Xinshun 1730

Chapter 1418 The Last Step of the Yellow River Problem ([-])
On the pier of the bay, a large ship was transporting people ashore in small boats.

This ship is very big, and one can tell at a glance that it should be a merchant ship transformed from a warship.

In fact, it was true. This was originally a British warship. After the war, it was sold at a low price, and Dashun bought a batch.

Although, from the long-term perspective of industrial development, this boat should not be bought at all.

If you don't buy it, Dashun has already won the First World War. The trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and the development of the Fusang gold mine will require a large number of ships, which will inevitably spur a new wave of development in Dashun's shipbuilding industry.

However, after the war, Dashun still bought many British warships.

Because, many people in the Dashun court inevitably had the mentality of "I am already old".

Maybe it's because of uncertainty about the future.

Perhaps it is out of fear of the unknown future.

Or perhaps, it is out of inner pessimism, or distrust of the younger generation.

In short, these people who were born with the mentality of "I am already old" contributed to this transaction and purchased a large number of cheap ships at one time.

When these warships were bought, they naturally did not carry cannons.But after all, it is a warship with a good foundation and sufficient materials. With a little modification, it can be used as a merchant ship for trade.

After remodeling, a large number of warships were quickly put into the rapidly developing trade.

This man-carrying ship was a product of this event.

Fortunately, Dashun's nautical skills have developed well, and the level of navigation skills has also been greatly improved, as well as the understanding of scurvy, all of which have greatly reduced the mortality rate.

Relying on the ocean current trade wind route of the classic Manila galleon, set sail from Weihai or Jiaodong, arrive in Japan, and run all the way here by the ocean current.

Even if there is a storm, there is no need to panic too much.As long as there is no sinking, relying on the sextant and the nautical almanac, you can know where you are, where there are nearby islands that can be replenished, and how far you are from your destination.

The ship's voyage was very smooth, and there were no accidents.The sailors can rest here for a period of time after finishing this wave. The return journey is much simpler than the previous one. It only takes two months to arrive, while the return journey takes five or six months.

When they went back, they were basically empty ships before.

Because the ship that transported gold couldn't turn to them.There is a regular fleet specially organized by the imperial court to transport gold, not only to prevent pirates, but also to prevent people from sailing away.

And these people-carrying ships, when they arrive here, at most, the sailors secretly carry a little tea cloth or something, and secretly sell them here as a tonnage benefit for the sailors.

When I went back before, there was really nothing to load.

But this time, the route they went back was no longer the same as before.

This can be regarded as a by-product of the end of the First World War: the negotiation between Dashun and Spain finally reached a communication and investment negotiation on the trade of saltpeter and struvite on the west coast of South America. The price is that Dashun will completely return it after 20 years Gibraltar to Spain and recognition of Spanish rule over Luzon.

More than 16000 Catholics from Dashun were transported to South America in the form of "coolie labor" for mining.

It can also be regarded as the first time that Dashun's capital invested in financial capital to build the world's first "foreign-funded" railway abroad to transport saltpeter and struvite.

The development of Dashun over the past few years has also created a demand for chemical fertilizers in some coastal areas.

Regardless of whether it is the cotton industry in northern Jiangsu or the peanut and tobacco planting areas in eastern Shandong, they can afford and are willing to use this kind of fertilizer, and these fertilizers can indeed increase land output.

The common scene brought about by the development of central and eastern Shandong is the rapid polarization of the small peasant economy.

Loans, loans, tobacco planting, loss of money, bankruptcy, land sales, and mergers, this combination of actions has greatly shortened the cycle of land mergers in central and eastern Shandong.

Tragic stories of bankrupt suicides, selling their wives and sons, borrowing money to buy bean cakes and selling cigarettes at a lower price and having to repay the debts with the only land they have left are happening every day.

To put it bluntly, this provided a steady stream of labor for the iron ore and coal mines in the Zibo area; soybean plantations in the northeast; rice and wheat plantations in Ezo, etc., and promoted the development of capitalism in the coastal areas of Dashun.

At the same time, through this land merger, the use of fertilizers such as saltpeter, struvite, and bean cake was promoted.

Some landowners who have successfully merged have begun to transform and plant cash crops, such as peanuts and tobacco.And they also have a certain amount of capital, so they can buy these fertilizers without borrowing money.

