Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2401 Ping Rong Line

Jiaozhou Port is not very hot in summer.People on the east bank who have lived for decades have long known this, especially for those who bought villas in Laoshan.

Today's Laoshan villa area is basically the resort of choice for rich people in Jiaozhou.Even after the transportation conditions were greatly improved by the Jiaoyan Railway, rich people from Yantai and other places bought houses here as a residence for themselves and their families.Laoshan, that is really a brick that will hit people with a net worth of more than [-] yuan!

Needless to say, the continuous and stable operation of the Jiaoyan Railway for so many years has greatly changed the economic structure of Denglai.A few decades ago, the richest people in Denglai might have been the port cities facing Liaodong, such as Dengzhou.In addition, there are important agricultural towns such as Laiyang and Pingdu Prefecture, which have accumulated a large amount of capital by selling grain, fruits and livestock to the outside world.

But today, decades later, Yantai and Jiaozhou are the wealthiest places in Denglei, both of which were originally from unknown places.The former was originally a fire road pier, used to transmit beacon information, and few people, but now it has become the military, political and cultural center of Denglai. There are many dignitaries and businessmen who come to look for business opportunities. After all, Yantai Port It is an important port for trade with North Korea, Liaodong, Heishui, Manchuria and Japan, and the annual cargo throughput is very high.The great development of Yantai has also led to the rise of the manufacturing industry in Fushan County, Ninghai Prefecture and other places. The industries involved include arms and weapons, transportation equipment, timber building materials, municipal engineering, etc., providing many jobs with reasonable salaries and training. A large middle class was raised.

Jiaozhou used to be not much better than Yantai, just a small fishing village, far inferior to Jiaoxian across the river (they are the real Jiaozhou prefecture).However, under the management of the Dongan people, Jiaozhou Port started from a winter base of the Northeast Asia Squadron of the Third Fleet, and gradually developed into a large city integrating industrial manufacturing and entrepot trade.The navy’s warships were repaired here, which made the basic parts processing and ship repair industry here. The Dutch people’s grain was unloaded here, which gave birth to the deep processing industry of agricultural products here (now more than half of the grain in Laiyang and other places is also processed here). There is also the daily necessities manufacturing industry developed by the trade with the Qing Dynasty, which has absorbed a large number of handicraft craftsmen.In addition, the distribution trade of Nanyang specialties, tea, sugar, coffee, cocoa, and timber has also created a large number of jobs and tax revenue for the local area, which is of great benefit.

On the contrary, the original Jiaoxian County, a dignified state government, first experienced war and suffered heavy losses.Later, due to the excavation of the Jiaolai New River, the whole was relocated to Hedong, and part of the land in the county was lost.Then because it is located in the front line, the industrial investment is less, and the loss of talents is more.After several blows, Jiao County has now become a vassal of Jiaozhou, providing agricultural products and a few daily necessities for Jiaozhou City. Its status is far inferior to that of Jimo County, which is a vassal of Jiaozhou. After all, people are connected to the railway and the transportation is convenient.

From here, we can also see to what extent the emergence of the Jiaoyan Railway has reshaped the economic structure of Denglai!Some cities have been sinking late, and some cities have risen like the morning sun. The lives of local people have also experienced ups and downs under the reshaping of this economic structure, and have experienced the changes of the times.At this time, some people finally lamented that when the Southern Railway Company resolutely built the Jiaoyan Railway, it did not hesitate to sell its assets and repay a large amount of money. Many people thought that this investment might be squandered, but what is the truth?

Yantai, Jiaozhou, Laiyang and other places along the railway line are already the first-class economic centers in Denglai!The capital, technology and talents of Denglai are all gathered here, workshops and enterprises are blooming everywhere, halls and buildings are lined up, and people's living standards have widened a clear gap with other places.At this time, to be honest, whether the railway itself makes money is a secondary issue. The biggest contribution is to revitalize the local economy and improve productivity.Who doesn't envy the railway affiliates under the name of the Southern Railway Company?They are all hens that lay golden eggs!The rent and land price there are the first group in Denglai, and the commercial income that the South Railway Company obtains in this area every year is even staggering to the Bank of Taiwan.And these huge business income undoubtedly provided a solid foundation for the further development of the Southern Railway Company!

