While Daqian's court and Xu Wei were counting the year's harvest, Cao Cao, who was hiding on Crab Island, was also studying Daqian's policies and counting the income and expenses of Crab Island over the past year!
The sound of the abacus was everywhere in the hall, and Xun or more kept holding the account book to look at the total collected!
Cao Cao's other subordinates also looked forward to it. Since Guo Jia opened up the trade route to Jidu, Crab Island's income has increased year after year. Cao Cao has also been extremely generous to his subordinates. In the past two years, rewards have continued, and everyone is looking forward to life.
So for these people, the greater the benefits of Crab Island, the richer the rewards they can get.
Although Daqian has experienced investment overheating and inflation, Crab Island can even be considered good news. During the period of inflation, the price of bezoar directly doubled, but it was a pity for Cao Cao that the price was quickly reduced. After Lei Gong took control, he earned a few more months of money.
It's just that Cao Cao's face is not very good-looking. He suddenly became rich, and Cao Cao spent money a bit lavishly. Although the accounts have not yet come out, Cao Cao can feel that although the income of Crab Island has increased this year, the money is still not enough. Even if As the master of an island, it is very difficult for him to make an expenditure of 100,000 yuan. In this case, even if he does not know how much he has earned this year, he knows that the income and expenditure of Crab Island is extremely tight!
Half a day later, Abacus's business stopped. Xun You took the account book and said to Cao Cao: "Ming Gong, this year the income of Crab Island has come out. We have made a total of more than 230 million yuan this year from selling wood, sulfur and dispatching labor services. The money is 30% more than last year!”
This figure surprised Cao Cao. He did not expect that the income would increase so much, and then he said doubtfully: "We have made so much money this year, why do I still feel that the expenses of our Crab Island are extremely tight?"
Xun You said with a helpless smile: "Although we earn a lot, our expenses are growing faster. First of all, the eldest son's study abroad expenses are not much, but they are still 3 million yuan, and after Ming Gong knew that he had made a steam engine, , purchased these machines, and also built a several-mile railway track in Luojing. You must know that our Crab Island can only produce a small amount of pig iron. This railway track and locomotive were purchased from Jidu, which alone cost 30 million. money, and we purchased 100 camel machines, 10 tractors, and some spare parts and machinery needed for maintenance from Daqian, which added up to another 5 million yuan."
"Although these machines are expensive, I have to say that they are really useful. If nothing else, the camel machine is used to pump water, which has increased the food income of our Crab Island by 10%, and the effect of this tractor on plowing is also better than Hundreds of cows are much more powerful. I have to admire Lei Gong's use of machines. He is simply miraculous." Cao Cao was very sensitive to new affairs. After learning about the development of industrialization in Daqian over the years, he also purchased some The pot camel machine and steam engine are used for research, in order to keep up with the development of Daqian!
Xun You said helplessly: "But these things are too expensive, especially the tractor, which is already half full!"
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For Xunhe, the pot camel machine is the most suitable for the current Crab Island. This machine is simple to maintain, durable, and highly adaptable. The water pumping function alone is enough for them to make back their money. This year, the paddy fields of Crab Island are due to these pot camels.
Because of the machine, there are tens of thousands more acres, and the grain output of these tens of thousands acres of paddy fields has more than doubled, so Xun is probably willing to introduce the pot camel machine.
But he doesn't really want tractors. He admits that each tractor is better than 10 cows, but the machinery is easy to break, and no one on Crab Island knows how to repair it. The tractors purchased at a huge cost will wear out after just a few uses.
If it breaks down, it would be more cost-effective to buy more cattle and horses. At least they know how to take care of these big animals!
What other trains and rails are there, not to mention the huge cost, and the distance is only a few miles. These expensive machines have become huge toys. Xun may feel that instead of wasting precious resources on such useless rails, it is better to
Build some lightweight wooden rails by yourself. At least the wooden rails don’t need to be imported, and the manpower can be used by your own troops. The 30 million money does not need to be spent.
Hearing this, Cao Cao smiled indifferently and said: "When Zixiu and the others come back after their studies, won't this tractor be repairable? Wooden rails can also be built, but we can't leave behind the rails. At least we know that there is such a thing
, so as not to miss too much."
