Citizen is backed by the largest iron mine in the Western Pacific region and has a pleasant climate. Zhu Cixiang believes that the two pillar industries of shipbuilding and metallurgy are not enough.
In the past few years, Zhu Xiangtang has introduced aircraft, automobiles, and machinery, three industries that require metal processing, and at the same time, it can further stimulate local economic development.
Citizen currently has an annual output of nearly 1,000 "Albatross" combat reconnaissance aircraft and more than 30,000 vehicles of various types. It has basically achieved self-sufficiency in aviation and transportation.
After inspecting the local aircraft manufacturing plants and automobile factories, Zhu Cixiang decided to put the two models of "Hercules" and "Black-footed Albatross" into production locally.
Coupled with the many orders placed and the local people and industrial population arriving one after another, it is expected that Citizen's permanent population will exceed one million in ten or twenty years.
The overall environment in northwest Australia is not satisfactory, but the coastal area, especially around Citizen, is quite good. There are sizable oases in the west and south.
There are many local rivers flowing into the sea, so the prerequisites for building a large city there are met. However, we still need to pay attention to desert prevention and control, and we must not underestimate the enemy of the desert.
Zhu Cixiang plans to develop Citizen into an industrial city integrating shipbuilding city, sky city, and automobile city. In the future, it can achieve an annual production of millions of cars.
The cost of exporting cars from Citizen to the Middle East and India is much lower than exporting from Daming itself, which means that for the same price, manufacturers will earn more profits.
In the next three to four hundred years, this industry will not be outdated. It is certainly worthwhile to invest heavily in the local area now. The advantages of starting early will become more and more significant in the future.
Every inch of land in Beidu is precious, but that situation does not exist here in Citizen. The factory floor area can be exaggerated to the point of doing whatever you want.
Basically, the area of large and medium-sized enterprises that are not too weak is calculated in terms of hectares.
Zhu Cixi also encouraged local manufacturers to do this. Only by achieving industrial scale can we minimize production costs and seize more market share.
After acquiring and assimilating automobile production technology, France had begun selling automobiles to French India and surrounding areas.
Of course Zhu Cixiang would not turn a blind eye to this. While Louis XIV was busy cleaning up the mess at home, Ming Dynasty could rapidly expand in the Indian market.
Because India was divided between France, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Ming Dynasty (the eastern part of India was occupied by the Burmese king Zhu Cihuan), and Persia.
India's local development speed is far slower than that of Western countries and the Ming Dynasty. However, due to its large population base, rich natural resources, large area of arable land, and very good climate.
As a result, there are many local tycoons, and their spending power is quite good. The annual demand for cars in India is at least 100,000.
Zhu Cixiang believes that within the next ten years, the size of the Indian market will double or even triple.
Even if the cars produced by Daming cannot squeeze into the French Indian market, they will still have to seize the markets of other companies through the channels of their own brothers.
The dumping father asked himself to take care of his younger brother who was a feudal lord in Myanmar, especially in terms of finance.
Zhu Cixiang took advantage of the situation and developed this little brother into his largest dealer in South Asia...
Zhu Cihuan was very happy about this, because the products produced in Ming Dynasty were very popular in India.
The market in central and eastern India has almost been dominated by high-quality and low-priced Ming products, and it is difficult for similar products from other countries to squeeze in.
Affected by this, the local indigenous nobles are keen on mining and using ores to exchange for various daily necessities they need. Barter trade can save themselves a lot of money.
One thing about the Indian automobile market is exactly the same as that of Ming Dynasty and even the whole world, that is, except for the aristocrats who like cars and off-road vehicles, most people who can afford a car prefer pickup trucks.
In the areas covered by Daming Auto, trucks account for 60% of total sales, pickup trucks account for 30%, and cars and off-road vehicles combined account for only 10%.
Before Zhu Cixiang started his global journey, the latest large pickup truck had been mass-produced and put on the market.
This pickup truck is larger in appearance and has a larger load capacity than the pickup trucks on the market. Although the price is higher, it still does not affect its hot sales trend after it was launched.
