Chapter 678 Investment Environment
"The people in the Security Department are not doing their job well!" After hearing Qiao Zhiya's gossip, Gu Kai couldn't help but scold him: "It's been half a year since March, why haven't we arrested all the fugitives in that case? Is it them? Don’t you pay enough attention to things in Danzhou?”
Qiao Zhiya responded: "The Ministry of Security cannot be entirely blamed for this. They have deployed a lot of people in Danzhou. Originally, a man named Wang Baisuo was in charge of this area in Danzhou. Later, Hao Wanqing brought Lin Nan and Li Qingyang together for this case. Transferred to Danzhou, do you recognize these two people?”
Gu Kai nodded. These two people had often been in and out of Victory Castle for some time in the past, so he recognized them. Lin Nan is Hao Wanqing's right-hand man, and Li Qingyang, a former Jinyiwei officer, also applied for Haihan naturalization last year. Both of them are relatively well-known figures in the security department.
Qiao Zhiya continued: "Besides them, Zhang Qianzhi, the disciple of Minister He, is also in Danzhou. It is said that Zhang Qianzhi made a great contribution to solving the case in March!"
Qiao Zhiya said that these people can be regarded as elite soldiers of the Security Department. Even if Gu Kai doesn't have much dealings with the Security Department, he still knows about the existence of these people. But this only made him feel even more puzzled: "Since Hao Wanqing has mobilized so many good people, why hasn't the matter been dealt with completely?"
"The main reason is that the main culprit was not caught at the time, and later it was said that he fled into the mountains. Qiongbei is not as good as Qiongnan. Many Li and Miao villages have little contact with the outside world. There are many practical difficulties for the Ministry of Security to enter the mountains to search." Qiao Zhiya sighed: "With the few manpower of the Ministry of Security, we can only conduct some control in the city. Searching the mountain without the cooperation of the military will definitely not be feasible."
Gu Kai did not say such layman's words as "then report to the military for cooperation." To carry out a large-scale mountain search in Qiongbei, it would require the deployment of at least thousands of troops. It is estimated that the entire Qiongbei stationed All the militiamen must invest in it. The military will definitely not agree to such a reckless method. As for the field staff of the Ministry of Security, there are usually only a dozen or twenty people in a state. This configuration in Danzhou is already beyond the standard, but it is useless to spread such a small number of people into the mountains. On the contrary, it will increase its own risk - - There are not as many Limiao and Miao villages in Qiongbei as there are in Qiongnan, and the attitude of the mountain people towards the Han people is not necessarily friendly.
Gu Kai could only shake his head helplessly and said: "I hope this matter will be resolved quickly. There are many projects in Danzhou during the Autumn Fair... I don't know if these foreign businessmen who visited Danzhou a few days ago will affected.”
The visiting groups organized by the Ministry of Commerce were divided into two groups. One group settled in Sanya, mainly to inspect some new industrial products launched by the Ministry of Commerce and to discuss cooperation intentions in trade, finance, and infrastructure. Another group of visiting groups went to Qiongzhou Fucheng and Danzhou to inspect the large-scale collective farm projects planned there, and to take a look at the areas to be developed designated by the Haihan Management Committee.
Qiao Zhiya said with a smile: "You can rest assured about this. The Danzhou visiting group arrived yesterday. I chatted with these people at the reception banquet, and they were very interested! Who wouldn't want to do a hugely profitable business? Are you rushing to do it?”
After the Qiongbei area was purged by "Operation Prairie Fire" and followed by special management for more than half a year, many landlords and gentry who were unwilling to cooperate with Haihan were swept away from the local area in various ways, both overtly and covertly, thus clearing up a large area. of farmland to realize Haihan’s collective farm development model. In the future, in addition to growing food crops, these lands will also have large-scale cash crop plantations, and this is what foreign investors are looking for.
Spices crops, oil crops, hemp crops, as well as rubber trees that can produce rubber, and mulberry trees that are necessary for the development of the sericulture industry in Qiongzhou Island are all cash crops that will be planted on a large scale in Qiongbei and Qiongzhong. The market conditions for these types of cash crops have always been good, and the investment prospects are also very good. The plantation parks invested by "Qiong Lianfa" in the Qiongnan area in the early stage have basically entered the profit stage, which has also established more confidence for subsequent investors.
