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

Chapter 594: The Han Dynasty's layout of the global industrial chain
October 38, 10nd year of the Han calendar

All the Mediterranean countries knew that the Han Dynasty would support them in developing animal husbandry and could even provide financial and technical support. With the idea of ​​taking advantage of opportunities, each country sent its own envoys to the Yanzhou Governor's Office.

Zhang Pijiang led the nobles from various countries in Daqinzhou to a ranch of Yanzhou Governor's Office. Industrialized ranches also require technical support, so Zhang Pijiang first took these people to see the sample.

The Han Dynasty now needs dairy products and is looking for milk sources all over the world to balance the domestic market. Zhang Pijiang has also always wanted to balance the trade between the Han Dynasty and the countries in Daqinzhou.

As for industrial-related industries, the Han Dynasty court was unwilling to allocate them to Daqinzhou. After all, it had been developed for 30 years, and the top leaders of the Han Dynasty court also knew the power of industrialization. Naturally, they were unwilling to hand over their own skills to outsiders. Only the several major vassal states of the Han Dynasty, such as the veteran heroes of the Han Dynasty, had some light industrial systems.

Relatively speaking, Han is still willing to distribute the agricultural products industry. On the one hand, the demand within Han is becoming more and more vigorous. If they want hundreds of millions of people to live a prosperous life, the demand for rice, flour, grain, oil, pork, mutton, beef, various fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk and poultry is almost unlimited. Having more supply bases for agricultural and sideline products means more choices for the people of Han.

At the same time, due to the development of maritime trade in the past few decades, establishing a balanced global trade network has become a consensus among the top leaders of the entire Han Dynasty.

The top leaders of the Han Dynasty also understood that a trade system that only exported but did not import could not be maintained. Even the princes of the Han Dynasty could not withstand such bloodsucking. The princes also understood that if they wanted their vassal states to develop, they must have their own unique specialties.

Reasonable layout of global industries has become one of the important political affairs of the Han Dynasty's top leaders.

Heavy industry is the foundation of the country and cannot be divided away. Light industry is the source of the country's wealth and can be distributed in small quantities to the veteran princes of the Han Dynasty. As for the Daqin Continent, the agricultural and animal husbandry specialties.

From this perspective, the global system established by the Han Dynasty is completely different from that of the West.

Historically, the countries along the Atlantic Ocean have been the poorest and most backward areas of the world's island civilization for more than two thousand years, so they can rob with impunity. Even primitive civilizations like the Maya can be used to seize wealth that excites them. Niu Niu even robbed two ancient civilizations and accumulated huge wealth in the process of robbery.

But the Han people could not do this. On the one hand, the moral bottom line of the Han people was higher than that of these people. Even the white slave trade was a controversial issue within the Han people, who believed that it was an extremely immoral behavior.

The second reason is that even if they wanted to rob, they would not be able to rob anything. Rome and Seleucid Empire were already the richest countries in this area, but they had nothing except a small amount of gold and silver. Even steel was a luxury in these countries. Would the Han Dynasty send tens of thousands of troops here to rob a bunch of worthless scrap copper and iron? If they really wanted to wage war against these countries, even if they were to make the country rich, they would not be able to pay off the military expenses.

As for their original land, it is indeed a priceless treasure, but the Han Dynasty still has three continents waiting to be developed. As far as the current situation is concerned, the Han Dynasty will not lack land within 100 years. As long as the top leaders of the Han Dynasty are clear-headed, they will not waste their energy and national strength for these lands.

This is just like in history, the nomadic peoples could rob the Central Plains dynasty. If they failed, people would die, which could solve the crisis. If they could rob food, the crisis could be solved the same way. If the Central Plains dynasty became corrupt, and they could take over the Central Plains, they would live a wealthy life for hundreds of years.

But if the Central Plains dynasty went to the desert to rob the Hu people, no normal monarch would do so. Even if the Han Dynasty attacked the desert, it was to resolve the military crisis in the north.