Zhu Cixiang believes that given that most of the road conditions around the world are very pessimistic today, pickup trucks have completely replaced cars and become the best choice for all urban and rural car buyers.
Cars cannot adapt to rural road conditions, and off-road vehicles rarely haul cargo. Pickups are a combination of the two and light trucks, so they appear to be very cost-effective.
Here in Western Australia, the streets are full of pickup trucks, but cars and off-road vehicles are very rare.
Since Citizen is closer to Kuwait than Beidou, the price of gasoline shipped by sea is about 10% cheaper than Beidou.
Because there are automobile factories and steel plants in the local area, and it is very close to the mining area, the price of pickup trucks is also the same.
Local people will not need to pay any tax on their income within five years, causing many car ownerships to grow very fast.
Citizen has a population of more than 500,000, but because of its high car ownership, complete supporting facilities, and very developed industry, outsiders feel that it is a modern city with a population of one million.
Zhu Cixiang believes that the city is very consistent with his original intention and can basically be promoted as a model of urban construction in overseas territories.
The second largest city in Western Australia is the Aluminum City (Perth), which is also dominated by mining and metallurgy. The city is located in the southwest of mainland Australia, and the local climate is more pleasant than Citizen.
Because the mountainous area south of the city is home to the largest bauxite mine in Australia and even the world, this city, which is famous for its local aluminum production, is called the "Aluminum City."
At present, Aluminum City Mining Company can mine more than 10 million tons of bauxite every year. Together with the local iron ore and nickel ore, it has become one of the top taxpayers in the entire Australia.
Taxes were paid to the state capital managed by the eldest son Zhu Xiangtang, not to the local court of the Ming Dynasty.
Due to the climate and geographical environment, unlike Citizen, the development of agriculture and animal husbandry in Aluminum City has not been delayed at the same time as the mining industry has emerged.
Farmers and ranchers are almost everywhere, and each family's cultivated land and pasture far exceed that of their local counterparts.
Zhu Xiangtang has already ordered that the allocation of cultivated land and pastures should be kept away from existing mining areas, so the two sides will not affect each other.
In fact, farmers and ranchers are hoping to have some kind of metal buried on their property.
Once discovered, the whole family can make money in one fell swoop.
At the very least, there are at least tens of thousands of silver coins in dividends every year, but it is much easier than farming or herding.
Having said that, there is nothing wrong with farming or grazing in Western Australia. The pressure is much less than in the mainland.
All farmers who move here can become self-sufficient within one year.
Within three years, households will have large amounts of surplus grain available for sale.
After living there for five years, all farmers began to worry about buying food...
A few years after Zhu Xiangtang came here, he began to worry about collecting grain.
The farmer and the eldest son of the emperor were worried about the same thing, but in two directions.
The local problem is not too much food;
Local farmers enjoy full tax exemption for five years, but the problem that arises is selling the grain after the harvest.
In particular, the result of mechanized farming in the local area is that there are fewer people and more food.
Except for workers, merchants, officials, the army, and ranchers, the demand was not great at all.
In fact, the situation in the mainland is also the same, but Australia’s vast territory and sparse population have amplified this aspect a lot.
One of the simplest ways to solve the problem of a large backlog of grain is to move a large amount of food.
There is an even simpler way, feeding grain to livestock…
Since Australia is not yet so luxurious, Zhu Xiangtang can only give priority to the previous method.
Since there are no automobile factories, shipyards or aircraft manufacturing plants established locally, the population of Aluminum City is not large.
However, the total population of the surrounding areas adds up to nearly 700,000, exceeding Citizen.
It's just that the population density is relatively small and the residences are relatively scattered.
Zhu Cihong took a quick look around and then went to Crocodile City (Adelaide).
The city is named after its nearby bay (Gulf St. Vincent), which resembles a crocodile with its mouth wide open.
Reconnaissance planes reported that fires broke out in the forest near the city, resulting in very poor air quality in the area.
Zhu Cixiang did not plan to go ashore to rest, so he had to change his route to Crab City (Melbourne).
