Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1830 Urbanization ([-])

"The population of Qingdao County has grown rapidly in recent years, especially the urban population, which has increased by 20% in 300 years, mainly due to the growth of the industrial and commercial population. Perhaps only Dongfang County, the capital, can match it, but it is still far behind, especially after many economic and financial government departments have moved to Qingdao Port.” On the expo street where the land is very expensive, the boss of Qiangdong Trading Co., Ltd. Liang Qiangdong was writing hard at his desk, preparing handouts for the Bingtuanbao students who were going to give lectures next week.

"...According to the definition of relevant departments, a small town with a permanent resident population of less than 3500 people is a small town, a small city with a permanent resident population between 3500 and 10000 people, and a large city with a population of more than 3 people. In this way , there are actually quite a few big cities on the east coast, but I want to say that this was the standard many years ago. With the rapid population growth, such a division is indeed a bit inappropriate. It should be considered that only those with a resident population of 70 or more And a city with more than [-]% of people engaged in industry and commerce can become a metropolis. In this way, there are only a few cities in the eastern regions of the country such as Qingdao, Dongfang, and Ping’an that have developed earlier and are qualified to fight for the title of big city.”

**********

While Liang Qiangdong was writing his handouts at his desk, in a small two-story house at the end of Shiyue Avenue in Dongfang County, the capital on the east coast, Tristan Henry brought his desk to a pavilion in the yard, enjoying the The cool breeze that can’t be blown in the house, while writing and drawing: “…the United Provinces once promulgated some edicts related to industries, establishing the principle of professional freedom, that is, every adult can buy a national business license or license, engage in business activities in all industries, including handicrafts, commerce, agriculture, etc. Of course, the implementation of the principle of professional freedom does not mean that the restrictions on all industries are completely relaxed. Doctors, pharmacists, building owners, Shipbuilders and the like required licenses; actors, tavern and innkeepers needed licenses from the Sheriff's Department, and there were trade associations that were more closed to outsiders. Even so, it was a law of extraordinary progressiveness, Laying the foundation for the success of the United Provinces, Amsterdam has become a large city with a population of 15 to 20, and almost all of them are engaged in various business activities such as industry, commerce, and fishing. Cities with a population of 30 are fundamentally different.”

"The East Coast Republic also enjoys freedom of occupation, and it has gone a step further. It has had a positive impact on the development of non-agricultural industries such as industry and commerce, and navigation. In the various professional guilds on the East Coast, joining or quitting depends entirely on personal preference. Guilds It has also gradually changed from a binding cooperative organization to a private association in a general sense. Of course, the government also has considerable influence on these guilds. The guild is no longer a closed society like Paris and London. Instead of a semi-monopoly organization, it has become a service-oriented salon organization, such as jointly discussing industry development, helping each other economically, centralized procurement to reduce costs, etc., and there are far more than one guild in the same industry and region. , there is no danger of monopoly. There is no doubt that the direct advantage of this is the increase in the number of artisans and enterprises, and in some branches where the supply of production exceeds the demand, the number of handicraftsmen falls. It seems that the old continent, whether it is the advanced United Provinces or the backward regions of France, England and Germany, is far inferior to the people on the east coast. Without the continuous injection of vitality into the development of urban commerce, the process of urbanization will be impossible. Talk about it."

**********

"...an important sign of urbanization is the expansion of urban and rural economic development. Once upon a time, because of the relationship of [-] mu of land for each adult man and woman, the life of agricultural population has always been more comfortable than that of urban workers, and their income level is also higher. This was especially evident in the first ten years after the founding of the People's Republic of China. However, with the gradual rise of overseas trade, this situation was quickly reversed!"

"...First of all, because of the existence of exchanges, bond markets, banks, telegraph companies, gas companies, street car companies and other facilities, cities have become more and more obvious advantages in markets, information, and transportation, and gradually become the first choice of craftsmen and businessmen. Therefore, the distribution of artisans between urban and rural areas is becoming more and more different. The number of artisans or workers has always been an important indicator to measure the level of industrialization and even urbanization. According to statistics, in 1675, the national urban artisans and rural artisans The average ratio has reached 34:1, urban artisans are mainly hardware industry (gold, silver, copper, iron and tin processing and production) and textile workers, and the same is true in rural areas.”

"...While the size and scope of the country trade has increased during the last twenty years, this should only be seen as an important part of the extension of certain industries of the cities, that is, the goods produced in the cities are widely distributed in the country. City and country The difference in production capacity can be seen from a set of data. The urban master craftsmen (only referring to craftsmen) in the eastern prairie counties employ an average of 20 helpers per 100 people, while the rural areas employ less than 121. The higher the ratio of journeymen to skilled craftsmen, the higher the level of industrial development and trade development."

Liang Qiangdong smoked while writing, and he was deeply moved in his heart. At the same time, he also felt that his father's generation "pulled" the country to death in just 50 years, and it may take hundreds of years to go to other countries. I am very proud of the journey I have gone through, this is the pride and demeanor of the founders!

Compared with them, I and many of my little friends can only be regarded as a generation that enjoys the benefits of their father's shade. Although they have made hard efforts, the results are not as good as before.But it doesn't matter, now the country has embarked on its own track, and if there are no major changes in the future, it will continue to follow this path, leaving other countries far behind, and become the guide for the advancement of human civilization. lighthouse until the road becomes impassable.And myself and my family are also gaining enough benefits from the rise and peak of this wave of the Great East Coast, laying the foundation for the ruling class, and becoming one of the most influential old families in this country and even the world. In this regard, Liang is very confident.

