Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 668
The current Guangdong is not the same Guangdong 300 years later. Except for Guangzhou, which is relatively rich, other places in Guangdong are extremely poor.There are troublesome people in poor mountains and rivers, and the public security in poor places is always not very good. People always find a way to survive, whether it is legal or illegal. Therefore, even on the edge of the Pearl River Delta, there are mountains everywhere. Thieves, bandits, places like Enping where people have gone overseas for a long time, and brought home a large amount of money every now and then, there are even more bandits and bandits, all staring at those who have made money overseas Kidnap a ticket if you have a chance.So rich people generally live in Guangzhou. Big cities are safer than the countryside. Those who don’t have this condition simply build watchtowers in their hometowns to protect themselves. The clan’s children do farm work during the day and stay in the watchtowers with weapons at night.Those with relatively large financial resources will build enclosures, and there are hundreds of fierce local soldiers in each enclosure. Even if the bandits want to move them, they have to weigh their strength.

The sea is not peaceful either. As early as the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the coast of Guangdong began to be chaotic. Pirates occupied the major islands and stared at the passing caravans like wolves. Maritime merchants from the Netherlands and other countries have plundered coastal states and counties.However, none of them had the courage to risk their lives against a behemoth like Daming. They all looted a few towns and ran away, which was far from the realm of Japanese pirates.Bandits, pirates, clan forces, civil uprisings... These forces are intertwined and make the situation in Guangdong extremely complicated. The Ming Dynasty's rule over Guangdong is limited to the Pearl River Delta circle, and government orders will not work outside this circle. 300 years later, Guangdong will be the richest country in the world, but Guangdong 300 years ago is a scumbag. Whoever is put here to become an official will be really bad luck for eight lifetimes.

Of course, Yang Menglong has never been afraid of trouble. It can even be said that he himself is a special breed that is super capable of making trouble. He can make trouble, and of course he is good at solving trouble.When he took over Guangdong, Wang Rui had already wiped out bandits and bandits on land for him.As for the clan power, in the face of strong military strength, it is not a problem at all. Besides, he does not look down on the little interest occupied by the clan power. His eyes are set overseas, where is the real source of wealth.

Now the development of Hunan and Hubei has been on the right track. After the redistribution of land, agricultural production has been restored quickly, and factories have begun to bloom everywhere. Each county has several textile factories, cement factories, and steel factories. Presumably in the future In a few years, the productivity of the two lakes region will explode in a blowout mode.There is no need for Yang Menglong to worry about Hunan and Hubei. He focuses his energy on Guangdong.

First, he announced that he would build a steel plant with an annual output of more than [-] tons, a phosphate fertilizer plant with an annual output of more than [-] tons, and set the cement output at [-] tons.Such a number is undoubtedly appalling. After the news came out, many people laughed.You said it is more reliable to build a cement factory. After all, Guangdong is rich in cement-making resources, but it is a bit outrageous to build a steel factory. There are no large-scale iron mines in Guangdong. What are you kidding?Even the subordinate officials whispered: "Champion Hou is dazzled by his previous achievements, thinking that no matter where he is, he can conjure a large amount of iron ore and phosphate rock like a magic trick!" The mistakes made in choosing the location of the factory were even more terrible, and it was actually chosen by the sea!My goodness, there is coal but no coal, ore but no ore, what a joke!
But Yang Menglong's order was not open to negotiation. Once he officially issued an order, everyone could only faithfully implement it.Therefore, even though he made many low-level mistakes, everyone could only bite the bullet and honestly break ground to build a large-scale industrial zone in that ghostly place with no resources.

The second decree is to encourage wealthy businessmen in Guangdong to contribute money to set up textile factories.The flax and cotton planting industries in Hunan and Hubei have been fully established. In at most two years, the output of cotton and flax will increase sharply. A considerable part of these cotton and flax will be transported to Guangdong by water to be processed into cloth or even garments. , Hunan and Hubei cannot digest so much.This is the "division of labor" he proposed. The family workshop model of the past has become history. Now, if you want to play, several provinces will unite to integrate resources and everyone will play together, forming a overwhelming momentum against competitors.In the eyes of the rich in Guangdong, this decree is quite reliable. They have been deprived of the right to annex land, and the money in their hands must be used to start a business. The textile industry is very good—— Cloth was a very precious wealth in ancient times, especially for a country with a large population like China, the gap was very large, as long as it could be made, it would not worry about being unable to sell it.Moreover, Yang Menglong also gave a lot of discounts to those who invested in setting up factories, so there were not a few people who invested in setting up factories at one time, and the textile industry alone stirred up the water in Guangdong.In addition to encouraging everyone to engage in textiles, Yang Menglong also encourages everyone to invest in the seafood processing industry. Guangdong is close to the sea, and seafood is extremely rich. It is a good business to make money by processing them into cans for export or shipping them to inland areas for sale. The decree has also been unanimously supported by everyone-all idiots know that this is a good business with quick returns and high profits.

