Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1705 New Investment Direction

"The executive committee is stuck very tight now..." Mao Desheng put down a report in his hand, and said in a rather helpless tone: "Investing in Shandong to build a railway is actually a good deal, and I personally agree with it. Yes, Marshal Bulimo does not object, and it can even be said that he is inclined to agree. Now the problem lies with the people in the Executive Committee. They have a lot of concerns about this, and they are worried that the appearance of sensitive technical facilities such as railways in the Far East will open up the hearts of the local people. Foresight, it is possible for the local technological development to get more investment from the rulers, which is unacceptable on the East Coast. Countries like China, Russia, and France, it is best to let them continue to be ignorant and sleepy. The ultimate goal Kishi pursues cannot be destroyed, so..."

"So the plan to go to Shandong to repair the railway is very difficult to pass?" Xu Xiangdong, who had just been recalled to the headquarters of the Southern Railway Company for a short time, asked softly: "The members of the executive committee are worried that once Denglai falls, the railway and trains will be destroyed. The enemy won it? Actually, there is no need to worry so much. With the incomparably poor industrial standards of the Qing and Ming people, so what if they get a steam locomotive? This is not a matter of a locomotive at all, but It involves the fundamental problems of dozens of companies in more than ten industries. Without this foundation, they will not be able to copy our trains and railways. What is there to worry about?"

Major Xu Xiangdong is an active military attache of the army. He was originally the commander of the South Chilean Regional Police. He played a game of "peek-a-boo" with the remaining local Araucans in the Maolin River Basin, and achieved great results.He originally thought that he would work here for several years, and then maybe he would retire from active duty and become a commissioner of the regional administrative office after the establishment of the regional administrative office, just like Shao Yaoguang, the commissioner of the Baoding regional administrative office.However, a while ago, Mao Desheng, the third president of the Southern Railway Company, suddenly reported that he was unwell. Although he recovered after recuperation, he may not be able to serve as the president of the Southern Railway Company once again as he is not young. job.

After learning the news, the army system immediately conducted some urgent consultations, and finally concluded that the replacement of the leadership of the Southern Railway Company was inevitable. Therefore, Xu Xiangdong was summoned back from the central valley of southern Chile. The Ministry of the Army in Dongfang Port, the capital, reported on their work, and then went to the executive committee to meet with several central bosses, and received their encouragement and praise.

At this time, no matter how stupid Xu Xiangdong was, he knew that he was lucky this time, and he was about to make a fortune.Especially when Minister of the Army Mo Ming talked to him, saying that the Ministry had appointed him as the executive vice president of the Southern Railway Company immediately. The four presidents protect the interests of the army group.

To be honest, Xu Xiangdong was a little excited about this, and almost expressed his determination by writing a poem on the spot.Although his father Xu Yu is also one of the veterans of the army, and now he is serving as the commissioner of Beining District, he has not completely withdrawn from the stage of power.But in the final analysis, his ability may not be able to send him to the hot position of executive vice president of the Southern Railway Company, because the competition is too fierce.It can be said that this time, if the senior officials of the Ministry of the Army did not come forward to make the final decision, it is still uncertain who will take this position.Therefore, from this perspective, Marshal Mo Mingmo is also Xu Xiangdong's benefactor. He has the kindness of knowledge and encounter, and he must repay it in the future.

Of course, from the serious military attache of the South Chilean Regional Police Commander to the executive vice president of the Southern Railway Company, this basically means that Xu Xiangdong may completely leave the front line of leading troops in the future, and instead walk within the army system. The bureaucratic route, which made him a little bit disappointed, after all, he still liked the kind of military career where he struggled with his subordinates.Instead of sitting in an office with bright and clean windows, wearing a brand new military uniform, reviewing documents and reports one after another.

However, compared with his future prospects, Xu Xiangdong is still sober enough to make the right choice: he is now a major in the army, but he has not been able to get even the post of battalion commander of a mixed battalion. At that time, he was sick and recuperating at home, and missed that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.And once the opportunity is missed, it will not come again in many cases. Therefore, it is also a good choice to take the bureaucratic route as a senior executive of the Southern Railway Company. It can ensure that he will have a place in the large group of the Army in the future, so he should do it without much reason. Under this matter, and stated that he would definitely do the job well.