For Haihan, who has already taken control of Qiongzhou Island, what he can provide in this transaction is the venue and technology. Strictly speaking, there is no shortage of funds. The main reason why he still needs to introduce outside investors is to consider to the shortage of labor and future sales channels.
In addition to financial investment, businessmen from Daming and other places often send a large number of laborers to these places. On the one hand, they can speed up the development progress, and on the other hand, they can also learn some of the Haihan people's planting techniques and management experience - of course After living locally for a few years, it is not certain whether these people would still be willing to move back to the place where they came from.
After a period of time, these places begin to produce output, then merchants who participated in the early investment and construction will be able to obtain corresponding priority sales rights, and can transport these in-demand commodities to inland areas such as Daming and Annan for sale, and obtain high returns. There is no need for Haihan to spend energy to set up these channels one by one. Investors will naturally try to improve this link that is closely related to their interests.
Haihan people have advanced technology, clearly owned land, a stable external environment and a reliable business reputation. Whether they are investors seeking high returns or long-term stable profits, almost all investors can be under the control of Haihan. Find suitable business projects in the region. Although the merchants who visited Danzhou had also heard about the assassination of Lord Zhizhou, after they went to see the place, they naturally knew that the people who made the decision there were not the Ming government, but the subordinates of the Haihan Executive Committee. Danzhou Management Committee.
Businessmen don't care too much about national justice and the like, not to mention that Haihan did not openly raise a flag for rebellion at this time. Moreover, the reputation of the Haihan people has long been spread through business activities in the past few years. They have never had any misdeeds in transactions or cooperative operations. In terms of reliability, they are much better than the government. Therefore, although the recent situation in Danzhou does not seem to be very peaceful, it has not affected the investment enthusiasm of merchants.
The same goes for this group of merchants who came from Sanya. Although they had been on a sea journey for nearly three days, these people showed no signs of being tired from the journey. After getting off the ship, they clamored to visit what the Ministry of Commerce had previously claimed was "the longest on Qiongzhou Island." Freight Tracks”.
Gu Kai had to come out to smooth things over: "Everyone, everyone has been tired of traveling all the way. Today we will rest temporarily in Changhua County. Tomorrow we will organize everyone to take a train to Changhua County with another visiting group that arrived earlier. Visit the Shilu Mining Area, which is 40 miles east. Director Qiao of the Changhua Management Committee has prepared a sumptuous reception banquet for everyone. Please follow the instructions of the staff and take the carriage to the county seat. "Qiao Zhiya was in Changhua that night. A banquet was held in the county seat to entertain the visiting group, and local magistrates, commander-in-chief and other local officials also came to accompany them. When the businessmen saw that Haihan had managed the situation so well, they were naturally reassured about the investment prospects here.
The next morning, after the visiting group had breakfast in the county town, they were led by staff to wait at the train station outside the county town. After the two groups of visitors were merged, there were still more than 40 people, excluding attendants, servants, etc., so Qiao Zhiya arranged in advance a passenger carriage specially used to carry distinguished guests.
Many of these businessmen were riding this legendary "Haihan Train" that spewed out white smoke for the first time. They all found it so novel that they couldn't help but touch and look at it. Today's passenger carriages are no longer in the same condition as when the Shengli Port to Tiandugu was first opened. They have decent roof windows, and the windows are inlaid with palm-sized plate glass, which makes businessmen shout luxury. ——The glass windows installed in this carriage alone could be sold for at least one or two thousand taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty. The seats in the carriage are fixed to the floor, made of hardwood, and covered with cowhide palm cushions, which are relatively comfortable to sit on. Buckets of ice cubes made of saltpeter were also placed in the carriage to lower the temperature inside the carriage.
