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

Chapter 616, Issuing Railway Shares and Strengthening Centralization

Seeing the hesitation of several people, Zhou Yang said: "Brother, you are underestimating us. You are developing your skills in the New World, and we are not just eating in Chang'an City. Brother, you only brought 60 billion in deposit, although it is gold and silver, but if you want to do a 500 billion business, the capital gap you need is not small. We have nothing much in the past few decades in the Han Dynasty, but we have a lot of connections."

Xiao Tong smiled and said, "I know my own limitations. We will not be involved in the construction of the railway, but helping you raise funds is our strength. A 500 billion project is unprecedented. I don't know how many wealthy businessmen will be attracted to the Han Dynasty. Maybe the princes will come to buy your stocks. There are also rails and road paving machinery that need to be purchased. I can help you contact the factory for these."

Zhou Ce said seriously, "You think too highly of me. The core of the New World Railway Network is the Tang Kingdom, and the largest contributor is the King of Tang. It is useless for you to talk to me. You have to talk to the King of Tang."

Zhou Ce and his younger brothers immediately looked unhappy.

Ye Zhao said, "If you really want to do business in the New World, then bring money to my vassal states. Even if you want a silver mine, I will give you one."

Cao Qiu also said immediately: "Come on, let's continue drinking. It's rare for us brothers to get together. It's not worth hurting our brotherly feelings for these yellow and white things."

That night, Zhou Ce and his two companions were drunk and got on a carriage.

But after the carriage had been driving for half a day, Zhou Ce and the other two slowly woke up.

Zhou Ce asked, "You didn't agree to anything without reason, did you?"

The New World railway network is related to their development in the next few decades or even hundreds of years, and they dare not take any risks at all.

Ye Zhao smiled and said, "They are more capable than before. They even want to get us drunk to get us to talk. But I haven't been waiting in this new world for more than ten years in vain. Their little tricks are obvious to me."

Cao Qiu was a little disappointed and said, "I wanted to meet my brother, but I didn't expect that we can never go back to the past."

Zhou Ce said, "Everyone stay in the mansion these days and don't go out. Xiao Tong and his friends said it well. A 500 billion project is unprecedented even for the Han Dynasty. I'm afraid there will be a lot of people looking for us during this period. People of our generation should pretend to be confused and don't agree to anything. Those of the older generation should push everything to King Tang and say that they can't make the decision."

The two nodded.

And what happened later was just as they had imagined. Each of the New World princes who came to Chang'an City became a golden baby. The wealthy merchants of the Han Dynasty wanted to invite them to the Penglai Palace and Yingzhou Palace to watch singing and dancing. Even the prefect of the Han Dynasty came to visit them. A project worth 50 billion was not a small amount for the Han Dynasty. If they could get them into a certain county, they would not have to worry about their wealth for the next ten years.

Therefore, Chen County Governor Zheng Qi, Kuaiji County Governor Xie Yu, Sanchuan County Governor Zhuo Hong, and Linzi County Governor Wu Shi all approached them, hoping that they would place the order for rails in their steel mills. Later, even Handan County, Taiyuan County, and Yuyang County, which had a certain scale of steel production, wanted to come over to get a piece of the pie.

As a result, the prefects of the Han Dynasty went to the palaces of these princes more often than to the Prime Minister's Mansion. If they could not find the prefect in the Prime Minister's Mansion, they would be able to find him in nine out of ten cases by going to the palaces of the princes of the New World.

These governors were all powerful and were not as easy to fool as their partners. Fortunately, they all spoke in unison and put the King of Tang first. The King of Tang, Xu Aiguo, lived in the residence of the retired emperor, and these governors did not dare to disturb him easily.

This caused dissatisfaction among Prime Minister Li Shang, who retired this year. As a result, the governors who came to report the matter were all distracted by the 500 billion project, and their answers were irrelevant when they were asked questions.

After Emperor Xu Aimin knew this, he asked his second brother to settle the matter of the New World railway network first.

Chang'an City, Stock Exchange.

Xu Aiguo came here with a map of the New World, and the bank managers, wealthy merchants, and even many princes of the Han Dynasty all looked at the map.

