"Nope." Zhang Zizhong said.

"If only you could understand." Xia Jun nodded and said with a smile: "There is nothing to pay attention to in the Beiyang political axe, we should focus on the book, in the near future, we will definitely have a war with the book, you have to work hard!" ”

"Yes."

…… After talking to Zhang Zizhong, Xia Jun received a phone call.

It was You Zhengbin who called, only to hear him shouting on the phone: "The chairman is not good, the southern part of Zhejiang is going to be flooded." ”

"It's a big flood! What's going on? Isn't it for the flood control dam to be built below? Xia Jun was shocked, why did he invest so much money in water conservancy and still send a lot of water?

"It's repaired, but it has rained heavily for four days in southern Zhejiang, and the Yanyanxi villages in the tributaries and creeks of the Oujiang River are three feet deep, and if they are not repaired, the water will be even deeper." You Zhengbin said.

"Immediately let the armed police force evacuate the people, and urgently dispatch relief materials to the past." Xia Jun hurriedly ordered.

"My subordinates will do it immediately." You Zhengbin answered and hung up the phone.

…… The heavy rainstorm in southern Zhejiang fell for nearly six days, and because of the previous water conservancy repair, the disaster was greatly alleviated, and it was not until four days later that the water rose.

As soon as the flood occurred, the flood did not spread due to the timely reporting. On July 19, the East China Autonomous Government immediately dispatched armed police forces to evacuate the people, and on July 19, all the people in the affected areas were evacuated, and a large number of property was rescued.

The flood began to spread after the crowd shifted, and the nearby 5th Production Corps arrived and launched a flood relief operation with the local armed police.

The torrential rain finally stopped after six days. This flood is commonly known as "Renzi Year Water" in southern Zhejiang.

Because the dam was repaired ahead of schedule, the impact was not large, and the economic damage was small due to the disaster relief. After this flood, Xia Jun once again allocated 10 million yuan from the treasury to the Ministry of Water Resources to strengthen the flood control project.

…… By August, the trade balance between China and the United States had widened again, and the trade balance had risen to $35 million.

The U.S. political axe began to realize that the zero-tariff policy with the three East China Autonomous Provinces was wrong, but they still blamed the toll collected by the three East China Autonomous Provinces.

The U.S. government believes that the fundamental purpose of the zero-tariff policy with the three East China autonomous provinces is to reach the entire Chinese market, and as soon as the East China Autonomous Government collects tolls, it restricts the United States to the three East China autonomous provinces.

For this reason, the U.S. Embassy in Hangzhou lodged a protest with the East China Autonomous Government, demanding that the three East China Autonomous Provinces stop collecting tolls, otherwise the zero-tariff policy will be unsustainable.

In response to the Yankees' protests, Xia Jun solicited many opinions.

Internally, it is believed that the lifting of tolls will allow American goods to enter the Chinese provinces, but as long as they persist for a while, the profits of the three autonomous provinces in East China will be greater.

Manufacturers also believe that they can afford to stop collecting tolls, and the U.S. market has become an important market for these manufacturers at this time.

As long as a period of time, some industries in the three autonomous provinces of East China will enter a period of outbreak, such as the textile industry, as long as the cotton harvest in the autumn harvest comes up, the textile industry can beat the textile industry of any country at a competitive price, the United States and the three provinces of East China Autonomous Region implement a zero-tariff policy for each other, and then China's textile goods can drive straight in.

In addition to cotton, Xia Jun's aquaculture industry is also expanding rapidly, which can continue to impact the United States.

So Xia Jun informed the United States that he was willing to cancel the levy of tolls.

A policy that is difficult to maintain, because Xia Jun's concession can be maintained for the time being. The U.S. political axe has achieved its goal, and it is somewhat complacent.

Although there is a trade balance between them and the three provinces of East China, if the huge Chinese market is opened, the trade balance between the United States and the East China Autonomous Government will be reversed.

This idea is very naïve, and the US political axe is destined to make a loss-making business.

…… Mobil is the big winner in this zero-tariff policy, and their kerosene is sold well in the three provinces of East China, and when the three provinces of East China cancel tolls, Mobil's profits began to soar.

Mobil's kerosene itself occupies a major market in China, and at this time, the tariffs are gone, and profits will naturally go up.

