Lu Zhengxiang, Gu Weijun and others went to Europe to negotiate with full thoughts, while Qiao Yu faced a completely new situation, that is, the war in Europe was over, all huge orders were cancelled, and weapons and military supplies were no longer needed.
Food and daily necessities are also decreasing, China's exports suddenly dropped by more than half, and along with the Spanish flu came a terrible depression. This is not good news for everyone.
This is also the case in the United States and Japan, but after all, their domestic markets are still relatively large. Even Japan far surpasses China. Most of the industries in the southwest were forcibly spawned by Qiao Yu through World War I. After the end of World War I, foreign demand disappeared.
After that, there is a risk of being knocked back to the original shape in an instant, which is also the biggest problem facing the current "system."
Finance Minister Jiang Yonggui, Trade Minister Qian Moyin, Southwest Bank President Wei Ruolan and others went to Qiao Yu to discuss countermeasures. Qian Moyin was the first to speak.
"Junzuo, with the end of the European War, a large number of orders have been cancelled. Although we have received some liquidated damages, they are still far less than the extent of the losses. Now there are more than 300 million pounds of goods accumulated, causing serious damage.
stagnation, if we cannot sell products quickly, we are about to usher in a huge wave of unemployment, and a greater risk will follow, that is, the UK and France will withdraw a large number of expert technicians, and the quality of our products will also suffer.
It will take a certain amount of time to recover. The entire southwest economy is now at a very dangerous edge. Sufficient measures must be taken, otherwise the results of industrial construction will be destroyed!"
Jiang Yonggui's face was also very haggard, and he was obviously under great pressure. Although Qiao Yu had reminded everyone in advance to pay attention to the difficulties caused by the end of the war, in fact, the industrial sector in the southwest was also making adjustments, but the industries that relied on the war to prosper
It is still too fragile and its ability to withstand risks is too weak.
"Jin Zuo, there are more than two million professional workers in Sichuan and even more migrant workers. There are more than one million workers in Europe. These people need to be given jobs. If there are no jobs, these workers will not be like
The farmers are so peaceful. In fact, there have been several demonstrations in Sichuan and production has stopped. It is as if the blood has stopped flowing in society. If this continues, it will be a dead end!"
"Director Jiang, don't talk about the difficulties. I know it very well. I want to know what you can do without just coming to me to complain!"
"No wonder Jun, we are also being forced a little tight, and we are full of bitterness. We have also formulated a plan. The prosperity of the southwest was brought about by the war. We might as well let the war continue and maintain the prosperity.
Now, the great powers are already planning how to intervene in the Russian revolution. In the Far East, China and Japan are definitely the main forces. As long as we can continue to fight against Russia, our products will be able to be sold, and everything will be fine!"
Jiang Yonggui's proposal really makes sense. If we simply continue to maintain the war, the southwest will still prosper. Obviously Qian Moyin and Wei Ruolan also agree with this view. Qiao Yu shook his head slightly. "Although this method is good, it is not advisable.
, Intervening in Russia is different from providing supplies to the Allied Powers. The European War is far away from us. At this time, if the main force of the intervention force is Beiyang, it must be fighting with Russia. You know Beiyang's capabilities better than I do. Even if they have received sufficient supplements,
Whether we can compete with Russia is still a question. If we fail, we will still lose. Therefore, our interference with Russia can only be limited. Simply put, our goal is to regain lost ground. The rest can be used by Kolchak.
It is obviously undesirable for the Belarusian troops to expand the scale of the war!"
Russia will appear in the world with a new attitude. Qiao Yu is naturally very clear about the threat from China, but now Qiao Yu's main forces are in the southwest, and it is simply beyond his reach to interfere with Russia. It is obviously a little bit to expect Beiyang to do this.
Difficult, Beiyang's army has limited combat effectiveness, and more importantly, its organizational and mobilization capabilities are also limited. It cannot concentrate its forces at all. It is far behind the majority party. Even the Southwest built by Qiao Yu cannot match the organizational capabilities of the majority party.
To counterbalance, the scale of intervention in Russia must be controlled. Otherwise, after falling into an endless war, not only will the industry in the southwest be unable to continue to develop, but the capital that is not strong enough will be consumed.
Now China has a more ferocious enemy, and that is Japan. After the nourishment of World War I, although the rise of Qiao Yu took away part of the profits, Japan still grew up and became a strong opponent. It is also the current situation of China.
The most vicious enemy.
When Qian Moyin and others heard that Qiao Yu was only planning to intervene in Russia to a limited extent, they were a little stupid. They also knew that the Far East was a bitter cold land and was not conducive to fighting, but now there is really no other better way.
This is true even for the great powers. Both the United States and Japan are enduring the post-war depression. Can they just wait for the economic situation to recover on its own?
"Jin Zuo, how about we overthrow Beiyang?" Wei Ruolan is indeed a financial student, and he really has a ruthless meaning. Since it is difficult to deal with Russia, then he will attack the people in the country. It is just a matter of war.
