At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 441, New Mode and the Impact of Steam Expo

After discovering the business opportunity, Hu Hai began to establish his own Fei Hai Money House in various major reclamation sites of the Han Dynasty to help the people in various reclamation sites to return their money to the Han Dynasty.

It has been ten years since the Han Dynasty discovered the Spice Islands. During these ten years, millions of Han people rushed to Southeast Asia in search of their dreams of getting rich. In the end, most of these people stayed in Southeast Asia. Together with the local indigenous people of Southeast Asia, the entire Southeast Asia became a market of several million people.

Because Nanyang has high-value specialties such as spices, sandalwood, palm oil, and copper mines, the income of craftsmen working here is generally 3-5 times higher than that of the Han mainland, so they generally have considerable savings. But at the same time, due to the imperfect infrastructure in Nanyang, there is nowhere to spend the money, so they can only send the money back to their hometowns.

The small landlord class in Nanyang was even more amazing. Their income was generally 8-10 times higher than their counterparts in the Han Dynasty. The reason was very simple: they had 10 times more land in Nanyang than the Han Dynasty.

Under the Han Dynasty's equal distribution of land, a farmer generally only had 100 mu of land. The reason why the Han Dynasty did this was that there was no more land in the Han Dynasty, and secondly, 100 mu was almost the limit of a farmer's labor. If it exceeded 100 mu, a farmer simply couldn't cultivate it.

The situation in Nanyang is different from that in the Han mainland. Nanyang, which is divided into only large and small islands, looks small, but its total area is almost the size of two Qin states. There are only millions of Han people and millions of wild people in such a vast land. The population density is close to that of the desert, but the population carrying capacity is dozens of times higher than that of the desert. This cannot be said to be sparsely populated, but a few human gathering points appeared in the primeval wilderness, and a few sparks of civilization appeared in this vast area of ​​Nanyang.

In this area, whether it was the princes of the Han Dynasty or the Han officials in the reclamation sites, they were eager for you to reclaim more land, and there was no restriction. So the Han farmers who migrated here began to use their farming skills to cultivate the wilderness of Nanyang bit by bit, turning the jungle into fertile land. In this vast area, the Han farmers had helpers.

The wild people in Nanyang basically cannot do any technical work, and farming has become the most technically demanding job they can do. In Nanyang today, a Han family will probably lead 5-10 wild people as tenants (this is to circumvent the Han Dynasty's decree to abolish slavery). With sufficient human resources, the Han people in Nanyang will naturally not let their land stop at 100 mu. The more productive the land, the bolder the people. The fields of the Han people in Nanyang are generally between 500-1000 mu, and they also plant high-value cash crops such as palm and spices. This has led to their income being much higher than that of farmers in the Han Dynasty.

Excluding the savages and calculating the per capita income, the income of the Han people in Southeast Asia is 3-5 times that of the Han people. This income is comparable even in the Guanzhong and Chang'an areas. They just have slightly worse infrastructure and welfare facilities.

The Han people in Southeast Asia are all wealthy people, and they also have financial needs, but these needs have never been met, and no one has noticed this.

After Hu Hai established the Fei Hai Money House locally, he opened up the economic connection between Nanyang and the Han mainland. Hu Hai monopolized a wealthy group with a population of one million, so his Fei Hai Money House naturally soared. It only took him three years to establish more than a dozen money houses throughout Nanyang, forming a financial network. Millions of people in Nanyang who wanted to remit money back to the Han Dynasty had to go through their Fei Hai Money House, and the annual money flow reached hundreds of millions.

With such a huge customer base, the four major banks of the Han Dynasty had to do business with Hu Hai, so Hu Hai proposed to the commercial banks to take back the headquarters of his Fei Hai Bank.

The commercial banks agreed without much thought. There was no need for them to become enemies with Hu Hai just for an ordinary bank shop, so this scene happened today.

The lobby of Feihai Money House.

