Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1809 Layout and Compromise

Lu Xiaofeng didn't come back from the "hunting tour" until November 11th, which made Xu Xiangdong, the vice president of the Southern Railway who had been waiting for more than a month, even more dissatisfied.At any rate, their company is also a well-known large-scale enterprise in the local area, with many branches. At present, the core assets still in hand include the Southern Cone and Two Oceans Railway, Xingnan Port Wharf, Araucan Port Wharf, Nantie Fishery Company, South Railway Iron trading company and many other very profitable enterprises, their annual turnover, to be honest, can't compare with the sale of the Blackwater Pioneering Team.

What is the result now?Chen Ke, the captain of the Blackwater Pioneering Team, first put forward a very unreasonable request (to help them build the railway), and his attitude was tough. He did not hesitate to threaten the future source of trade goods of the Southern Railway, which forced Xu Xiangdong to take a boat from Yantai to come to The Vladivostok Port, which is still under construction, is extinguished.Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived here, he was told that Chen Ke returned to Miaojie County urgently for some reason, to deal with several local riots, and entrusted the full authority to discuss matters to Lu Xiaofeng, the new commissioner of the Wusuli River District Administrative Office and the commander of the security. It is even more dissatisfying.

But that's fine, let's talk about it with Lu Xiaofeng, it's such a big deal, both left and right refuse.But this guy actually led troops to various native tribes to declare his prestige, and then waited for more than a month before returning, which made the restless Xu Xiangdong almost angry.I believe that if the weather hadn't suddenly turned cold this year, fine ice floes had already begun to appear in the coastal waters. If he wanted to take risks in sailing, he would have returned to Shandong by boat, so as not to be angry in this poor place.

But no matter what, now that he is back, no matter how dissatisfied Xu Xiangdong is, he can only calm down a little, and have a good talk with him about investing in Vladivostok port and railways.

Lu Xiaofeng's return caused a commotion in the city, because he came to Vladivostok with hundreds of Jurchen captives and some tribal elders and leaders who expressed obedience.These indigenous people who have lived in the peninsula and the nearby Suifen River Basin have always been very realistic, and they will not cry when they see a coffin.In the past, they were subdued and scared by the Qing court, so they expressed their submission, paid them tribute, paid them off, and gained opportunities to trade with each other. At the same time, they received a little reward from there from time to time. The shore people caused a lot of trouble.

But now, firstly, the five settlements established by the people from the east bank along the Wusuli River have fought with them all year round. Isn't it big?In the years of fighting each other, the Qing court only dispatched soldiers and horses a few times, and only a few hundred people were dispatched at a time, which meant that most of the pressure was borne by the local natives.If the time is short, it's okay to say, if the time drags on as long as it is now, how do you know that they have no complaints?Even thinking about it is impossible!

This time Lu Xiaofeng mobilized hundreds of troops, with enough horses, water and ammunition, to clean up the native tribes on the Golden Horn Peninsula first, and then extended to the mouth of the Suifen River on the left. The Haixi Jurchen tribes had more than a thousand people, but their own casualties were only more than 100 (more than half of them were caused by enemy ambushes in a complex terrain). The native tribes, who had heard about the prestige of the people on the east coast, came to vote, and the situation opened up at once.

Lu Xiaofeng's next plan is to forcibly relocate some disobedient tribes that were defeated in this conquest to settle around Vladivostok.Then give some rewards to those tribal leaders who take the initiative to vote, such as rare items such as shredded tobacco, cane sugar, silk, spirits, etc., and give them some strictly controlled steel weapons, arrows, leather armor and even war horses (of course) It’s been gone), let them move to live near some traffic nodes, while shielding the safety of Vladivostok’s periphery, it is also connected to the Shuangchengzi area.

Xu Xiangdong patiently waited for Lu Xiaofeng for another two days.Two days later, that is, on November 11, the two parties sat face to face and discussed the investment in the Southern Railway.

"To be honest, our company's financial burden is very heavy now, and we simply cannot afford the plan to build two railways at the same time, not to mention that the second railway has no prospect of profitability." At the beginning, Xu Xiangdong was not polite He got straight to the point, and he continued: "My company has done a lot of preparatory work for the construction of the Jiaoyan Railway. We started inventory and liquidation of assets two or three years in advance, and negotiated with some customers who took over the project. At the same time, a general meeting of shareholders was held and a resolution was passed to suspend the distribution of profits for five years. For this reason, only 200 million yuan in cash was collected as the start-up capital of the Jiaoyan Railway. To be honest, the 200 million yuan is already what our company can achieve in the short term All the funds that can be obtained have been deposited in the special account of the Jiaoyan Railway Project at the United Industrial Credit Bank. They can be withdrawn at any time to purchase various railway equipment, pay various insurance transportation fees, and hire various engineering and technical personnel. On the Denglai side, we also borrowed 100 million yuan in cash from the Bank of Taiwan by pledging the railway to pay the allowance, board and lodging expenses for hiring migrant workers in Shandong to build the railway. This part is also a special fund and is stored in Taiwan. No one may misappropriate the bank’s special account for the Jiaoyan Railway project.”

