At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 715: Tianzhu's Advantages and Inspection Areas

At this time, the New Seoul Shipyard was bustling with activity. There were not only hard-working shipbuilders, but also Indian people who came here to watch the fun. Even the King of India came here with high-ranking officials.

"Three, two, one!" Xu Aijun pushed a bottle of sugarcane wine towards the bow of a slender battleship, and then the craftsmen turned on the engine and the battleship slowly entered the sea.

"Woo, woo, woo, woo" people around cheered.

Xu Aijun was even more excited and held Liu Qi's shoulder and said, "Your reforms are very effective. I can't believe that Tianzhu can produce 4,000-ton battleships."

Liu Xian, who was standing by, said awkwardly, “My lord, a 4,000-ton ship can barely be called a cruiser.”

The navy of the Han Dynasty has always developed very rapidly, and now its annual military expenditure exceeds that of the army. After Liu Bi became a general, he reported a new plan for building battleships. He wrote to the emperor, arguing that the current 8000-ton battleships of the Han Dynasty could no longer meet the needs of the Han Dynasty's global rule, and requested the construction of eight -ton mainstream warships to meet the needs of the four fleets.

And this shipbuilding plan has been approved by the Emperor and agreed by the Assembly of Sages. It has been under construction for more than a year and can be launched in half a year at most. According to the current standards of the Han Dynasty, 7000-8000-ton ships can still be called battleships. The first-class 4000-5000-ton ships are called cruisers. Their battleship can barely meet this standard, but in another year it can only be considered a frigate.

Xu Aijun smiled and said, "The Han is the Han, and Tianzhu is the emperor. After you came to Tianzhu, Tianzhu has made rapid progress, even surpassing the Han. I am overjoyed."

Having been the King of India for more than 20 years, the Indian people had long ago extinguished his ambitions. He would not compete with the Han Dynasty now. It was enough for India to have made progress compared to before.

Liu Qi said: "Your Majesty, for India, cruisers are enough to fight pirates and maintain order along the coast of India. This is also the most economical warship for India."

Xu Aijun saw the new warship as if it were a new toy and asked, "What are the data of this warship?"

Liu Qi said: "The displacement of the warship has reached 4200 tons. In order to manufacture qualified keels and ribs, a 2000-ton hydraulic press from Chen County was used to press them. The steel plates for the hull were also made with a -ton hydraulic press from Kuaiji County."

Xu Aijun hesitated and asked, "Why is it the Chenjun hydraulic press and the Kuaijijun hydraulic press? Are all these parts made by the Han people?"

Liu Qi nodded and admitted, "Only the Han, Tang, and Xiongnu have hydraulic presses above 3,000 tons, and only the Han has 5,000-ton and 10,000-ton hydraulic presses. Tianzhu has a weak industrial base and no hydraulic presses. These key parts can only be customized from the Han first and then assembled in Tianzhu."

But he quickly explained, "I am already planning to buy a hydraulic press. India is a big country, with hundreds of thousands of tons of goods shipped to the Han Dynasty every year. Even for the transportation of domestic goods, it needs its own shipbuilding industry."

Only then did Xu Aijun nod with satisfaction.

Liu Qi continued to introduce the data: "The battleship has 4000 mm composite steel armor, two of the latest Han triple-expansion steam engines, with 8 horsepower, and is equipped with 140 mm main guns."

"140 mm. It turns out that artillery still depends on the battleship." Xu Aijun nodded with satisfaction.

Xu Aijun was satisfied, and the Indians were even more delighted with such warships, especially the insightful senior Indian intellectuals, who had begun to popularize to the people of Tianzi that there were only a few countries in the world that could build battleships of more than 4000 tons, and their battleships could at least rank among the top four in the world.

After hearing this, the people of Tianzhu were even more satisfied. The top four in the world was in line with Tianzhu's international status. Although Liu Qi was cruel, he was still capable of doing things. He could actually create such a powerful battleship. For a time, Liu Qi's reputation and status in Tianzhu improved by three points.

You should know that Liu Qi had a very bad reputation in India. The upper class in India whose interests were damaged did not like him, but even the lower class people in India who benefited from the reform did not like him. The Indians had been free and undisciplined for thousands of years, but Liu Qi's reforms controlled everything, including garbage at the door, garbage in the house, and even whether one's own body was clean. It was always a national hygiene month, and not only the hygiene of the streets but also the hygiene of one's own home, quilts, and clothes had to be checked.

