Chương 711: The Real Colonization

"Let's start with the most fundamental thing... control of the sea." Liu Ce pointed to the locations of 'Malacca,' 'Ceylon,' 'Cape of Good Hope,' and 'Gibraltar' on the map one by one.

"Don't think that a navy is just for guarding our doorstep; that's a pathetic idea. True sea power means controlling all the world's shipping lanes. Whoever controls the shipping lanes controls the world's trade."

He picked up his vermilion pen and drew several thick lines on the nautical chart, from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean... a dense array of shipping routes:

"Just like our Grand Canal, if you control a few locks tightly, which merchant ship would have to pay the toll? Why would you occupy the farmland on both banks?"

The same logic applies overseas: we don't need to occupy the entire continent, just select these key strategic points... the Strait of Malacca, Ceylon, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Strait of Gibraltar. We can build fortifications, station naval forces, and establish supply depots in these places.

They regularly patrolled the coastline in steamships, cutting off trade routes and closing ports to anyone who disobeyed.

Qi Jiguang stroked his chin, nodding repeatedly, his eyes growing brighter with each word he heard:

"Your Majesty is absolutely right! Our steam warships are twice as fast as Western sailing ships, have more cannons, and have a longer range."

As long as we block these shipping lanes, which country would dare to disobey us? We can cut off their trade directly, and they won't be able to buy spices, tea, or silk. Domestic prices will skyrocket, and they'll panic in less than six months. We won't even need to send our army ashore to fight them.

This is called subduing the enemy without fighting; it's the best strategy.

"That's right, that's called gunboat diplomacy." Liu Ce smiled and sat back down on the dragon throne.

"If we really encounter those tough little countries, we don't need to send a large army to fight them. We can just park our fleet near their doorstep, fire a few shots at their port to scare them, and they'll immediately back down."

Then we forced him to sign a treaty: opening up ports, setting tariffs, and granting concessions, allowing our merchants to do business without being subject to local laws, and setting the tariffs ourselves.

"As long as we've made the money, why bother taking over their land? Managing tens of millions of foreigners would be exhausting for our officials. Wouldn't it be better to use that time to build more railways?"

Zhang Fei frowned as he listened, and couldn't help but interject, "Your Majesty, are we just going to let them go like this? How humiliating! At the very least, their king should kneel and surrender, and pay tribute every year!"

"What's face worth?" Liu Ce scoffed, turning to look at Shen Wansan.

"Shen Wansan, tell him, how much of the treasury's funds would be spent on a war to conquer a country? And how much would be needed every year after the land was occupied?"

Minister of Revenue Shen Wansan immediately perked up, fiddled with his golden abacus, and made a series of clattering sounds, like popping beans:

"Your Majesty, with 100, 000 troops on the western expedition, the cost of provisions, weapons, military pay, and compensation will be at least several billion coins a year. And that's just the cost of the war itself."

If the country were to be destroyed, sending people to garrison it, appointing officials to govern it, repairing roads, and building cities would create a hole of hundreds of millions of coins every year. The place is far away, and it is also prone to rebellion, which would cost money to suppress.

If there's a disaster or epidemic, they'll have to spend even more money. All things considered, it won't break even in eight or ten years; it's a pure loss-making business.

"Did you hear me, Yide?" Liu Ce tapped the table.

"Over a billion dollars is enough for us to build several railways and dozens of factories. If something can be solved with gunboats, don't send in the army; if something can be settled with money, don't let anyone die."

This is what a thrifty and efficient nation should be like. Fighting and killing are the things barbarians do; we need to focus on efficiency and profit.

Zhang Fei scratched his head. Although he still felt it wasn't impressive enough, it did sound cheap, so he kept quiet.

Cheng Yaojin leaned closer and whispered, "Yide, His Majesty is right. As long as we can make money, who cares about saving face? If we really feel the urge, we can just fight a couple of pirates on the road and have some fun."

Zhang Fei thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true."

After discussing military matters, Liu Ce changed the subject and brought up money.

As soon as money was mentioned, Shen Wansan sat up straight, his ears perked up, and his eyes lit up... He loved hearing about this.

"Many people think colonization is about seizing territory, but they're wrong. Territory is just a facade; making money is the real goal." Liu Ce held up one finger.

"The first step is to establish a franchise. Let's not have the court do everything itself, isn't that exhausting? Let's be smarter and set up a 'Great Han Ocean Trading Company.' I will grant it exclusive authorization, allowing it to open trading posts overseas, occupy ports, and even maintain its own guards to conduct business legally. The court will back it up."

Shen Wansan frowned and raised his concerns: "Your Majesty, what if these merchant groups become too powerful and uncontrollable? The merchant groups have troops and ports under their control; what if they rebel...? Besides, shipbuilding and stocking goods require upfront investment; how much will the imperial court have to contribute?"

"Shen Wansan, what's gotten into your brain lately? All you're doing is eyeing that little bit of silver in the national treasury." Liu Ce said, both amused and exasperated.

"Who asked the imperial court to provide the funds? They let imperial merchants and wealthy private merchants pool their money to invest. If they made a profit, they would receive dividends according to their shares, and if they lost money, they would bear the losses themselves."

The imperial court simply issues an imperial edict granting a franchise, allowing them to collect 30% tax annually without spending any money, and also receive dividends from their shares.

As for being unable to control them? The lifeblood of these trading companies lies in the shipping lanes, and those lanes are in the hands of our navy. Merchant ships rely on our ports for supplies; how could they possibly rebel? If they dare disobey, we'll cut off their shipping lanes, block their ports, and bankrupt them in no time.

Shen Wansan realized what was happening, his eyes lit up instantly, and he started working on the abacus with lightning speed, muttering to himself:

"Thirty percent tax... plus equity stakes... if they do business worth billions a year, the imperial court can rake in hundreds of millions... and they don't have to worry about operations or bear any risks... if you add port taxes and tolls... my goodness, that maritime trade could equal the tax revenue of several provinces in a year!"

As he calculated, his old face beamed with joy, and his beard stood on end.

The civil officials in the hall were all speechless... His Majesty's business acumen is even better than Shen Wansan's, getting something for nothing!

"This is an early way to make quick money," Liu Ce continued, his tone even more ruthless.

"Once our looms and steam engines are deployed and industrial production increases, we'll change the game... free trade. Our machine-woven cotton cloth is cheap and strong, and it's being shipped to the West and Southeast Asia by the ship. It's ten times better than their hand-woven cloth, and half the price."

The common people aren't stupid; they'll definitely buy ours. In less than three years, all their local weaving workshops will go bankrupt, and their workers will lose their jobs.

From now on, they'll have to buy all their clothes, ironware, porcelain, and tea from us. We'll set the price, and that's the price; they won't even have the right to haggle.

He paused, then added an even harsher statement: "Selling goods isn't enough; we also need to invest money in them. We'll build railways, mines, and banks for them. The railways are ours, the mines are ours, and all the money transactions will go through our banks."

On the surface, they have their own country and their own king, but in reality, their economic lifeline is entirely in our hands. If they dare to disobey, we'll withdraw investment, cut off loans, and raise prices, causing their court to collapse in no time, and the people to revolt. We don't even need to lift a finger; their own people will overthrow their king.