However, the East China Petroleum Company began selling large quantities of kerosene in mid-August, as well as gasoline and diesel, as well as various plastics and asphalt.

The price of kerosene sold by East China Petroleum Company is 30% lower than that of kerosene sold by Mobil Company, and at the same time, because it is a national capital, it quickly occupies the market in the three provinces of East China.

The market share of the three provinces of East China is not too large, at least not as big as before, and many places in the three provinces of East China are lit with electric lights, and kerosene is not used at all. The main market for kerosene is in other provinces of China, as well as in other countries where oil is not produced and there are no electric lights.

Mobil reacted quickly to the sudden appearance of competitors and also lowered oil prices by 30%, competing with East China Petroleum Company on an equal footing.

At such a price, Mobil is already out of profit.

However, Huadong Petroleum Company's profits are very high, because they exploit the world's largest oil field, and the extraction cost is very low.

And it is also very low in terms of transportation costs, because it is a light oil. In addition, because it is a light oil, the refining cost is lower.

Moreover, the oil is extracted in Rashid Arabia, and there is no export tax to be paid when the oil is shipped out, while Mobil oil is subject to export tax when it is shipped out of the United States.

At the same price, the kerosene sold by the East China Petroleum Company still has a profit of about 30%, and at the same time, the East China Petroleum Company has obtained a large number of by-products because of oil refining, which immediately led to the birth of various products.

Audio tapes, laundry detergent, soap, toothpaste, plastics, asphalt and other products appeared in large quantities, making the East China Petroleum Company very profitable.

East China Petroleum began selling kerosene to other countries, and soon began an all-out battle with Mobil.

The Baku Kerosene Plant Owners Alliance has also been hit by the international market, and in order to preserve their respective markets, both Mobil Corporation and the Baku Kerosene Plant Owners Alliance are cutting prices.

The competition between the three parties is not high for the time being, but the competitive advantage of the East China Petroleum Company is fully evident, and it is still profitable in the price competition, while the Mobil Company and the Baku kerosene plant owners alliance are losing money in kerosene.

…… This year, nearly 500 students have been recruited to the school, and 500 junior officers have also been selected from the army to enter the school for further study.

The training of the third batch of cadets also began, for which Xia Jun began to frequently go in and out of East China Military University, and went to lecture to students every once in a while.

In August, Xia Jun finally had points in his hands, and the number 1 reached 300 million points, which was not enough for him to overdraw more than 10 million.

This was mainly due to the imitation of the T34 tank, but it is clear that the current tank factories are not able to create the T34 because the engine technology is not yet up to the mark.

However, many of the designs on the T34 tank were absorbed by tank factories.

After getting these points, Xia Jun did not continue to squander, but continued to accumulate points, and he has determined the technology to buy next, that is, engine technology.

If you want to build better tanks, planes, and warships, you need advanced engine technology.

…… The Yangtze River patrol envoy, or the governor of the Yangtze River, was sitting by Xia Jun at this time, and Xia Jun had formed the water police of the five provinces of the Yangtze River since two months ago.

The five provinces of the Yangtze River, namely Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan, are the most densely populated areas of Chinese and the largest markets in China.

As soon as the Yangtze River Maritime Police formed by the East China Autonomous Political Axe took office, they took action to crack down on the Yangtze River water bandits, and at the same time, two 800-ton destroyers in Mawei were officially launched and immediately dispatched to the Yangtze River to carry out tasks. The two destroyers were named 'Zhendong Class 1 Destroyers', and the two destroyers were numbered 01 and 02.

There are also eight Zhendong-1 destroyers under construction at the Mawei shipyard, while an 8,000-ton cruiser is being built.

The presence of the East China Navy on the Yangtze River waterway brought great deterrence to other provinces.

The three autonomous provinces with heavy troops, plus the position of the governor of the Yangtze River, temporarily surpassed the four provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, and Hubei.

Xia Jun not only sent warships to the waterway of the Yangtze River, but also sent the Reading Force Regiment to these provinces to suppress bandits.

Now even if the East China Autonomous Political Axe is a fart, it can deter these four provinces.

Needless to say, Jiangsu and Anhui are the territories of the revolutionaries, and Cheng Quande of Jiangsu is the most obedient. Li Yuanhong in Hubei and Tan Yanmin in Hunan did not dare to provoke the political axe of East China's autonomy.

