Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 416: Rail freight cars, what is the primary productive force?
“Agriculture is the foundation of a country’s strength, and commerce is the root of a country’s wealth. Neither is indispensable, and we cannot neglect one at the expense of the other.”

"Merchants are more concerned with profit than production. This is the disadvantage of commerce. If they focus on commerce, agriculture will be neglected. Therefore, if we want to develop commerce, we must strengthen agriculture."

“The key to a strong agriculture lies in increasing productivity. Only when the people have enough food to eat can business prosper.”

"So the first thing I want to talk to you about, Zhongda and Kongming, is the key to improving productivity - developing technology."

Liu Xie spoke to the two of them with a sharp gaze.

What he was going to discuss with Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang today was the future path and development direction of the Han Dynasty.

But Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang looked at each other in surprise when they heard this.

Increase productivity? Develop technology?
This was a new word they had never heard of before.

Sima Yi asked awkwardly, "Forgive me for being so stupid, but may I ask your Majesty what you mean by productivity and technology?"

"It's very simple."

Liu Xie smiled and patiently explained to the two: "Take weaving as an example. A piece of cloth is 40 feet long and 2.2 feet wide. A skilled weaver can weave about one piece of cloth a day."

"But after I invented the Jian'an loom, the speed was increased several times, and weavers were able to weave more cloth in the same amount of time."

"It's the relationship between technology and productivity. As weaving technology improves, production speed also increases."

Liu Xie gave a simple and clear example.

The Jian'an machine he manufactured was a dimensionality reduction attack on the textile industry of that era, greatly increasing the production speed of cloth.

"I see, I understand."

Zhuge Liang suddenly realized what was going on, and then asked, "Your Majesty, do you mean to increase grain production and ensure agricultural stability through the development of technology?"

"Yes!"

Liu Xie nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Such as water wheels, dike construction, plow construction, and canal irrigation, these are all technologies to increase grain production."

"But this is far from enough. Further research is needed to achieve a significant increase in grain production."

"For example, in the book 'The Exploitation of the Works of Nature' that Gaozu taught me in my dream, there is a greenhouse planting technology that can grow winter melons in winter. There are also crops called sweet potatoes and potatoes, which can produce more than 30 dan per mu and can replace wheat as a staple food."

After Liu Xie finished speaking, Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang were both shocked.

Growing winter melons that can replace wheat and produce more than 30 stones per mu... this is simply a fantasy!
But they had all heard the rumor that the emperor received "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" from Emperor Gaozu in a dream, and that the Jian'an locomotive and Jian'an plow were real things that were made, so even though they found it hard to believe, they did not question it.

"Your Majesty, I wonder what these potatoes and sweet potatoes are? Where can I find them?"

Zhuge Liang asked in a slightly hurried tone.

If the Han Dynasty could have such crops, I wonder how many people would be saved from starvation and how many lives would be saved!
Liu Xie shook his head with some regret and said, "There are no such things in the Han territory. They are all overseas. After the world is unified, I will send people to sea to find them."

He also wanted to find sweet potatoes and potatoes, but the situation did not allow it. The Han Dynasty did not have the strength to form an ocean-going fleet.

Zhuge Liang also sighed when he heard this.

Liu Xie continued, "I am only giving you an example. What I want to tell you is that developing technology is the top priority. This is also one of the purposes of my establishing the Metallurgical Bureau."

"The craftsman's skill is never a trick. In my opinion, its value is more than tens of millions or hundreds of millions of gold!"

"Advanced iron smelting technology can create more powerful blades and stronger armor, saving my Han soldiers from countless sacrifices."

“Agribusiness can make a country rich, but technology can make a country strong!”

"I'll show you something more."

Then Liu Xie instructed Queen Guo who was serving beside him, "Bring the things up."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Queen Guo lowered her head and stepped back, but returned again soon after, brought a stack of thick cloth, and spread it on the ground beside her.

"This is……"

Seeing the contents on the cloth, Sima Yi couldn't help but be a little surprised, because this was a map that included the two capitals and thirteen states of the Han Dynasty!

However, what is somewhat different from ordinary maps is that this map is painted with red paint with thin, spider-web-like veins, connecting all the states of the Han Dynasty.

