Chapter 91

Uh, I hope the friends who are still reading my book will collect and review it more often. Thanks a lot.

Ma Jia rushed to the Ministry of Finance office and saw that the finance commissioner Tang Yuan was being cornered in his office by the head of the coal working group, Shao Shude. Tang Yuan had nowhere to run and could only listen to Shao Shude's incessant chatter with a grim face.

"Tang Yuan, you must allocate funds to me this time," Shao Shude said, pounding the table with vigor. "There's no other reason; I need to build ships. Specifically, flat-bottomed river boats. After I lead this batch of new immigrants to start mining coal, there will be a significant increase in the transportation of coal, people, supplies, and building materials. The current six small boats are far from enough. We need to build at least six more. Also, the wages for Zhenhai Fort this month need to be paid, and you need to prepare for that."

"The wages will indeed be given to you," Tang Yuan said with a grim face. "But you also want funds to build ships. How is that possible? Don't we still have a batch of air-dried ship materials? Yes, the pine wood. Come on, Old Shao, just use pine wood for the flat-bottomed river boats. Make do with it. Don't tell me you plan to import teak from Southeast Asia to build these river transport ships. As for the wages for Zhenhai Fort this month, I'll write you a note, and you can go directly to the mint to collect the money. Damn, we're spending money like water. The mint is working 24/7 and still can't keep up. The money hasn't even entered the treasury before it's taken directly from the mint. If this continues, what will we do?"

"Hey, Old Tang, quite a lively scene here," Ma Jia said teasingly as he entered the room.

Tang Yuan's expression changed when he saw Ma Jia enter. He quickly wrote a note for Shao Shude, then got up to leave, saying, "Oh, I forgot, I need to send Xiao Xu to Colonia by ship later. Move aside, I need to go out. Hey, Ma Jia, why are you holding me?"

"Give me 1000 yuan, and I'll let you go. The machine textile factory's research group needs to develop a cotton gin, a national key project. Be quick, and hand over the money," Ma Jia said bluntly, pulling on Tang Yuan's sleeve.

"Ma Jia, let me be honest with you. It's not that I don't want to help you, but the treasury is in a dire situation. I'm trying to stretch every penny. I'm already spending like crazy," Tang Yuan sighed. "Since you've come to block my door, I can't just dismiss you easily. I'll give you 300 yuan, and that's the absolute maximum. This amount should be enough to build several cotton gins and keep them busy for a while. When the financial situation improves, I'll allocate more. You know, I need to save at least 20,000 to 25,000 yuan in cash each month for next year's immigration expenses. The current foreign trade situation isn't good. Xiao Xu from the Trade Department told me yesterday that our foreign trade is completely unbalanced, with only imports and no exports. The monthly trade deficit exceeds 10,000 yuan. How can we continue like this? The treasury has only enough money to last three months. What will we do after three months? Eat the wind? We have immigration, two castles under construction, the navy building warships, new projects, and infrastructure. All of these require a massive amount of money. We need to increase revenue and cut expenses. Ma Jia, as the industrial commissioner, improving the economic situation depends on the factories you manage. Tell me, if your factories aren't profitable, what can I do?"

"Um..." Ma Jia was speechless for a moment before he said dejectedly, "After buying some graphite from Colonia recently, the steel mill now has 20 graphite crucibles, and the steel production this month is expected to reach 30 tons. With the steel production back on track, the downstream armory workshops can operate at full capacity. Then, armor, military knives, muskets, cannons, and hardware can be produced continuously. The problem is, we have no market for them. Recently, everyone knows we're at war with the Spanish, and our European customers are staying far away. Now, the cannons, armor, and other items are just piling up in the warehouse. This... there's no way to sell the produced goods. But this situation is temporary. Europe is in chaos, and even Brazil is at war. The demand for military supplies is high. Don't worry, the war has been over for almost four months, and informed merchants might already be on their way to Eastern Harbor. Soon, our income will see a significant increase."

"Ha..." Tang Yuan sneered, not in a hurry to leave. He slowly said, "I just visited the Joint Staff Headquarters yesterday. They currently have 650 flintlock muskets, 2000 military knives, 500 spears, 300 sets of armor, and 22 cannons of various types in their arsenal. These are emergency reserves and cannot be touched. Ma Jia, you know your factories best. Tell me, if the workforce is sufficient and the monthly steel production is stable at 30 tons or more, how much value can your armories create each month? How much tax can they contribute to the state?"

