Chapter 40 The Necessity of the Jiangnan Railway Plan
He Xi said: "Don't worry, this plan is just a big pie. It doesn't have to be completed in the next few years. I'm not that anxious, but I have to give the people below an explanation. All the planned railways must be explored. When there is a future It’s not too late to build it once you have the money.”
As soon as this was said, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
They think everything is good if they follow He Xi, but He Xi's habit of not treating money as money is really intolerable.
He Xi's ability to make money is among the best in the world. But his ability to spend money is first-class in the world, no, unique. This is really unbearable for them.
However, what He Xi said immediately made their little hearts unbearable.
He Xi said: "However, the Jiangnan Railway must be built. And it must be done immediately, after the meeting is over. Construction will start immediately."
Everyone was shocked, and Yang Shiqi asked: "Sir, are you in such a hurry?"
He Xi said: "Urgent, not urgent at all. This matter really cannot be delayed. We may be able to delay it, but the people cannot delay it."
The Civil War ended for a year, to be precise, it ended for more than half a year.
During this period of time, He Xi was busy with many things. Dingguo will finally reunite the great world. It brought the Civil War to an end. The Civil War was devastated and had to be sorted out.
Where were the most injured places during the Civil War? Naturally, they are the main battlefields in Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong.
In these places, thousands of troops and horses are fighting here and there, how can it have no impact on the local area? Moreover, there are many inappropriate behaviors by Fu Youde. There is no need to say more.
But He Xi didn't actually care too much about the trauma of the northern war.
Without him, Beijing's war boom is not over yet. It can last for a while, and He Xi has also introduced many means to maintain the war boom. This may not be the reason for such a huge railway plan.
As long as Beijing, the economic engine, does not have problems. Beijing's need for talents and manpower will continuously absorb the excess population from the north to Beijing.
Alleviating the labor shortage in Beijing.
In this case, a large number of people who were displaced by the war found a job in Beijing. In fact, many things did not need to be taken care of by the Ming court.
After all, life will find its own direction.
But the situation in the south made He Xi worried.
The south, especially with Nanjing as the core, was originally the core economic region of the Ming Dynasty, but it is difficult to describe it in one word. .
First of all, it was the Nanjing court that acted perversely. The expropriation of the place was done to the point of using every possible means.
Secondly, there is the impact of Nanjing's defeat. Paper money became waste paper, and industries that were barely operating became spoils of war for the Northern Army. In order to make up for Beijing's financial gap, He Xi also had to squeeze Nanjing's resources in order to reward according to merit. Financial resources to meet the needs of the top and bottom.
This situation actually brought great devastation to the people in Nanjing, Jiangnan and other places. After all, the pressure He Xi exerts on local governments will be passed on to the people.
Finally, naturally, the large-scale rise of the textile industry had an impact on the small-scale peasant economy.
All kinds of things.
The economy of the south collapsed after the fall of Nanjing. I haven't gotten angry at all for such a long time.
He Xi even felt that if Nanjing's economic problems were not resolved, something big would happen. After all, if people don’t have enough to eat, they will cause trouble. This is a given.
It was not that He Xi was unaware of this crisis before. But he must make a choice.
Stabilizing the military, government, and opening up the country will stabilize the world and allow the world to recognize the new Ming Dynasty. The priority of these things is to revitalize Nanjing's economy.
After all, to put it bluntly, even the people in Jiangnan and even Nanjing could not survive and rebelled. The troops transferred from the north suppressed them backhand.
Although the war is over, a considerable number of soldiers have not actually come out of the war.
When suppressing, you will never be lenient.
In other places, powerful people, or princes and kings causing trouble, are much more troublesome.
Now Dingguo will be almost there. Overall it has been successful.
This is enough to handle this matter. After all, Nanjing is the capital. At the feet of the emperor, refugees are everywhere. I am afraid it is not the ideal of a prosperous age.
But how to boost the economy? He Xi's idea is simple and crude, just invest. Building the railway from Songjiang all the way to Nanjing naturally required a lot of workers. Moreover, Nanjing's original weapons manufacturing system with Taiping Iron Works as its core no longer produced weapons after the Northern Army entered Nanjing. In a state of shutdown.
In this case, all these industries can be revitalized.
This project is naturally an employment system, and people must be paid to recruit people. It can also be regarded as a relief for the people of Ming Dynasty.
He Xi also feels that there will be many problems in Nanjing's economy. It cannot be completely solved at one time. Nanjing's economy is essentially two crises, one is the expropriation of Nanjing by Beijing capital, and the other is the impact of industrialization on Jiangnan's advantageous industries.
