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

Chapter 396, Pointing and Steam Expo

Xu Fan was helpless when he heard Zhang Liang's advice. He guessed that in Zhang Liang's mind, he was a more greedy king than the First Emperor.

Xu Fan looked at the other three dukes and nine ministers and found that their expressions were similar to Zhang Liang's.

It can only be said that the lesson of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty was too profound. It took only 13 short years from swallowing up the world to collapsing. In the known history, there has never been a dynasty that collapsed so quickly.

Zhou Zhang and his men took the fate of the Qin Dynasty as a warning, and in their opinion, the main reason for the collapse of the Qin Dynasty was its warmongering.

And now the Han Dynasty has such a trend. Less than 10 years after unifying the world, it has launched two major wars with more than 60 troops. If it were not for the fact that Emperor Xu Fan's ability to make money far exceeded that of the First Emperor, I am afraid that the situation of the Han Dynasty would not be much better than that of the Qin Dynasty.

So it would be a lie to say that Zhou Zhang and the others had no concerns in their hearts. They were also worried that Xu Fan would take the initiative to attack the Western Regions again.

Seeing the expressions of Zhou Zhang and others, Xu Fan couldn't help but smile bitterly. I am really a pacifist. Before I came to this world, I had never even killed a chicken. If it weren't for the last resort, I really didn't want to start a war.

(To be honest, Xu Fan did not launch many foreign wars. The Xiongnu were his own people. This was a war of unification. Liaodong and Nanyang were all barbarians and unowned lands. To be honest, only the Western Regions took the initiative to attack. But the Western Regions have been the territory of our Celestial Empire since ancient times. In this way, Xu Fan just recovered the territory that was inherent in his heart.)
You really don't understand the oppression I experienced in later generations. I was so depressed that I suffered a lot from the lack of resources. I couldn't even boast of my vast land and abundant resources.

Others have a scissors gap between industry and agriculture, but when it comes to us, it becomes a scissors gap between agriculture and industry. It's fucking outrageous that those who manufacture industrial products are not as good as those who sell minerals. How many resource-rich countries that sell oil and minerals are supported by the Celestial Empire.

Now the land is just lying there without any country. For the sake of future generations and to stop working 996, Xu Fan naturally has to find a way to occupy the land first.

Of course, Zhang Liang's concerns were reasonable. The Han Dynasty had expanded its territory four or five times in one go, and it was indeed a bit overwhelmed. It needed to wait for the population to fill these territories and consolidate its foundation before making further plans.

So Xu Fan said: "I understand Zifang's intention. In the next few years, our Han Dynasty will focus on improving internal affairs."

Zhang Liang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

After deciding on the Hexi strategy, Xu Fan hosted a banquet at the Yan Palace for an old friend of his, Shitou from Taoyuan.

The two met at Mozi Academy. Shitou heard that Tianzi was going to give a lecture and came to support him. It was so hard to meet an old friend, so Xu Fan invited him to dinner.

And Shitou did not come empty-handed, but brought two baskets to Yan Palace, one basket was full of pickled duck eggs, and the other was full of dried chickens, ducks and geese.

Xu Fan smiled and said, "Just bring a basket of salted duck eggs as a token of your appreciation. Why bring so many? It will only cause trouble on the way."

Shitou smiled and said, "It's not a problem at all. After the railroad connects to Hu County, the goods in our Taoyuan can be sold directly to Chang'an City. In order to facilitate the transportation of goods, we have three rail carriages for transportation."

"I came to Chang'an with the transport team this time. I heard that Your Majesty was giving a class in Chang'an City, so I went to Mozi Academy to attend the class. That's how I met Your Majesty."

Xu Fan was surprised and asked, "You are doing quite a bit of business now. You even have clients in Chang'an?"

Hu County is more than a hundred miles away from Chang'an City, and it was difficult for goods of that era to be transported to such a long distance.

So someone led the people of the entire county to raise poultry and set up a breeding workshop in Hu County. We provided poultry seedlings from our peach orchard to the villagers, and taught them how to make earthworm fields, how to prevent diseases, and how to raise poultry. Everyone united to make money together. The agricultural bank approved a loan for someone, and he led the villagers to expand production capacity.

