The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 376 Coal and Iron - The Foundation of Hegemony
He claimed to be emperor, but it seemed that he did not fully deserve the title, because Mo Zibu simply borrowed previous buildings for the ancestral temple, not to mention high-level sacrificial places such as the Temple of Heaven.

Mo Zibu even moved the royal palace directly to Mancheng in the west, and slightly renovated the Guangzhou General's Mansion to use it as the royal palace.

Of course, no one came to persuade Mo Zibu to start the large-scale construction project, because the entire Dayu was working hard at that time.

What's the point of establishing a country by residing in a remote southeastern corner? At least we should recover Nanjing and establish a three-way balance of power between the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

When we arrived in Nanjing, everything was ready and only needed some simple repairs.

As for Mo Zibu, he was not willing to spend his limited money on this. He had to use the money where it was needed most, that is, to build a large coal and iron base in Guangnan.

Mo Zibu had already sent people to investigate. With the help of Li Bing, the chieftain of the Mo family in Hainan, after more than a year of investigation, they were basically sure that they had successfully found the Shilu Iron Mine that Mo Zibu remembered.

And there was another important gain. The explorers also discovered another iron mine in Ya County, not far from the Shilu Iron Mine, which is Tiandu Village in Sanya City in later generations. However, the reserves did not seem to be large.

But Mo Zibu asked people from the Danhua Department of Jiading Imperial College to do some testing, and they were shocked by the results. The quality of the iron ore here was so good that it was extremely rare, if not unparalleled in the world.

Several professionals recruited from France also said that the quality here is at least 90% better than the mines they found in Europe.

What's even better is that the iron ore here is not buried very deep and can basically be mined in the open air.

Tiandu Village is only twelve kilometers away from Ya County and there is a ready-made road. All they need to do is mine the ore and then transport it to the port in Ya County for export to the sea.

This is not because Mo Zibu is ignorant. First of all, although the quality of Tiandu Iron Mine is extremely high, its reserves are indeed not large, only about 6 million tons.

Secondly, in history, most of the Tiandu Iron Mine's reserves were destructively mined and transported away by the Japanese during the Anti-Japanese War, so not many people know about it.

After choosing the location of the iron mine, it is easier to choose a coal mine, and there is one in Guangnan.

Even now, construction has begun at the Hongji Coal Mine in Guangnan.

The terrain here is only slightly undulating, and open-pit mining is basically possible. The high quality and abundant reserves of anthracite are the first of their kind in the entire Southeast Asia.

The coal mine is densely populated and has sufficient labor force. The dense water network facilitates transportation. It is not far from Guangzhou, so all kinds of tools can be easily imported.

Or we can say that in the whole of Southeast Asia and East Asia, the only coal mine with comprehensive conditions comparable to Hongji Coal Mine is Kailuan Coal Mine in the Liaohe River Basin.

Mo Zibu looked at the map and saw the distance between Changhua on Hainan Island and Hongji Coal Mine in Halong Bay. It was only a little over a hundred nautical miles. It was truly a God-given treasure!

High-quality coal and iron are so close together, making mining easy. The dense water network saves a lot of transportation, and the dense population provides an abundant labor force. Relying on the high-yield agriculture of the Red River Plain, this area is able to support a large number of industrial workers.

Finally, it is close to the harbor, which makes export convenient.

In this age of coal and iron, this place is the natural base for hegemony.

However, everything is difficult at the beginning, especially such a large-scale coal and iron project. It cannot be led by Mo Zibu alone. They do not have enough energy to devote to these matters, nor do they have enough talents to manage them.

So, I, King Mo, thought of the twenty-six head merchants of the Thirteen Hongs who were still detained by him.

Oh, no, there are only twenty-five now.

Because Mr. Cai, who was determined to follow the Qing Dynasty, spent all his money and only managed to raise three million taels of silver, which was far from enough for each member of his family to pay three hundred thousand taels of silver.

As a result, Mo Zibu personally issued an order to behead him, along with the Guangdong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner who was of bannerman origin and several unlucky officials who had not escaped from the Eight Banners. The rest of his family was exiled to Dancheng.

