Chapter 254 Bank
The discussion among the people under Wei Jichen became more and more heated, and his mood became much more relaxed. Everyone in the world was motivated by fame and fortune, so he would use fame and fortune to drive them.
Wei Jichen nodded slightly to Yan Dunyuan, and Yan Dunyuan took out several projects that he had already planned and began to introduce them to everyone.
Zhang Zuolin's Taishan Zhao Zhanyuan had no objections to Zhang Zuolin this time. Although he was a wealthy landlord and had never opened a company or run a factory, he was good at observing. He saw that several gentlemen and businessmen he knew had happy faces, and they all looked happy. He looked impatient and knew that making money would probably not be a problem.
At the same time, he was thinking that this young General Wei was very famous in Liaodong. He cherished his feathers and would not ruin his reputation. Since he had promised this, what else did he fear? Zhao Zhanyuan began to think about it. How much money do you have left on hand?
"Father-in-law, this is an industry that we in Liaodong have recently supported. Please take a look at it." Zhang Zuolin respectfully placed a piece of information in front of Zhao Zhanyuan. He put on his reading glasses and picked it up without comment.
There are matchmaking factories, cement factories, paper mills, printing factories, candle factories, sugar factories, flour mills, raw silk factories, glass factories, machine bricks and tiles factories, oil pressing factories, and mining is also open this year. There are 4 mining photos, 13 prospecting photos, etc.
There are no less than dozens of projects, and each project has a detailed description and the approximate total amount of funds required, so that these businessmen can weigh it in their own minds. Zhao Zhanyuan was dazzled when he saw it.
Zhao Zhanyuan was just a moderate landlord, and the landlord's family didn't have much surplus food. He was able to collect 30,000 taels of silver in a short period of time. It was because he trusted his son-in-law and Wei Jichen that he dared to sacrifice his wealth and life.
"Yuting, which factory do you think is better for me to take a stake in?" Zhao Zhanyuan put away the information and rubbed his temples with a headache.
Zhang Zuolin thought for a while and said in a low voice: "In fact, in my son-in-law's opinion, every project is very promising, but considering your situation, my father-in-law, I think the sugar factory and flour mill should be good."
Zhao Zhanyuan was stunned and said in confusion: "If you didn't tell me, I almost forgot. Doesn't this flour mill need wheat? But where can we grow wheat in the Northeast?"
The crops used in the sugar factory are sugar beets, the raw materials used in the flour mill are wheat, and the raw materials used in the oil pressing plant are soybeans. Wei Jichen has already planned this. These processed agricultural products can also be exported.
As a landowner, Zhao Zhanyuan was not familiar with other things, but he still knew about agriculture.
Zhang Zuolin looked around and then lowered his voice and said: "Father-in-law, you didn't know this. Wei Shuai has already opened an agricultural experimental field. He has selected various wheat varieties from home and abroad for testing, and has selected those suitable for the soil and climate of our Northeast. The seeds are waiting to be promoted next year. If my father-in-law participates, he will come out on top. "
Agriculture is the top priority. In addition to setting up a breeding base on Changxing Island, Wei Jichen also wants to establish an agricultural school in Haicheng with Iketanga to cultivate agricultural talents. The agricultural school will definitely have an agricultural test field attached. , pastures, etc., to facilitate students’ internship. After graduation, these students will engage in agricultural education and popularize modern agricultural knowledge.
This is not considered a leak by Zhang Zuolin, because Wei Jichen has already begun to notify local governments, asking them to reveal the news, and persuade the farmers so that they will not be caught off guard next year.
Zhang Zuolin saw that Zhao Zhanyuan was still hesitant, so he couldn't help but vowed: "Father-in-law, believe me this time. If you lose money, I will pay it in advance."
Zhao Zhanyuan gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, but it's impossible for a person to hang himself on a tree, so I will divide the 30,000 taels of silver into two parts, one part for the flour mill and one part for the match factory."
In fact, with more than 30,000 yuan, he could start a flour mill by himself. However, because Zhao Zhanyuan had no experience, he did not dare to start it on his own, so he had to participate in a shareholding.
After everyone had looked at it and had a general idea, Wei Jichen struck while the iron was hot and asked Yan Dunyuan to start counting.
Just like this, you pay 10,000 taels and I pay 20,000 taels. Many wealthy businessmen even spent more than 100,000 taels in one go to start a factory by themselves. Wei Jichen only needed to buy him machines.
When Wei Jichen finally got the summary, he couldn't help but gasped. These guys were so rich. There were more than 500 people. After statistics, the total invested assets reached more than 23 million, with an average of almost 40,000 per person. Two, it seems that there is no shortage of rich people in any era, especially now. Some gentry and businessmen have accumulated wealth for generations. This time, Wei Jichen persuaded him to invest most of his family property.
There is a limit on the number of factories for each project. For example, flour mills can only open 10 next year. This is not because of worries about sales, but because if the number is not limited, everyone will swarm to invest in the same project. Being left out in the cold to some other projects is not conducive to Wei Jichen's full-scale layout.
What surprised Wei Jichen was that the more than twenty planers were the most generous, many of them worth more than 100,000 taels, and they were selected from the mining industry, mainly coal mines. It seemed that these guys were all smart people.
I saw that the government was building the Anshan Iron Works, which would definitely require a lot of coal, so I wanted to help.
Wei Jichen's network almost wiped out most of the gentry, merchants and landlords in Fengtian, united them to his side at once, and diverted their attention to attract them to join industry instead of focusing on the land.