Zhuge Liang was the first to ask, "Your Majesty, what do the red veins on this map represent?"

Liu Xie smiled and said, "This is a route map... But to be more precise, this is the track map that I plan to lay across the entire territory of the Han Dynasty in the future."

"Track map?"

Zhuge Liang frowned, somewhat puzzled.

Liu Xie did not give any further explanation. He took another stack of drawings from Queen Guo and handed them to Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi respectively.

The two took it and looked at it carefully.

There was nothing special on the drawing. It just showed a carriage, but this carriage looked quite different from ordinary ones.

Looking closely, the wheels are concave inward, and there are several carriages connected to the back of the carriage, which is very different from ordinary carriages.

"It's called a fire... um, a truck."

"Yes, rail freight cars."

Liu Xie changed his words and said, "This is a special carriage that I asked the Metallurgical Bureau to develop. As long as it is used with rails, it can travel hundreds of miles a day."

"As for what the rails are, you can look at the next drawing."

Given the current technological level of the Metallurgical Bureau, it is impossible to produce truly technological products, and Liu Xie himself is not good at engineering knowledge.

So he settled for the next best thing and studied railway tracks, allowing special horse-drawn carriages to run on them to increase the transportation speed. It would not be too late to replace them when technology advanced in the future. Anyway, the tracks would definitely be useful.

Hmm...it feels a bit like dreaming back to the Qing Dynasty.

Sima Yi said in disbelief: "A carriage can travel hundreds of miles a day? How is this possible?"

It is not uncommon to travel a hundred miles a day on horseback. Any veteran cavalryman can do it. The minimum requirement for an expedited 800-mile journey is to travel a hundred miles a day.

But it was a bit too incredible for a carriage to travel a hundred miles a day. It was simply not something that could be done.

Because this means that the speed of the carriage will be faster than that of the waterway!
The speed of water transportation depends on the river channel. In places where there are no rivers, water transportation is impossible. At this time, a large amount of manpower is needed to dig canals and build waterways.

The speed of land transportation depends entirely on whether the road is smooth and flat. Comparing the two, building roads is definitely more convenient than digging rivers.

"No, this is entirely possible." Unlike Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang keenly saw the clues from the two drawings. With such wheels combined with such tracks, the speed would be amazing.

"However... Your Majesty wants to lay such a track in our Han territory. The manpower and material resources consumed are probably astronomical."

"With the current national strength of our Han Dynasty, it is far from being possible."

Zhuge Liang shook his head. Although he thought the carriage and rails were great, the cost of laying them was too huge.

Liu Xie smiled faintly and said, "I am not planning to lay the rails right now. I am just telling you this idea."

"And the reason I show you this is to make you further understand the importance of technological progress."

"Just imagine, if these railroad tracks were laid in the territory of our Han Dynasty, then if a natural disaster occurred somewhere in our Han Dynasty, but it could deliver food and resources from all over the country to the disaster-stricken area quickly, how could the people panic?"

"If a war breaks out, the transportation of logistics and food will no longer be that difficult, and the army will be able to provide support more quickly."

"In addition, trade and commerce in various regions will be much more convenient, and exchanges between the north and the south will be more frequent. The benefits are simply innumerable."

Liu Xie stretched out his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and said in a deep voice: "This is the power of technology!"

Liu Xie's words opened a new door for Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, because they had never had such a concept before.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Everyone knows that technology is important, but their understanding of the development of technology is too one-sided, and Liu Xie has just summarized and concluded it for them.

Researching and developing technology is of great significance to agriculture, commerce, and the military, and can also improve productivity.

"But your majesty, developing technology and improving productivity is important, but you haven't said how to develop agriculture and commerce at the same time."

"Because even if agriculture prospers due to improved technology, the rapid development of commerce will also have an impact on agriculture, right?"

Sima Yi asked, feeling that he had gone off topic.

Or maybe this is what he is more concerned about.

Just now Liu Xie was talking about how to improve productivity, but he did not mention the most critical issue, which is how to implement agriculture and commerce simultaneously.

Liu Xie raised a finger and said, "First, support the development of trade, vigorously promote private commercial activities, relax restrictions, but at the same time increase the collection of commercial taxes."

“Second, the focus was on external trade, the Silk Road, earning wealth from other countries through trade.”

