Zhang Guangshun and Li Kaicheng are two very good executors. They both implemented Dong Shuheng's ideas very well.
Under Li Kaicheng's management, West Coast Company has now become a giant company.
With Dong Shuheng providing human and financial support behind the scenes, the company is growing very fast.
Soon they annexed a large number of white people and established factories and mines in California, successfully monopolizing the local economy.
Of course, this is also because California is too desolate now.
Before the arrival of the Chinese, San Francisco had a permanent population of less than 30,000.
However, this company mainly invests in land and mining resources.
There are also some heavy industry factories. For example, factories that produce steam engines, heavy mining equipment, and steel plants.
Many of the products produced are also transported to mainland China. Therefore, the West Coast Company has the support of a large market in the rear.
Even the routes with China are run by their own fleet.
With production, transportation, and sales all contracted out, it would be strange if the company failed to do so!
Preferring to develop heavy industry can be regarded as complementary to the local economy. With so many ships coming from the mainland every year, they cannot always buy agricultural products from the South.
There are so many mines in the west, and the conditions for industrial development are no worse than those in the northern states today.
Since Dong Shuheng wants to run this place as a retreat for himself in the future.
Then industry must be developed, with raw materials, light and heavy industries, so that it does not need to be constrained by others, and it can be considered a complete economy.
The west is not all plains like the east.
There are a lot of mountainous deserts here. The Rocky Mountains spread from north to south here.
Most of the plain areas suitable for farming are along the western coast and at the north and south ends. In fact, there is quite a lot of cultivated land here.
The mountains crisscrossing here contain a large amount of mineral resources, especially in the Nevada area, and these mineral deposits have never been mined.
According to preliminary exploration by West Coast Company, these mineral deposits include gold, silver, copper, iron, coal and other currently most commonly used mineral deposits.
West Coast Company now owns two large steel plants and also controls a large number of gold, silver and copper mines.
Building a factory requires talents. People who work are easy to find, but professional talents have to find other ways.
But you don’t have to worry about not being able to recruit engineers here.
As long as they are willing to spend money, many engineers who are unhappy with their jobs in factories in the east are willing to come here to make a pot of gold.
Therefore, it is more convenient for West Coast companies to set up factories than to set up factories in China.
Not to mention hiring foreigners on the East Coast, it is much easier to hire engineers in Europe.
Next, after his men completely control the western region, Dong Shuheng will establish a military industry here.
In the future, West Bay will have a complete industrial chain.
Perhaps the largest economy in North America will appear here in the future.
Don't be impatient. The situation on the West Coast is now very good for the Chinese, but now we are missing an opportunity.
The number of Chinese people is not enough, and the Chinese people who come here don't have deep enough roots.
These all take time to accumulate.
Dong Shuheng was not prepared to run away. Now the domestic development needs him, and he himself is in his prime, so why should he run away?
The so-called "Dragon's Nest Project" is just a back-up plan. The so-called back-up measures are only used as a last resort, and may not be used at all, just like buying insurance.
Even if he develops in China in the future, he still needs a place that he can fully control as a support, right?
The West Coast cannot be directly governed by China. Bigger is not better for a country. Sometimes being too big means a burden.
As the weather turned colder, Dong Shuheng began to descend from the far southeast.
The cold air seemed to be following his footsteps all the way south.
Farms in the north will soon enter the cat winter season after the autumn harvest. As usual, some farm employees returned to their hometowns this year to celebrate the New Year.
There are more and more ships going from north to south. In fact, even if these people don't go south, the ships will still go south. Because if they stay here, when the weather gets cold, the ships will have to sit idle.
If we go south now, not only can we spend the winter there, but our ships can also continue to make money.
According to previous years' practice, 50% of the people on the farm can apply to go home to visit relatives.
Fifty percent of the people still have to stay. Winter is not a problem.
Shuan Zhu stayed at the farm this year because his wife had just given birth to a son.
