Rhodes was sitting in the cold city hall, holding the hot wine handed by the servant in his hand, sipping it in small sips.
Sunlight spilled into the hall through the stone pillar windows, leaving pale pillars of light in the air. Countless tiny dusts were floating in them, just like Rhodes' thoughts at the moment, which were not calming down or stopping.
Alves stomped back and forth, making a thumping sound in the hall.
"So, you've already decided?"
Mayor Alves suddenly raised his head and stared at Rhodes and asked.
"Yes, besides this method, do you have any better ideas or suggestions?"
Rhodes asked back with a serious face.
Alvis was at a loss for words. According to Rhodes's idea, after this ordeal, it is almost impossible for Elengrad to return to its previous peak state by its own strength. Since Elengrad was originally owned by Kislev
At the core of the economy, this epidemic has severely hit Kislev's economy. As a result, the entire Kislev economy has been brought to the brink of collapse, and the national treasury has been almost emptied.
Due to the early stage of the plague, almost all the strength of the entire kingdom was invested in the production and research and development of heavy industry. There was no extra funds and strength to deal with such a sudden large-scale disaster.
Coupled with the special nature of heavy industry, once started, it cannot be stopped. After the outbreak of the plague, the central government continued to invest in maintaining the development of heavy industry production, while also raising funds for disaster relief. It can be said that the pressure of the people has almost reached the edge of collapse. Therefore, relying on
Recovering one's own strength is as difficult as climbing to the sky.
Rhodes' idea was to fully open up Oerengrad and make it a special administrative region. Foreign businessmen would be allowed to invest in construction in the city, and the Oerengrad government would provide low labor and land prices to attract imperial merchants and nobles.
In fact, Rhodes had this idea a long time ago, but the time was not yet mature at that time, and Kislev as a whole had not yet reached that point. Therefore, Rhodes has always held a tough attitude on foreign policy and did not agree with comprehensive freedom.
Trade.
But now, the situation is different. Production in the city is recovering slowly, some industries are stagnant, and there are still hundreds of thousands of people to feed. At this time, we have to rely on external forces to restore production. This is a bit like attracting investment.
In other words, it is to attract investment and use cheap domestic labor to attract foreign investment, create job opportunities, and at the same time help the country develop rapidly.
At this time, Orengrad is suitable for this situation. After the plague, the city is in urgent need of resuming production and trade. Kislev no longer has the extra power to complete this task on its own, so it can rely on external forces.
The government of Elengrad provides low land prices and leases them to foreign businessmen at extreme prices. At the same time, there are hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in the city of Elengrad, who are actually refugees after the plague.
As long as these people have a job at the moment, they don't care about the working conditions and environment. They are equivalent to providing extremely cheap labor force. The combination of the two forms an extremely advantageous investment environment in Erengrad.
The double low cost of low land prices and low labor will be a great attraction for imperial merchants and nobles. They can invest in building factories in Oerengrad, and the cost of the goods produced will be far lower than that produced in the empire itself.
At the same time, with the help of Erengrad's natural port advantages, these goods can be continuously transported from the seaport to all over the world. This is another great attraction for imperial merchants and nobles.
According to the plan, if the investment promotion is successful, the entire Erengrad will recover in a short period of time. The city will become the focus of the world's attention. A large number of foreign-funded companies will pour in, which will not only provide employment for local residents, but also prosper the entire city. Trade will resume.
Once prospered, revenue from the port will soon make up for Kislev's financial gap.
But at the same time, the disadvantages brought about by this policy are also great. Without speculation, Rhodes also knows that once the investment promotion policy is implemented, a large number of foreign-funded companies will soon appear in the streets of Oerengrad. From the Empire
and wealthy businessmen from all over the world will monopolize the entire Erengrad economy. The tavern owner will no longer be a local resident, but a big businessman from the empire. The owner of the factory will also be the empire and foreign businessmen, no longer Erengrad.
Nobles and merchants native to Lungrad.
