Forty-three years after Chengshun, Blaenavon, Kingdom of Wales, British Isles.
This small town was established in recent years after the arrival of the Chu people. Today, it has welcomed many dignitaries from the local Welsh Kingdom.
A group of dignitaries from the Kingdom of Wales were surrounded by a small group of Chu people with black hair and black eyes, wearing professional attire.
In front of this group of people is a simple railway track with a simple wooden vehicle. In front of the vehicle are four horses. The horses are slowly pulling a load of coal behind them under the urging of the groom. The carriage moved forward slowly on the railway track.
A group of Welsh people looked at the railway track that stretched to the horizon in front of them, and then looked at the carriages loaded with coal on the railway track, with expressions of surprise and envy.
These Chu people actually spent a lot of money to build such a railway track in order to transport coal to a seaside port more than 30 kilometers away.
How expensive is this iron? These Chu people actually used it to pave roads...
But when the carriage runs on the rails, it is really easy and fast, and it can pull a lot of coal... This transportation capacity is far more convenient than the ordinary four-wheeled carriages used by the Welsh locals to pull on the dirt. , and the cost is also much cheaper.
While these Welsh people were looking at the railway track and carriages ahead with various expressions, An Tongxuan, who was surrounded by the crowd, sighed secretly in his heart.
Using horse-drawn carriages on the rails... This was not his original intention, but a last resort. He invested in the construction of a small narrow-gauge railway in the mining area, but in order to transport the high-quality coal produced by his own coal mine to the port.
He originally planned to use steam trains. He had already found suppliers for locomotives and freight cars and signed a cooperation agreement, but he was never able to get approval from the Import and Export Committee.
Steam engines are strictly controlled mechanical products. If you want to export them overseas, you must obtain approval from the Import and Export Committee. However, it is not easy to obtain approval.
In desperation, he could only use horses as power to make horse-drawn trains... Well, in the 1900s, the small railways in various mining areas, ports and other places in the Dachu Empire basically used horses as power. So it’s easy and convenient to do.
But... this is a backward transportation method from thirty years ago. It is really not on the market today. Both the transportation volume and transportation cost are very high.
However, he had no choice but to get approval.
However, even if the cost of using a horse-drawn train is higher, the cost of coal mining here is also very cheap. After the local miners' salaries are rounded up, it is equivalent to no money... just give them some rations and spend it.
And because it is in the territory of a vassal country, it is subject to extremely strict import and export restrictions, and it is not possible to use various mining equipment products, so there is no need to invest anything... Everyone can just dig manually with a pickaxe, anyway, his The mines are all open-pit mines, and there is no difficulty in mining.
Labor wages are extremely low and mining costs are extremely low. Even with some land transportation costs, the overall cost of the coal after it reaches the port is still relatively low.
Some of the high-quality anthracite coal in his coal can be directly provided to ships as power coal, and is generally sold directly to shipping companies. Some of the poorer bituminous coal is sold to coal merchants, who will Coal is transported by sea to France across the Taiwan Strait for domestic use.
As for why it's not sold locally...that's because there's too much coal in this miserable place in the British Isles, and it can't be sold at a good price locally.
The Chu people didn't know it before they came here, but after taking over the British Third Road and supporting several puppet states, they discovered that this place has a lot of coal resources and iron ore resources.
And many of them are open-pit mines, which are very easy to mine... Not only that, many mines are either close to the seaside, or simply next to rivers, making transportation extremely convenient.
As a result, many Chu businessmen flocked to it to obtain the mining rights of various mines and then mined them.
Of course, the main focus is on the development of coal mines. As for the development of iron ores, there is relatively little development for the time being.
The main reason is that after coal is mined, it can be sold locally in Europe. After all, there are more than 100 million people. So many people use coal for daily life, which is a huge number. In the past, local people used less coal. That is because The technical conditions are not yet mature... It is still very inconvenient for you to use coal directly as firewood.
But if we use the Chu people's briquette technology to produce briquettes, it will be very convenient to use.
When the Chu people came to Europe, they naturally brought briquettes with them.
In addition to coal for local people's daily life, the Chu people also have a large number of steam ships in Europe, both naval and civilian, and these ships all need to burn coal.
