"Your Majesty, if you want to increase domestic rubber production, I'm afraid it is still a little difficult!" Konstantin thought for a moment and said

Rubber is not so easy to grow, not Ferdinand can grow as much as he wants, it has requirements for climate, rain, and soil.

It likes high temperature, high humidity, quiet wind and fertile soil, requires an average annual temperature of 26~27 °C, is not cold-tolerant, and will hang up when the temperature is below 5 °C.

The average annual precipitation is required to be 1150~2500 mm, but it is not suitable for planting in low humid places. It is suitable for the growth of deep, fertile and moist acidic sandy loam soils with good drainage.

Shallow roots, the branches are fragile, the adaptability to the wind is poor, and the susceptibility to wind cold and reduce the amount of rubber produced.

After such a large number of requirements, there are not many suitable places for growing rubber in Bulgaria, and the Balkan dry area is barely possible, but the production is not high.

Ferdinand also had no plans to grow rubber trees on the ground, which was not economically viable and would break the domestic industrial production chain.

If you can't do it locally, then it can only be an African colony.

In later generations, Africa accounted for about 6 per cent of world rubber production, mainly in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Ghana and Gabon, all of which, with the exception of Côte d'Ivoire, were under Bulgarian control.

As early as 1923, Bulgaria began to develop rubber plantations in Africa, which reached their peak in 1925, and then gradually slowed down.

In other words, the coastal areas, the areas suitable for rubber plantations have been almost developed, and if you want to continue to develop rubber plantations, you must go deep inland.

This means that the cost and risk will increase both, and the rubber plantation may face attacks by local tribes at any time.

Ferdinand also knew about these situations, otherwise he would not have gradually stopped the construction of rubber plantations after 1925.

At present, the owners of these rubber plantations are basically Bulgarian military nobles, and they are unlucky to go to Africa and can only develop cash crops.

It is impossible for Ferdinand to let them grow rubber for the country regardless of the cost, that is unrealistic, and people also have to pursue economic interests?

In this era of the sanctity of private land, people love to grow whatever they like, as long as it is not a drug, Ferdinand can't care.

"I know that, but don't we have a colony in Southeast Asia? In terms of climate and environment, it should be possible to grow rubber trees, right? Ferdinand said with a smile

"Your Majesty, this is only theoretical, we have not conducted field investigations, and we can't draw conclusions yet!" Konstantin thought for a moment and said

"Well, let the local officials make sure, and if they can, turn Mindanao into our rubber plantation!" Ferdinand thought for a moment and said

Ferdinand remembered that the Philippines was also one of the rubber exporters, and the main production area was in Mindanao, which seemed to be an affiliated island, and in his previous life, he had seen a large area of rubber trees in Basilan in his friend's space.

Now he decided the fate of millions of people on the island with a single word, and once Mindanao was turned into a rubber plantation in Bulgaria, the locals would definitely be emigrated.

The lesson of the rebellion in Southeast Asia has taught the colonists that the destructive power of the indigenous people is huge, so they don't care about the economic value, and the rebels can cut off the rubber and use it to make fires, so you know their level of knowledge.

The rebellion, ostensibly the introduction of revolutionary ideas, stirred up a sense of independence among the locals.

This is all foolishness and complete nonsense, and if this were the case, the locals would have established power in the first place and then negotiated with the British.

With such a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, don't the revolutionaries know what it means to fight the British?

It's not that although they launched the revolution, they were not the leaders of the revolution, and they did not hold much power, and the real power was still the tribal leaders.

The deeper reason for this is that the local population is growing too fast, and the resources are no longer enough for them to live comfortably lying down, and if they don't work, they will starve.

Tragically, many of them are only able to do the simplest work, the most complicated work, they can't do it.

For example, farming, which is a high-tech job, the level of local productivity has not yet caught up with the Middle Ages, and many tribes in the mountains are still civilized in the Stone Age.

Due to the arrival of the colonists, some cultures were also spread, and the locals also learned a lot of knowledge, and then the survival rate became higher and higher.

Needless to say, the consequences are that if there are too many people, the backward productive forces will not be able to feed them, and the colonial government is not doing charity, and what should be squeezed is still being squeezed.

According to the custom, at this time, the colonial government should provoke internal strife between them, let the local tribes fight each other, and consume the excess population.