"8-pound and heavier cannons cannot be sold in principle. If we focus on producing 8-pound and lighter cannons and other military products, and assuming all can be sold, with a 25% tax rate, we can contribute about 4000 to 5000 yuan in taxes," Ma Jia calculated quickly.

"Alright, let's say 5000 yuan. Including other miscellaneous income, the state's monthly revenue will not exceed 6000 yuan. What about the current expenses?" Tang Yuan counted on his fingers, "Last month, we bought 500 cattle for 5000 yuan; paid 2500 yuan to the naval shipyard for shipbuilding; 2500 yuan to the Joint Staff Headquarters for military expenses; 2500 yuan for various salaries and office expenses; and 1000 yuan for miscellaneous trade and expenses. Total expenses: 13500 yuan. Without exports, the government will go bankrupt in three months. So, I'm saying, everyone is having a hard time, and we need to understand each other. Next month, we need to prepare the annual financial report. Given the current situation, it's impossible to do it. It's all a mess."

Tang Yuan continued to talk, barely convincing the two of them. Then he rushed to the dock to give some last-minute instructions to Xiao Bai, the representative of the Huaxia East Coast Republic to Colonia, before he left, hoping he could bring some benefits to the treasury from Colonia.

...

Shao Shude entered the captain's cabin of the "Galicia Flying Fish" transport ship. Captain Julien de Hebrard was directing the sailors to raise the sails, preparing to set sail back to Zhenhai Fort. This time, the ship carried some tools and a small amount of supplies, as well as over 500 immigrants—more accurately, over 500 Tatar people, with roughly equal numbers of men and women.

This was actually a not-so-funny joke. A merchant from Venice heard that a group of "Tatars" had established a country in the eastern region. Driven by profit, he found the Russians and bought some Tatar slaves from them at a high price, then loaded them onto a ship and transported them to Eastern Harbor, hoping to sell them for a high price.

However, the reality disappointed him. The nobles in charge of Eastern Harbor did not look like Tatars at all. They just looked at the poor Venetian merchant with pity and amusement, then gave him 10,000 yuan in cash to cover the expenses. Of course, this shrewd merchant did not leave with just the money. He exchanged it for over 1000 high-quality furs, over 300 wool blankets, and some military knives from the穿越众's warehouse. These items, especially the furs, were in high demand in Europe, which somewhat comforted his "injured" heart and allowed him to make some profit.

On the morning of November 29, when the "Galicia Flying Fish" arrived at the port of Zhenhai Fort, which was now somewhat developed, the over 500 Tatars rested briefly and were then transported in batches to Ping'an Fort by flat-bottomed boats. Of course, Ping'an Fort was not their final destination. After arriving, they would be sent to the coal mine located upstream of the Kai River.

These Tatars would start mining coal on the coalfield. They would be the first coal miners under the jurisdiction of the Executive Committee. With the help of the nearby Guarani people, the construction team under the coal working group had already built a batch of brick and wood mixed structures near the coal mine, which could accommodate the 500 people. The area around the coal mine, apart from the Guarani tribe, was surrounded by vast mountains and primeval forests. For their safety, the Ping'an Fort security team provided them with 50 spears as weapons for self-defense. Additionally, a platoon of army soldiers was stationed with them, both to protect them and to monitor them indirectly.

When the first batch of about 100 Tatars arrived at the coal mine, the Ping'an Fort side sent a 10-person security team to the mine to assist the resident army in managing these newly arrived Tatars, who might still be unstable. Ando Jūgo, as the leader of this small security team, was honorably appointed as an army reserve sergeant. He would lead his Japanese compatriots to serve as overseers and stay there for a period.

This almost isolated place, apart from coal, produced nothing else in the short term. Therefore, two boats would bring them daily living supplies from Ping'an Fort in the morning and evening, and take away some of the mined coal when returning. In short, they needed to support themselves.

On December 7, under the guidance of technical personnel, the Tatars at the mine selected a location and began excavation. In the afternoon, they dug out the first batch of coal. From then on, the Huaxia East Coast Republic ended its history of zero coal production.

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