"300 million yuan has been poured down, doesn't it seem like a lot? But let me tell you, Commissioner Lu, this amount of money is not enough. Our initial estimate was a bit too optimistic. Now it seems that the total cost of this railway Soaring to 400 million yuan is already a high probability event. Our company is worrying about this, trying to find ways to find funds. How can it be possible to spend extra money to build a road in an irrelevant place at this critical moment? What about the railway with no profit prospects?" Xu Xiangdong said.

What he said earlier about the cost of the Jiaoyan Railway is not entirely false.In fact, at present, it seems that the 200 million yuan cash raised by the Southern Railway Company is a bit tight in local expenses. It is true that the purchase of railway equipment is a big part, but the transportation and insurance costs are also quite a lot, and the employment costs of engineering and technical personnel (want to When people go to Denglai, they must get high wages and high subsidies), which should not be underestimated, so it is impossible to have enough spare time to support Denglai.

In Denglai, the 100 million yuan loaned from the Bank of Taiwan to pay the wages, board and lodging expenses of migrant workers is actually a bit tight. It is reasonable to say that it will take far less than four or five years. Enough for a year's expenses.At this time, it will be up to the Denglai pioneering team. They have a production and construction corps of more than 2 people (the rest have gradually immigrated to the east coast), and the expenses of this corps are all borne by themselves.People in Yantai, Fushan, Ninghaizhou, Qixia, Laiyang, Jimo, Jiaozhou, Jiaoxian and other places near the railway line are also regularly expropriated by the local government to work on the railway construction site. These expenses are also borne by the local government itself.

Calculated in this way, it means that the most terrible personnel costs have been internalized by the Denglai development team, and the burden on the Southern Railway Company has been greatly reduced. They only need to hire some additional migrant workers to build stations, freight yards and other railway ancillary facilities, and train future railways. staff of.If the expenditure is a little less, 100 million yuan is a bit tight, but the gap is not too big. You must know that the government of the Denglai pioneering team will also provide some food, draft animals, fodder and medicinal materials for the railway project every year, which also saves a considerable amount of expenses. .If the railway is built for four years, the value of this part may be in the millions, which is very impressive.

To sum up, if the Jiaoyan Railway can be completed in four years, the construction cost of this railway will be more than three million yuan.If the material aided by the Denglai Pioneering Team and the labor force conscripted are converted into it, the cost may have reached 500 million yuan, which is a full 2.5 times that of the local area, which is indeed amazing.At the same time, it can also be seen that the Southern Railway Corporation and the Denglai Development Team government have really worked hard for this railway, and the accumulated accumulation over the years has been exhausted. They really have no energy to build a second line, the Pingrong Line.

However, the Pingrong Line has no energy in a short period of time, so how can it be possible to have spare energy to build a railway on the Golden Horn Peninsula?

Lu Xiaofeng was a little dazed when he heard Xu Xiangdong say this, but he quickly adjusted his thinking and said: "Actually, Captain Chen has already explained to me about the cost issue. The Bank of Taiwan or the Northwest Reclamation Bank is Is it enough to borrow more money? The Jiaoyan Railway was pledged for a loan of 100 million yuan. This must be too little. I think we can borrow another 100 million yuan. If this is the case, let’s think about it with the North Koreans It is still possible to ask them to provide a labor force of less than 10. In this way, is it impossible to build the railway? At most, the difference is a few [-] yuan. Let us think of a way. Now Humabao The gold mine over there has resumed production, and it can always earn more than [-] yuan a year, which is almost the same after a few years. Vice President Xu, our sincerity is really full, what do you think?"

"Can we be honest?" Xu Xiangdong rubbed his forehead, looked at Lu Xiaofeng, and said, "Your Blackwater Pioneering Team is talking about breaking the sky, and now the only real investment is Huma, who doesn't know how to produce money stably. Gold mine? Even if you can produce gold steadily, you can earn about 15 yuan a year, and it will be less than 50 yuan in three years, which is far from the conservative estimate of 220 million yuan for railway construction! Even if you really It can force the North Koreans to send another 2 people—not to mention whether they will blow their hair—to bring their own food and tools to build roads for free, so there is still a cash gap of 80 yuan, how can this be? Solve it? Don't tell me to let us take out a loan, our company won't accept it!"

