Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 456 Railway Bonds and Black Labor Brokers (6K)

Li Yi's expression changed and he asked.

"How much did the Russians offer?"

Guo Songtao replied.

"Your Majesty, the price offered by the Russian Empire is not low."

"Ambassador Gorchakov asked for 8000 million silver dollars."

"But I managed to bargain down to 600 million silver dollars!"

"In addition, we can also use military weapons, or some industrial equipment such as lathes and steam engines as compensation."

Li Yi said with a twitch of the corner of his mouth.

"The Russian side really dares to ask for it!"

"But if you use arms and industrial equipment as a trade-off, it's still acceptable."

Well, although the price Guo Songtao negotiated was a bit high.

But the arms price offered by the Tang Dynasty is also very unfair!
Judging from the profit margin of the arms quotations that the Tang Dynasty usually gave to Tsarist Russia, the selling price was basically five or six times the ex-factory price.

The same goes for industrial equipment. The prices are also very high, and the profits are even higher than those of arms. And they won’t sell you real high-end equipment.

What we can sell to you are all second-tier and third-tier products, or even products that are about to be eliminated.

All in all, the amount of money that the Tang Dynasty needs to pay for the land of Alaska is actually only a few million at most.

acceptable!

Guo Songtao heard this and spoke.

"Since your majesty has agreed, I will reply to the Russian side."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi nodded slightly to show his approval.

Guo Songtao immediately prepared to turn around and leave.

Suddenly, Li Yi called him and spoke.

"Not urgent!"

"I have another idea. I plan to build a railway line connecting the entire Eurasian continent."

"Qing Guo, go and communicate with the Russian side and try to find a way to get Russia and our Tang Dynasty to jointly promote this matter."

"Well, if Russia doesn't agree, there's no need to force it. I just have an idea now, and it's not the time to push it yet."

Building a Eurasian railway sounds like a huge project.

But the amount of work is not as large as imagined.

Starting from Yili, as long as you cross the three Yuz, which is Kazakhstan in later generations, you can directly reach the Volga River Basin in Tsarist Russia.

Since Tsarist Russia was able to build the Trans-Siberian Railway on its own, it would not be difficult for the two sides to work together to build this railway that runs through Central Asia, West Asia and directly to the Volga River basin, with the addition of the Tang Dynasty.

As for the several Yuzu in Central Asia and West Asia, would they disagree?
Haha, such international affairs should be decided by major powers like the Tang Dynasty and Tsarist Russia. The opinions of the three Yuzus, big, medium and small, are not important.

Just like the matter of building the Burmese telegraph line connecting Yunnan and India, it was up to Tang Dynasty and Britain to decide, and Myanmar’s opinion was not important.

In today's age of the survival of the fittest, weak countries have no right to say no to strong countries!

As for why the Trans-Siberian Railway was not built?

How to say it? The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway enhanced Tsarist Russia's influence and control over Siberia and the Far East.

Even if Tsarist Russia wanted to repair it, the Tang Dynasty would definitely find a way to disrupt it.

And what about the Central Asia and West Asia Railway?

What will be enhanced is the Tang Dynasty's influence in Central Asia and West Asia, which the Tang Dynasty must promote.

In order to prevent Tsarist Russia from opposing and using their influence in Central Asia to cause trouble for the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty decided to take advantage of this opportunity for peace talks and bring Tsarist Russia along to join the repairs.

Given Tsarist Russia's current situation, it is highly likely that it will not refuse.

Of course, this matter is just a concept for now, and we can only try our best to see whether it will work or not.

Not to mention that Tsarist Russia might not agree.

Even if Tsarist Russia agreed, it would take a long time to prepare for the project. As for the official launch, it is even more unknown when it would take.

For the time being, Datang's main focus should still be on domestic affairs.

Rather than building a railway that runs through Central Asia and West Asia, it is more important for the Tang Dynasty to build more railways in the country first.

Upon hearing this, Guo Songtao immediately nodded in agreement, indicating that he understood.

……

Japan!

