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

Chapter 397: A Good Start and Military Settlements
On the other side of the Steam Expo, Fusu, Hu Hai and Zhao Yu also came to watch the fun.

"Uncle, come and see, this boat can move without oars or sails." Zhao Yu said excitedly, pointing at the steamboat on the river.

Fusu was a little hesitant after seeing it. He didn't quite understand the principle behind this scene. The boat was emitting black smoke and no oars or sails could be seen, but it was still running.

Hu Hai looked at the boat with interest and said, "There must be a mechanism under the boat. Look, the water behind is being stirred up."

The steamboat Zhao Yu was referring to was very small, a black-covered boat that could carry two or three people, but it was equipped with a steamboat paddle. Xu Fan, who had experience with later generations, naturally would not make a huge paddle wheel, but directly used the blade paddle of later generations. Of course, since the power was not strong, it did not have much practical value except for its novelty.

But Hu Hai was very interested in such a steamship, because in addition to being the owner of a money shop, he was also the owner of the Fei Hai Shipyard. If a steam engine was used to power a ship, the huge sails could be saved. You know, most of the sailors on the sea are used to operate the sails, and if this robot is used to replace the sails, a lot of manpower can be saved, and saving manpower at sea is equivalent to carrying more goods.

So he found the master builder of the steamboat and asked, "How does this engine push the boat forward?"

The master carpenter asked him to look at the paddle blades under the water, and then Hu Hai suddenly realized.

Hu Hai continued to ask: "If this machine is installed on a 3,000-ton ship, can it still be pushed forward?"

The master craftsman said: "The current steam engine can barely propel a small boat of 200 to 300 tons. It is difficult to propel a 3,000-ton ship in a short period of time. This requires not only the enlargement of the steam engine, but also the improvement of its strength and horsepower in all aspects. The most important thing is that the steam engine burns coal, but the ship is for trade. If it is loaded with too much coal, it will be difficult to load too much cargo."

Hu Hai was disappointed after hearing this.

The apprentices around the master craftsman couldn't stand it anymore. If their master continued to talk like this, how could they get investment? They were afraid that the project team might even be cut.

"Sir, don't be discouraged. Everything depends on human efforts. The emperor once said that the breakthrough from 0 to 1 is the most difficult, but from 1 to 10 is very simple. Just like when we first made the steam engine, the emperor gathered the masters of the Mohist school and made the most primitive steam engine.

But within two years, the steam engine evolved into the version we see today. The current steam engine can propel a small boat of 3 to tons. As long as we continue to study and perfect the steam engine and increase its horsepower, we can propel a ship of tons, not to mention tons.

Steam does not need to catch wind, can travel in a straight line, and can operate day and night. Steam ships will definitely replace all current ships. This is definitely the trend of the future.

In order to promote the steam engine, the emperor issued a special order that the patent for the steam engine is for 30 years. If you invest money in researching steamships now, it will definitely be a profitable business.

This is a project that even the emperor is optimistic about. Is there anyone in the world who is better at making money than the emperor? If the emperor is optimistic about it, this business will not lose money. "

After listening to this, Hu Hai nodded in approval. The more he did business, the more he could feel the business talent of Xu Fan, the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

In Hu Hai's view, there was no difference between the Han Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty. The Han Emperor and his father were the same kind of people, equally warmongering and equally greedy for land. His father had fought against the Huns in the north and conquered the Baiyue in the south for some barren land.

The Han emperor's greed for land was even greater than that of his father. He even did not let go of the barren land like the desert where grass grew, and spent three million gold to annex the desert.

But the biggest difference between the Han Emperor and his father is the ability to make money. The Han Emperor is too good at making money. Whether it is the sugar industry, textile industry, fishery, whaling industry, or even the current maritime trade, they have all brought great wealth to the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, the Han Emperor's understanding of money far exceeded that of others. He was able to summarize the wise saying that currency is a general equivalent, and even said that credit is currency.

When Hu Hai heard these words for the first time, it was like hearing the sound of a huge bell, which kept resonating in his mind.

No wonder the Han emperor attached so much importance to credibility. Even to his enemies, the Han emperor would never break his promise easily. For his meritorious officials, the Han emperor would grant them fiefs and allow them to establish vassal states.

At that time, Hu Hai felt that the Han Emperor was too pedantic, and even couldn't understand how his father's Qin could be defeated by such a pedantic person.

