In the Governor's Mansion of Calcutta, Song continued to teach Li Kezai.

Yinghua has two benefits in Tianzhu, one is practical and the other is theoretical, the latter Song said that he wanted to look at industry and commerce, but when he talked about it in detail, he turned to another big topic.

"After the victory of Luntai, the court was discussing the Northern Expedition in front of the emperor, and His Majesty asked me if Yinghua was ready. Everyone argued for a long time, and then found that they were really not prepared. ”

Song Ji sighed: "The most important point is which way Yinghua's economic strategy should go. If the Northern Expedition did not discuss the beginning and end, and dragged a big burden after the Northern Expedition, I don't know how bumpy the road ahead is. ”

In the past 20 years since the founding of the country, the East and the West have blended, the people's horizons have also been opened, and the thinking of the new generation of scholars has also changed. Based on Duan Guoshi's new theory of three generations, Yinghua has now also established the concept of "economy as the lifeblood of the country".

But the concept is the same, but the direction is different. Based on the different understandings of the national conditions of Britain and China and the general trend of the world, as well as the trade-offs of different positions, the "economic circles" in Britain and China are currently divided into three ideas, which makes the economic policy of Britain and China in a state of vacillation.

The first idea emphasizes "selling", which is actually a direct transfer of Europa's late mercantilism, which advocates more exports and less imports, and earns gold and silver currency through trade surpluses. To some extent, this idea is quite close to the old dynasty idea that gold and silver equals wealth, and it is also the view of most non-economic professionals.

The economic policies of the Anglo-Chinese state after the establishment of the country were basically based on this, especially after the implementation of the credit currency of the gold and silver reset system. In order to stabilize the gold-silver price ratio and increase the amount of gold deposits, not only directly manage gold production. Strict control of gold consumption, but also in international trade to implement the policy of "gold and silver".

However, this kind of thinking is only applicable to foreign trade, and it is difficult to cover domestic problems. Therefore, the second idea emphasizes "production", and believes that the state should not focus only on commerce, but more on production, and wealth is not gold and silver, but the goods produced.

The third idea is the opposite of the first, and at the same time it is an extension of the second. Some economists who use Duan Guoshi's new three-generation theory as a weapon to reread history believe that the ability to buy things is the real wealth. Produce is to sell, and of course sell is to buy. Let the people want to buy and can afford it, this is the real wealth.

Strictly speaking, these three ideas are not opposites, but in fact they are three perspectives of mercantilism, all of which emphasize that the state should have a deeper control over the economic links and manage as many economic activities as possible. However, these three perspectives are respectively involved in the foreign trade level, industrial layout and domestic demand, and the concept of domestic demand has stepped into the category of the so-called "classical economics" in later generations.

A small number of extremists have overplayed in all three directions, for example, by "selling". He advocated that the state should control all commerce, or that it should start from "production" and that all industry and commerce should be turned into state ownership, and that it should be "benevolent" by "storing wealth from the people" and "not competing with the people for profit" should be practiced.

Either the country advances and the people retreat. After all, the mainstream thinking at this time has been clarified, the country is a tiger on the one hand, and the "people" side is a lion, and no one can be allowed to monopolize the platform.

"The country's economic policy is inclined in which direction, which direction can be more profitable, there are these three sides of the dispute, there are three strata behind the argument, one is beneficial to the outside, of course, the other is to look at the outside, the other is to benefit the inside, mainly to the emerging industry and commerce, of course, to advocate output, and the other layer emphasizes the enrichment of the people, and it is the appeal of the two factions of Mo and Confucianism and a group of people in the new economic school."

Song Ji smiled bitterly: "These three factions are fighting, and their respective faces are depicted quite interestingly. Those who emphasize selling are scolded as enemy merchants, and betray the country for profit, such as the former Ming and Jin merchants. Those who emphasize production are scolded as black-hearted workshops, oppressing slave laborers, and hurting nature and reason. Those who emphasized buying were scolded as Fengheng Yuda, repeating the mistakes of the Song Dynasty. ”…,

Li Kezai also smiled, the three parties are on a gourd vine, but they have to step on each other, but how to sort the three directions really determines the amount of profit, of course, everyone has to fight for it.

In the past 23 years since the founding of the country, the economic policy has indeed been biased. After the advent of the steam engine, the national policy began to move closer to the production side, and the support for industry became more and more obvious. On the "buying" side, to be honest, the national policy has always been based on the principle of "no chaos", focusing on maintaining the bottom limit, and has not taken the initiative to make great efforts to enrich the people.

