principle of technology blockade against major powers—in principle, China, India, Ottoman , Russia and other major powers blockade technologies—but considering that merchants from the United Provinces, England, Portugal, and even France began to pour into the ports of the Qing and Ming states, and while trading with them, they also imported a lot of industrial technology and military technology. This has greatly improved the overall technical level on the land of China.It would be meaningless to blockade at this time, because even if the technology of the Europeans is not as advanced as that of the East Coast, the gap is only in mechanization, and there is no essential difference.In addition, people on the east coast really have an urgent need for ship repairs. Therefore, the original simple ship maintenance stations in these two core port cities have introduced a large number of engineers and technicians and special machinery and equipment, making it necessary to go to Rishiri Island, Ships undergoing maintenance in Dabo Port, Heishui Port and other places were diverted to Yantai and Jiaozhou on a large scale.You must know that in the past, the ship repair shops in these two ports could only perform simple maintenance work for limited ships due to their limited strength. Now that they have been upgraded to ship repair shops, their strength has indeed improved qualitatively.

In recent years, a small amount of steam equipment has also been allowed to be introduced into these two ship repair yards, which has further improved their repair and maintenance capabilities, and the ship repair business is booming. Even the Bank of Taiwan and other private ships have come here. Maintenance has trained a large number of industrial workers.

These industrial workers and their families, as well as officials, soldiers, businessmen and their families, constitute the main body of citizens in Jiaozhou City.They usually live in the Jiaozhou Fortress, which has been expanded once. The security is high, the supplies are sufficient, and the environment is good. Apart from one or two state-run shops that supply grain, oil and daily necessities, there are almost no entertainment facilities in the city.

On the outskirts of Jiaozhou City, some residential areas have emerged one after another over the years. These are similar to those around Yantai City, with handicraft workers, small traders, commercial employees (mainly employees of teahouses, restaurants, brothels, etc.), agricultural operators Mainly, it serves the residents of Jiaozhou City.Their existence also makes Jiaozhou City more alive, making it look more like a place where human beings live, rather than a murderous war machine.

"Jiaozhou is the same as Yantai. To be honest, it is a bit 'boring'. The most prosperous and interesting city in Denglai is undoubtedly Penglai County, the former seat of Dengzhou Prefecture. Because it is Dong Dalang's territory, he has almost nothing. No matter, just let him go, as long as he receives the amount of money and food that satisfies him every month." Jiang Yunfan pointed at the tall outline of Jiaozhou City, and said: "Yantai City is similar to Jiaozhou City. The original location is barren and there is nothing. Until later fortresses and piers were built. Therefore, these cities have complete military functions, but they are not suitable for living. People will feel depressed, boring, and tense in them. The enemy can take advantage of it, and no residential areas are allowed within two or three kilometers of the Yantai and Jiaozhou fortresses. I think this is a bit harsh and stifles the potential of urban development.”

"You see, I usually live in the city of Yantai, and I usually work in the city. But once I am free, I am more willing to go far to enjoy the real life. The most exciting place in Yantai County will never be in Yantai city , and outside the city!" Jiang Yunfan was still talking, only to hear him say: "Fortunately, Jiaozhou City has undergone some changes now! Vice President Xu, look, there is a large area in the hinterland south of the fortress. The land was demarcated, separated from the restrictions of the military area, and began to operate businesses, and this was also approved by the resigned Liao Xiaoyao Commander Liao, and Sun Chunyang Nanhuo Shop, Taiwan Bank and other companies have already started here Buying land and real estate, I am ready to show my strengths. In the future, the goods handled by Jiaozhou Port, except for military supplies, will be moved here. The future development prospects are promising. Ah, yes! The land approved for your company is also here That piece, well, it was agreed in advance that the piece near the sea can be used to repair the railway station, freight yard and commercial wholesale market. If the Jiaoyan Railway is fully connected in the future, it will be able to play a role by adding some wharf equipment here. .”

"If we do this, we have decided to pay attention to the development of this area. Also, Jiaozhou Bay Port is wide and deep, and it is a first-class good port in North China. There is also an agricultural base in Jimo County nearby to supply food. It really has everything necessary for development. Factors. However, have you thought about attracting merchants from any place to trade?" Xu Xiangdong asked.

"Everywhere, even the Dutch and the British want it! Even though our population in Denglei has been diverted several times, it is now more than 150 million people, and the gap between the rich and the poor is very small, and the consumption power is still there. Absolutely Can digest foreign goods." Jiang Yunfan said in a slightly joking tone: "Actually, we hope that the Dutch will reach a fixed trade relationship with us. In the past, they sometimes came and sometimes did not come, sometimes they traded in Yantai, and sometimes they traded in Jiaozhou. The trade volume and the quantity of goods are also uncertain, and there are a lot of troubles. This time, because of the changes in the relationship between the two countries, they will not come to trade directly, which is quite annoying. There are some thieves in England who dare to take risks. They came to Jiaozhou to trade with us, mainly to purchase high-grade furs, medicinal materials, wine and other commodities, but unfortunately the quantity is not very large."

"They still have doubts about us, and it is common for them not to come to trade for the time being. But now some bold and smart people have made a demonstration. I believe that there should be more European businessmen coming to trade in the future, right? Especially It is the French who are latecomers. They have been trying to open up trade breakthroughs like headless chickens. I think they will come to us to try their luck sooner or later when the Ming and Qing countries cannot compete with the Dutch, Portuguese and English. It's a pity that this country's seafaring tradition is not strong enough, and the number of trading ships is not comparable to the above-mentioned countries. It is really hard to say how much trade it will bring." After thinking for a while, Xu Xiangdong responded to Jiang Yunfan: "The future of the Jiaoyan Railway The profit still has to be based on Denglei itself. The circulation of goods between states and counties is the foundation, and foreign trade is unreliable after all. By the way, why don’t you bring the East Coast Japanese Company and the East Coast Korean Company over here? ?Their annual trade volume is quite large, and if they can set up a large cargo yard in Yantai or Jiaozhou, it should be very interesting. Isn't Deputy Commander Wei not tempted?"

