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Zhang Mingqi explained directly: "Shanghai in the Jiangnan region, Hong Kong in South China, and Yingkou in Northeast my country are now the three major financial centers of our country."
Zhao Yan quickly reached out and said, "Old Zhang, are you out of your mind? How did you connect the terms 'Northeast China' and 'financial center' together?"
"There's a financial center in Northeast China too? Are you trying to cheer me up by telling me jokes because you think I'm in a bad mood lately?"
Zhang Mingqi was also puzzled. Where did the leader's prejudice come from? Why did he have such a big misunderstanding about Northeast China?
Zhang Mingqi quickly recounted the events in detail. Even though the Northeast region lacked industrialization in those days, it was not a barren land, but rather a treasure trove.
And although the Northeast is remote and seemingly lacks the convenient maritime and shipping trade advantages of the Guangdong and Guangxi regions and the Jiangnan region, it does not mean that the Northeast has not participated in China's foreign exports.
On the contrary, the Northeast region is one of China's major export production areas and is very prosperous, playing a pivotal role in foreign exports.
The fundamental reason is soybeans! As early as the late Qing Dynasty, the scale of soybean export trade in Northeast China at its peak was enormous, with annual exports of 100,000 tons of finished soybeans, 1.8 million tons of soybean meal, and 150,000 tons of soybean oil.
Our main customers are Europe and Japan. The uses of soybean products are self-evident. Soybean meal, which is the byproduct after soybean oil extraction, is commonly known as soybean cake. It is an excellent livestock feed, and soybean meal has a high nitrogen content, making it a natural source of nitrogen fertilizer for agriculture.
Soybean meal plays a vital role in agriculture and animal husbandry. Europeans import it in large quantities, and Japanese farms also purchase it in large quantities from China.
Finally, soybean oil, besides being a cooking oil, is also an industrial oil. It is a major raw material for the lubricants needed in Europe's current arms race, raw materials for paint manufacturing, soap manufacturing, and nitroglycerin explosives!
Soybeans have so many uses, and the world's main soybean producing region and the place with the largest output is Northeast China. For soybeans from this region, Europe and Japan have even established special ocean shipping routes, with a large number of merchant ships and giant ships dedicated to transporting soybeans to Europe and then transporting machinery and equipment back to China on the return trip.
Meanwhile, due to the high profits, wide applications, and broad market of soybeans, soybean futures contracts, loans, transfers, and various other financial transactions are all conducted at Yingkou Port in Northeast China.
Over time, Yingkou Port has become an important financial center in China, attracting a huge amount of capital due to soybeans.
Soybeans have become a star export product alongside tea, raw silk, and porcelain, even surpassing items like pig bristles and tung oil, because the global soybean market relies on supplies from Northeast China.
During the Far East War, the Northeast was affected by the war, and soybean export trade was interrupted. Europe was immediately in great distress. France and Germany even joined forces to pressure Britain to open the sea lanes to ensure the smooth flow of soybean trade.
At that time, the price of soybeans on the international market soared to an astronomical price of £1.9 per ton, which even the British themselves could not bear.
After the war, trade routes in Northeast China remained open, and with the Republican government's vigorous development of the region, soybean production surged. However, prices remained tight, and demand even exceeded supply.
The reason is that China itself has also started to need this stuff in large quantities. Last year, the Northeast had a bumper soybean harvest, with total output exceeding 10 million tons, reaching 12 million tons, but domestic demand was as high as 7 million tons.
While ordinary Chinese people may not be able to afford milk, they still have a need for protein. The Ministry of Education has even started promoting the idea of "one pound of beans a day to strengthen the Chinese people," requiring schools across the country to provide students with a cup of soy milk and a piece of tofu free of charge every day. With the development of the private economy, the demand for protein-rich soy products is also increasing.
The demand for further processed soybean products in China is also enormous, especially after Zhao Yan unified the grasslands and vigorously developed grassland animal husbandry. Relying solely on grass was no longer sufficient, and a large amount of soybean meal was needed as a feed supplement.
Moreover, there is a great demand for soybean meal in agriculture. Everyone knows the role of soybean cake in fertilizing fields. Every year during spring and summer planting seasons, the agricultural sector needs to purchase large quantities of soybean meal to help farmers in rural areas to make up for the fertilizer shortage.
