The Geng family's business is grain, oil, food and canned food, and because they have the name of a military supplier, they are a big grain merchant in Manila.

Grain is mainly imported from the Central Kalimantan region of Borneo, while canned seafood and canned fruit come from the city of Moresby, Shangri-La, where the marine fishing industry is well developed, and the canning industry is already quite large.

The Luzon Islands is still short of time, and due to the violent demographic upheaval in recent years, Chinese immigrants have not yet gained a stable foothold, and food production is not yet self-sufficient, and it needs to be imported from outside.

As a matter of fact

The geography and climate of the Luzon Islands are well suited to the production of rice and other food crops, as well as to the development of sugar, tobacco, coffee, cocoa and various tropical fruit industries.

With the arrival of a large number of Chinese immigrants, agricultural production in Manila and surrounding cities such as Quezon has gradually stabilized, and rice, rape, peanuts and other crops have recently achieved a bumper harvest, with an increase of 76% compared with the same period last year, which has greatly alleviated the contradiction between supply and demand in the market.

For a large grain merchant like the Geng family, the new rice mills, oil mills, flour mills and other enterprises in Manila are the royal road to long-term business stability and can get a stable supply.

In the long run

It is possible to extend its business tentacles to the cities of the Luzon Islands to form a chain of grain and oil processing enterprises, which is a large market of millions of people, even if it only occupies a 10% share, it is enough to eat and wear.

Since he got close to Li Gongzi, the construction plan reported by the Geng family was quickly approved, and the next step was to build and purchase machinery and equipment in full swing, and roll up his sleeves to do a great job.

Five days after the arrival of the passenger ship at the port of Manila, the cargo fleet was late.

The Somali company immediately organized its hired workers to start unloading the ship, loading the supplies onto small four-wheeled tractors, and heavy tractors carrying tracked tractors, forming a long convoy with no end in sight, heading towards the Legazpi area.

The 280 kilometres of road are all flat asphalt roads, and the tractors are expected to travel for two days, then take a break to get their equipment overhauled, refuel and refuel, and then return to carry supplies again.

The construction of new towns in the Legazpi area is already in full swing, with nearly 10,000 construction troops fighting on four towns, and more Chinese employees have recently arrived to participate in the construction process.

It is reported

The Somali company has somehow brought in more than 20,000 indigenous laborers to help cut down trees, level sites, build bridges and roads, and greatly speed up the construction process.

Duke Wright and his entourage arrived in the Legazpi area in advance and participated in the planning and design process of the town's construction.

The Duke of Palawan then arrived, but he was at a construction site in another town, and the two sides tacitly agreed not to interfere with each other......

Three months later

Early February 1901

Early in the morning in the town of Dawn in the Dawn town of Lai Jaspiti region, tractors loaded with workers drove out of the town and followed the road to build farmland and water conservancy facilities in the distance.

After more than three months of construction, the town has begun to take shape, a series of facilities such as a tobacco seedling breeding farm, a telegraph office, a savings office, a police station and a department store have been established, and the roads in the town are paved with asphalt, making it appear spacious and tidy.

The gravel road extending from the town extends in all directions, and the land that was originally overgrown with miscellaneous trees and wild grass has been leveled and divided into large pieces of farmland, and the land in the farmland has been turned up deeply, revealing the dark brown nutrient soil below, which will be broken and combed after sun exposure, and the ditches and ridges can be transplanted.

The Somali company has set up an agricultural machinery team, which can pay for the operation of the agricultural machinery team whenever the plantation needs to plough the land on a large scale and harvest crops, which greatly saves manpower expenditure.

The tobacco yard next to Dawntown is enclosed by a long wall, and inside it is a pleasing sight to look at with neat rows of stacks, made of a ring of reinforced concrete, about the height of a curb, and filled with gravel.

The purchased tobacco leaves are dried, bundled into bundles and stacked on the base, covered with a sun- and rain-proof tarpaulin, waiting to be transported.

The cigarette factory is still under construction, and the equipment for making cigarettes has arrived at the port of Manila and will be shipped for installation in the near future, and everything is progressing according to plan.

Duke Wright Li Sihan led a few people all the way over, inspected the built factory, stood on a high mound of earth, overlooking the surrounding construction scene, and his face was full of gratification.

He looked a little darker than he had been three months ago, but he was more energetic, and he turned his head and said with a smile; "Xiaozu, I feel that the field work is more than what I learned from books, and I am more impressed, and I can get a sense of accomplishment from the construction, and now I can't wait to build Leyte Island."

"Your Highness, according to the news from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the planning plan for Leyte Island has been approved, and preliminary work can be carried out in the second half of the year, and the relevant construction funds will be included in the plan for early next year, and you will be able to let go of your hands at the beginning of next year."

"Hehe, I still feel slow, oh...... By the way, how much money was approved for us next year? ”

"This ...... I didn't say anything specifically, but I inquired through insiders that it seems that 1.1 million gold will be approved next year, and the Duke of Palawan and the Duke of Hawaii are about the same, and the Duke of Hawaii seems to have more, because his journey is too far away, and the transportation cost is a lot higher. ”

"1.1 million gold oceans, it doesn't seem to be enough." Li Sihan frowned, broke his fingers and calculated;

"Look, filial ancestor, let's settle an account;

To engage in such a large-scale development, it is necessary to build cement plants, brick factories and thermal power stations, which are all indispensable things, and the sum of these three things will cost at least 400,000 to 450,000 gold oceans, and the savings can be very limited.