"Sir, you are building so many factories, especially canneries, which require a lot of steel, and there are not many iron ores in Guangdong. What should we do?" The governor of Guangzhou discovered the fatal flaw in Yang Menglong's ambitious plan and couldn't bear it. He opened his mouth and poured cold water on him.

Yang Menglong curled his lips: "No iron ore? There are some in Nanyang, just buy it."

The governor was taken aback: "Buy!?"

Yang Menglong said: "I call this import. In fact, even if Guangdong has a lot of iron ore, I don't plan to use it. Why use my own when I can import it from foreign countries?" He patted the old man on the shoulder, "Don't you think Is it a very fulfilling thing to import a mountain of iron ore at a very low price, process it into steel, and then sell it at a high price to those who supply iron ore to us?"

The Governor has passed out!
In line with the principle of never destroying his own land if he can import, Yang Menglong enthusiastically negotiated with the representative of the Dutch East India Company, and gave him two contracts with a wave of his hand: importing more than 30 tons of poisonous ivy and More than [-] tons of iron ore.This big gift almost knocked the representatives of the East India Company unconscious. After blinking for a long time, he was sure that Yang Menglong was not joking with them, and that he really wanted to make a big deal with them.The representative stammered and said: "Master Governor, we are very happy to cooperate with you to make a lot of money, but...we don't have enough manpower! We need to mine phosphate rock, sea guano, tin ore, manganese ore, and copper ore , silver mines, sulfur, saltpeter, and we still need to log, so many projects have already squeezed our human resources to the limit, and now we have added two more projects, which..."

Yang Menglong frowned and said, "Just tell me, can you do it?"

The representative of the East India Company said: "If you want poison ivy, it's easy to do. We mobilize people to plant it, but we really can't do anything about this iron ore. It requires a lot of miners, and we don't have so many people!"

Yang Menglong yelled: "Is your brain blocked by money? You don't have enough manpower, you don't have enough manpower to catch them? In Africa, in America, in India, in Japan, there are plenty of people. These are ready-made labor forces. You don't know how to use it? Don't tell me that you Dutch people have suddenly converted and become a saint!"

Makes sense!
The representative licked his lips and said: "Your Excellency is right. We don't have many other things, but we have the most colonies. If nothing else, the quality of iron ore in India is nothing to say, and it has a large population. As long as we are in It is not difficult to mine 30 tons of ore every year in India! Of course, there are also abundant iron ore and coal mines in Batavia. Local mining can greatly shorten the transportation distance and reduce costs, but the local population is not enough... "

Yang Menglong waved his hand: "Catch from other places, such as Japan!"

That black-hearted guy was a little embarrassed: "Japan is our trading partner..."

Yang Menglong rolled his eyes: "A trading partner who sells a matchlock gun at a sky-high price? Besides, for you, a partner is just for selling. Send troops to conquer a place, and then catch the local young men on board the ship. Come to Batavia, a lot of money! I assure you, when they arrive in Nanyang, those Japanese miners will become the most honest and hardworking miners in the world!"

The representative gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, let's do it like this!" Then he rolled his eyes and said: "But our booth is too big, and the troops we can deploy are quite limited, and Japan is no better than Batavia. The folk customs in that place are quite aggressive..."

Yang Menglong asked: "What do you want to say, old man?"

The representative said: "I mean, with our strength, it is not a problem to occupy a small piece of land in the coastal area of ​​Japan, but it is impossible to take down a single state in Japan. I don't know if the Governor can do it." Do you want to help us? We will send out the navy, and you, the governor, will send out your invincible land army, and we will work together..."

Yang Menglong was very straightforward: "No problem! Isn't it just to send troops to help you fight Japan? Beating children on rainy days----Idle is idle, and there is nothing wrong with exercising your muscles."

The representative was overjoyed: "Then can you help us gain a firm foothold in India? You know, we discovered India first. The damn British and French are unruly and wholeheartedly want to push us out of India!"

Yang Menglong fell silent.

The representative added: "The iron mines in India are really good!"

Yang Menglong gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, for the sake of iron ore, I'll help you again. Who made us friends? Tell me, which guy has the most fun dancing in India?"

The representative of the Netherlands said: "Britain! The UK dances the best!"

Yang Menglong said: "Okay, one month later we will join forces in Shandong and send troops together to fight Japan first, and then go to India to deal with Britain!"

(End of this chapter)