Mediterranean Hegemony Road

"Your Majesty, it may be difficult to increase domestic rubber production!" Constantine thought for a while and said.

Rubber is not so easy to grow. Ferdinand can't grow as much as he wants. It has requirements on climate, rainwater and soil.

It likes high temperature, high humidity, calm wind and fertile soil. It requires an average annual temperature of 26-27°C. It is not resistant to cold and will die when the temperature is below 5°C.

It requires an average annual rainfall of 1150-2500 mm, but it is not suitable for planting in low-humidity places. Suitable for deep, fertile and moist, well-drained acidic sandy loam.

Shallow roots, fragile branches, poor adaptability to wind, vulnerable to wind and cold and reduced rubber production.

With such a large number of requirements, there are not many places in Bulgaria that are suitable for growing rubber, and some parts of the Balkans are barely acceptable, but the output is not high.

Ferdinand also has no plan to plant rubber trees locally, which is economically uneconomical and will break the domestic industrial production chain.

If it doesn't work locally, it can only be an African colony.

The rubber production in Africa in later generations accounts for about 6% of the world's production. The main producing countries are Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Ghana and Gabon. It happens that these areas are all under the control of Bulgaria except Côte d'Ivoire.

As early as 1923, Bulgaria began to develop rubber plantations in Africa, which reached its peak in 1925, and then the speed of development gradually slowed down.

That is to say, the areas suitable for developing rubber plantations in the coastal areas have almost been developed. If you want to continue to develop rubber plantations, you must go deep into the inland.

This means that both costs and risks will increase, and rubber plantations may face attacks from local tribes at any time.

Ferdinand also knew about these situations, otherwise he would not have gradually stopped the construction of rubber plantations after 1925.

At present, the owners of these rubber plantations are basically Bulgarian military aristocrats, who were unlucky and went to Africa, where they could only develop cash crops.

It is also impossible for Ferdinand to let them grow rubber for the country regardless of the cost. That is unrealistic. They also want to pursue economic benefits?

In this era when private land was sacred and inviolable, people planted whatever they liked, as long as it wasn't a drug Ferdinand didn't care.

"I know, but don't we have a colony in Southeast Asia? From the perspective of climate and environment, it should be possible to plant rubber trees, right?" Ferdinand said with a smile

"Your Majesty, this is only possible in theory. We haven't conducted field investigations, so we can't draw conclusions yet!" Constantine thought for a while and said

"Well, let the local officials confirm that if possible, turn Mindanao into our rubber plantation!" Ferdinand thought for a while and said

Ferdinand remembered that the Philippines is also one of the rubber exporting countries, and the main production area is in Mindanao, and it seems that the subsidiary islands are also acceptable. In his previous life, he was still in the friend space and saw a large area of ​​rubber trees in Basilan.

Now he has decided the fate of millions of people on the island with one sentence. Once Mindanao becomes a rubber plantation in Bulgaria, the locals will definitely be emigrated.

The lessons of the rebellion in Southeast Asia have taught the colonists that the destructive power of the aborigines is huge, so they don’t care about the economic value. The rebels can cut off rubber and use it to make fire, so they know their level of knowledge.

The rebellion, ostensibly the introduction of revolutionary ideas, aroused the local people's sense of independence.

This is all fooling people, it is complete nonsense, if this is the case, the locals would have established political power for the first time, and then negotiated with the British.

With such a disparity in strength between the two sides, don't the revolutionaries know what it means to fight the British?

It's not that although they initiated a revolution, they were not the leaders of this revolution and did not hold great power. The real power holders were still tribal leaders.

The deeper reason for this is that the local population is growing too fast, and the resources can no longer allow them to live comfortably while lying down. If they don't work, they will starve.

The tragedy is that many of them can only do the simplest labor, and they can't do a little more complicated work.

For example: farming is a high-tech job. The local productivity level has not caught up with the Middle Ages. Many tribes in the mountains still have a level of civilization that is still in the Stone Age.

Due to the arrival of the colonists, some cultures have also been transmitted, and the local people have also learned a lot of knowledge, and then the survival rate is getting higher and higher.

Needless to say the consequences, if there are too many people, the backward productive forces will not be able to support them, and the colonial government is not doing charity, so what should be squeezed should still be squeezed.

According to the usual practice, at this time the colonial government should provoke infighting among them, and let the major local tribes fight to consume the excess population.

