Although it was not the first time Xiao Changzhong had seen Lin Zhe, it was the first time he had seen Lin Zhe in Pingren Hall in Nanjing!

Xiao Changzhong, like many high-ranking officials in the Chinese Empire, joined Yu Shengjun's system very early, as early as 1854, when he joined the Yamen of the then commercial zone.

After he first entered the Yamen of the Business Zone, he only worked as a general clerk in the General Affairs Office at first, but was promoted to the assistant of the General Affairs Office, and then to the General Affairs Office, and stayed in this position for more than a year.

In 1856, after Lin Zhe raised his banner and became independent, Lin Zhe no longer personally served as the supervisor of the business district, so Xiao Changzhong, the general office of the general affairs office, became the head of the business and trade zone, and began to hold great power and govern the party.

In the past two years as the head of the business district, he can be regarded as diligent, and of course, the most important thing is that he has always adhered to a series of business district development plans formulated during the Lin Zhe era.

In the past two years, although the business zone has been affected by the war, it has maintained rapid development!

Not only did he further expand the raw silk industry, the fist industry of the business zone, but also vigorously developed other industries during his tenure, striving to create a perfect industrial city.

In addition to guiding private capital to invest in the tertiary industry of various service categories, it is also vigorously guiding market capital to invest in other industries, such as match factories, soap factories, wood factories, distilleries, flour mills, and other industries that are related to the people's livelihood.

At the same time, it has not forgotten to continue to support the heavy industry, of course, the heavy industry in this year is basically synonymous with the national defense industry. Whether it is steel or machinery manufacturing, basically China's heavy industry in these years is for the military.

One of the most typical is the Linde Machine Factory. Although Linde Machinery Factory also has its own side businesses, such as machine repair, parts manufacturing, the chemical industry and even its own hospital.

But these side businesses were all developed by the Linde Machine Factory for military manufacturing. For example, mechanical maintenance is mainly to serve a large number of their own machinery and equipment, and these mechanical equipment are used to make ordnance weapons, and in the chemical industry, most of them are used to make gunpowder, and then paint is also their product, what do they do to produce paint? Paint the guns and artillery!

Even if there are some small quantities of daily necessities, such as matches, soap, etc., most of their products are not supplied to the market. Rather, it is supplied directly to the military.

In the heavy industry, the only one that has a greater connection with the private business is the Linde Machinery Company and the Shanghai Shipyard, although the Shanghai Shipyard has contracted most of the navy's warship manufacturing tasks, but their civilian ship manufacturing has not stopped, since its establishment, has been delivered to the private sector dozens of various types of ships, most of which are inland river steam ships, and some are ocean merchant ships ordered by those large commercial houses.

Linde Maschinen-Machinery, the company was taken by the upper echelons of the empire. In particular, the Empire's naval elite is well known because they are developing a steam engine, and a prototype has been built last year, although the quality is not good. After years of public relations research and development, the most basic technical reserves have been completed, and the official supply to the outside world began in April this year.

Naturally, the bulk of the order came from the military. The military had already ordered dozens of steam engines in advance when Linde Machinery had not yet mass-produced steam engines. And the corresponding advance payment was made for this.

Now, after the successful imitation, although there is a gap between the performance and the imported steam engine. And the price is slightly expensive, but the Navy still does not hesitate to adopt it.

Because this steam engine, like artillery, is related to national security, no matter how difficult it is, it must be supported, and if you want to support, there is nothing more effective than an order.

Thanks to a large number of orders from the military, especially those for dozens of units ordered in advance and supported by advance payment, the steam engine project of Linde Machinery Company did not fail due to lack of funds. Now, after the success, although Linde Machinery Company not only supplied a large number of steam engines to the military, but also actively withdrew the civilian version of the steam engine to the civilian sector, in order to compete with foreign steam engines, especially those in France and Britain, for the domestic market.

In recent years, China has been dominated by the raw silk industry, and then other industries have followed up in a timely manner, and the steam engine has become the standard configuration of various factories, regardless of whether the machinery company or the textile company or even the flour company, the steam engine basically has to be used, so that China's steam engine market has expanded rapidly, and a large number of steam engines are imported from abroad every year.

In order to compete for the market, at the same time, there are certain performance disadvantages of their own products, the only thing that Linde Machinery Company can use is the low-cost bargaining chips, basically the same specification of steam engine, Linde Machinery Company offers at least 20% lower than similar products imported from abroad, and sometimes even 30% lower.

Interestingly, it was not the company's largest shareholder, Imperial Family, that strongly supported Linde Machinery Company's low-price sales to compete for the market, but the company's second shareholder, Xinde Foreign Company.

As a strategic partner of Lin's firm for many years, the company is now naturally a strategic partner of the royal family, and the company's business is not as single as that of Jardine Matheson, and can only rely on opium to fill the shortfall.

The main import and export methods of Shun Tak are to import raw silk, tea and porcelain from China to Britain, France and Germany and other European regions for sale, and then purchase all kinds of industrial products from Europe, including all kinds of machinery, kerosene, and then some industrial materials, such as cotton purchased from India, coal purchased from Britain or Australia for export to China.

