After sending Ha Ting away with gifts, Xiao and Su breathed a sigh of relief. The impact of Ha Ting's remarks was huge, but they had to admit that the fresh breath brought by this old man was refreshing.
The issue of stock trading is actually nothing new in the empire. Many people join forces to invest and operate industries to calculate their shares according to the proportion of capital contribution, and the transfer of these shares becomes an equity transaction. However, most of these equity transfers are between acquaintances. If the stock exchange is to be established, the imperial finance department may have to send people to Haosheng to inspect the operation of the stock exchanges in the countries in the Western Continent, and futures trading may be even more troublesome. However, being able to effectively avoid the risks of agricultural products is enough for Haosheng to consider this benefit. Cheap grain hurts farmers, and grain shortages kill farmers. It is undoubtedly not enough to adjust this contradictory complex simply by establishing a grain reserve mechanism. If futures trading can be used to adjust, this risk can undoubtedly be reduced to an even lower level.
The sale of the ash oar yard and rubber factory is even more unacceptable. These two products can not only earn huge profits for the empire, but also allow the empire to always maintain control of these two strategic products. This is It is very important, but what Harding said is also very reasonable. These two products are important materials related to people's livelihood. The demand for them by the people of the empire is extremely huge, especially for gray paddles. Now the output of more than ten gray paddle farms is even It is difficult to meet even one tenth, which severely restricts the empire from promoting its huge infrastructure construction plan, if these gray paddle yards can be sold. This will allow us to reorganize the layout and build more ash paddling fields, and the huge profits will also stimulate more private funds to flow into these industries. This driving effect cannot be ignored.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Harding's suggestion does have merit. I am thinking about stock exchanges and futures exchanges sooner or later. The positive impact of these two institutions is obvious, and Merry is also a member of the empire. Part of it, if it is more suitable there, it is not a bad idea to build it there. Moreover, as Mr. Harding said, as long as the conditions are mature in other places, we can also build a second one. Now the trial in Meili can also accumulate some experience for us." Su Qin Finally breaking the silence, he supported Harding's suggestion.
"As for selling the gray paddle field, this is a good suggestion. The production process of the gray paddle field is not complicated, and it is very difficult to keep it secret. It is better to take this opportunity to develop in an all-round way and seize the market. The demand in the empire is already unimaginable. number, so I think it is very necessary to sell and build more mortar yards, and I just made a silent estimate. Now alone, the empire needs to build at least twenty more mortar yards and expand their output, maybe it can It barely meets the construction plan implemented by the empire, and as for private construction, I dare not include it."
"Well, I also agree with this point of view. The rubber factory can be sold as well. The imperial government can retain the necessary equity, but the person to be sold must choose someone who is absolutely loyal to the empire. Fortunately, our gunpowder invention has not yet been officially industrialized. Otherwise, if this old man like Hating finds out, I don’t know what he will think of it." Wu Feng nodded slightly and supported Su Qin's view.
"Your Majesty, the manufacture of gunpowder must not be disclosed to the outside world like ash paddles and glue. The military use of this kind of thing is too great and can only be in the hands of the imperial government. I feel that this kind of thing has the potential to change the way wars are fought in the future. Even in the future, It is urgently needed by the people and can only be used by the military or government personnel."
Xiao Tang was shocked. Although the invention and production of gunpowder was the first invention of the Imperial Science and Technology Development Department, in fact this kind of thing had appeared a long time ago, especially the folk firecrackers and the military trumpets as early as the Tanghe Empire. It has been widely used, but it has never attracted people's attention. The Imperial Science and Technology Development Department only perfected the formula of gunpowder and began to use it for other purposes, especially military purposes. For example, the Ministry of Science and Technology Development is already researching a type of gunpowder that places the gunpowder in a sealed metal tube and uses the propelling force generated by the combustion of the gunpowder to push the metal projectile out. It is said that the range has exceeded Gongnu, and it can also be fired at once. Although the multiple metal projectiles are still under further development, Wu Feng, Xiao Su and the two Privy Council envoys have vaguely seen a new dawn shrouding the empire.
"Brother Xiao is right. The formula of this kind of thing must not be disclosed to the outside world. The empire should classify it as a first-class secret and block it. Isn't it that the Ministry of Science and Technology Development and the Privy Council have been studying the effects of gunpowder in weapon improvement? What? There are already samples of gunpowder and Hongtianlei. I wonder if they have been tested in practice?" Su Qin also firmly opposed the introduction of this new gunpowder formula to the market. In his opinion, this can only be done by the government and the military. Control and the private sector will never allow this kind of production.