Xu Aiguo said: "The railway network of the New World mainly connects our vassal states. The total mileage is 10500 miles, and the total construction cost is roughly 500 billion coins. We have brought in gold and silver worth 440 billion, which will become the initial start-up capital. At the same time, we need to raise 440 billion coins. This money is mainly used to buy rails and equipment, and the craftsmen who build the railway will be provided by us vassal states. We will learn from the Han Dynasty to operate the railway and establish the New World Railway Corporation. The billion vassal states and the land and labor costs will account for % of the entire corporation, and the billion coins raised will account for %."

As soon as Xu Aiguo's plan was put forward, wealthy businessmen immediately started to calculate on their abacus. There were even people working as accountants who heard the beads clacking on their abacus.

The more everyone calculated, the more they frowned. The population of the New World was only tens of millions, with a limited population and limited cargo. They still had to build more than 10,000 miles of railway. The operating cost alone was frighteningly high. However, they calculated that even if this railway could make a profit, it would have to be managed very strictly. However, they invested tens of billions not just to make a small profit.

Take the most profitable Guanzhong Railway as an example. It is a railway network of less than 3000 miles, but it has a population of tens of millions, and they are also the richest people in the whole world. However, the annual profit of this railway network is only about %. But the key is that it can ensure a stable income. Because of the merger of Guanzhong Railway, those merchants who bought railway stocks not only made their profits back long ago, but they could also earn % comfortably every year. It was the easiest business to do in the business world of the Han Dynasty.

However, some railways have low operating costs, low passenger flow and little cargo. Merchants who do not pay attention to this may find it difficult to even get their capital back after investing their money. Therefore, the wealthy people in the Han Dynasty have learned to consider the flow of passengers, freight, and the cost of railway construction. Obviously, these conditions in the New World are not very good.

"This is so unfair to us. The population of the New World is only about 1 million, but it is not as wealthy as the Han Dynasty. After the railway is built, it does not mean there will be income. The operating cost is also extremely high. The New World is not as wealthy as Guanzhong, but it has to build more than 400 miles of railways. We have invested more than 30 billion. Not to mention that we can't get our money back in years, I'm afraid we can't get our money back even after a hundred years." Zhao Wu, the sewing machine king of the Han Dynasty, said.

The Han Dynasty built tens of thousands of miles of railways in the interior of China. Everyone has a model for calculating railway operations and railway construction costs. Although it is not very accurate, it can roughly calculate the costs and profits. Obviously, according to the Han Dynasty's model, the railways in the New World basically make no money.

For these wealthy businessmen, if you can't make money, even if you are the King of Tang, you don't have the face to take hundreds of billions from them.

Xu Aiguo said with a smile: "We will not deceive you with a railway that does not make money. The First New World Railway Company will not set a development period, but will be based on stocks. As long as you have stocks of the New World Railway Company, you are a shareholder, and you will have a share of the profits earned by the railway operation. As long as the railway is still there, your share of the income will not be reduced.

This statement made the businessmen present see light. Without an operating period, their interests could be greatly extended.

“Second, in order to reduce the cost of railway operation, any minerals in the wasteland within 10 miles of the railway network can be handed over to the Railway Corporation for development.”

Ji Guoxiang Jia Sheng's eyes lit up and he said, "Even if a gold and silver mine is discovered, will it be handed over to the Railway Corporation for development?"

Xu Aiguo said: "Yes, as long as you can find it, even if it is a gold or silver mine, it will belong to the property of the Railway Corporation, and your interests will be jointly guaranteed by our 32 princes in the New World."

As soon as Xu Aiguo finished speaking, the entire stock market was in an uproar. The biggest attraction of the New World for these wealthy businessmen was not only the gold and silver mines, but also the vast amount of gold and silver for the Han people.

Even if there are gold and silver mines in other continents, the number is scarce. However, even though the New World has been developed for nearly 50 years, new gold and silver mines can still be found. There are more than gold and silver mines in the New World, which is an amazing number. Even so, there are still a large number of areas in the New World that have not been developed. No one dares to imagine what kind of security is hidden in those wildernesses.

Xu Aiguo saw that the time was right and continued, "The New World Railway Company's stock is 5000 coins per share, and the total share capital is 1000 million shares. Anyone who holds % of the share capital will be the major shareholder and can send directors to supervise the operation of the railway company."

Zhao Wu immediately said, "I will buy 4 shares."

Ji Guoxiang Jia Sheng immediately said: "Ji Guo will buy 10 shares."

