Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 817 Destination

  At the time when the war in the north was raging, the Ocean Empire’s economy was thriving. Thanks to the large number of orders in the war, the economy was like taking a big tonic, and its development momentum was strong.

  West Xiangzhou, Lumen City

  Lu Qiang, wearing a satin coat and gold-wire glasses, looked at a long line of BMW trucks full of tall tobacco leaf packs, waiting to enter the tobacco station, with a spirited expression on his face.

  In his eyes; where is the tobacco leaf packet, this is all the money!

  The Northern War brought a large number of cigarette orders. His four large-scale cigarette factories are now in operation 24 hours a day and night. The cigarettes produced are divided up in the factory, and bundles of banknotes are rolling in.

  The tax bureau and the bank work in the factory, and they settle daily, and the banknotes are so many that they are hauled by trucks.

  The demand in the north is strong. As the main tobacco production area, the cities and towns of the Jinshui River Basin in West Xiangzhou have expanded the scale of tobacco planting, which has increased by more than 40% compared with the previous year, and the supply is still in short supply.

  The only shortcoming is that the tobacco industry’s heavy taxes are too high. Several taxes add up to a total of 65% of the profits, leaving only a small head to the enterprise.

  Even so, it still makes a lot of money.

  In the cruel war

  The soldiers are facing tremendous pressure and life-death crisis. Smoking is a good vent channel. Both the Japanese and Russian armies distribute cigarettes as munitions. The tighter the war ahead, the greater the demand.

  Millions of soldiers have become addicted to cigarettes, and it is not easy to quit.

  West Xiangzhou’s biggest competitor is the tobacco planting base in the Legazpi area of ​​the Luzon Islands. They continue to expand the tobacco planting area this year and sell some cigarettes to the north to get a share of the pie.

The Somali company originally promised not to sell cigarettes in Southeast Asia and the Far East. The main markets are Europe, North America, Mozambique and South Africa, but their business is very shrewd. Somehow they got on the line of the Russians through His Royal Highness and supplied cigarettes to the Russian army. .

  Sir Qiang Lu, as the president of the West Xiangzhou Tobacco Industry Federation and a heavyweight in the business world, is not clear about the details.

  This can be seen

  Somali company chairman, Viscount Li Yong, is a legendary figure with vast magical powers.

  Ocean Empire remained neutral in the Russo-Japanese War and did not participate in the Anglo-Japanese alliance. Therefore, it has the right to supply materials to the two participating countries. Both sides benefit from it. However, the combined fleet of the Fusang Nation did not dare to attack the Ocean Empire merchant ships.

  At this critical time, the Fusang country has no capital to make extravagant branches.

  As far as Sir Lu Qiang knows;

Central Kalimantan signed a contract with Japan to supply 800,000 tons of rice, Qingdao signed a contract with Japan to supply 15,000 tons of beef and mutton, Moresby signed a contract with Japan to supply 850 tons of canned food, Tianshu City Signed a contract for the supply of large amounts of sugar with the Japanese side.

  In addition, there are belts, tents, barbed wire, soybean meal, etc., and hundreds of various supply contracts have strongly supported Japanese operations.

The Somali company was on the other side. Not only did they supply a large amount of cigarettes to the Tsarist Russian army, but also prohibited grain, meat, etc., and seized a large number of cans and grains produced in the Ocean Empire in the Tsarist positions occupied by the Japanese army. And other materials, only weapons and ammunition.

  This is also the real reason why the Fusang country can bear this bad breath. If the Somali company supplies weapons and ammunition to the Russian army, it will really be unbearable.

  With the support of the United Kingdom, Fusang will really turn its face.

   tell the truth

  Sir Lu Qiang admired Viscount Humen’s courage to dig gold in the fire. He really couldn’t do it for ordinary businessmen, and he didn’t dare to touch tiger ass.

  Ocean Empire is betting on both ends in the middle, making a lot of money. Sir Lu Qiang hopes that Japan and Russia can play as long as possible, so that everyone can make a fortune.

  Fuso people’s ability to pay needless to say, there is a large UK loan endorsed, which is already close to 2 billion yen. I heard that...there will be new loans under negotiation in the future.

  Tsarist Russia’s ability to pay is also okay. As an ally, although France did not send a soldier to participate in the Russo-Japanese War, the French franc loan is real, and there is no need to doubt it.

  In fact, the French Indochina Peninsula is a well-known rice-producing area. Rice has been grown in the middle and lower reaches of the Mekong River for more than a thousand years, and it has the ability to provide grain and logistics materials to Russian allies.

  But France’s identity is a bit embarrassing. Because of the existence of the French-Russian alliance, the Fuso country is watching very closely. Once it finds that the French merchant ship is crossing the Tianjin Port line northward, it will intercept it and make a strong protest.

  At this time, the British Empire will come forward to solve the problem, hoping that France will exercise restraint and not violate the Anglo-French covenant and intervene in the war.

  The reason is simple;

  Britain and France formed an alliance, Britain and Japan formed an alliance, and France and Russia formed an alliance.

  So, Japan and Russia, which are now stigmatized in the Far East, are essentially allies or indirect allies of France, so I asked who you should help?

