In scientific research and lectures, time flies very fast. In mid-March, the Pingxi Railway was opened to Xi'an. This railway line with more than 1,000 roads was opened to traffic in eight months with the efforts of hundreds of thousands of people. Wan Lei had to lament that there is strength in numbers.
Of course, this railway passes through mostly plain areas. It does not require drilling into mountains and caves, so it is naturally easy to repair. If you want to build the Lanzhou section, it may not be possible to build it even if it takes ten or eight years. After all, the terrain there is too complex. As for cultivating to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, that is even more of a distant dream. If it can be realized within a hundred years, it would be great.
The Pingxi Railway passes through the three provinces of Beiping, Henan, and Shaanxi, and passes through Baoding, Zhending, Shunde, Zhangde, Kaifeng, Henan, and Xi'an. Due to convenient transportation and the increase in business travel, Beiping City can be said to be overcrowded. The permanent population plus floating population has reached more than 800,000. , I believe it won’t be long before it breaks the one million mark.
To solve the problem of continuous population increase, expansion has to be carried out. Wan Lei did not expand outside Peiping City, but solved this problem by establishing satellite cities. The largest satellite city was built in Haijin, southeast of Peiping City. town.
The so-called Haijin Town is actually located by the Haihe River. During the Yuan Dynasty, this town served as a hub for shipping and water transportation, and was also a northern salt production base. The business was relatively prosperous. It was abandoned after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty. Now Wan Lei plans to build a town in this area. A new city was rebuilt on the ruins to connect Peking and Dagu Military Port, with the railway being the most important link.
In fact, the single-track railway from Peiping to Dagu Port was completed last year. What Wan Lei wants to do is to change it to a double-track railway. Firstly, it is to increase the transportation volume from Dagu Seaport to Peiping. Secondly, it is to facilitate the production in Changchun. The salt from the Lu Salt Factory is transported to various places.
As the territory of the Republic of China expanded and its population increased, the demand for daily necessities such as salt also increased. Unlike the salt and iron monopoly of the Ming Dynasty, the Republic of China did not charge a salt tax, and even became a The Salt and Grain Department transports important materials such as salt and grain to various places and sells them at fair prices to prevent profiteers from hoarding them.
Although it is sold at a low price, the Salt and Grain Department is still profitable because it is an agency under the Ministry of Transport and Communications. It has the convenience of railways and lower transportation costs than ordinary merchants, so it is highly competitive. Fortunately, the Salt and Grain Department only controls prices. , the main purpose is to adjust surplus and shortage, not for profit, otherwise other businesses will be squeezed out.
Although there is no salt tax, it actually has little impact on the government's fiscal revenue, because it only appears that it is not taxed. In fact, when the salt is put on the train, it has already been taxed, because an extra 100 yuan is charged in the transportation fee. A circulation tax.
The amount of this circulation tax is neither high nor low, because if it is not transported by train, the transportation cost will be higher. Businessmen all know how to choose. In fact, it is not just salt, all kinds of goods are transported by railways. Bulk commodities transported are subject to a circulation tax, which is directly collected into the national treasury to offset the reduced or exempted land tax.
In general, wool comes from sheep. If traders pay more, they will naturally sell the goods at a higher price. In the end, this tax will still be "added" to consumers. It is collected by collecting circulation tax. Taxes are easy to collect, concealed, and popular. Moreover, farmers’ direct tax burden is reduced, and with more money on hand, the level of consumption will increase. The expansion of domestic demand will promote production development, and production development can also promote tax growth. This It's a virtuous cycle.
However, the circulation tax is only a small part of the fiscal revenue, accounting for about ten percent. The real big part is overseas trade and import and export tariffs, especially the arms trade, which is the fastest way to make money. One of the items eliminated by the Peking Army A cannon is worth at least a few hundred taels of gold when sold overseas, and armor and swords are also hot-sellers.
You must know that if there are people, there will be fights, and if there are countries, there will be wars. From Ryukyu to Little Ryukyu, from Southeast Asia to South Asia, many regions are in a state of division. There are hundreds of large and small countries (tribes), and neighboring countries (tribes) Due to various political, economic, religious and historical reasons, many conflicts arose during the period. Every three years, there were small wars and five years, there were big wars. It became a mess, and the demand for arms naturally increased greatly.
These countries heard that the Champa State and the Zhongshan State of Ryukyu had purchased "advanced" artillery from Peiping, and they all sent people to Peiping to purchase them. Even some countries that love peace and are not prepared to start a war also want to get ten of them. A few artillery pieces were sent back to add to the facade, so as to deter neighboring countries.
Wan Lei responded to the requests of these envoys from afar, but the price varied from person to person. In short, the price must be high, and there is definitely no free gift. In addition, when Wan Lei was buying artillery, , generally only a small amount of newly made gunpowder is rationed.
This newly made gunpowder is not even a bit stronger than ordinary black gunpowder. People who have used it say it is good and want more of it. However, at this time, Wan Lei will carry forward the internationalist spirit of the Merchant of Death, and the biggest Extract money from the other party to the maximum extent possible.
