Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 605 Immigration Matters

Although there were official immigration policies in the past, they were never implemented. In the process of implementing them, Xuejia Trading Company paid out of its own pocket. After the immigration and settlement issues were resolved, all expenses were repaid interest-free over ten years.

Based on this calculation, the cost of one immigrant is approximately one hundred silver dollars. Theoretically, the cost can be recovered in the end, but without interest. This does not even include those immigrants who die at sea.

Xue Pan's idea was simple: if the imperial court's policies couldn't be implemented, then he had to change his approach. If local governments lacked enthusiasm, then he should directly negotiate cooperation with higher authorities. In short, he couldn't continue to fund the immigration process out of his own pocket; otherwise, no matter how much money he had, it would be difficult to sustain the immigration program in the long run.

Xue Pan's suggestion was straightforward: "If the imperial court has policies but the local governments don't implement them, then we should negotiate with the imperial court to develop a cooperative immigration policy."

Jia Lian didn't dampen his enthusiasm; after all, immigration was a long-term endeavor, and even if he could recoup his investment, the financial strain would be immense. He gave a soft "hmm," signaling Xue Pan to continue.

"Could we negotiate an agreement with the imperial court, allowing each person to receive a certain amount of subsidy for voluntary immigration? The merchant guild can set up a bank, with each immigrant having an account. Before boarding the ship, they can sign a low-interest loan agreement, and after landing in Southeast Asia, they can repay the principal and interest in installments."

While observing Jia Lian's expression, Xue Pan spoke cautiously.

Baochai brought over a teacup and subtly warned Xue Pan: "Brother, the Xue family is not short of money now. Don't ruin Master's reputation for the sake of making money."

Jia Lian raised his hand and waved it gently: "It's alright! Wenlong is doing this for the sake of immigration."

"What's the difference between immigrating to Australia and immigrating to the islands of Southeast Asia?" Jia Lian asked calmly.

"There are certainly differences. Immigrants to Australia can join gold mining companies after landing. If they are lucky, they can pay off their loans in a year. Even if they are unlucky, they can pay them off in five years. Immigrants to Southeast Asia need to clear land after landing. For the first two years, they do not have the ability to repay and have to rely on hard work to make a living. Southeast Asia is a land of miasma and pestilence. If they are unlucky, they will die, and the money will become a dead debt."

Xue Pan sensed something different and lowered his voice.

"How much loss is there in the current immigration process?" Jia Lian hadn't really paid much attention to this question, and the relevant reports didn't mention it either. He only remembered that the survival rate of slaves in the triangular trade was only about 60%. Considering that, the cost was indeed quite high, after all, the Southeast Asian immigration wasn't the slave trade, and the people weren't brought there to be enslaved.

Thinking about it carefully, the environment on the islands of Southeast Asia is really terrible, especially in areas that need to be reclaimed. You can't just let individual households reclaim land; you need to organize people into a collective farm model. The newly reclaimed land needs to be nurtured for the first two years, otherwise the yield will be very low. Australia has gold mines, but that's a different story altogether.

"The Xue family's fleet transported immigrants, trying their best to ensure the safe arrival of every immigrant. Even so, when the sea voyage was smooth, two or three people would still die of illness at sea. In comparison, the situation for immigrants from other fleets was generally worse. For them, people at sea were cargo, and even the ship owners themselves were cargo." Xue Pan realized that Jia Lian's questions were not quite right, so he quickly defended himself.

Jia Lian knew this was the reality of venturing out to sea in those days.

"Overall, how many years will it take to recoup the immigration costs, and how will profits be generated afterward?" Jia Lian continued to ask unhurriedly, wanting to take his time to calculate the costs.

"If there are no unforeseen circumstances, each immigrant can recoup their costs in an average of eight years after landing. If they are Japanese or Korean, they can recoup their costs in five years."

This answer piqued Baochai's interest: "Why do the Koreans and Japanese only need five years to recoup their costs?"

Xue Pan patiently explained, "It depends on the location. Japanese and Korean immigrants are mainly sent to desert regions. They are under contract, and all they need is food, drink, and clothing. If you calculate based on wages, they can recoup their investment in five years. Japanese and Korean women are generally transported to Southeast Asia. These women have fairer skin than the native women, and even the worst ones can sell for two hundred silver dollars, making the profit very considerable. Then there are Indian women. They have a strong body odor, so their price is naturally lower, but the average price is still around one hundred and fifty dollars."

