Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2121 North and South New Deal ([-])

At the end of December 1690, Hu Zhi had just finished a tiring journey in Laizhou Prefecture, Shandong Province.

The starting point of this journey is Haizhou Port, and the end point is Jiaozhou Port, an important commercial port on the east coast.On the surface, this journey seems to be nothing unusual. After all, the Eastern Kingdom and the Qing Kingdom have now opened their borders and started mutual trade.But what if this person went to the east bank this time not to do business, but to investigate the world and bring back some controlled books?That would be kind of interesting.

Hu Zhigang is Hu Yong's cousin. He has been with him for many years and has always been shrewd.So this time Feng Yu wanted to send someone to Denglai, and Hu Yong recommended his nephew, and asked him to take two people and some silver, and take a Dutch merchant ship via Haizhou to Jiaozhou, and finally arrived at within the east coast.

"Master Hu, all the books you want are here. Don't worry, these books and newspapers are published publicly by Dongguo, you can read them at will, and no one will interfere. As for the batch of banned books you want, the villain has already prepared them , it’s right there at the pier, and I’ll just pick it up when you leave.” Hu Zhigang sat on the floppy bed, had just finished drinking a cup of tea, relieved a little of his fatigue, and immediately praised: “Old Chen, you’ve worked hard. Hu Zhigang When I go back, I will definitely report to the master, and I won't take your credit lightly."

"The villain, thank you, Mr. Hu." A middle-aged man with mischievous eyebrows smiled and said immediately after hearing this: "I won't bother you, there is still a batch of goods to be counted at the pier. Take a look, little one." People take their leave first."

After Hu Zhigang sent this person out with a smile, he reached out for some books and newspapers and started to read them.He has studied, and he has studied for many years, but because he can't get fame, he has to leave his hometown and join his uncle for a living.These years, he has run around with Hu Yong, stayed in Beijing, and traveled to other places. He has honed his knowledge of the world and has his own views on everything. Therefore, he will get the books and newspapers provided by the people below. After that, I immediately flipped through it with relish.

"Well, this paragraph has some meaning. 'The old system is like a rotting corpse kept in a closed ancient tomb. Once it comes into contact with fresh air from the outside, it will inevitably disintegrate...'" Hu Zhigang was talking about the contents of these books and newspapers while drinking tea. Comments: "The more I read this, the more it seems to be alluding to my Qing Dynasty. The demise of the old system, alas, this is talked about in many Eastern books. However, isn't our Qing Dynasty also changing? Inappropriate Yes, if you change it, it will always be appropriate."

"The tea factories in the Qing Dynasty were poorly managed and the output was low. There were deep conflicts between the official supervision of each factory and private shareholders, and they often fought. This means that the old system does not adapt to the new productive forces..." After reading this, Hu Zhigang suddenly became energetic , After reading it, he seemed very discouraged again.

As Hu Yong Hu's right-hand man, Hu Zhigang also participated in some economic affairs, and also heard about some things in neighboring counties.What this report should talk about is that the Xiangshui Tea Office used the government-supervised and commercial-run model to engage in tea production, packaging, transportation, and sales, and compete with Dongguo Tea.

This was probably years ago.At that time, it was booming, and a huge business war with Dongguo Tea was launched, attracting many Dutch businessmen to come to buy goods, which squeezed a lot of Dongguo Tea's market share.It's just that the good times don't last long. After seeing these factories are booming and the companies are making a lot of money, some people are jealous, and then they start a fierce internal strife, just like the same kind of songs that have been staged countless times in history.

In addition, the Dongguo people who were hit hard adjusted quickly. On the one hand, they strengthened enterprise management, improved production technology, and won the favor of customers with better product quality and more stable delivery capabilities; Through the exchange of benefits with the Dutch East India Company, they re-signed a stable commercial contract, and even attracted some English merchants to Ningbo to look at the goods, and once again snatched the market dominance.

In this way, the external demand decreased, the internal personnel struggle continued, and the officials of the Qingguo Tea Office also changed a whole bunch. The rhetoric of the former commercial station became a laughing stock.Now the tea processing factories in Xiangshui are basically keeping a low profile.The newly appointed tea office officials frequently visited several big businessmen to discuss countermeasures with them and see how to revive their momentum. After all, the Qing Dynasty is in great need of silver now.

"Poor management, backward technology, and uneven quality, alas, no wonder they can't compete with the Dongguo people. The gap is really inaccurate." After seeing the Dongguo people's newspapers complacently criticizing the Qing Dynasty's tea industry, Hu Zhigang felt in his heart. Immediately, I felt a little uncomfortable, but I also felt that what he said made sense.From this point of view, it is very necessary for Mr. Feng to vigorously promote and lead by example in Haizhou. Many things, if the management is not good, are broken by those mediocre officials.