And soybean oil goes without saying. Not to mention its industrial uses as a raw material, its sole purpose as an edible oil is to feed 400 million people. As the economy develops, food is the most important thing for the people.
Everyone understands how much effort Chinese people will put into getting food. With the surge in demand for cooking oil, many people, after being exempted from taxes, are exchanging surplus grain for oil in the market.
The rise in domestic market demand has made exporting a problem; even if all the soybeans were sold to the domestic market, 12 million tons would still be too little.
However, if the export-to-domestic sales policy is cancelled, the country will lose a considerable amount of foreign exchange, and Yingkou, the current vibrant financial center of Northeast China, will also disappear.
Now, Northeast China has regained its eastern access to the sea through North Korea Province. The central government has assigned the port of Rajin and its surrounding areas in North Korea Province to Jilin Province. In reality, Northeast China includes four provinces, including North Korea Province.
Currently, soybeans are the main hard currency for the four northeastern provinces to participate in international trade. Other provinces within the Great Wall are putting pressure on the northeast to shift its soybean exports to domestic sales, but the northeast is unwilling to do so, and many countries in the world are also not happy about it.
With internal and external conflicts, as well as economic and financial factors, the Northeast region is hesitant to make decisions on its own. The governors of Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang provinces have held several private meetings with Du Qingwu, the governor of the North Korean province.
They all wanted the headstrong Du Qingwu to step forward and take the lead, after all, Du Qingwu was a tough guy who dared to call the central government to urge them to issue instructions quickly, much more capable than them.
But Du Qingwu wasn't stupid; he flatly refused.
When the local authorities were at their wits' end, they brought the issue to the central government's Prime Minister's Office. However, the Prime Minister's Office was also undecided. On one hand, there was the economic and industrial development of the four northeastern provinces, and on the other hand, there were the people, land, and livestock in the interior of China who were starving and in dire need of food. Who would dare to make such a decision?
So Zhang Mingqi came to Zhao Yan, since Zhao Yan had a lot of clever ideas.
After listening, Zhao Yan pondered deeply. After a long while, he looked up and asked, "The four provincial governors in the Northeast must have offered conditions, right? Otherwise, they definitely wouldn't be so obedient. They're all troublemakers. What conditions did you agree to on your side?"
Zhang Mingqi smiled and said apologetically, "I didn't agree. I just wanted to listen first. The four northeastern provinces all wanted to submit to the central government, but they just wanted the Ministry of Agriculture to loosen the restrictions on them. The Ministry of Agriculture forced the four northeastern provinces to reduce the soybean planting area to less than 30% of the cultivated land area, and the rest must be used for grain planting."
"Although soybeans can be rotated and intercropped, local people see that it is profitable and want to expand the scale and duration of planting."
Zhao Yan laughed and said, "Does what they mean from the Northeast is that they want to reduce staple food production and increase soybean production?"
"Alright, then I'll agree. Just don't go too far. Anyway, there's not much pressure on food right now; it's just a matter of distribution."
"Tell the Northeast that the ratio of domestic sales to exports will be set at 6:4. In the future, when production increases, it will still be necessary to mainly supply the domestic market for people's livelihood. The Northeast will need to make certain sacrifices for the overall situation."
The provinces within the Great Wall contributed money and manpower to support the large-scale development of the Northeast, and as the Northeast developed, it was only natural that it would give back to the provinces within the Great Wall.
"For exports to foreigners, prices should be raised, within a reasonable range, as long as foreigners can accept it, raise them as much as possible! It's a market economy, after all, the invisible hand must also play its role!"
"In addition, Yingkou's financial center should not only focus on the soybean sector, but also get involved in other fields such as machinery manufacturing, shipbuilding, industry, grain, and textiles, and vigorously attract foreign investment to develop the local economy and industrial system."
Relying solely on selling soybeans is not a sustainable solution. Northeast China needs diversified development. Tell the provincial governors to put in more effort and attention!
Zhang Mingqi nodded and said, "Yes, Your Excellency!"
"But isn't this 60/40 split a bit too low? There are 420 million people in China who are starving and in dire need of food!"