But now it seems that the Han emperor had planned this all along. It was because of this series of actions that people all over the world trusted the Han emperor and believed that what he said was trustworthy and he would not lie.

Therefore, people all over the world would accept paper money. Even an enemy like Hu Hai would keep the paper money with him and would not worry about not being able to exchange it for goods.

Hu Hai estimated that the amount of paper money left in the entire Han Dynasty exceeded one million gold coins. All of this money was borrowed from the people by the Han emperor relying on his own credit.

The Han emperor relied on his strong reputation to ensure that the people did not have to pay more taxes and to launch a long expedition to the desert. Without these riches, the Han Dynasty would not be much better than the Qin Dynasty today.

Compared with the emperor's status, Hu Hai believed that the Han emperor was the most powerful businessman in the world. If even he was optimistic about the project, it must be a good thing to make money.

Hu Hai said: "I will invest five million yuan in your steamship project."

On the other hand, generals of the Han Dynasty such as Wu Sheng and Deng Zong also came to see the world, and the emperor held a steam expo.

As for steamboats, steam, textile machines, and steam mills, Wu Sheng's people just watched the fun.

But when it came to the steam locomotive, Wu Sheng and his friends were even more excited than the children around them.

"Your Majesty, this steam train and the track are a perfect match. If there were such steam trains running on the track, there would be no need for horses to pull the trains, and it would be possible to travel a thousand miles a day."

Wooden tracks are not cheap, and the cost of maintenance is extremely high. This is not only because wood is not durable and needs to be constantly replaced with new ones, but also because rail carriages require a greater number of horses. There is a special post station every 50 miles of track, and each post station has to store dozens of war horses for replacement, and the cost of raising horses in the Central Plains is not low.

If steam locomotives could replace horses, the cost savings alone would be huge.

Xu Fan nodded and said, "Steam locomotives are indeed the development trend of rail transportation in the future. This is not only because of its military role, but also because of its more powerful economic role. Steam locomotives will penetrate into all walks of life and completely replace the current waterwheels, windmills and animal-powered machines. I said that the next era is the steam era, and I am serious. A brand new era has begun. In three to five years at most, you will be able to feel its surging power."

Wu Sheng asked Ding: "Your Majesty, can the army use steam locomotives now?"

Xu Fan shook his head and said, "The horsepower of the train is still too small. As you can see, the steam train is a bit overwhelmed with only eight children. The steam train needs to increase its horsepower and improve its quality.

All of this requires investment of money, a large number of craftsmen working day and night to improve, and a large number of workshops to continuously practice and use. These are things that require a lot of money and talent to achieve. "

Wu Sheng suddenly realized: "No wonder Tian Zining opened a steam technology college this year. This is to train talents in advance."

Deng Zong said: "It will only take two or three years. We will just wait and see the emperor's new steam train."

The Steam Expo was held for three consecutive days. More than 100,000 people from Guanzhong watched the steam engines. They saw steam locomotives that could carry people, steam spinning wheels that would break down at any time, and automatic steam boats without oars.

There are more than 100,000 people in the world who know something about steam engines and know that they burn coal and are propelled by steam.

Of course, the price of the steam engine also made them gasp. It was not even as fast as a steamboat that could row, but its price was ten times that of an ordinary boat. It was hard to imagine what kind of fool would buy such a boat.

The people in Guanzhong were delighted to see the excitement, and for a long time, steam engines became a hot topic in Guanzhong.

Xu Fanze called a meeting of all the craftsmen in the steam engine factory and asked them to report their results over the past few days.

Sun Jie, the master assembler of the steam pump, said excitedly: "We have sold 150 pumps, worth 1 million yuan. At the same time, 500 merchants have jointly invested 13 million yuan to ask us to improve the pump with higher horsepower."

The total amount of these two sums is 5 million, which is enough for their crew's three-year research and development expenses. No wonder Sun Jie is so excited.

More importantly, their steam engines were finally sold to the outside world. As long as they continued to reduce costs, the steam engines would be profitable, and their scientific research group would be able to enter a positive cycle.

"These mine owners are just rich." Sun Jie and his colleagues' treatment was envied by everyone. Then Li Lei, who rented the steam spinning machine, said: "We sold 82 spinning machines, worth 820 million yuan. 15 merchants jointly invested 4 million yuan in research and development funds, asking us to make a steam spinning machine with higher efficiency than a water-powered spinning machine."