This is not to say that the livelihood of the British and Chinese people has not improved much compared with the previous Qing era, in fact, it has improved a lot. The per capita tax has been reduced, the local grassroots structure has been organized, the livelihood channels have been broadened, there has been relative fairness and justice, and there have been day-changing improvements in education and medical care.

After more than 20 years, the poor class is no longer like the pre-Qing Dynasty, life is breathless, and they will break their homes in the event of a natural disaster, but the poor hat has not been thrown away, and they still have to calculate firewood, rice, oil and salt. The real riches are those soldiers who sacrifice their lives to go to war, those who read books to accept new things and new knowledge, and those who dare to take risks in the waves of industry and colonialism, as well as immigrants who are willing to leave their homeland to live a new life overseas or outside the country.

Li Kezai believes that whether it is from the founding of the country of Yinghua or from economics, the third idea should be the direction of the future, so that the people want to buy things and can buy things, that is, enrich the people, and only by enriching the people can the country be strong.

Song was deeply pleased with Li Kezai's understanding, but also reminded Li Kezai that this road needs a sufficient foundation, he explained: "There is no problem in the direction of enriching the people, how to get rich is a big problem, do you give money and things directly?" Who should be given and how much should be given, the question of fairness will arise, and there will be no dispute over right and wrong. If you earn your own wealth, then there is no problem, so the problem of enriching the people can also be tied to the employment problem, and the employment problem must be looked at with the new theory of three generations written by Duan Guoshi. ”

Li Kezai also understands the crux of this issue. The land is finite, and the population that cares for it will be limited, and the population is growing all the time. Employment can only be counted on by industry and commerce, and similarly, earning wealth can only be seen by industry and commerce.

Song mentioned one more thing: "The Agricultural Institute of the Tiandao Academy has been engaged in research on breeding and increasing yields. Recently, some people have put forward the theory of phosphorus putrefaction, and if the agricultural population increases further, the agricultural population will continue to decline. ”

This has a great impact in the country. Li Kezai has also heard about it. Although it has not yet been proven, this argument is encouraging. The experts of the Agricultural Institute learned the theory of decay from Europa, and they also learned that the "ghost fire" on the grave was actually phosphorescent light. Experts with rich associations put these two things together, and deduced that phosphorus is also one of the humus substances from the phenomenon of "phosphorus production from saprolite", and experts are exploring ways to use phosphorus to help increase farmland yield.

A few years later, the Anglo-Chinese scientific community figured out that the theory of decay was wrong, and the essence of "replacing corruption with phosphorus" was the theory of minerals. Fertilizers originated from "ghost fires", which has also become one of the most famous misunderstandings in the history of science.

"Enriching the people and employment is a matter of combining the two, and only industry and commerce can accommodate more people and allow people to earn wealth, but how can industry and commerce accommodate more and more people?"

Song Ji finally returned to the topic, "It's like building a house, the old house is evenly divided. In the same square area, if you want to accommodate more people, you have to build buildings. The same is true for industry and commerce, a work is counted as a floor, and the more work, the higher the building. The more people you can accommodate. ”

"Just like the Shaozhou bamboo paper in my hand, behind a piece of paper is a string of fortifications: steam engines to increase production and reduce costs, bleached alum, incense spices, dyes to print the head and tail of the columns, packaged oilcloth and jute, vehicles and ships to transport to the cargo station market, and even newspapers raised to solicit large sales and advertisements. Every link has become a profession, accommodating countless people to survive and seek wealth. ”…,

Speaking of which, Li Kezai finally understood why at that imperial meeting, his father asked if he was ready for the Northern Expedition, and everyone felt uncertain.

Song made a more detailed explanation, and everyone clamored for the Northern Expedition that day, and the emperor said, "Are you ready?" "To discuss the economic development strategy of Yinghua in the next 30 years or even 100 years.

Yinghua is not ready, because after the rough mercantilist path of the previous two decades, there is an urgent need to determine a clear direction of development. In the long run, it is closely related to the great righteousness of Yinghua, so that the people can be happy, and the people and the country should be prosperous. In the short term, after the restoration of the north, at least 60 or 70 million people will have to be effectively digested by the Yinghua, instead of growing into a mass of pus.

Now the north is still ruled by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Yinghua goods and even capital have not yet penetrated deeply, once the Central Plains is restored, there is no customs in the north and south, and the commercial capital comes and goes freely.