It is obviously impossible for the Chu people to transport coal all the way from the mainland to overseas for use, because the cost would be too high.
Therefore, Chu people generally prefer to mine coal locally in overseas dependent countries and then supply it to ships nearby.
Under such circumstances, the Chu people would look for coal locally wherever they went, and mine it if there was any.
Previously, no high-quality coal mines were found in Spain and France, but there was an unexpected gain in England. A lot of high-quality coal mines were easily found here and mining began.
An Tongxuan is an ordinary coal merchant. He used to be engaged in coal trading. He is mainly engaged in transporting coal from the country or other places to some overseas areas that are short of coal for sale.
Later, he started to get involved in the coal mining industry, but the scale was not large before. He only built a small coal mine in South Africa. Mining was relatively difficult and he could not make much money.
After the empire launched its European free trade plan, he and many merchants followed the military to Europe. At first, he only served as a coal supplier, transporting his own coal to Europe for military and civilian ships. Supply coal.
Later, he heard that there were a large number of coal mines in England, so he also ran here. After some twists and turns, he successfully found a high-quality open-pit coal mine near a small village called Blaenavon, which was also nearby. I found a high-quality open-pit iron mine.
Finally, after spending some money to obtain mineral survey and mining rights in a large area nearby from the Kingdom of Wales, they began to recruit people to mine coal, and also invested a lot of money to build a 75-centimeter narrow-gauge railway.
In the railway standards of the Dachu Empire, the standard gauge is 1.5 meters. The passenger and freight railways built by the Railway Corporation basically follow this standard. However, it is also found in a few areas with complex terrain and small expected transportation volume. Some narrow-gauge railways with one-meter gauge and short distances were built.
But this is the official standard. In addition, there are some private railways in the Chu Empire, mainly railways in mountainous areas or overseas mining areas. In order to control costs, these mining area railways often build narrow-gauge railways.
The seventy-five centimeter narrow gauge railway is already the smallest railway. The construction cost is relatively low. Although the transportation volume is smaller, the coal mine in Antonxuan seems to be large in scale, but if the original mining method is used, the output is actually smaller. Just like that, it doesn't require a lot of rail traffic.
Therefore, the 75-centimeter narrow-gauge railway is still relatively popular with some small mining companies and overseas companies.
After all, they are engaged in short-distance self-use freight railways, so they can save money wherever they can.
It's just that although the railway is available, the train cannot be built...
As a result, he could only use horse-drawn carriages to transport coal.
After the opening ceremony of the railway, An Tongxuan discussed labor issues with the local officials of the Kingdom of Wales... Although his coal mine can only be regarded as a small coal mine among the countless coal mines in the Chu Empire in terms of output.
However, there are quite a lot of people employed. Currently, there are thousands of local indigenous people mining every day... After all, there is no way to use many modern mining equipment. We can only use local cheap and cheap indigenous labor to mine manually. This manpower demand is very huge.
If you want to expand production capacity, you have to recruit more miners.
And local Welsh officials have recently been troubled by the problem of a large number of idle rural laborers.
After the Chu people came to England, they brought not only strong ships, cannons and briquettes, but also exquisite and cheap cloth and various iron farm tools, tobacco, tea and so on.
The Chu people also brought a large number of orders...such as orders for wool.
The British area was originally a very good livestock area, suitable for raising sheep. Before the arrival of the Chu people, they had already developed a good handicraft wool textile industry. However, after the arrival of the Chu people, cheap and exquisite cotton fabrics and woolen fabrics instantly transformed the local area. The handmade woolen textile industry was in shambles.
However, although the handmade woolen spinning industry was over, the wool production in England was increasing year by year at an exaggerated rate.
Because after the Chu people came to England, they not only sold woolen products, but also purchased wool in almost unlimited quantities, and the prices they gave were very good.
As a result, the nobles who controlled a large amount of land began to raise a large number of sheep... As for what the locals will eat after all the land is used to raise sheep, and no food is grown, well... the noble gentlemen said it is none of my business, anyway, I can Eat imported fine flour or rice from Chu State.