The remaining 25 general merchants may have a combined asset of around 60 to 70 million taels of silver, but many of them are real estate and difficult to sell. In terms of cash, it may be around 10 million taels.

Among them, a large part is the debt owed by the British East India Company. Now Mo Zibu has entered Guangzhou and killed more than 30 people from the British East India Company and seized their eight large merchant ships and goods. It is estimated that it will be difficult to get the money back.

But no matter what, this group of people has money and rich management experience, and is easier to control. They are good assistants for the development of Beihe coal and iron.

. . . .

Twenty-five general merchants were imprisoned in the Cai family mansion in Xiguan. They had not seen their families for almost four months, and were only provided with simple rice, vegetables and a small amount of meat every day.

Therefore, many general merchants who originally had big bellies have lost a lot of weight and are much healthier, such as Mr. Pan Qipan, the general merchant of the Thirteen Hongs.

After four months of a simple diet and a life of abstinence, Mr. Pan's headaches caused by high blood pressure have been greatly improved. His blood sugar has also been maintained at a normal level, and he feels much lighter.

So although Mr. Pan felt it was difficult, he had not yet reached the point of collapse.

"It will be three months later, and they haven't released us or sent anyone to question us. What does King Mo want to do to us?"

Pan Qi is sixty-three years old this year, and Mr. Chen, who came over to say this to him, is exactly ten years younger than him, only fifty-three years old.

Speaking of it, there is a lot of grievances and hatred between Pan Qi and Mr. Chen.

Both of them are fellow townsmen from Zhangzhou. When Pan Qi first arrived in Guangzhou, thanks to the support of Mr. Chen's father, Pan Qi became the most respected professional manager of the Chen family. The relationship between the two families is very good.

Thirty-five years ago, Chen Zongshang's father chose to retire at the right time, taking more than one million taels of silver back to his hometown in Zhangzhou to retire, and left the business to his son Chen Zongshang to manage.

As a result, Pan Qi took advantage of this opportunity. After Mr. Chen left, he took advantage of the opportunity to control most of the Chen family's customers and opened his own trading company, Tongwenxing. He almost took away 80% of the Chen family's business, and the two families became enemies.

Pan Qi looked at Mr. Chen, a hint of apology on his face.

As people get older, they tend to be nostalgic. Especially during the three months of imprisonment, Pan Qi figured out a lot of things and was no longer so obsessed with money and fame.

"Don't be anxious, brother. I don't think King Xing Tang is in a hurry to summon us. It seems that he hasn't figured out how to accommodate us yet.

After all, our 25 companies alone employ over 10,000 people, and there are hundreds of thousands of people from other provinces who rely on our foreign trade for their livelihoods. If we don’t properly resettle them, it will be a big problem.”

"Mr. Wen Yan is right. No matter who sits in Guangzhou, we must find a way out for these hundreds of thousands of people.

King Mo is from Guangdong. He has already killed Old Cai and vented his anger. There is no need for him to kill us all."

"But there are more than hundreds of thousands of people. The biggest ones are the weavers, silk reelers, ceramic makers, and tea growers and makers. In Jiangnan, Huguang, Fujian, and Guangdong, at least tens of millions of people rely on these jobs for their livelihoods. If King Mo really wants to cut off all these people's livelihoods, how can he still hold on to the throne?"

The general merchants quickly gathered around and started talking one after another. What each of them said seemed to make sense, but in fact they were mostly cheering themselves up.

"Well said. I don't think Emperor Guangzhong can solve this problem. His position is indeed unstable."

A group of businessmen were chatting in a lively manner when they suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice. They looked up and saw a burly man walking in with such swagger.

Pan Qi looked around very carefully and found that even the number of soldiers guarding them had increased a lot without him noticing. He suddenly understood a lot.

Of course, the other general merchants were not stupid either. They all walked forward with humble expressions and bowed.

"Sir, has the king ascended the throne? Oh, we Cantonese people will have an emperor too."

These guys were completely cut off from the outside world and had no idea that the world outside was turned upside down.