Baochai spoke of buying and selling people without any psychological pressure, the reason being, of course, that they were not of her kind.

After Jia Lian and his sister finished speaking, he slowly said, "The purpose of immigration is to settle down and recoup the investment. It's fine if it's slow; I'll negotiate with the court, but the outcome is uncertain. If you want to make big money, don't count on immigration. Opening a bank can be profitable. Firstly, you can act as a distributor for newly issued stocks; secondly, you can invest in stocks; and thirdly, you can ensure the secrecy of fund flows. Wenlong's job is to manage the insurance company well and get the banking license as soon as possible. The arms trade should be conducted secretly, but other maritime trade can be relinquished."

Xue Pan carefully wrote everything down in his notebook, then handed it over to his subordinates one by one. These were all money-making secrets; he was always one step ahead of everyone else.

Now Xue Pan understands Jia Lian's strategy: to be the first to act and take the lead, so that other merchants can follow suit. But as profits dwindle, he will withdraw and start a new business.

"There's really no profit to be made in that peninsula, and many merchants are complaining about it." Xue Pan brought up the Arabian Peninsula again. After all, it's just sand. The only thing they can do right now is to resupply passing ships, and the local pearls and dates are worth a little money, but compared to the effort put in, the difference is too great.

"Enough with the nonsense, we must hold onto that territory. Without it, our flanks and rear of the Indian Ocean are constantly threatened. Do you think the British are benevolent? This matter concerns the nation's global strategy. We won't see immediate benefits, but the long-term, intangible benefits are immeasurable. To put it bluntly, without this territory, arms deals with the Ottomans will be difficult to conduct."

After being reprimanded, Xue Pan immediately backed down and whispered, "In that case, we should send more Koreans and Japanese over from now on."

Jia Lian nodded: "Okay, we can also buy some women locally and arrange a home for them, then we can rest assured."

Xue Pan quickly nodded and said, "The local women have already been arranged. They were all sent by Ibrahim. The price is very low, only fifty silver dollars per woman. All we ask for are some rifled guns. Every time an immigrant ship goes there, it brings back hundreds of local women to sell in Southeast Asia."

Jia Lian nodded in agreement, saying, "Promise him that we will supply at least five thousand rifled guns every year, no more."

Supporting the Ottoman Empire wasn't out of personal favor; the clear objective was to create trouble for Europeans. A militarily stronger Ottoman Empire was bound to be ambitious, and it was hard to say what kind of trouble it might cause. Besides, the Ottoman Empire didn't treat Christians within its territory as human beings, and the bulk of the slave trade was conducted through them.

Everyone knows about the triangular trade of black slaves, but in fact, there was also a considerable amount of white slave trade during this period.

The British, after the Industrial Revolution, needed more labor, which led to pirates coming ashore and wearing suits on board to pretend to be civilized.

In contrast, the United States, as the son of the nation, was at that time the largest customer of the slave market in the American South. Civilization and freedom were merely products of necessity; the Anssa people were no good. Of course, there were even worse people than the Anssa.

Jia Lian didn't care about any of that. If he didn't go out and seize territory now, he would miss this opportunity.

Once the Central Plains dynasties embarked on their outward colonization efforts, they were destined to curb the colonization of Europe. Other places were too far away; within Asia, Europeans wanting to colonize would first have to ask for permission from their naval forces. Europeans approached colonization with a business mindset; they wouldn't engage in unprofitable ventures. Therefore, objectively, they would certainly avoid conflict with China.

If European countries ever reach a point of stagnation, war will be almost inevitable. From this perspective, controlling the Strait of Malacca would at most extend the war to India.

Conversely, the colonial expansion of the Asian hegemon could be achieved by crossing the Pacific Ocean, occupying the west coast of North America—not necessarily large territories, just California would suffice. Waiting a few decades might lead to war over America's westward expansion, which is no joke. Hmm, an alliance with Mexico is necessary; it seems the South American independence movement has already begun, hasn't it?

Just as I was thinking of this, Xue Pan added, "There's something we need to discuss. The Spanish have made a request to purchase a large number of rifled guns and field artillery. This is something only you, brother, can decide."

Jia Lian was stunned. Why would the Spanish buy so many weapons? Wasn't it obvious? On the one hand, France was putting pressure on Spain, and the country was also in turmoil, so they had no time to attend to their colonies. On the other hand, there was the wave of independence movements, so the people in the colonies needed to buy weapons.

Moreover, the weapons purchasers may not necessarily be the Spanish government forces, but more likely the local independence forces.

