In the auditorium of Fanjiazhuang City Hall, Li Zhi sat on the rostrum, looking at the radiant Fanjiazhuang businessmen opposite. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

This time to colonize Luzon, Li Zhi did not completely rely on the official power of the Tianjin system. After all, 1.2 million people have migrated to open up wasteland, and the materials needed are sky-high. Based on the consumption of 30 taels of various materials per emigrant, this is the expenditure of more than 30 million taels of silver.

Although Li Zhi's financial system is far richer than that of the Ming court, he took out more than 30 million taels at one time, and the pressure was also extremely great.

However, there is a huge force among the people ruled by Li Zhi. Li Zhi has always been rich in hiding from the people, and in Tianjin and Shandong, which Li Zhi governed, the people have become rich. Not to mention Shandong, let's talk about Tianjin, every family has savings of dozens of taels of silver, just looking at Fanjiazhuang and Tianjin Acropolis, the two richest industrial zones, can come up with tens of millions of taels of private savings.

Therefore, in the matter of supporting the people of Jianghuai Province to colonize Luzon, Li Zhi gave the opportunity to private capital.

In fact, in Europe in this era, foreign colonization also relied heavily on civilian forces. The expansion of the Netherlands, Britain and other countries in Asia relied on the East India Company, which was established by private financing and whose shares were listed and traded on the stock exchange.

As a time-traveler who understands the historical process, Li Zhi naturally will not act brutally and will not let the government handle all colonial matters.

The private businessmen did not disappoint Li Zhi, and under Li Zhi's call, more than 300 immigration companies were established in just one month. These immigration companies are large and small, the small ones are only tens of thousands of taels of silver, and the large companies even have millions of taels of silver, which are traded and listed on the stock exchange.

The overall size of these large and small immigration companies even exceeds the share of 1.2 million immigrants set by Li Zhi, and the funds raised can support 1.5 million immigrants.

Li Zhi stood on the rostrum of the auditorium, looked at the person in charge of the 300 immigrants, and said: "I think everyone is concerned about the issue of materials. ”

No matter how much money was spent on colonial affairs, it was spent on the purchase of supplies. The newcomers to Luzon needed saws, sickles, hoes, bricks, waterwheels, cement, and other supplies. The key to whether the immigration company can purchase these materials at market price is whether the supply of goods in the market is sufficient.

If the market supply is insufficient, the immigration company will not be able to buy it with no amount of silver.

Li Zhi looked at the company owner who was looking forward to it below, patted it and said, "Let Gao Ligong, director of the Tianjin Industrial Department, say." ”

Gao Ligong made a contribution to the installation of ironclad ships with ironclad ships, and is now promoted to the head of the department. He stood on the rostrum and bowed to Li Zhi, then turned around and said, "Don't worry, we have set a quota of 1.2 million people, and we have investigated. Fanjiazhuang's factories now have enough to produce materials to support 1.2 million immigrants. ”

"If we rely on traditional handicraft workshops to support 1.2 million immigrants, of course, it is impossible. However, there are already 1,100 large and small factories in Tianjin today, almost all of which use the assembly line and steam engine invented by the prince, and the manufacturing capacity is extremely strong. ”

"In the two industrial cities of Fanjiazhuang and Tianjin Acropolis alone, we have 350,000 workers. Every day, a large number of various commodities are produced and sold to all parts of Daming and overseas markets at very low prices. ”

"It is no exaggeration to say that in this world today, there is, and only our Tianjin system can support the overseas expansion of 1.2 million immigrants at one time."

When the merchants below heard these words, they were very happy. Lending money to immigrants is a surefire business, and the key now is whether the supplies can be supplied. Gao Ligong is so confident, and the situation is obviously excellent.

"Tools like sickles, hoes, and saws are produced very quickly. Over the years, new fields have been cultivated in various places, and the output of these tools is very large every year. According to our estimates, there is no need for a government-run forging factory to help, and the private forging factory in the Tianjin Acropolis can meet the supply of these tools. ”

Hearing Gao Ligong's words, the businessmen and businessmen in the audience were very happy and discussed with their counterparts on the left and right.

Gao Ligong waved his hand and signaled everyone to be quiet.

He added: "There is no need to worry about the manufacture of waterwheels. In recent years, many water pipe foundries have been set up in various places, and a considerable number of these factories are able to cast dragon tail cars. As soon as the order arrives, factories around the country can be built immediately, and it is not a problem to produce more than 100,000 water wheels. ”

"Cement factories and brick factories don't need to worry, construction has been in full swing all over the country in recent years, and our production of building materials has been steadily expanding. The 1.2 million labor force emigrating to Luzon will require about 600,000 houses to be built, and our production capacity is fully satisfied. ”

"Of course, bricks and cement are very low-priced commodities, and it is not cost-effective to ship them to Luzon. The Industry Agency will allow construction material factories that are interested in expanding overseas to Luzon and produce building materials locally in Luzon, so as to ensure that all immigration companies can buy enough building materials. ”

When the businessmen in the audience heard Gao Ligong's words, they relaxed and applauded warmly.

The applause fell, and suddenly someone raised his hand and said, "Director Gao, what if the Malay natives attack the immigrants who are clearing the wasteland?" ”

Gao Ligong looked at Li Zhi, and Li Zhi pointed to Cao Yu, the head of the arsenal.

Cao Yu stood up, touched his beard and said, "Our arsenal has produced enough standard waist knives this month, enough to equip each of the 1.2 million immigrants with one. In addition, the 40,000 lieutenant commanders and armor chiefs recruited in Tianjin and Shandong also brought their own rifles. ”

"If you are still concerned about the lack of force, and if you are worried about the peasants you support being attacked by the natives, you can equip the immigrants with standard rifles. Our standard rifles are now sold to the private sector for thirty-five taels and one. If ten immigrants were armed with a rifle, we would have 120,000 militiamen, enough to kill all the natives who provoked us and maintain order in the area. ”

The merchant who asked the question asked, "Can the arsenal produce 160,000 standard rifles within a year?" ”

When Cao Yu heard this question, he smiled and said nothing.

Gao Ligong laughed and said, "I'll reveal a little military secret to everyone!" With the current lathe technology, we can say that the production of front-loading standard rifles can be said to be a breeze, and it is completely assembly line mass production. Now there are more than 100,000 surplus standard rifles in the warehouse, and as long as you want to allocate them to the peasants, the arsenal will be able to ship them immediately. ”

The eyes of the businessmen below lit up, and they began to talk about each other.

After a pause, Gao Ligong said: "At present, we have more than 50 transportation companies in the private sector, and more than 400 steamships are running routes in various places. These steamers were of various sizes, had no artillery, and were risky to run the Luzon route. But our naval ironclads will give civilian steamers protection from the harassment of European battleships. ”

Hearing this, many businessmen nodded. There is no problem with transportation, so now everything is really ready.

Gao Ligong asked, "Do you have any questions?" ”

The merchants stared at each other for a while, but no one asked questions.

Gao Ligong looked at Li Zhi.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Okay, the specific work of colonizing Luzon this time depends on the merchants." With the support of the two industrial cities of Tianjin, I am confident that this Luzon development will be a success. ”