Edo!

It was the middle of winter and the New Year was approaching, and heavy snow was falling inside and outside Edo Castle.

A gust of wind blew, and snowflakes flew everywhere.

Chai Zhixin, the new Tang Dynasty ambassador to Japan, was sitting on a tatami and drinking sake.

Beside him, there were several beautiful Japanese ladies serving him.

In the room, there was constant sound of stringed instruments and orchestras.

The beautiful dancer showed off her figure in front of him.

These dancers are all hoping that one day they will be noticed by the great man in front of them and escape from the cage of Japan.

On the table in front of him were sushi, yakitori and other Japanese foods.

Opposite him was the shogunate's elder councilor, Horita Masamune.

Chai Zhixin said with a smile.

"I wonder why Mr. Horita thought of inviting me to dinner today?"

Hota Masumu replied with the same smile.

"According to Han customs, the New Year is coming soon. I am here to wish Mr. Chai a happy new year!"

However, Chai Zhixin didn't believe that this guy really came to wish him a happy new year.

"Horita-kun, just speak your mind."

"We have been friends for several years, why do we have to hide it? It's so unpleasant!"

Upon hearing this, Masamune Horida stopped hiding the truth and asked directly.

"Mr. Chai, I would like to ask, what is the charter of the railway construction bonds recently launched by the Tang Royal Bank in Edo?"

That’s right, the Tang Royal Bank also has branches in Japan.

In fact, it is not just Japan. Throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia, basically every slightly important city has a branch of the Tang Royal Bank.

Moreover, the scale of the Tang Royal Bank is still expanding!

We are currently planning to build branches in Europe and America!
The Tang Royal Bank belongs to both the Tang Dynasty and the royal family, so it is very obvious what kind of organization it is.

Therefore, Japan attaches great importance to the movements of the Tang Royal Bank.

After the Tang Royal Bank publicly issued railway bonds, the Tokugawa Shogunate immediately chose to send people to ask Chai Zhixin what the rules were.

Chai knew the news and said it directly without hiding anything.

"The Tang Royal Bank issued bonds to raise funds to build railways."

"If the shogunate is interested, they might as well buy some."

"I'm sure Mr. Horida knows something about railways. As long as the railways are built, there will be no worries about profits."

"The Tang Royal Bank is naturally capable of repaying the loan."

Some time ago, Masamune Horita was on a diplomatic mission to the Tang Dynasty, and then he experienced what a railway was.

Of course, I also know how convenient railways are!
Hearing this, Masamune Horita stroked his chin and said.

"Then I wonder how much the shogunate should buy?"

Chai Zhixin smiled.

"Anyway, as far as I know, North Korea raised funds to buy railway bonds worth 5 million silver dollars."

"As for the shogunate, just do what you can!"

He said he was advising the shogunate to act within its means, but his words were clearly meant to put pressure on the shogunate. North Korea has already bought five million, so you can't buy less than North Korea, right?
Upon hearing this, Masamune Horita couldn't help but suck his teeth.

Ever since the Tang Dynasty helped Korea vent its anger and declared war on Spain on its behalf, Korea has become a good son of the Tang Dynasty.

That's such a filial piety. It's only natural to support the bonds issued by Datang.

Now Japan is also willing to borrow the power of the Tang Dynasty to help them eliminate the invasion of Western barbarians so that the Tokugawa shogunate can continue to close the country to the outside world.

Therefore, the bonds they buy must not be less than North Korea.

At least not too little!
And five million silver dollars is indeed not a small number.

With the financial capacity of the Tokugawa shogunate at that time, they could have taken out five million silver dollars, but after that, the shogunate would probably not even have enough money to pay the salaries of their subordinates.

But when he thought about the bright prospects of Tang Dynasty helping Japan to expel the Western barbarians and Japan returning to a closed-door policy under the leadership of the shogunate, Horida Masamune gritted his teeth and said.

"Since North Korea has bought five million, my shogunate will buy six million!"

"Japan is the most loyal and respectful vassal of the Celestial Empire, and is no worse than North Korea."

