Chapter 1004 Big Event (3rd update, please subscribe)
In 1878, after the imperial army occupied Rio, the Emperor of Brazil went into exile.
The empire began to carry out localization reforms in the Brazilian region. In addition to planning to relocate two million households from the northern region within 20 years, the empire also planned to make the Chinese population reach 75% of the total population in the northern region by around 1900. There was also a reform of administrative regions - one province and twelve provinces were established based on the original administrative regions, and one province referred to Gyeonggi Province, also known as Zhongdu.
Why was Zhongdu established?
Of course, it was to develop the northern region of the empire. In addition, there was another reason, that is, Yingtian was too close to the south. For the Ming Empire, which aspired to the entire South American continent, establishing the capital in the central part of the continent was undoubtedly the most appropriate choice.
After several years of construction, Zhongdu had become the second largest city in the north after Huizhou. As the political center of the empire, it was home to a large number of high-ranking officials of the empire.
And in the north, Daming Lake - an artificial lake formed by utilizing the local hilly terrain and building dams to block two rivers - is a paradise for high-ranking officials of the Ming Empire.
The wise man loves water, the kind man loves mountains.
Daming Lake has mountains, water and beautiful scenery. It naturally became the private residence of high-ranking officials of the empire. Villas, some Chinese and some Western, are hidden in the green woods. This quiet place where mountains, waters and trees are connected hides the supreme imperial power.
A black BMW car was driving on the road. On both sides of the road, there were manors hidden in the green woods. They belonged to either a minister or a vice minister. It was most appropriate to describe the owner of the Mu Mansion as either rich or noble.
When the car drove into a private residence, the police officer in front of the residence carefully and responsibly checked the license plate and the driver. After confirming that there was an appointment, he signaled to open the door and let the car enter the private residence.
When the car stopped in front of the Chinese-style villa, a middle-aged official stepped forward, opened the door, bowed and spoke softly.
"President Hu, the Prime Minister is waiting for you in the pavilion."
Hu Guangyong nodded and walked over.
After arriving in Zhongdu, he did not ask to see the emperor immediately, but came to pay a visit to Wang Youling. They were old acquaintances, so naturally there was no need to be polite. As soon as he saw Hu Guangyong, Wang Youling pointed to the chessboard on the table and said.
"Come on, Xueyan, come and play chess with me."
"Why, are you itching again?"
"What do you mean by itching to play chess? I'm going to play chess with His Majesty someday. Your Majesty's chess..."
Shaking his head, Wang Youling did not continue speaking. Hu Guangyong nodded with deep emotion.
Your Majesty's chess skills are hard to describe!
Playing chess with Your Majesty is a favor from the Emperor, but... you can only know the feeling after playing. I definitely cannot lose. If I lose on purpose, Your Majesty won't be able to see it. But if the win is too obvious... how can I do that?
"Oh, just practice. That's great. I want to practice too."
"You need to practice. You are in Nanhua and only come to Zhongdu once every few months. The distance is too great."
Nodding, Hu Guangyong started playing chess. Of course, neither of them played normally, so this game of chess was... really boring.
But I can’t resist Your Majesty’s liking for me!
After playing two games in a row, Wang Youling, who was exhausted, simply put the chess pieces into the box and told the maid to serve tea.
After the tea was served, Hu Guangyong directly stated the purpose of his visit.
After knowing Hu Guangyong's purpose of coming, Wang Youling pondered for a while and then said.
"You mean, you want the Imperial Bank to be the only one to participate in the currency reform in China?"
"Yes."
After taking a sip of tea, Hu Guangyong said.
"Mr. Xuan, you should know that the Imperial Bank is the bank with the most capital in the Ming Dynasty. The currency reform in China is not only related to whether the new political reform in China can be smoothly implemented in the future, but also related to whether the Empire's plans for East Asia and even the world in the future can be smoothly implemented. Although HSBC also has strong capital and has the advantage of operating in China for many years, HSBC has organized a banking group to participate in this matter. Too many people will lead to chaos, which is bound to affect some of the Empire's future policies. Therefore, I think it is more conducive to the implementation of the Empire's policies if the Imperial Bank is responsible for this matter alone."
Hu Guangyong's words were completely from the standpoint of the Empire. In fact, he was a little upset. After all, HSBC was, to some extent, the shell of the Bank of America, or the South China Bank, in the Qing Dynasty. But after a few years, that shell actually grew up. Ten years ago, at the suggestion of His Majesty the Emperor, the two banks were directly separated. For the Imperial Bank, it was a heavy blow. What was the heaviest blow? The Imperial Bank lost most of its business in Shenzhou and Japan. Now the Imperial Bank's business there is almost starting from scratch.
It is for this reason that Hu Guangyong regarded "currency reform" as an opportunity to "return to China" and of course he would do everything possible to stop HSBC.
"Yes, that's the truth."
Wang Youling nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and then said:
"Xueyan, do you know why His Majesty has separated many of Nanhua Company's businesses and made many of its subsidiaries independent over the years?"
His question made Hu Guangyong frown. How could he not know why His Majesty did this?
One dominant company!
Nanhua Company is so huge that a simple figure can help you understand it - 70% of the Ming Empire’s GDP was created by this company!
Even though South China Company has been split into more than a dozen companies, it still accounts for 25% of the empire's GDP.
Let’s not talk about anything else, the Imperial Bank… was also a company in the past.
"This... Imperial Bank is nothing compared to the company."
In the context of the Ming Dynasty, the word "company" has its own synonym - Nanhua Company, the enterprise that founded the Ming Dynasty. To a certain extent, only Nanhua Company can be called "company", and other companies need to use "Company X" when referring to themselves.
Hu Guangyong dare not compare himself with his old master. After all, even now, the company still holds 25% of the shares of the Imperial Bank, while the royal family holds 45%. Well, the company's largest shareholder is also the royal family.
In other words, the royal family... is the actual helmsman of the empire's economy and finance.
His answer made Wang Youling smile.
"The Imperial Bank is indeed not worth mentioning in front of the company, but in the financial industry, it is indeed the leader and the only one in the world!"
Wang Youling's reminder made Hu Guangyong's face change slightly. This was indeed the fact. He thought about it for a while and then said.
"So, Your Majesty will not accept a single dominant company?"
In response to his question, Wang Youling paused, then spoke slowly.
"Next month, I'm afraid the left prime minister will retire."
What!
The sudden news almost made Hu Guangyong jump up, and he said anxiously.
"What's going on?"
The reason why he was so surprised was that in the past ten years, Zuo Zhongtang had always been trusted by His Majesty. How could he suddenly retire?
"Retiring at the age of seventy is an ancient custom. There is always this day."
After saying this, as if he was determined to shock people to death, Wang Youling continued speaking.
"Come to think of it, I am a few years older than Zuo Zongtang. He is about to retire, and I am afraid I will have to retire by then..."
(End of this chapter)
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