The control of the water police of the five provinces has allowed the goods of the three autonomous provinces of East China to smoothly enter the Yangtze River waterway, and the East China Offshore Transportation Company has gained a competitive advantage over Swire and Jardine Matheson in the fierce competition for several months.

Although the East China Offshore Transportation Company was not profitable due to the price cut, after the sales of goods in the Yangtze River basin in the three East China Autonomous Provinces expanded, the industrialists in the three East China Autonomous Provinces supported the East China Offshore Transportation Company to export goods to the Yangtze River basin at a transportation price that did not cut prices.

Swire & Co. and Jardine Matheson & Co., on the other hand, are selling less and less foreign goods in the Yangtze River Basin, and most of the goods they carry are goods from the three provinces of East China.

At the same time, because of the support of industrialists in the three autonomous provinces of East China, the East China Offshore Transportation Company was still able to support the price reduction competition, so the price reduction was reduced to five jiao per ton.

Those commodities in the three provinces of East China Autonomous Province that have not achieved obvious competitive advantages are specially transported by Swire & Co. and Jardine Matheson, and the transportation cost per ton of five jiao has caused them to lose a lot.

Swire & Co. and Jardine Matheson couldn't hold on and wanted to sign an agreement with the East China Offshore Transportation Company to restore normal shipping rates.

However, the East China Offshore Transportation Company rejected the proposal and instead proposed acquisition conditions to Swire and Jardine Matheson.

Swire & Co. and Jardine Matheson realized that the Chinese wanted to kill their shipping industry and then annex them.

This caused a revolt from Swire & Co., but their resistance was pale, and the East China Offshore Company was not afraid of price cuts at all, but they were afraid of price cuts.

It's just that the East China Offshore Transportation Company has not made a profit for a long time, which made Xia Jun pay attention and call to ask Zheng Guanying what happened.

Zheng Guanying replied: "Chairman of the committee, rest assured, Swire & Co. and Jardine Matheson & Co. will not last long, and we will be able to annex them in three months at most." ”

"In addition, as long as we annex Swire & Co. and Yihe & Co., then our East China Offshore Transportation Company will dominate the Yangtze River waterway, and then we can treat the goods we transport at different prices. For example, if foreigners want to transport cotton cloth, we charge them 10 yuan per ton for freight, and our own cotton cloth charges 2 yuan for freight. The foreigners have no ships but can only appoint them, and when they are transferred to the ships, we can continue to reduce the price and squeeze them out. Zheng Guanying said excitedly to Xia Jun.

"Okay, Elder Zheng, you have full authority to make up your mind." Xia Jun listened to Zheng Guanying's plan and felt relieved, it doesn't matter whether the East China Offshore Transportation Company makes money or not, if it can use shipping to squeeze out foreign goods, it is the best thing, and it is much more important than the profit of the East China Offshore Company.

Keeping the local market is one of Xia Jun's economic strategies.

…… Since the Central Bank of East China issued the 100 million yuan banknotes, it is surprising that it has not caused inflation, because the supply of goods in the market is abundant.

In addition, because of the trade balance with the United States, the Bank of East China has exchanged 30 million US dollars of silver from the Bank of America through foreign exchange, and has earned nearly 100 million yuan of silver from the profits of the international market.

Silver in this era was exchangeable, and although it is said that the silver had already been issued in revival coins, the bank reserves were relatively sufficient, and the imports did not exceed the exports, so there was no outflow of silver.

In terms of farm products, this year's output is very large, so no one buys farm products, and the price of farm products does not rise, which means that the prices of other commodities will not rise.

In this way, Xia Jun is much more relieved.

The crops of the second season have already been sown, and Xia Jun is now waiting for the big harvest of the autumn harvest.

This year, the planting area of cotton has reached 18.5 million mu, of which 10 million mu is in Jiangsu, and the other 8.5 million mu is in the three autonomous provinces of East China.

In addition, this year's soybean production is relatively high, 10 million mu has produced about 1.8 million tons of soybeans, many of these soybeans have been sent to oil extraction, and the second season of soybeans has also been sown (I wrote it wrong before, soybeans are autumn crops in the Jiangnan region, which can be double-cropped, and Yunnan, Guangdong and other regions can be multi-cropped).