"East Bank North Korea Company has set up a cargo yard in Yantai Port, mainly dealing in Korean medicinal materials, grain, honey, iron materials and other commodities. The scale is not bad. However, the trade of East Bank Japan Company will be much poorer. Some commodities such as swords, screens, folding fans, and seafood are not in bulk trade, and it is difficult to sell them in volume. Therefore, they have not paid much attention to the market here before, and this time they started to set up in Yantai and Jiaozhou respectively. It’s an office, but it doesn’t seem to care too much. It should be that the market is limited. Wasn’t it a joke that the biggest commodity that East Coast Japanese Company exports to Denglai is probably those who live in difficulties and can’t get enough to eat. Japanese ronin, right? Those guys, Liaodong is willing to spend money to be a death squad and cannon fodder.” Jiang Yunfan commented on the operation of the two companies, and there was no shortage of complaints about the Japanese companies on the east coast.

"Hehe, Japan has been at peace for many years, and the shogunate has deliberately reduced the number of foreign daimyos, which led to the unemployment of many samurai! These samurai have become a social problem in Japan. They left Japan to make a living, and General Tokugawa probably did too. I'm happy to see it come to fruition. But what you just said is right. Apart from swords, folding fans, screens and a pitiful amount of seafood, Japan really has nothing worth exporting to us. Copper sheet, sulfur, The main consumer market for lead blocks has always been the primary military industry in Sakhalin Island, and there are indeed very few that can be sold into Denglei. It is no wonder that Japanese companies on the east coast do this kind of trade without pain or itching. Their biggest The customers are actually local, after all, gold and copper are urgently needed commodities in the local area, Denglai does not have this demand.” Xu Xiangdong climbed a small slope, looking at the blue sea in the distance and the seaside is starting construction With the construction of the railway station, I suddenly felt refreshed.

The two key nodes and core cities of Yantai and Jiaozhou are connected by a railway with a length of about 225 kilometers, and this railway will also connect six counties along the line (Jiaozhou, Jimo, Laiyang, Qixia, Fushan, Yantai). With a population of 10, it radiates to two nearby cities with large populations, including Ninghai Prefecture and Jiaoxian County, and the effect is huge.

Xu Xiangdong reckoned that it would take about four or five years to complete the construction of this railway, and then it would be debugged and tested, and commercial operation might begin at a certain time in 1683.By that time, if all goes well and there are no major changes, the total population of Denglai may be about 170 million people, and there must be many more factories, workshops, and shops than now. It's a pity that the mainland has never approved the overseas operation of cable telegraph, otherwise the Jiaoyan Railway will have more gold-making tools.

Of course, the Jiaoyan Line Railway may suffer losses to a certain extent in the first few years of operation.However, as the so-called compensation for losses inside the dike and outside the dike, we can also make up for the losses incurred in railway operations through the operation of affiliated areas, which have mature supporting plans in the local area.In particular, Denglai is not like the local area, and the Jiaoyan Railway mostly passes through densely populated areas, which are much better than the local conditions. Therefore, it should not take a few years to reverse the trend of losses and start trying to make profits. Xu Xiangdong is quite confident about what he understands.

As for the Taorong Line Railway that was also planned - well, it has now been officially upgraded to the Pingrong Line - its construction may need to wait a little longer, at least until the Jiaoyan Line Railway is stable and profitable. Consider it, otherwise the financial pressure will be too great.Of course, if the situation changes—such as a full-scale war with the Qing Dynasty—then it is not ruled out that the Pingrong Line Railway, which has more military uses, may be built immediately, because at this time, the Southern Railway Company has made it clear that it will obtain With a large amount of funds and in-kind subsidies from governments at all levels, the financial pressure will be much smaller.

After thinking about this, Xu Xiangdong, who was in a good mood, greeted him and headed towards Jiaozhou City with his followers.Not far in front of them, Jiaozhou Bay was calm and calm. More than a dozen ships were leisurely berthed in the port, and two of them even flew the flag of England, which was quite surprising.

The arrival of these ships may be more or less related to the toss of the East Coast Navy outside Xiangshui Port in Qing Dynasty last year.During the months-long military operation to seal off the port, many foreign ships going for trade were either captured or sunk by people on the east coast. The foreign trade of the Qing Dynasty, which had existed for many years, was severely damaged. Not a few years is not enough.And these foreign businessmen obviously couldn't wait for a few years without doing business, so many of them went to Ningbo to trade with the Bank of Taiwan, and the remaining few, it seems, also came to Jiaozhou at present, it should be to try their luck—— ——They are lucky. Recently, Jiaozhou Port has shipped a large number of high-quality ironware, hardware products, and labor tools produced in Sakhalin Island. There is a great demand in Southeast Asia and India. It is a good trade product for exchanging special products with the local natives. The people purchased a lot, intending to ship them to Surat and other places for sale in exchange for Indian specialties.

"These lucky people, even if they only run back and forth between India and Denglai to do business, they should be able to make a fortune. Of course, this is related to the fact that the Chinese government has not really gone to India for business development." Xu Xiangdong thought.

(End of this chapter)