Wang Baishan and Ye Huiling were the top civil officials, and they knew very well how much the base area spent.
They suggested that Huang Yi reduce or simply stop accepting refugees. They felt that if the population increased at the current rate, there would be no money available in less than two months.
Huang Yi has never felt that population is a burden, but he knows human nature. If he cannot pay monthly salary and military pay on time, he will lose trust.
In the final analysis, it’s because we’ve invested too much and we’re short of money!
The cement produced by the cement factory was all used for its own use, and grain depots, reservoirs, cities and thousands of houses were built.
But not a single tael of silver was earned, and cement, an important invention of this era, failed to reflect economic benefits at all.
The reason is very simple. The Han population in the base area is basically slaves of the Mongolian tribes, Han people who were held hostage by the slaves, refugees who were slaves by the slaves or whose homes were destroyed by rogue bandits...
These people have trouble even surviving. How can they have any property?
Of course they need food to eat and houses to stay.
So Huang Yi built tens of thousands of new houses, spending tens of thousands of taels of silver, but not even a tael of silver was recovered.
But things will change after some time. The concept of home among Han people is deeply rooted in their bones. If they have savings, they will definitely be willing to spend money to buy their own house.
After all, as a small courtyard of public rental housing, there are three or four families, some with as many as ten or twenty people, which is too crowded.
The base area does not provide free housing, and adopts the method of solving the accommodation problem first and then paying the rent, and the rent price is very low.
This was completely out of necessity, because the newly acquired population was basically impoverished.
Low-cost living security is of course the most basic, just providing a warm place to sleep and eat.
Families who have earned wages but are not satisfied with the accommodation conditions in public rental housing can spend money to rent a small courtyard to live in.
The rent is also a reasonable price. It is only about two silver coins per month, which is about 10% of the monthly salary of an ordinary craftsman.
The feeling of having a wife and children on the hot bed is what most workers pursue.
There is no shortage of jobs in the base area. As long as they are willing to work, both men and women can earn enough money to support their families.
As long as two people in a family work, they can basically save one person's monthly money.
If workers can save money, they will of course have purchasing power. Buying a small yard and no longer paying rent should be the wish of the vast majority of people.
The property sold in the base area has permanent property rights. Generally, the land transfer price is only 10% of the cost price of the house.
For houses sold to people in base areas, only a 10% price increase is allowed on the cost price.
But at this time, the vast majority of families do not have much savings, and the situation next year will be better.
Huang Yi is already considering opening a bank to provide mortgage loan services to people in his jurisdiction.
Distant water cannot quench the near thirst, and Huang Yi will now face the dilemma of making ends meet.
The base area not only has cement plants, but also steel plants, fertilizer plants, flour mills, brick and tile factories, lime kilns, sand and gravel quarries, coal mines, iron ore and other industries. Don't they all make money?
well! The place is too closed and the market has not been opened. The steel factory only uses a small part of the steel to make farm tools for export, and the profit is not worth mentioning.
The flintlock guns and regimental cannons produced by the musket and artillery factory are military weapons. They cannot be sold. Not only do they not make money, they also have to continuously invest in research and development.
It is also necessary to spend money to improve quality, improve wages for workers who make guns and cannons, and mobilize their enthusiasm for production.
Under the unified purchasing and marketing of grain, public enterprises in base areas such as flour mills and grain stores pay more attention to services and do not value profits very much, so they do not withdraw much money every month.
The profits from mining and selling coal are not as high as they would like, and because the people in Xuanda territory are relatively poor, sales are limited.
Real estate has not started selling commercial housing during the investment period, and building materials such as cement, bricks, stones, lime, sand and gravel cannot be cashed in.
Investment is required everywhere, and it is barely enough to recover two taels after paying three taels of silver. If it were not supported by a large number of seizures, the base would have gone bankrupt long ago.
After Huang Yi listened to Wang Baishan and Ye Huiling's financial status report, he learned that if there was no new income, he would be faced with the dilemma of not being able to pay military pay at the end of the year.
How can we increase revenue and reduce expenditure?
If flintlock guns and regimental cannons are sold, they will surely sell well, and arms should be a hugely profitable industry.
When your own army equipment is satisfied, you can consider selling it to the Ming army in the future.
The most important thing to generate sales is the four-wheel carriage. Oh, no, it should be called a sedan now.
Cement is an exclusive product, but due to the problem of hardening, it cannot be sold further afield. It can only do business in the two cities of Zhangjiakou and Xuanfu.
Steel production has doubled, and this month we can consider exporting some of the steel billets through the Li family business.
The production technology of glass has made great progress, and it has been able to produce clean and transparent lens materials, so the total number of monocular telescopes in the base has reached more than 100.
To prevent it from being acquired by the Tatars of the Jin Army, the telescope cannot be sold, but reading glasses and myopia glasses can be made for export.
The demand for glasses is widespread. Considering the wealth of the capital and Jiangnan, the price of three taels to ten taels should not be a problem.
All in all, producing glass and selling glass products can generate huge profits. Of course, if you have mastered the technology, you must start working quickly.
Huang Yi explained his ideas and plans clearly to Wang Baishan, Zuo Fanglian and others, and pointed out glass products such as glass bottles, glass mirrors, kaleidoscopes, goblets and other glass products.
Next, I talked with Ye Huiling about matters related to opening Xinghe Bank.
Xinghe Bank was established within a month, and a Dongshanpu branch was opened at the same time, accepting deposits with a two-year deposit period at an annual interest rate of 10%.
Next, all military pay and monthly payments will be distributed by banks, and soldiers and civilians are encouraged to save money and earn interest.
Doing this will definitely solve the urgent need.
After the staff is familiar with the business, they will have to strive to open branches in Zhangjiakou, Xuanfu, Baoanzhou, Datong and other cities in the first month of next year.
In the coming years, food prices will definitely skyrocket. Xinghe Bank absorbs deposits, and even if it just buys food and hoards, it will be enough to bear the 10% annual interest rate.
Of course, Huang Yi cannot absorb deposits just for hoarding, but mainly to invest in expanding the production of steel and glass.
He believed that within two years, just exporting steel billets and glass would be able to support 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses.
At present, it is difficult to have no products, no output, and no sales, so we must find ways to find funds.
Changing money is definitely not as fast as robbing money!
Where to grab next?
Just when Huang Yi was worried about money, a good thing happened. The emperor finally approved Governor Xuanda's plan and promoted Huang Yi to the rank of general of Xinghe Camp on the North Road.
It stands to reason that Huang Yi should go to the capital to thank the emperor for his kindness, but in urgent matters, the rules can be changed.
There are tens of thousands of Tatars outside the Great Wall, and hundreds of thousands of bandits in Shanxi and Shaanxi are burning, killing and looting. How can Huang Yi, the general, leave his post without permission?
Just give me a note of thanks.