It's just war.
"It is easy to deal with Beiyang, but it is very difficult to govern the world. Do we have enough talents and officials now? No! Once Beiyang is overthrown, we will still have to rely on the original local forces to stabilize the situation. Once these people are integrated into our regime
In China, it has become extremely difficult to carry out reforms. We still need enough time to do so. Moreover, Beiyang and we are both Chinese. It is best to have peaceful reunification. Even if we have to fight, we must control the scale. We must
Control the scale and time to avoid harming the people!
However, I think this proposal gives us a new idea. We do need to expand our power and market. It is not necessarily military expansion, but economic expansion, so that our economic power can expand. I am going to follow the example of the original
The plan to develop the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou includes the two provinces of Hunan and Guangxi, overhauls railways, builds power stations, and encourages industrial and commercial development. This will give southwest industrial products a new market!"
Now Guangdong and Guangxi are in the hands of Qiao Yu. Xia Douyin and Tan Yanchuang of the two lakes also rely on Qiao Yu's power. Although they may not support the entry of capital from the southwest, they have no way to stop it. This is indeed a very good way.
.
"Jinzuo, I think we can definitely include Shaanxi and Gansu, so that our power can expand faster!" Qian Moyin made another suggestion, and everyone applauded.
"Everyone, although this kind of economic expansion can help us get rid of the current crisis, it is not the fundamental solution. Economic expansion will bring about opposition from other local factions, and it will undoubtedly affect the interests of the great powers, and we will definitely encounter some opposition.
, the fundamental way to solve the current economic problems lies in increasing our consumption power. Only when we have strong consumption power can we get out of the predicament!"
The economy is very complex, but also very simple. It just needs to solve the problems of production and consumption. Now the industry in the southwest has solved the problem of production, but consumption relies on Europe. What we need to do now is to transfer consumption to the southwest and let China
The common people can afford to consume goods, and in this way, the crisis will naturally be resolved.
But it’s easier said than done. Although Sichuan’s people’s livelihood has improved greatly after Qiao Yu’s years of hard work, the problem of food has basically been solved. Those who live a better life can build a house, and the rest
Don't think about it. People with real spending power are still concentrated in cities. Only some people who have benefited from industrial development have enough ability to consume on a large scale.
"Jun Zuo, expanding consumption is certainly the key to solving the problem, but our people are still relatively poor in comparison, especially farmers who account for more than 80% of the total population. They are unable to consume. They want to spend money in a short time.
It's very difficult to make them rich!" Jiang Yonggui explained the difficulties, and Qian Moyin and Wei Ruolan also agreed, feeling that the difficulties were indeed great.
"Three of you, we have to do things even if they are difficult. We must let all people enjoy the fruits of economic development, not just citizens. Once the gap between urban and rural areas becomes like two worlds, our regime will definitely be destroyed.
The people have abandoned it, and by then it will be too late to save it. Now there is still a chance, and we must take action."
Nowadays, the gap between urban and rural areas in the southwest has reached a considerable level. Chongqing and Chengdu, a relatively fast-developing city, have faintly surpassed the scenery of Shanghai. They are considered good in the world, but the misery in the countryside is no better than in Africa.
Go ahead, if it weren't for China's starting point being too low and the people still being able to accept it, there would have been riots long ago.
However, with the popularization of education, people's wisdom has broadened, and the common people have become more knowledgeable, and they will definitely discover the problems. Especially since the Russian revolution has begun to have an impact on the world, the potential threat is even greater. Qiao Yu has already vaguely felt it.
crisis.
"Jun Zuo, the situation in urban and rural areas should indeed be changed. Step-by-step economic development will definitely take a lot of time. I wonder if Jun Zuo has any other ideas?" Qian Moyin asked.
"Land reform!" These four words came out of Qiao Yu's mouth. The three people present were all smart people. They immediately knew what Qiao Yu was planning to do. Indeed, the biggest obstacle restricting China's economic development now is land.
This is also the most difficult problem to solve. It can be said that a unique economic phenomenon has emerged under Qiao Yu's rule. Industrial systems have been established in vast urban areas, adopting a capitalist production model, and wealth has been rapidly accumulated.
In rural areas where industrial power has not affected, the tenancy system still remains. A few landlords control a large amount of land, and farmers can only live on renting land from landlords.
Qiao Yu has long implemented actions to reduce rents and interest rates, and has also lowered agricultural tax rates several times, allowing farmers to survive. However, this system that has lasted for thousands of years still exists firmly, and conservative people are not willing to choose to change.
Although there are also a large number of migrant workers who earn more money by going to cities to work, this is only a small part after all.
A large number of farmers are sharecroppers. Their income is limited throughout the year. Most of them barely make ends meet. They cannot afford to buy advanced agricultural machinery and fertilizers. Their output is just enough for food and clothing. Only by breaking this land relationship can we truly transform
They are involved in the capitalist market, and only by making them rich can they have sufficient consumption power.dd