Now the Southern Railway Company has the Jiaoyan Railway and the Shangding Railway—the latter also has a lot of commercial income, but because of the large amount of social capital absorbed during construction, the dividends of the Southern Railway have been greatly reduced, but because Ningshao has a developed economy, overall it is still It's not a small amount-there is no shortage of capital, technology and construction experience, and the talent pool is also very rich. This is the reason why they decided to build the Pingrong Railway.

Of course, the construction of this railway will still require a loan.But the successful cases of Jiaoyan Railway and Shangding Railway are there. The banks are not worried at all that the Southern Railway Company will not be able to pay back the money, and they are very motivated.As far as the South Railway itself is concerned, it is a good thing to be able to use other people's money to build the railway, not to mention that they still have debts to repay. Railway, so they finally decided to borrow 100 million French currency from the United Industrial Credit Bank and the Bank of Taiwan for the construction of the Pingrong Railway.

The survey of the railway line has been completed long ago, and the route has already been drawn on the drawings, so the railway soon entered the actual construction stage.The commander-in-chief of the Pingrong Railway Construction Headquarters is the third president of the company, a retired army colonel, who is just taking this position from a distance. The real work is actually the team below.And the level of this team is also very high. The construction of the Pingrong Railway is very fast, and all the work is in an orderly manner. If the funds are always allocated in a timely manner, the railway should not be fully completed in a few years.

Pingrong Railway, one end is Rongcheng County, which has become the largest fishing port in Denglai, and the other end is Pingdu Prefecture, the largest grain producing area. There are many counties in the middle. County) and the intersection of Jiaoyan Railway, the strategic importance need not be mentioned.Whether it is the army or the navy, they are very concerned about the two intersecting railways, because it communicates with most cities in Denglai, and can mobilize food, materials and manpower in the entire jurisdiction in a very short time. Great help.

In World War I in later generations, the Germans actually relied on the well-developed railway network to continuously transport supplies and soldiers on the east and west lines, but they did not collapse. This shows the importance of well-developed transportation conditions for fully exerting national power.Compared with Russia at that time, front-line soldiers could not hold a gun, and food and medicine were extremely scarce. However, there were a lot of firearms, food and other materials piled up in the rear warehouse, which could not be transported to the front line in time.If the East Coast is at war with the Chinese regime in the future, it will probably be like this.The army on the east bank has sufficient supplies of logistics and materials, and the troops are quickly mobilized, so it is very easy to form a superior force in some areas. If you use more to fight the few, and use the fine to fight the weak, the advantage is still great.

Of course, the above is only a military role, and the railway is actually of greater economic significance.The opening of the Pingrong Railway will definitely greatly invigorate the economy along the railway, attract more funds and talents, and the number of enterprises should also increase considerably.This growth is of great significance for balancing the economic level of Denglei counties.

Compared with the prefectures and counties along these railways, some marginalized coastal cities are a bit embarrassing, such as Ye County, Huang County, Penglai and so on.The ports in these places can’t compete with Yantai and Jiaozhou, and their foreign trade is not very developed. At the same time, they are far away from the railway line, so the benefits are limited. How to develop in the future is indeed a headache—if the economic level of coastal cities is not as good as that of inland counties , but it's going to be a joke!

