The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 379: Qi’s “Price Scythe”

September 1736, 9, Guangxin (now Bunbury, Australia).

Starting from the Persian War, wars against Afghans, Marathas, Indians, English, Russians, and Annamites, the destruction of Aceh, the seizure of Sicily during the Polish succession crisis, the French-Chinese conflict in the Mediterranean, the murder of Saint-Domingue, the invasion of the Kingdom of Merina, and the seizure of the French Bourbon Island, this series of astonishing events occurred one after another in just over a decade, which overwhelmed the people of Qi and kept them in a state of excitement and excitement, and greatly diverted their attention from the monotonous life at home.

It's like a thrilling stage play, full of bravery and daring, as well as endless passion, with almost no moment of calm.

One victory after another and the acquisition of new colonial territories not only greatly satisfied the pride of the people of Qi, but also further enhanced the self-confidence of the empire.

Excessive self-confidence may lead to extreme expansion or unrealistic fanaticism.

We, the Great Qi, can control the world, establish an effective order for the world, and become the final arbiter.

In Southeast Asia, after the three governorates of Xuanhua, Kaihua and Guangning were successively established as provinces to complete local management, the localization of overseas territories such as Weiyuan, Jingping (now Sulawesi Island), Jinzhou (now Sumatra Island), Malay Peninsula, Luzon, and Annan was also included in the cabinet's agenda. It is believed that after careful investigation and sorting, it will be completed soon, so that the empire will completely bring this vast territory under its rule.

In Yinzhou (i.e. North America), as several railways began to advance from the west coast into the inland hinterland, Qi's colonization pace was no longer restricted by certain countries. Instead, it boldly crossed the Eastern Kunlun Mountains (now the Rocky Mountains) and extended its tentacles to the Missouri River basin.

In Egypt, the people of Qi were no longer satisfied with this territory that controlled the Red Sea, the key point of the Mediterranean Sea, and began to frequently organize expeditions, heading south along the Nile River to explore the ultimate source of the river.

In Qianzhou, the gold mines of Xingshan and the diamonds of Leling did not seem to restrain the Qi people from continuing to colonize. Some free and unrestrained adventurers began to explore north of the Chan River (the Limpopo River between today's South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana) and the Xinglong River (the Zambezi River in today's Mozambique). Many tribal chiefs lost their lands one by one under the threat of force and verbal deception, and a large amount of wealth passed down from generation to generation was taken away with a simple fingerprint or signature.

While the rulers of Chenzhou continued to fight against the local indigenous people, they also continued to expand the empire's control area into the inland hinterland.

In the remote Qiongzhou Islands (now the Bahamas), St. Domingo Island, and Xiazhou Territory (formerly British Belize), the Qi people emerged from nothing, and their population was slowly increasing over time.

As long as you spread out the map or turn the globe and look at the numerous overseas colonial territories, every Qi citizen will proudly declare: Our Great Qi is the world's well-deserved "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets"!
This enthusiasm gave rise to many ostentatious scenes: officers of the Imperial Cavalry Guards walked arrogantly into the royal city or tribal camp of the principality in full military uniforms, and in the name of the emperor of the empire, asked them to give up all the power they had and swear allegiance to the Great Qi.

At the dedicated dock of Guangxin Iron and Steel Plant, Helminty Drens, manager of the East India Company's trading station in Guizhou, saw teams of neat and mighty soldiers boarding the transport ships in an orderly manner. Their faces were full of immense confidence and pride, as they prepared to go to Hailing Island for a new round of territorial expansion.

Some people say that the expansion policy of the empire was not intentional by the cabinet government, because they paid more attention to the development of the domestic economy and people's livelihood.

As the level of industrialization continues to deepen, various social problems are becoming more and more acute, greatly involving the government's energy.

Faced with the fanatical "imperialist" thought, the Qi cabinet government seemed to be an extremely skilled controller, carefully steering the boat going down the rapids, constantly holding the long pole with both hands to avoid a violent collision of the boat.

However, the gap between technologically advanced countries, typified by Qi, and the world's pre-industrial (or barbaric) societies was so great that once the boundary between the two was broken, conquest became inevitable.

Many Qi people were also working tirelessly to promote the expansion of the empire.

Merchants looked for new markets, industrialists looked for new and cheaper raw materials, financiers looked for new investments, strategists argued over control of key locations, officers coveted military glory, and soldiers looked forward to battlefield spoils. The Chamber of Commerce in Guizhou and Daxing, the Sugar Industry Association, the patriotic newspapers, and the countless Qi public behind them had now become greedy "imperialists", and the entire country seemed a little restless.