What is the concept of tens of millions of people? The whole of Bengal plus Siam...... It's just that immigration can't solve the problem, which needs to be digested by Yinghua's own industrial and commercial system, as well as the promotion of the north's own industrial and commercial system.

But is Yinghua's industrial and commercial system mature enough?

Apparently not, there are still a few workshops that use steam engines, and workshops employing thousands of people are concentrated in only a few large cities. Domestic industry and commerce are not attractive enough to financial capital, and overseas businesses are more favored. Even in terms of labor, although the demand for labor in domestic industry and commerce is strong, it has not yet flourished to the point of hunger and thirst. The previous introduction of a stricter law prohibiting slavery and prohibiting involuntary labor deeds has not encountered much resistance, which can prove this from another side.

Taking Song Ji's building theory as a description, the floors of domestic industry and commerce, especially industry, are not high enough, and the accommodation capacity is limited. The composition of the state treasury revenue is also clearly explained: in the twenty-three years of the Holy Dao, the state treasury revenue was 190 million, of which 60 percent was from the circulation fields such as customs duties, commercial taxes, deed taxes, and colonial royalties, and only about 20 percent of the corporate and sales taxes on industry, including the contributions of large state-owned steel, shipbuilding, and machinery companies.

Then Song Ji talked about the problem, even Li Kezai, who has considerable attainments in economics, was dizzy: industrial upgrading and industrial layout.

"On the day of the imperial meeting, we were actually talking about the Yinghua century-old plan. The first point is to absorb the population bound to the fields into the towns, and the industry and commerce in the towns will take over. The distribution of industrial and commercial categories under this is to rebuild the layout, along the rivers and the straight roads and even railways that will be erected in the future, and build a bloodline composed of industrial and commercial high-rise buildings. ”

"Lingnan has been designated as a large area for iron smelting and machinery, and Jiangnan has been designated as a large area for textiles and various daily commercial goods. The two lines cross and radiate Huguang, and at the same time, Shaanxi, Gansu and the north serve as the gate of circulation, transporting commercial goods to the north and west. This is the rough outline agreed upon that day. ”

This explanation is just the background, and Li Kezai pulls back to the topic: "What role does Bangladesh and even Tianzhu play in this century-old plan?" ”

Song Ji said: "Business means ups and downs. Whether the state makes this layout or allows industry and commerce to grow on its own, there will be a surplus and shortage. In the past few years, there have been great successes in all walks of life, and every year it has brought a trend. In particular, the industry where the raw materials come from the field, when following the trend, they all grow a type of crop, and once the commercial goods are overflowing, the raw materials cannot be sold, and they all rot in the ground. At the same time, production and demand in some industries are unstable. This year's supply exceeds demand, and next year may be unwanted. Back and forth, it is difficult to accumulate. Not only did it hurt the farmers, but it also damaged the industry, and of course the high-rise buildings could not be built. ”…,

"The more important thing about building high-rise buildings is to make enough profits for businessmen and commerce, so that they can become bigger, and when they become bigger, they can hire more people. Hold up a taller building. At home, because of the great righteousness, it is impossible to exploit the Chinese people too much, so they can only seek more benefits from the outside. ”

He clasped his hands: "In addition to the national care, if you can stop the water and build a dam." Storing a reservoir, releasing water when there is a surplus and storing water when there is a shortage of water, the river can always be stable, Tianzhu is such a reservoir......"

Song raised his hand and said: "We use tariffs as a gate to control the import and export of Tianzhu commercial goods, so that the industry and commerce in the country can squeeze more profits, and the risks can also be passed on to Tianzhu." At present, in Bangladesh, crops such as dyes, jute and sugarcane have been selected as reservoirs for raw materials in the country, and cotton fields and tea plantations will be piloted in the future to supplement the raw material vacancies in Lingnan and Jiangnan due to the conversion of production. ”

"In addition to raw materials, we will also suppress the local workshop industry in Tianzhu, so that Tianzhu will become a dumping ground for our silk, cotton, porcelain and even machinery and miscellaneous goods, and become a reservoir for Anglo-Chinese commercial goods. In short, with such a reservoir, there is an ample buffer between the surplus and shortage of industries in our country. ”

Li Kezai nodded, isn't this the strategy in Siam? Siam has become a rice and timber producer of the Anglo-Chinese, and although it has developed some industries, it is all crude processing of rice and wood, and reprocessed goods such as rice candy, furniture and woodware are sold back to Siam from the country.

In other words, Tianzhu is to be a stepping stone for tragedy and contribute blood and sweat to the upgrading of Yinghua's industry.