The aristocratic landowners used a large amount of land to engage in animal husbandry and raise sheep, and then sold the wool and meat sheep to the people of Chu to make money. However, many tenant serfs who originally rented crops from the noble masters suddenly had no livelihood and could only find other ways to make a living.
Fortunately, the Chu people came to England to dig coal at this time, otherwise they would not even be able to find a job as a miner.
An Tongxuan's coal mine wants to expand production and recruit more workers. Although the treatment given is considered disgusting by Chu people, even dogs are disgusted. The salary given is only enough to feed an adult, and the food they eat is potatoes, potatoes. (Potatoes) After this thing was found and specially cultivated by the Chu people, it now has a huge yield per mu...
Potatoes were once one of the staple foods of the Chu people in the early years, but now few people in the country regard them as a staple food... At most, they can make shredded potatoes to stir-fry, and they can also be used to make wine.
But in overseas areas, many large agricultural companies of the Chu people planted a lot of these things and then sold them to the territories of various dependent countries.
The Chu people don't like to eat this stuff, they think it's nutritious... But the yield of potatoes is really large, and the natives obviously don't mind this stuff being nutritious.
Although the wages of miners in coal mines are not good, they can at least support themselves and their children if they save a little.
So it barely gave the locals a new way to survive.
From this perspective, the people of Chu State are angels who give them a job and a way to survive for many local people at the bottom!
Because from the surface, it seems that the local nobles drove the farmers away from their land in order to make money from raising sheep... It was the kind-hearted Chu people who opened the mines, took them in and gave them a new way of life.
However, few people would notice that the reason why the nobles began to raise sheep on a large scale, which led to the phenomenon of sheep cannibalism, was because the Chu people purchased wool locally at high prices... which made the noble landowners feel that Raising sheep is more cost-effective than growing food.
This is actually the single economic system established by the Chu Empire in many overseas territories. After the Chu people took control of the British Islands, they initially formulated a local economic model based on local conditions: animal husbandry and mining.
To put it more simply, it is raising sheep and digging coal!
As for other things, the Chu people will not do it here, and will even suppress it to a certain extent... For example, if there is no future industry like growing grains, don't bother with it in the UK. We Chu people directly come from Africa, France Just wait for the potatoes and wheat to be shipped from the local area and sell them to the local indigenous people. There is no need for the indigenous people to grow their own food.
Do you have to plant it? It’s a shame for you!
Whether you have wheat, rye, or oats, the yield per mu can reach hundreds of kilograms, but for potatoes from our Chu country, the yield per mu is easily several hundred kilograms. In some fertile areas, high-yielding varieties can even reach Thousands of kilograms...
Even if it is not compared to potatoes, but only to staple foods such as wheat, the Chu people adopt new varieties and cultivate them scientifically, and their yield per mu is much higher than that of the indigenous people.
Moreover, in the agriculture of the Chu people, mechanized planting is widely used in most of the main grain-producing areas. Even worse, horse farming is used. The per capita output is extremely high, and the cost of food is also very low... Well, this is still talking about the Chu people. In the directly-governed territories, if it is in the administrative territory or the dependent territory, some plantations run by some agricultural companies of the Chu people, the land cost is basically free, and the labor cost is also super low, which leads to lower food costs.
How can you, a native, compare your food industry with that of the Chu Empire?
As soon as the Chu people came to the British Isles, they began to sell grain on a large scale. Wheat was extremely cheap, and potatoes were even cheaper...
At the same time, the price for the local wool purchased by the Chu people was quite good, so the landowners settled their accounts and concluded that they no longer grew food on their own land, so they should use it as pasture to raise sheep.
As a result, the local grain industry began to shrink significantly, and now it relies heavily on potatoes supplied by the Chu people for daily rations.
Of course, this phenomenon of cheap food will not last long. According to the traditional tradition of Chu people doing business overseas, in a few years, the local food industry will be crushed, and the entire British Three Roads will be left with only widespread food. When sheep and mines compete, that’s when food prices rise.
Chu people have always followed this routine when doing business overseas. They first use cost advantages to engage in dumping (occasionally they also use military advantages to directly destroy local competitive industries). After defeating local industries, they raise prices and make money...
This set of things is the most classic in the textile industry. The textile merchants of Chu State started doing this in Nanyang more than 30 years ago.
