Chapter 536 Tight Finance
The voyage from Sanya Port on Hainan Island to several major ports in Southeast Asia is more than a thousand nautical miles, and the voyage to Batavia even exceeds 1,500 nautical miles. If there is no reliable supply transfer point on such a long voyage, For the crew and sailors traveling on this route, the risk is indeed quite high. This is also one of the reasons why some Ming maritime merchants coveted the huge profits from ocean trade, but did not dare to open the South China Sea trade route without authorization.
But Haihan's mid- to long-term strategy is to encircle the entire South China Sea as his own territory, and based on this, to achieve a maritime trade monopoly between the East and the West. To realize this long-term plan, controlling the main waterway from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean is a necessary means. Malacca and Batavia are both must-win places in the future. Of course, you must first have a powerful navy to conquer such a distant goal.
Although the current strength of the militia navy is one of the best in the South China Sea, its scope of activities is still very limited, and it does not have enough ability to send troops south to compete with the old maritime power the Netherlands for ports in the South China Sea. Not only the military generals know this, but people in other departments also understand this fact. At the beginning, the Executive Committee eagerly obtained the land and development rights of the four southern ports from the Annan court, precisely to prepare for its future layout in the direction of the South China Sea.
What Yan Chujie wants to emphasize is the important role the navy will play in the southward expansion of Haihan layout, as well as the scale and necessity of fleet expansion required to complete these tasks. By linking the naval expansion with Haihan's overall strategic plan, it will be difficult for others to oppose the military's budget.
But having said that, Yan Chujie’s report did not exaggerate too much. The current scale of the militia navy is indeed unable to support the executive committee’s strategic intention to expand southward. If the simultaneous expansion of commerce, trade and military is to be achieved, then expanding the navy is indeed necessary. Measures that must be implemented immediately. In fact, considering the shipbuilding cycle, the entry time of the next batch of warships will definitely lag behind the expansion of trade routes. Therefore, Yan Chujie knew that proposing such a budget would receive fierce opposition, but he still insisted on his opinion.
Yan Chujie put forward his reasons from a professional perspective, and it is indeed too difficult for opponents to refute him in this field. Tao Donglai saw that Gu Kai and Ning Qi were both dumbfounded, so he asked: "Does anyone else have any additional opinions on the military's budget?"
"I would like to say a few words on behalf of the Ministry of Shipping." Yue Zhiyun raised his hand and said: "Everyone, the cost of building and using steam-powered sailboats is still very high, but this is indeed the future development direction of shipbuilding technology. What we have mastered All kinds of technologies that transcend the times need to be applied in the military field and then gradually spread to the civilian field. Not only warships, but also our merchant ships will have to use more advanced power systems sooner or later. The main reason is that the current cost is high. Because our production capacity is limited, mass construction is the most effective way to reduce costs for our current situation. I believe my colleagues in the Ministry of Industry will agree with me, leaving aside military expenditures and looking at the shipbuilding plan alone. , our Ministry of Shipping very much agrees with the military’s proposal.”
"What Xiao Yue said does make sense." Bai Kesi, representing the Ministry of Industry, took over and said: "Before we produced steam engines for the navy, we made one prototype and two mass-produced models, and then stopped production, but for this reason we After more than a year of preparation, the equipment, personnel, and venues were all prepared for this kind of steam engine. When the executive committee said it would stop work, everyone felt that the cost of building a new warship was high. Can it be expensive to build a small ship? ”
The Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Industry have successively expressed their attitude and supported the military's naval expansion plan, which silenced the opponents. In the end, although the Navy failed to get the requested military budget amount, it still increased it by 80% based on this year's amount, which is considered a victory.
This debate is only one part of the agenda for the budget and final accounts meeting at the end of the year. In fact, with the rapid acceleration of Haihan's expansion, various departments are requesting to increase budgets and expand department staffing. Including representatives from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education who have spoken out against the military, their departments also need higher budgets to achieve normal operations. As for Haihan's overall situation, the land and population gained from the rapid expansion in the past year or two have not been fully converted into economic gains. There has been almost no war dividends in the past year, and the finances have just continued to drain. Money was spent and money was spent again and again, but the increase in income could not keep up.
"Everyone, if the budgets of various departments can be passed, then we have only one way to go, and that is to go bankrupt immediately!" Schneider had to give a simple explanation of the current situation to those present: "According to me Based on the data recorded at the meeting in the past two days, comparing the budgets proposed by various departments with this year's fiscal revenue, we will have a fiscal deficit of approximately... 2.7 million yuan. This means that unless our revenue next year. The increase is more than 2.7 million. Otherwise, we will be unable to make ends meet in the next year, and we will probably be in trouble due to capital turnover problems.”
“What is the Treasury’s projected revenue for next year?” someone asked astutely.
"Our conservative estimate is to maintain this year's level. As everyone knows, our fiscal revenue mainly comes from foreign trade, because it is impossible to predict how much impact the Qiongbei region will have on our foreign trade. In addition, the investment in Qiongbei is also It may not stay at the budget figures currently proposed, and the deficit may further increase." Schneider did not give detailed figures, but tactfully went around: "But what I can confirm now is that if there is no foreign trade. If there is a particularly big breakthrough, then the fiscal deficit will be unavoidable!”
Since time travel, the biggest factor hindering Haihan's development has always been manpower. If it had sufficient human resources, Haihan's development speed would be at least half a year faster than it is now. Relying on cheap industrial products produced by various advanced means and a centralized financial system, Haihan has amassed wealth at the fastest speed of his generation. In the past few years, finance has never been a problem that has plagued Haihan's development. However, as the expansion speed accelerates, Haihan has to face new problems in an endless stream. The fundamental way to solve these problems lies in money. , but now the speed of making money can no longer keep up with the pace of spending money.
