In the auditorium of Fanjiazhuang City Hall, Li Zhi sat on the rostrum and looked at the radiant Fanjiazhuang businessmen opposite.
This time when he colonized Luzon, Li Zhi did not completely rely on the official power of the Tianjin system. After all, 1.2 million people immigrated to open up wasteland, and the materials needed were huge. Calculating that each immigrant consumed thirty taels of various materials, this
That’s an expenditure of more than 30 million taels of silver.
Although Li Zhi's financial system was far richer than that of the Ming Dynasty, it was extremely stressful to spend more than 30 million taels at a time.
However, there is a huge force among the people under Li Zhi's rule. Li Zhi has always hidden wealth among the people. In Tianjin and Shandong under Li Zhi's rule, the people have become rich. Not to mention Shandong, let's talk about Tianjin. Every family has a few
With a savings of ten taels, the two richest industrial zones, Fanjiazhuang and Tianjin Aicheng, can generate tens of millions of taels of private savings.
Therefore, in supporting the people of Jianghuai Province to colonize Luzon, Li Zhi gave the opportunity to private capital.
In fact, in this era, Europe's foreign colonization also relied heavily on private power. The Netherlands, Britain and other countries relied on the East India Company to expand in Asia, and the East India Company was established with private financing, and its shares were traded on the stock market.
A publicly traded public enterprise.
As a time traveler who understood the historical process, Li Zhi naturally would not act recklessly and would not let the government take care of all colonial matters.
Private businessmen did not disappoint Li Zhi. Under Li Zhi's call, more than 300 immigration companies were established in just one month. These immigration companies ranged from large to small. The small ones only had tens of thousands of taels of silver, while the large ones only had tens of thousands of taels of silver.
The company's capital even amounts to millions of taels, and it is listed on the stock exchange.
The total size of these large and small immigration companies even exceeds the 1.2 million immigrants set by Li Zhi, and the funds raised can support the immigration of 1.5 million people.
Li Zhi stood on the podium of the auditorium, looked at the heads of the 300 immigration families, and said, "I think what everyone is concerned about is the issue of supplies."
No matter how much money is spent on colonial affairs, the money is ultimately spent on purchasing supplies. The new immigrants in Luzon Province need saws, sickles, hoes, bricks, water trucks, cement and other supplies. Can the immigration company
The key to purchasing these materials at market prices is whether there is sufficient supply of goods on the market.
If the market supply is insufficient, the immigration company will not be able to buy it no matter how much money it pays.
Li Zhi looked at the owner of the company who was looking forward to it, patted him and said, "Let Gao Ligong, director of the Tianjin Industry Department, do the talking."
Gao Ligong had made great contributions in installing iron armor on the armored ships and was now promoted to director. He stood on the rostrum and bowed to Li Zhi, then turned around and said: "Don't worry, everyone, we have set a quota of 1.2 million people."
, it has been investigated. The factories in Fanjiazhuang are now enough to produce materials to support the immigration of 1.2 million people."
"It is of course impossible to support the immigration of 1.2 million people by relying on traditional handicraft workshops. But today, Tianjin already has 1,100 large and small factories, almost all of which use the assembly lines and steam engines invented by Wang Ye, and their manufacturing capabilities are extremely strong.
.”
"In just the two industrial cities of Fanjiazhuang and Tianjin Aicheng, we have 350,000 workers. A large number of various commodities are produced every day and sold to various parts of the Ming Dynasty and overseas markets at extremely low prices.
"
"It is no exaggeration to say that in the world today, only our Tianjin system can support the overseas expansion of 1.2 million immigrants at a time."
When the businessmen below heard these words, they were all very happy. Lending money to immigrants is a sure-profit business, and the key now is whether the materials can be supplied. If Gao Ligong is so confident, the situation is obviously excellent.
"Tools such as sickles, hoes, and saws can be produced very quickly. New fields have been opened up in various places over the years, and the output of these tools is very large every year. According to our estimation, there is no need for a government-run forging factory. In Tianjin Acropolis
Private forges can meet the supply of these tools."
After hearing what Gao Ligong said, the businessmen in the audience were very happy and started talking with their colleagues.
Gao Ligong waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.
He added: "There is no need to worry about the manufacturing of waterwheels. In recent years, many water pipe foundries have been established in various places, and a considerable number of these factories can cast dragon tail wheels. As soon as the order comes, factories in various places can immediately
It is easy to start construction and produce hundreds of thousands of waterwheels."
"There is no need to worry about cement factories and brick and tile factories. Construction in various places has been in full swing in recent years, and our production of building materials has been expanding steadily. With 1.2 million labor immigrants, Luzon Province needs to build approximately 600,000 houses. Our production capacity
Totally satisfied.”
"Of course, bricks, tiles and cement are very low-priced commodities, and it is not cost-effective to ship them to Luzon. The Department of Industry will allow building material factories that intend to expand overseas to build construction materials in Luzon and produce building materials locally in Luzon, ensuring that
Let all immigration companies purchase enough building materials."
When the businessmen in the audience heard Gao Ligong's words, they felt relieved and applauded enthusiastically.
When the applause fell, someone suddenly raised his hand and said, "Director Gao, what will happen if the Malay natives attack the immigrants who open up wasteland?"
Gao Ligong looked at Li Zhi, who pointed to Cao Yu, the general manager of the arsenal.
Cao Yu stood up, stroking his beard and said: "Our arsenal has produced enough standard waist knives this month, enough to equip each of 1.2 million immigrants with one. In addition, 40,000 people were recruited in Tianjin and Shandong
The li commander and armor commander also bring their own rifles."
"If you are still worried about insufficient force and the farmers you support will be attacked by the indigenous people, you can equip the immigrants with standard rifles. Our standard rifles are now sold to the private sector at a price of thirty-five taels. If ten immigrants are equipped with one
With rifles, we have 120,000 militiamen, enough to kill all the natives who provoke us and maintain local order."
The businessman who asked the question asked: "Can the arsenal produce 160,000 standard rifles within a year?"
When Cao Yu heard this question, he smiled and said nothing.
Gao Ligong laughed loudly and said: "Let me reveal some military secrets to you! With the current lathe technology, it can be said that it is easy for us to produce front-loaded standard rifles. It is completely mass production on the assembly line. Now there are hundreds of thousands in the warehouse
As long as you want to distribute the surplus standard rifles to farmers, the arsenal will be ready to ship them out immediately."
The eyes of the businessmen below lit up and they started talking among themselves again.
After a pause, Gao Ligong said: "Now we have more than 50 private transportation companies and more than 400 steamships running routes from various places. These steamships vary in size and do not have artillery. There is a certain risk in running the Luzon route.
.But our naval ironclads will provide protection to civilian ships to ensure that the ships are not harassed by European battleships."
After hearing this, many businessmen nodded. There is no problem with transportation, so now everything is really ready.
Gao Ligong asked: "Do you have any questions?"
The businessmen looked at each other for a while, but no one asked any questions.
Gao Ligong looked at Li Zhi.
Li Zhi nodded and said: "Okay, the specific work of colonizing Luzon this time depends on the merchants. With the support of the two industrial cities in Tianjin, I believe that the development of Luzon will be successful this time."