Today, Xu Xiangdong has been working as the vice president of the Southern Railway Company for more than two weeks. He is basically familiar with the structure and internal processes of this huge Concern enterprise, and has a certain understanding of many things.Of course, he also knows that he still has a lot to learn in his new state, so his attitude is relatively modest, and he seizes every opportunity to learn from others.Regarding this point, Mao Desheng, who has been observing him in secret, is also quite satisfied, so calling him over today and chatting with him about some corporate strategic decision-making matters can be regarded as a kind of exercise for him.

When Xu Xiangdong said that foreigners may not be able to copy the train technology, Mao Desheng also agreed: "Yes, I think so too, but the higher-ups don't approve it. And they said that after the Qing people obtained this kind of thing, It may also be sold to the British for profit. Although the British cannot copy this kind of equipment, it is of great reference significance for them with a high level of industry. Therefore, such things are prohibited from appearing in the Far East. In this regard, we There is no way to change their decision, after all, we must pay attention to obeying the overall situation now."

Having said that, the atmosphere became a little dull.Seeing this, Mao Desheng smiled, and said calmly: "Of course, this matter is not without any chance to fight for it. Commander Liao Xiaoyao, the leader of the Denglai Pioneering Team, wrote back and strongly invited our Southern Railway Company to Denglai to participate in the Jiaoyan Line and Taorong County. You must know that this is a railway of hundreds of kilometers, and there are currently 200 million people in Denglai. It has been in peace for 30 years, and the economic development is not bad. If this railway is built and operated by our company, it will naturally be beneficial Interesting! After all, ten years later, the Southern Cone and Ocean Railway will be handed over to the country. Without this railway, what is left of our Southern Railway Company? Is it necessary to transform into a trading company? What a shame! Therefore, Marshal Mo also said about this matter, we should try our best to fight for it, it is best to work hard together with Denglai, and then contact Liang Xiangjian and other executive committee members who have a good relationship with us to see if we can turn this matter over in the end. "

In fact, apart from the Liangyang Railway, it is not that the Southern Railway Company does not have other railway investments.They invested in Xinhuaxia Railway Company in Xinhuaxia Island. The company participated in the construction of the Daqing Railway in the west of the island (at present, the railway has not been fully completed because other shareholders failed to fulfill their investment obligations in time), and they also plan to build a railway in the eastern half of the island. The Tacheng Railway was built in the Tacheng County area of ​​the Ministry.

One of these two railways transports agricultural and pastoral products such as cotton, peanuts, sesame, leather, and livestock, and the other transports commodities such as rice, coffee, pepper, cocoa, sisal, timber, and coal. The profit prospects are pretty good (at least will not lose money), but these two railways are said to be operated by the New Railway Company, not by the Southern Railway Company, because they are only one of the shareholders of the New Railway Company.

Therefore, after the Southern Cone and Ocean Railway was officially handed over to the country in 1688, there was really no railway under the name of the Southern Railway Company that was personally managed and operated. It is embarrassing and inappropriate to say.Therefore, Mao Desheng and others felt that it would be best to build a railway with profitable prospects before the end of 1688, funded by the Southern Railway Company (they are actually not short of money, and the amount of funds is relatively sufficient), and manage the operation in person. , as the company's profit growth point for a long period of time in the future.

They once wanted to build railways in the Central River and Yicheng areas of South Africa, but they were told that these places belonged to the Central Railway Company, and the Southern Railway could not cross the border at will. This made Mao Desheng slapped the table and cursed, saying that China Railway Company and the National Railway There were too many white shirts mixed into the General Administration, which made these departments and enterprises that had a good relationship with the Army become cold one by one.