"I know you will probably ask me what solutions I have next. In fact, there must be a solution. To put it bluntly, it can only be said in four words: increase revenue! Reduce expenditure!" Schneider said unhurriedly: "In terms of increasing income, From one perspective, we must increase the scale of foreign trade, and the only roadblock is manpower. Facing the Ming Dynasty market, our production capacity is far from enough. Increasing fiscal revenue is a foreseeable goal. To a certain extent, it will be affected by the speed and scale of immigration from outside the island in the coming year. Of course, if there are other ways to make quick money, such as launching a local war to ensure considerable profits, I personally am not opposed to a more radical approach. .”
"As for reducing expenditures..." Schneider glanced at everyone present and said slowly: "I believe that the budget proposals submitted by everyone are the result of repeated deliberation and calculation, but considering our financial situation, Due to the current situation, some projects that are not so necessary will eventually be reduced and cut off. I hope everyone can understand. ”
"Can't we raise some funds through other methods? For example, selling bonds?" Someone else put forward a new suggestion.
"Issuing bonds is indeed feasible in theory, but we have to consider the actual situation." Schneider explained: "If we sell bonds, it is equivalent to revealing a message to the outside world - we do not have enough money. We spent a lot of time and energy to start to let the outside world accept our financial system, so that Ming merchants are willing to store gold and silver in our banks, but these people may not understand the actual meaning of bonds. Once they feel that their If money is at risk, our banks may face a run. Simply put, our current financial credit is not enough to support the issuance of bonds. Perhaps this situation will gradually change after our political power is established. When the naturalized people under our rule have a real sense of belonging, we can try to slowly issue government bonds internally. In short, it will take some time for external conditions to mature before we can use this method.”
Among the people here, Schneider is the only real financial expert, so this issue is basically his own final word. Even if others want to raise questions, it will be difficult for them to have an in-depth debate with him in this professional field - just like no one can refute the people of the Central Military Commission with words in the military field. The results of the meeting were not satisfactory. Except for a few departments, most department heads did not look very good when they left the meeting room.
Yan Chujie was undoubtedly one of the final winners of this meeting. Although the final approved budget did not reach the level expected by the military, compared with other departments, the budget increase the military received should be one of the best. In addition to immediately resuming the construction of the third Majesty-class warship, the military will also place a huge order with the Victory Port Shipyard, including the construction of at least three more Majesty-class battleships, as well as an Discovery-class ship with the current standard fleet configuration. and expedition-class warships. The total tonnage of this order will be close to 10,000 tons. The shipyard will definitely be busy in the next year.
As soon as Yan Chujie arrived at the gate of Fort Victory and before he got on his special carriage, someone called him from behind. Yan Chujie looked back and saw that this person was one of the winners of today's meeting, Deputy Minister of Security Hao Wanqing.
"If Mr. Yan is not in a hurry, can we chat for a few words?" Hao Wanqing came up and shook hands with Yan Chujie, and then said concisely: "I want to discuss some work matters with Mr. Yan."
"Okay, no problem. Should you go to my place or yours?" Yan Chujie said generously.
"It's dinner time, let's find a place to eat and chat!" Hao Wanqing made an invitation gesture: "I'll be the host!"
The restaurant Hao Wanqing was looking for was in the Shengli Port Business District, but it was Yan Chujie's first time to eat here. The food on this table can't be said to be rich. It's basically home-cooked food, but it tastes very good. After taking a few bites, Yan Chujie couldn't help but praise: "The cooks here are very good! Why have I never heard of this before?" Home?”
"It's only been open for half a month. The chef is Fan Wei's apprentice, and his skills are definitely not bad." Hao Wanqing pointed to the outside of the room and said: "Don't look at the small courtyard. There are not many rooms, and the decoration is not as good as those on the street. The restaurant is luxurious, but the business is very good. You have to queue up to make a reservation to eat here at night.”
"This is the way to go for high-end private kitchens. It's pretty good..." Yan Chujie put down his chopsticks, stared at Hao Wanqing and said, "Is this place also owned by your security department?"
Hao Wanqing smiled noncommittally and said: "Sometimes we need to interview some people outside, so we have to find a suitable place in advance. We can't drag people to the Security Department every time."
Yan Chujie nodded and said: "Your place is indeed a bit scary. It feels like you are about to be interrogated. You can't have a good conversation... Let's get down to business. I know you are also a busy person, so there is no need to talk in circles. ”
Hao Wanqing said: "Mr. Yan is so forthcoming, so I'll get straight to the point. During today's meeting, I heard what President Yan said that one of the purposes of the military's fleet expansion is to expand the scope of maritime activities southward. Is that true? ”
"Yes, that is indeed what we plan to do." Yan Chujie nodded and said, "Sooner or later, this step must be taken. If you start preparations early, you can reap the results sooner. And our military is not the only one who wants to do this. You can also see Here we are, the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Commerce are on our side.”
"After all, it's understandable that the interests are related." Hao Wanqing responded: "Then I would like to take the liberty to ask, what specific plans does the military have for Nanyang?"
"What do you want to know?" Yan Chujie asked instead of answering his question. Although the Ministry of Security has great authority, it is only outside the military system. When it comes to military secrets, Yan Chujie does not need to sell face to the Ministry of Security.
"Mr. Yan, don't get me wrong. The purpose of asking this question is not to find out the secrets of the military. I just want to know from the side and see if there is any possibility for our two departments to cooperate in Nanyang." Sensing Yan Chujie's vigilance , Hao Wanqing immediately explained.
(End of chapter)