As for where the money comes from?
Masamune Horida thought that the only option was to add another tax to make the people suffer further.

In his opinion, it was worth it for the people to suffer temporarily for the sake of the bright future in which the shogunate could continue to close its doors to the outside world.

When Chai heard the news, he couldn't help but be amazed and marveled in his heart.

Perhaps, this is called the Japan-North Korea competition for father?
Chai Zhixin raised his glass.

"I will definitely convey the shogunate's respect for the Tang Dynasty to the court."

Hearing this, Masamune Horita said with a smile on his face.

"Haha, thank you very much, Mr. Chai."

As he spoke, he also raised his glass, and their glasses clinked.

Chai Zhixin suddenly said again.

"By the way, there's one more thing."

"The annual gift from His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to the shogunate has been delivered to Edo."

"How about I go to the dock with Mr. Horida to pick up the goods?"

Upon hearing this, Masamune Horida smiled and nodded, indicating that there was no problem.

"I wonder what His Majesty the Emperor has bestowed upon me this year?"

Masamune Horita asked curiously.

The emperors of the Tang Dynasty were always very generous in giving out gifts during the New Year. Generally speaking, the value of the gifts given during the New Year was higher than the tributes from the vassal states.

Although the price is set by the Tang Dynasty!
Chai Xinzhi said with a smile.

"nice one!"

"I won't tell you, so I can give the shogunate a surprise later!"

Seeing this, Masamune Horida did not ask any further questions.

The two continued to drink and eat, and the maidservant beside them served them more gently and respectfully.

After lunch, the two set off for Edo Pier.

The carriage was moving on the road, and there was obvious snow on the road.

Many half-naked beggars were huddled under the eaves of houses on the roadside, shivering, and there were even passers-by hawking their wares on the roadside.

And what they sell is nothing but their own children, or simply themselves.

Japan's productivity was extremely underdeveloped in those days, and coupled with the huge gap between the rich and the poor, a large number of people died of hunger and cold every winter.

Even though this is Edo, it is no exception!
Every morning, special people would take the frozen bodies to the mass grave outside the city for disposal.

Moreover, the shogunate's excess money was used to purchase arms from the Tang Dynasty and to hire instructors to train the shogunate's new army.

He simply doesn't have the ability or the idea to provide relief to the people under his rule!

Chai Zhixin was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see this, so he closed the curtain of the carriage, then turned and said to Horita Masamune who was sitting opposite him.

"Every winter, there are so many starving people on the streets of Japan." "Mr. Horita, since Japan can't feed so many people, why not let these street beggars go out to sea to find a way to make a living."

"What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Horida Masamune said with a conflicted expression.

"Seclusion is the shogunate's national policy. If these people are allowed to leave the country at will, it may affect the shogunate's national policy."

Chai Zhixin said with a smile.

"How about this, every time the Tang Dynasty hires a worker from Japan, it can pay the shogunate a commission."

"I promise not to let the shogunate work in vain!"

"Or, the shogunate can also act as an intermediary and organize people to go to the Tang Dynasty to work. When the time comes, the Tang Dynasty will directly contact the shogunate to settle the wages."

"This way it would be much easier!"

The meaning of Chai Zhixin's words is very clear.

We won’t let you work for free. The Tang Dynasty will pay you.

The more workers the Tang Dynasty recruits from Japan, the more commissions the shogunate can get.

Moreover, if the shogunate was unscrupulous enough to act as a black labor broker, it could even embezzle the wages that the Tang Dynasty paid to the workers.

After all, ordinary Japanese people had no idea how much the Tang Dynasty paid them, so naturally they just took whatever the shogunate gave them.

The profits here are quite huge!

The reason why the Tang Dynasty hired workers from Japan was not because it did not have enough labor.

With a population of nearly 400 million, there is no problem of labor shortage at all.

The reason why we have to hire workers from Japan despite having sufficient labor force is mainly because some jobs are too hard and the casualty rate is too high.