Last year, taking advantage of tax reform and fiscal advancement, the whole country carried out land ownership confirmation and tax collection, and the population was also cleaned up along the way. As a result, the number of uncounted people found was alarmingly large.
When the Qing Dynasty made its statistics, it only counted over 300 million. However, when the People's Republic of China made its statistics, it found that the number had skyrocketed to 420 million. The reason was that 10 mu of land was exempt from taxation, and the People's Republic of China no longer imposed forced labor. As a result, many hidden households, tenant farmers, mountain households, hunters, and coastal boat households were re-counted.
Under these two years of light taxes and levies, the private economy recovered rapidly. The domestic market was freed from customs duties, bandits were eliminated in various places, and a large amount of infrastructure construction, such as building bridges and roads, was carried out, resulting in very rapid market development.
The public's demand for various commodities has also begun to increase, especially in the food sector. Food is the most important thing for people, and the food sector mainly includes rice, flour, grains, and oil, with oil being a key component.
Don't assume that poor people don't want to eat oil. On the contrary, if they have the opportunity to use cooking oil and have the money to buy it, they are very willing to spend it.
Last year's import data from Chinese customs even revealed a bizarre situation: the Northeast was exporting soybeans like crazy, while coastal ports in southern China were importing large quantities of rapeseed and soybeans!
Zhao Yan cut to the chase: "Why think so much? The government isn't your biological father. How can it manage everything? We've already allocated 60% of the market share for domestic sales. Let the market decide the rest. The government isn't an official government. It should manage what it should manage, but it absolutely shouldn't interfere in what it shouldn't!"
However, the supply of soybeans from the Ministry of Education must be guaranteed. Providing children with soy milk and tofu every day is essential. Tell the four northeastern provinces not to be careless about this. This is the foundation of the country. It's not about how much money we make. We must hold on even if it means losing money!
Chapter 195 The Politics of Local Officials
September 5, 1909, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, inside the provincial government building.
Governor Zhao Yangchun was on the phone, and from the way he stood up to answer the call, it was clear that the person on the other end was someone he couldn't afford to offend.
"Zhao Yangchun, you've gotten too big for your britches now that you're the governor, haven't you? Believe me or not, I'll shut down all compulsory education in Heilongjiang Province! Anyway, your province must be rich from selling soybeans these past two years, so it won't make a difference if we, the Ministry of Education, give you a pittance!"
"Minister, please calm down. You've been my superior for a long time. How could I not give you face? I will definitely do what you asked me to do, but you have to give me some time. Two hundred thousand tons of soybeans are not so easy to obtain."
"I'll give you time, but who's giving me time? Zhao Yangchun, listen to me carefully. I want to see soybeans shipped from Harbin before the 20th of this month, a cup of soy milk and a piece of tofu every day. That's a directive from the head of state. If this is done well, plus the compulsory education issue, I'll have a bright future ahead of me, and you'll be able to achieve the same. Understand?!"
"Minister, I will obey your orders without hesitation. Don't worry, I will get the soybeans shipped on the 10th, at the latest the 10th!"
"That's more like it. Don't worry about small things, think about the big picture. This isn't the Qing Dynasty anymore. Everything is about performance. The higher-ups only care about data. They're not afraid of making mistakes, they're afraid of not doing anything. As long as you don't pocket the money, what are you afraid of?"
"Yes, Minister! I will heed your instructions and always prioritize the overall situation!"
"Yes, do a good job, I have high hopes for you!"
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Yangchun wiped the sweat from his face and smiled at the two subordinates standing across the office, saying, "This late summer heat is really damn hot. Even making a phone call made me sweat."
Zhang Zuolin, the provincial police chief, and Feng Delin, the agricultural chief, remained standing. They didn't know who was on the other end of the phone, but they knew that anyone who could make a regional official bow down must be a high-ranking official in the central government, and at least a minister!
"Yes, Governor is too frugal. In my opinion, this office should have a ceiling fan." Zhang Zuolin said with a sincere smile, and his two words brought a smile to Zhao Yangchun's face as well.
Feng Delin quickly agreed, and even suggested that an air conditioner could be installed.
These two are hardly big shots in Northeast China these days. They haven't even squeezed into the core circle of local power. They don't even have the right to sit at the conference table when the provincial government holds meetings. They can only listen in from the sidelines.
