The economy of the Xia Empire quickly got on the right track. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

However, the promulgation of the Xia Empire's "Navigation Law" and the establishment of free trade zones made the economies of Europe and the United States more difficult, especially a fatal blow to their developed navigation industry.

Tea can not be drunk, sugar and coffee can not be drunk, spices can not be drunk, but food can not be eaten, in the era of world turmoil, especially in the era of low agricultural production technology, it is impossible to produce a large amount of grain in a short time, European countries must import a large amount of grain from the Xia Empire, and now only the Xia Empire can provide such a large amount of grain.

In 1910, heavy rains in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the Chinese Empire reduced grain production or failed to harvest, and Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangsu and other provinces became the hardest hit areas. In the second half of the year, heavy rains also continued in the northeast, and grain production was reduced or the harvest failed.

Japan is also plagued by rain.

The government's poor response to the disaster has led to several incidents of looting by hungry people across the country.

In addition, due to the high grain prices of the Xia Empire, the grain prices of the Chinese Empire and Japan were on par with the grain prices of the Xia Empire, which made the lives of the people in the disaster-stricken areas of the Chinese Empire and Japan even more difficult.

The victims of the Chinese Empire are better to say, as long as they want, they can immigrate to the Xia Empire at any time to solve the problem of food and clothing, and avoid worries.

The citizens of Japan did not have such a good opportunity, due to the decrease in the wars of the Xia Empire, that is, the scale of mercenary recruitment was decreasing, and immigrating to the Xia Empire became their dream, and the annual immigration quota was very small.

At the end of August, the Xia Empire's grain prices were rapidly reduced by half, causing many merchants who hoarded grain to suffer heavy losses, but the Chinese Empire and the Japanese government supported this and resolutely supported the Xia Empire's suppression of grain prices.

Although the "Navigation Law" issued by the Xia Empire gave some support to the seafaring merchants of the Chinese Empire and Japan, it also limited them to the coastal areas of their own country and could only carry out their own trade activities.

It was a relaxation for Japan, but it was a fatal blow to the shipping companies of the Chinese Empire; The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Empire protested to the Xia Empire, but was directly ignored by the Xia Empire's ambassador Wu Wenbin, and it was already the mercy of the Xia Empire to be able to sell them grain at a low price.

Forced to be helpless, many shipping company personnel of the Chinese Empire joined the nationality of the Xia Empire, and the merchant ships were also registered as the merchant ships of the Xia Empire, so as to bypass the control of the "Navigation Law"; More merchants of the Chinese Empire, in order to expand foreign trade, also chose to join the nationality of the Xia Empire, and the Xia Empire welcomed these people and did not refuse to come.

The arrival of these merchants not only increased the tax revenue of the Xia Empire, but also greatly increased the circulation of the Xia Empire's currency in the Chinese Empire with their help.

For the Jews of the Jewish District, the Xia Empire's Navigation Law was a fatal blow to them, and through the coordination of many parties, especially the efforts of Earl James, the Xia Empire finally agreed to grant them 1 million tonnage cargo ships a year to issue free navigation permits, although more than half of the quota was obtained by the system merchants secretly sent by Zhang Wei.

And this made James's influence among the Jews greatly increased.

It was not so easy for the European and American countries, who did not have a quota for immigrating to the Xia Empire, after which their merchant ships could entertain themselves in the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic.

What is even more unacceptable to them is that the Xia Empire has set up a free trade zone, implemented a monopoly on export materials, and strictly controlled the price and quantity, and the price of goods in the free trade zone not only did not decrease with the reduction of domestic prices in the Xia Empire, but also continued to rise due to the decrease in the number of foreign sales and the competition between countries.

For balance, the port of Berbera in the North African Special Administrative Region, Chittagong in the Qin State, and Maputo in the East African Special Administrative Region were set up as free trade zones.

Berbera and Jeddah cater mainly to European trade, and the port of Maputo caters to trade with the colonies of East Africa and South Africa.

The Construction Bank, the Agricultural and Industrial Bank of China, and the Bank of Asia of the Xia Empire quickly set up branches in several free trade zones to provide supporting services for trade.

The Imperial Ministry of Commerce and other departments had set up joint agencies at the level of vice-ministers in several free zones, through which all foreign trade had to be handled, and it was gratifying to see a significant increase in efficiency.

However, the Xia Empire's subsequent actions made countries even more angry, and the Xia Empire raised the import prices of many materials, especially agricultural products, making the international prices of materials continue to rise, and their economy was hit again.

In the free trade zone, the price of grain is 4.5 times that of the same period last year, the price of cotton is 4 times that of the same period last year, the price of coffee and cane sugar is 6 times that of the same period last year, and the price of spices and tea is even more ridiculously high; Even the prices of copper ingots, steel, zinc ingots, etc. have more than doubled compared with the same period last year; Even so, there are many times when there is no market for prices and is in a state of shortage.

Countries with colonies can exploit the natives of the colonies frantically, while the citizens of countries without colonies are living in increasingly difficult conditions; This not only led to the instability of the colonies, but also to the deterioration of the internal contradictions in Europe and the United States, especially the serfs and workers of the Russian Empire, who staged a series of revolts.

The ambassadors of various countries in Shangjing soon discovered that the prices of international agricultural products were more than double the domestic prices of the Xia Empire, and it seemed that the high international prices were completely the result of the manipulation of the Xia Empire.

The news was reported to Zhang Wei, and Zhang Wei's instructions to Hua Guoqiang were to treat them differently, divide and disintegrate, win over a group, and suppress a group; The Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary and the German Empire implemented a quota system, and the export within the quota range refers to the domestic price, and the price of materials outside the quota range is subject to the price of the free trade zone; To the German merchant ships, referring to the policy towards the Jews, a certain number of free navigation passes were signed.

In accordance with Zhang Wei's instructions, Hua Guoqiang negotiated with the ambassadors of European and American countries in Shangjing, so that Germany's interests were not harmed, and because of the reduction of domestic prices in the Xia Empire, Germany was able to trade at a lower price than before August, which the Kaiser was very satisfied with.

The Ottoman Empire itself had a lot of quotas, and now he not only did not suffer losses, but could make a fortune by changing hands trade.

The joint protests of the countries were dismantled, and the relations between Britain, France and Russia became closer; The interests of small European countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain were completely ignored; This has made the contradictions and conflicts between European countries more intense.

In particular, the Ottoman Empire greatly improved its economy with the support of the Xia Empire, and people's livelihood improved; The army was reorganized on a large scale with the help of the Xia Empire, and its combat effectiveness improved rapidly; and due to the relevant policies of the Xia Empire, the mercenaries they formed alone reached more than 400,000; A number of factors have exacerbated the situation in the Balkans and intensified the conflict in North Africa, where Egypt and other regions were still nominally Ottoman territory.

At the same time that the economy of the Xia Empire is improving, the navy of the Xia Empire is facing a great test, to strictly implement the "Navigation Law", the existing warships can not meet at all, not only the offensive is weak, but also self-protection is a problem, Deputy Chief of General Staff Li Zhaoshui goes to the palace almost twice a day, and he is unable to sleep without getting a greater number of new battleships.