"Third, use the commercial taxes collected to establish an agricultural subsidy fund to protect the interests of ordinary people, while also implementing a series of policies that benefit farmers."

"Fourth, the imperial court should regulate and introduce strict laws to adjust grain prices, so as not to allow merchants to dominate and thus destroy the continuity of agriculture."

"What do Kong Ming and Zhong Da think?"

Liu Xie slowly expressed his views on the combination of agriculture and commerce, and then asked the two people with a smile.

Although these were just some crude ideas, he did not want to implement them all at once. He needed to continue trying them out and then find out what was missing and fill in the gaps.

The main reason I raise these today is to discuss with Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang and win their approval.

Sima Yi was fascinated by what he heard. After coming to his senses, he said firmly: "There is no doubt that what your majesty said is the true national policy that will last for thousands of years!"

"If it can be successfully implemented and achieve the goal of developing agriculture and commerce simultaneously, the national strength of our Han Dynasty will surely be stronger to an unprecedented level!"

There was an excitement in Sima Yi's tone that was hard to conceal.

No matter how difficult it is to implement, once it succeeds, it will indeed make the national strength of the Han Dynasty soar!
Why didn't he think of it before?
Why must agriculture, commerce and the imperial court be independent of each other? The three should be interdependent and complementary, and no one can be left out.

When trade develops, merchants become rich, and naturally they pay more taxes to the state. Even if the state uses most of it to subsidize farming people, there will still be a lot left over.

The farmers felt safe and secure after they benefited from it, after all, they had state subsidies and the court’s backing.

If farmers live and work in peace, farm with peace of mind, and pay taxes on time, how can the country be without money and not be strong?
This is a completely virtuous cycle!

Merchants pursue profits and status, farmers pursue stability, and the country needs money to develop its military, improve national strength, and improve the people's welfare system. These three needs are met at once!
"Why doesn't Kong Ming speak?"

Seeing Sima Yi so excited, Liu Xie couldn't help but smile, but he soon discovered that Zhuge Liang was frowning and silent, as if he was thinking about something.

Zhuge Liang collected his thoughts and said after a moment of silence: "Your Majesty, I have considered everything, but there is only one thing that is not appropriate."

Sima Yi was immediately displeased when he heard this, and snorted coldly: "Then tell me what is wrong with the national policies that Your Majesty mentioned?"

He couldn't stand Zhuge Liang's behavior of refuting everything.

It's as if you can't appear smart if you don't refute it.

Zhuge Liang glanced at Sima Yi and calmly uttered two words: "Aristocratic family."

Sima Yi's expression froze slightly.

Liu Xie also fell silent.

Zhuge Liang then said: "Your Majesty's idea is undoubtedly good, but it may not be implemented as you wish."

"When your majesty implemented the policy of land reclamation, the original intention was for the court to give benefits to the people, but what was the final result?"

"The noble families have seized a large amount of high-quality land through various means, and less than one tenth of it actually falls into the hands of the common people."

"Therefore, the same is true for the national policies that Your Majesty just mentioned. No matter how thorough the discussion is at the moment, when it comes to implementation, there will be unexpected difficulties."

Zhuge Liang's words are cruel, but also realistic.

This time Sima Yi did not continue speaking, because the topic was too sensitive and he did not dare to say more.

Because he was also a member of the aristocratic family, he, Sima, was also involved in the land occupation.

Doesn't he understand that he can't get involved?
Of course he understood, but he couldn't stop it.

The dishes on the table were already cold. Liu Xie put down his chopsticks, stood up and said, "I have finished eating. I will go and rest for a while. You two, my dear ministers, can eat slowly."

After saying that, he left the side hall.

Watching the emperor leave, Sima Yi couldn't help but glare at Zhuge Liang and said, "Your Majesty is discussing national policy with us, do you have to say something like this to spoil the fun?"

Zhuge Liang sighed softly: "Some things have to be faced. It has nothing to do with whether I say it or not. If I don't say it, will these problems no longer exist?"

"National affairs are no joke."

"Take your time to eat. I'm going to handle government affairs. There are still many affairs that have not been completed today."

Zhuge Liang stood up and walked towards the Xuanshi Hall, leaving Sima Yi with a gloomy expression.

(End of this chapter)