The same situation exists in Daqinzhou today. They are so poor that they are not even qualified to be exploited by the Han Dynasty. Without a reduction in shipping costs, mineral trade cannot be carried out. The Han Dynasty can only find ways to develop agricultural specialties for these countries and incorporate them into the Han Dynasty's global system.

The industrial layout of Daqinzhou by the Han high-level officials headed by Xu Aimin is Dahan's ranches and dairy product production areas.

Farmer Zhang De said to the Daqinzhou nobles who were learning technology, "Although this peninsula is dry and hot, and the water and heat are not synchronized, resulting in a relatively low production capacity for growing wheat and other grains, this land is not without its unique advantages. That is, the light conditions are very good. As long as the water problem is solved, alfalfa can be harvested at most two or three times a year in other areas, but this land can be harvested more than ten times a year, and the production capacity is 3 to 5 times higher than other places. Alfalfa is the king of forage grass, and almost all large livestock love to eat this forage grass. This means that with the same land area, this land can feed 3 to 5 times more cattle and sheep than other areas."

"More importantly, alfalfa can fertilize the land, and cattle and sheep manure is also a top-grade fertilizer. As long as the land is properly allocated and rotated, alfalfa can be planted on fallow land to develop the livestock industry. Fertile land can be used to plant wheat, rice, potatoes and other food crops. In this way, the grain production capacity on this land will not decrease, but will greatly increase the number of cattle and sheep."

This is a mixed farming industry developed by farmers in accordance with local conditions. Relying on this technology and the participation of local indigenous people, the Han Dynasty reclaimed 30 acres of land in the peninsula area, producing 1 shi of wheat each year, as well as 3000 sheep and cattle.

This place has become the largest livestock trading place in the peninsula. Even though the Han Dynasty was more powerful, the steam engine still did not completely replace the oxen, let alone the Qin Continent. On the contrary, because of the agricultural revolution and the large-scale land reclamation, they had a greater demand for oxen and horses.

Apatius and other Daqinzhou nobles looked at everything in front of them with admiration. They were in a pasture with green grass and fertile soil, where they could see cattle and sheep leisurely eating the pasture. But near a skyline, they could see a Gobi desert made up of yellow sand, as if the same space was divided into two extreme worlds.

Apatius asked: "Can this kind of ranch be built in Rome?"

Zhang De said: "The climate, water and heat are different in different places, so we can't generalize. But with a little improvement, this model can be used in the Mediterranean region. Alfalfa is a very durable crop. It can survive in the harsh conditions of the Western Regions or the tropical peninsula. But relatively speaking, the growth of this peninsula is the best."

"Our Seleucid Empire is located in the north of the peninsula. The water, heat and light should be the same. Can our country also build pastures like this?" Prince Antiochus said.

The Seleucid Empire was under the greatest pressure. In order to deal with the Xiongnu, they increased the number of troops and carried out agricultural reforms. Any reform is essentially a redistribution of benefits. The reason for redistributing benefits is that the original benefits are used differently. The Seleucid Empire has been under great financial pressure for more than a decade and has been in a state of deficit.

If it weren't for the pressure from the Xiongnu Kingdom, the land reform would not have been so smooth. However, land reform is essentially a high-investment economic activity, which further aggravated the internal fiscal deficit of the Seleucid Empire.

The pressure on the Seleucid Empire was now enormous. If it did not find a new source of finance, the entire country might collapse due to fierce internal conflicts.

Prince Antiochus was most excited when he saw the ranch. As long as he could do business with the Han Dynasty, the financial problems of the Seleucid Empire would be solved.

The agricultural technology of the Han Dynasty was too powerful. With the same land in their Seleucid Empire, they could only produce 30 dan of wheat, tens of thousands of sheep, and 3000 cows at most. That was impossible. After learning this technology, it would be equivalent to being able to produce tens of thousands more sheep and 3000 cows on the same land. The value of these livestock alone was higher than that of wheat.

The other nobles also looked at Zhang De and his people with envy. How could they be called scholars from farming families? They were simply walking gold mines.