Liu Qi controls everything, even the opportunity to walk and eat. The Indians now feel that they are wrapped in an all-encompassing net. They are too unfree and uncomfortable. Under such circumstances, how can they have a good impression of Liu Qi? However, the successful manufacture of this battleship has won him a lot of favor.

On the way back to New Seoul, Liu Qi and Xu Aijun were in the same car.

Xu Aijun looked at the bustling city on both sides of the street and asked with some concern: "Brother wants to promote welfare policies such as the 8-hour work system, pensions, and unemployment benefits around the world. Will this affect the development of development zones such as New Seoul?"

Liu Qi said calmly: "There is an impact, but it is not big, and it may even be a positive impact. The salary of Indian craftsmen is only one-tenth of that of Han craftsmen. Even if the income of craftsmen is increased a little, it will not affect the price of Indian products. On the contrary, with this decree, the people of India will have more time to consume."

"The development of a country's economy depends on three aspects: exports, investment, and domestic demand. Exports are the simplest. Every year, Tianzhu exports 400 billion worth of goods worldwide and imports 350 billion worth of goods. The extra 50 billion is our profit.

The investments are the New Seoul and other development zones that I have built in recent years, as well as the construction of railways, roads, ports, etc. Although these require large investments, the returns are even greater. These investments are indispensable for India's economic development. Finally, there is domestic demand, which is how much money the Indian people earn and then use for consumption.

After I came to India, India's exports have increased for two years, and investment demand has doubled, but domestic demand has not increased much. Six years ago, it was 600 coins, and now it is still coins. This is an extremely unbalanced development model. Domestic demand cannot be increased, and India's production capacity continues to expand. If there are problems with foreign trade, the people of India cannot consume the goods they produce, and a financial crisis will break out sooner or later. Now that we have the emperor's edict, we can legitimately allow those merchants to increase the salaries and benefits of craftsmen. "

Then Liu Qi said coldly: "In our Tianzhu Industrial Zone, merchants can make more than 5% profit by weaving cloth. They have already made enough. This profit is only available in the high-tech industries such as shipyards, automobile factories, and machinery factories in the Han Dynasty. How can weaving be compared with these industries? No matter how much these merchants make, they will not want to increase the income of craftsmen by a penny."

Xu Aijun felt somewhat familiar with what he heard, and then he sighed, "My father said this before. Although my father supports merchants to open factories, he never trusts merchants and even hates them. My father once said that it is more impossible for merchants to improve the income of craftsmen than for a sow to climb a tree."

Liu Qi said: "If you want to increase the salary of craftsmen, you can only rely on the court to do it. In the next five years, I plan to continuously increase the minimum salary standard of Tianzhu, so that the income of Tianzhu craftsmen will double, at least more than 1000 coins?"

Xu Aijun asked nervously, "Will it not affect the development of Tianzhu's industry?"

Liu Qi said: "1000 coins are not enough to hire a retired old man in the Han Dynasty, so how can it affect the industrial development of Tianzhu?"

Liu Qi then introduced: "The Nanyang region has always been rich, and the minimum salary of craftsmen there is 3,000 coins. Moreover, their industrial base is worse than that of Tianzhu. The locals prefer to be manor owners rather than factory owners. They cannot afford to develop industry.

Although the salaries in Rome, Carthage and other places are lower than those in our Tianzhu region, they are too far away from the Han Dynasty. Long-distance transportation will directly increase the price of goods. Only our Tianzhu is close to the Han Dynasty, has a large population, and has a handicraft tradition of thousands of years. Judging from the situation around the world, those with stronger industries than us have salaries that are not lower than ours, and those with lower salaries are farther away from the Han Dynasty, the world's largest market. Those who are closer to the Han Dynasty than us have higher salaries, but their industries are worse than ours. In terms of light industry alone, our Tianzhu is the region with the greatest potential in the world, which is why the Han Dynasty's textile factories were transferred to Tianzhu. "

Xu Aijun continued to ask: "What about the welfare benefits?"

