Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 476 Hetao Heavy Industry Center
Ever since Zhu Youdong came here, he had been drooling over the Dahetao area. After twenty years, he finally got this piece of land into his hands.
The Yellow River is said to have a hundred disadvantages but only one benefit. This place is in the water-scarce northwest region, but it is rich in water resources and fertile land, so both farming and nomadic farming can produce excellent harvests.
In addition to being suitable for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, the underground of this place has extremely rich reserves of coal, iron, copper, gold, salt, natural soda and even rare earths, which are known as industrial gold.
It can be said that this place has almost all the resources needed for the first and second industrial revolutions, except for oil. And because of the developed agriculture and animal husbandry, it is completely self-sufficient to develop industry here.
Economically speaking, although some outstanding businessmen in China have sensed the trend of the times and actively engaged in industry, whether it is Xu Yuanzuo opening a silk factory or a daily chemical factory, Yang Yanming buying a coal mine, or Zhu Shengmiao investing in shipping, they are actually industries that can be cashed out quickly - this is the nature of private capital.
Therefore, heavy industry, which requires huge investment but has slow results, must be led by the state. The natural conditions and resource reserves in the Hetao area are so superior that Zhu Youdong naturally placed the first large-scale heavy industrial zone here.
Of course, Liaoning's natural conditions and resource reserves are not bad. In the historical plane, China's northeast region was the largest heavy industrial base throughout the 20th century. However, at this time in Liaoning, the Han people had completely occupied a dominant position. Politically speaking, building a heavy industrial center here was not as urgent as in Hetao.
Since the Ming Dynasty abandoned Hamiwei in the Hongzhi era, the Hetao region has been out of Ming rule for more than a hundred years. Over the past hundred years, the dominant population here has long been Mongolians.
After obtaining the head of Lindan Khan and completely destroying the so-called "Mongol Empire", how to stabilize the rule here and truly turn the traditional Mongolian settlements into the inherent territory that the Ming Dynasty can hold for a long time. The most effective way is to build a large heavy industrial zone here.
Compared with farmers and nomads, the working class is more organized and disciplined because of the mode of production. At the same time, because of the mode of production, they can live together in high density. In Zhu Youdong's vision, he wanted to emulate the large state-owned enterprises in the 1950s, and let the enterprises run the society: a worker's work, courtship, childbirth, entertainment consumption, medical treatment, children's education and even burial after death can all be realized within the factory area.
Such a factory is located in a Mongolian settlement like Hetao, which plays a great role as a model: although the Mongolians are now living a slightly more comfortable life because of sheep shearing and the arrival of peace, their quality of life is still much worse than that of the workers in the factory. Therefore, many factories in the Hetao area will naturally form a suction cup, attracting Mongolian boys to work in the factory area. When the best of these Mongolians are closely connected with the Han people because of economic interests and in-laws, the north and south of the desert will sooner or later become the loyal and inherent territory of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the first heavy industrial zone must be built in Hetao.
"My Lords, this is what I think. In short, heavy industry is like infrastructure. We cannot expect private capital to do it spontaneously. It can only be invested and nurtured by the state. My idea is to invest two million in capital, ten thousand workers, and three thousand troops for protection."
After Zhu Youdong put forward such a huge plan, all the ministers attending the meeting fell into deep thought for a moment.
As civil officials, they have worked with the emperor for so many years, and most of them have long gotten rid of the mentality of traditional officials: in the past, everyone thought that the people should farm well and the court should impose light taxes. But after so many years, especially after seeing the world through the six major newspapers, especially when the Ming army's equipment improved and it was invincible in East Asia, everyone has long understood the importance of industry.
Therefore, no one objects to building a heavy industry center. The only thing to consider is money!
"As the emperor said, building a heavy industry center in Hetao will be of great benefit to the country and the people, and I have no objection. However, as the Minister of Revenue, it is my duty to ensure the balance of revenue and expenditure of the court. Therefore, I would like to ask the emperor, this Hetao heavy industry center has invested two million in the first year, and the subsequent investment will probably be more. According to , there are more heavy industry centers to be established. This money..."
"Grand Minister, please be at ease. I think that building a heavy industry center will incur losses in the first three years, and the loss will be at least over five million. But starting from the fourth year, it should be profitable. For example, if our factory produces guns and cannons that we cannot use ourselves, can't we sell them to others?"
“Who are you selling it to?”