We now have hundreds of thousands of poultry in Hu County, which are difficult to sell locally. Fortunately, the restaurants in Chang'an City need poultry, and rail transportation only takes half a day to reach Chang'an City. Now all the poultry in Hu County is sold in Chang'an City. "

After hearing this, Xu Fan gave a thumbs up and said, "You have raised hundreds of thousands of poultry and expanded your business to Chang'an City. Shitou, you can be called the poultry king!"

"You, the king, are much more powerful than other kings. You are truly benefiting the people."

After listening to Shitou talk about his experiences in the past two years, he felt like he was watching the development process of those farmer entrepreneurs in later generations.

In that era, there really was a group of such peasant entrepreneurs who were daring, hardworking and studious, and they really made a name for themselves in the world. But I don’t know since when, such people have become fewer and fewer, and in the Internet age, such stories are rarely heard.

Then Xu Fan instructed: "Now that the scale of your breeding is so large, you must prevent and control diseases. There is an old saying that goes, even if you have a fortune, your poultry is worthless. One disease can kill all the poultry."

Shitou nodded seriously and said, "I understand."

Xu Fan suggested: "Once you have developed the poultry business to a scale of several hundred thousand, it will be difficult to expand further. You need to find a way to extend the industrial chain and obtain the highest profit possible. Since you have thought of drying the ducks, why not go a step further and make braised ducks."

Then Xu Fan told Shitou about the previous model of Huang Shang Huang in his hometown.

"There are hundreds of thousands of craftsmen in Chang'an City now, and there are many dual-income families. They don't have much time to cook. Shops like yours that sell marinated products should have a lot of business, and the profit is higher."

Shitou nodded and said, "I'll give it a try when I get back."

Xu Fan said: "There are also chicken feathers, duck feathers and goose feathers that can also be used. You can try to stuff duck and goose down into clothes and make warm clothes like cotton-padded clothes. In this way, the family's profits from beginning to end will remain in your workshop."

Shitou said, "I will try your Majesty's method when I return."

November 25th, the ninth year of the Han calendar.

The first Steam Expo of the Han Dynasty was held in Chang'an City.

The emperor attended the opening ceremony of the Steam Expo and delivered an important speech, saying that the next era would be the steam era, and only those who could use steam engines would be the masters of the next era.

This was the idea that suddenly came to Xu Fan when he was pointing at the stone.

The most primitive steam engine has been developed for more than two years. Yang Xiong and his team have been constantly improving it, and there are now more than 200 steam engines in Guanzhong.

Following Xu Fan's advice, Yang Xiong and his team invented a steam water pump, a steam textile machine, a steam mill, a steam pulverizer, a steam locomotive, and even a steam transport ship. However, due to power and material reasons, apart from the steam water pump which had some practical value, the other steam products could only be considered laboratory products and required continuous accumulation of experience and corrections.

There was one thing that Xu Fan never expected. He thought that after the steam engine was invented, it would sweep the world with overwhelming force and bring the world into a new era.

But the reality made Xu Fan understand that the process of new things replacing old things is tortuous.

Even though the steam pump has some practical value, it is still not as practical as the windmill. If there were not so many windless days in Guanzhong, many mines would not even be willing to equip themselves with steam pumps that would easily break down.

The power of this batch of primitive steam engines is estimated to be no more than one horsepower. They are all handmade, expensive and of poor quality. One has to burn incense and pray to Buddha to keep them running smoothly for a whole day.

Therefore, each steam engine needs to be accompanied by a repairman who knows how to repair steam engines.

In order to meet the increasing demand for steam engines, Xu Fan even founded a steam technology college, recruiting thousands of students in the first phase. The main task of these students was to follow the master craftsman, learn the operating principles of the steam engine, and use the hammer in their hands to learn how to repair the steam engine.

It was under such circumstances that the steam engine that Xu Fan had high hopes for took two years to develop, but it was not even within a hundred miles of Chang'an City, let alone being promoted throughout the Han Dynasty with overwhelming force.