These two cannot stop for a while. The reason is also very simple.
Both of these things require a process, and He Xi cannot stop it.
He Xi thought about it and added a shot of nutrient solution to these areas first. It is the Jiangnan Railway project that He Xi is going to do immediately. Introduce more vitality to the local area. Let more people have food to eat and survive this period of time.
However, He Xi was always sure. That is, the Jiangnan region actually has great potential for development.
As long as we survive this difficult transition period. Jiangnan will have a bright future.
By that time, there would be no need for He Xi to do so much.
It’s just that the Jiangnan Railway alone requires a lot of funds.
Even though Yang Shiqi understood the necessity of building the Jiangnan Railway, he still said with a grimace: "I understand your thoughts. It's just that the court doesn't have enough."
He Xi said: "No, borrowing new ones to repay old ones, or special railway bonds are also possible. Just establish a capital market in Jiangnan."
A large number of enterprises in Nanjing were auctioned, and the imperial court naturally recovered a considerable amount of funds, about one to two billion yuan, which was a huge sum of money. It is more than the court's annual income, but the problem is that this huge sum of money cannot offset the court's debts.
It's nothing more than borrowing part of it after paying it back. Apart from anything else, if it is to borrow money to build a railway, there will naturally be many people willing to pay for it. After all, the Ministry of Transportation has become the richest sector because it has jurisdiction over railway operations.
As a business alone, railways are profitable.
If the railway is used as collateral to issue bonds, someone will buy it.
And He Xi is not just for one railroad bond, He Xi is for a bunch of railroad bonds. There are so many railways that can only be repaired in the years and months of the monkey, relying on the financial surplus of the imperial court.
And if railway bonds are issued, a climax of railway construction in the entire Ming Dynasty will begin.
The gate to this matter lies in He Xi's hands. He Xi also needs to look at the economic situation and the implementation of the following reforms to decide whether to release this big killer weapon. So as to win the support of more people.
But like Beijing, a securities market is also needed.
After hearing this, Yang Shiqi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. These measures of He Xi were not beyond his understanding, which was very high. But Yang Shiqi was also a little uneasy deep in his heart.
It seems that He Xi is the only one in the world who does not take the national debt of more than 2 billion yuan seriously.
It is the idea of almost all ministers to stop fighting and suppress debts. That is to say, He Xi is different. Although He Xi also had the idea of pressing down the debt, it was not for actual needs, but more to respond to the concerns of more people.
In the Ming Dynasty, most people believed that it was dishonorable for the imperial court to owe national debt. He Xi can only think of ways to reduce the national debt to zero, but in fact, as a country, appropriate debt is not a big problem.
It's just appropriate
, different times have different views, at least in the eyes of financial officials like the Ming Dynasty, it is best to equal zero.
But this does not prevent He Xi from using a proactive fiscal policy. In his opinion, bold fiscal policies can be used when necessary. Although the ultimate goal is to suppress the debt, He Xi does not object. He is implementing it to allow the debt to rise.
Yang Shiqi asked: "What do you think of this matter?"
He Xi glanced at Yang Shiqi indifferently, making the latter feel some pressure, but Yang Shiqi had to ask, because such a policy, without Zhu Xiongying's support, would cause many problems.
It’s best to ask up front.
He Xi said: "Don't worry. I have already told His Majesty about this matter."
Although Zhu Xiongying could not fully understand He Xi's financial magic, he believed in He Xi, and he did not want to conflict with He Xi. It is precisely because He Xi is completing the process of retiring step by step. Zhu Xiongying did not dare to contradict He Xi on ownership matters.
After all, he was worried that these things would cause He Xi's mentality to change, which would be self-defeating.
And as far as Zhu Xiongying is concerned, he has feelings for Nanjing. Although he also has the idea of moving the capital to Beijing in the future, this does not prevent Zhu Xiongying from wanting to build a wealthy Nanjing.
After all, starting from the Hongwu Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty reduced and exempted taxes on counties near Nanjing for nearly thirty years. The people of Nanjing support Zhu. If Zhu Yingxiong was not also named Zhu, it would not be so easy for the rest of the army to capture Nanjing.
Zhu Xiongying felt that this style needed to be preserved.
He doesn't mind spending money on the development of Nanjing and its surrounding areas. Not to mention, railways are a business that almost never loses money. Naturally, he dared to take action.
It was just Yang Shiqi's behavior that made He Xi feel very uncomfortable.