Why are the scholars in the Mediterranean only able to spend their money and talk a lot, but cannot be like the scholars in the Han Dynasty who can not only support themselves but also make money for their countries?

"Can the Han people teach us this grazing technique?" This was the thing that the nobles who came to the scene were most hesitant about. This grazing technique could more than double the income from the land. For these nobles, it was a magical skill that could be passed down from generation to generation.

Zhang Pijiang said: "Since we, the Han people, are going to buy a large amount of dairy products, we are naturally willing to provide you with technical support. We will send technicians to help you build such a mixed ranch."

Yanzhou Governor's Mansion, conference room.

The nobles of the Mediterranean gathered here, as did the managers of the four major money houses of the Han Dynasty and the owners of private money houses.

With the development of the Age of Exploration, the four major banks of the Han Dynasty and private banks, following the pace of the Han army and the sea, began to spread across various continents, providing payment support for the Han Dynasty's maritime merchants and nobles of various countries. The countries in the Mediterranean region wanted to develop animal husbandry, which required not only technical support but also financial support, so Zhang Pijiang contacted the managers of these banks in advance.

Nobles from various countries went to the managers of their favorite money houses, trying to find ways to obtain financial support. Among them, small countries preferred the four major money houses of the Han Dynasty, because these money houses were guaranteed by the national credit of the Han Dynasty, were more powerful, could lend more money, and had lower interest rates.

Of course, there is no such thing as having the best of both worlds. The four major banks require the most stringent guarantees. They require these small countries to use tariffs as guarantees, and even require their own accountants to take over the tariffs to prevent them from misappropriating them. They even have the right to set tariff standards based on actual conditions. The higher the amount of the loan, the higher the tariff mortgage period.

Although the king of Daqinzhou was accustomed to paying war reparations, he still felt a little averse to the model of using tariffs as collateral.

Small countries don’t care. They have been slapped in the face many times. Being slapped in the face by a giant like the Han people is considered a face-saving thing. Some small countries have already set an example. After the customs were controlled by the Han people, the tariffs not only did not decrease, but soared, allowing these small countries to have a considerable income in addition to repaying their debts. This is simply a pleasant surprise. But the big countries are obviously unwilling to lose their sovereignty.

Apatius walked up to a middle-aged man with a calm expression and asked, "Are you the manager of that bank?"

The middle-aged man said calmly: "Fei Hai Bank, Zhao Gang."

"Fei Hai Money House, the largest private money house in the Han Dynasty." Apatius had heard of this name.

"The Roman state is borrowing 100 million to develop ranches. I wonder if you can borrow that much?"

"Of course, the interest rate is 25%. Our bank will fully supervise the use of funds, and the equipment needed for the farm needs to be purchased by our manager." Zhao Gang said.

"Don't you trust us too much?" Apatius felt a little humiliated.

Zhao Gang said calmly, "We had to do this after we were cheated. The morality of you Qinzhou nobles is really unbelievable. The bad debt rate of the money we loaned to you is extremely high. What's more important is that you said some of the loans were for agricultural development, but you used them to buy luxury goods. This behavior is considered fraud in our Han Dynasty. If it weren't for the fact that it's not worth going to war for such a small amount of money, those lawless nobles would have been hanged by our Han Dynasty long ago."

The connection between the Han Dynasty and the Qinzhou Continent has existed for more than ten years, and along with the Han Dynasty's maritime merchants came the Han Dynasty's money houses.

They transferred money for the Han Dynasty's maritime merchants and acted as guarantors for the local nobles. As a result, the nobles of Daqinzhou showed these Han Dynasty's money house managers the diversity of civilization. In their eyes, all of them were very safe and high-quality loans. Those tens or hundreds of millions of dollars were not worth risking their family's reputation at all.

But there are just these beggar nobles. In their eyes, tens or hundreds of millions of dollars are already a huge sum of money, and the family's reputation is not worth it. As a result, many loans that are obviously safe have directly become bad debts.

More importantly, as Zhao Gang said, it is impossible for the Han Dynasty to arrest the nobles of this country or wage war against this country just for tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.