"Our current whaling industry is developing steadily, and the output of high-grade fur is also increasing day by day. The quantity of cured meat and salted fish exported to Shandong and Ningbo is also increasing year by year. In addition, there is an industrial base in Sakhalin Island. The economic potential is very large. In the future, your company If we want to develop in Denglai, we must not leave our Blackwater Pioneering Team, so Vice President Xu really doesn't think about it?"

"It's boring to talk about that." Xu Xiangdong glanced at Lu Xiaofeng, and said lightly: "Can Commissioner Lu speak like this as a threat? Yes, you can do this, and our development in Denglai will be greatly affected." Great impact (mainly affecting the commercial operation of the railway affiliated areas), but this is not a reason for us to give in unprincipled! We really cannot afford the burden of a 100 million yuan loan, not to mention that you may not be able to make the North Koreans obedient People came to build the road, and they have already made a fuss about building Vladivostok this time.”

When Xu Xiangdong said this, his words became a little stiff.Lu Xiaofeng thought for a long time with a sad face, and finally frowned and said: "Then if we use some assets in hand as collateral to borrow 50 yuan from the Northwest Reclamation Bank, will your company agree to help build such a railway?"

"This is only 100 million yuan, which is still not enough." Xu Xiangdong's attitude was very firm. He really didn't see the rabbit and didn't scatter the eagle. He just heard him say: "Your 100 million yuan is only enough to repair this railway located in the Golden Horn Peninsula. The section of the road, about 30 kilometers long, is definitely not enough to reach the east bank of the Suifen River, so don't think about it."

"Well, it just so happens that we also plan to build a new settlement at the northern end of the Golden Horn Peninsula. The name has been thought up, and it is called Xinzheng Township (located near the southwestern coast of the later Artyom City, about 35 kilometers away from the main city of Vladivostok. ). If it’s really not possible, it’s okay to build the railway to Xinzheng Township first.” Lu Xiaofeng said suddenly.

Xu Xiangdong was a little speechless when he heard it, and he asked after a long while: "Has Commissioner Lu's idea been authorized by Captain Chen? If authorized, then it is not impossible to try it with the existing funds. It's just that , may I ask an irrelevant question, why are you so persistent in building a railway in such a desolate land? Could it be that you want to build the railway to Harbin?"

"It's okay for Vice President Xu to understand it this way. Now the Wusuli River Basin is the focus of the development of the entire Blackwater Pioneering Team and the place where resources are inclined. And if you want to conquer the native tribes in the inland areas that have been influenced by the Qing court for many years, With our current strength, the development may be too slow. You must know that this place does not have such a traffic artery as the Amur River for us to transport things. Everything can only be transported by land, so there is only railway. Besides, Vladivostok is now It has been positioned as the most important port, material distribution center, and political center in the future of the entire Blackwater Pioneering Team area, so this railway will also be built sooner or later. Please help. Otherwise, if you return to China one day, where can we find someone to repair the railway for us. So, even if the conditions are not met this time, we have to go on the horse. Captain Chen is also worried about passing this village There will be no more shops here. Besides, you can save a lot of money by taking the ride along the Jiaoyan Railway, right?” Lu Xiaofeng finally said, “Ah, yes, it’s not Captain Chen’s intention to build part of the railway first. It was my brainstorm, haha, I have to report to see what he thinks. So, I ask Vice President Xu to stay here for a while, anyway, I can’t sail outside this meeting, Shandong The side work is still progressing steadily, and there is no need for you, the commander-in-chief, to go back to sit in charge, just leave it to the people below to handle it."

"What steady progress! The earthquake in Shandong has just ended, and many things still need to be dealt with. I don't feel at ease if I don't go back. This time, I really fell for your big tricks. I will sit here and wait until the middle of March next year. I don’t know how many things will be delayed when I go back in the cold, alas.” Xu Xiangdong said a little speechlessly: “I didn’t say that, you guys from the Blackwater Pioneering Team are really happy to go up and down! The Huma Gold Mine finally produced Gold, I don’t know how to stabilize the financial hole and develop the people’s livelihood first, but first try to build the railway. If Denglai and Ningbo know about this (it’s bound to be hidden), do you think they will continue to give money every year? You have all kinds of materials and cash subsidies! You must know that everyone is not a fool. In the past, you saw that your financial income was small and your combat missions were heavy, so under the unified guidance of the state, you were given money to spend. But now you are playing with railways. What do others think? Let me tell you, there is still no one-kilometer railway in Ningbo, so think about how to deal with them in the future.”

(End of this chapter)