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

Chapter 623: The Collapse of the Temple’s Financial System and the Gap in National Strength
Modena, City Hall.

After all the victorious soldiers received the cheers of Roman citizens, the top leaders of the Datong Society gathered here to discuss the future development of the three northern provinces.

"How is the funding for the construction of the Port of Marseille going?" Claudius asked.

Fabius said, "We have sought a loan from the Temple of Jupiter. The funds are ready, and the construction workers have begun to gather in Marseille. We can start work at any time."

The relationship between the Datong Society and the Roman Senate was good only in the first three years of the Northern Expedition. But when Claudius announced that slavery would be abolished in the three northern provinces, the Senate directly cut off the military pay and logistics of the Northern Expedition Army. Fortunately, the Datong Society was well prepared, and three years allowed them to accumulate enough food and military supplies.

But their trade was blocked by the Senate, which was very difficult. In addition to meeting food needs, most of the newly developed fields in Rome's three northern provinces were planted with cotton. Datong would use the foreign exchange earned from exporting cotton to purchase Han's textile machines, as well as various steel products and industrial products.

This meant that the grain and cotton of the three northern provinces had to be sold through the port of Rome. Not only did the Roman senators impose high taxes on them, they also often confiscated their goods. This made the Datong Society very angry, so they decided to build a modern port city on their own territory, and the location was set in Marseille.

Claudius frowned and asked, "Why is it the Temple of Jupiter?"

The usury of these temples was one of the main reasons that forced Roman citizens into bankruptcy. Compared with the money houses of the Han Dynasty, the temples were too greedy.

Fabius said: "In recent years, under the suppression of the Han Dynasty's banks, the loan interest of the Jupiter Temple has dropped a lot, especially for a large project like ours. The Jupiter Temple is willing to give a loan interest of 7%, which is the lowest in the whole of Rome. Even the Han Dynasty's banks can't give it."

Claudius was surprised and said, "These vampires have become vegetarians now."

Cornelius smiled and said, "It's not that they have become vegetarians, but if they don't find a way to lower the interest rate, those vampires will really have no choice but to serve the gods."

"The Han Dynasty's money houses are not fighting alone. They can borrow money from each other. Feihai Money House's entry into Rome is equivalent to all the Han Dynasty's money houses entering Rome. Now the Roman nobles who want to open factories go to Feihai Money House. Roman sea merchants also like to find Feihai Money House for settlement. Roman citizens also prefer to find them because the interest rate is lower and more favorable."

In recent years, several small private banks have entered Rome through the relationship with Feihai Bank.

The Roman senators and nobles were mainly worried about the official Han banks controlling the Roman economy, but they did not have much concerns about the private Han banks.

On the one hand, there were conflicts of interest between the two sides. The main force of Rome's manufacturing industry was the senators and nobles, who opened five small industries in their homeland, including textile mills, flour mills, cement plants, and mines. They urgently needed the Han Dynasty's low-priced steam textile machines, machinery, and steel. This led to the Roman nobles and senators needing people who were familiar with Han products to help them get some low-priced and affordable Han products, and at the same time provide them with financial support.

Fei Hai Money House is the first choice, and the services of these private money houses are indeed considerate. Knowing that the Roman nobles have limited funds, they very considerately helped the Roman senators and nobles to get some cheap and affordable second-hand machines. The key is that they are very well maintained. After renovation, they are almost the same as new machines, but the prices of these machines are generally only 3% to 4%. Products with such a high cost-effectiveness have naturally become the favorites of these Roman senators.

Whether it is the low loan price or the considerate service of Feihai Money House, these are what the Roman temple financial system cannot provide. After all, no matter how powerful Jupiter is, he cannot influence the East.

The second is the contradiction between the temple financial system and the Roman senators and aristocrats. The current situation in Rome is that it is transitioning from a small peasant economy to an industrialized society, and the main force of this wave of industrialization is the Roman senators and aristocrats. The funds required for industrialization are extremely huge.

The financial industry became the blood necessary for Rome's industrial development, but these financial temple systems were still accustomed to the high interest rates of the agricultural era. The interest rates on loans were generally as high as 3% to 4%. Even if you were a senator or aristocrat, the interest rate would be reduced by one percentage point at most.

But the textile mills, flour mills, and cement factories run by Roman nobles could not earn even 30% profit in a year. So, they worked so hard to build the factories, but they were just working for the temples.

At this time, Feihai Money House entered Rome. With the interest paid on deposits and only 2% interest on loans, which was not compounded, it was welcomed by the whole of Rome. Especially in the past two years, the Han Dynasty's telegraph system began to be laid out on a large scale and information exchange accelerated. The interest rate of private money houses in the Han Dynasty had dropped to %. Anyone who needed a loan in Rome, unless he was a fool, knew how to choose.

Such a dimensionality reduction attack directly stunned the Roman temple financial system. The Roman senators and nobles directly withdrew their money from the temple and deposited it in the Han Dynasty's money houses to earn interest. Hundreds of years of family friendship were vulnerable to such naked money relations.