India is not as powerful as the Han Dynasty. Even with Liu Qi's reforms, India's fiscal revenue only reached 400 billion, less than one-tenth of that of the Han Dynasty, but its population was close to half of that of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty could offer high salaries, but India did not have this qualification. It only had a fiscal surplus in the past two years and had to repay more than billion in foreign debt. How could it have the money to provide any welfare?

Liu Qi said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand that everything should be done within our capabilities. It's not about high welfare benefits or advanced. Advanced means advanced productivity. Welfare benefits must also match the local productivity. With the productivity of Tianzhu, 2 dan of grain is enough for a -year-old man, but in Tianzhu, there are no more than such elderly people. This is an affordable price for Tianzhu."

The most important thing now is to maintain exports to the Han Dynasty. With the prices of our Indian textile industry, no one in the world can compete with us as long as we compete fairly. The Han Dynasty's textile industry is a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Occupying this market is enough for India to complete its industrialization.

After listening to Liu Qi's words, Xu Aijun nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "You will represent Tianzhu at the Global Alliance National Conference in March." "Yes!"

On January 63, 1rd year of the Han Dynasty,
"Beep, beep, beep!" A speeding train braved the wind and snow as it sped towards Jiuyuan County in the north.

Xu Shao said: "The winter in the north is much colder than in the south."

Although Nanzhou also has winter, the temperature rarely drops below zero. Xu Shao has seen snowfall only a few times in the 10 years he has been in Nanzhou. But now it is snowing heavily outside the train, which seems a bit novel to Xu Shao.

His superior Chen She smiled and said, "I am from the south, where the climate is even hotter. I have only seen scenes like this since I came to the Han Dynasty."

Xu Shaoyou asked gossipingly, "Sir, you are Xiang Yu's cousin. Have you ever met Xiang Yu?"

Xu Shao's understanding of Xiang Yu all came from his grandfather Xu Fan, and Xu Fan did not have much ill will towards Xiang Yu. On the contrary, because he studied history, he had a certain liking for Xiang Yu.

So in the story Xu Shao heard, Xiang Yu was such an invincible hero, unruly and unruly, but in the end he was defeated by his grandfather. He thought that his grandfather was a hero who appreciated another hero.

"Xiang Yu!" Chen She was stunned, but didn't know what to say.

He was born late, and although he was of the same generation as Xiang Yu, he was actually several decades younger than him. He had never even seen Xiang Yu. However, in his childhood memories, Xiang Yu had a bad reputation, and his clansmen often cursed him, believing that if he had not rebelled, the Xiang family would not have to change their names, and they could have become the top nobles of the Han Dynasty and would not have to stay in Nanzhong.

Chen She was considered a promising person among his clansmen. With his own efforts, he was admitted to an agricultural college, and then became a disciple of an elder in the farming family. He started as an agricultural official and worked in agriculture for decades. He knew that his identity was special and did not dare to be too active. He had been serving as a Han official honestly for decades. In addition, his background did not require him to engage in corruption and bribery, and he finally became the Minister of Agriculture.

Three years ago, when the Han Dynasty changed its leadership, Xu Aimin suddenly discovered that there were no three highest officials among the farmers, and there were few among the nine ministers. This was very rare in the Han Dynasty's decades of history. Of course, it can also be seen from this that agriculture has been increasingly decreasing in the political landscape of the Han Dynasty, but agriculture is the foundation of the Han Dynasty's prosperity. In order to show his attention to agriculture, Xu Aimin promoted Chen She, who came from a farming family, to be the Minister of Agriculture.

"No, this man is a traitor to the Han Dynasty, and everyone in my family hates him to the core." Chen She said firmly.

Li Guang said proudly: "I was born late, otherwise I would definitely capture the evil thief for the emperor."

Li Guang had reasons to be proud of himself. He had never lost in martial arts competitions over the years. The battle record of Xiang Yu in this world was not as terrifying as in history, and his bravery was not fully revealed.

Ji An said, "Your Majesty, Xiang Yu is a traitor to the Han Dynasty. This has already been determined by the court. We should not discuss this traitor."

No matter what, Chen She is now the superior of his king, so it is not appropriate to talk about such a sensitive topic.

This time when Xu Shao returned to the Han Dynasty, he only brought his trusted aides Ji An and Li Guang with him, and the State of Wu was managed by his eldest son Xu Ming.