The rapid development of the free market will inevitably lead to the birth of large consortiums. Very powerful foreign companies will annex local small businesses. The original small factories in Olengrad will be acquired and merged to become large multinational and cross-regional companies. Olengrad
Virtue is equivalent to the rear production base of these big nobles and big businessmen.
In fact, soon, the goods in the Erengrad market will become universal products. Local products will not be able to compete with foreign companies due to the loss of scale effect. High-quality and low-priced goods will flood the entire Erengrad market.
Although the living standards of residents have been improved, the benefits do not belong to the Erengrad government, nor to the local nobles.
Because the owners of these factories and companies will no longer be Erengrad nobles or merchants, but wealthy merchants and nobles of the empire.
Their investment in Oerengrad has brought a huge number of jobs and restored the entire city's economy, but at the same time they will inevitably monopolize the entire market.
This is exactly what Alves is worried about...
"Not to mention how we explain it to the nobles of Erengrad, if this kind of monopoly consortium really appears in the future..."
"That's not a big problem, at least it's not fatal."
Rhodes interrupted Alves——
"We have an army, but they don't. All businessmen who invest in Elengrad will not be allowed to have an army stationed there. The Elengrad City Guard will be responsible for public security and protecting their personal and property safety."
"Without an army and just money, they can do nothing but make big waves."
Rhodes took a sip of hot wine and then said——
"Grain production and storage are still in our hands. People will not go hungry, and there will be no real risks. Kislev implements an official food purchase policy, and privately selling food is illegal. In recent years, people have
We are used to it, so the food issue will not be monopolized and manipulated. In addition, those imperial guys are pursuing absolute profits. Compared with food trade, industrial products and raw material trade are obviously more attractive and have higher profit margins.
It can be said to be several times the profit. Who would do something thankless?"
After listening, Alves reluctantly nodded.
Every policy is a double-edged sword, and Rhodes knows the truth of it. I think this is a problem with the original Free Trade Treaty.
At the beginning, when Kislev had just recovered from the civil war, the empire's electors were eager to sign a free trade agreement with Kislev. They were willing to unconditionally support Kislev's reconstruction work, including the construction of the Great Wall. As long as they let
The empire's merchant fleets can travel freely within Kislev, allowing the empire's goods to be freely traded within Kislev without tariff restrictions. It seems to be a harmless free and equal agreement. However, once trade is fully
If opened, the empire's cheap and advantageous products will completely defeat Kislev's local factories and enterprises. Within three years, the entire Kislev economy will be monopolized by imperial merchants and nobles. Therefore, Rhodes directly rejected this idea at the beginning.
"Friendly" proposal.
Times have changed, and the situation today is different from what it was then. Kislev has had to accept such unequal trade. However, this time, it is beneficial to let the empire's merchants come in, and it can be said that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
Of course, Rhodes also had conditions and only opened one city, Orengrad. In other words, in the entire Kislev, only Orengrad implemented investment promotion and free market policies. Other towns followed the original policies.
Implement controls to reduce risks as much as possible.
Rhodes can almost predict that in a few years, Erengrad will regain its former prosperity. A highly free and open market will attract the attention of countless capitals. Both visible and invisible industries will sprout here.
. Even the black market will appear in the city again. Some shady transactions will also be carried out in a corner of the city.
At the same time, Orengrad will become a window connecting Kislev and the world. If foreign goods want to come in, they must pass through the Orengrad Port. In order to trade products from other places in Kislev, they must also be exported through Orengrad.
Port of Lungrad.
Products produced by the empire's multinational enterprises must be sold to the interior of Kislev and must go through customs declaration at the Orengrad port. Inland residents who want to buy cost-effective luxury goods also need to go to the city of Orengrad.
Oerengrad will become the market window for the entire Kislev. At the same time, a large number of imperial companies and factories are producing and developing here. In the future, if this city encounters another crisis, it will be impossible for those imperial guys to make another
The situation of not having anything to do with oneself and interests will closely link Elengrad and the empire. In the future, if there is an invasion from a foreign enemy, I am afraid that there will be no need for Rhodes to call out, and the nobles of the empire will spontaneously form mercenaries.