"Sell! Of course we'll sell! We'll sell as many smoothbore muskets as you want, which will boost the arms industry in Guangdong." Jia Lian answered decisively.

Overjoyed, Xue Pan looked worried and said, "There's something I've been hesitant to tell you, brother, for fear of making things difficult for you."

Jia Lian, intrigued, sat up straight and said, "Speak!"

"Here's the thing: the arsenals in Guangdong are doing very well, and many local businessmen and powerful figures are also involved in this business on the side. They mainly supply goods to various parts of Southeast Asia. The governor of Guangdong asked me whether we should issue a ban to avoid any conflict with the government-run factories of the Research and Development Bureau."

Upon hearing Xue Pan's words, Jia Lian immediately understood. This was perfectly normal; who wouldn't want to do a profitable business? If you have resources but lack technology, just poach people.

Presumably, many craftsmen were poached; after all, offering shares would certainly tempt some artisans. Because of Jia Lian's influence, the artisans had their artisan status abolished and became ordinary commoners. It would be perfectly normal for them to resign and start their own businesses.

After understanding, Jia Lian smiled and shook his head, saying, "You guys are just afraid to use your brains. Do the craftsmen who were poached really think the local tycoons are benevolent people? Whether they are or not, you can make up some stories, saying that those craftsmen who resigned and left were mostly abandoned after being tricked out of their skills by the local tycoons. It's more stable for them to work in the R&D department's factory. If they really can't be kept, then there's no need for a ban. It's not a good thing for government-run factories to have no competitors."

After the business was finished, Jia Lian invited Xue Pan to stay for drinks. During their casual conversation, Xue Pan lamented that his room was crammed with women by his aunt, Xue Yima, and that they had at least borne him two children, a boy and a girl. Otherwise, he would have no freedom whatsoever.

Hearing this, Jia Lian subconsciously stepped back, afraid of being corrupted by him. After all, this guy's fondness for men was clearly stated in the original work.

Seeing this, Xue Pan smiled awkwardly.

After the banquet, Jia Lian instructed, "Send over a detailed report on immigration as soon as possible. The data must be accurate to be convincing, so that I can submit a memorial to the court to discuss subsidies."

Xue Pan acted swiftly, and within ten days, a detailed report was delivered. During those ten days, Jia Lian also helped obtain the bank's license, which was named: Nanyang Bank.

Having obtained the relevant data, Jia Lian's memorial became much easier to write. On one hand, he listed the reasons why officials at all levels in the interior were unwilling to cooperate with the imperial court's migration efforts, noting that current migration was primarily a private endeavor, but the high costs made it unsustainable. On the other hand, he emphasized that while local officials were unwilling to migrate, they frequently used the guise of migration to extort money from the people, requesting the court to urge local censors to investigate thoroughly. Finally, he hoped the court could provide some encouragement for private migration efforts, such as financial subsidies, which he considered a good policy.

Jia Lian's memorial was not sent directly to Rehe, but was first shown to Li Yuan for discussion.

This greatly excited Li Yuan, who thought to himself: "Since becoming regent, Jia Buqi has reported everything to me without ever showing disrespect. This shows that he has no bias, and I should try my best to win him over."

"News has come from Rehe that Father Emperor will probably not return until the day of the Beginning of Winter. To be honest, it is indeed more comfortable to live in Rehe."

Li Yuan didn't rush to read the memorial; instead, he chatted with Jia Lian first.

In response, Jia Lian patiently chatted with him for a few minutes before Li Yuan picked up the memorial and began to read it carefully.

After reading it, Li Yuan was very surprised and asked, "Why has the Nanyang Minister's Office never reported this matter to me?"

Jia Lian laughed and said, "They're in Southeast Asia, where would they get the news? Besides, the officials at all levels in those government offices are mainly focused on resettling immigrants. They're all guilty and shouldn't speak recklessly."

Li Yuan realized that those who held official positions in the Nanyang Minister's Office were all officials who had been exiled. These people longed to return, and even if they knew about the emigration, they wouldn't report it for fear of offending anyone. In short, they wouldn't proactively do anything that would hinder their return to the mainland.

"Sir, I also have a memorial here. Please review it for me." Li Yuan also took out a memorial and handed it to Jia Lian.

Upon seeing this, Jia Lian was slightly taken aback. He glanced up and saw Li Yuan nod with a smile.

"Memorial on the Payment of Taxes from Southeast Asia to the Imperial Treasury"
That's a great title!
(End of this chapter)