"Your Majesty the Emperor, there seem to be some problems in the economy of the world at present, or there are some problems in general!"

Outside Nanjing, Fort Maria, inside the conference room. Engels, the general manager of the royal consortium, said to Zhu Jishi, but his bearded face was extremely calm, and there was no anxiety about the impending disaster.

"Is there an economic crisis? What is causing it? Will it affect Daming? Zhu Jishi's brow has been furrowed, because the joy brought by the 1.20 incident and the first successful holding of undemocratic parliamentary elections in the Ming Dynasty has been wiped out by Mathilde's letter. Although the Mexican empress was never Emperor Zhu's marionette, she was able to become an empress more thanks to the support of Napoleon III than to the support of Emperor Zhu. However, Zhu Jishi did not expect that Empress Mathilde had lost faith in dividing the United States, and seemed to believe that the conflict between the North and the South in the United States would be bridged.

In fact, in the past two years, with the substitution of Chinese labor for American black slaves. It is true that the differences between the North and the South of the United States over the issue of slavery are not very severe, and although the two sides are still arguing over how to solve the problem of the livelihood of black slaves, this is not a justified reason for war -- if slavery in the South of the United States can be charged with war without their food after giving them freedom, then what can the factory owners in the North say about the dismissal of workers? Moreover, the southern slave states of the United States still came up with a solution, buying 4 million acres of land on the border between Texas and Mexico to temporarily house black people who could not be black slaves...... Now that they are free and have a small plot of land to grow a little food so they don't starve, what more could they ask for?

And Mathilde wanted to get his hands on the five Central American countries. The reason for the establishment of the United Kingdom of Central America is another one that Zhu Jishi can hardly refuse—the Duke of Bonapart is also his species! Now the mother wants to find a throne for her son. Emperor Zhu is embarrassed to refuse?

Before he could figure out how to write a reply to Mathilde. News of the economic downturn is coming from all sides.

"Your Majesty, the origin of this economic crisis was the bankruptcy of the railroad companies in the United States, and the same situation has happened in England. Since the advent of railroads, there has been a speculative frenzy in the British and the bursting of the bubble that followed...... A large number of railway companies are simply unable to use the ticket revenues to pay off their debts and provide satisfactory returns to investors. Now, the same situation is happening again in the United States. Railroad investment in the United States has been at a high point since 1848, with more than 12,000 miles of railroad built in less than 10 years. That's about as many railways as the rest of the world combined. And the investment in these railways came from the British ......"

"Mr. Engels. You mean the British paid to help the Americans build the railroad? "The question was asked by Zuo Zongtang, the left minister of the cabinet.

In the past, the Cabinet and the General Association for the Promotion of Industry have always been well water and river water -- the Ming Cabinet seemed to be a small government, and the government-run enterprises and economic regulation and control did not belong to the cabinet. The Industrial Promotion Association is a bit like the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the National Development and Reform Commission of the socialist countries in later generations, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the economic cabinet.

After the Jiangnan Shizi turmoil and the general elections of the three provinces and two provinces, Zuo Zongtang and the cabinet were obviously more concerned about the economy and took the initiative to ask to participate in the affairs of the Industrial Promotion Association. As a result, the prime minister and cabinet ministers of the Cabinet can now attend the meetings of the Industrial Promotion Association.

Engels explained: "Yes, the main source of investment in American railroads is from the United Kingdom, so now the crisis caused by the inability of the American railroads to repay their debts has begun to affect the United Kingdom. ”

Zhu Jishi shook his head again and again when he heard this, and anyone with a discerning eye knew it. The United States is one of the potential threats to Britain's world hegemony! And most likely the biggest threat! The British capitalists, however, have extracted a large amount of their hard-earned money from their own working people. Take it to help the Americans build railroads...... In the end, he made a loss-making business, and the crisis spread to the United Kingdom and Europe. Moreover, it looks like it will soon spread to Daming.