Chen Sheji changed the subject and said, "The Jiuyuan County we are touring is the poorest area in the entire Han Dynasty. Jiuyuan County originally only had Jiuyuan and Linhe counties, but in recent years, with the beginning of the court, sixteen new counties have been added, including Guling, Wuyuan, Linwo, and Wenguo. However, it is located in the desert and the back of the Yellow River, with complex terrain, including mountains, deserts, Gobi, and grasslands. It is a semi-pastoral and semi-agricultural area. Because of the harsh climate, even if the court invests huge amounts of money every year to build water conservancy facilities, kilometers of railways, and improve local infrastructure, it is still difficult to change the local poverty and backwardness. The annual income of local farmers is only more than 3 yuan."

Xu Shaoyou was stunned and said, "It's so low, it's even worse than my Wu Kingdom."

Chen She smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, your Wu State has only 30 households, but the iron ore alone can be sold for billions of dollars. As long as the rich land is cultivated, the people will naturally become rich. However, this is the edge of the desert. Sandstorms, snowstorms, and droughts can easily make farmers' hard work for a year go to waste. The court has hundreds of millions of people to take care of, and it is impossible to invest all resources in one place."

Xu Shaoyou was surprised and said, "The imperial court has been promoting a prosperous society for decades, but Jiuyuan County has only just reached the standard."

Chen She said helplessly, "Some places have fertile land and are easy to become wealthy societies, but Jiuyuan is that kind of barren land. It is rare to have 30,000 coins. The desert has been a cold and miserable place for thousands of years. Jiuyuanjin was also a frontier place established by Meng Tian decades ago. Jiuyuan's environment is inherently bad, and the court also restricts them from developing industry, so it is naturally difficult for them to develop."

Jiuyuan County is located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. The development of industry requires a large amount of water and produces a large amount of industrial wastewater. In addition, the local environment is harsh, and the damage will be more than 10 times more difficult to recover from than in the south of the Yangtze River.

Xu Fan learned from the lessons of later generations. There were basically no industrial centers in the north of the Han Dynasty. They even restricted their settlements to prevent desertification of local grasslands, and even controlled the local population to prevent grassland degradation due to population growth.

Industrial development is not allowed, farming is not allowed, and there are not even many people. You can imagine how difficult it is to get rich. Jiuyuan County is full of primitive scenery, and it is a good place for tourism. Although there is some tourism industry booming in the Han Dynasty, not many people have discovered the scenery of Jiuyuan yet.

The group got off the train in Linwo County.

"Your subordinate, the magistrate of Linwo pays his respects to the Grand Minister of Agriculture, and pays his respects to the Grand Minister of Agriculture!" Zhu Maichen saluted.

Chen She said, "No need to be polite."

After a brief exchange of greetings, Zhu Maichen led the group to the county guesthouse.

As soon as he entered the guesthouse, Zhu Maichen complained to Chen She and Xu Shao: "God is not willing to let us, the people of Jiuyuan County, live. Last April, there was an earthquake in the desert, and hundreds of houses collapsed in Jiuyuan County. In September this year, there was a locust plague, and the grain income was reduced by half. The pastures were almost eaten up by these locusts. The herders in the county have to buy feed to keep their livestock through the winter."

In his heart, Zhu Maichen cursed the injustice of God. He had worked so hard to rise from the head of a farming cooperative to a county magistrate in the Han Dynasty. In order to make further progress, he personally wrote a letter to the court, saying that he wanted to go to the most difficult places in the Han Dynasty to build a world of great harmony.

The imperial court also fulfilled his wish and sent him to Jiuyuan County as a county magistrate. However, just when he was planning to make a big move, first an earthquake occurred, followed by a locust plague.

After he had finally settled the victims, he discovered that the imperial court had imposed so many restrictions on Jiuyuan County.

"We will report the situation in Jiuyuan to the court after inspection." Chen She looked at all this calmly.

If you can't ask for money, you are not a qualified Han official, especially in the poorer counties, where the local Han officials will really be so shameless when asking for money. He followed Feng Tang to the local areas and saw many local officials asking for money, policies, and projects. Now he has become accustomed to such things.

County Magistrate Zhu is still too young. He cannot save face and can only complain.

(End of this chapter)