Chapter 340 Huaihai Economic Zone
It is said that the economic zones planned by the four Heixinggen consortiums in the Far East, namely southern Shandong, northern Jiangsu, eastern Henan and northern Anhui, are economic depressions. In fact, they are the result of natural and man-made disasters in recent years. combined results.
Man-made disasters must be the main factor. After all, since the Yellow River changed its course in the Song Dynasty, its mouth has been in northern Jiangsu, and the impact of floods has always existed. However, with the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, this place has always been the most prosperous economy from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. one of the regions.
The early Qing Dynasty, like all unified dynasties, had the ability to manage the Yellow River. Now it chose to neglect it, and with the rise of shipping, the decline of this place became inevitable.
But by the time the Heixinggen Consortium landed here, it had been 20 years since the Yellow River had changed its course, the floods had receded, and the Taiping Rebellion and the Nian Army had been quelled. It was considered a good window for development. The Heixinggen Consortium also missed the mark.
If there had not been successive natural and man-made disasters, it would have been difficult for the Hexingen Consortium to enter this place. Floods and military disasters not only caused huge damage to this place, but also destroyed the local feudal economic system.
For example, Huai'an Prefecture, which was originally an important territory for Huizhou merchants after Yangzhou during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, was snatched away by the Heixinggen consortium. In fact, it is not a robbery. Huizhou merchants are currently focusing on Songjiang Prefecture was transferred, the Yellow River was rerouted, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was abandoned. Huai'an also lost its function as a north-south water transport hub. Coupled with the rise of maritime transport, foreign cheap goods entered from the sea, and it was inevitable that Huai'an would be abandoned by Huizhou merchants. Of course, the Heixinggen Consortium only played a last-ditch role, causing Huizhou merchants to completely abandon this place. Huai'an also suffered the same fate as Haizhou Prefecture, Xuzhou Prefecture, Jining Prefecture, Yanzhou Prefecture, Sizhou Prefecture, and Fengyang Prefecture. …
Basically overlapping the scope of activities of the Nian Army, in 1855, the Yellow River burst (east of Kaifeng), and a large number of victims in southern Shandong, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu were displaced and entered the Nian one after another, reaching a climax. There are Nian everywhere in the north and south of the Huaihe River, and the reason why the Nian army is active is because the local economy was destroyed and the people lost their source of income.
Ernst himself was previously enthusiastic about East African immigration, and did not notice that the area covered by the Hechingen Foundation was the "Huaihai Province" conceived by netizens on the Internet media in his previous life. It was only this time that the Hechingen Consortium was preparing to invest heavily in the Far East to cope with the economic crisis.
When Ernst invests in an area, he likes to plan the area. Typical examples include the Northern Industrial Belt in East Africa and Lake Malawi Industrial Area. Atypical ones include Berlin, Vienna, and Trieste. An investment area centered on a city. As for the United States, it is all about money. Wherever profits are high, funds will flow. Naturally, investment in the Far East cannot be purely for economic interests, mixed with Ernst's personal emotions, without violating interests. , it’s okay if you can help. Anyway, it’s a win-win cooperation, and neither party loses.
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Yanzhou Prefecture, Zaozhuang.
At this time, Zaozhuang belonged to a village in Yi County under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou Prefecture. Yi County has a long history. Although Yi County may be unfamiliar, the name Lanling is more famous.
Although Zaozhuang City, Yi County, and Lanling in the previous life cannot be equated among the local population, their approximate locations are in this area.
"Mr. Chen, I hope your government will make it easier for our bank to invest here in the future." Mark, the president of the Yanzhou branch of Hechingen Bank, said.
"Haha, don't worry about your bank. Your bank has traveled thousands of miles to invest in the Far East. The so-called visitors are guests. We, a big country in China, have a certain tolerance and will not let villains delay your bank's actions!" Chen Shijie, the Shandong inspector who represented the Qing government, laughed. responded.
But I don’t think so in my heart. If it weren’t for the Heixinggen Consortium, who would have come here to deal with these foreigners.
Of course, the Hechingen Consortium cannot avoid the local government when investing in the Far East. The virtue of the Qing government is to accept the hard and not the soft. Therefore, the East African government came forward and only after the capital obtained the "Sword of Shang Fang", Large-scale development began in the Far East.
