Chapter 43: Let’s sit down and have a meeting! (Part 2)
On the night of the first day of the first lunar month of the fifth year of Chongzhen, several Beijing central government commissioners with many years of experience in receiving petitioners, as well as deputy leaders of certain relevant departments, held a meeting with the board members of the Far East Company in Vladivostok in this time and space. A “cordial and friendly” conversation.
Overall, this meeting was beneficial. The two parties had a frank and full exchange of views on a series of issues such as the development of time and space in the late Ming Dynasty and the subsequent impact of the time-travel incident, which enhanced their understanding of each other. In response to some important disputes and disagreements, government negotiators expressed reservations, acknowledging the official need to respect the Far East Company's views. However, it still expressed great indignation over some unpleasant situations that occurred during the negotiation process, claiming that this was absolutely intolerable, and reserved the right to make further reactions.
Next, representatives of the central government expressed serious concerns about the status of the Vladivostok Far East Company Crossing Group and believed that it could not be ignored and allowed to act randomly by private forces, which would eventually lead to various tragedies. If the Far East Company continues to evade and delay, or even engages in some unfriendly behavior, the government will reconsider its position on this issue... Finally, after an unprecedentedly fierce quarrel, the government issued an ultimatum. Far East Company is required to respond within six hours, otherwise Far East Company will be solely responsible for all consequences arising therefrom...
At the same time, the Marine Corps rocket launcher unit that passed through the "wormhole" also launched a rapid-fire salvo in the sea area of Vladivostok Port according to the set coordinates, allowing the ignorant indigenous residents to once again appreciate the brilliant and gorgeous fireworks. Romantic fireworks.
Then, before the deadline expired, Far East Company finally stepped back from the brink and accepted the government's ultimatum in the early hours of the next morning.
As a result, an armed conflict that was poised to break out was immediately eliminated, ushering in a happy ending that everyone was happy with. It was really gratifying and gratifying - only a few frustrated radicals from the Vladivostok Far East Company were there. He raised his middle finger and cursed: "Congratulations!"
Of course, the distant barking of these defeated dogs does not affect the overall situation at all. Far East Company can still only welcome the nationalization transformation with a smile...
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"...What is this? The state advances and the people retreat? Public-private partnership? Socialist nationalization and transformation?"
Taking advantage of the rising sun, standing next to the time and space door that had been moved to the commercial square in Vladivostok city, looking at a copy of the negotiation minutes between the government representatives and the Far East Company, Wang Qiu couldn't help but yawned and frowned and said, "...you guys Does this mean the Far East Company has been confiscated? ”
——After the emergency consultation last night, the government decided to establish a temporary department called the "Special Area Development Committee", referred to as the Special Committee, which is actually the Colonial Department of Another World. Director Ma of the Paranormal Phenomenon Handling Office also serves as the chairman of the committee, holding this position "remotely" in the modern world. Professor Guo was promoted from the front line because of his seniority and served as the executive vice chairman, responsible for the front-line command of the late Ming Dynasty.
Then, according to the results of last night's negotiations, on the one hand, Far East Company will have to bear a series of huge economic losses caused in modern time and space, and on the other hand, it will need to be nationalized. Specifically, it will be controlled by the Chinese government's "capital injection" ( A considerable part of it is used to offset the indemnities and fines that Far East Company should pay in modern time and space), and cadres dispatched by the state (public Representative Fang) guides the operation and management of the company - although the scale and business of this "new mixed-ownership enterprise" are a bit scary, it is a very large enterprise with an army, arsenal, and subordinate cities. Its main business is to launch wars of conquest... but Referring to the successful precedents of the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company, it seems that there is no reason why it can't be done.
After the agreement on the nationalization and reorganization of the Far East Company was finally reached, in order to show goodwill, the government immediately sent two trucks of tropical fruits to the Far East Company in Vladivostok that they would never have been able to obtain in the late Ming Dynasty, plus boxes of Chinese cigarettes, chocolates, Maotai liquor and other scarce supplies in this time and space to celebrate - of course, as for what these things will taste like in the other person's mouth, then I'm afraid only God knows.
