In July 1866, the protracted American Civil War finally ended.
There was no winner at the end of this civil war. This war resulted in the death of more than 1.15 million American soldiers, 600,000 soldiers were disabled, and an unknown number of civilians were also affected.
Although the war began with "slavery," when the war ended, slavery in the American South did not end.
Not only was it not over, Washington had to recognize the independence of the South, even though President McClellan tried to negotiate an end to the war, and even said he could give up emancipating the slaves in order to quell the war.
But because of the extreme distrust of the North, the South unswervingly chose independence. This is why the negotiations took so long, and even fought several times last year.
But in the end, the people in the north got tired of the war, and faced the resolute south, they gave up!
America is divided!
Before the National Day of the United States, the two sides signed a treaty. According to this so-called peace treaty, the United States split into two countries. All this seemed logical. After all, after more than one million people died, it was impossible for the two sides to come together again.
Together.
The split was doomed from the day of the negotiations.
What does it mean for America to be divided?
Zhu Xianhai still doesn't know yet, but what is certain is that the "era of huge profits" in Nanhua ended with the signing of this treaty.
"Hey, the good days have come to an end..."
With such a sigh, he left Nanhua and went to inspect the newly built farms in the Beihe area. After all, the export of flour, beef and other agricultural products is also the engine that promotes Nanhua's economic development, and it cannot be ignored.
Especially now that the American Civil War is over and South China needs to undergo economic transformation, it is even more important to pay attention to future agricultural development.
Although when he first came to South China, Zhu Xianhai planned to allocate land to immigrants, but during the implementation process, based on various considerations such as profit, he finally chose large-scale farms to turn immigrants into farm workers and work according to their needs.
Compensation will be given based on the technical content or labor contribution.
What are the benefits of large-scale farm operations?
Of course, it is to maximize profits, and the company can adjust the crops and livestock raised according to market demand. For example, in the past few years, the company has been preferring cotton planting. That is because the American Civil War led to the high profits of cotton planting. At that time, of course
Cotton will be grown on a large scale.
But after the civil war, the global "cotton planting boom" bubble will burst immediately. So as early as last year, when the North and South sides of the United States began negotiations, and before the negotiations between the North and the South, the company made a large-scale reduction in cotton planting.
"Although the peace talks between the North and the South at the beginning of the year have not yet produced a result, cotton exports from the South have recovered. From the beginning of the year to now, the price of cotton has dropped by more than 60% compared with last year. Fortunately, the company significantly reduced cotton planting last year
, although the farm’s profits have dropped a lot, the basic profits can still be guaranteed..."
At the Xinlinyi Farm, Zhu Xianhai just nodded slightly as he listened to farm manager Li Xudong's explanation. After Lincoln failed in the election, he intentionally adjusted Nanhua's cotton planting in order to avoid economic bankruptcy. During the American Civil War,
The most obvious example of the global "cotton planting boom" triggered by the epidemic is Egypt - it has adjusted too much of its economic focus to the "hugely profitable" cotton planting industry, which has caused the country's overall economic situation to show a
A serious deformity; and as global cotton prices gradually fall, bankruptcy is inevitable.
The "cotton boom" bubble even affected China - in history, many farmers planted a large amount of cotton and suffered heavy losses when the cotton boom burst. What is the biggest benefit of Nanhua's farm system? It is that companies can directly control
The variety of agricultural products grown has allowed Nanhua's farms to get out of the "bubble" and turn to emerging industries.
"My lord, thank you for overriding everyone's opinions, otherwise we would have been trapped in this year's cotton fall!"
Liu Baoyuan said with a smile.
"I heard that this year's cotton price is estimated to be even lower than the original price. I don't know how many people will lose money."
What does their loss have to do with Nanhua?
It doesn’t matter!
Even in China, it is a good thing for Nanhua that farmers go bankrupt - if they had not gone bankrupt, how could they immigrate?
Well, Nam Hwa wins!
"Not even enough?"
Zhu Xianhai smiled.
"If that's the case, we can take the opportunity to buy at the bottom. After all, production also requires raw materials. And as for agricultural products, with such a big loss this year, the cotton planting area will definitely be much less next year. It is estimated that there will be another increase next year.
With such a decline and rise, the profits are still extremely considerable."
Taking advantage of the low price to buy cotton, and then selling it at the high price, making two waves in one business is a huge win. Of course, this is also because there is sufficient capital. Ordinary people would definitely not be able to do this business, but in the case of a company, it is impossible.
It’s different.