However, to blame, Mao Desheng also knows that the mainland is now the scope of the State Railway Administration. If the Southern Railway Company wants to seek development, it has no other way but overseas colonies.Therefore, after carefully inspecting New China, Australia, Rabaul, Tahiti, the Free State (this country is almost also a colony on the east coast) and the Far East San Francisco, the company unanimously decided that it is right to build the railway in Ningbo and Denglai. The best choice is that the local population is relatively dense and the economy is developed. After construction, it can pay back the cost in a short period of time, and then make a profit. Of course, Xinhua Island is also a very good choice, but the island’s railway has been clearly defined It must be built by the new railway company, so there is no way.

Therefore, there are actually very few targets that the Southern Railway Company can choose, and if they want to consider returning costs and making profits, then almost only the Far East San Francisco is the target.It just so happened that at this time, Liao Xiaoyao heard about the current predicament of the Southern Railway Company from his friends in the Ministry of the Army. He was immediately overjoyed and began to write letters to test the enthusiasm of the Southern Railway Company for going to Denglai to build a railway.

And the Southern Railway Company once gave them a positive response, saying that if the executive committee approves Denglai to build railways and import steam locomotives, then they can even directly upgrade the Jiaoyan Line and Taorong Line to ordinary railways, while It was not an inefficient light rail line, which made Liao Xiaoyao very happy, and he began to work more actively to lift the ban on these two railways through relationships.Of course, he did not forget to make two-handed preparations, that is, once the executive committee rejected the request to export railways and trains to Denglai, they would continue to implement the original light rail line plan.After all, even horse-drawn railcars are far more efficient in carrying goods than traditional means of transportation such as horse-drawn carts, donkey carts, and even wheelbarrows, which are of great significance to transportation and economic development.

"Well, in addition to Liang Xiangjian, Commissar Liang, Commander Liao Xiaoyao should try his best to fight for it. In fact, although he is only the captain of the Denglai Pioneering Team, his future has already been determined, and his status is not comparable to that of a bad old man like me. It is not an exaggeration for him to say a word that I have been busy with for several months. Therefore, our current strategy is to firmly believe in Commander Liao's idea of ​​building a regular railway in Denglai, and let him know that the light rail is just a trick. , low-efficiency garbage, not worth investing in and building." At this point, Mao Desheng stood up and paced in the office, as if thinking about something, and he said after a long while: "Yes, it has to be like this Come on! We can't passively wait for people to contact us like we are now, but should take the initiative to come to negotiate. How about this, I'm considering whether to deploy some elite soldiers within the company and go to Yantai in the Far East to have a close relationship with Xiao Liao We will carry out comprehensive consultations on the Yanxian and Taorong railways, and inspect the local geology, population and products by the way, so as to lay a solid foundation for the comprehensive operation of the railway and its affiliated areas in the future.”

After hearing this, Xu Xiangdong subconsciously felt that something was wrong, because he felt that there seemed to be a place to connect with the central government to play a game, and it was a bit taboo to say it.However, after considering the situation that the Southern Railway Company is facing now, he felt that there was only one way to go, and the others were not ideal, so he agreed with Mao Desheng's opinion and only heard him say: "President Mao, This is feasible. We will select some young and vigorous backbones from the general affairs department, general affairs department, and engineering department, and then let them take a boat to Yantai Port in Denglai to meet Commander Liao and discuss the Jiaoyan Line and Taorong Line Railway. The need to use regular routes also implies that there are many obstacles and difficulties involved in this matter, and we need to unite and help each other in order to achieve success."

When Xu Xiangdong said this, Mao Desheng immediately smiled, and said approvingly: "Xiao Xu, you are in charge of this matter. You must choose a good candidate, and try to choose a seasoned and prudent one. Is it easy for our South Railway Company to expand the territory for the country to this day? ?In the future, we will continue to make due contributions to the country. The completion of the Jiaoyan Line and Taorong Line Railway will greatly speed up the deployment of troops and materials in the Denglei area, so that we can have The military significance of sufficient logistics and more troops to fight the enemy cannot be underestimated. Commander Liao Xiaoyao will naturally not understand this question. Well, I will write a personal letter later to Xiao Liao explained the details inside in detail, and then someone will take them there. I believe that with the concerted efforts of both of us, the construction of these two formal railways is still very possible."

(End of this chapter)