Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 544: The Second Revitalization of the Great Yuan, referred to as the Second Yuan
Considering that these people may really have no contact with the local situation, Guo Kang felt that it was best to explain it in detail.

"In the past few decades, in order to fight Poland and Lithuania, we built docks on some major transportation lines, and also built cities and roads at key locations." Guo Kang introduced: "Although the original actions should be mainly based on It was for military purposes, but in order to save money, a lot of farm work was still carried out.”

"I have read a lot of information that can be made public. Judging from the current situation, how to solve the problems there depends on how much we invest."

"When my great-uncle was in Novgorod, he was entrusted by the locals to build a fortress at the mouth of a coastal river." He introduced his experience: "Enemies from the north and west often land from there, or directly row boats. , all the way south along the river, attacking the hinterland of Novgorod and the city. According to historical experience, this has been a commonly used passage since Rurik conquered the Rus region. Later Nordics have always liked this passage path."

"Of course, as the first batch of conquerors, the upper management of Russia definitely don't want new conquerors to come to their hometown. Therefore, they are also very concerned about defense work. Moreover, the alliance of the Nordics is strengthening. In order to fight against the Han Due to the influence of the Salvador League, Denmark and Sweden are intending to unite. The city council is very worried that once they receive support, they will continue to move south and east, threatening the security of Novgorod."

"So, they spent a lot of money this time and persuaded businessmen from the Hanseatic League to help. They planned to build a tit-for-tat fortress at the end of the Gulf of Finland, opposite the Swedish Vyborg Fortress, and recruit soldiers to defend it. My great-uncle traveled there and accepted their employment.”

"With the help of his family connections, he invited a group of engineers and veterans from Rome, chose a better location, and set up a camp. Through the sponsorship of businessmen, he also hired many local people to settle next to the camp, and while constructing, Selecting players for training. He has a lot of experience, which should be of great help to us."

Sure enough, when talking about the successful examples, everyone seemed to feel a lot more relieved. Moreover, Guo Kang's great-uncle is indeed very famous, and the sense of authority he brings can help Guo Kang resolve many doubts. After bringing out his experience, the people present gradually changed their attitude, from examining the feasibility to asking for advice on what should be done.

"Can we directly use Guo Laocheng's experience at that time?"

"Did he leave more detailed records and documents? Can we study and summarize them first?"

Everyone was interested again and started talking about it.

"This plan starts from the south, where the environment should not be that bad, and the number of enemies and the intensity of the fighting will be much smaller." A businessman asked: "What project should be used?"

"Sir, can your Guo family appoint some more people with management experience to serve as general managers? Our Chamber of Commerce must follow you!"

"Those experiences themselves are not difficult to understand." Guo Kang waved his hand and comforted everyone: "My uncle later concluded that their public works themselves were a very good training method. This factor may have a very important impact, even more than There are many other policies.”

"So, to sum up experience, I think that in order to make the entire region function normally, it is better to start with large-scale projects."

"Open mines and control floods." Guo Kang answered bluntly.

"Because what we are really concerned about is not the result of the project itself, but the long-term impact it can bring. For example, when opening a mine, we are actually not in a hurry to make it produce output, but hope to cultivate and develop it through the operation of the mine. A large number of talents with engineering experience are building settlement camps, roads and management institutions around several large mining areas at the same time. As for the profit itself, it is not important at the beginning. It is enough to be able to maintain its own operation."

"All of this started with their actions of building a fortress. They had to complete this goal under constant harassment from the enemy in order to save their lives and get paid as much as possible. Their construction team did not have a strict distinction between craftsmen and soldiers. , because everyone must strictly abide by discipline and work and live in an organized manner according to the rules.”

"How much capital do you think it takes to start a project? Can the court allow us to invest?" the businessman also asked bluntly.

"But under this circumstance, they successfully defended the camp and repelled many enemy attacks. They persisted until the wooden village became a permanent fortress and established a foothold in the local area. Now, they not only have a fortress It itself has also reclaimed a large area of ​​land nearby for farming. Because of the port, fishery and commerce have also developed. The prosperity there is no less than that of Novgorod itself."

"Of course, many people cannot adapt to this requirement. But the local natural environment is cold and harsh, and they have to face all kinds of enemies. At that time, whether it was the Swedish nobles and missionaries, or the local Karelian The Aren tribe doesn't like them very much. People who are unwilling to abide by the rules and like to act alone will easily disappear inexplicably or be directly killed by the attackers. In this way, although many people are lost every year, It also warned others with actual results. No matter where they come from, they must unite and reduce unnecessary internal friction, which has become a consensus. This is how the social order and atmosphere there were formed and developed."

"You know, the people there are actually very mixed. There are Romans who were brought there, nomads recruited from the grasslands, local Rus people, and various craftsmen hired from the German region and immigrants attracted. Not only does it not have a stable organization, it doesn’t even have a unified language.”

"This is not something I can be sure of. But I estimate that the imperial court will not object. The only question is whether you can afford it." Guo Kang said: "The cost of this kind of project will be staggering. The most important thing is Yes, the returns are also very slow. It may take ten or twenty years before the capital starts to be recovered."

"Then..." The businessman couldn't answer for a moment.

"If you just want to get profits as soon as possible, then forget it. This project is really not suitable for direct investment. Instead, you can focus on the various ancillary industries, such as food procurement. These should be able to pay back the investment faster." Guo Kang said : "Of course, if you are not only concerned about short-term business profits, you can cooperate."

When he said this, several chamber of commerce representatives became even more hesitant. On the other hand, Sun Shiwan, who was at the back of the crowd, hurriedly started to push forward, braving the displeasure of the crowd and said, "We can, we can!" Guo Kang looked at the other businessmen and saw that they still didn't make any movement. However, he didn't expect these people to make a decision immediately, so he didn't plan to take care of it.