The price of the same kind of cloth sold by Chu people in the local area can vary by more than ten times... It is extremely cheap at the beginning, but it becomes extremely expensive after a few years.
This set of things is the basic thing for the Chu people to engage in economic industry in the British area, and this does not mean that they are specifically promoted, but more of the market economy.
The people of Chu found that this place was suitable for raising sheep, so they came here to buy wool. There was also a lot of coal here, so they came here to buy coal. Then they found that there was a lack of grain, cloth and other daily necessities here, so they came here to sell grain, cloth and other daily necessities.
If this is done, it won't take long for the economic system of this small place to be naturally tied to the huge global economic system of the Chu Empire.
An Tongxuan's coal mining business was also launched against this background. Through cooperation with the local Welsh officials, a group of miners were quickly recruited to mine coal.
But transporting coal to a port more than 30 kilometers away is still troublesome and costly.
Just when An Tongxuan was distressed, good news came. That is, the European governor officially announced that some restrictions on some dependent countries and regions would be appropriately relaxed, especially in the transportation industry.
Later, he also received news that the Imperial Railway Corporation had announced the establishment of the European Railway Company, which was preparing to build railways in parts of Europe and connect them with Eastern European railways to create a super east-west arterial railway across Asia and Europe.
At the same time, some mining companies are also allowed to apply for procurement and use the two core equipment of pumps and locomotives used in some mining areas.
As long as official approval is obtained, some equipment powered by steam engines can be purchased with restrictions.
After learning the news, An Tongxuan immediately prepared a series of application materials and submitted them, formally applying for the purchase of small locomotives, carriages, steam pumps for mining areas and other equipment needed for his own use.
An Tongxuan did not know that the imperial high-level officials promoted the liberalization of transportation and equipment control in the mining field in order to allow the Chu people to obtain more and cheaper agricultural and livestock products, mineral products and other industrial raw materials.
But he knows that after this restriction is relaxed, his coal company can usher in great development, and mining costs and transportation costs can be further reduced significantly.
Not only An Tongxuan's coal company applied for these equipment, but also some other mining companies set up by Chu people in the vassal territory.
At the same time, the European Railway Company had just been established and had already begun planning the European railway network, preparing to build the railway from Eastern Europe all the way west to Le Havre on the English Channel, which was the largest naval base and commercial port of the Chu Empire in France. City.
This will greatly reduce the cost of agricultural products and mineral products produced in Europe. Even after adding a certain amount of shipping costs, it will still not be too expensive to transport them to the country, which will then be used by the people of Chu.
Of course, all of the above-mentioned limited liberalization of equipment within the territories of dependent countries is limited to the transportation and mining industries, and the types of equipment are limited.
At the same time, only enterprises run by Chu people can apply. Individuals are not allowed to apply, let alone indigenous people... Enterprise declarations are only limited to self-use purposes. At the same time, they must also promise that these mechanical equipment will not be leaked, and the maintenance and use of technology for the equipment The personnel must be from the Chu State, otherwise the company controller will bear the corresponding legal consequences... To put it simply, you cannot resell the equipment to the indigenous people, nor can you let the indigenous people take on the technical staff for cheap and then learn the technology. .
On the one hand, the Da Chu Empire wanted to obtain cheap and large quantities of agricultural products and raw materials, on the other hand, it also wanted to control the speed of technology diffusion. On the other hand, it also wanted to prevent agricultural, livestock and mineral products from its vassal territories from impacting related products in the local market.
There are still many overall considerations, so we adopt a limited liberalization and implement an application review system. Officials can control the speed of corresponding technology diffusion through review authority at any time, and terminate this policy at any time if any problems are found.
An Tongxuan, an ordinary coal businessman, naturally didn't know about these, and he didn't care much. It would be useless to care... He only knew that his equipment application was approved.
After receiving the relevant approval documents, An Tongxuan immediately found the equipment supplier he had contacted early on and prepared to purchase two small steam engine locomotives and matching narrow-gauge freight cars. He also purchased a steam engine pump and other equipment. .
After the equipment arrives from China, the production efficiency of his coal mine can be further improved and the cost further reduced.
There is great hope for the future!