When Xun You heard this, he could only continue to talk to Cao Cao about the expenses of Crab Island: "Cloth, silk, large livestock such as cattle and horses, and their respective farm tools, machinery, all of these materials are what our Crab Island needs. This year we will increase the expenditure."
The increased import volume cost us nearly 200 million yuan in total, so even if our income increased by 30%, it was still not enough!”
Cao Cao blushed a little when he heard this. Forget about other things, silk is really not what Crab Island needs now, but the wealthy nobles of Crab Island are not willing to lower their living standards even if they come to such a barbaric place. In the past, everyone
It's okay if they don't have money. Now that they have made money, they naturally don't want to treat themselves badly. This year alone, they spent more than 30 million on silk purchases, and many of them were contributed by Cao Cao's family.
After all, for Cao Cao, he was sent to Crab Island and his future was already visible. Why not be better to his family?
In addition, there were so many cronies who followed Tai Lai to Crab Island. After a year of hard work, Cao Cao also had to find a way to reward him, and luxury goods like silk were the best reward.
Even Cao Cao thought this way, and the decadent nobles did not want to lower their living standards. After Guo Jia opened the trade route from Crab Island to Jidu the year before last, the income of Crab Island began to rise sharply.
The wealthy nobles tried their best to buy some luxury goods, silks, four-wheeled carriages, luxury furniture made by Daqian, leather clothes, etc. This is the main reason why Crab Island lacks foreign exchange!
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Cao Cao saw the bill given by Xun He and found that less than half of it was related to the luxury goods purchased. It was just like Xun He said, earning
There are many flowers.
Xun or this was considered to give them face, by mixing the cost of these luxury goods with the cost of cattle, horses, farm tools, etc.
Most of the profits from the trade routes that Guo Jia worked so hard to develop in Daqian actually became luxuries for the noble families of Crab Island.
Cao Cao didn't even blush, feeling a little sorry for Guo Jia who worked so hard in Jidu!
So he said: "We at Crab Island still have to find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure! We cannot let down Fengxiao's efforts in Jidu!"
After speaking, Cao Cao handed the account book to his other subordinates.
People like Cheng Yu read the account books and understood why Cao Cao said this!
Cheng Yu stroked his beard and said: "If you want to save money, we can also produce silk and woolen cloth on Crab Island. We can find a way to get some mulberry trees and establish a silkworm breeding industry on Crab Island. By then, our Crab Island The silk can not only meet our needs, but can also be exported to Jidu. By then, maybe the silk industry will be restored and it may even become our pillar industry!"
Xun You's eyes lit up when he heard this and said: "This is indeed a way to make money. Da Qian likes luxury, and the people's demand for silk is almost endless. At the beginning, Liu Bei relied on the silk industry to support the expenses of the entire court. If our Crab Island We can also establish a silk industry, even if it is only one-tenth of the original Jiangnan, it will be a great addition to Crab Island!"
Today's Crab Island is a bit like the Chinese dynasty of later generations. It is extremely hungry for foreign exchange. More than 200 million in foreign exchange a year is not enough to spend. Even 2 billion in foreign exchange may not be enough for them. Xun or as the master of Crab Island As a politician, it can be said that you worry about money every day!
The silk industry gave him a glimmer of hope. The wealth of Daqian was unprecedented, and the silk products consumed every year were dozens of times more than during the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei relied on the silk industry to support the court's expenses. If they have such a powerful industry, life will be much easier, and he won't have to hold on to anything like he does now.
But he soon became embarrassed and said: "If you want to raise silkworms, you need to go to the south, and our Crab Island is in the north. The heavy snow in winter can even flood the houses. Can silkworms be raised in a place like this?"
Cheng Yu thought for a while and said: "We can give it a try. It doesn't matter if we fail, but if we succeed, it will be a huge victory!"
Xun You on the side said: "Actually, it would be better for us to breed sheep on Crab Island and develop the wool textile industry! After all, there are many emperors on the island, and I lack manpower and cannot develop it. The food is now enough for us, and there are extra open spaces and It is better to find a way to raise sheep and use them as raw materials for the textile industry if they are left desolate there."
Xun or shook his head and said: "Even if we raise sheep on Crab Island, we can't beat Dagan in the textile industry. Their Mayi textile factory alone can produce millions of pieces of woolen cloth every year. No businessman can beat the Mayi Textile Factory, let alone our Crab Island!"