"...How can it be said to be confiscation? It should be said to be compensation! The government not only has to wipe their butts in the modern world, but also has to find somewhere to reimburse the cost of this operation - of course, from a national perspective, This amount of money is nothing at all. As long as you turn on the money printing machine, you will have more banknotes. But the whole process of the incident must not get out of control. This is the most important thing..."
Political Commissar Guo took a puff of his cigarette and replied to Wang Qiu, "...Besides, this deal is definitely not a loss for the people in the Far East Company. In the past, they were single-handedly engaged in all conquests and exploration activities. Everything has to be accomplished by raising funds from their own pockets and fighting bloody battles. Although compared with several other time travel groups in this time and space, they seem to be quite well prepared. The number of people alone is close to the total number of other time travellers. But if they want to conquer a world, it is still not enough. Now that they have a country to back them up, they have no shortage of industrial machinery, vaccines, antibiotics, and arms. When the time came, it would be better to have a national think tank give them advice than to do it behind closed doors.
In fact, if I obtain this ability to travel through time and space, and it is bound to myself, it cannot be taken apart. So if I'm content with making a small fuss and just plan to experience a few trips to other worlds and earn some pocket money, then that's fine. But if I really make up my mind and want to do something grand and great in another world... I'm afraid I will also find a way to find a country to cooperate. This kind of decision has nothing to do with party spirit or consciousness. The key is that the resources controlled by individuals or companies are completely incomparable with the resources controlled by the country. They are not on the same order of magnitude at all.
For example, according to our general thinking, such as time and space merchants, plane trade and other things, those single traders who accidentally obtained the space and time gate can basically only dump modern products due to lack of capital and experience at the beginning. Start buying small hardware, haberdashery and the like, and organize supplies in wholesale markets and even supermarkets. Moreover, cross-time and space trade is not so easy to do. The ancient world was full of dangers, and there were countless bandits and bandits. Many seemingly simple mountain villages were actually nests of bandits who ate people without spitting out their bones. But the average Chinese can only get a set of body armor and a few daggers for self-defense. It is even more difficult to get a black gun - after all, we are not in the United States where guns and ammunition are sold in supermarkets.
Then, even if the deal can be concluded smoothly without losing one's life at the beginning, what valuable things can ordinary time travelers get from ancient times? Directly dumping gold and silver? Ancient China has always been short of precious metals, and the price of silver in ancient times was much more expensive than in modern times, making the conversion very uneconomical. Get some porcelain, calligraphy, paintings, etc. and take them back and pass them off as antiques? Regardless of the fact that many famous paintings and antiques in auction houses can fetch sky-high prices, in fact the market capacity of this type of cultural products is very small and limited to some small circles. If there are only one or two pieces, then maybe it is okay. Once there are too many, the value of such antiques will jump like a dive - for example, the five-baht coins of the Han Dynasty and the Kaiyuan Tongbao of the Tang Dynasty. Although they are very old, they are just because there are too many. The selling price of money is only enough to buy a bicycle at most.
Generally speaking, it is very unreliable to make a fortune by picking up leaks on Taobao and gambling on stones. Luxury goods such as various antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jade jewelry, etc. usually have little actual value. The reason why the price is high is It's all about a sense of psychological superiority. It's basically the same as stocks, which are speculated and cannot be done. Accurate - Compared with antiques, there is a more classic case of speculation, the Tibetan Mastiff. The value of this kind of dog is completely created by speculation. Once there is no hype value, the Tibetan Mastiff originally bought for millions will eventually be Sold at a low price of 10,000 yuan and slaughtered to make hot pot...
By the same token, imagine if thousands, or even tens of thousands, of Song Dynasty official kiln or Yuan blue and white porcelain suddenly appeared in the domestic antique market, what impact would the market price have? What's even more terrible is, how many big bosses with damaged interests and powerful eyes will come to investigate and deal with you, a scammer who maliciously attacks the market? How can a mere ordinary person with the body of an ordinary person be able to bear it?