If the other party is reluctant to give it, Wan Lei will quietly "sell" a little to his opponent, making him want to cry without tears. In the end, he has to be obedient and become an agent of the Republic of China to exploit the country. And the Republic of China also It is precisely with the huge wealth brought by the arms trade that we can accelerate the domestic industrialization process and accelerate the establishment of a complete industrial system.
To put it more bluntly, it is to complete the primitive accumulation of capital by exploiting other countries and build an industrialized power based on the blood and tears of other people. This may be cruel, but this is a jungle earth where the jungle of the jungle is strong, and benevolence, justice, and morality are the right thing to do. As our own people say, we will be as cruel as we are cruel to foreigners, and we will be as insidious as we are insidious.
This form of exploitation is at the current stage. When the Republic of China completes its industrial transformation and unifies Jiangnan, it will no longer be as simple as exploitation. It will simply leave people behind. To put it bluntly, it will launch an aggressive war to expand its territory.
Because the Republic of China is a capitalist country, it has been destined to be highly aggressive and expansionary since its birth. Even if the ruthless Wan Lei is no longer in power, it will still be a terrifying war machine. , for the sake of profit, it can continue to expand and expand again.
On March 15th, Wan Lei met with envoys from Luzon again. These envoys were very knowledgeable and presented their credentials as soon as they met. Moreover, they were written on more than a dozen gold pages, which is rare for a thick book. With more than a dozen taels of gold, it seems that they all understand: the President of the Republic of China is a man who has an eye for gold.
But then again, it is no wonder that the other party has a misunderstanding. When Huayuan Company does foreign trade, it either only accepts gold, or only accepts physical objects such as spices, jewelry, ivory, etc., and rarely accepts currencies such as silver and copper, so that Nanyang All countries have given the Republic of China a nickname: the Golden Lord Country.
As early as two years ago, Luzon had dealt with Huayuan Company. Naturally he knew this, and at the same time he took it for granted that Wan Lei, as the president of the Republic of China, was a master with a blind eye. He came to envoy him. When he met, he presented him with heavy amounts of gold, hoping to use it to get what he wanted.
As the saying goes, being courteous for nothing is either a traitor or a thief. Wan Lei accepted the letter of credence and asked his secretary to put it away. He interrupted the envoy from Luzon who was still flattering him and said: "The king of your country sends you all You have come all the way, so there must be something going on, so just tell me."
"His Majesty, the President, has so many things to do every day, how can the ministers dare to bother you too much? That's how it is. His Royal Highness, the King of our country, has always admired the prosperity of your country, and sent us as envoys here. He also told us that we will try our best to be good friends with your country and establish diplomatic relations forever. Very good." The leader was a man wearing a headscarf and speaking weird Chinese. He looked like a Muslim.
Wan Lei has no good impression of Muslims, not only because of religious prejudice, but also because of ethnic hatred. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, a large number of Semu people who believed in Islam moved into the Central Plains, worked for the Mongols, and harmed the people of the Central Plains. It was really a crime. .
Among them, the most famous one is a man named Pu Shougeng. This guy was favored by the Southern Song Dynasty. It was fine not to help the Southern Song Dynasty. Instead, he turned against the Southern Song Dynasty and helped the Yuan Dynasty to wipe out the Song clan. This is another example of people who are not from my race and have different intentions. A true portrayal.
In addition, Islam is also highly expandable. Now there are believers in West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. This means that Islam is a stumbling block to the west of the Republic of China. If the Peking Army wants to advance westward, it will fight with them. If Islamic countries collide, sooner or later they will become mortal enemies.
Therefore, whether it is public or private, Wan Lei has no favorable impression of Muslims. In fact, it is not just Muslims. He has no favorable impression of all religions except Taoism. The main reason is that each belongs to a different civilization camp, and sooner or later they will all A battle of life and death on the battlefield.
Although he has no favorable impression of Muslims, customers are God. To these envoys who come to deliver money and goods, Wan Lei still maintains the demeanor that a leader of a country should have, and said nonchalantly: "Our country adheres to the diplomatic policy of good neighborliness and friendship. , as long as it is a country that is willing to coexist peacefully and trade on an equal footing, the door to friendship will always be open."
"His Majesty the President is merciful and friendly to all nations. He shows the extraordinary magnanimity of the sovereign nation, and I admire him." The Muslim man flattered in broken Chinese, and at the end he had the courage to say: "My King, I heard that your country has many It is an ingenious thing, especially the train that can travel thousands of miles in a day. It is even more extraordinary. I ordered the minister to come and check it out. It is indeed worthy of its reputation. I wonder if your country can transfer it to our country."
"As soon as you ask for a train, this guy really dares to think and do it!" Wan Lei immediately cursed in his heart, but still said with an expressionless face: "The construction process of trains is complicated, and its skills are in the hands of private individuals. , it is not owned by the state, and I have no control over this matter."
The reason why Wan Lei declined Luzon's request was mainly because Luzon would not be his target within a few years, so he would first whet the appetite of the King of Luzon and wait for a year or two until Jiangnan was pacified. Then implement the overseas colonization plan.
In fact, in Wan Lei's mind, he already had an iron abacus. Artillery can be sold, but gunpowder is a restricted item. Railway rails can be sold, but locomotives are not for sale. And when he really agrees to help a country build a railway, the Peking Army must keep it secret. They gathered outside the country's borders. When the railway was repaired, it was the day the war broke out.