Even in Chang'an, not many people knew about the new steam engine. But if the steam engine was to be perfected to a practical level, it could not stay in the laboratory all the time, but had to be perfected in constant use, and the wisdom of the people of the world had to be used in production.

Only when the steam engine has passed its embryonic stage can it truly show its power to change the world. And just at this time, merchants from all over the world gathered in Chang'an City. These people are the most sensitive to making money. As long as a small number of these people can discover the potential of the steam engine, they are willing to spend money to improve the steam engine, which is better than Xu Fan pushing the steam engine forward alone.

The Steam Expo was held in a parade ground outside the Xianyang Palace. The reason why it was not held inside the palace was mainly because the steam would cause smoke and fire, which made it unsuitable to be held indoors.

When the people of Chang'an City learned that the emperor was holding a steam expo, they all came to see the new things.

Then they saw a lot of new things. When the coal was burned, the strange steam engine not only emitted smoke, but also made the wheels turn.

The most popular among children is the steam train. Yang Xiong and his team made a small circular track on which a steam locomotive, which is slightly larger than a toy train, rotates. There are also four seats at the back that can accommodate four children.

The humming sound of the steam train attracted all the children, and they all pulled their parents to ask if they wanted to ride on the steam train. However, there were only four seats, which could not meet the huge demand. The craftsman who was debugging the steam train had to add four more chairs, but the speed slowed down visibly.

Ordinary people in Chang'an City prefer to watch the steam pump, which quickly pumps water from a small pool into another pool, and exclaim in amazement. As long as it can be used in the fields, it will be much more convenient than building canals.

The merchants of the Han Dynasty valued the steam spinning wheel more. When they saw that the efficiency of the steam spinning wheel was faster than that of the water wheel, they all exclaimed in amazement.

"This is a gift from the Emperor to us in the north!" Kuai Che exclaimed.

After the Han Dynasty occupied Mobei, the last link in the northern textile industry chain was opened up. Workshop owners like Kuai Che no longer had to worry about their textile machines stopping for half a year just to wait for raw materials.

But soon they found themselves facing a new problem. The winter in the north dealt a heavy blow to the efficiency of their textile factories. The north was frozen half of the time, and the water-powered spinning wheels could not be used at all. So new troubles arose. The efficiency of the textile machines was improved, but the spinning wheels could not keep up with the efficiency of the textile machines.

Although Kuai Che and his men could use animal power to replace water power, animal power was far less efficient than water power.

What made them even more worried was that their competitors in the south did not have such worries. In the Jianghuai area, not only were there many rivers with large water flows, but they also did not freeze all year round. Their water-powered spinning wheels could operate all year round.

With the support of people like Kuai Che, they finally managed to break through the weakest link in the industrial chain.

As a result, all the wool went south to Chen County, where it was woven into woolen cloth by the textile factories in Chen County. The wool then seized the market in the Central Plains and even counterattacked to Hebei Province.

This was something that Kuai Che and his men could not tolerate. They had put in a lot of effort to capture Mobei, but in the end the biggest beneficiaries were their competitors in the Jianghuai area.

What makes them most frustrated is that the time when they are least efficient is when the price of Han wool cloth is the highest, and the highest profits are snatched away by those Jianghuai people.

Now, the emergence of the steam spinning wheel finally allowed them to find the possibility of counterattacking Jianghuai.

So when Kuai Che and his men watched the rapid rotation of the spinning wheels, it was as if they were seeing their battle line, which was constantly advancing from the Hebei detachment to the Central Plains, to the Jianghuai area, and finally to occupy the entire Han wool cloth market.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Suddenly a shrill scream came from the steam engine, scaring Kuai Che and his men.

Steam filled the entire scene, and the air was filled with smoke. This unknown situation caused the audience to step back one after another, and some even looked a little panicked.

"Don't worry, the steam pipe is broken. As long as you are not too close to the machine, there will be no danger. It can be fixed." The master craftsman next to the steam spinning wheel immediately explained.