"Your company has arbitrarily raised the price of steel bars and rail cast iron by 15 percent. Does that mean you are certain that war will break out in the short term?" Derens put the quotation sheet in his hand back on the table with some dissatisfaction, then looked up and glared at Zhu Yuanyan, the person in charge of market sales at Guangxin Iron and Steel Plant.

Guangdong Railway is the largest steel plant in Southwest China, with an annual output of more than 350,000 tons. In addition to meeting the market demand in Southwest China, it also mainly supplies Qianzhou, Hailing and parts of the European market.

Yi Yang (now the city of Collie, Australia), more than 40 kilometers east of Guangxin, has the largest coal mine in the southwest region. The western Ximo Province has the richest iron ore in the country and even in the world. With the booming development of Qi's steel industry, Guangxin Iron and Steel Plant came into being and soon developed into one of the few local steel plants with an output of more than 300,000 tons, making outstanding contributions to the railway transportation and urban infrastructure in the southwest region.

With the expansion of railways from Hanzhou to surrounding overseas territories and all over the world, the weak situation of steel production that was once caused by insufficient market demand suddenly changed. Cast iron rails were just taken out of the furnace and had not yet completely cooled down when they were transported to ports or train stations by heavy horse-drawn carriages, and then sent to one railway construction site after another waiting to be laid.

The tracks of some railway lines are themselves like the bonds of the empire. The large-scale Yinzhou Pacific Coast Railway winds along the coast through mountain valleys and towering iron bridges; the Suez Railway double track under construction will connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean more closely; Qianzhou's gold transportation line passes through mountains and deserts, and quickly travels from the gold mine to Changning Port.

Under the planning of engineers, the larger Indian railway network is being constructed day and night, extending from the seaside strongholds controlled by the Qi people to the inland hinterland, like blood vessels inserted into the bodies of the Indians, accelerating the infusion of fresh blood into the increasingly large body of the empire.

During this period, railway workers were working in almost every corner of the empire. Even in many unexpected territories of the empire, railway lines were luxuriously built. For example, in the island of Zhongyang (now Malta), which was only more than 200 square kilometers, a railway was built that ran from east to west, with a length of less than 20 kilometers.

The people of Qi squandered steel, producing up to tens of millions of tons of steel each year. In addition to the ever-expanding railways, there were also ubiquitous iron bridges, as well as various iron towers and skyscrapers with steel frames that demonstrated the empire's prestige.

Oh, by the way, those giant steel ships with increasingly larger tonnage are constantly replacing the increasingly outdated wooden sailing ships.

This is a true steel empire!

Compared with Qi State, where railway construction has reached saturation, railway development in continental Europe has just begun.

With its strong capital, the Dutch East India Company obtained the right to develop the railway from Rotterdam to Hanover last year, in order to strengthen the economic ties between the Netherlands and the German hinterland, and further promote and enhance the shipping status of Rotterdam Port, the largest port in Europe.

Of course, as an international trade giant, the Dutch East India Company itself did not have the ability to build railways, but with its close ties with Qi's local capital, it was easy for it to invite a group of the world's most professional railway engineers from Hanzhou to help it complete this promising "Golden Railway Line".

All it could do was to rely on its strong influence in Europe to settle the various political and economic problems that arose during the construction of the railway line, and to import related cast iron rails and steam locomotives from Hanzhou at the lowest price. However, it did not expect that after purchasing three batches of cast iron rails in a row, the greedy Qi people actually used the impending war as an excuse to arbitrarily increase the supply price by 15%.

This move inevitably made Derens, who was in charge of purchasing, very angry.

You know, in order to build this railway, the Dutch East India Company specially issued corporate bonds of 2 million guilders and 3 million guilders for a period of ten years in Amsterdam and Jianye respectively, with an annual interest rate of 6.5%, which put considerable financial pressure on it.

In order to save costs, the East India Company compressed expenses in every aspect of railway construction in the hope that the first railway built by the company would be a success and become the company's most valuable asset, thereby bringing rich returns to shareholders.

It can be foreseen that after the completion of this railway, profitability can be guaranteed to a certain extent relying on the huge flow of people and logistics along the line.

However, the cost of building railways in Europe is also relatively high.

Not to mention that the production process of railroad rails is quite complicated - the production process involves multiple complex steps, including smelting, rolling, finishing, centralized testing and long-length production, etc. Each step requires high technology and precise operation. In addition to Qi, only England in Europe can produce small quantities, but the cost is extremely high - even the labor cost is a bit unbearable.

Unlike the State of Qi, which "hired" a large number of indigenous laborers when building railways in its homeland and overseas colonies, it was able to keep construction costs extremely low. Coupled with the cheap supply of local steel, the financial statements of Qi's railway companies looked very good, and the return on investment made countless shareholders extremely satisfied.