Since the Ji State completed the construction of the railway network in the Western Region and the karez network throughout the entire region, large-scale infrastructure projects have basically been completed.

But the wealth brought to them by oil and cotton has not decreased. However, with the rapid improvement of infrastructure projects, some of the princes in the Western Regions are now as wealthy as the Han Dynasty. They have a lot of money and their people have more resources per capita. The Ji Kingdom uses its excess wealth to invest in high-quality projects in the Han Dynasty, so that they don't have to just lie in the money houses and earn interest.

With these local tycoons taking the lead, the New World Railway Company's stocks were subscribed for 100 billion yuan on the first day. Then, following the lead of the Han princes, wealthy people came to buy stocks in an endless stream.

Han calendar year 40, October 10, Chang'an City, Qi Palace

Zhang Pijiang rushed back to Chang'an before the Sages' Conference, and then told the emperor about the situation in Daqinzhou.

Zhang Pijiang said solemnly: "Your Majesty, ever since the Han Dynasty's sea merchants entered Daqinzhou, Daqinzhou has been passively involved in the Han Dynasty's industrialization wave.

But this is an unequal exchange between agricultural civilization and industrial civilization. The situation where industrial civilization crushes the small peasant economy will erupt throughout the entire Qinzhou. No matter how expensive the luxury goods are in the Qinzhou, as long as the Han Dynasty has them, the production capacity will increase by dozens or hundreds of times and the price will drop by more than ten times. For example, sugar in the Qinzhou used to be more expensive than gold, but after the Han Dynasty's white sugar appeared in the Qinzhou, the citizens of the Qinzhou could also buy white sugar, as well as ironware, cloth and other goods. Although these goods brought convenience to the people of the Qinzhou, they also destroyed their local handicraft industry. "

Xu Aimin asked curiously: "But judging from the current situation, the crisis in Daqinzhou has not yet erupted?"

Zhang Pijiang said: "This is because the court is building the Suez Canal, which is equivalent to the court itself importing 10 billion coins worth of currency to Daqinzhou every year. In addition, the industries allocated to Daqinzhou by the Yanzhou Governor's Office and the court, plus the major countries in Daqinzhou trying to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, have barely maintained a fragile balance. But when the Suez Canal is opened, Daqinzhou will lose a market of nearly billion, and at the same time will have to face more than ten times the goods of the Han Dynasty. At that time, an industrial society will inevitably crush the small peasant economy. The advanced productivity of my Han Dynasty is like a torrent of water for the countries of Daqinzhou."

Xu Fan had told Xu Aimin many times about the crushing of small peasant economy by industrialization. He had also seen in Shangjun how those poor farmers were forced by their farmers to the point where they could not even afford to raise poultry, so he did not doubt Zhang Pijiang's reasoning.

Xu Aimin said: "Just pay attention to the movements of various countries. As long as their internal disputes do not affect the interests of our Han Dynasty, do not get involved."

He is the emperor of the Han Dynasty, not the emperor of the Qin Continent. He is more concerned about the internal affairs of the Han Dynasty rather than the movements of some small countries thousands of miles away. There are still several years left. If the people of these countries have the ability, they can find ways to develop local industries to resist the floods of the Han Dynasty. If they don't have the ability, they can become the raw material production bases and commodity markets of the Han Dynasty. By then, it will be enough to be the dogs of the Han Dynasty and just throw a bone to them. Their crisis will naturally be eliminated.

Zhang Pijiang said, "Yes."

Just when the whole nation was attracted by the railway company stock craze, the Han Dynasty Prime Minister Li Shang, the fake prime minister Yang Xiong, Zheng Qu, and the imperial censor Zhang Qiang retired.

The new prime minister of the Han Dynasty is the veteran of the Han Dynasty, Chen Rui, who was one of Xu Fan's students. He can be said to be a man of profound experience, yet also eager to make progress. He also has a close relationship with the emperor and is the emperor's senior brother. Xu Aimin intends to use his senior brother to promote further reforms of the Han Dynasty.

The acting prime minister was Wu Yue, a farmer, who was also the oldest prime minister in the history of the Han Dynasty, at the age of 65. Wu Yue did not want to be the acting prime minister of the Han Dynasty, as his age was basically the age for retirement in the Han Dynasty.

