Chapter 359 It’s Expensive
The so-called “production” of the Aceh Sultanate is actually importing parts from Amur and assembling them by itself. Its rifles, stock and straps are all imported from Amur.
Such an industry is naturally uncompetitive.
George does not need Aceh to develop industry. He will develop agriculture honestly and provide raw materials for Amur industry. Maybe in more than ten years, when the situation in the Russian Empire changes, Aceh will also have the opportunity to develop industry. .
Peter has been very busy recently. He was ordered to find a suitable place for the submarine in Vladivostok to build a secret base in East India.
There are more than 17,000 islands in East India, and there are many islands suitable for establishing secret bases.
Peter chose the Lingga Islands, located at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca.
The Lingga Islands, also known as the Dragon Tooth Islands, are only 110 kilometers away from the Lion City, with a land area of 2,178 square kilometers and a population of less than 1,000.
Antonov absolutely supports Peter’s work. The Linga Islands were sold directly to Peter for 100,000 rubles.
This 100,000 rubles is actually the relocation cost of the 1,000 people in the Linga Islands. After all the people are moved out, the Linga Islands will become George's private property just like East India.
The construction workers sent by George this time were all sons of good families selected from Vladivostok.
Milyugin was very disappointed because more than 70% of the first batch of formal students enrolled at Siberian University were Chinese.
There is no other way.
Compared with studying, Cossack prefers to serve as a soldier after graduating from elementary school, and does not want to waste too much time on studying.
The Chinese are indeed very talented in reading. Under the same conditions, the Chinese have generally higher grades than the Cossacks, are more interested in learning, and are more popular with professors.
"Let people who are good at reading study, and let people who want to be soldiers become soldiers. Isn't this what we have been doing?"
Not only was George not disappointed, he was happy to see the results.
Some people are obviously not good at studying, but they insist on being thrown into school to study, even if they don’t study, this seems to George to be a bit overkill.
Only primary school education in Amur is compulsory. In principle, you can work after graduating from primary school, but if you want to study, you can also continue to study. Although Vladivostok Middle School charges fees, the fees are extremely low and are not for profit at all. , ordinary families can easily afford the cost of their children’s education.
“I know, I’m just worried——”
George knew what Milyutin was worried about.
“Whether they are Cossacks, Koreans, or even Japanese, they are all Amurs first.”
Vladivostok has also gradually relaxed restrictions on the naturalization of Koreans and Japanese.
We can’t let go. Some Koreans and Japanese are more loyal to Amur than the Cossacks. Every winter, many Korean and Japanese workers try their best to stay in Amur. I don’t want to go back to my hometown.
Amur has a five-year immigration waiting period. New immigrants can only be temporarily qualified to work in Vladivostok. They must have no criminal record within five years and pass the social investigation of the Immigration Bureau before they can be officially naturalized.
What makes George quite embarrassed is that almost all the criminals in Amur in recent years were Cossacks, while the immigrants from East Asia kept to themselves.
And in terms of work attitude, Cossacks and East Asians are really different.
In other words, most factories in Vladivostok work in three shifts, which is not particularly obvious.
If there are two shifts, then only East Asians will take the initiative to work overtime. It is almost impossible to get the Cossacks to work overtime.
George does not expect too much, as long as the Cossack can work honestly within 8 hours, Amul does not advocate involution. Milyutin's requirements were even lower, as long as the Cossacks did not commit crimes.
Cossacks are the foundation of the Russian Empire’s military force. During peacetime, Cossacks are a burden. Once war breaks out, the brave and capable Cossacks will become the sharpest swords of the Russian Empire.
The number of the Amur army is limited, and most of the Cossacks can only enter the reserve force, waiting for an opportunity to enter the regular army.
Fortunately, the reserve army also has a salary. Although it is not as high as that of the regular army, it is still possible to maintain a living.
The workers who went to Aceh were basically selected from the Cossacks.
After completing the construction of the secret base, they will continue to stay in Aceh and be responsible for the security of the secret base.
In May, after the third phase of compensation to Japan, Daosheng Bank lost its loan rights for the Guangdong-Hankou Railway.
The Qing government's third installment of reparations to Japan was a loan from Britain and Germany, totaling 16 million pounds, with an annual interest rate of 4.5%, 83% deduction, guaranteed by customs revenue, and repaid in 45 years.
The Guangdong-Hankou Railway borrowed money from the United States.
The total loan amount of the Guangdong-Hankong Railway is US$40 million, with an annual interest rate of 5% and a 10% discount payment. The railway property is used as security and the loan term is 30 years.
The United States obtained mining rights along the Guangdong-Hankou Railway through loans.
Ukhtomsky was very disappointed. He spent more than half a year in the Far East and got nothing.
George had expected it.
The Qing Empire could not only borrow from the Russian Empire. This was actually taking advantage of the contradictions between European and American countries to form mutual checks and balances and protect the interests of the Qing Empire as much as possible.
The Russian Empire initiated the Three Kingdoms Intervention to return to the Liao Dynasty, drove away the Japanese, dominated the Liaodong Peninsula, and divided the entire northeastern part of the Qing Empire into its own sphere of influence.
The Russian Empire's greed for land has aroused strong vigilance in the Qing Empire, which is why Ukhtomsky gained nothing.
The cruiser urgently purchased by the Asian Fleet from Vladivostok finally attracted attention from the outside world.
In the Battle of Manila, the Vladivostok cruiser performed extremely well. Four of the seven battleships of the Spanish fleet were sunk by the Vladivostok cruiser.
George Dewey was very satisfied with the performance of the Vladivostok cruisers. After the Battle of Manila, he suggested to the US Navy Department that they continue to purchase cruisers from Vladivostok and actively seek technology transfer to improve the performance of US warships.
Due to the lack of land cooperation in the Asiatic Fleet, George Dewey did not land in Manila after destroying the Spanish fleet. Instead, he blocked Manila Bay and waited for domestic reinforcements.
Therefore, during this period, British and German warships continued to appear in the waters off Manila.
During the confrontation with British and German warships, the Vladivostok cruiser performed equally well. With its excellent speed, it successfully intercepted British and German warships many times.
Although reinforcements from the United States have not arrived, the Philippine rebel army, with a total number of 25,000, has surrounded Manila.
Dewey secretly contacted the rebel leaders and promised to support the Philippines in becoming an independent country after the war, gaining the trust of the Philippine rebels.
This must be a lie, because the Spanish have reached an agreement with the Americans to sell the Philippine Islands to the United States for $20 million.
20 million US dollars is still more expensive than 20 million rubles.
(End of this chapter)