It's a pity that if you walk at night for a long time, you will encounter ghosts! This time the colonial government hit a ghost. Before it could take action, the locals turned against it. Everyone pointed their finger at the colonial government, and then it became the current situation.

The solution to long-term stability is family planning. If it weren't for the fear that Britain and France would follow suit, Ferdinand would have used this weapon long ago.

Given that the average life expectancy of local people in this era is less than 40 years old, as long as this policy is implemented, the local population will be halved in twenty years.

It doesn't matter now, Bulgaria has become a big trend, and there is no need to worry about the threat of Britain and France.

Moreover, it is estimated that the French may complete this plan, and the British should stop dreaming. The population of their colonies is too large to carry it out.

"Your Majesty, if we want to open up rubber plantations in Southeast Asia, shouldn't we clean up the rebellion on the island?" Colonial Secretary Donald asked.

"Let's act, anyway, sooner or later we have to deal with this problem, order the troops to capture more prisoners, and repair the roads on the island.

If it is suitable for the development of large-scale rubber plantations, then the Ministry of Communications will plan another railway to improve the traffic on the island! said Ferdinand

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Donald and Beshear replied one after another, judging from Ferdinand's attitude, they knew that the development of rubber plantations in Southeast Asia was a foregone conclusion.

If Mindanao fails, it is estimated that other regions will have to pay attention. It is impossible for Bulgaria to be under the control of others all the time, it is nothing more than when the problem is solved.

Bulgaria's rubber consumption has long surpassed that of the British, ranking first in the world, and now consumes 46% of the world's rubber production capacity every year.

And it is still growing, and the consumption of rubber is increasing, but the output of natural rubber has not kept up with this growth rate.

If Bulgaria does not find a way by itself, the rubber crisis will break out sooner or later, but this time it was brought forward by the war.

Even Ferdinand can conclude that Bulgaria's demand for natural rubber will continue to grow and will not stop until Bulgaria's industrial development stagnates.

This also means that for a long time in the future, natural rubber will be in short supply, so it seems that the value of Borneo has increased again.

Aside from the local resources, even the economic value of developing rubber plantations is worth the investment of the royal family. Anyway, the island is sparsely populated, so there is no need to worry about governance.

...

"Little Ferdinand, I want you to buy half of Borneo from the British!" Ferdinand said straight to the point

"Why? Father, don't you have no interest in Borneo?" Little Ferdinand asked suspiciously

"I wasn't interested at first, but now I suddenly discovered its value. It can be regarded as a medium and long-term investment for you, and the income will be very good!" Ferdinand said with a slight smile

"You mean to let me pay for it? Not for the royal family?" Little Ferdinand asked in surprise

"Of course, half of Borneo is your daughter-in-law's dowry, and the other half is of course better in your hands. In the future, if you have more sons, you can build a kingdom on it!" Ferdinand said calmly

"Father, I think it's too early to ask this question, at least I have to have three sons before I need to think about this question!

Can you tell me what is the most valuable investment above? "Little Ferdinand thought for a while and said

"Rubber plantation!" Ferdinand said with precious words

"Oh, I thought you had discovered a gold mine again!" Little Ferdinand said with some disappointment.

"There are gold mines and diamonds, and the reserves are not low. There are also a lot of mineral resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, copper, iron, aluminum, magnesium, and sulfur.

The abundance of resources on the island is beyond your imagination, but such things are not important, and Bulgaria is not short of such minerals.

The most important thing is the issue of rubber. With the development of the economy, the domestic demand for rubber is increasing, and the supply will exceed the demand in the next few decades.

And the most suitable place in the world to grow rubber is Southeast Asia. If you occupy Borneo, you can make a fortune just by planting rubber. Are you not satisfied? " Ferdinand scolded with a smile

"Father, you are sure that the resources on the island are really so rich, so why don't the Dutch and the British develop them?" Little Ferdinand asked incredulously

"The British have so many colonies, and there are so many places rich in resources. Where do they still have the energy to pay attention to a small island?

Do the Dutch have that strength? I'm not boasting, even the direct power in the hands of the Bulgarian royal family is several times that of the Kingdom of the Netherlands!