In 1906, the vanguard of the National Defense Army entered Northeast China to begin the preliminary work of eliminating bandits. At that time, when Du Zihua led the Third Division into Northeast China, he almost wiped out Zhang Zuolin and his group of comrades.
At that time, Zhang Zuolin was only a commander of the Fifth Battalion, which was just a minor, insignificant regimental commander. Yet he was colluding with bandits, and Du Zihua almost had him executed.
Feng Delin wasn't much better; he was just a minor patrol battalion commander, the kind of guy Du Zihua couldn't even remember by name.
Their boss, General Zhao Erxun of Shengjing, was mercilessly strangled and displayed in front of the army by Du Zihua. The Third Division of the National Defense Army was practically the king who dominated Northeast China at that time.
Du Zihua forbade the existence of any armed forces other than the National Defense Army in Northeast China, and Zhang Zuolin and Feng Delin were both dismissed and sent to work in the government system.
Zhang Zuolin managed to become the deputy director of the Liaoning Provincial Police Department, while Feng Delin was directly appointed as the deputy mayor in charge of agriculture.
Until this year, they were completely transferred away from their hometown of Shenyang and came to work for the provincial government in Harbin, Heilongjiang. One of them was promoted to the position of police chief, and the other was promoted to the position of agricultural chief.
Although he managed to get the position of a department head, which is considered to be in the core circle of local government affairs in the province, he is still at best a marginal person.
In the local governments of the Republic, the core circle of the real bigwigs in each province consists of no more than ten people. The governor is the first, the vice governor is the second, and then there are the president of the provincial court, the director of the supervisory department, the chairman of the provincial local committee, the director of the personnel department, the mayor of the capital city, and the head of the central working group.
The governor and vice governors represent the government, the court president and the supervisory director are in charge of the judicial system, the local committee is the body responsible for electing the highest governing committee and representing local public opinion, the other personnel director and the mayor of the capital city are special figures, the head of the central working group is not a permanent position, if the province has a central inspection group or working group, then it is definitely in the core circle.
"Stop flattering me, you two. I called you here because I have something important to discuss. You heard a bit of what I said on the phone earlier. It's just a small matter."
"The Police Department and the Agriculture Department should coordinate to collect 200,000 tons of cheap soybeans from this province this year and send them to the interior of the country for the Ministry of Education to receive."
"I'll leave this matter to you two. Go through the process with the soybean farmers and merchants and come up with a plan. The principle is to achieve big results with little money!"
Zhao Yangchun sat behind his desk, picked up a cup of hot tea and sipped it slowly, while the two department heads in front of him didn't even dare to sit down.
"Oh? Governor, this is 200,000 tons of soybeans! This is no small matter! Has the province held a meeting about this?"
"Yes, although I am the director of the Agriculture Department, I don't have that much power. Without the Finance Department's approval, who would dare to do so much all at once?"
Zhao Yangchun frowned slightly: "I asked you to do something, and you're making excuses? You don't want to do it, huh? I'll find someone else!"
Zhang Zuolin and Feng Delin turned pale instantly, almost losing their footing. They quickly changed their tune and readily agreed.
Whether the matter can be accomplished or not is another matter, but if they shake their heads and refuse to do it, they will both be dismissed tomorrow for entering the provincial government building with their left foot first.
Although a department-level official isn't a high-ranking one, they are still an official, and no one would be willing to lose their job so easily.
After wielding the big stick, Zhao Yangchun started offering sweet treats: "I'll take the blame for any trouble from the province. You're just following my orders. Anyone who makes things difficult for you is disrespecting me!"
I'll figure out the money problem too. Let's get the soybeans over there first. The Ministry of Education isn't taking them for nothing; they'll definitely pay for them, but at a lower price.
It doesn't matter if the merchants earn a little less; the most important thing is that the central government's will is being implemented. Go tell those merchants to behave themselves, whether they're domestic or foreign. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be made unable to operate in Northeast China!
"Of course, you can't be too rough either. Don't think that just because I'm backing you up, you can do whatever you want. You must do things within the rules and not go overboard."
"Once this is done, things will be much smoother for both of you from now on, understand?"
Zhang Zuolin and Feng Delin nodded repeatedly: "Understood, Governor!"