If he continues to serve as a false prime minister at this time, people will think that he is old but not old at heart, and wants to use his teacher-student relationship with the emperor to gain power. If Wu Yue really has such a desire for power, then so be it. At most, he can let others discuss it while he just serves as the prime minister peacefully.

But he was more of a scholar than a bureaucrat, and he was not shameless enough to let people all over the world talk about him. In the end, it was the emperor who persuaded Wu Yue, saying that the Han Dynasty now needed to promote agricultural cooperatives. On the one hand, it lacked talent, and on the other hand, it lacked money. The local Han officials were either greedy for merit and reckless, or conservative and unwilling to move forward.

As the master of agriculture, he became the prime minister of the Han Dynasty. On the one hand, he could call on more students to join agriculture, and on the other hand, he could better supervise the promotion of agricultural cooperatives to prevent good things from turning into bad things. Wu Yue agreed when he remembered the situation a year ago. The promotion of agricultural cooperatives has become the foundation of agriculture. He was unwilling to see his brothers' decades of hard work go to waste. Compared with his colleagues, he still trusted the children of farmers more.

Another false figure of the Han Dynasty was the Shaofu Ling Zhou Mo. Chao Cuo's investigation report made Xu Aimin realize that after forty years of development, the Shaofu of the Han Dynasty had reached the point where it must be reformed. If one wants to reform the Shaofu, it would be best to have a prime minister who was a Shaofu.

Zhang Hui was appointed as the Chief Censor. On the one hand, it was the tradition of the Han Dynasty to have the Chief Justice replace the Chief Censor. On the other hand, Xu Aimin also felt that a new round of anti-corruption actions should be carried out within the Han court to improve its administrative efficiency.

Among the Nine Ministers, Fang Hao, the leader of the Mohist school, was appointed by the emperor as the new Shaofu Ling. The reason was the same as Zhou Mo's. The emperor wanted Fang Hao to push the Craftsmen's Congress to make changes. The Mohist school could not only protect the rights of the craftsmen, as that would only make them labor traitors. They must also find ways to educate the craftsmen, whether using fists or whips, they must force the craftsmen to keep moving forward.

At the same time, the emperor also set up a new official position, the Governor of Jingnan, who was held by Jia Yi, the prefect of Changsha County. The main responsibility of the Governor of Jingnan was to supervise the situations in Changsha County, Wuling County and Lingling County. The official position was not high, only a thousand stones, but this position was of low rank but great power, not to mention that Jia Yi also held the position of the prefect of Changsha County. Soon the Han court knew why the emperor set up this position. Jia Yi would be the host of the new official-run reforms in the Han Dynasty, including the official-run reforms in Changsha County, Wuling County and Lingling County.

Although the government-run reform had already shown some problems, it was extremely effective in helping backward regions catch up with advanced regions. Jiujiang County and Hengshan County, which were once poor counties of the Han Dynasty, became prosperous thanks to the government-run reform. The emperor wanted to promote this model to the entire southern part of the Han Dynasty and change the backward appearance of the southern part of the Han Dynasty.

Or when Chao Cuo was appointed as the magistrate of Chen County, the emperor gave him an order to promote the one-leader system in Chen County and accumulate experience for the reforms he would carry out next.

June 40, 11rd year of the Han calendar.

Qi Palace, meeting room. The emperor invited the new prime minister of Han.

When Chen Rui walked into the meeting room, Tianzi immediately stood up and said, "Brother, you are here."

Chen Rui is one of Xu Fan's 23 students. When he was still a minor, he followed the rebels everywhere. When he was a little older, the Han Dynasty had just been established and there was a lack of governance talents everywhere. Chen Rui first became a minister of the Han Dynasty, then a county magistrate, and a county governor. He was promoted like a rocket all the way. In his thirties, he became one of the nine ministers of the Han Dynasty, and he stayed in the position of the nine ministers for nearly 20 years. He became the prime minister of the Han Dynasty this year, but he is still the youngest among the senior officials of the Han Dynasty.

Chen Rui saluted and said, "Your Majesty, I wonder what you want from me, an old minister."

Xu Aimin said, "I asked you to be the prime minister because I found that in recent years, the local counties have always been lip service to the imperial court's orders, and the funds issued by the imperial court are always cut back and used elsewhere. I want to strengthen the power of the imperial court and ensure that the imperial court's orders can be passed down to the local areas, so I want to ask you to complete the reform of the imperial court."

(End of this chapter)