Of course, the other carriages pulled by the same locomotive as the visiting group were not in such good condition. Passengers could only sit on long stools without backrests in the carriage and sway all the way to Shilu. Only the roof covered with bamboo mats could protect against wind and rain, so the servants and the like could only make do with this kind of vehicle for the time being. In addition to carrying labor tools and living supplies destined for the mining area, these wagons also contained hundreds of miners who were going to work in Shilu. However, these miners are different from the coolies who dig stones in the mines. They are basically foremen and technicians responsible for mining technology at various mining sites. They can take the train to and from Changhua and Shilu. The real miners who work hard basically live in Shilu for a long time, and it is difficult for them to get out of the mining area.
With two whistles blowing, the steam locomotive began to accelerate slowly, pulling a train of trains out of the platform and heading inland to the east. Someone in the visiting group soon noticed a large number of buildings south of the track: "Excuse me, Mr. Gu, why are there so many chimneys here?"
Gu Kai explained: "This is the iron and steelmaking production base we built. It will be officially put into operation in two days. At that time, we will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony. At that time, we will invite all the bosses here to come and watch the ceremony. I also hope that everyone Everyone can appreciate it!”
Those who are discerning have noticed the key words. Salt and iron have always been a national exclusive project. It is no secret that the Haihan people opened a salt farm in Qiongnan to make private salt. Some people have heard that there is a salt factory in Tiandu in the interior of Sanya. The Chu Iron Mine is in operation, but the Haihan people have established such a large presence in Changhua and dared to disclose it to so many outsiders. It seems that they no longer take the Ming Dynasty seriously.
Some smart people have already asked: "The mines in Shilu should be iron ore?"
Gu Kai did not hide this, and nodded in response: "Not only iron ore, but also copper mine. The coal ships you saw at Changhua Port yesterday all came from Annan Black Earth Port, and the coal they transported Coke will be made in Changhua and then used to make iron and steel. I can tell you a big story here. Once the Changhua plant is put into operation, the steel output will soon exceed that of the entire Guangdong and Guangxi regions!"
What do the Haihan people do to refine so much steel? Of course, businessmen would not naturally think that they would only use it to make farm tools, kitchen knives, iron pots and the like. The steel would inevitably be used to build such high-speed roads paved with rails, and the giant railway station docked at Victory Port. ships, as well as countless pieces of armor, as well as the famous Haihan rifles and cannons. Everyone can think of this truth, but no one will explain it in this situation.
"The speed of this train is comparable to that of a galloping horse, but it is far more stable than riding a horse. It is really good, but the track has to be laid for such a long time, so it must be expensive to build, right?" The person who asked the question was a businessman from Fujian, who was also in his life. It was my first time to ride a train. I was so excited that I also tried to find out the value of this thing.
"You can ask Director Qiao to answer this question. When this railway was first built, Director Qiao was the person in charge." Gu Kai gave this question to Qiao Zhiya very knowingly.
Qiao Zhiya nodded and responded: "The cost is indeed not low. You can imagine that there was no road in the place where this track currently passes. We first need to open a road in the wilderness and lay gravel and sleepers on it. The construction of this iron track is much more difficult than ordinary road construction. In addition, this track is very heavy, weighing about twenty or thirty pounds per foot, and a section of track is dozens of feet long. When laying the track. The manpower required is huge. If you have experience in engineering construction, you can definitely calculate the cost. ”
The person who asked the question couldn't help but sigh: "Just the fine iron used to build the rails would cost tens of thousands of kilograms per mile. It's really scary... Only your country's financial resources can afford this." A huge project.”
Qiao Zhiya smiled and did not accept his compliment. In fact, Haihan also faced many difficulties when he built this railway. In addition to the loss of a large number of laborers, the pig iron used for these dozens of miles of track was indeed a large amount. For this reason, the Executive Committee had to coordinate and postpone a large number of arms orders to free up pig iron production capacity to supply the needs for rail manufacturing. Haihan Military Industry's arms sales in the past two years included a large number of banned weapons. In fact, part of the reason is that the weapons production capacity was indirectly affected by this project. Of course, with the opening of this railway and the commissioning of Shilu Iron Mine, this situation has completely gone forever. Now if the same project needs to be carried out again, the pig iron production capacity of Shilu alone will suffice. The need is met.
As the train progressed, visitors asked questions one after another. Qiao Zhiya and Gu Kai almost didn't even bother to take a sip of water and were busy answering these questions.
(End of chapter)