**********

"... From the comparison of the number of handcraft workshops, the cities on the east coast also have an overwhelming advantage compared with the countryside, and the gap between the number of master craftsmen and apprentices is even greater. This is because the larger the city, the more workshops , the number of freelancers is also increasing. But in France, what kind of situation is this? In terms of hardware manufacturing, the number of workshops in the countryside is several times that of the cities, even those injection machinery that can effectively show the advantages of the city For manufacturing, slaughtering, weaving and shoemaking, the number of workshops in the countryside is half or even double that of the cities."

"This is a frustrating comparison, but it makes sense when you think about it carefully. Because of the continuous wars and the heavy burdens brought about by them, the number of times the city has been visited by tax collectors has greatly increased, so many craftsmen brought The apprentices fled to the countryside to hide, and resumed their old business, producing various commodities. But there is no doubt that this kind of production is helpless and inefficient, and they can neither find enough market in the countryside nor lack advanced technology. Equipment, road traffic and other facilities have increased transportation costs, so compared with people on the east coast, the Kingdom of France is still in the Middle Ages.”

At this point, Tristan Henry, the new ambassador of the Kingdom of France to the east coast, put down his pen and pondered for a while, then dipped his ink again, and continued to write: "Here, my esteemed pen, your faithful servant sincerely requests You, first issue an edict that allows all subjects to freely engage in any occupation, break the monopoly of professional guilds that have become backward, conservative, and closed blood-sucking organizations, increase the number of enterprises, increase the number of craftsmen, and enrich the commodities. In this way, Your Majesty, you can collect more taxes, and your subjects will also be able to enjoy more wealth, which is beneficial to everyone. England's industrial technology is ahead of us, but they suffer from the guild system Many new enterprises had to be established in rural areas to avoid the constraints of city guilds. In this regard, Manchester is the biggest example. This emerging town has become the center of British cotton, linen and silk textiles. It was a completely deserted countryside before. If it weren’t for the conservative professional guilds not allowing investors without referrals to start similar businesses, it would be impossible for Manchester to prosper. France can no longer repeat the detours of the English, and must learn from the East Coast. It is particularly important to establish a system that regularly introduces science and technology and management technology from the East Bank, and the advanced ideas and loose management system of the believers. Maybe the people on the East Coast do not agree, but we can sell the market in exchange for the people on the East Coast. The export of this kind of technology that is slightly outdated for them. Your Majesty, please believe me, this will have an unparalleled positive effect on the development of industry and commerce in the Kingdom of France, and at the same time provide more taxes to mobilize your invincible army. Crush all resistance, let your fame spread across the Continent, and every crown be eclipsed before you."

After writing so much in one breath, Tristan Henry was also a little tired. He was leaning comfortably on the back of the chair, enjoying the slightly floral air, and still thinking about the future of France in his mind. .Now, as long as people who are not blind or have serious prejudices, the upper echelons of every country in the Old Continent are talking about the rise of the East Coast, the difference is only the degree of depth.

In Paris, the proud French have to admit that their country is far behind the people on the east coast in terms of industrial technology and military technology, and even the English are far ahead of them.Therefore, French King Louis XIV issued the famous "Dunkirk Edict" in the northeast town of Dunkirk under the suggestion of his favorite minister Colbert a few years ago, which encouraged top craftsmen and scholars in the country to contribute The ingenuity and ingenuity to overcome all difficulties in the production and application of high-performance steam engines (this is very important, because low-efficiency steam engines are no longer a stumbling block), so that they can be applied to all aspects of industry, agriculture and military affairs—because of this decree The content of the "Dunkirk Edict" is also known as the "Steam Engine Edict".

It's a pity that Louis XIV originally planned to spend a huge amount of 500 million livres from the national treasury as a matching package to reward those individuals or companies that made breakthroughs in the process.It's just that because of the protracted war and France's financial difficulties, the people had to increase taxes, so this fund was naturally out of the question. Yes, the research enthusiasm of the people has been frustrated to a certain extent.But no matter what, the impetus of the "Dunkirk Edict" is still obvious, because at least the number of steam engines used in France has greatly increased, and at the same time, this decree also has some incidental regulations such as the relevant supporting industries. The tax reduction policy has a positive effect on industries such as machining and should not be underestimated too much.

**********

"...The rapid development of industrialization and the refinement of the division of labor within the manufacturing industry, and the strengthening of the collaboration between enterprises have led to changes in the organizational form of enterprises. The factory system of modern mass production is increasingly gaining the upper hand. The transformation of economic organization This increases the degree of specialization of individuals and enterprises, accelerates the evolution of the division of labor within enterprises, among enterprises, and among various industries within the manufacturing industry, and increases the number of intermediate products, resulting in the emergence of an economic model called circuitous production. Inseparability, as well as transportation costs and fixed transaction costs between products, require the production of the manufacturing industry to be concentrated within a certain range, and the transaction costs can be reduced through infrastructure construction to achieve economic effects of agglomeration. The agglomeration of production space often produces Industrial cities, such as several typical cities brought about by our country’s textile, mining, metallurgy, and machinery manufacturing industries: Dongfang, Ping’an, Tieling, Meilin, etc.”

"In addition, due to the differentiation within the manufacturing industry, the number of transactions and transaction costs of products have increased, so middlemen specializing in product trade have emerged. Their existence can effectively improve the specialization level of individuals and enterprises, bringing Specialized economy creates a market center. As the scale of intermediaries becomes larger and larger, their internal divisions also appear, which can increase the degree of specialized economy and form a service economy. The result of this transaction agglomeration economy often forms Commercial cities, such as Qingdao, a major commercial port, and other professional commercial cities.”

After writing this, Liang Qiangdong also stretched deeply. It is too exhausting to give lessons to the future backbone of the country at Bingtuanbao, and it consumes too much of his energy.However, it's not bad for me. Others can't ask for it, so it's better to stop talking nonsense and continue to write handouts reluctantly!

(End of this chapter)