  Ocean Empire did not have these scruples. He has no alliances with the above three countries and maintains de facto neutrality. It is impossible for him to sever normal trade with Japan and Russia because of the Russo-Japanese War.

  You fight your war, and my business will follow suit.

  One came because the Ocean Empire was strong enough to ignore Fusang’s grievances.

  Secondly, the Fusang country relies on the supply of a large number of materials from the Ocean Empire. Looking around the countries around the Western Pacific, the French Indochina Peninsula is capable but not capable of supplying, while other countries want to supply but cannot.

  Offended Ocean Empire, you have to think about whether the consequences can be bearable.

  As for the Citi nation on the other side of the Pacific, it is difficult to project influence to the Western Pacific region due to the obstruction of the United Kingdom and the Ocean Kingdom, and can only stay in North America to dominate.

  Don’t think that the Ocean Empire is wary of Citi. In fact, the United Kingdom is more wary of Citi. After the entry of the 20th century, Citi’s economy has surpassed that of the United Kingdom, ranking first in the world. This has given the United Kingdom a serious sense of crisis.

  Any country that threatens the throne of the world hegemony of the British Empire is an indomitable enemy of Britain, even if it is a son.

  So the British are most vigilant about the two countries, one is Germany, which threatens Britain militarily, and the other is Citi, which threatens Britain economically.

  In the geostrategy of the Western Pacific region;

  The "Anglo-Japanese Alliance" on the one hand prevents Russian forces from going south, and on the other hand, prevents the Chinese flag states from crossing the Pacific Ocean and encroaching on the Western Pacific. The third obscure aspect prevents the Ocean Empire from gaining power and plays a role of checks and balances.

  Speaking of playing a check-and-balance strategy, the British guy is a master, and the three birds with one stone in the Anglo-Japanese alliance is a proud work.

  This way

  In the Western Pacific region, the Ocean Empire and the Fusang Kingdom were "manifold keeping the door", and they were really tightly closed.

  Let’s ask, how does Citi’s influence penetrate?

   "Master, just now the state government administrative office called, it is about education and charity, you see..."

  "Oh, this is a charity action initiated by the Tobacco Industry Association. You can contact the tobacco factory owners. Tomorrow morning, we will hold a symposium on funding education and charity. Everyone will generously donate some and do good and accumulate blessings."

   "Understood, I will call to inform."

  The people rushed to do something. Lu Qiang did not leave. Instead, he stood on the second floor of the office of the tobacco purchasing station, overlooking the hilly yard, watching the busy people everywhere, full of sense of accomplishment in his heart.

Nowadays, BMW trucks have become popular due to their great advantages. Compared with horse-drawn carts, trucks have a large carrying capacity, are fast, and can transport around the clock. With a distance of 10 kilometers from the tobacco station, the transportation efficiency is more than 20 times that of the carriage.

  Lu's Tobacco Company has ordered 40 new three-ton BMW trucks at one time, which will be used for transportation between ports.

  As a businessman, he will count an economic account.

  Lumen City is located in the middle reaches of the Jinshui River Basin. It is 234 kilometers away from the nearest seaport. It takes more than ten days to transport it back and forth by horse-drawn carts. It takes two trips a month to transport almost one ton of goods.

  Transported by a three-ton BMW truck, even if it is not overloaded, if one round trip is calculated in two days, it can run 15 times a month, that is 45 tons of cargo.

  Which one is better than worse, can’t be better understood.

  Lumen City is a city dominated by agriculture. The mainstay of the economy is the tobacco industry and natural rubber plantation industry. There are also some agricultural products such as food, melons and fruits, mostly for self-consumption.

  Thanks to the prosperous development of the automobile industry, the price of natural rubber has risen step by step in recent years, coupled with the rapid development of the tobacco industry, the income of residents in Lumen City has increased substantially, reaching the level of affluent areas.

  On the city street

  Various small cars are already very common. The city's car ownership exceeds 2,700, with an average of 130 people owning one, which is a very high proportion.

  This is a typical garden city, surrounded by green trees, full of pavilions with strong Ming and Qing architectural characteristics, like a paradise in the mountains.

  Across Shangri-La Island

  In terms of wealth, Longmen City, located in the Jinli Copper and Gold Mining Bureau, deserves the first place, Lumen City can be ranked second, and Tianquan City, which has the largest population, can only be ranked third.

  Lumen City, formerly known as "Lujia Town", has now developed into a second-tier city with a population of more than 360,000. There are many Lu clan people living in the city. The folk customs are simple and the family atmosphere is very strong.

  Sir Qiang Lu has devoted most of his life to this city. The development of the city is where he is most proud. He is the first to donate hospitals, schools, bridges and roads, build parks, and contribute to the construction of beautiful homes.

  Under the leadership of Lu's Tobacco Company, more wealthy tobacco factory owners and planters are enthusiastic about charity, and they work together to build Lumen City into a beautiful mountain garden city.

  The mountains here are particularly green, the water is particularly clear, and the air is particularly sweet. Lu Qiang is deeply attached to the city. Only here can you find a sense of belonging.

  No matter how prosperous the metropolis outside is, it can't give him the kindness of his hometown. He will be buried here even if he is dead.

  Here is the destination.

  (End of this chapter)