There were 10 banquet tables inside, and all the men who were willing to follow Hu Hai came here. Compared with the desolate scene three years ago, the hall was now bustling with activity and extremely lively.

A shopkeeper said with a smile: "I knew that the boss was no ordinary person. In three years, the boss not only brought my Feihai Bank back to life, but also took it to a higher level and took control of a wealthy place like Nanyang. With the boss's ability, my Feihai Bank will definitely surpass the four major banks of the imperial court and become the richest bank in the world."

Zhuzi's face was red from drinking, but when he heard this, he immediately stood up and said, "You're right. If we want to do this, we want to be the number one bank in the Han Dynasty."

The other guys also shouted excitedly: "Let's become the best bank in the Han Dynasty."

Hu Hai smiled and raised his wine glass, saying, "Everyone, we can talk about this among ourselves, but if it gets out, people will laugh at us. The four major banks are backed by the imperial court, and we cannot replace them. Even today, we still rely on them for food. Please stop saying this."

The profit of Nanyang's collection business is very high, about 10%, but Hu Hai cannot keep it all by himself, because there are millions of Han people in Nanyang, who come from the fifty counties of the entire Han Dynasty, and even from the territories of princes. Hu Hai does not have the ability to establish a financial network in the entire Han Dynasty. This kind of financial network is only available in the four major banks in the entire Han Dynasty. Therefore, he must cooperate with the four major banks of the Han Dynasty to make this money, so he has to give half of the profit to these four major banks.

Fortunately, most of the guys in Feihai Money House are sensible people. The atmosphere was just getting to the point where they were just following Zhuzi's words and didn't take them seriously.

Zhu Pei, who was sitting next to Hu Hai, asked, "Boss, our Fei Hai Bank has taken root in the Han Dynasty again. Will we still do the same business as before, absorbing deposits from the people and lending money to those who set up workshops?"

Hu Hai thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "The people of the Han Dynasty are too easy to stir up trouble. Not only will it take up a lot of manpower to absorb their deposits, but when a crisis breaks out, their deposits will become a weakness for our Fei Hai Bank. Once they stir up trouble and form long queues, people will think that our Fei Hai Bank is going to go bankrupt, and then a vicious cycle will form."

"Who knows when the next economic crisis of the Han Dynasty will break out? If they come to run the bank again, I'm afraid my Feihai Bank will be in danger again. The lesson from last time taught me that prosperity in good times is nothing. Only those who can survive in bad times are truly strong. So even if Feihai Bank is strong now, we must be prepared for danger in times of peace."

Zhu Pei hesitated and said, "If we don't accept deposits, how can we lend money?"

Although Hu Hai reopened the money shop, he had almost spent all the money he had originally in his hand. Now he had to rely on the profits from remittances from Southeast Asia for support. However, it was extremely difficult to lend money with such a small profit. You know, since the steam engine became popular, the workshops in the Han Dynasty were proud to buy steam engines, as if without such a high-tech machine, they could not be considered a high-tech workshop.

At the same time, the industrial sector of Dahan had gone through a round of economic crisis, and the remaining workshops were generally larger than those five years ago. In the past, it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to open a workshop. If you bought a few machines and set up the factory in the countryside, you could set up a workshop in a town with tens of thousands of dollars.

At that time, most of the people Hu Hai lent money to were workshops in towns and villages, and it didn't cost much to lend money. But now, if the Han Dynasty wanted to open a workshop, build a decent factory building, and buy a few steam engines, the cost of the workshop would be as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars. If it wanted to build a large workshop such as a steel plant or an equipment factory, hundreds of millions or even tens of millions would have to be invested.

If Hu Hai did not absorb deposits from the people, and relied solely on his own cash flow, he could at most lend money to a large workshop like a steel plant, or a dozen workshops with a turnover of millions. However, with such a small number of lending objects, it was obviously difficult to meet the survival needs of a large money house. After all, a money house is still in the business of making money with money. If it only relies on its own capital to do business, it would be an angel investor, not a money house.