The origin of Crab City is the same as that of Crocodile City. In addition to being difficult to write, it is also easy to hear and remember.
There are also wildfires near the city, but they are not as serious as those in Crocodile City, so they can still stay for a while.
Zhu Cixi learned from telegrams obtained from the local area that most fire brigades in southeastern Australia were busy extinguishing the endless wildfires.
This is because the situation has improved greatly. Two months ago, even the "Hercules" transport plane was dispatched to help put out the fire, otherwise the fire would really be impossible to control.
Mountain fires actually burn money, because if you only burn grass, you don't need to take care of it at all. The valuable things are trees.
If it's burned down, it can really only be used as fuel for barbecues...
The Australian government estimates that the economic losses caused by wildfires in January alone will be as high as more than three million silver coins.
The total loss for the whole year will exceed 10 million silver coins, and it is basically impossible to make up for it.
Although Zhu Xiangtang led his brothers to the fire scene and personally directed the fire fighting, it was still difficult to significantly reduce the damage.
This is understandable, because local wildfires in later generations are also very difficult to effectively control.
The first batch of eight canals was completed in the late spring of the forty-seventh year of Haojing (1690), the second batch of eight canals was completed five years later, and the third batch of eight canals was completed in the fifty-seventh year of Haojing.
Under the auspices of Zhu Xiangtang, in less than thirty years, a total of seven batches of 66 canals were completed in the entire Dong'ao region.
The creation of these canals dramatically changed the landscape west of the Great Divide, turning the drier interior into fertile soil for farming.
According to incomplete statistics, with the help of the canal, the amount of reclaimed wasteland has reached more than 50 million acres, which is close to the 58 million acres of cultivated land in Northern Zhili when the Ming Dynasty was founded.
Calculated based on the standard of 500 acres of cultivated land allocated to each household, this part of cultivated land alone can accommodate approximately 100,000 households and nearly one million people.
After the fleet arrived at the Gold Coast and met Zhu Xiangtang, Zhu Cixiang asked his eldest son in detail about using the canal to open up wasteland for farming.
Zhu Xiangtang's plan is to open 5 million acres of new farmland every year, reaching 50 million acres every ten years, and resettle one million people.
This plan only targets the local situation in Eastern Australia. Many places in South Australia do not need canals for farming.
If industry and ranching are included, it is completely feasible for the entire state of Australia to resettle millions of people every year.
Since he had come all the way, Zhu Cixiang would definitely not be relieved if he didn't see it with his own eyes.
Accompanied by a group of sons, a certain emperor personally visited the Dong'ao First Canal, which was excavated under the personal command of the fourth emperor Zhu Xiangcheng.
This canal was not the longest, but it was the most difficult at that time and even later.
Fortunately, Zhu Xiangcheng was a civil engineering major and was considered an industry insider. He was relatively familiar with this aspect. With the concerted efforts of the following, the canal through the Great Dividing Range was completed on schedule.
The longest canal in the Dong'ao region has crossed the Great Basin in the central and eastern regions and is as long as three thousand miles.
This is what Zhu Cixiang hopes to see. Naturally, the more canals of this length, the better.
Unlike later generations, Australia's population will be increasing today, and there will be no shortage of labor to open up wasteland.
With the increasing capacity of maritime transport, the number of imported goods arriving in Australia will surely increase day by day.
As long as there is idle vacant land, even wasteland, and there is no shortage of water, someone will definitely come to farm it.
Those places that are beyond the reach of canals and inland rivers will also be treated as pasture and will not be wasted.
After seeing the situation upstream and downstream of the canal, Zhu Cixi decided to increase the amount of aid to Australia to 20 million silver coins each year.
This move is a recognition of the hard work of a group of sons and rewards them with 10 million silver coins. The specific distribution is decided by the eldest son.
The amount of aid does not seem very high, but Australia does not pay taxes to the local court at all, which is equivalent to a net profit of 20 million silver coins per year.
Using this money to purchase various goods from the mainland, resettle immigrants and pay salaries to officials can greatly reduce the burden on local Australians.
Australia also has a garrison, but the total strength is only 50,000, equivalent to ten brigades.