Mo Zibu nodded, "Of course. He ascended the throne on Xin Hai Day of this month and became emperor. The country is named Dayu and the reign is Guangzhong."

"Great, Your Excellency is here to pardon us, ahahaha!" Hearing Mo Zibu admit that he had ascended the throne, the twenty-five general merchants immediately burst into joy.

The new emperor has ascended the throne and is founding a new country, so he should at least grant amnesty to the people.

Well, there was indeed a general amnesty, but Mo Zibu only pardoned the people who were arrested for not being able to pay taxes or resisting taxes, and exempted the people from the autumn tax this year, but he did not say that he would pardon them.

"You could say it's been pardoned, but..." Mo Zibu paused deliberately, "But the Emperor asked me to ask you a question.

That is, now that foreign trade in the Thirteen Hongs has come to a standstill, the Qing Dynasty will inevitably open ports directly in Jiangnan. If Jiangnan cannot be taken over in a short period of time, how can Guangzhou's foreign trade and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people be stabilized? "

The general merchants did not look at each other in confusion, because they had indeed considered this issue, but there was no other way except to quickly conquer Jiangnan.

Well, it's not that there is no solution. Pan Qi came over and said, "I do have a plan. Since His Majesty is on good terms with King XVI of France, why not simply ban trade with England and other countries?

Only trade with France, Great Luzon and Double Eagle, so that about half of the trade volume can be shipped smoothly.

Although this won't save all the property, it will allow half the people to survive. As for the remaining half, the vast land of Southeast Asia will be theirs to explore."

"What if the Qing Dynasty opens a port in Jiangnan and wins over countries like England?" Mo Zibu continued to ask.

"Then we have to rely on the navy. Now the Qing navy is almost completely destroyed. If he dares to open a port anywhere, the navy will rush over and destroy it to pieces.

If you don't want to take too much risk, then intercept them at sea and sink all merchant ships going to trade with the Qing Dynasty."

As expected, merchants understand trade and know how to use violence to gain a competitive advantage.

"Well said, please take a seat!" Mo Zibu said with a smile, "But I have another idea. Would Mr. Pan be willing to discuss it with me?"

As soon as Mo Zibu finished speaking, more than 20 general merchants were shocked, and then all fell to their knees on the ground, shouting "Your Majesty, spare your lives!"

Mo Zibu didn't ask them to get up immediately. Instead, he stood up himself, walked around twice with his hands behind his back, and said:

"To drive out the Tartars, to recover our homeland, and to restore China is my lifelong wish. And the weapon we Han Chinese have against the Manchus is our 200 million compatriots.

We can completely avoid competing with the Manchus with swords and spears, and instead use muskets and cannons. If we can produce a million muskets and ten thousand cannons, we can destroy ten Manchu Qings."

As expected of someone who had been involved in commerce for a long time, someone immediately caught on. A merchant surnamed Lin asked, "From what His Majesty has said, are you going to liberalize industries like casting guns and cannons?"

The Manchu Qing Dynasty actually had very strict control over the Han people's casting of guns and cannons. Basically, only the Imperial Household Department was allowed to produce them, and even the Eight Banners stationed in various places were not allowed to do so, to prevent them from being learned by the Han people.

This is also an important reason for the rapid decline in the production of guns and artillery in the Qing Dynasty. If the Han people were not banned, there would be no problem in maintaining the level of the late Ming Dynasty in this market with demand.

"It's not about liberalizing the gun and cannon foundry industry," Mo Zibu corrected. "It's about vigorously revitalizing the coal and iron industries and relaxing coal and iron regulations."

"Where does the coal come from?" Mr. Chen asked while kneeling on the ground.

"Guangnan Anguang Prefecture!" Mo Zibu replied.

"Could it be that Qiongzhou Prefecture really has a good iron ore mine? I heard that His Majesty once sent the Li people on Qiong Island to explore for it."

Pan Qi really had good vision. No wonder he was touted by the French as the richest man in the world in the 18th century, saying that he had assets of 600 million livres.