The East African government naturally did not have such a big face. In fact, it united with German and Austro-Hungarian business groups to ask the Qing government to relax restrictions in the name of East Africa, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Both Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are represented. This matter is mainly led by the East African government. Germany is very busy now and has no time to care about overseas. It is studying how to prevent France from turning around forever. The Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is working in Japan. Not resident in the Far East.
The Hechingen Consortium is a German consortium, and together with other German businessmen doing business in the Far East, they naturally represent the interests of Germany, so this time the Prussian minister was invited out by the Hechingen Consortium again.
An East African ambassador, a German minister and a group of German businessmen represent the entire German businessmen in the Far East (including the Austro-Hungarian Empire), putting pressure on the Qing government. This matter will naturally be resolved, and the world There are two great powers, and the Qing government naturally does not dare to neglect them. The psychological shadow caused by Britain and France last time is especially in their hearts. Not to mention Britain and France, Tsarist Russia in the north alone is a great power that makes it difficult for the Qing government to deal with.
In addition, this East African-led economic cooperation, although there was an element of coercion, gave the Qing government enough face to allow it to invest 50% of the shares and collect taxes. Although it had no management authority, the profits and taxes were It is indispensable for me to do my part.
As for how much money the court is willing to invest in shares, it all depends on its financial level. In the end, the Qing court did not contribute the capital. Instead, it allowed Huizhou merchants with semi-official business status to invest 30% of the shares, and the remaining 20% was provided by Shanxi merchants contributed funds to jointly develop the "Huaihai Economic Zone".
The Huaihai Economic Zone spans four provinces and is rich in coal resources. Especially in southwestern Shandong and northern Anhui, there are large coal mines. Now the entire world is in the steam age, and the Far East market is huge. , so developing coal mines is a sure-profit business.
Zaozhuang is the first place Heixinggen wants to invest. The textile industry, the easiest industry to start with, has been determined to be Jiaozhou. The Huaihai area is rich in coal resources. At present, the Heixingen consortium plans to develop in Zaozhuang first. its coal resources.
It is not far from Weishan Lake and is relatively convenient for transportation. The remaining start-up capital was provided by Hechingen Bank, but the construction was taken over by an Austrian coal mining company and equipment was imported from Germany. The interests of East Africa, Germany, and Austria are all taken care of.
But the name Zaozhuang is a bit stingy. Now Zaozhuang is only a village-sized town (due to the local population loss caused by East African immigrants), so we simply took the ancient name Lanling as the name of the new city. As for Lanling Town has always existed, so I can only say sorry.
The planned Lanling City will replace the original Zaozhuang Town and become an emerging industrial city relying on the development of the coal mining industry.
The importance of the coal mining industry to industrialization in this era is self-evident. After the development of the Lanling City Coal Mine, relying on Weishan Lake and river transportation, it can radiate to the entire Huaihai Economic Zone.
Lanling City is just a starting point. In the future, coal mines in Jining, Linyi, Huaibei, Zibo, Heze... and as far away as the Huainan region of Anhui may be developed.
At the same time, the Qing government organized manpower to organize and dredge the road traffic and canals in the Huaihai Economic Zone. The food required for these projects was provided to the Qing government at cost price by East Africa, and both parties shared future profits.
The tax system in the Huaihai Economic Zone has also been requested by East Africa to unify, modeled on the German Customs Union, cancel some exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, reduce local protectionism, and ensure the free flow of people and logistics throughout the Huaihai Economic Zone.
The central government of the Qing government is happy to see the results. The local tax system has long been corrupted, but as a ruler, it is difficult for him to make major changes. It is not bad to let the East African Kingdom be the villain.
Of course, the Qing government also wanted to be on guard against East Africa. This was why Chen Shijie, the Shandong Inspector General, came forward in person. He was originally an aide to Zeng Guofan and participated in the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Nian Army Uprising. Therefore, this time in the Central Committee Responsible for monitoring the East African kingdom at the request of the government, the two sides cooperated in an atmosphere of mutual distrust.
(End of this chapter)