"Xiangyang embankment is long, the grass is green and the willow branches are yellow. Someone's daughter is putting on makeup at night, and there are lights in the red tent. The bird hairpin and green feathers are moving and the bright pendant is full of fragrance. .Jia Sheng was called a gifted scholar at eighteen, and he was heartbroken in front of the empty door. Well, good words, good characters, beautiful artistic conception, and rare masterpieces. Brother Li, this "Xiangyang Song" must be given to me , so I can frame it at home and enjoy it carefully.” On the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang, Li Nanxian and Zhang Shaozong, two big compradors active in the Huguang area of ​​Shunguo, met again, and Zhang Shaozong said again: “Romantic, straightforward, Pure love, like poetry and picturesque, rippling with a youthful beauty. Brother Li wrote this poem because he appreciates the spirit of the people in Hubei?"

"Yes." Li Nan put down the brush in his hand, nodded, and said, "Minzhi in Hubei is righteous and not exaggerated. People are good ghosts and gods, they are vigorous and brave, and they know shame and anger. Hushang poetry and books, Shi'an recites .Clothed and crowned, the pipa is more than the rice cooker, and the celebrity is more than the crucian carp. This is such a wonderful place, if we don’t seize the opportunity and make a career, wouldn’t it be a pity?”

To be honest, what Li Nanxian said just now had a very high evaluation of Hubei.He praised the people of Hubei for being smart, straightforward, eager for justice, courageous after knowing shame, and also tenacious and capable of fighting.In terms of culture, Hubei, as the core of inheriting Chu culture, is full of books, prosperous culture, and many celebrities and scholars.Of course, these words are exaggerated, but at the same time, it also clearly reflects that Li Nanxian, who has already invested heavily in Hubei, is optimistic about the water, soil and people here. He feels that based on the foundation of Hubei, if it can develop well in the future, then it is possible. It became the economic center of Dashun.

Dongguo people are stronger than technology, management, and system. Can’t the people of Hubei learn to understand these things?Li Nanxian obviously didn't think so. He stubbornly believed that as long as the court supported him, local officials didn't make trouble, and he could get the escort of some powerful people, he would definitely be able to make a big career out of it.And this great cause can also continue to promote the liberation of Shunguo thought in reverse, and then drive economic development and technological progress.

There are more than [-] million people in Dashun, and hundreds of thousands of people in armor. If they are armed with ships, muskets, and cannons of the people from the east coast, is there anyone in this world who can shake them?Dashun’s ambition is to unify the world. Although Li Nanxian is the comprador of the people on the east coast, but from the bottom of his heart, he still hopes that Shunguo can dominate the Central Plains, and then drive the people of the Dongguo to the sea, unify the Han land, and restore the prosperity of the world. China.

And this depends on their hands and feet!Dafa Yonghang Shipping Co., Ltd. is now gradually on the right track, and several ships ordered from Heishui have also arrived one after another.The first small goal that Li Nanxian set for himself was to snatch some of the Yangtze River shipping business controlled by the people on the east coast.Dashun's goods are transported by Dashun's own people, which can save precious gold and silver hard currency, and at the same time develop its own transportation capacity, which can be said to serve multiple purposes.

In addition, compradors like Li Nanxian and Zhang Shaozong who had lived in the east coast for a long time also had a good understanding of new technologies such as tea making and textiles, and learned a lot of knowledge and technology from the people on the east coast.Therefore, after they set up their own tea factories and textile factories in Hubei, Hubei and other places, they began to slowly apply these new technologies to improve production efficiency.It should be said that their attempts are quite effective. Li Nanxian’s roasted tea factory in Yangloudong and Zhang Shaozong’s textile factory in Baling County have developed quite well. In terms of management level, production efficiency and profitability alone Look, it may not be as good as the many factories in Ningbo and Denglai opened by people from the east coast, but it is much stronger than the so-called government-supervised and commercial-run enterprises opened by colleagues in the Qing Dynasty in the north.

The actions of Li and Zhang also inspired some other businessmen in Shun Kingdom to follow suit.Nowadays, the folk atmosphere is becoming more and more open, and the voice of conservative forces has been greatly suppressed. Jiangxi, Hunan and other places in Shunguo imitated the silk reeling factories (using semi-mechanized technology) and egg powder factories (imported from the east coast) run by people from the east coast. Egg beater, and then began to imitate), brick kiln factories (using new wheel kiln technology), tobacco factories, rice mills, food factories, wood factories, etc., gradually became ubiquitous. country's economic strength.

The other most important point is that Li and Zhang gradually discovered that with the change of officials in the Far East of Dongguo, they are now becoming less and less patient about interfering in the situation in China at a huge cost.Especially the young, up-and-comers, who are more interested in economic gains than wars or plots that cost money.Li Nanxian didn't want to understand what was going on at first, but later, through contact with some officials on the east coast, he gradually realized that the country now has a population of more than 700 million, and the demand for the population in the east is not so urgent. The most important reason for the loosening of the policy.

Li and Zhang agreed that this might be a great opportunity for Shunguo!It would be even better if they recalled the more militant officials from the Far East and replaced them with officials familiar with economic affairs!

(End of this chapter)