Hu Hai said: "In the future, we will invest in promising targets and attract deposits from big banks, promising them higher interest rates than the four major banks. These big banks have deposits of several million or tens of millions. If we attract one or two of these big banks, it will be enough to pay thousands of ordinary people.

With fewer ordinary people, our Feihai Bank can save ten times the manpower, and these big households have stronger ability to withstand pressure, even an economic crisis will not let them go bankrupt, so our Feihai Bank will be safer. I call this kind of bank an investment bank. "

The last economic crisis made Hu Hai understand what credibility is currency. The credibility of the Han emperor was known to the world, and the people of the world also believed in him. So when the crisis came, the people of the Han Dynasty deposited their money in the four major banks. Even if they got their deposits back a year later, they believed that they could get their money back.

This kind of strong reputation is simply not comparable to that of a private money house like theirs. If they continue to compete with the Han money houses in deposit and loan business, they will only be courting death. Their Feihai Money House does not want to become a vassal of the four major money houses, but if they want to survive, they can only find another way.

Then Hu Hai took out a copy of the Han Monthly Report and saw some pictures of machines he couldn't understand. He smiled and said, "I already have an investment target. Guanzhong is the real wealth of the world. I wonder how many treasures the court will release this time. The emperor is right. The next era is the steam age. These machines are the wealth of the steam age. We can't miss it."

If he had not had shares in the steamship, he would not have had the capital to revive. The reputation of the Great Han Shaofu in this regard is very good. Although the investment is very large, the returns are also extremely generous.

Zhu Pei's eyes lit up and he said, "It was a pity that I gave up the steamship factory back then. This time we have another chance."

Even though Hu Hai's investment in the steamship factory increased tenfold, Zhu Pei still felt it was too much of a loss. Now all the canals and waterways of the Han Dynasty were equipped with such steamships, and even the steamships from the steamship factory had arrived in Kuaiji County.

Although steamships were not yet capable of long-distance trade, short-distance transport had already begun in the coastal counties of the Han Dynasty. The steamship factory had now become the workshop with the highest market value in the Han Dynasty.

At this stage, the product that has greatly improved the productivity of the Han Dynasty is naturally the steam textile machine, but the most profitable is the steam shipyard. Last year, the steam shipyard's profit exceeded hundreds of millions, which caused a sensation in the Han Dynasty.

This was the first workshop in the entire Han Dynasty with a profit of over 100 million yuan. One should know that 100 million yuan was the annual fiscal revenue of a poor county in the Han Dynasty. The income of a workshop was equivalent to that of a county in the Han Dynasty. How could this not be incredible? The sensation it caused was enormous, causing wealthy people from all over the world to flock to buy shares in the steamship factory, causing the market value of the steamship factory to rise steadily, breaking through 10 billion, and becoming the first 10 billion-level workshop in the Han Dynasty.

Hu Hai originally had a share in this workshop. According to the current market price, Hu Hai's shares are worth 300 million coins, which is more valuable than the current Fei Hai Money House. Therefore, Zhu Pei felt that Hu Hai had suffered a great loss.

But Hu Hai did not feel that he had lost out. There is gain and loss. If he kept those shares, the steam turbine factory would not be his business. So what was the difference between 3 million coins and 000 million? But Fei Hai Money House was his business and he could develop it according to his wishes.

On the other hand, the shopkeeper of Mo Nan Trading Company was also discussing the Second Steam Expo of the Han Dynasty. Kuai Che said, "Chang'an must go. Although we don't understand these machines, we must invest in them."

It makes sense to say that Kuai Che was the richest man in the Han Dynasty. The steam textile machine he invested in was a great success and he took 30% of the profits. Now, for each steam textile machine produced by the Han Dynasty, he will be given 30% of the patent fee, which is about a hundred dollars for each machine. Now he can collect millions of dollars in patent fees alone.