The apprentices around were accustomed to such situations. They opened the airlock door deftly, and steam sprayed more than ten feet high, releasing energy quickly. The other apprentices quickly replaced the spare parts.

After finishing, add water and coal, and after half an incense stick, the steam loom starts running again.

Kuai Che looked at him in confusion for a long time before slowly approaching.

"Can this steam spinning wheel have a few more spindles? It only has 10 now, which is too few. The largest water-powered spinning wheel now can drive hundreds of spindles at a time. Your efficiency is too low." Kuai Che said.

The master craftsman said helplessly: "There is no way. The horsepower of the steam engine is not high enough to carry too many ingots. Although increasing the pressure of the boiler can get more horsepower, the quality of the pipes is too poor. If the pressure is too high, the steam will easily break through the pipes. Carrying 10 ingots like now is already a relatively safe range."

"Horsepower?" Kuai Che asked curiously.

He understood these two words separately, but what did they mean together: the strength of a horse?

The master craftsman explained: "This is the unit used by the emperor to describe the power of steam. One horsepower is equivalent to the power of a horse, which is roughly equivalent to the power required to pull five stones of grain to a height of three feet."

Kuai Che roughly understood the meaning of horsepower, but he did not care about this academic definition. He was more concerned about the efficiency, safety and price of the steam engine.

"Can the efficiency of the steam spinning wheel be improved? 10 spindles are too few. Can it be increased to 30 spindles?"

The master craftsman said: "We can find a way to increase the precision of the pipes and find a better sealant to experiment with, but all of this requires you to invest money in the experiment."

Kuai Che continued: "How much money do you need to invest to achieve a certain required effect?"

"It's hard to say. It took us two years to get the effect you see now. If you want to have 30 spindles, you have to increase the horsepower by at least three times. The steam spinning machine has to be modified from top to bottom. As for when it will be able to achieve the effect you need, I'm not sure."

He couldn't guarantee anything. If the person in front of him wasn't a Mohist, he would have thought he had met a liar.

"I have invested money, but you can't guarantee anything. How can my interests be protected?" Kuai Che said unhappily.

The master craftsman said, "According to the emperor, whoever invests will benefit. As long as you invest money, a portion of the new spinning wheel patent will be yours. After this spinning wheel is finalized and sold throughout the country, you will get a portion of the profit for every unit sold."

This made Kuai Che feel a little relieved. "How much does this spinning wheel cost?"

"One hundred thousand dollars?"

"So expensive!" He originally wanted to get a few of these steam spinning machines to use in the winter. It's better to have one than nothing.

However, the price turned out to be so high. It was three times that of a large water-powered spinning wheel, but its efficiency was only one-tenth of that of a large water-powered spinning wheel.

How dare you set such a price? Although Kuai Che didn't say it, his eyes expressed this meaning.

But the master craftsman said helplessly: "In order to make this steam spinning machine, we spent two years and 30 million yuan to get the effect you see now."

"This is all because the emperor contracted the funds for this experiment, otherwise the price would have to be doubled. Don't be fooled by its ugliness, but the pistons inside all need to be polished by the Shaofu's top craftsmen. They must be as smooth as a mirror and reflect the image clearly. In order to ensure the sturdiness of the pistons, we use the hundred-fold steel refined in the graphite crucible to make the pistons. It is extremely difficult and time-consuming to polish them into shape. 10 coins have not made any profit, this is already the cost price."

Kuai Che shook his head and said, "No wonder I have never heard of the steam spinning wheel except in Guanzhong. It is just a toy that looks good but is useless."

The master craftsman said: "Although the steam spinning wheel is expensive and not as efficient as the water-powered spinning wheel, it is a new thing. In the words of the emperor, the steam spinning wheel is a baby, but when it grows up, it will definitely become a giant. Although the water-powered spinning wheel is efficient, it has reached its limit and has no room for further growth. When the steam spinning wheel grows up, there will be no place for the water-powered spinning wheel in the world."

The master craftsman's words gave Kuai Che confidence, and he eventually invested 1 million yuan in the steam spinning wheel laboratory and placed an order for 000 steam spinning wheels.

(End of this chapter)