"Okay, okay, I didn't expect everyone to trust me, Wei Jichen, so much. Come on, serve the dishes, and start the banquet." Wei Jichen said with a smile on his face. Most of the 20 million taels of silver will be legally earned in his pocket. This is how Wei Jichen exchanges merit points and prestige points for silver.
When more people see that they have successfully made money, Wei Jichen's business will only get better and better, and I'm afraid that merit points and prestige points will not be enough.
My dear, there is more to this chapter^.^,
For a while, the guests and hosts were all happy, and Wei Jichen got drunk.
The next day, Wei Jichen had to do one more thing before leaving Haicheng, and this thing would be related to the economic development of the entire three northeastern provinces, that is, to open a bank. The importance of the bank is needless to say. It can quickly transform the rich resources of the three northeastern provinces into economic advantages, which is conducive to resisting the invasion of Japanese and Russian capital, and also helps to raise funds and build railways.
Originally, the first Chinese-run bank in the Qing Dynasty, the Commercial Bank, was not established until Sheng Xuanhuai was established in Shanghai the year after.
However, now Yiktang'a and Wei Jichen from the three provinces of the East have petitioned the court, while Li Hongzhang, Sheng Xuanhuai, Wang Wenshao and others have petitioned the court. The two parties have the same goal, all to run a bank, and they have worked together to influence the court. In addition, Guangxu also has this intention, so he agreed to open two official commercial banks, one is the Tongshang Bank, and the other is the Dongsan Provinces Bank.
Wei Jichen cannot intervene in the Tongshang Bank. The Tongshang Bank recruits 5 million taels of shares, first collecting half of 2.5 million taels, and borrowing 1 million taels of silver from the Ministry of Revenue. The bank will return the 1 million taels to the Ministry of Revenue, thus turning them into commercial shares.
Damn it, before Wei Jichen got the news, the commercial shares of the Bank of Communications had been divided up by others. The China Merchants Steam Navigation Company and the Telegraph Bureau supervised by Sheng Xuanhuai invested 800,000 taels and 200,000 taels respectively, which was half of the total. Sheng Xuanhuai and Li Hongzhang and others invested another 700,000 taels in their personal names, and Wang Wenshao, the Minister of Beiyang, invested another 50,000 taels. The rest was also filled by officials of the Beiyang system. There was not much left for pure businessmen, and Wei Jichen didn't care about this.
Fortunately, the court also agreed to the request of the three northeastern provinces to open the Bank of the Three Northeastern Provinces.
Wei Jichen now has a lot of spare money in his hands. As long as he changes hands, he will have more than 10 million taels. If it weren't for the purpose of sharing the benefits and giving some sweetness to other officials in the three northeastern provinces, he could have taken it all by himself. Unfortunately, no matter what era, eating alone will only be despised.
The person sent by Yiktang'a to discuss this matter with Wei Jichen was Chen Weiren, an official from the Ministry of Revenue in Shengjing.
As the secondary capital, Shengjing has subordinate institutions such as the Printing Office, the Household, Rites, Military, Criminal, and Works Departments.
Shengjing's Ministry of Revenue is of course also in charge of Fengtian's finances.
Chen Weiren is in his forties, considered a young official, of course, he cannot be compared with Wei Jichen.
He is considered a relatively open-minded and capable official, so Yiktang'a sent him to meet Wei Jichen.
"General Wei, the court has agreed to our opening of a bank in the three northeastern provinces. Our Shengjing Ministry of Revenue will use 1 million taels of treasury silver as official shares, and like China Merchants Bank, China Merchants shares will be 5 million taels." Chen Weiren said with some excitement. He was originally just an official in Shengjing's Ministry of Revenue, but because he knew a little about banking, he was sent to handle this major event. If he were to be promoted at the usual rate, he didn't know how long he would have to wait.
Wei Jichen frowned and said, "Only 5 million taels of silver are being offered for investment? That's too little. How can the combined power of our three northeastern provinces be smaller than that of Sheng Xuanhuai and others?"
"What does the general mean?" Chen Weiren asked cautiously. He came the day before yesterday and saw Wei Jichen's unpredictable behavior last night. He persuaded those gentry merchants to buy machines and open new factories in a few words. He admired and respected him.
"Add two million taels to make up 8 million taels. I believe you saw it last night. There are many rich people in our three northeastern provinces. Once they hear about the bank's investment, they will probably rush in." Wei Jichen said with a smile.
With a slight gesture, a personal soldier put a gift on the table. Wei Jichen said with a pleasant face, "I heard that Lord Chen likes Nalan Rongruo's poems. I accidentally got a piece. It's better to give it to a master like Lord Chen. Otherwise, it will be wasted here."
Chen Weiren was happy, but a little embarrassed. After all, Wei Jichen was much more powerful than him.
Wei Jichen pushed it into his hands and said, "Don't misunderstand, Lord Chen. We hit it off right away. This is just a small token of my appreciation."
Wei Jichen had investigated Chen Weiren and knew that he was not a very honest official. He could be bribed and used to empty the Shengjing Ministry of Revenue through the Northeast Three Provinces Bank in the future.
A small token of appreciation, Chen Weiren secretly swallowed his saliva. Wei Jichen meant that there would be a big token of appreciation in the future.
He couldn't help but pick it up and secretly took a look. In addition to a painting, there were more than ten silver bills, probably no less than several thousand taels.
Chen Weimin put the gift into his sleeve without making a sound. He smiled and said hurriedly, "I don't really understand the bank's affairs. I still have to rely on the general to take care of everything."