Not to mention his shares in the steam machinery factory, which made him a fortune every day. If he hadn't been an investor, it would have been impossible for him to build a workshop in Yanmen County to produce steam looms. You have to know how many county governors in the Han Dynasty failed to do this. If he hadn't been a shareholder, he wouldn't have been able to get in line.

Wang Ze said excitedly: "Of course I understand this. This is the emperor's wish to distribute wealth to us."

Wang Ze and his friends felt it was a pity when talking about this. When the first Steam Expo was held, they just thought that these were the emperor's toys, some things that looked good but were useless, so they naturally did not waste their money to invest.

But they never expected that the steam engine would soar into the sky, and then it would become unstoppable. Any machine in the world would increase its efficiency several times as long as it was equipped with a steam engine. All walks of life in the Han Dynasty were also embracing the steam engine. Now the roar of the steam engine could be heard in all counties and prefectures. The regret of those who missed the opportunity to make a fortune was imaginable. Now that the opportunity came again, they naturally would not let it go.

Linghu Li looked at Kuai Che and apologized, "President, I want to withdraw from Mo Nan Trading Company."

Wang Ze also said: "My Wang family will also withdraw from Mo Nan Trading Company."

Kuai Che's smile suddenly stopped. He asked in disbelief, "Why?"

Linghu Li said helplessly: "We are all aware of the president's ability. If it weren't for the president's leadership, our Mo Nan Trading Company would not have been able to prosper to such an extent and become the number one trading company in the north."

"But as the saying goes, the first bird to stick its head out gets shot. Ever since Qin Bo said that the president is the richest businessman in the world, the title of the world's number one trading company has also been given to our Mo Nan Trading Company. But this is not a good thing for merchants like us. Since last year, the Han officials in Taiyuan and Yanmen have become more and more greedy. Problems that used to be solved with tens of thousands of coins now cost hundreds of thousands of coins. They always say that our Mo Nan Trading Company is the number one trading company in the world, and that if the money is too little, it means they look down on us."

Wang Ze followed suit helplessly, "Moreover, the Han officials from various departments of the court have imposed various taxes on our workshops. The cost of operating our workshops has increased by 20%, which almost offsets the increased profits from using steam engines. We worked hard to make goods and products, but in the end, all the profits were taken by those greedy Han officials. This is all because of your reputation as the president. The Han officials all know that we are rich. But if we continue to be exploited by those Han officials like this, I am afraid that we will have difficulty surviving."

"Since the reputation of Mo Nan Trading Company can no longer bring us profits, and even hinders us from making profits, then the meaning of Mo Nan Trading Company's existence is over."

Linghu Li said helplessly: "We don't want to do this either. Without the internal resources of Mo Nan Trading Company, it will be difficult for us to compete with other trading companies. But if we keep the Mo Nan Trading Company's brand, I'm afraid that without the competition, our workshop will go bankrupt. For the benefit of everyone, please ask the president to dissolve Mo Nan Trading Company."

Kuai Che said with an unpleasant expression: "You have all made your decision, why are you still asking me? From now on, there will no longer be any Mo Nan Trading Company, and we will be strangers from now on."

Kuai Che was a very arrogant man. When Chen Yu did not listen to his advice, he decisively abandoned Chen Yu. Now that these people had betrayed him, it was natural that he would not give them a good face.

Wang Ze looked at Kuai Che, who had an ugly expression on his face, and left without saying anything.

Kuai Che gritted his teeth as he saw the crowd leaving, "Qin Bo, I won't forgive you."

After Wang Ze and the others left, they turned around and went to Wang Zhe's residence to continue the meeting.

Wang Ze said thankfully, "We have finally gotten rid of this unlucky Kuai Che. We can now do business normally."

Linghu Li said, "We still have to wait for a while. Only when everyone knows that the Mo Nan Trading Company has been dissolved can we regroup. During this time, we will go to Chang'an City to see what treasures the emperor has brought out this time."