"Alas..." Zhu Youdong sighed compassionately, "I heard that the Yindians in America are the descendants of the Yin and Shang dynasties of China. Now they are living a miserable life under the destruction of the Spaniards. For example, the black people in Africa are living well, but the white people in Europe insist on colonizing their land and engaging in slave trade. My Ming Dynasty, adhering to the teachings of the saints, should provide some help to these oppressed people to the best of its ability. Even in various parts of Nanyang, some tribes are still oppressed by some powerful local tribes. As the lord of all the tribes in Nanyang, my Ming Dynasty cannot just turn a blind eye."
"Pfft~ I understand. Your Majesty is kind and loving to the people of the world. I admire you very much. So, I have no objection."
The civil officials had no objection, and the military naturally had no objection: heavy industry, in addition to producing steam engines, machine tools and other equipment for the development of light industry, most heavy industry is actually military industry, right? The emperor built a heavy industry center, and anyone could support it, but the military must support it!
"Well..." Zhu Youdong, who thought he had acted well changed his face and said, "Since everyone has no objection to setting up our dynasty's first heavy industry center in Hetao, then, everyone, do you have any candidates for the person in charge of this first heavy industry center? I mean, this center will have a general manager, who will be a civil official. He needs to understand technology, be good at communication, and be flexible. After all, being in office in Hetao will inevitably involve dealing with the Mongols. In addition to the general manager, there will be a military representative. The Censorate will send another deputy censor for supervision. The bank will send one person to be the chief accountant. Fangshan will send one person to be the chief scientist. Therefore, the top level of this heavy industry center is five people. Among the above five people, the general manager is a third-rank official, and the military representative must be at least a lieutenant general. The deputy censor is originally a third-rank official, so there is no need to say more. The accountant sent by the bank, well, the bank's rule is that Jinshi are not allowed to enter, so the bank's personnel have no rank, only the jurisdiction over the flow of funds. The chief scientist also has no rank, and only controls scientific research. Okay, everyone try to nominate someone?"
"Your Majesty." After a brief whisper or eye contact from the civil officials, the Minister of Personnel Zhao Huan stood up and said, "I recommend Shaanxi Provincial Governor Yuan Yingtai to serve as the general manager of the Hetao Heavy Industry Center. Yingtai has served in Shaanxi for several years, working diligently and conscientiously. Nowadays, Shaanxi's water channels are booming. Although there are still droughts nine out of ten years, Shaanxi has only asked the court for relief in one year during Yingtai's four years in charge of Shaanxi. In addition to overhauling the water channels to alleviate the drought, Yingtai also restored the tea-horse trade in Shaanxi, which greatly improved the people's livelihood in Shaanxi. At the same time, he made friends with the surrounding Mongolian, Hui, Qiang, and Tibetan tribes. In the past four years, there have been only two small-scale conflicts, both of which were resolved within the county. With such a capable minister, I deeply believe that I can be honored to serve as the general manager of the Heavy Industry Center."
"Hmm..." After listening to Zhao Huan's recommendation, Zhu Youdong also began to think seriously.
Yuan Yingtai is the first-class water conservancy expert in the Ming Dynasty since Pan Jixun and Cao Shipin. He is good at water conservancy and is not weak in science and engineering. As the general manager, he is mainly engaged in business, but he also understands technology and is good at civil affairs - really good.
In the historical plane, after the defeat at Sarhu in 1619, Xiong Tingbi went to Liaodong alone, but it took him more than a year to revive Liaodong and defeat Nurhaci several times in field battles. As a result, the Wanli Emperor, Xiong Tingbi's biggest backer at that time, collapsed, and the Donglin Party, which supported Zhu Changluo to ascend to the throne, quickly sent Yuan Yingtai, who was very good at water conservancy in Henan, to take over Xiong Tingbi's job. Then, the Liaodong Army was once again completely defeated by Nurhaci: after this defeat, the Liaodong Army could not win a hearty victory against the Jurchen troops until the end of the Ming Dynasty. (On the contrary, the Liaonan Army commanded by Yuan Keli and Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Town had some victories)
Therefore, Yuan Yingtai can only be a civil official, and must not be allowed to be a military commander. In this case, if Yuan Yingtai is allowed to be the general manager, the military representative will be very important.
"Your Majesty." Seeing Zhu Youdong's eyes turned to him, the Minister of War Wang Xiangqian stood up and said, "I recommend Datong Lieutenant General He Shixian to be the military representative. He is brave and good at fighting, and he knows and loves soldiers. Moreover, Shixian was born in Yulin and has dealt with the Mongols for many years. With this person in charge, the safety of the heavy industry center can be guaranteed."
History is really about fate. In the historical plane, Xiong Tingbi defeated the Later Jin twice. Wasn't He Shixian the main military commander?
"Hahaha, sure. I accept the recommendations of these two people."
