Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1872 Egoist

Classic designs are always pretty much the same, while those that innovate for the sake of innovation usually end up being terrible.

Based on his past experience, Qin Fen skillfully opened the hood and took a look to check.

For Qin Fen, engines were a perfect fit for his expertise.

After a brief examination, Qin Fen confirmed everything...

It's a diesel engine.

During this time, the assistant standing beside him didn't ask questions like, "What is a diesel engine?"

Having served as Qin Fen's assistant for a long time, he had completely gotten used to it. He told Qin Fen not to keep asking why, and that even if he explained things to him, Qin Fen still wouldn't understand. He told Qin Fen to just write them down honestly.

At this moment, the assistant was also writing furiously without stopping, afraid of missing anything.

After taking stock of the spoils from this trip, it can be said that the harvest was quite fruitful.

Turning back to Zhou Xu, the entire report went very smoothly.

Do you think there is any research and development value in radio technology at this stage?

Faced with this question, Qin Fen naturally understood Zhou Xu's meaning.

The question Zhou Xu asked this time wasn't about civilian applications. As things stand, it's still a long way off for civilian adoption of this technology, or rather, there's no need for it. The current focus is on military applications.

"For our own use only, the miniature communication cube is far superior to the current radio technology, but..."

At this point, Qin Fen slightly changed the subject.

"If we also master this, we can try to eavesdrop on the other side's radio communications."

This reminded Zhou Xu that radios could be used in this way.

"If these three projects—radio, generators, and diesel engines—were to be launched, they would likely impact your current projects. Would you be able to handle the workload?"

Obviously, Zhou Xu didn't want Qin Fen to collapse from exhaustion.

In the future, the Great Zhou will need Qin Fen's help in many areas, including energy development and even technological development.

Qin Fen also spoke the truth about this.

"It would be a lie to say there's no impact, but these three projects are ready-made products for people to study, so the work is relatively easier. I can just be listed in those three project teams, check on the progress regularly, and answer any questions. Alternatively, they can just compile the questions and send them to me regularly."

Clearly, Qin Fen had already thought this through.

Qin Fen was not a lazy person at heart. The stronger the Great Zhou was, the safer their lives would be; the better the Great Zhou developed, the more comfortable their lives would be.

Qin Fen understood this matter quite well.

Zhou Xu nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's settle it like this for now. I'll have the finance minister allocate the R&D funding later."

Zhou Xu spoke with considerable confidence.

They've been organizing a football league every year for years, and it's been very successful each year.

When they were initially planning the football league, they anticipated that its economic benefits would decline over time.

After all, many things are novel at first, but once the novelty wears off, people lose interest.

In fact, compared to the first two years, there are indeed fewer fans, but the resulting economic benefits have continued to rise. The reason is simple: feelings need to be cultivated gradually, and the same applies to fans and the teams they support.

Everyone was just having fun in the first place. Even if their team lost, they weren't really that upset. There wasn't any deep affection or bond between them. The important thing was that they had fun, which was more important than anything else.

But as time went by, the fans' feelings for the teams began to deepen, and eventually, they became loyal supporters of their respective teams, willing to spend a lot of money on them.

The economic benefits it generates, though often unnoticed, are surprisingly substantial.

Thanks to the success of this sport and the league, the annual budget of the Great Zhou Dynasty has increased significantly, and the accumulated surplus over the years has become a considerable sum.

Starting three relatively inexpensive new projects now is no problem at all.

Upon receiving the notification and confirming the situation, Finance Minister Song Jinyu did not hesitate and readily allocated the funds.

Once the funding was secured, three project teams were established for radio, generators, and diesel engines, and they began working.

As for the goblin pistols and rifles that were captured, Thorin had already discarded them as junk; they were not even as good as the firearms that their Great Zhou already had, and were not worth studying at all.

Compared to Sorin, Zhou Xu's thinking was actually basically the same as Qin Fen's.

This thing is all about cost-effectiveness.

Of course, Zhou Xu wasn't that extreme. He generally preferred to make weapons that scored around 80 points. He didn't pursue perfection, but they couldn't be too bad either. He aimed for a good overall cost-performance ratio.

During this process, the interrogation department of the Inspection Division also obtained more intelligence regarding the prisoners of war who were captured this time.

Previously, when Wei Qing was at the front line, his interrogations mainly revolved around the front-line troops, as this was a problem he had to deal with as soon as possible.

But now that the immediate problem has been resolved, the interrogation is underway, and the focus is now on the goblin faction.

As it turns out, the goblin race is indeed a tough one to crack.

As the director of the Inspection Department, Ye Jinghong has seen all sorts of people over the years and has long since developed a pair of eyes that can see through the essence of things. The fact that these goblins confessed so readily was only partly due to their cowardice, and not even the main reason.

The real reason is that they are all egoists with no bottom line.

What they care about most is their own interests and safety.

The goblins are united by interests, but they are also capable of betraying their fellow countrymen and their nation without hesitation for the same reason.

This also made them exceptionally straightforward in their confessions during interrogation.

Of course, some information is still only on the surface, making it difficult for the Great Zhou to make an accurate judgment.

However, one piece of information piqued Ye Jinghong's interest.

"You mean, on the other side of your territory, there lives a group of elves?"

"Yes Yes!"

The goblin officer being interrogated nodded vigorously.

“Those are a troublesome bunch. They live in the forest, which we didn’t know at first. We wanted to go there to cut down some trees for development, but then those elves jumped out of the forest.”

According to the goblin officer, neither side could do anything to the other.

This made the goblin king temporarily abandon his idea of ​​conquering that forest, and instead began exploring the other side. After a battle with the gnolls, he unexpectedly discovered oil resources.

Due to rapid development and unrestrained exploitation, the Goblin Kingdom has become extremely resource-scarce. In order to maintain the country's operation and continue to enhance its national strength, it needs more resources. This is the main reason why they are constantly expanding and searching for resources.

(End of this chapter)