It's a pity that if you walk at night for a long time, you will break into ghosts! This time, the colonial government hit the ghost, and before it had time to start acting, the locals turned against it, and everyone pointed the finger at the colonial government, and then it became the current situation.

The way to long-term peace and stability is family planning, if it weren't for the fear that Britain and France would follow suit, Ferdinand would have sacrificed this weapon a long time ago.

With the average life expectancy of the local population at this age being less than 40 years old, the local population will be halved in 20 years if this policy is introduced.

Now it doesn't matter, Bulgaria is in a big situation, and there is no need to worry about the threat from Britain and France.

Moreover, if the French carry out this plan, it is estimated that it will be completed, and the British will not have to dream, their colonies are too populous to carry it out at all.

"Your Majesty, if we want to open rubber plantations in Southeast Asia, then shouldn't we clean up the rebellion on the island?" Colonial Chancellor Donald asked

"Let's act, we have to deal with this problem sooner or later anyway, order the troops to take more prisoners, and repair the roads on the island.

If it is suitable for the development of a large area of rubber plantations, then the Ministry of Transportation will plan another railway to improve the transportation on the island! Ferdinand said

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Donald and Beshear replied that judging by Ferdinand's attitude, they knew that the opening of rubber plantations in Southeast Asia was a foregone conclusion.

If Mindanao can't do it, it is estimated that other regions will have to pay attention. Bulgaria cannot always be subject to manpower, it is nothing more than the question of when it will be resolved.

Bulgaria's rubber consumption has long surpassed that of the British, jumping to the first place in the world, and now consumes 46% of the world's rubber production capacity every year.

And it is still growing, and the consumption of rubber is increasing, but the production of natural rubber has not kept up with this rate of growth.

If Bulgaria had not figured it out on its own, the rubber crisis would have erupted sooner or later, but this time it was brought forward by the war.

Even Ferdinand could conclude that the demand for natural rubber in Bulgaria would continue to grow until Bulgaria's industrial development came to a standstill.

This means that natural rubber will be in short supply for a long time to come, and it seems that the value of Borneo has increased again.

Aside from the local resources, even the economic value of opening up rubber plantations is worth the royal family's investment, and the island is vast and sparsely populated, so there is no need to worry about governance.

……

"Little Ferdinand, I want you to pay for half of Borneo in the hands of the British!" Ferdinand said straight to the point

"Why? Father, don't you have no interest in Borneo? Ferdinand Jr. asked suspiciously

"Originally, I was not interested, but now I suddenly found its value, it can be regarded as a medium to long-term investment for you, and the income will be very good!" Ferdinand said with a slight smile

"You mean let me pay for it? And not the royal family paid for it? Little Ferdinand asked in surprise

"Of course, half of Borneo is your daughter-in-law's dowry, and the other half is of course better in your hands, and in the future, you will have more sons, and you can also build a kingdom on it!" Ferdinand said calmly

"Father, I think it's too early for me to think about it, at least I have to have three sons before I need to think about it!

Can you tell me what is the most valuable investment above? Little Ferdinand thought for a moment and said

"Rubber plantation!" Ferdinand said with a word of gold

"Oh, I thought you had found gold again!" Ferdinand Jr. said with some disappointment

"There are gold mines and diamonds, and the reserves are not low, coal, oil, natural gas, copper, iron, aluminum, magnesium, sulfur and other mineral resources are a lot.

The island's resources are more abundant than you might think, but they don't matter, and Bulgaria doesn't lack them.

The most important thing is the rubber problem, with the development of the economy, the domestic demand for rubber is increasing, and the supply will exceed demand in the next few decades.

And the most suitable place in the world to grow rubber is Southeast Asia, if you occupy Borneo, you kid can make a lot of money just planting rubber, and you are not satisfied? Ferdinand scolded with a laugh

"Father, are you sure that the island's resources are really so rich, so why don't the Dutch and the British exploit them?" Little Ferdinand asked incredulously

"The British have so many colonies and so many resource-rich places to go, where do they still have the energy to pay attention to a small island?

Do the Dutch have that strength? It's not that I'm boasting, even the direct forces in the hands of the Bulgarian royal family are several times larger than the Kingdom of the Netherlands!

