Chapter 1 Economic Takeoff Speech
First, the Jiangye Star Planetary Bank will be established next week, with responsibilities including formulating and implementing monetary policy, managing various banks stationed on Jiangye Star, and preventing financial crises.
Second, upon its establishment, the Jiangye Star Planetary Bank will issue a brand-new currency.
The new currency will include coins, banknotes, and digital currency, pegged to the Galactic Empire's currency system while maintaining a degree of independence. It can be used on Jiangye Star, Birong Star, and Exile Star.
Third, the Wasteland Development Corps will be established within the year. The corps' goal is to improve the ecological environment of uninhabited wastelands, including afforestation, flora and fauna protection, and water conservancy project construction. Recruitment for the corps will be open to citizens of Jiangye Star, Birong Star, and Exile Star.
Fourth, Jiangye Star will provide twenty trillion funds for investment in local entrepreneurs.
Fifth, Jiangye Star will offer fifty million public scholarship slots. Eligible planetary citizens can apply online, and upon approval, they can travel to other planets to study technology or theoretical knowledge, with tuition and living expenses fully covered.
Sixth, Jiangye Star will provide fifty million immigration subsidy slots. Jiangye Star citizens migrating to Birong Star or Exile Star will receive a one-time subsidy of one hundred thousand, and will also receive monthly new immigrant subsidies from Birong Star and Exile Star for the next five years.
Jiang Ye read these six points on the television news program, causing a great sensation.
Various related interpretations began to appear online, and economists who had attended the Macroeconomic Building conference also posted explanations.
For instance, the Wasteland Development Corps was considered a massive project to invest in the future. One day, Jiangye Star would develop a population of tens of billions, and land would become extremely scarce. By starting the transformation of deserts and saline-alkali land now, the effects would be seen many years later. It was akin to digging a well in advance to drink water later, or planting trees for future generations to enjoy their shade.
Most importantly, for planetary citizens without education, connections, or from impoverished backgrounds, the Wasteland Development Corps would solve employment issues. As long as they were willing to work hard, the planet would provide a considerable salary level for corps members, serving as an effective channel for upward mobility. This measure was similar to ancient famine relief projects, where disaster victims participated in water conservancy construction and received food and money. When the famine passed, the projects were also completed.
Similarly, the scholarship and immigration slots were also investments in the future and in other places. In a few years, a large number of students returning from other planets would directly translate into technical talents and intellectuals. The economic situation on Birong Star and Exile Star was currently good, and there was a great need for immigrants. Filling these positions with immigrants from Jiangye Star was also considered keeping resources within the family.
Of course, there were many additional clauses. For example, students could only be assigned to designated schools on designated planets, must return after completing their studies, and could not immigrate to other planets within ten years. Furthermore, bosses who accepted entrepreneurial investment could not immigrate to other planets or transfer investment funds to other planets.
Violators would face extremely harsh punishments. Jiang Ye was not worried about catching escapees, as all land under the heavens belonged to the king, and they could not escape the grasp of the Galactic Empire. Moreover, Jiang Ye had contacts with the leaders of most nearby planets, and many matters could be resolved with a single phone call.
The vast network of power crisscrossed the vast universe, making it as difficult for ordinary people to escape its confines as it was for a small insect to flee a spider's web.
Jiang Ye's purpose in delivering the televised speech was simple. With the planet facing such a crisis, as the de facto leader, he should address the public and, incidentally, ensure the authority of the new economic policies, instilling confidence in the entire planet.
However, he never expected that this speech would be recorded in the history textbooks of Jiangye Star. For many years thereafter, middle school students on Jiangye Star would learn this section in their history classes, known as the "Economic Takeoff Speech."
Twenty years later, a multiple-choice question appeared on the Jiangye Star history exam:
General Jiang Ye delivered the famous "Economic Takeoff Speech" on the news program, announcing six new economic policies. Which one had the greatest impact?
This question was considered a freebie, with 89% of candidates answering correctly. The answer was the shortest one, the fourth item: Jiangye Star will provide twenty trillion funds for investment in local entrepreneurs.
The era of local entrepreneurs had arrived.
In corners completely unforeseen by Jiang Ye, a host of heroes began to emerge.
The first to rise were some young people. The first batch of local entrepreneurs who received investment from Jiang Ye were almost all under thirty years old.
Zhuang Huamao, just past 24, was from Binhai City and often referred to himself as a "fellow townsman of Jiang Ye." He had only a junior high school education and had been working in a factory on the outskirts of the city since he was fourteen. He was extremely hardworking, often working overtime until midnight, sleeping only four or five hours, and then getting up early to work again. He never drank beverages or ate in restaurants, only consuming the cheapest cabbage rice, saving every penny.
At eighteen, Zhuang Huamao started his first business, investing all his hard-earned savings to rent a street-front shop for a barbecue stall. Shortly after opening, a barbecue city opened nearby, and he quickly lost all his capital. At twenty, he used his savings again to open a retail store, but after struggling for a year, it failed. At 24, for his third venture, Zhuang Huamao cajoled many friends into lending him capital and borrowed another four hundred thousand from over a dozen banks. This time, he focused on seafood products using Binhai City's fishing industry. Just as the business began to show promise, the company's financial officer absconded with the recorded deposits, and bankruptcy loomed.
Disheartened, Zhuang Huamao went to a construction site in the suburbs. He slipped to the top of an unfinished 30-story building while the workers were not paying attention. He drank several bottles of wine, and with blurry eyes, looked at the brightly lit city in the distance, deciding to jump. Before jumping, he took out his phone to delete some things, and suddenly saw a news pop-up: Jiang Ye was giving a televised speech.
"After watching General Jiang's speech, I suddenly sobered up. I thought to myself, since I'm going to die anyway, I'll try one more time and ask General Jiang for investment. If he invests in me, I'll keep pushing my business. If he refuses, I'll jump," Zhuang Huamao recalled in a later interview.
"During the interview, General Jiang never looked up at me; he was writing the whole time. I had to keep raising my voice, talking about my experience and my company, my voice getting louder and louder. Then General Jiang looked up at me and said, 'You don't need to shout.' My heart sank. I didn't expect that a few minutes later, General Jiang decided to sign an investment of five hundred thousand for me."
"Five hundred thousand actually didn't solve my problem, but after I walked out of the Macroeconomic Building, I suddenly felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Since I had a little money again, I decided to keep going until the money ran out."
Zhuang Huamao decisively closed his seafood products company. He began traveling to various cities on Jiangye Star, searching for new opportunities. A month later, he passed by a military shooting range and saw mountains of spent shell casings piled up at the edge. Inspiration struck. Another month later, Zhuang Huamao began manufacturing reloaded ammunition from recycled shell casings and shipping it to other planets, selling it to local militias in less developed planets. In less than half a year, he earned eighty million.
Zhuang Huamao officially entered the arms industry. A year later, he owned 28 low-end arms factories with 3,000 employees and began venturing into "poor man's weapons" like landmines, exclusively supplying them to chaotic regions on other planets. Five years later, his scale expanded tenfold, and he began selling civilian firearms to wealthy planets where gun ownership was permitted. His monthly profits exceeded 5 billion, making him the number one private arms dealer on Jiangye Star.