"Yes, Dongfang County and Ya County in Qiongzhou Prefecture both have high-quality iron ore mines. I intend to start construction of a large-scale coal and iron mine in Anguang Prefecture in Guangnan Province. I wonder if you are interested?"

"Won't His Majesty confiscate our house?" someone couldn't help but ask.

"Hahaha!" Mo Zibu laughed and said, "I am the emperor of the Han people, not the emperor of the bannermen. How could I arbitrarily raid the homes of my subjects?

Mr. Cai, the businessman, lost his head because he cooperated with the Qing Dynasty in trying to kill me many times.

Although you have served the Qing Dynasty, your crime does not deserve the death penalty. As long as you are willing to join the coal and iron industry and serve the new dynasty, I will forgive your past.

Not only will the family property be returned to you, but if you have made contributions, you can also switch from business to politics, and even be granted a title for your merits!"

The general merchants were shocked. Although they were wealthy, they were actually the white gloves of the Manchu nobles. The money they earned every year would be taken away by the Manchu nobles in various forms.

Specifically, it includes but is not limited to forced apportionment of military expenses, annual festival and birthday gifts, purchase of designated goods, underwriting of designated goods, reimbursement of designated accounts, fees charged by the Governor's Office and Guangdong Customs, etc.

So they look like wealthy merchants, but in fact they are just slaves of slaves and have no political status at all.

Wu Bingjian, the largest merchant of the Thirteen Hongs in later generations, once told Europeans who came to trade that he had no status and was like pigs and dogs. Although he was rich, he did not live a good life at all.

"I have a position for the Coal and Iron Ambassador, a fifth-rank official, responsible for coordinating and designing the coal and iron industry planning for Anguang Prefecture. I wonder if anyone is interested?"

"Plop!" Mo Zibu had just finished speaking when the twenty-five merchants, who had stood up less than a minute ago, knelt down and shouted in unison:

"The grassroots are willing!"

These guys are really smart. Although they all held official positions in the past, those were donated positions, not real ones. How could they possibly compare with this?

"But if you invest in the coal and iron industry, you may suffer losses!" Mo Zibu kindly reminded.

"I'm not afraid. There's no business that doesn't lose money."

"I have suffered losses for the new dynasty, but serving Your Majesty is an opportunity earned through the good deeds of our ancestors!"

As for the issue of making losses, you have to look at it in different ways. For big businessmen like them, large initial investments and even losses for one or two years are not unacceptable.

Besides, no matter how much you lose, it is much better than having your property confiscated!
"Hey, Mr. Pan, your second son Pan Youwei is a cabinet secretary and is participating in the compilation of the Siku Quanshu in Beijing. Aren't you afraid?" Mo Zibu asked in pretended surprise.

Pan Qi hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, please listen to my detailed explanation."

When Mo Zibu heard this, he knew that his guess was correct. This guy was connected to Cai Xin, so he said to the other 24 people with a smile:
"From today on, you can all go home. I give you five days to each submit a proposal on how to develop the coal and iron industry in Guangnan Province. The one with the best insights will be promoted!"

When they heard that they could leave and get a job, a group of businessmen cheered loudly and walked out happily.

At this time, Mo Zibu helped Pan Qi up and said, "Send someone to tell Mr. Ge Shan that I want to mobilize the scholars in Jiangnan and ask him if he has any solution.

Also, Emperor Qianlong compiled the Siku Quanshu in order to sever the cultural heritage of China. It is better to refrain from such heinous and heinous acts.

You must ask him to find a way to preserve all the rare copies. This way, not only can the Cai family of Zhangpu be saved, but Mr. Geshan may also be able to enjoy a peaceful old age."

Mr. Ge Shan mentioned by Mo Zibu is Cai Xin, the head of the Fujian Han officials in the Qing Dynasty. Although Cai Xin is not the president of the Siku Quanshu at present, he has a huge influence on the compilation team.

If Mo Zibu didn't want the Qing Dynasty to compile the Siku Quanshu and destroy a large number of precious Chinese books, he had to let Cai Xin step in, otherwise the tragedy would happen before his eyes.

"If you do this well, I will ensure that your Pan family will prosper in Dayu!"

(End of this chapter)