Xun You said: "We have an advantage that Dagan cannot match, that is, our labor costs are much lower than Dagan. Now the monthly salary of female textile workers in Dagan is 1,000 yuan, and female workers with better skills are priced higher. .
And if the textile factory is built in our Crab Island, the salary of our female workers can be as low as 100 yuan. Even if our machines are not as good as Daqian at this price, our woolen cloth is enough to compete with Daqian, and even if it cannot develop, it will satisfy Our own needs are good too!”
After hearing this, Cao Cao was overjoyed and said: "The great talent Gongda actually thought of a way to make money for us on Crab Island. Crab Island is a small area and we can't raise sheep. We simply buy wool from Dagan and let the female workers on Crab Island spin the wool." Cloth, and then sell it to Daqian at a low price, so we will have another way to make money!"
For Cao Cao, it doesn't matter whether he makes money or not. The key is to make foreign exchange. In order to make foreign exchange, Cao Cao tried his best. Many tribesmen died every year in the sulfur mine of Crab Island, but the output has been increasing, which is true. He has almost finished cutting down the century-old giant tree, and Cao Cao, the log industry, estimates that it will decline in less than five years!
In order to make money, the powerful noble families on the island also tried their best to export grain and their own fish and meat resources to Daqian at extremely low prices. So much so that the price of food on the Japanese island that did not produce food was even lower than that of the mainland of Daqian. You know The price of grain in Jidu has been as low as 130 qian per stone, while the price of grain in Wodao has been suppressed by Cao Cao and others to about 100-110 qian, which is lower than that in Daqian. Even the merchants coming to Wodao are unwilling to transport grain. , the locals of Japan would rather dig gold mines than grow food, and the market for these hundreds of thousands of people was completely covered by Cao Cao and the others!
But even though Cao Cao and the others worked so hard to make money, under the scissors of Daqian's industrial and agricultural scissors, the money earned by Crab Island would soon flow to Daqian's country!
This is because Cao Cao's Crab Island is too primitive, and ordinary feudal countries would have been destroyed long ago in the face of Daqian's industrialization.
But on the contrary, such a primitive country will not be greatly affected. Crab Island has no handicraft industry at all, so it is naturally not afraid of the impact of industrialization. Most of his tribesmen are born as savages. The demand is low, and Cao Cao started working at a low price. Buying old rice for the tribesmen made these savages smile. Even if they killed several savages by eating them, they didn't care. They just regarded these people as unlucky and unable to live a good life.
It can be said that if it weren't for the arrogance and extravagance of the upper class like Cao Cao, Cao Cao on Crab Island could even absorb Daqian's funds!
But obviously the desires of Cao Cao and the upper echelons are endless, and the income from Crab Island is no longer what they want.
Now Cao Cao and the others have discovered that the speed of making money in farming and other fields is too slow, and all the profits are harvested by Da Gan. If they want to keep the money on Crab Island, they must find a way to develop light industry!
Although this seemed to be a way to make money, Xun You still smiled bitterly and said: "Ming Gong, please don't forget that buying machinery also costs a lot of money. Nowadays, most people in Daqian have begun to use steam looms, and here we only have to use big money to eliminate them." The old-fashioned textile machines, even if our labor costs are low, it is difficult to compete with the Mayi Textile Factory."
"If you want to buy a steam loom, let alone whether Daqian will sell it to us, even if they are willing to sell it to us, the price will be unbearable for us!"
The problem of not having enough money is common all over the world. Cao Cao is also facing this difficulty now. Even if he builds a light industrial textile factory, the cost will not be small. At least it is difficult for Cao Cao to get the money now.
Cheng Yu thought for a while and said: "Now only businessmen are rich in Daqian. Can we recruit a group of businessmen to open a textile factory on Crab Island? As long as the machinery is the same, with our low-cost labor price, we can open a textile factory here." , we can definitely compete with Daqian. This can be said to be a huge advantage for us. We can make more money. I think those businessmen will definitely not refuse, and if the textile factory is built on Crab Island, we can collect a tax."
Cao Cao and the others found that this seemed feasible, so they sent a message to Guo Jia in Jidu, asking him to find ways to recruit some businessmen to invest in Crab Island.