Fortunately, the roads in the central and eastern part of Shandong have been repaired, and it is convenient to go to the east, or go to Yezo to work as a farm worker, and the gradual development of industry and commerce. Generally speaking, it is still controllable-although there are almost daily incidents such as suicide and There were things like selling wives and sons, but there was no large-scale peasant uprising, so it can be said to be controllable at this time.

Southern Jiangsu, northern Jiangsu, Jiaodong, and Liaoning, the areas with the most convenient transportation and logistics in the maritime era, and the areas most at risk of being involved in the capitalist system, also took the lead in realizing the application of "chemical fertilizers" in agriculture.

It's frustrating, but that's reality.

The sharecroppers don't even have any livestock, and they don't even have enough manure. How can they have money to buy fertilizer, even though they know that the effect of fertilizer is remarkable.

And self-cultivating farmers... It is obviously unrealistic to grow food and buy this kind of fertilizer.

Planting cash crops... Let's just say, merchants, moneylenders, tobacco and peanut buyers, there are at least nine ways to bankrupt them.

But Dashun did not dare to fully promote the Green Crop Law. The reason is simple: the bankruptcy rate of small farmers is too high, and they really borrowed out. Could it be that the imperial court really went to reclaim land, rip up houses, and arrest people?
This is the case with Dashun.

You borrowed usury and were forced to death. In the eyes of the public, it is only right and proper to pay back the debt.Because since the end of the Tang Dynasty, private ownership has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the resulting legal rights and consciousness are deeply rooted.

But if the imperial court lends money, if it is really time to collect debts, the house is taken away, and the uprising is not far away.

Therefore, relying on the rapid polarization of the small peasant economy, the entry of capital, and the use of natural fertilizers to make the differentiation faster, the struvite and saltpeter industries in South America have also developed.

And Dashun's ship to transport people to North America has finally found a trade route that does not return empty, which also greatly reduces the cost of transporting people.

Because in the past, it was empty ships, and the freight had to be shared by everyone; but now, saltpeter and struvite can be loaded when going back, so you can accept a lower quotation to transport people.

Even so, Dashun's immigration supervision this time is still very strict, and the official control has reached all aspects, which has also created a lot of dissatisfaction.

Because there is no shortage of people in Dashun, it can even be said that there is no shortage of people who are willing to sell themselves, go to Fusang to dig gold, and finally get the land.

If the capital comes in at will, for the gold-digging bubble company, even if it is said, the Japanese and North Korean slaves will not be transported.

Then, in the coastal areas of Dashun, if you want to find single people, without parents, without wives and children, to dig gold in Fusang, is there a shortage of people?

Obviously, there is no shortage.

It is acceptable even to go to Nanyang, how could it not be accepted to go to temperate Fusang?
And now the contradiction between government and business has also appeared.

The official, or Liu Yu's side, hoped to be more benevolent and transport people from the Yellow River No Man's Land first.

And these people are not screened by "freedom", and many of them have wives, children, and parents.

To transport people, these wives, children, parents, etc. have to be transported there, which greatly increases the company's employment costs.

After all, the biggest cost is the ticket.

If a wife is stuffed in, there will be one less young and strong male labor force. You can't let women dig gold in the well, that's completely unrealistic.

The business side, mainly the bubble gold mining company, hopes to make more profits.

They said that they understand the righteousness, and they also talk about the truth, but after all, the imperial court has too much control.Since it is said that we are worried about moving outsiders, then we can accept it. We will not move the islanders, Honolulu people, Catholics, Japanese and Koreans...

These are even obedience to righteousness.

But why do you have to spend a lot of money to move people from the Yellow River No Man's Land?
Originally, 1000 people did a job, and it cost 1000 people to work on the coast of Dashun, or hire a human trafficker to hire 1000 unattached, young people, without wives, children, or even parents.

Now, these 1000 people may cost 2000 people.Even if it's a child, doesn't it take up space on the boat?Even if it is said to be thrown into the sea to feed the fish outside the boat, it is not that the number of people has been determined when the boat is sailed, and it is meaningless to throw it again.

This contradiction is also the reason why Dashun's west coast gold mines cannot engage in the historically "romantic" anarchic free mining policy.

And this kind of contradiction between officials and businessmen is actually the reason why the emerging classes in Europe, Asia, North America and other places at this time, or to be specific, the bourgeois class, hope to seize power.To some extent, in some places, the Dashun court has become an obstacle preventing the bourgeoisie from gaining profits.

(End of this chapter)