Zhao Yangchun put down his teacup and nodded: "Go, and hurry up!"
After the two generals left, Zhao Yangchun's smile disappeared. He knew exactly what kind of people these two department heads were; they were both shady characters. Zhang Zuolin was a bandit, and even after he became an official, he still had ties with bandits and had a lot of dirty deeds on his hands.
Feng Delin is even more noteworthy. During the Russo-Japanese War, he served as a lackey for the Japanese, leading his troops to participate in what the Japanese called the "East Asian Volunteer Army," and even received a medal from the Japanese.
In Zhao Yangchun's eyes, these two are the most typical officials used as front men, destined to have no future because their roots are not upright. It's better to make the most of them now and use them to do some inconvenient tasks.
This provincial government's soybean procurement plan is not exactly a dirty job, but using so much money to purchase 200,000 tons of soybeans, and then having to sell them cheaply to the Ministry of Education, means there's no profit to be made and it's very easy to lose money.
In this kind of matter, the local committee and those local officials would definitely face great resistance, so Zhao Yangchun simply bypassed them, made the decision himself, and found people to carry it out.
Because he has this power, as long as he doesn't break the law or embezzle, the governor's power in the local area is like that of a local emperor.
But with great power comes great responsibility. No matter what problems arise in the province, the governor is the first person held accountable by the central government, and there is no reason or excuse to shirk responsibility.
When the Hunan Provincial Infrastructure Corruption Case came to light, the governor did not take a single penny, but he still resigned in disgrace.
This soybean purchase was also at the behest of Ding Anmin, the Minister of Education at the central level. Ding Anmin was Zhao Yangchun's former superior; when Ding Anmin was the provincial governor of Zhejiang, Zhao Yangchun was one of his officials.
This time, Ding Anmin needs to achieve political achievements to advance into the core of the Prime Minister's Office, and as his old subordinate, he must also work hard.
At the end of this year, the Prime Minister's Office will select six cabinet-level officials: the Minister of Etiquette and Religion, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Civil Affairs, the Minister of Infrastructure, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Personnel.
The head of the rites and rituals was equivalent to the Minister of Rites, and departments such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Propaganda were all under his jurisdiction.
The chief financial officer was equivalent to the Minister of Revenue, and the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Taxation, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Audit, and other highly lucrative departments were all under his jurisdiction.
The heads of civil affairs are equivalent to most of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Immigration Bureau, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Agriculture are all within their jurisdiction.
The head of infrastructure is undoubtedly the Ministry of Industry, which oversees the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Railways, the power sector, the energy sector, the Ministry of Water Resources, and so on.
The Ministry of Justice is the head of the judicial system, which oversees the Ministry of Justice, the Police Headquarters, the Ministry of Supervision, and other departments. It can manage all judicial departments except the Supreme Court.
The head of personnel affairs, needless to say, is the Minister of Personnel, and in the future, the central personnel department, the Ministry of Personnel, and other departments will all fall under his jurisdiction.
The newly promoted positions are all highly anticipated, which is also a political move by Zhao Yan to reduce his burden. He is under increasing pressure and will eventually be exhausted if he continues to work non-stop all day long.
Therefore, only six "Grand Secretaries" who could take charge could be selected to help. In the future, if there are any problems, Zhao Yan can just deal with the officials in charge.
Education Minister Ding Anmin has his sights set on the position of Chief Etiquette Officer, but he must compete fiercely with his strong rival, Foreign Minister Gao Dewu.
Gao Dewu had considerable political achievements, having presided over the armistice negotiations in the Far East war and a series of post-war diplomatic actions, with the support of the powerful Zhang Mingqi behind him.
Ding Anmin's most notable achievements are promoting universal compulsory education and educational reforms. Now, he has added the "soy milk project," all of which are personally instructed by Zhao Yan. This is his greatest source of confidence, as he believes that Zhao Yan will not forget his contributions.
Moreover, he has a large number of people supporting him in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and he can even contact a provincial governor in Northeast China to help him, so his success rate is very high.
In the previous call, Ding Anmin practically revealed his hand, and Zhao Yangchun understood what he meant.
Only if Ding Anmin is promoted will he have a chance to become the vice prime minister in the future, even if the chance is slim, at least he will have a chance.