"Hey, it's a pity that this kind of business can only be done once!"
Looking at Liu Baoyuan's pity look, Zhu Xianhai shook his head and said.
"The huge profits brought about by the war will inevitably end with the end of the war. The loss of huge profits now is not a big deal!"
When he said these words, Zhu Xianhai also felt a burst of heartache in his heart!
But whenever he thinks about the end of huge profits, he feels heartache. How can he not feel heartache? The good days of Americans killing each other are over... Hey, why are the Yankees so unbeatable?
"Now, the era of cotton is over, and the focus in the future is the export of beef cattle."
After adjusting his mood, Zhu Xianhai said:
"Urbanization in Europe has led to an increasing demand for meat, but Europe does not have so much land to raise cattle, but it is different here. We have the best pastures in the world, and we have begun to put fresh cattle
Exporting frozen meat to Europe is very profitable, and in the next few decades, this business will definitely bring us extremely generous returns!"
In 1864, just two years ago, the Dahua General Machinery Company tried to use mechanical refrigeration and used an air conditioner using ammonia as a refrigerant on a ship for the first time. It was successful. The "Norfox" transported 1,200 tons of frozen beef from Nanhua.
Arriving at the port of Le Havre in France, Nanhua beef exports to Europe were pioneered.
In the past two years, Nanhua's beef and mutton exports have promoted Nanhua's industrial development. After the Industrial Revolution, Britain, France and other European countries experienced rapid economic development, a sharp increase in urban population, and a huge demand for meat. But Europe
The number of cattle and sheep was insufficient, resulting in a shortage of meat. At this time, Nanhua and Argentina stimulated the sheep industry due to the large exports of wool, but there was no way to deal with the excess beef and mutton, and Nanhua used refrigerated ships to sell the excess.
The cheap frozen meat was sent to distant Europe, thus making extremely huge profits.
Historically, Argentina relied on exporting beef to become a nearly developed country. Of course, in the end they were knocked back to their original shape. But one thing that is certain is that in the next few decades, the European market will have an absolute demand for beef.
It's unprecedented.
Nanhua can definitely add a new engine to agricultural development by developing animal husbandry centered on beef cattle breeding. Now it is time to further expand beef export trade.
Exporting agricultural products, including beef, in exchange for funds and machinery needed for economic development is the fundamental reason for the development of agriculture.
But in his heart, Zhu Xianhai still feels a little pity. After all, the current chemical pharmaceuticals are not advanced enough. Otherwise, it would be good to let Europeans enjoy the "gifts of modern breeding" such as hormone meat a hundred years in advance.
.
It's a pity that the chemical industry is not developed enough. There are only theories but cannot be realized. It is definitely a kind of torture for individuals. However, we can also attack the problem in a targeted manner. Find some drugs such as clenbuterol first.
Then we will come up with modern large-scale industrial breeding.
By that time, it would be impossible not to make a fortune. Of course, that kind of meat could only be sold to Europe, so that Europeans could enjoy the gift of modern science.
In fact, since I traveled to this era, Europeans have also been very lucky. For example, canned food. Thanks to Zhu Xianhai’s efforts, luncheon meat has been introduced to the world ahead of time. The luncheon meat produced by Xuanhua is not just
Made from pork shoulder, there are also many bits and pieces including lymph. Those things are mixed in the lunch meat and you can't tell the difference at all.
Of course, its price is absolutely cheap, and it is exclusive to luncheon meat exclusively for export. If it weren’t for the charm of modern science, how could Europeans eat such cheap canned meat?
This kind of blessing is definitely a blessing from science!
"My lord, transporting frozen meat to Europe requires a lot of refrigerated ships. We shouldn't have that many refrigerated ships now!"
Li Xudong frowned. What is the biggest problem in transporting frozen meat to Europe? It must be refrigerated ships. There are not so many refrigerated ships, and there is no way to transport meat. Why can Nanhua monopolize meat exports to Europe? To put it bluntly,
It's because Nanhua has a monopoly on refrigerated ships.
"It turns out it's just a boat. There's no problem with that at all,"
Zhu Xianhai smiled.
"Right now, we have a lot of idle ships, and those ships are all high-speed ships with more than 18 knots. When it comes to transporting frozen meat, their speed advantage is even more obvious. They can be converted into refrigerated ships at the shipyard, specifically to transport frozen meat to Europe.
.”
Now that the Civil War is over, those "ghost ships" are no longer useful. I was still worried about what those ships were used for. They can't just sit idle. Now they can be put into commercial routes...
This chapter has been completed!