Take mining for example. Due to the immature mining technology of this era, mining accidents occur frequently in mines and the casualty rate remains high.

For example, in cement production, due to the lack of labor protection in this era, ordinary workers will suffer from pneumoconiosis after only a few years of work. This is an incurable disease.

For example, reclaiming wasteland in the deep mountains and forests of Southeast Asia was a difficult task because people were unable to adapt to the local environment. In addition, there were factors such as wild beasts, indigenous people, malaria, and poisonous insects. To put it bluntly, reclamation meant exchanging human lives for land.

If the people of the Tang Dynasty were left to do work like this themselves, it would easily lead to trouble.

But if it is done by foreign workers, this will not be the case.

Because, even if someone died, it had nothing to do with the Tang Dynasty.

Even if workers rioted, the imperial court could use force to suppress it without any psychological pressure.

In addition, at this time, labor in Japan was cheaper than in the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, hiring workers from overseas becomes a good option.

Upon hearing this, Masamune Horida gritted his teeth and said.

"Mr. Chai, this matter is of great importance. I cannot make up my mind and need to report to the Shogun..."

Chai knew the news and did not urge him, but just nodded slightly.

"No hurry, no hurry!"

"Let's discuss it slowly!"

As they were talking, the two of them took a carriage to the Edo dock.

After arriving at the dock, the crowds on both sides of the street became increasingly dense.

A large number of dock workers gathered at the dock, waiting for work.

Whenever a ship docks at the port, a group of people would rush forward to grab this rare job in winter.

"Please be kind enough to use me. I haven't eaten for several days!"

"Sir, I don't want any wages, just food."

"..."

The carriage arrived at the port dock and the patrolling dock police came forward to disperse the crowd.

Chai Zhixin and Horita Masamune got off the carriage together and walked towards the dock.

At the dock, a ship flying the flag of the Tang Dynasty government was moored at the berth.

It was the official ship that came to deliver New Year gifts to the shogunate.

A group of men in shorts in the middle of winter were working together to pull a pulley crane to unload the cargo from the ship.

Soon, a rectangular wooden box that was four meters long and two meters wide and high was unloaded.

Masamune Horita looked at the box in front of him with curiosity in his eyes.

What is in here?
They actually used such a big box!
Chai Zhixin asked with his arms folded and a smile on his face.

"Take it apart and see?"

Masamune Horida was not polite and nodded in agreement immediately.

"dismantle!"

It is actually a very normal thing to unpack the containers at the dock.

Because both the delivery and the receipt parties need to reconcile accounts.

The party receiving the gift must inspect the goods, make sure that the goods are the same as those on the gift list, and then sign the receipt. Only then can the Tang Dynasty take the receipt and go back to report.

Otherwise, if the gifts given by the emperor to the vassal states were embezzled or replaced, no one would be able to take responsibility.

Upon hearing this, several workers stepped forward with crowbars and started to unpack the boxes.

With a series of creaking sounds, the rivets in the box were pulled out one by one.

Then the box was opened.

A car painted completely black appeared in front of everyone.

Looking at the exquisite, luxurious car in front of him with its paint reflecting the light in the sun, Masamune Horida couldn't take his eyes away.

He had never seen such a sophisticated gadget before!
"Mr. Chai, may I ask what exactly this is?"

Chai Zhixin was also amazed, but he still spoke up to help Horita Masamune.

"This is a car, the latest product of Datang Industry."

“No need for people to pull, no need for horses to pull, just add some gasoline, and you can travel a thousand miles a day.”

"Nowadays, there are only a few in the entire Tang Dynasty!"

"The first batch of goods produced by the automobile factory only consisted of 30 cars. His Majesty the Emperor decided to give these 30 cars to the rulers of the vassal states as annual gifts."

That’s right, the annual gift from the Tang Dynasty to Japan was given to the Shogun and had nothing to do with the Emperor.

The reason for doing so.

One reason is that the Tang Dynasty needed to support the shogunate so that the shogunate, a gathering place for reactionaries, could suppress possible reforms in Japan.