What's more, unless you have Doraemon's [Time Baggage] to keep you old, those so-called famous porcelains you got from the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty that have just come out of the kiln and haven't even had the pyrotechnics to clear away, because they don't have the accumulation of time. It will only be regarded as a modern high imitation product and cannot be sold at all.
However, when the owner of the Kongmen had a high enough awareness and chose to cooperate with the country, it was completely different. First of all, if you cooperate with the country, you can participate in some higher-level cooperation. What is the most profitable thing in modern international trade? It’s not petty things like arms, drugs, and diamonds, nor antique jade and other small things whose market prices fluctuate greatly, but large-scale engineering assistance construction and large-scale industrial equipment transactions between countries. The project cost of a modern port is As big as an aircraft carrier! From basic steel products to textile fabrics, from cars and trains to large ships, from industrial machine tools to oil refining equipment, China's productivity can provide everything. Even the arms business will not just stop at small tubes with a caliber of less than 20 mm, but can sell tanks, fighter planes and even warships! If it were a different world, the country could even transfer a complete industrial system there and plug in all the obsolete production capacity, even if it was sold for the price of scrap metal - because these mechanical equipment will be sold on the 21st The century has long been outdated, and it was originally worthless waste that should have been recycled.
Especially in our current situation, as long as the time-travelers here are aware enough and cooperate wholeheartedly with the tasks assigned by the party and the country, the country can even provide them with a large amount of high-tech human resources - and it will be permanent. Sexual skilled immigrants..."
High-tech human resources? This awkward concept confused Wang Qiu, "...I'm sorry, but how can the country organize a large number of immigrants to another world while keeping confidentiality? If deception and other methods are used, the consequences will be serious. But voluntary If we want to recruit, not only will there be too much movement, but there won’t be many people willing to go. Could it be that we should learn from the British’s experience in colonizing Australia and exile death row prisoners to this time and space?”
"... Death row prisoners are of course also a source, but considering their violent tendencies, they are not suitable candidates for immigration, and the number is too small - although the social security situation in our country is not as good as that of Japan, the number of prisoners executed every year It’s only one or two thousand, what use can this person do?”
Professor Guo raised his eyebrows and said, "...In fact, we have a better way to recruit immigrants - there are no less than millions of patients in the country who die of various terminal diseases every year, and there are countless people dying every moment. Thousands of people are suffering from cancer and AIDS. There is no cure. They can only lie in hospital beds and wait for the signature to be completed. He died and went to see Marx. If the government handed over a confidentiality agreement at this time, saying that there might be a way to cure his disease, but they would need to give up their identities, say goodbye to their families forever, and start their lives again in an isolated place. ...Do you think anyone will agree? ”
"...Although I can't say that everyone will agree, there will definitely be some people who will grasp this life-saving straw. So what if they are cheated? Anyway, they can only wait for death. How bad can they be no matter how bad they are? But the question is what to do next?”
Wang Qiu replied casually, "...What's the use of tricking a group of terminally ill patients into coming here like this? Oh my God! Could it be..." His expression suddenly changed.
"...Yes, it's just as you thought!" At this point, a playful smile appeared on Guo Jing's lips, "...Comrade Xiao Wang, the [Automatic Medical Treatment" you bought from Doraemon Box], although it doesn't work in our world, it works fine here, AIDS, cancer, and organ failure are all a piece of cake. How many terminally ill patients can be treated, how many healthy workers can be cured... And these people are already legally 'dead' in our world and will not cause any problems at all. of social unrest and media attention..."
Hearing such a seamless immigration plan, Wang Qiu couldn't help but take a breath - as we all know, in any general hospital, you can find many terminally ill patients who have no money and are basically hopeless. To persuade such patients to voluntarily sell themselves to the country is simply a simple matter: when it is time to see Marx, even a devil stretches out its long claws and takes out a piece of paper written with mysterious flames. The agreement on the parchment tempts patients to exchange their souls for a chance to live. Presumably many patients will also sign...
If the country really uses this method to collect immigrants, I'm afraid it won't be a problem to organize one million safe, reliable and trouble-free immigrants every year!
