Chapter 151 Raw silk

In a factory in Kansai, when the factory director with the number in his hand announced the suspension of production, he excitedly announced to the female workers:

"The raw silk exports produced by our factory were exchanged for foreign exchange, bought back large warships, and sank the Russian fleet in the Tsushima Strait."

Suddenly, it attracted a lot of cheers from the female workers.

It's true. It's too easy for me to win this war, and it's too tiring to win. It's a good time to fight against Ma Hai. If it goes on, it really can't be delayed! After such a big victory, the whole country was full of joy.

In order to meet the needs of external expansion, the whole Japanese economy has been put on the track of war. Many poor families are forced to send their daughters to silk reeling factories or textile factories to do hard work, working overtime day and night to meet the needs of export foreign exchange. It is no exaggeration to say that in the Tsushima Strait, the giant ships of the joint fleet, with one shell, condensed the blood and sweat of countless ordinary people, especially the silk!

For Japan, such a backward country, raw silk has always been the main export product of Japan. For a long time, raw silk accounted for about half of the total value of goods in the whole export. As an industrial backward country, there is a huge trade deficit between Japan and foreign countries, and raw silk has become an important commodity for earning foreign exchange.

The Meiji Restoration, which began in 1868, marked the Japanese economy from the feudal economy to the capitalist economy, thus bringing an excellent opportunity for the development of the silk industry. At that time, Prime Minister Matsukata put forward a "second-line national policy", that is, silk thread and route. As an export material, silk thread is exchanged for necessary materials through the route, so it actively develops silk production.

But in the early years of Meiji, due to backward technology, thousands of baskets of Japanese silk were scrapped in London because of poor quality. The reputation of raw silk has dropped sharply. The political axe had to hire the French to build an official silk field, using French machines and steam engines. After the completion of the factory, Zheng Axe ordered the wives and daughters of scholars across the country to go to the factory to learn technology in order to popularize it throughout the country. In four years, more than 2,000 female workers were trained by French technicians. After 1873, Zheng Axe successively founded the Tokyo Silk Factory and Xinmachi Silk Factory. It has become a model factory for the Japanese silk reeling industry. When the World Expo was held in Vienna in 1873, the raw silk produced in Fukuoka Prefecture was comparable to that produced in Europe and the United States.

In 1878, the export volume of raw silk was 726 tons, with a total output of 1,226 tons, which was less than 1/3 of the annual output of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. In 1903, in just 15 years, the total export volume of Japanese silk reached 6,750 tons, which officially surpassed China in terms of quantity and average quality.

By 1905, the export of Japanese raw silk reached 3/5 of the world's total raw silk exports, four times that of China, and this is the most critical export material of the Japanese economy, in exchange for a large amount of foreign exchange and gold. It can even be said without hesitation that it is the replacement of raw silk for machinery, warships and cannons to support Japan's industry and war.

For Japanese, raw silk is almost the lifeblood of Japanese.

Anyone can see a strange scenery along the railway line when they get on the railway line. There is a dense mulberry forest between the rice fields. These mulberry trees are high-yielding mulberry trees selected and bred by the Japanese agricultural research institutions, and the planting of mulberry trees connected to the plants reflects the fineness of the Japanese style.

Not only is the distance of each mulberry tree strictly controlled according to the "textbook", but even a sign is hung on each tree. The sign says the year of planting, the age of the tree, last year's yield, the control of fertilization, etc., the original fineness is fully obtained in the planting of mulberry trees. Although it is located in Pingyuan, Kyoto, the ups and downs of the hilly mountain bag can still be seen everywhere here. In order to develop the silk industry, I said that I cut down the miscellaneous trees on the mountain bag and planted a large area of mulberry forest in the most scientific way.

Due to the confluence of the Pacific warm current and the Cialia cold current here, the abundant rain, and the reasonable and scientific planting of mulberry trees make the Japanese mulberry leaf resources extremely rich.

Scientific management may be the key to the rise of the silk industry.

With the development of the silk industry in Kyoto, the more powerful chaebols quickly used this as a template, using the support of the political axe and their own financial resources to promote the whole Japanese. After 30 years of development, silk has become the pillar of the Japanese economy. Although the silk industry is widely developed in various places, the Kyoto Plain in Kansai However, because raw silk originated here, it has become the center of raw silk processing industry, and also the center of raw silk import and export industry.

Just like the Japanese factory likes to pile up, raw silk buyers also like to gather together. Yokohama, as the center of the Japanese silk industry, in addition to the Japanese domestic acquirers, there are more raw silk merchants from Europe and the United States. In the center of Yokohama, foreign countries live next to each other, every day, at least a dozen tons. Hundreds of tons of silkworms and silk are traded between these silk merchants and foreign banks, and finally a bag of silk is loaded on a cargo ship and imported into Europe and the United States.