Speaking of their dissatisfaction with Kuai Che, it was not only because Kuai Che's reputation as the world's number one businessman made it difficult for them to do business, but the most important point was the uneven distribution of benefits. At the beginning, Kuai Che invested in the patent of the steam textile machine and made huge profits, but they did not invest. Kuai Che made a fortune because of the transfer of steam engines, but they could only watch.

Of course, they couldn't say anything since they had good vision and invested in steam textile machines. But later, they jointly built a steam machinery factory, and Wang Ze and others wanted Kuai Che to convert his patents in steam textile machines into shares and incorporate them into this joint venture steam machinery factory.

But after thinking about it, Kuai Che decided to refuse. This resulted in them having to pay patent fees to Kuai Che for producing steam textiles, which caused dissatisfaction among other shareholders of Mo Nan Trading Company.

It was precisely because of the uneven distribution of internal interests and the fact that Kuai Che could no longer bring them benefits that they simply kicked Kuai Che out and established a new Mo Nan Trading Company.

Anling Fort, Nanjun
Li De, the commander of the reclamation army, summoned all his subordinates and asked, "Do you know about the steam expo held by the court?"

Jiang Zhi asked in confusion, "Sir, does this have anything to do with us? Anling Fort only has a few steamships for transporting goods. Do you want us to buy a few more?"

Anlingbao is too remote, and the steam engine has almost no impact on this place. Although they are reclaiming fields here, there are not many workshops here. There are only various agricultural products and agricultural and sideline products. At this stage, it is still just an agricultural base.

Li De said: "Your Majesty asked us to participate. Although we don't have machinery, we can bring local special products and find someone to invest in our reclamation team!"

"Investment?" Everyone was puzzled. The funds for reclamation were all provided by the imperial court. They could not understand why the imperial court wanted to introduce private capital, nor why private capital wanted to invest.

Li De said: "We still have special products that can make money here. Tea can be grown in the Junshan area. The quality of tea is also very good. If you don't like to drink it very much, you can also let them invest in the breeding of evil dragons. Orchards and canning factories can also attract them to invest."

The canning industry of the Han Dynasty was initially intended to store more and more marine fish to provide a source of meat for the Han people. Even though the aquaculture industry in the Han Dynasty has been developing for nearly ten years, the largest source of meat on the Han Dynasty’s tables is still various canned fish. Canned fish provides half of the meat for the Han people.

When the shipping industry began to develop rapidly, Xu Fan naturally knew that sepsis was the number one killer of sailors, so the Han Navy would always bring out sufficient vegetables, tea, etc. every time they traveled.

Civilian fleets initially did not take this tradition seriously, but when sepsis struck them, bringing vegetables out to sea quickly became a tradition for Han sailors. However, vegetables also have their limits in terms of preservation, and soon someone developed canned fruit, which quickly became popular throughout the Han Dynasty.

This thing can be eaten not only by sailors but also by ordinary people of the Han Dynasty. It also looks prestigious when put on the table. Now in Guanzhong, the highest etiquette for entertaining guests is to open a few cans of fruit to entertain the guests.

Canned fruit has a longer shelf life and can cross regions to reach the tables of ordinary people. If you think about the movie "A Rider in the Red Dust: Concubine Smiles", you will understand how high the cost of transporting fruit across regions was in this era. Canned fruit perfectly solved this problem, turning fruits from many other regions from luxury goods that only the royal family could display into luxury goods that ordinary people can enjoy.

There are a large number of fruit trees on the outskirts of Anling Fort. These people eat the local fruits, but they cannot finish them even if they vomit. They can only watch them rot.

Li De thought that if someone invested in canned fruit here, it would not only increase local specialties, but also drive local employment.

Yin Qun said, "Mr. Ning actually has such an idea. Why don't we ask the court to fund the establishment of a local canning factory instead of giving it to these folk workshop owners?"

Li De shook his head and said, "The government's finances are limited and should be used to ensure people's livelihood and infrastructure. The government has begun to gradually withdraw from workshops like canning factories and will not give us money to invest."

(End of this chapter)