The Dutch are so powerful that it would be nice to be able to control the few cities that have been developed. Do you still expect them to be able to develop deep mountains and old forests? ’ asked Ferdinand

"So, I took advantage of it this time? Then father, please help me estimate the benefits. Why do I feel that the investment is not directly proportional to the harvest!" Little Ferdinand said hesitantly

"Why do you think so? This is a very simple math problem, don't you even understand it?" Ferdinand asked back

"Father, look at buying the sovereignty of half of Borneo from the British. Even if it is now in the hands of the rebels, the nominal sovereignty is worthless. It still cannot be taken without 30 to 50 million Levas!

To suppress the rebellion on the island, I made a preliminary estimate that it will cost at least 100 million levs. For safety reasons, I also need to eliminate the indigenous people on the island. The military expenditure behind this is not a small sum.

Even if I hired 10,000 troops to garrison, I would have to pay at least 30 million levs a year in salary, plus daily training, suppression of bandits, and the operation of the colonial government, the total would be 70 million levs a year, right?

If I can’t see a profit, I have to invest 250 million levs first, at least in the second year, before I can develop rubber plantations and organize manpower to mine. These also need to be invested.

The planting cycle of rubber trees is so long, I will not be able to make ends meet for at least six or seven years ahead, and the total investment will add up to seven or eight billion levs.

Even if there are profits in the past six or seven years, and the capital of two or three billion levs is withdrawn through the development of mineral resources, then this is also a pure investment of 500 million levs in cash.

When the rubber plantation is put into production, even if it produces 100,000 tons of natural rubber per year, the current price in the international market is nearly 8,000 levs per ton. Of course, it is a huge profit.

But once the price of rubber falls back to the normal price, my annual sales will only be one billion levs. Calculated according to the 20% profit, it will only be 200 million levs. After deducting the maintenance costs of the colony, it will be more than 100 million Lev, I have to give Juliana a share, that's seventy to eighty million leva.

Rubber trees are not once and for all, and their economic lifespan is only 20 to 30 years, and they will have to be replanted at that time.

Such a long investment period, but also to bear such a large risk, just such a small profit, don't you think it is too low? " Little Ferdinand asked suspiciously.

"Yes, according to your calculation, it is correct, don't forget that the rubber plantations in Southeast Asia are almost destroyed, and everyone has to start from scratch.

At the same time, affected by this rebellion, many investors have been bankrupted, and your competitors have been weakened.

Their strength cannot be compared with yours. No matter how ambitious people are, after the war is over, they have to wait and see the situation before deciding whether to continue investing in the rubber industry.

As long as you react quickly enough, your rubber will be on the market before the price of rubber falls, and you can enjoy a one-to-two-year period of huge profits at least.

In one or two years, you can recover most of the previous investment.

And this price drop is not something that can be done immediately, and the production capacity of rubber is slowly recovering. During this period, there is still a golden period of at least five years, and your gross profit will still not be less than 5%. ten.

Also, raise your production capacity to the highest, not to mention 100,000 tons, even 300,000 tons, the market can digest it.

No matter how fierce the competition is in the future, you may not be the first to fall, at least you don't have to worry about no buyers! ”Ferdinand analyzed

It is very rare to have such an astonishing profit in investing in the industry, although compared with the financial industry, this profit is not enough.

However, the financial market has long been divided up, and dealers are everywhere, and you can't enter just because you have money. If you want to be an ordinary investor, isn't that waiting for others to shear the sheep?

The so-called market laws in this era are used by experts to fool people, and performance can be falsified in the 21st century. Not to mention this era?

"Okay, father, you convinced me. It seems that I will have to live a hard life in the next few years! Now I have invested all my savings in it!" Little Ferdinand said with a ashamed face.

As the richest second generation in the world, is making money his pursuit?

Obviously not! Little Ferdinand was not short of money at all, but he had to earn the money delivered to his door. This was a matter of principle!

Ferdinand rolled his eyes directly, ignoring little Ferdinand's behavior of crying for poverty, typical of being good-looking when he got a bargain.

As the crown prince, Ferdinand Jr.'s savings are much richer than those of the brothers below, and he has also bought a lot of properties over the years.

How could it be possible for him to be impoverished because of an investment of several billion levas?

Even if capital turnover is difficult, isn't it impossible for him to go to the bank for a loan? How many successful businessmen have no loans?

Just based on his identity, he doesn't need any collateral, and he can lend this money to any large bank in the world, and no one will doubt his repayment ability.

The super-high annuity of the Bulgarian royal family is there. Are you afraid that he will have no money to pay off his debts when he succeeds?

...

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