"Why would they do it? What are the benefits? ”

Zhu Jishi muttered. He is annoyed enough now, he didn't expect another economic crisis, I really don't know when this crisis will be a head?

Engels thought for a moment and said, "What's the benefit...... It's the relatively low tariffs that the United States has adopted in recent years, right? Most of the steel used to build railroads in the United States was produced in the United Kingdom, and British industrial products were also extremely popular in the United States. However, in terms of financial flows between Britain and the United States, the situation should be that Britain shipped industrial goods to the United States in exchange for American cotton, tobacco, wheat and ...... Bond. ”

"Now these bonds ......," Luo Zenan interjected.

"It's going to be useless paper!" Engels touched his beard and smiled bitterly, "The British are going to lose their old money now." ”

Emperor Zhu laughed: "The British exchanged the industrial products produced by their own resources and labor for a bunch of waste paper produced in the United States? ”

"I think so!" Engels smiled bitterly, "The British have done something stupid, and we will be unlucky together." ”

"Stupid, stupid! But...... Why are Americans always lucky? ”

Zhu Jishi thought of similar things that happened in later generations, it seems that American paper is particularly valuable, that is, it can be used to exchange resources and commodities of other countries, this country is really a chosen country!

Of course, Engels didn't know what Zhu Jishi was thinking, and he said with a solemn face: "Your Majesty, I think we should be prepared for the worst, and the crisis is likely to affect us...... Demand for raw rubber, silk, tea and palm oil in Britain is likely to dwindle, and low-cost industrial goods will pour in from Europe. However, it could also be a rare opportunity for development......"

Zhu Jishi's eyes lit up: "Opportunity...... That's right! We also learn from the Americans, issue more bonds to buy European machines, technology, and introduce their talents! ”

Economic crisis! Nothing can be sold, all kinds of talents are not popular, and cash is king at this time. Whoever has real money to invest is the boss! It's easy to say that the price is everything, and the technology export restrictions are definitely the lowest. Didn't the Soviet Union take advantage of the Great Depression that began in 1929 to make an industrial turnaround?

Zuo Zongtang frowned and said: "The question now is how big the impact of the slump in silk, raw rubber, tea and palm oil may have on our economy...... After all, we can't just rely on debt to build, right? ”

Raw rubber, silk, palm oil, tea and Coptis chinensis are currently the five most important export products of Daming. In addition to the fact that Coptis chinensis is the raw material for refining berberine, the only antibiotic drug, the demand and price have been very strong, and there should be no impact. The remaining four export commodities will have to suffer certain losses.

Zheng Hong, president of the Industry Promotion Association, has not spoken since the beginning of the meeting, and suddenly interjected: "How long can the economic crisis last?" It's not a problem, it's just that in recent years, the royal consortium has made a lot of money on raw rubber and palm oil, and there are many people in the world who want to follow suit! ”

Planting trees is not a university question, and the species of rubber trees and palm trees are not unique to the Ming Dynasty, one of them is native to South America and the other is native to Africa. Emperor Zhu's rubber company was only one step ahead, and it only made a lot of money for a few years, and it also drove Lanfang's plantation economy. But after seeing that the Chinese are making a lot of money on rubber and palm oil, can there be fewer people who follow the trend and invest internationally?

After being reminded by Zheng Hong, Zhu Jishi, an "old business", smiled slightly, he had actually planned it a long time ago. He looked at Engels, "Friedrich, we should start a price war on raw rubber and palm oil, and at the same time be ready to buy rubber plantations and palm plantations at low prices."

In addition, the rubber companies should be increased and reorganized to form a joint rubber company, and in the long run, rubber and palm oil can flourish for many years. The focus of this investment is ...... Right in the Straits Settlements and Lanyin. Chinese who set up rubber plantations in the Straits Settlements, Lanyin, Lanfang and other places can be allowed to convert rubber plantations and palm plantations into shares. At the same time, it is also possible to study the establishment of large rubber plantations and palm plantations with armed guards in the Straits Settlements and Lanyin! (To be continued......)