The Dutch have so much strength that it would be good to be able to control the few cities that have been developed, do you still expect them to be able to develop the deep mountains and old forests? Ferdinand asked rhetorically

"So, I'm taking advantage of it this time, right? So father, can you help estimate the benefits, how do I feel that the investment is not proportional to the gain! Little Ferdinand said with some hesitation

"Why do you think so? It's a very simple math problem, don't you even know it? Ferdinand asked rhetorically

"Father, you see that the sovereignty of half of Borneo was purchased from the British, even if it is now in the hands of the rebels, the nominal sovereignty is worthless, and this cannot be taken without thirty or fifty million leva!

To suppress the rebellion on the island, I have a preliminary estimate that it will cost at least more than 100 million leva, and for the sake of safety, I will also purge the natives on the island, and the military expenditure behind this is not a small amount.

Even if I hire 10,000 troops to garrison it, I will have to pay at least 30 million levits a year, plus daily training, suppression of bandits, and the operation of the colonial government, how can the total add up to 70 million leva a year?

If I can't see a single profit, I have to invest 250 million leva first, at least in the second year, before I can open a rubber plantation and organize people to open a mine, which also needs to be invested.

The planting cycle of rubber trees is so long, I will not be able to make ends meet for at least six or seven years in front of me, and the total investment will add up to seven or eight billion leva.

Even if there is some income in the past six or seven years, and the funds are returned by two or three hundred million leva through the development of minerals, then this is a pure investment of five hundred million leva in cash.

When the rubber plantation is put into operation, even if it produces 100,000 tons of natural rubber per year, according to the current price of nearly 8,000 leva per ton in the international market, of course, it will be a lot of money.

But once the price of rubber falls back to the normal price, my annual sales will be 1 billion leva, and according to the profit of 20 percent, it will only be 200 million leva, and after deducting the maintenance cost of the colony, it will be more than 100 million leva, and I will give Juliana a share, which will be 70 million or 80 million leva.

Rubber trees are not once and for all, and the economic lifespan is only twenty or thirty years, and then they will have to be replanted.

With such a long investment cycle, you have to take such a big risk, and just such a small profit, don't you think it's too low? Ferdinand Jr. asked suspiciously

"That's right, according to your calculations, don't forget that the rubber plantations in Southeast Asia are almost destroyed, and everyone has to start from scratch.

At the same time, due to the impact of this rebellion, many investors have gone bankrupt, and your competitors have been weakened.

Their strength cannot be compared with yours, and even the most ambitious people will have to wait and see the situation after the end of the war before deciding whether to continue to invest in the rubber industry.

As long as you react quickly enough, your rubber will be on the market before the price of rubber falls, and you can enjoy at least one to two years of windfall profits.

In a year or two, you'll be able to recoup most of your previous investment.

And this price drop is not immediate, rubber production capacity is also slowly recovering, during this period there is at least more than five years of golden period, your gross profit will still not be less than 50%.

And raise your production capacity to the highest, don't say 100,000 tons, even if it is 300,000 tons, the market can digest it.

Even if the competition is fierce in the future, it will not be you who will fall first, at least you don't have to worry about no buyers! Ferdinand analyzed

It is very rare to invest in the industry to have such an amazing profit, although compared with the financial industry, this profit is not enough.

But the financial market has long been carved up, and bookmakers are everywhere, and you can't enter it if you have money. If you want to be an ordinary investor, isn't it waiting for others to shear sheep?

The so-called market laws in this era are all used by experts to fool people, and the performance in the 21st century can be faked. What's more, what about this era?

"Well, father, you have convinced me, it seems that in the next few years, I will have a hard life! All my savings were put into it all at once! Little Ferdinand said with a grim face

As the richest second generation in the world, is making money his pursuit?

Apparently not! Little Ferdinand was not short of money at all, but the money sent to the door could not be unearned, this is a matter of principle!

Ferdinand rolled his eyes directly, and ignored little Ferdinand's crying behavior, which is typical of being cheap and obedient.

As the crown prince Ferdinand Jr., his savings are much more generous than those of his brothers, and he has also purchased a lot of properties over the years.

How could he be impoverished because of an investment of hundreds of millions of leva?

Even if the capital turnover is difficult, is it not that he can't go to the bank for a loan? How many successful businessmen don't have loans?

By virtue of his status, he could lend this money to any major bank in the world without any collateral, and no one would doubt his ability to repay.

The ultra-high annuity of the Bulgarian royal family is there, and when he succeeds to the throne, are you afraid that he will have no money to pay off his debts?

……