In addition, it is necessary to build several timber processing plants, prepare for the construction of tents, living materials, and purchase machinery, at least 2,000 tons of cement and thousands of tons of steel in the initial stage, and recruit manpower......

Oops, that's not a small gap. ”

Li Sihan's calculation is based on the investment of the Somali company, and the construction of a small town has to invest at least 2 million gold oceans, even if the cigarette factory investment is removed, it will also cost more than 1.6 million gold oceans before it can begin to take shape, and a steady stream of investment will be required in the later stage.

Do you know that this is just a small town, and a small town will be built on Leyte Island?

The Spaniards didn't have much to build on Leyte, and the local natives had nothing to do with it, not even two roads, and everything had to start from scratch.

The indigenous population on Bente Island is not large, only more than 200,000, and it is almost clean after a few years of combing, but Chinese immigration has not yet started, and Cebu Island and Palawan Island are almost in a similar situation.

To say that His Majesty is really a qualified father, he will not leave his children with unsolvable national contradictions, and if he wants to stay, he will leave a clean fief.

The entire Luzon archipelago is composed of more than 7,100 islands, divided into three major regions, namely Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, of which Luzon and Mindanao and their affiliated islands occupy 82.4% of the total archipelago area, ranking first and second respectively.

At present, the main purpose of Chinese immigrants is these two, one is Luzon and the other is Mindanao, which are the two largest islands in the Philippine archipelago and are also royal territories directly under the imperial government, and will not be separated.

The fiefdoms of the Dukes of Palawan, the Dukes of Wright and the Dukes of Cebu occupy the remaining 17.6%, with a total area of about 50,000 square kilometers and more than 1,100 islands, most of which are uninhabited desert islands.

Leyte is an eastern island of the Visayas, located east of Cebu and Bohol Islands and southwest of Samar Island. It is 194 kilometers long from northwest to southeast, and only 21 kilometers wide at the narrowest point from east to west, with an area of 7,213 square kilometers.

The mountains run through the whole island, many volcanoes, and the highest peak, Mount Yalto, is 1,349 meters above sea level, which is the commanding height of the whole island.

Leyte Island is a hilly area to the southwest and open plains to the northeast, and the land is fertile, with large areas of farmland and orchards, rich in crops such as rice, corn, coconut, abaca, sugar cane and bananas, and manganese and sulfur ore on the island.

Due to the Empire's clean-up policy, Leyte is now in a stage where agricultural production has stagnated and mineral development is deserted, and there is no output for the time being.

But this is only a short-term difficulty, into next year, the immigration planning department will open to Leyte, Palawan, Cebu Island immigration process, a large number of Chinese immigrants will pour in, it will not be long before the rice waves will roll, melons and fruits are fragrant.

The island is home to three small towns, Tacloban, Maasin and Ormoc, and numerous villages, which are now empty.

With the geographical resources of Leyte Island, it is not difficult to carry a population of 200~3 million, and if it can develop a pillar industry, there is no problem for five or six million people.

Duke Wright was afraid of the lack of money, and Li Xiaozu couldn't follow suit, so he said with relief;

"Your Highness, you can't count the account like that.

If all the investment in construction is borne by oneself, then no amount of money will be enough, and it is necessary to give full play to the power of private capital and mobilize them to participate in the construction.

For example, cement factories and brick factories don't need us to pay for them, we can recruit merchants, and they can pay for the construction and then supply them at a more reasonable price, and the same is true for thermal power plants.

The saved funds are mainly used for the construction of urban public facilities, especially sewers, ditches, culverts, roads and bridges, which is the most important place.

The houses built in the town can be sold to merchants, or the land can be set aside for development by the real estate company.

In fact, the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not have sufficient funds, and tens of millions of dollars are invested in Luzon and Mindanao every year, and it will take at least more than 10 years to achieve fiscal independence.

Just like Shangri-La and Borneo today, it is only that there is no longer a need for large financial subsidies, but large projects such as Petrochemical City still need the support of imperial power, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs is naturally duty-bound.

The construction of several highnesses' territories also requires more than 5 million gold bills a year, and it will continue to be invested for many years, and it is not easy for the internal affairs government to squeeze out this budget, and please forgive your highness. ”

"That's true, all parties need money for construction!" Li Sihan let out a long sigh of relief, turned his face and didn't take this matter to heart.

Compared with several other princes, his economy can be said to be the most generous.

Imperial Concubine Nicole is his sister-in-law, and the two born are princesses, so resources will naturally be tilted towards Li Sihan, and her mother, Princess Fiona, is also quite favored, and her family foundation is still very thick.

Coupled with Li Sihan's natural appeal among the Caucasians, it is not difficult to attract private capital to build Leyte Island, so he just talks about it and doesn't care in his heart.

The large-scale construction of the Legazpi area made him, a young man, enthusiastic, and couldn't wait to try his skills, which was the true portrayal of Li Sihan's heart.

As for the resources for large-scale construction, will there really be a shortage?