For example, when the situation is turbulent, Jardine Matheson cannot purchase enough raw silk, but Xinde can still purchase the required raw silk, and at the same time, the coal and cotton exported by Xinde to China and machinery and equipment are basically all products supported by tariffs, and the tax rate is relatively low.

In addition to import and export trade, the foreign bank is also actively making strategic investments in China. A silk reeling factory was opened, and other firms invested in the Bund Hotel, and invested heavily in the construction of a wharf on the Huangpu River. As a result, the extremely valuable Huangpu River wharf was obtained.

And Linde Machinery Company is also an important asset of the foreign bank in China!

The company has only two shareholders, one being the Treasury of Royal Estate. Fifty-two percent of the shares are owned, and the other shareholder is Shun Tak & Co., who occupies the remaining shares.

Although Linde Machinery Company said that the high-level attention of the Chinese Empire is because of the steam engine, but in fact, their main product is not the steam engine that has just been developed, but all kinds of textile machinery that have been maturely launched into the market, relying on low price and convenience, all kinds of textile machines of Linde Machinery Company have occupied nearly 20% of the domestic market.

Although the expansion of Linde Machinery Company will affect the export of all kinds of machinery to China, the machinery products exported to China by Xinde are not their own, they are just a second-hand dealer. This helps others sell goods to earn a freight, but this Linde Machinery Company they occupy almost ordinary shares, which makes a lot of profit if they sell goods for themselves.

Therefore, in the development of Linde Machinery Company, Xingde Foreign Company actually plays a greater role than the royal industry!

Through the typical heavy industry enterprises such as Linde Machinery Factory, Linde Machinery Company and Shanghai Shipyard, it can be seen that although there are no such large-scale heavy industry enterprises in the business zone in recent years, these existing enterprises are developing rapidly.

After these leading heavy industry enterprises are developed, the benefits brought by them are definitely not the profits or taxes of the factory, because they will also drive a series of upstream and downstream industries.

If these heavy industry enterprises want to produce, they need raw materials. Parts are needed, and it is naturally not cost-effective to produce parts by themselves for a long time, which will allow enterprises to subcontract some unimportant parts, and then drive the development of small and medium-sized machinery companies.

Perhaps these small and medium-sized machine factories are not large. Even there are only a dozen or dozens of employees, but once the number is large, it can form a trend, and then who dares to say that these workshop-style small enterprises can't grow?

At the same time the development of these heavy industry enterprises. It is also a positive effect on other domestic industries.

For example, Linde Machinery Company's various looms and steam engines are low in price, and foreign imported products are in order to keep the market. There is definitely going to be a price reduction, and the price of the equipment is lower. The cost of building a factory is also low, and the reduction of operating costs of enterprises means that they can maintain a stronger market competitiveness.

This industrial development is basically a ring after a ring!

The reason why Lin Zhe is obsessed with the development of light industry is because he wants to indirectly drive the demand for heavy industry products in light industry, and heavy industry develops after the market, and foreign products have fierce competition to force imported products to decrease, and then can further reduce the operating costs of light industry, and then get more profits.

And Xiao Changzhong's governance in the Shanghai Business Zone in the past two years is basically in accordance with the plan formulated by Lin Zhe in his early years!

After seeing Lin Zhe in the office, Xiao Changzhong naturally began to make his own debriefing report respectfully, most of which was about the industrial and commercial development of the business zone.

Lin Zhe rarely spoke, only occasionally asking a few questions!

About half an hour later, Xiao Changzhong stopped, because at this time Lin Zhe spoke.

"Although there are no surprises in the development of the business zone in the past two years, it can be regarded as a steady development, it can be seen that you are also attentive, this time after the establishment of Shanghai alone, the business zone and Shanghai County merged, this place is bigger, this is more difficult to manage, I hope you continue to maintain the current state!"

When Xiao Changzhong heard Lin Zhe's words, he knew that his debriefing had been affirmed by His Majesty, and the position of mayor of Shanghai was finally smoothly settled.

Immediately, he said respectfully: "Weichen will never live up to Your Majesty's high expectations!" ”

Lin Zhe waved his hand, signaling that he could go out!

Xiao Changzhong bowed down and retreated, after leaving Lin Zhe's office, he straightened up and breathed a sigh of relief, this thing hanging in his heart was finally completed, he couldn't wait to rush back to Shanghai immediately to be his mayor of Shanghai, and then make great plans to create a real industrial city for the empire, and create a remarkable political achievement for himself.

The next day, the Cabinet officially announced that Nanjing and Shanghai would become Cabinet Municipalities, with Xiao Changzhong, the former mayor of the Shanghai Business District, serving as the first mayor of Shanghai, and some development plans for the two Cabinet Municipalities were also announced.

In Shanghai's development plan, cotton-related industries, including spinning, weaving, printing and dyeing, have become the focus of the next development of light industry, and heavy industry is also focused on the guidance planning of machinery manufacturing, shipbuilding, chemical industry and other industries. (To be continued......)