Thinking of Siam, Li Kezai found a difference, although Siam is not a colony of Yinghua, but has been deeply infiltrated by Yinghua capital, the Nanyang Rice Company listed in Nanjing has tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land in Siam, and the Siamese royal family is still the third largest shareholder. Over the years, there have been a lot of troubles in Siam due to the turmoil in the price of Anglo-Chinese rice, the price of Anglo-Chinese rice has fallen, Siamese rice farmers have broken their homes, the price of Anglo-Chinese rice has risen, all Siamese rice has poured to Anglo-Chinese, and the price of rice in Siam has skyrocketed. The British and Chinese stabilized Siam, and each time they "generously" extended a helping hand, flattening or raising the price of rice in the form of subsidies or large orders.

Why do you have to take care of Siam?

Song Ji said: "This is not only a matter of industry and commerce, Siam and Annam, are the two foundations of Anglo-Chinese control of the South Seas, and supporting these two countries to overlook the countries of the South Seas naturally cannot mess with this foundation." Tianzhu is the gate where the East and the West meet, and Tianzhu is also very large, with its own characteristics, and can withstand such oppression. ”

Can stand the oppression...... Song didn't blush at all when he said this, it seems that when he went to Bengal, he was thinking about how deep the reservoir could be dug here.

Seeing that Li Kezai was a little entangled, Song Ji shook his head and said: "Don't forget Duan Guoshi's true peep, and to put it bluntly, Tianzhu has changed us to be in charge, and most of the locals may be able to live better than before." Assuming that there is a fixed amount of wealth, what we plunder in Tianzhu is also the wealth of the rich, and the poor here are basically Shudras and untouchables, and they are so poor that they only have one breath left. ”

Shudras and even untouchables......

Li Kezai recalled the Tianzhu people he had come into contact with in the past few days, and suddenly felt that although the scenery here was very different from Huaxia, there was something faintly compatible with Huaxia, and that thing did not dare to think deeply, and it was extremely sour.

Song Ji was also sighing: "Here in Tianzhu, there is a stench that has been rotten for thousands of years......"

In Gulingerum County, Zhong Shangwei left the mansion irritably, wanting to go out to breathe, but as soon as he went out, a rotten smell that was almost comparable to that of a latrine came to his face, and he quickly pinched his nose and vomited, and his heart was even more depressed.

After discussing with the arithmetic before, he felt that buying land and property here and running an indigo jute plantation was more promising than contracting Chamindal, but Fang Wu was obviously not interested in farming, and everyone disagreed, and they quarreled. …,

Without Fang Wu's support, it was impossible for Zhong Shangwei to go it alone, so he had to settle down and give Fang Wu the county official on the surface and the dog-headed military advisor behind his back.

When they first arrived, many of the local snakes were still waiting to see the situation, and everything was prevaricated, and a big landowner of Kshadili who resolutely denied their Chamindar power became their leader of the people. Today, Fang Wu took a group of local soldiers who had just recruited to find trouble with the big landlord, Zhong Shangwei didn't dare to mix that kind of scene, and was ready to take advantage of the time to "inspect" this small county town.

Attacked by poisonous gas when he went out, Zhong Shangwei glanced at the muddy "streets" and the county town where crooked and dilapidated mud houses were put together, and said that the temporary shack he took people to Coral Prefecture to erect was also more pleasing to the eye, and this Tianzhu people have lived to dogs for thousands of years?

While looking up, he walked cautiously forward, snapped, and stepped into a deep pile of mud, right...... The stench that erupted almost overturned the upper position of the bell, this is cow! Could this muddy street be paved with and urine?

Zhong Shangwei was so disgusted that his face bloomed, he pulled out his feet out of the heap, and was about to take a detour to retreat, when the sound of footsteps was like a tide, from far to near.

In a moment, Fang Wu and Niu Baocheng stumbled over with a group of hands, shouting as they ran: "Come in!" Tianzhu people are reversed! ”

None of the recruited native soldiers were seen, and Fang Wu was chasing hundreds of Tianzhu people behind him, wielding hoes and decapitation sticks and other weapons, and he didn't know what he was swearing.

Zhong Shangwei came from the wind and waves, but he was not too panicked, anyway, the courtyard gate is not far away, the "county office" is similar to a small fortress, the wall is high and thick, there are firearms in hand, and it should be no problem to block the chaotic people.

He calmly turned and strode with a snap......

This time it was not a foot, but a foot slipped, and a face went down. (To be continued)