I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 359 It’s too expensive to buy

The so-called "production" of the Aceh Sultanate actually means that it imports parts from Amur and assembles them itself. Its rifles, including stocks and straps, are all imported from Amur.

Such an industry is naturally uncompetitive.

George does not need Aceh to develop industry. He should develop agriculture honestly and provide raw materials for Amur industry. Maybe in more than ten years, when the situation in the Russian Empire changes, Aceh will also have the opportunity to develop industry.

Peter has been very busy recently. He was ordered to find a suitable place for Vladivostok's submarine to build a secret base in East India.

There are more than 17,000 islands in East India, and there are many islands suitable for establishing secret bases.

Peter chose the Lingga Islands, located at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca.

The Lingga Islands, also known as the Dragon Tooth Islands, are only 110 kilometers away from the Lion City, with a land area of ​​2178 square kilometers and a population of less than 1000.
Antonov absolutely supported Peter's work and sold the Linga Islands directly to Peter for 10 rubles.

This 10 rubles is actually the relocation cost of the 1000 people in the Linga Islands. After all the people are moved out, the Linga Islands will become George's private property just like East India.

The construction workers sent by George this time were all sons of good families selected from Vladivostok.

"Let those who are good at reading go to school, and let those who want to be soldiers go to be soldiers. Isn't this what we have been doing?"

Some people are obviously not good at studying, but they insist on being thrown into school to study, even if they don't study, this seems to George to be a bit overkill.

What makes George quite embarrassed is that almost all the criminals in Amur in recent years were Cossacks, while the immigrants from East Asia kept to themselves.

The Chinese are indeed very talented in reading. Under the same conditions, the Chinese have generally higher grades than the Cossacks, are more interested in learning, and are more popular with professors.

"Whether they are Cossacks, Koryos, or even Japanese, they are all Amurs first."

And in terms of work attitudes, Cossacks and East Asians are really very different.

George knew what Milyutin was worried about.

Compared with studying, Cossack prefers to serve as a soldier after graduating from elementary school, and does not want to waste too much time on studying.

There is no way to let go. Some Koreans and Japanese are more loyal to Amur than the Cossacks. Every winter, many Korean and Japanese workers try their best to stay in Amur and have no desire to return to their place of origin.

Vladivostok has also gradually relaxed restrictions on the naturalization of Koreans and Japanese.

Amur has a waiting period of up to five years for immigration. New immigrants can only be temporarily qualified to work in Vladivostok. They must have no criminal record within five years and pass the social investigation of the Immigration Bureau before they can be officially naturalized.

"I know, I'm just worried-"

There's nothing we can do about it.

Not only was George not disappointed, he was happy to see the results.

Milyutin was disappointed because more than 70% of the first batch of formal students admitted to Siberian University were Chinese.

Amur only has compulsory education at the primary school level. In principle, you can work after graduating from primary school, but if you want to study, you can also continue to study. Although Vladivostok Middle School charges fees, the fees are extremely low and are not for profit at all. Ordinary families can also easily Bear the cost of children’s education.

In other words, most factories in Vladivostok work in three shifts, which is not particularly obvious.

If there are two shifts, then only East Asians will take the initiative to work overtime. It is almost impossible to get the Cossacks to work overtime.

George did not expect too much, as long as the Cossack could work honestly within 8 hours, Amul did not advocate involution. Milyutin's requirements were even lower, as long as the Cossacks did not commit crimes.

Cossacks are the foundation of the Russian Empire's military force. During peacetime, Cossacks are a liability. Once war breaks out, the brave and capable Cossacks will become the sharpest swords of the Russian Empire.

The number of the Amur army was limited, and most of the Cossacks could only enter the reserves, waiting for an opportunity to enter the regular army.

Fortunately, the reservists also have a salary. Although it is not as high as that of the regular army, it is still possible to maintain a living.

The workers who went to Aceh were basically selected from the Cossacks.

After completing the construction of the secret base, they will continue to stay in Aceh and be responsible for the security of the secret base.

In May, after the third installment of compensation to Japan, Daosheng Bank lost its loan rights for the Guangdong-Hankou Railway.

The Qing government's third installment of reparations to Japan was a loan from Britain and Germany, totaling 1600 million pounds, with an annual interest rate of 45%, % deduction, guaranteed by customs revenue, and repaid in years.

The Guangdong-Hankong Railway received loans from the United States.

The total loan amount for the Guangdong-Hankong Railway is US$4000 million, with an annual interest rate of 30% and a % discount payment. The loan is secured by railway property and has a loan term of years.

The United States obtained mining rights along the Guangdong-Hankou Railway through loans.

Ukhtomsky was disappointed. He spent more than half a year in the Far East and got nothing.

George had expected this.

The Qing Empire could not only borrow from the Russian Empire. This was actually taking advantage of the contradictions between European and American countries to form mutual checks and balances and protect the interests of the Qing Empire as much as possible.

The Russian Empire initiated the Three Kingdoms Intervention to return to the Liao Dynasty, drive away the Japanese, dominate the Liaodong Peninsula, and divide the entire northeastern part of the Qing Empire into its own sphere of influence.

The Russian Empire's greed for land has aroused strong vigilance in the Qing Empire, which is why Ukhtomsky gained nothing.

The Asian fleet’s urgent purchase of cruisers from Vladivostok finally attracted attention from the outside world.

In the Battle of Manila, the Vladivostok cruiser performed extremely well. Four of the seven battleships of the Spanish fleet were sunk by the Vladivostok cruiser.

George Dewey was very satisfied with the performance of the Vladivostok cruisers. After the Battle of Manila, he suggested to the U.S. Navy Department that they continue to purchase cruisers from Vladivostok and proactively seek technology transfer to improve the performance of U.S. warships.

Due to the lack of land cooperation in the Asiatic Fleet, George Dewey did not land in Manila after destroying the Spanish fleet. Instead, he blocked Manila Bay and waited for domestic reinforcements.

Therefore, during this period, British and German warships continued to appear in the waters off Manila.

The Vladivostok cruiser performed equally well during the confrontation with British and German warships. With its excellent speed, it successfully intercepted British and German warships many times.

Although reinforcements from the United States have not arrived, the Philippine rebel army, with a total number of 2.5, has surrounded Manila.

Dewey secretly contacted the rebel leaders and promised to support the Philippines in becoming an independent country after the war, gaining the trust of the Philippine rebels.

This must be a lie, because the Spanish have reached an agreement with the Americans to sell the Philippine Islands to the United States for $2000 million.

2000 million US dollars is still more expensive than 2000 million rubles.

(End of this chapter)