As a result, the credit of the nobles of Daqinzhou became junk level in the evaluation system of the Han Dynasty's money houses. Without collateral, the Han Dynasty's money houses would not lend them money.

The situation has been slightly better in recent years. Dajia Money House has taken over the estates of the Ptolemaic nobles and directly managed them to repay their debts.

As a result, the Ptolemaic nobles found a new way to make money. Not only was it hard to run their own farms, but they also made little money. So they simply entrusted the management of the farms to the Han Dynasty's money houses. The profits were divided into a 30% and 70% distribution: 30% went to the money houses, 40% was used to repay debts, and 30% went to these nobles who lived a life of luxury.

Apatius was shocked. The nobles of Daqinzhou were extremely profit-oriented. They would cheat or deceive as long as they could gain an advantage. However, this was something the Han people despised.

He was really afraid that some fearless noble would completely anger the Han Dynasty, causing the Han Dynasty to lead their army directly into Daqinzhou.

Apatius said: "We in Rome really want to develop animal husbandry."

Zhao Gang said indifferently: "What is your Roman collateral?"

Apatius said, "Don't you have an advanced futures trading method in the Han Dynasty? You pay farmers to produce first, and merchants will order product shares in advance based on the cost of producing these agricultural products. After farmers have this money, they can use it to buy advanced agricultural tools for production. When the time comes, merchants can get low-priced goods. This win-win model is not very popular in the Han Dynasty. Can your bank use this method to purchase dairy futures from my Roman country first?"

Zhao Gang sneered, "The purpose of our Han Dynasty creating futures is to allow farmers who lack funds to have money to buy farm tools, improve production efficiency, and obtain more food. Merchants who buy futures can also get goods at low prices, and can also predict the price of goods in advance to reduce losses. This is indeed a win-win deal in our Han Dynasty."

"But it's not like that in Daqinzhou. What you call a win-win situation is that you win twice. You don't talk about credit at all. But credit is the most important guarantee in the futures market. Without credit, there is no so-called futures market. The credit of your Roman country is garbage in my Han Dynasty."

At this time, Apatius was filled with hatred towards those dishonest nobles. You are cheating and doing all kinds of evil, which has brought great harm to our Roman country.

If we only talk about slave states, Rome was relatively wealthy, but when Rome wanted to enter the industrial age, they had too little wealth. The simplest steam engine cost hundreds of thousands of coins in Rome, and only the Roman senators could afford such a machine. Even now, the number of real machines owned by Rome has just broken through three digits, but just purchasing this number of steam engines has already cost Rome an astronomical amount of wealth.

In the past two years, Rome carried out land reform, which led to a surge in Rome's land and grain production capacity, but the corresponding increase was a sharp increase in Rome's fiscal expenditure. They had to first buy oxen and farm tools for the civilians, and also find a way to spend money to redeem the slaves. Now Rome's financial system was extremely tight.

He had originally planned to raise funds through Dahan Futures, but he didn't expect that this path had been taken to death by those before him, and now Dahan's money houses didn't trust them at all.

Apatius struggled for a long time and gritted his teeth and said, "We in Rome can open a quota for your bank, so that your Feihai Bank can enter Rome."

"If you in Rome allow our Feihai Bank to open business, a loan of 1 million can also be negotiated." Upon hearing this condition, Zhao Gang immediately became interested.

It is very difficult for money houses to enter the countries in the Daqinzhou area, because this area is ruled by the temple. These local tyrants are wealthy and powerful, and they are connected together. Even the Han Dynasty’s immigrants find it difficult to gain a foothold in the local area.

The country with the most Han Dynasty money houses is the Ptolemy State. It is easy to go from simple to luxurious, but difficult to go from luxurious to simple. For the sake of money, these nobles directly suppressed the power of the temple. But in other areas, it is still very troublesome.

Rome is also a powerful country in the Mediterranean. Feihai Money House can enter Rome and occupy the most advantageous opportunity, and will also be able to dominate the Daqin Continent in the future.

(End of this chapter)