A large number of temples went bankrupt in the face of industrialized money houses because the original source of their lending funds was these elders and aristocratic families. When these people withdrew their funds, the temple's financial system naturally suffered a severe blow.

Only large temples like Jupiter, relying on their large number of believers and profound foundation, managed to withstand this wave of bank runs.

But the current financial situation in Rome still made it difficult for them to move forward. The nobles and senators abandoned them and the citizens of Rome regarded them as vampires. After looking around, these monks suddenly found that the three northern provinces were the best place for their revival, so this cooperation came about.

"The Temple of Jupiter also wants to work with us to develop the railway network, Roman roads, cities, etc. in the three northern provinces. The priests have already guaranteed to our Datong Society that the interest on these major projects will be the lowest in the entire Rome. The only requirement is that we prohibit Feihai Bank from entering the three northern provinces."

Claudius smiled calmly and said, "The temple priests are quite ambitious. How much money can they come up with? You have to know that there are millions of citizens in the three northern provinces and tens of millions of Yugers of land. This is a land that contains countless treasures."

Fabius said, "5 talents of gold. I estimate that all the golden tridents of Jupiter have been melted down by the priests for alchemy. This money is enough for our next development of the three northern provinces. I think we can agree to this."

Although they are also called Datong Society, their full name is Roman Datong Society. During the years of studying in Dahan, they understand the importance of financial security. From the perspective of strength, Feihai Money House, backed by Dahan, is a better choice than the Temple of Jupiter, but for Rome, the Temple of Jupiter is Rome's financial system, but Feihai Money House is an outsider.

Claudius said, "Talk to them. We can have a deeper cooperation. Datong will provide a place to build a bank for the Romans. The foreign trade of the three northern provinces and the money from the sale of grain and cotton can be handed over to this bank. The only requirement is that Datong will hold 5% of the shares of this bank, but we can not interfere with their operation."

Cornelius was surprised and asked, "With such harsh conditions, I'm afraid those greedy priests won't agree to them, right?"

Claudius sneered and said, "They have no choice. If our three northern provinces also choose to cooperate with Feihai Bank, they will really have no choice but to worship Jupiter in the future."

"Give them a little more sweetness and tell them that we plan to order a batch of second-hand warships from the Han Dynasty. The total value is 1000 talents of gold. In the next five years, the three northern provinces will also order ships worth 5 talents of gold. As long as they agree to cooperate with our Datong Association, these businesses can be handed over to them. We can even help them open up channels in the Han Dynasty. If they are capable, they can go to the Han Dynasty to promote Jupiter's divine light."

Claudius had always wanted to rebuild the Roman navy. It happened that the Datong Society had made some money from selling cotton in the past two years, and the Han Dynasty had eliminated warships of about 300 tons on a large scale. For the Han Dynasty, these warships were too small, but for Rome, these warships were just right, and the price was extremely favorable. A 300-ton warship only cost 30 Han coins, which was a good choice whether it was a warship or a merchant ship. Moreover, rebuilding the Roman navy was also the best publicity for the Datong Society.

"This condition is acceptable. I think the priests of the Temple of Jupiter will accept it." Aemilius said, "We have sent 312 students to study in the Han Dynasty this year. They were arranged to study in Mozi College, Luban College, Confucius College, Law School, as well as the Naval College and Accounting and Technology College in Kuaiji County. However, these are all big cities in the Han Dynasty, and the daily expenses are relatively high. The annual expenses of these people are about 300 million coins, which is a big burden for us. Should we reduce the number of international students this year?"

300 million coins can buy 10 300t warships, but now this money is only enough for these international students to live for one year. To live for four years, it would cost 4 million coins. For the Datong Association, which is in need of money everywhere, this is not a small expense, especially if another batch of international students is sent this year, the expense will double again.

Claudius shook his head and said, "This is the most cost-effective deal for our Datong Association. We have to pay 2 coins a month to hire a skilled craftsman from the Han Dynasty, and 3000 coins at best. In order to pay their salaries, we have to pay million coins a year. The key is that these people will leave Rome when they make enough money, and our students will serve the Roman industry for decades after they come back. This is extremely cost-effective for the Datong Association. We can't keep hiring these skilled craftsmen at such high prices."

Fabius said: "We will continue to send 300 students to the Han Dynasty this year. Our industry cannot always rely on Han craftsmen. We are in trouble now, but things will get easier in the future."

Several other elders of the Datong Society also agreed to continue sending students to the Han Dynasty to study industrial technology. Some even proposed to establish various institutions in Rome based on the Han Dynasty model to provide talents for Rome's industrialization.

But firstly, the three northern provinces did not have enough money to build a school, and secondly, they did not have enough teachers. They could only put this idea on hold for the time being and find a way to build a school when they had enough talent.

Cornelius said, "A group of citizens and nobles from Rome have come to join our Society, and they want to meet you, too. After joining our Society, these people either study or work as technical apprentices in factories every day. They are extremely dissatisfied with the current situation, so you should go over and appease them."