"Haha, you two seem to be more anxious than me. I didn't say that gunpowder is like ash paddle and glue. At present, the production and applicable scope of gunpowder have not been officially clarified, and its formula may still be very unclear. There is a lot of room for improvement. Although a batch of samples of gunpowder and Hongtian Lei have been produced and have undergone a series of use experiments, it is worth further exploring how effective these things can be in war. Hongtian Thunder may work wonders in sieges, but the requirements for casting gun barrels are too high. It seems that the iron-making department has not yet been able to produce a completely satisfactory product. This requires the technical level of the metallurgy department to be improved. Gunpowder There are more problems, the shooting speed is too slow, there are many fire failures, and it is easy to get wet. Alas, it seems that it is not easy for a new thing to become mainstream." Wu Feng said with some regret, both gunpowder and Hongtian Lei have appeared. Although they are powerful, their shortcomings and shortcomings are also obvious. If you want to improve and reform these problems, they will not be effective in a short time.
"Your Majesty is not too anxious. As far as I know, several large smelting factories are trying their best to improve iron-making technology. The Imperial Science and Technology Development Department has provided them with a lot of help, and has also offered a bonus of one million gold coins. If Which smelting factory can be the first to make a breakthrough in refining forged iron? Not only can it enjoy a patent, but it can also receive a one million gold coin bonus from the Department of Science and Technology Development. Now several large smelting factories are working hard to start from mineral processing. We carried out large-scale experimental improvements in terms of fuels, iron-making furnaces, etc., and also hired many technicians from the Western Continent to spend huge sums of money to build new iron-making furnaces, hoping to achieve breakthroughs in the shortest possible time. As long as we obtain breakthroughs in this regard With a breakthrough, the bottleneck that plagues Hong Tianlei can be solved."
Xiao Tang is also confident about the current economic development situation of the empire. The only thing that worries him is that the Department of Science and Technology Development spends too much budget money. In the budget of the empire at the beginning of last year, the Department of Science and Technology Development proposed a budget that was more than twice what he imagined. Almost all department heads criticized the Ministry of Science and Technology Development, but this was fully supported by His Majesty the Emperor. Now it seems that the funds of the Ministry of Science and Technology are still used wisely, at least to stimulate the iron smelting department. It has achieved good results in its development. A bonus of one million gold coins has at least allowed those iron smelting factories to invest tens of millions more imperial gold coins in technological transformation and expansion of production. After accounting, it is still quite cost-effective.
"I'm not anxious, but seeing that such a powerful weapon cannot be used in actual combat, don't you think this is deliberately making people uncomfortable? If these shortcomings and flaws can be solved, how can we deal with the heavy cavalry and city commanders of the Liberians? With the thick wall of the fortress pass, I have an extra trump card in my hand, and the Eastern Continent can be leveled soon!" Thinking of this, Wu Feng felt very high-spirited, but it was a pity that all this had to wait until the science and technology development department came up with the results.
"Your Majesty, we have gone off topic again. Have you decided on Mr. Harding's suggestion? If it is confirmed that a stock exchange and a futures exchange can be established in Luxor, then we will have to send personnel to the Western Continent immediately to study, and Mei Li County also had to ask the Ministry of Finance and Governor Tieliu to make arrangements for a two-pronged approach. There were also matters related to the mortar yard and the rubber factory. Xiao Tang and Su Qin exchanged glances to bring Wu Feng back from his imagination.
"Well, I have decided that it is better to do it sooner rather than later. Since Luxor has the most suitable conditions in all aspects, we should start it now. However, Luxor is thousands of miles away from the mainland of the empire. I am thinking of establishing a stock exchange there. and futures exchanges can at most radiate to India and the Central Continent. The empire still needs to establish these two institutions on the Eastern Continent to promote the further sustainable development of industry and commerce in the interior of the empire. Everything can be learned. Come on, Luxor takes the lead. I think we can choose a place to follow in Jiangnan or East China Sea. We cannot let the interior of the empire lag behind the western territories of the empire. A strong foundation is the foundation for the empire to remain strong. "
The profound meaning of Wu Feng's words made Xiao Tang and Su Qin couldn't help but nod. Only by keeping the empire's mainland economically leading and strong can the empire's remote territories be protected forever. In addition to cultural assimilation, the centripetal force of the empire is also a crucial factor. The economic base determines the superstructure. This has been proven by many examples. The empire will not suppress the development of other places, but it will never let it go. The backwardness of the mainland is a principle.