Moreover, he also thought of another thing... "...The uses of this magical prop [automatic medical kit] may not stop there. There must be many senior leaders or retired leaders in Beijing who are suffering from terminal illnesses and want to Use it to treat yourself, right?" Wang Qiu suddenly asked.
"...You guessed it accurately. ********** indeed has such a plan." Professor Guo nodded in recognition, "...At present, the central government has specially approved a secret of 2 billion yen. With the funds, your mother purchased a large number of 22nd century high-tech medical equipment, mainly [automatic medical boxes], through Doraemon's channels. She originally planned to travel through time as soon as possible. , to select a location to build a medical base. But the problem is that the winter in Vladivostok is too cold, the heating conditions are relatively poor, and the climate and living environment are not good for the health of the elderly, so the relevant departments decided to build the medical base in Hainan. The next step is to inspect and select the island... Anyway, it only takes a few days, and the leading comrades can afford to wait.”
As for whether the crossing group in Hainan Island will obediently obey the government's orders and free up land and provide services for the previous and current central leaders... This issue does not need to be considered at all. Even the Vladivostok Far East Company, which has Cold War-level military strength, this Even the toughest critics have given in. How can the Hainan Island Crossing Group, which is still playing steampunk, have the courage to commit suicide?
——Wang Qiu couldn't help but imagine that among the picturesque coconut groves, blue sea and beaches of Hainan Island, a heavily guarded fortress-like building complex suddenly stood up, with a sign saying "Medical Base for Central Veteran Cadres in the Late Ming Dynasty" , a row of fully armed Zhongnanhai guards stood at the door.
Then, you used to see on the news broadcasts and newspapers, and even in textbooks that former national leaders, including top dignitaries such as former prime ministers and former presidents, were inspecting while recovering from illness. The construction achievements of the time travelers in the late Ming Dynasty were also inscribed with commendations and While taking a souvenir, he "cordially and kindly" received a group of representatives of the travelers who were frightened and sweating coldly, as well as the ancients of the Ming Dynasty four hundred years ago, and gave some important instructions and encouraged them to continue their efforts to realize the industrialization and conquest of Hainan Island as soon as possible. Strive for the great cause of the world...
Well, this picture is too beautiful to look at...
At the same time, Professor Guo's nagging continued, and the topic changed:
"... In short, don't underestimate the country's magnanimity. The country has never come to Vladivostok to pick fruits from the beginning. It is not even to directly gain economic benefits from Vladivostok in this time and space, but sincerely wants to provide some help to these time-travelers. And guidance - in fact, such a small 'fruit' is not worth mentioning from the government's point of view. What is really important is to exclude it. Stabilizing factors to bring everything under control: Our core task is to figure out the ins and outs of this time-travel incident, and what other extraordinary things the Far East Company has done in the modern world, in case something big happens. It’s a waste, it’s better to seize the time to make up for it, so as not to be caught off guard when the trouble comes..."
"...So, at least here in Vladivostok, investigating the incident itself is the focus, and colonizing another world is just a side task?"
Wang Qiu touched his chin thoughtfully, "...But this is too conservative! With the resources and markets of Northeast Asia in front of us, wouldn't the country not feel excited? Just rely on the little money turned over by the Far East Company. In terms of profits and taxes, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get back the cost of this massive effort!”
"...Of course I am excited. The problem is that this new resource production area and market are really unreliable! How long can the connection between the two worlds last? How much appetite can be satisfied with the transportation capacity of Doraemon's pocket? ? Can we still build a railway in his pocket? ”
Professor Guo smiled bitterly and pointed to the space-time door held out by Doraemon's pocket. Large trucks were coming in and out one after another, delivering some machinery and medical equipment to the Far East Company that could not be produced in this time and space. At the same time, Transport away the furs, ginseng, high-grade wood, etc. they have hoarded here. , as the first profit and tax paid after the nationalization transformation, "...make large-scale investments here, establish various mines, and then exchange modern industrial products for the natural resources of the late Ming Dynasty? This idea is certainly good, but the problem is How to transport things back?