In his opinion, most of the businessmen present were just frightened by the current situation and wanted to express their opinions. They are not like Sun Shiwan, who is here to establish long-term trade relations; nor are they like Joanna, who has an urgent need to expand their influence. It is estimated that it will still take some time to consider, or even wait for the entire industry to initially stabilize, before these businessmen will flock here.

After all, good vision and long-term planning abilities are qualities that only a very good businessman can possess. Most businessmen may just think that they have the ability in this area. Otherwise, only a few people will succeed in every business opportunity.

It was the same this time. Even though he almost directly stated that this investment was not only related to commercial profits, but also closely related to political gains, most people still had no interest. Of course, if you have to say it, this is not entirely a bad thing. Apart from anything else, how many business families have the ability of the Medici? If you don't blindly get involved in these things, but do some stable business cautiously, you may be able to persist longer.

For him, it is enough to create momentum and get everyone to verbally support it. What he hopes more is to obtain "people" through the channels of these businessmen, rather than money. Because the Purple Horde Khanate's government currently has very limited manpower at its disposal. Therefore, he also hopes to introduce talents from other places as before.

Therefore, seeing Sun Shiwan taking the initiative, Guo Kang also said quickly: "Thank you, Mr. Sun, for supporting us. I hope we can cooperate more in the future, not only in terms of funds, but also in areas such as technology."

"Of course, of course." Sun Shiwan said cheerfully: "If you talk about minerals, our Java Chamber of Commerce will be interested."

"The cash I brought this time is definitely not that much. However, we can exchange it for the right to purchase goods in the future." He promised: "To tell you the truth, this time we are also doing it for interests other than business. So, we actually have more room for cooperation.”

"What do you want?" Guo Kang was also curious.

"We actually need iron over there. Of course, we won't go so far to buy it." Sun Shiwan thought about it and said, "I guess most of the iron you produce has to be used by yourself. Those who reclaim wasteland and build water conservancy projects At that time, the consumption of iron tools was simply a bottomless pit - we have some experience in this regard. So, you can keep these things for your own use. "

Guo Kang nodded in agreement.

In his plan, the first step was to mine iron ore and establish a smelting center. Thanks to the blast furnace technology brought from the East, the iron smelting level and iron production efficiency of the Purple Horde Khanate were actually not lagging behind. Here in Europe, it can even be considered very advanced.

However, because most of the control areas were originally in a very bad state, many places did not even have many iron farm tools, but they were being used up very much. Therefore, the demand for various iron tools is terrifying, even far exceeding the needs of the army. Almost all government-run workshops everywhere have gone to fill this hole. Until now, we have been in a situation where we need to import high-quality iron.

"I haven't done any research on the iron in the Ross area, and I really don't know much about it. But as far as I know, the best iron in the world actually comes from Tianzhu." Sun Shiwan introduced.

After listening to this, everyone became very interested. A few knowledgeable people nodded. Seeing this, Sun Shiwan continued: "The quality of Tianzhu's iron is so good that it does not need special treatment. The locals dig a pit and set up a stove like a pot, and they can start a furnace to smelt iron. This iron Ingots are sold all over the world, and it is said that the best mines have basically been mined now, but even so, iron from other mines is still welcomed by all buyers."

“Back then, Timur hired a large number of skilled sword-makers from Damascus, provided them with iron ingots from India as raw materials, and started making swords in Khorasan. This industry is still in operation today, with annual output In addition to being kept by the court of their Khanate for collection and gifts, their swords are also sold in large quantities to other places through caravans. There are also people over there who are interested in buying them."

"It is said that the best Persian sword they made can split the helmet of a Frank knight with one blow without curling the blade. Throwing the gauze of a Persian dancer into the air and falling with the knife, it can be directly cut into two pieces. . We are not willing to try the former. As for the latter, when I was buying swords, a Persian merchant demonstrated it once in front of me. It is really amazing that it can actually be done. "

"It is said that the Persians also used their own iron to make similar products, but the results were not as good. It can be seen how superior the materials there are. I heard people say that when Emperor Zhaolie raised his army, it was sponsored by merchants I bought a batch of iron and steel. The Yanyue Sword in Guan Gong’s hand was made from this. It has such a reputation in the Central Plains, so it can be seen that the reputation is not in vain. "

He talked so eloquently that everyone was very interested. Guo Kang also nodded and said helplessly: "That's true. The iron mines in the Central Plains... oh, compared with others, it's really sad..."

"Yes." Sun Shiwan finished speaking a long paragraph and said following the trend: "Now Tianzhu is in chaos. The regime in Delhi was severely hit by Timur's forces, and their channels for purchasing Turkic slaves were also cut off. The place is gradually getting out of control. Moreover, in the south and east of Tianzhu, many Tuwang territories are originally independent and their power is very scattered. "

"We now have a plan to send troops to Tianzhu. They have too many resources, but they don't know how to use them. This is giving up the opportunity given by God! In this case, wouldn't it be better for us to use them?"

"In the past few years, the Ming Dynasty has taken more and more actions, and may have to fight again. But we have explored the south and the east, but there are no new discoveries. Since then, we have to quickly find a way to provide enough for the next war. Rear support. At present, it seems that Tianzhu is the safest."

"Look, Mr. Guo, our situation is actually similar." He said cheerfully: "Your country hopes to make Rome strong again, and our wish is nothing more than to revitalize the Yuan Dynasty. If we can really use With Tianzhu's manpower and material resources, we will be one step closer to this dream. The Ross area may be to you what Tianzhu is to us. You see, no matter what, we should learn from each other and help each other!"

(End of this chapter)