Shuan Zhu named his son Fengsheng because his son was born after the autumn harvest.
Although he has to start working in the severe cold now, Shuan Zhu's heart is filled with warmth.
Daya will take care of the spring flowers at home, so Shuan Zhu doesn't have to worry.
Before the ground freezes, all the land must be plowed.
In this way, pests in the soil, mainly insect eggs, will be frozen to death by the severe cold.
Zhuan Zhu drove the cattle and walked slowly, but the tractor in the field next to him was much faster than him.
Although there are three plows behind it, the speed of the tractor is still the same as usual.
In addition, many factories on the farm are indoors and will not stop working even in winter.
When Dong Shuheng was in Temple Street, he also visited a workshop specializing in growing fungus. Workers smashed corn cobs, fermented them, and then steamed and sterilized them at high temperatures.
Then they are made into bunches and neatly stacked in a closed earth house.
Then, burn the ground dragon in the closed house. In this case, you can grow fungus and mushrooms even in winter, not to mention selling them to the south.
They can consume a lot here because vegetables are very scarce here in winter.
Fresh mushrooms can take the place of vegetables.
The cultivation of mushrooms has always been an important project of the Agricultural Research Institute.
There is also a mushroom research institute for researchers here in the Far East, which specializes in finding and cultivating mushrooms suitable for artificial cultivation.
Here in the Far East and Northeast, the cost of fuel is low and there are good conditions for growing mushrooms in winter.
If something like this were grown in the mainland, it would definitely be very affordable.
The Black Dragon Navy just happened to be heading south to Vladivostok to spend the winter.
Dong Shuheng simply went with the navy.
But I still went to Sakhalin Island on the way.
This largest island off the coast of the Far East really looks like a leaf hanging there.
This is Dong Shuheng’s first time here.
Now a port city-Sakhalin City has been built at the southernmost tip of the island.
This turned out to be a small market for trading with the island's indigenous residents.
At that time, simple dock facilities were built.
Later, the Renaissance Army rescued this place from the hands of Tsarist Russia.
This area will be constructed and developed at the same time as Temple Street.
At the beginning, it was positioned as the political and economic center of the entire island.
It is also an important transit port.
Many ships heading to North America have to dock temporarily here.
As a point of the island defense plan, complete coastal defense facilities were established at this post.
An elevated area near the port has been reinforced with stone and concrete.
Above is the coastal defense artillery position, and below is the infantry position.
Dong Shuheng even boarded the fort himself.
Stationed at the fort is a battalion of coastal defense troops.
Although there are only more than 500 people, even if there are ten times the enemy, it will be very difficult to capture this place in a short time.
"President, you see there is our trading market in Sakhalin City, there is a wood processing factory, and there is a food processing factory there. This railway track was laid from the coal mine, and it is mainly used to transport coal from the coal mine directly to the port.
Some of the coal plants will be used to supply steam ships, and some will be transported to the south and even to the shogunate."
A middle-aged man with a pointed chin and a mustache introduced.
This man is thin and small, and indeed does not have any official status. He is none other than Zhao Si who was doing business here.
From the beginning, he was temporarily responsible for the operation of this place, and later became the county magistrate of Sakhalin County.
Later, due to the increase in immigrants, three counties were established in the north, middle and south of the island: Kubei, Kuzhong and Kunan. There were also five farms affiliated with the agricultural reclamation industry.
Therefore, this island was upgraded to a mansion. Zhao Si naturally became the president of this mansion.
Now Zhao Si no longer does business, he has left all business to his family.
This guy is addicted to being an official.
Thinking that he was now equivalent to the former prefect, Zhao Si felt proud in his heart.
In just three years, he went from a small businessman to a prefect-level official.
This sense of accomplishment cannot be overemphasized. Now he, Zhao Si, is the pride of the Zhao family in Liaodong.
When he was running business in the past, he was not very popular among the clan. The fact that the clan attaches great importance to him now is directly related to his current official position.
