Edo Traveler - Vol 13 Chapter 70

In addition to the logistics of military supplies, Hong Chi Shan is also responsible for the textile industry and cotton planting. As a result of the Civil War, textile production in Britain and the United States, the two top industrial powers, suffered a severe setback.

As a result, the Japanese textile market was slowly eaten by the Hongchi chaebol because of his early layout. Seeing that the Civil War is not over yet, the textile business can still be done.

After Japan’s domestic market has taken the lead, Hong Chishan must be aiming at the markets of North Korea and Qing.

Because of the frequent exchanges between Japan and the Qing Dynasty, Hong Chi Shan has learned that the Taiping army’s home city, Tianjing, is surrounded by the Qing army and is already a grasshopper after the autumn. The main force of the Taiping Army has largely been eliminated, and there are only some partial divisions that remain.

Jiangnan is safe and Shanghai is guaranteed, then the Jiangnan area, the land of the richest man in the Qing Dynasty, will soon resume development. Taking advantage of the fact that British and American businessmen have almost stopped exporting textiles to Qing Dynasty, Hongchishan wanted to seize this opportunity and set up a factory in the Shanghai Concession.

They directly bought lint cotton from the cotton-producing areas in the eastern part of the Qing Dynasty, processed them, and made use of a large number of cheap laborers who hid in the concession to produce textiles, which were then sold in the Qing Dynasty.

It is impossible to seize the entire Qing market, but as long as you can eat a piece of meat, it is already an astronomical wealth.

Well planned and feasible. The reason why Hongchishan told Zhongyouemon was probably also because he was worried that he would be attacked by people with intentions to transfer property if he invested money in the Qing Kingdom.

After all, many people are dissatisfied with him, a businessman who was still humble and lowly last year, and suddenly jumped into the Chinese family. Moreover, the rich merchants in the Edo period, said something ugly, that is, the wallets of generals and princes, they borrowed money when they ran out of money, killed them when they owed them, and asked for anything.

Today is different from the past. In the past, the wealth of wealthy merchants was in the country, and if they were killed, they could be divided into meat and eaten. Now that the country’s door is open, capital can flow out. As a shareholder friend of the shogunate, Hong Chi Shan is also a Chinese. He takes money outside to invest, and he has to make it clear with Zhongyouemon in advance.

“This is great, let it go!”

How could Chuemon disagree? He wanted to take a piece of the huge market in the Qing Dynasty and then speed up the process of domestic industrialization. Now that Hongchi has good intentions, why should he stop it? To tell the truth, he can make money from the Qing Kingdom, which is better than scraping the common people here, and scraping the officials to force the people to turn back.

Besides, if Hongchi is not good at making this money, British businessmen, American businessmen, law businessmen will earn it. Anyway, they have to be earned, why can’t we get a vote.

“Speaking of this, the NYK has applied for the establishment of Yangtze River Shipping.” Yataro Iwasaki could not be left behind when he saw the enthusiasm of others.

Tokugawa Industries and Tokugawa Yusen have actually opened branches in the Shanghai Concession for a long time, but Tokugawa Yusen has handled the route from Shanghai to Japan, because there is no other place to go.

After the end of the Second Sino-British War, Tianjin was added as a port, and the air route to Tianjin was also opened. Britain and Japan were in a certain degree of covenant. This time, the British forced Hankou, Jiujiang, Zhenjiang along the river and other ports. In fact, they have opened up the waterway of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

After investigation, Yataro Iwasaki felt that this “golden waterway” had great potential. Once the Taiping army’s Tianjing has been conquered, they can enter this market and try to make a profit.

And Japan has the advantage of being close to the market, and the shipbuilding industry is booming. Just in time to build a large ship and put it into this route. It can not only train its own shipmen, but also increase the tonnage of the entire country’s cargo ships.

“I think this discussion is very good.” Shigeru Nara has interests, and he is not shy, so he will come when he opens his mouth.

Tokugawa Yusen has a considerable part of its business, which is entrusted to the operation of the Nara chaebol. Shigeru Nara has made a lot of profits from it. Naturally, it is actively seeking to develop routes and increase revenue.

Japan’s domestic shipping industry market is gradually saturated, and it is mainly monopolized by Tokugawa Yusen. The newly opened routes on the Yangtze River can be divided into Nara chaebols.

“I don’t know much about business affairs. You can handle it at your own discretion. By the way, what’s the constitution of the sugar factory you’re talking about?” Chuemon put down his glass.

“It’s good to teach you to know…”

Almost ten years ago, the shogunate introduced the French advanced sugar extraction technology, first opened a sugar factory in Kagoshima, and trained skilled workers. In Ezo and Kata, respectively, they opened a sugar factory. On the one hand, they purchased local sugar beets, and on the other hand, they made white sugar, and sold them both domestically and abroad.

This is something that Chuemon is pushing for, just to get ahead of Swire Pacific!

Now the Swell Brothers, after failing to speculate in British cotton, have come to the Far East, looking for business opportunities. It is a pity that one of the most profitable industries of Swire Pacific in the future has already been occupied by Chuemon.

The white granulated sugar produced by Dechuan Xingye not only won praise in the domestic market, but also occupied a considerable share in a short period of time after entering the Qing market.

In a word, what you can’t believe is that the white granulated sugar imported in Shanghai has now exceeded 4 million silver dollars. By the 1990s, the amount of white granulated sugar imported into the Qing Dynasty was over 100 million yuan per year, and Swire Pacific could profit as much as 30 million silver dollars.

Earn 30 million silver dollars a year!

Those who are not greedy are fools!

Hong Chi Shan learned that there were extensive sugarcane planting areas in southern China in the Qing Dynasty. Since the market at the mouth of the Yangtze River has been occupied by Dechuan Xingye, whether the market centered on Guangzhou can be handed over to him to develop.

His plan is also very straightforward. To set up a sugar factory in Hong Kong, he does not need sugar cane from Java and the Philippines. He directly buys the brown sugar produced in the Qing country, and after finishing it in Hong Kong, sells it back to the Qing country.

A simple estimate, UU reading www.uukanshu. com profits may be as high as 120% or more. If this kind of profit is still not tempting, Hong Chi Shan is not a qualified businessman.

Now he is going to be affiliated with Tokugawa Xingye, and use the old Tokugawa’s skin to set up a sugar factory in Hong Kong and start a business.

With the good relationship between Britain and Japan today, not to mention the asylum of the British, at least they are unlikely to set up any huge obstacles to restrain Hongchi Shan.

As for the changes in British-Japanese relations in the next few decades, this business cannot be done. Then don’t do it, anyway, you’ve already earned enough money, so there’s nothing to regret.

“The profit is so high!” Chuemon only knew that this line of business was making money, but he didn’t expect it to be so profitable.

The original plan, one is to develop Ezo and Huatai, so that there is a pillar industry in the local area. The second is to enter the Qing market before Taikoo Yangxing.

Now it seems that this move is a good move.

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