"Price increase, price increase..."

In the Yokohama Commodity Exchange, raw silk traders waved small pieces of paper in their hands from time to time. There was a crowd of people in the exchange. Traders employed by various silk merchants and foreign banks shouted a new price from time to time. In the past month or two, raw silk trading has entered an unprecedented **, raw silk trading volume. It is growing every day, and the price is also rising steadily.

"Crazy, crazy!"

Looking at the crazy crowd in front of him, Matsumoto, who had just walked out of the exchange, couldn't help shouting.

Matsumoto Fuji, who opened a silk factory, was almost surrounded by the exchange before. Everyone was asking him a question. Is there any raw silk in the workshop?

Silk gold!

This is the most popular sentence in more than a month. Although with the rapid development of raw silk in China, the export of raw silk is not as good as before, the trading volume has not decreased, even worse than in the past. In just one month, the price of raw silk has risen by 5%.

There is a price and no market. Almost every trader has found the current abnormality of the raw silk market. There seems to be a problem with the supply of raw silk. In other words, someone bought almost all the raw silk first with futures contracts. A month ago, dozens of foreign banks bought most of the raw silk supplies with futures contracts.

It is these foreign banks that use futures contracts to monopolize more than 60% of raw silk supply, and these foreign banks are still constantly acquiring raw silk in stock, and even raise prices.

"Mr. Matsumoto..."

Arthur? As soon as Joseph saw Matsumoto, he quickly greeted him enthusiastically.

"Mr. Matsumoto, here please..."

Arthur's face was piled with smiles, and he said in an unquestionable tone. A few minutes later, Matsumoto, who was led to the foreign trip, looked respectfully at Arthur in front of him and couldn't speak for a long time.

"650,000 yuan! Cash transaction!"

As soon as he opened his mouth, Arthur spit out a price that Matsumoto could not refuse.

"Mr. Arthur, you know, the price of raw silk is still rising!"

"Price increase!"

With a frown, Arthur shrugged his shoulders and said.

"The price is rising, but it's only temporary. Who knows?"

With that, Arthur smiled again.

"Well, I'll add another 5%. Of course, you have to guarantee that your raw silk must not be sold to a second person!"

Speaking kung fu, Arthur took out a contract like a trick. This is a spot futures acquisition contract. Arthur had contacted Matsumoto Fuji in front of him before, but he was rejected.

"Mr. Arthur, many people say..."

Listening to this offer, Matsumoto Fuji hesitated whether he should say that sentence.

"Do you mean malicious monopoly?"

Arthur smiled loudly without any pretentiousness.

Malicious monopoly, which is the recent label given to these foreign banks and buyers who participated in the spot snap-up and futures acquisition of raw silk, which means that they are now snapped up and acquired at a high price. The purpose is to monopolize the export of raw silk in the future, so as to seize the pricing right of raw silk.

"I don't deny that we are trying to get the pricing power of Japanese silk, but Mr. Matsumoto, don't forget that the pricing power of Japanese silk is in the hands of the British. This is at most just... competition between Westerners!"

Looking at Matsumoto, the business owner who owns the sixth largest production line workshop in Japan, Arthur continued.

"For me, you just need a reasonable price, don't you? And adapt to the economic returns, whether the British or the Americans hold the pricing power, but don't deny it, my friend!"

With a blink of an eye, Arthur looked at Matsumoto with innocent eyes.

"The basic price of raw silk is in your hands. The British can suppress the price of raw silk in China and control the price of raw silk in China, but in Japan, you have successfully frustrated the British's attempt, haven't you?"

Arthur's words brought Matsumoto's pride. It was the concerted efforts of the Japanese silk enterprise that made the British's attempt to lower the price of silk come to nothing 20 years ago, and the Chinese people were simply scattered.

"Moreover, I heard that the political axe is going to increase the tax on the raw silk workshop recently, so the competition between us and the British should be said to be more beneficial to you. What do you think?"

Arthur whispered a fact that the political axe did not reduce the tax ratio because of the cessation of the war. Instead, it further increased the tax ratio. Perhaps it won the war, but it was almost dragged down by the war that cost a lot and lost a lot, and did not get a penny of compensation. Ben needs money to survive his own financial crisis.

"Rong... let me think about it again...hey"

After hesitating for a while, Matsumoto Teng answered squeakingly, but before he finished speaking, he took the initiative to pick up the pen and signed his name on the contract.

And when he signed and stamped, he didn't notice a trace of weirdness in the smile on Arthur's face.

(to be continued)