"To be honest, our company is also very optimistic about the Pingrong Railway, otherwise it would not have issued a loan of 100 million yuan and then invested in it." In a very magnificent villa at the foot of Laoshan Mountain, Shao Rujie, deputy general manager of the Bank of Taiwan, was looking and talking. : "But how to develop the economy along the railway, have you thought about it? The total number of people in Denglai is only 200 million. It is not enough to rely on the internal market alone, and we still have to look outward. It is said that domestic demand is domestic demand, yes, the domestic market in Denglai is now It’s not small, the people have money. But where does the money come from? It’s not earned from foreigners! If you can’t make profits through foreign trade, then the domestic demand market will be a source of water after all. It will slowly dry up. After all, you can’t artificially create a domestic demand market just by printing some banknotes, do people recognize the banknotes in your hand? Besides, Denglai doesn’t have the right to print money.”

"Foreign trade naturally needs to be vigorously deepened." It was a director of the Southern Railway Company who spoke.After hearing that the Bank of Taiwan intends to invest in part of the subsidiary area of ​​the Pingrong Railway, the Southern Railway immediately sent people to Shao Rujie to talk about the project and persuade him to invest in order to withdraw some funds as soon as possible, lower the company's leverage and reduce risks.

Of course, the news he heard was not groundless. In fact, the real estate department of the Bank of Taiwan did intend to invest in the subsidiary of the Pingrong Railway.Back then, the Jiaoyan Railway didn’t eat the fat, but now the Pingrong Railway naturally couldn’t let it go.

When talking about the real estate department of the Bank of Taiwan, one cannot fail to mention the Brunei military villa project independently developed by the company.That project was the beginning of Taiwan Bank’s real estate business. It was originally forced to start (it was a lick of the head of other businesses), but after tasting the sweetness, the company’s senior management realized that this was not actually a loss-making business. On the contrary, it was profitable .

Later, they used the profits from the Brunei military villas (this project is not very profitable, after all, it is a local welfare project in Brunei) and part of the funds allocated by the company to acquire land at a low price in Harbin and develop the Some apartment-style residential buildings.These apartment buildings use the latest technology and the latest facilities, and they have caught up with the booming market after a large number of government agencies have settled in, making a lot of money.

Now, the real estate department of the Bank of Taiwan has taken a fancy to the value depression along the Pingrong Railway.But before investing, they also want to know the development outline of the Southern Railway Company and see whether the subsidiary of the Pingrong Railway will replicate the success of the Jiaoyan Railway. This is the key factor for whether they can make money and cannot be ignored.

The director from the South Railway naturally understood the key points, so he said without hesitation: "The current Denglei economy is inseparable from the outside world. North Korea, Japan, Manchuria, Heishui, and Ningshao are all It is our big customer. The Qingguo market is not smaller than the above-mentioned ones, and even much larger. After all, the population is there. The pioneering team and the company have actually communicated. In the future, the subsidiary of Pingrong Railway will vigorously develop two types of enterprises, one The first category is the deep processing industry of agricultural products based on the local market, and the second category is the metal processing industry facing the external market. The latter is particularly important. Basically, it imports low-end pig iron and wrought iron from North Korea, processes them into finished products and sells them. It is also indispensable to import high-quality special tools and machine parts for steel production. The two go hand in hand, with high and low matching, and jointly enter the overseas market.”

"Qingguo market?" Shao Rujie laughed as soon as he heard it, and said, "It seems that you attach great importance to it, and get into it life and death. But I am very surprised. A conflict broke out, Denglai also had a tense relationship with the Qing people in Liaodong, and this business is still going on, it seems that both sides are wonderful people."

"Wars have to be fought, and business has to be done." The director said with an embarrassed smile, "Don't look down on the Qing Dynasty. They have just put down Galdan, and they are confronting the forces of Tseng Wang Arabtan. It will be a matter of time. And Once the war machine is activated, the demand for ironware will rise in a straight line. The hardware products we produce are cheap, and it is not surprising that the Qing people purchase them in large quantities. It is all business. Mr. Shao, the development plan of the Pingrong Line subsidiary is no problem , relying on the big market of the Qing Dynasty, the future prospects can be seen, and your company will definitely not go wrong investing here."

(End of this chapter)