Although the three northern provinces did not have a large number of formal institutions of higher learning, they had established some technical schools, which mainly translated various technical books of the Han Dynasty. At the same time, they recruited a group of knowledgeable Roman youths, and then used these books as textbooks, learning while practicing, half of the time studying in books and half of the time practicing in factories.

Then the people of Datong Society discovered that under this model, these educated young people mastered skills faster than other apprentices in Rome, and many of them had become technical backbones.

Therefore, the Roman youths who later joined the Datong Society were arranged by them to study technology in this simple technical school. Their idea was to let the Romans master these technologies.

But the Roman citizens and young nobles who joined the Datong Society did not like this model. They came to the three northern provinces to join the Datong Society because they wanted to start a revolution and fight against the oldest Roman world.

After they joined the Datong Society, they were thrown into factories to screw in screws, which was totally different from the revolution they imagined. Naturally, these young people were dissatisfied, as they believed that their talents were not limited to screwing in screws. This behavior of the Datong Society was obviously extremely disrespectful to them.

In order to appease these Roman youths who had joined the Pax Romana, Claudius went to the technical school specifically.

These students were extremely excited after seeing Claudius, and at the same time complained that Datong would bury their talents.

After listening to the complaints of these Roman youths, Claudius thought for a long time and said slowly: "My fellow students, what you mean is that the Datong Society will give you more important work."

"That's right, we came to the North for revolution and to build a new Rome, not to screw screws in a factory," the Roman youths said in unison.

Claudius smiled and said, "I am very happy that you students have such revolutionary enthusiasm. Without the struggle of young people like you, New Rome would never have been built."

"But it is a big mistake to say that we, the Pax Romana, have not given you the most important task. In fact, what you are learning and doing now is the most important thing for the entire Rome, even more important than war."

But Claudius' words made these Roman youths dissatisfied, and they felt that he was fooling everyone.

Claudius said seriously, "I think everyone knows something about the Han people."

The Roman youths present all nodded. Over the past decade or so, the Han Dynasty has always been a hot topic in the Mediterranean region. Various reports have never stopped, from the power of the Han Dynasty, the wealth of the Han Dynasty, to the magnificence of the city of Chang'an. Everyone who has been to the Han Dynasty says that the Han Dynasty is a kingdom of God. After more than a decade of reports like this, it is difficult not to know about the Han Dynasty.

Claudius continued, "The members of our Datong Society are the students who returned from the Han Dynasty. It is fair to say that no one in Rome knows the power of the Han Dynasty better than us. The reason why the Han Dynasty is so powerful now is that everyone praises it as a wealthy kingdom of God. A farmer can earn 4 Han coins a year. The reason why the Han Dynasty can do this is because it has a strong industrial system. This industrial system can create an endless source of wealth for the Han Dynasty."

"It may be difficult for you to understand why the Han Dynasty is so wealthy. Let me take the most powerful steel mill in the Han Dynasty as an example. The most advanced blast furnace in the Han Dynasty can produce 50 tons of steel per furnace. The price of 1 ton of steel in the Han Dynasty is 12000 coins. Last year, the Han Dynasty's steel production capacity was 1060 million tons. Multiplying this number by the price of steel, we can easily know that the value of the Han Dynasty's steel industry is hundreds of billions of coins."

"Hundreds of billions of dollars?" The number was so huge that these people were dizzy and had no idea how much money it was.

Claudius said, "It is roughly equivalent to a hundred times the indemnity that the Carthaginians paid to Rome during the Punic Wars."

"Wow! So many?" All the Roman students present were amazed. You know, although Carthage was defeated by Rome, they were one of the richest countries in the Mediterranean at that time.

This indemnity, which cost the country its life, was only one percent of the Han Dynasty's steel industry. These Roman youths finally had a glimpse of the outline of this giant.

"But we also have new steel mills in Rome. Last year, the production capacity exceeded 200,000 tons. I remember this was reported in the Rome Weekly." But after saying this, the young Roman felt embarrassed.

Claudius said seriously, "Tens of millions of tons of steel and two hundred thousand tons of steel. This is the gap between us Rome and the Han Dynasty. The gap is as high as 50 times. And this may be the closest place between us and the Han Dynasty. Although we both produce steel, our steel can only be used to make farm tools and some iron cannons and muskets, but the performance of these weapons is far inferior to that of the Han Dynasty."

"And the Han Dynasty uses this steel to manufacture steam engines with higher value, to produce trains, tractors, and steamships. Using steel to produce these machines can increase their value by dozens or even hundreds of times. Each of these machines I just mentioned is a huge industry in the Han Dynasty, and can create tens of billions of wealth. These industries combined are worth hundreds of billions of wealth."

"This is the biggest gap between us and the Han Dynasty. With these machines, a citizen of the Han Dynasty can create tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of wealth. But we in Rome don't have these machines. We can only use simple iron tools to create hundreds or thousands of wealth. Rome's ability to create wealth is only one-tenth of that of the Han people, and its population is only one-tenth of that of the Han people. These two factors combined make the gap between our national strength and that of the Han Dynasty hundreds of times greater."

"It can be said without hesitation that Rome still exists today only because the Han Dynasty does not want to destroy us."

(End of this chapter)