To build railways in Europe, the price of rails and steam locomotives imported from Qi State is much higher than when they leave the factory in Hanzhou. In addition, there is a considerable transportation cost. If the procurement cost increases a little more, wouldn't the company's top management be anxious?

Having lived and worked in Qi for almost fifteen years, Drence is well aware of how profitable the export of some of Qi's key products is.

An ordinary steam locomotive - it is called an ordinary locomotive because the production process and technology of this equipment are non-advanced products from twenty years ago - the people of Qi dare to sell it to you by adding three to five times the production price.

The people of Qi would often sell a steam-powered spinning machine to Europe at ten times the production cost.

For a precision thread cutting lathe, the people of Qi would shamelessly mark up the price by twenty to thirty times and sell it to the factory owner who needs it!
The canned beef that the Qi sailors were tired of eating could be sold for more than two chickens in Europe, and was often used as a high-end cold dish at banquets by aristocratic businessmen.

Yes, Qi’s daily consumer goods are synonymous with good quality and low price, but Qi’s mid-to-high-end machinery and equipment and unique products are “sky-high” prices that are difficult for ordinary people to afford.

But all consumers have no room for bargaining, because only the people of Qi can produce those mid-to-high-end mechanical products.

As for why they sell at such a high price, the people of Qi argued that it was because these mechanical equipment had poured a lot of technical research and development costs and experimental costs, coupled with the high labor costs of Qi workers, so when the costs were spread out, the products naturally appeared "slightly" more expensive.

To put it bluntly, it’s because we in Europe simply can’t produce it!
Since Europe cannot produce it, the people of Qi have the confidence to ask for a high price.

Of course, the Dutch once bullied European countries for not being able to obtain spice products, and similarly sold the spices from the East Indies at very low prices as rare commodities.

You see, after Qi State and the Xia Alliance also got involved in the spice business, spices gradually became daily consumer goods for the general public.

Once upon a time, there was an extremely short supply of many commodities in Europe, such as steel, cotton, leather, wool, glass, and hardware. The people of Qi relied on their monopoly of the eastern trade routes and large-scale industrial production to set the prices of those industrial products abnormally high, thereby earning several times the profit.

As European countries such as England, France, the Netherlands, Venice, Prussia and Sweden successively introduced Qi's machinery and equipment and began mass production, Qi subsequently lowered the selling prices of the above-mentioned goods, continuously squeezing the production profits of its European counterparts.

In short, relying on its first-mover advantage in technology, Qi wielded the huge "sickle" of price and fiercely sheared the "wool" of countries around the world.

Can you imagine? The Dutch West India Company had to sell nearly a hundred slaves or hundreds of tons of sugar cane in the Atlantic Ocean in exchange for a set of steam sugar pressing equipment from Qi.

A woolen factory in Amsterdam needed to sell more than 5,000 woolen coats to buy an advanced steam-powered textile machine!
For a seemingly "ordinary" product like railroad tracks, the factory's cost price and export price can differ by four to five times.

But the annoying thing is that European countries find it difficult to produce high-quality rails. Even if some ironworks in England can smelt and cast qualified rails, the cost is actually higher than importing them from the distant Hanzhou!
According to knowledgeable technicians, the production process of railroad tracks is extremely difficult, and it is not possible to produce a qualified railroad track by simply pouring molten iron into a mold.

The production of this thing first involves the smelting of high-quality steel, including pretreatment technology for pig iron desulfurization, oxygen top-blown converter smelting technology, off-furnace refining, vacuum degassing and large square billet continuous casting technology.

These technical steps require precise control of chemical composition and temperature to ensure the purity of the steel and avoid impurities that affect the performance of the rails.

At the same time, the production of rails also involves rolling technology, including heating in a walking beam furnace, descaling with high-pressure water, hot pre-bending of rails and other steps. All processes require highly precise operations to ensure the dimensional accuracy and surface quality of the rails while reducing residual stress.

In order to reduce the number of connection joints and improve the smoothness of the track, some rails need to adopt long-length production technology, which requires a high degree of production accuracy and control accuracy.

Look, it's so complicated, has so many technical difficulties, and has such a sophisticated production process. It shouldn't be excessive to sell it at a slightly higher price.

In addition to building a global empire with territory covering the entire world, the people of Qi are also monopolizing the highest end of the global industrial chain with their strong technological advantages.

What is even more frightening is that for this purpose, the State of Qi not only trained a large number of technical talents and scientific researchers, but also used various means to recruit and absorb cutting-edge scientific research talents from all over the world, constantly consolidating and enriching their technical strength.

(End of this chapter)