In recent years, the originally desolate Sakhalin Island has become more and more prosperous under Zhao Si's management.
Although it's not as good as the mainland, it's a huge difference from before.
Dong Shuheng could see the entire city from the fort, although it looked similar to some small towns in later generations. Beyond the core area, there were a few small buildings, and there was a large rural area around it.
But in today's Far East, this is considered a city.
"What is the population of your Kuye City now?" Dong Shuheng asked.
"To return to the president, the current permanent population of Kukhalin City is 50,000."
Mainly workers in various factories and people working in ports.
However, in the port area, there are basically thousands of floating people every day during the busy summer season.
This population is already considered large in the Far East.
These people should have migrated here in the past few years.
"Director Zhao, the industries here are similar to those in other cities in the Far East. Have you ever thought about developing your own specialty industries?"
Dong Shuheng traveled around the Far East and found that the cities here were basically developing wood processing, food processing, mining, and at most metal smelting.
There is no problem now, there is a market for all kinds of things, but what will happen in the future?
Everyone is doing these things, and the scale is still expanding.
When demand is insufficient, they will have overproduction.
If the industry is too single, the local economy will be more fragile.
Once these conventional industries collapse due to excessive competition, the local economy is likely to be in danger of collapse.
"Well, we have also noticed this situation. President, I am a businessman. I understand this truth. If everyone does the same business, it will eventually become a business. But the industries I just mentioned are the easiest ones here.
It was caused by this. Other places may also have this reason."
"We are also thinking about establishing new industries. For example, we are planning to build a fish port in the northeast of the island to develop the whaling industry, develop whale oil and whale cans. That direction is right opposite the Sea of Okhotsk, and the whale resources are
Rich. In addition, we will also build some factories to meet the needs of the Japanese in the shogunate and do business with the shogunate. After all, we are opposite the Japanese islands. Our Sakhalin Port has the advantage of distance." Zhao Si introduced.
"Well, Director Zhao, have you noticed that there is a little light industry here in the north of you? In the future, more and more people will live here, and the demand for farming and daily necessities will definitely be great. Let me use an analogy, why don't you build a soap
Factory. There are also a lot of flower resources here in spring, which can be used to extract essential oils, and animal fats are also relatively rich. Wouldn’t the two together be made into soap?"
"In addition, you can actually consider industries such as the textile industry, leather deep processing, etc." Dong Shuheng said simply.
Nowadays, many places only think about the most profitable industry, instead of thinking about problems from a long-term and overall perspective.
Once the economic structure of a place is established, it is difficult to change it in a short period of time.
Because the itinerary economic structure is not only about factories and local products, but also has a lot to do with people.
For example, if a place is a heavy industry base, most people in this place are engaged in heavy industry or related industries.
So adjusting the industrial structure here cannot be done overnight.
It's like turning a steel factory into a clothing processing factory.
It's not just a matter of replacing a set of equipment.
It is also necessary to re-search for upstream raw material suppliers. Workers must be re-trained so that they can master new labor technologies.
Downstream sales channels also need to be re-established.
Although only three aspects of changes have been made, it is difficult to make any one of them.
"President, thank you very much for your simplicity. To be honest, I used to do business here just to buy those indigenous specialties. So we all think that a place is based on mountains and water. Just like the abundant timber resources here, we
We will engage in the wood processing industry. The fishery resources here are rich, so we will engage in the food processing industry."
"Well, yes, everyone's idea is to start with what is easiest to do around you."
"But you have to know that fewer and fewer trees are cut down, and fewer and fewer fish are caught. In the future, we may also introduce bills to protect trees and fish. In fact, our hard-working hands are our greatest reliance."
"There are limited fish in the sea, but if we can raise them ourselves, there will be fewer trees, so we will plant trees every year."
"As long as our human hands can manufacture anything, it is an industry that can be developed."
"Commodities are meant to make everyone's life better and more convenient. So we can even discover new industries."