Secondly, it was a political statement to show that the Tang Dynasty supported the shogunate rather than the Japanese emperor.

He wanted to use this to incite the shogunate to rebel against the emperor, and thus trigger civil unrest in Japan.

Well, after all, even the Tang Dynasty has made it clear that it supports the Shogun to be the King of Japan. Li Yi doesn't believe that the Shogunate can still bear to do nothing.

Upon hearing this, Masamune Horida could not help but sigh.

"It's really an eye-opener!"

Chai Zhixin smiled, and an official next to him handed a bunch of keys to Chai Zhixin and then spoke.

"Ambassador Chai, I'll give you the car keys first!"

"Want to test drive the car?"

Chai Zhixin waved his hand and did not take the key, but spoke.

"Try it. If you are sure that there is no problem with the car, Mr. Horita will sign the receipt here, so you can report it back."

The official heard this and said with a smile.

"The Ambassador is right!"

As he spoke, he turned around and called for a driver nearby to come forward and test drive the car.

Well, this driver is also part of the New Year gift and can be considered a supporting service for the car.

The Tang Dynasty did not care about the driver's wages, so the shogunate had to pay for it.

He will serve the Shogun next, so the Shogun will naturally not be stingy on such issues.

The shogunate is indeed not rich now, but it is not so poor that it cannot even pay the driver's salary.

The driver came forward, opened the door and sat in the driving seat.

He took out the key, started the engine, and as the engine roared, the vehicle began to move slowly.

Looking at the moving car in front of him, Masamune Horida's eyes suddenly lit up.

He couldn't help but feel a little moved...

"Mr. Chai, is this car for sale in Datang?"

Masamune Horita probed cautiously.

He wants to get one like this, too!

Chai Zhixin smiled and said he didn't know, and the Tang official next to him began to explain.

"Mr. Horita, as far as I know, the car is for sale, but you have to pay a deposit first and then wait in line for delivery."

"The first batch of goods from this automobile factory was awarded by His Majesty to the kings of various vassal states, and the second batch is to be awarded to dukes, nobles, governors, ministers and other high-ranking officials in the court."

"We have to wait until at least the third batch of products before they can be sold publicly."

Although his main purpose of coming to Japan was to deliver New Year gifts to the Shogun, he also wanted to sell cars to Japan.

This thing really makes money and really trains workers.

After hearing this, Masamune Horita wanted it even more.

The vassal kings and high-ranking officials in the Tang Dynasty all have one. If I could get one, wouldn't I be on the same level as these big shots?

A sense of vanity was brewing in his heart.

"How much is the deposit? How long do I have to wait for the goods to arrive?"

The Tang Dynasty official laughed and said.

"The deposit is 30%, which is 3,000 silver dollars!"

"As for the delivery time, it ranges from half a year to a year."

Upon hearing this, Masamune Horida nodded immediately.

"Good, good, good!"

"Can I order one?"

Masamune Horita was very excited.

As for the price?
A car worth ten thousand silver dollars is indeed very expensive.

But it was precisely because it was expensive enough that he was tempted.

If the car is cheap, he won't want it!
To put it bluntly, what Masamune Horida bought was not a car, but face.

He will only want to buy it if ordinary people can't afford it.

If everyone can afford it, then he won't have any desire for the car.

Upon hearing this, the Tang Dynasty officials' eyes lit up.

"Of course it's no problem. Mr. Horita, come over here. I'll register you right away."

Since Masamune Horita ordered a car from him, he would get a share of the profits, so it was no wonder that the official was so enthusiastic.

Masamune Horita also had a broad smile on his face.

Soon, after registering, signing the contract and paying the deposit, Masamune Horita and Tomohisamu Shiba drove the car to the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Since it is a gift, it must be handed over to Shogun Tokugawa himself as soon as possible!
Then, the people sent by the Tang Dynasty could return with the letter of thanks from General Tokugawa.

It’s very troublesome, and it’s a serious matter, so the process must be followed!

(End of this chapter)