In addition to daily training, the most important task is to capture wanted criminals.
This is the huge advantage of having two oceans. If nothing happens locally, it will be more difficult for foreign enemies to invade.
Since the entire Western Pacific has almost become the Ming Dynasty's private territory, the biological mothers of the princes who came to Australia for development also arrived there on warships to visit their relatives.
By the time Zhu Cixi arrived at the Gold Coast, these wives, who had long wanted to see their sons, had been living in the beach villa for almost three months.
Everyone says that the local climate is pleasant and the scenery is beautiful, but it is much better than Beidou. They all want to live here forever.
To this, Zhu Cixiang also agreed. Anyone who wants to stay can be supported by his son, even if he remarries someone else.
There are so many wives who are too busy to keep up. If there is such a good opportunity, then try to get rid of some burdens as much as possible.
Everyone just had an idea. No one was really stupid enough to stay there and serve the emperor in the northern capital, but he could get the elixir.
Women all love beauty. The more beautiful a woman is, the more she loves beauty. This is an eternal truth.
For the concubines, they can eat poorly, wear poorly, and live poorly, but they cannot live without elixirs.
Otherwise, their beautiful appearance will take a turn for the worse and they will turn into old women like those outside, until they die...
Of course Zhu Cixiang knew this very well. The thoughts of these wives were similar to Louis XIV's before.
If there was no elixir as a talisman, Qi would really die in Paris if he couldn't protect himself.
This thing has surpassed advanced weapons and has become a magic weapon for a certain emperor to contain other heads of state.
Having said that, living in a place like the Gold Coast can indeed delay the aging of the body.
Zhu Cixiang has made a preliminary decision to spend the winter in a warm place after moving the capital to the new capital (Omsk).
Anyway, all travel expenses are paid out of pocket. It does not cost the court a single silver coin, which is equivalent to ordinary people traveling in winter.
Wait until spring comes and the flowers bloom, then take the Northern Line Railway back to Xindu, where you can escape the scorching summer heat. Wouldn’t it be the best of both worlds?
It is nothing more than spending two months on the road. It is indeed very troublesome to do this once a year.
If only I could teleport...
However, this round-the-world visit shows that it’s best not to get stuck around too often, otherwise it will be really expensive.
After spending more than 100 million in France, plus various expenses along the way, 200 million silver coins were gone after this trip.
For intervention in French military operations, the imperial court could reimburse the entire amount, and the rest would have to be paid for out of pocket.
Once a year, Zhu Cixiang felt a little pain if he paid 50 million silver coins at a time, let alone hundreds of millions of silver coins.
When the First Emperor traveled east to Penglai, it might not have been that expensive after inflation...
Although the giant iron-clad ships moored at the pier may look good, they are indeed gold-swallowing monsters.
The cost of use of the coal-burning type is somewhat cheaper. Upgrading to the oil-burning era, each battleship is equivalent to a giant "silver coin melting machine."
In order to show his filial piety to his brothers, Zhu Xiangtang had already spent his own money to prepare a luxurious palace for his father.
It covers an area of nine hectares and costs 660,000 silver coins. It contains Eastern and Western buildings and gardens. It is one of the best houses in Australia and not one of them.
Compared with the imperial palace in Beidu, the cost of this palace was certainly not expensive. Zhu Cixiang did not let his son work in vain. Considering the current market price, he directly reimbursed him in full.
The construction cost is not very good because the land here is cheap and the wood can be obtained locally. If it were in Beidu, the same house would cost several times.
Although Zhu Xiangtang has a kind heart, he is definitely not a fool. He had already predicted today's outcome, so he ordered the construction in the first place.
The area is not too large and the cost is not too high. Otherwise, once his father checks the accounts, instead of being pleased, he will be reprimanded.
As long as the gift is not too extravagant, Zhu Cixiang is still willing to accept it.
But on the Gold Coast, it is enough to have such a carriage house.
It's not that you can't buy real estate in other places, just let the eldest son take care of it.
Directly allocating five million silver coins to him to place an order would stimulate the development of the local real estate industry.