After the soybean cake and corn tortillas are in place, the breeding industry began to expand rapidly, the development of chickens and pigs is the fastest, and the chickens only need to take the eggs to cultivate it, and in terms of pig raising, a sow can give birth to more than a dozen piglets, and the reproductive ability is also very strong, and the production of canned pork and chicken has increased significantly.

At this time, the agricultural output value of the three provinces of East China Autonomous Region became very high, and in terms of the living standards of the peasants, it had already caught up with and surpassed the original level.

In addition to working in the fields during the busy farming period, the peasants also had to go to the city to work during the slack time, but their income was still very tight all year round.

The three provinces in eastern China are different, and as soon as the summer harvest arrives, the peasants' lives have been initially improved, and they have some surplus money in their hands, so at least it is not a problem to have enough to eat.

If the three provinces of East China learn from the current system of exploitation, then the finances will be very rich, especially after the investment in education and health care is cut.

In terms of industry, the industrial output value of the three provinces of East China Autonomous Region can be said to have risen rapidly, and light and heavy industries have developed.

This is also the main reason why Xia Jun's issuance of banknotes did not cause inflation, but Xia Jun, who had just issued 100 million yuan in banknotes, did not dare to issue more banknotes, but sent out as much banknotes as he received from outside.

At this time, the Bank of East China was located in large and medium-sized cities in various provinces of China, while the five neighboring provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Guangdong, Hubei, and Hunan could see branches of the Bank of China in small counties.

It was natural for the Bank of East China to open in all parts of these five provinces and issue banknotes.

However, the issuance of paper money by the Bank of East China everywhere has also repeatedly delayed the plan of gold and silver nationalization, and it is clear that there is no such time now.

Once the gold and silver were nationalized, the Renaissance Coin could no longer be circulated in other provinces, so the silver standard was now the only way to do so.

The silver standard is also not bad, because Xia Jun now retains the advantage of exports, and silver will not flow out, but silver will flow into China.

If you earn pounds, you will choose to exchange them for gold. The financial system adopted by the United Kingdom is on the gold standard, and the pound sterling can be exchanged for gold.

Because of the use of the silver standard, Xia Jun is very afraid of inflation, once inflation, then the money is worthless, but because the exchange rate is fixed and overvalued, then it will cause a large number of imports, and then lead to a large outflow of silver.

It is said that the political axe has faced such a problem before, because the large number of paper money issued in the past has led to a large outflow of silver.

Now the Chancellor of the Exchequer is collecting paper money and spending more than $7 million a year to buy gold. As a result, there is a monetary tightening in the current capital, and a large number of workers and peasants have gone bankrupt as a result. In order to achieve the goal of stabilizing the value of the currency, they insisted on it very much and ignored all these bankruptcies.

If you look at the newspapers of this era, you will find that their cabinet is in great conflict with the army and navy, and the cabinet wants to continue to stabilize the economy, but the army wants to expand its army and the navy wants to build warships, and there is a lot of trouble.

It is said that Ben is strong on the surface, but it is very fragile on the inside.

Therefore, Xia Jun is not afraid of a conflict with Yueben at this time, if they dare to fight, then let them suffer defeat, which will further deteriorate Yueben's finances.

Of course, Xia Jun's current financial embarrassment is also a big problem, because he collects too little tax.

However, the profitability of the East China Group has greatly alleviated this problem, and after more than two quarters of development, the East China Group has not only met its internal needs, but also exported a large number of products abroad, earning the financial needs of the East China Autonomous Government.

At present, the East China Group is still expanding rapidly, especially after getting those loans, and the heavy industries such as shipbuilding and steel are expanding most rapidly.

Wang Chengyi not only bought a dock from Germany, but also ordered a 20,000-ton dock in the United States, and the Mawei Shipyard also built a 2,000-ton floating dock by itself.

Mawei Shipyard was able to build its own dock, which surprised Xia Jun, for which Wang Chengyi was greatly rewarded, and then continued to allocate 20 million yuan to let Mawei Shipyard continue to build a dock independently.

As for the problem of East China Group buying docks everywhere, all countries are not too optimistic.

They were skeptical that the Mawei shipyard would go out of business because of the huge losses, after all, they had been a little too generous when they bought the dockyard.

Some shipyards are even super-value purchases, not to mention, are there shipbuilders in China?

(To be continued)