There are only two ways to enter this world. One is your "Book of Time Travel", which allows up to twenty people to enter in groups at a time and cannot bring much cargo. Another way is to go through Doraemon's pocket like now - even if an oil field is developed on Sakhalin Island here, we can't insert an oil pipeline into Doraemon's pocket and let him You have been standing here for many years and become a regular transit station! ”
——By national standards, when transportation bottlenecks cannot be solved, large-scale cross-dimensional trade is as unrealistic as space colonization.
Therefore, the state's investment in time travelers in the late Ming Dynasty can really be said to be funding or even charity to a large extent.
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"...Okay, what you said makes sense...If the transportation bottleneck cannot be solved, we can indeed only take away a small amount of high-value small things from this time and space (by national standards, a few hundred trucks is also a small amount) ). And this resource is of no significance to the country..."
Wang Qiu nodded and sighed, "...So the state-owned holding of the Far East Company is just a formality, and it is good to be able to earn back the operation funds. The main goal is to explore and inspect, and to perform government functions and remove those who accidentally strayed to other countries. Is it right for the people of the world to be rescued?”
"...That's about it. We may also provide some help to those who are willing to stay here, and perhaps historians and archaeologists will come to inspect... Doesn't it make people feel a bit regretful?" Professor Guo said with a smile. , "...But no matter what, we finally solved a big problem...Eh? What is Ma Tong doing over there? Where did those messy things come from?" He suddenly exclaimed.
Wang Qiu looked back and found Ma Tong standing in front of the relief pattern decorated with the twelve signs of the zodiac. At first glance, it was easily reminiscent of the "Monument to the People's Heroes of the Far East" in the comic "Saint Seiya", commanding several Workers erected sculptures and relief panels while paying attention to a Far East company's The engineer taught him a lesson, "... Your monument is well done, but the square below is too empty! Even if it is a square with the theme of "Saint Seiya", statues of Athena and Purple Dragon should be erected. ! What does it mean to be alone with Saint Seiya?”
"...Isn't there not enough time? The ordered Saint Seiya statue has only arrived, but Boss Li's space-time gate has exhausted its energy."
The engineer wearing thick glasses explained nonchalantly, "...If you want to carve it yourself, you really don't have the energy..."
"...So, I specially collected a lot of good things for you from Shanghai this time, which can be used as city street decorations to surprise the indigenous people in this world." Ma Tong held up her unruffled face with pride. Tablet *** said, while commanding many strong men in military coats to unload an exquisite, luxurious and lifelike white stone sculpture, "...Alas, The comic "Saint Seiya" is really too old. The animated version of Athena or the statue of Ms. Saori Kido is really unavailable, so I had to get you an authentic ancient Greek style one. Here comes the marble statue of Athena, the one wearing an ancient Greek helmet, holding a spear, and an owl standing on her shoulder. Do you think it’s okay?”
"...It's very suitable, very suitable." The animation engineer's eyes shone with excitement and he nodded repeatedly, "...Is there anything else?"
"...Of course there are many more! I've brought all the statues I can find, and you guys can figure out how to pour cement into a base and put them on!"
——What greatly pleased the engineer was that Ma Tong brought many decorative statues, including Poseidon, the sea god holding a trident, Medusa, the snake-haired succubus, and Zeus throwing lightning, etc. Stone statues of ancient Greek gods, including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Doraemon and Nobita Nobita, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, Detective Conan and Inuyasha, Haruhi Suzumiya There are statues of well-known cartoon characters such as Yuki Nagato, Reimu Hakurei, and Murasaki Yakumo, and even a yellow-orange Pikachu and a fat white "Uncle KFC"... And those relief panels are clearly engraved with He writes fairy tales such as "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", and "The Three Little Pigs"... Where did you get all these messy things?
Noticing Professor Guo's probing gaze, Wang Qiu, who was originally looking embarrassed, could only cough dryly and explain to him awkwardly. "...Well, I remember that there seemed to be a township in Pudong undergoing demolition. Among them was a European-style garden residential complex that was unfinished before it was built, plus a theme park that was so abandoned... Ma Tong's stuff Son, I probably got it from picking up rags there..."