"The textile workshop owners make more money, just as much as the mine owners."

Later, there were no longer so many wealthy people in the steam locomotive research group, steam ship research group, and steam grinding research group. Although some merchants invested tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars with a try-it attitude, these machines did not have much practical value and none of them were sold.

All the research teams received an investment of up to 140 million yuan, a figure that was far beyond everyone's expectations. They originally expected to get 20 to 30 million yuan, but they didn't expect it to exceed several times.

Xu Fan smiled and said, "I originally thought that we wouldn't be able to sell many steam engines, but I didn't expect the market to be much bigger than we thought. People are willing to accept steam pumps and steam spinning machines. This is a good start."

The current results have somewhat exceeded Xu Fan's expectations. Two research groups have already been able to commercialize. As long as the safety and efficiency of the steam engine are further improved, more workshops will inevitably accept the steam engine. As long as it can enter a positive cycle, the door to the steam age will be opened unstoppably, and the mighty trend will be unstoppable.

Xu Fan said to Yang Xiong, "Now that we have sufficient research and development funds, the steam engines we sell also need people to maintain them. At the same time, we need to upload the maintenance experience to facilitate the next step of improvement. This requires more people. The Steam Technology College will recruit another group of apprentices, with a ratio of twice the number. The old will guide the new."

As steam engines become more and more popular, the demand for talents in the steam industry will increase. We must be prepared to train talents now. When the trend of steam is unstoppable, talents will not become a defect in the steam industry. We should be far-sighted in this regard and be willing to spend money to train talents. Every extra dollar spent on training talents today means one more steam engine in the future. "

Yang Xiong said excitedly: "Yes"

The emperor spent so much money, and now it finally seems to be bearing fruit.

The 9th year of the Han calendar, December 2nd.

A conscription order from the Taiwei Mansion of the Han Dynasty caused a sensation throughout Guanzhong and Hebei.

The Han Dynasty now implements a system that combines compulsory military service with a standing army. The total strength of the four general offices plus the imperial guards in Chang'an is 8.

Without launching a major war, the Han Dynasty only needed to recruit 2 to 3 soldiers each year to complete the replacement of the Han army.

Therefore, the Han Dynasty could only recruit a few hundred people in each county, and when it came to the counties below, there might only be a few or even a dozen people.

However, the number of conscripts in Guanzhong and Hebei this year increased tenfold, which aroused the public enthusiasm of the Han people. They speculated that the imperial court, which had rested for more than a year, had new targets to attack, so it recruited so many soldiers.

This speculation made the entire Han Dynasty people excited. In the Mobei War last year, the emperor enfeoffed hundreds of princes, and thousands of families became Han nobles. There were many families whose destiny was changed by one battle.

Even ordinary soldiers who escorted food and grass in the rear and guarded the food routes generally received rewards ranging from 3000 to tens of thousands of coins. Even if they were not fighting on the front lines, for ordinary soldiers, the war could also allow them to gain a considerable fortune.

For ordinary people, the war launched by the Han Dynasty will not increase their burden, but will bring them wealth, and even achieve family leap and completely change the fate of the family.

Therefore, the martial virtues of the Han people became more abundant. After the autumn harvest, they were willing to practice martial arts and practice military formations under the assembly of the pavilion chiefs. The huge mobilization capabilities of the Warring States Period did not disappear with the demise of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty, but were strengthened by Xu Fan.

So this was an order to recruit soldiers, which made the entire Han people extremely happy. Ordinary soldiers all fantasized that they could defeat powerful enemies, become nobles of the Han Dynasty, have a fiefdom, marry the girl they secretly loved, and reach the peak of their lives.

Hundreds of thousands of young Han people who held this ideal entered the military camp. They received training in the county's recruit camp, recited the Han army's military discipline regulations, and strengthened their physical fitness and martial arts.

However, the business community of the Han Dynasty felt that this matter was suspicious. Not to mention that the Han Dynasty had no rivals in the four borders, even if a war was really to be launched, the food and fodder would be sent before the troops moved.

Last year's Battle of Mobei took a full six months to prepare for the early stages of food, weapons, equipment and other war supplies. If you count the early preparations, it took two or three years. The court even spent a huge amount of money to build a military railway for the transportation of food and fodder for the Battle of Mobei.

But this time, the imperial court's Ao Cang and Lantian Cang were not moved, and the arsenals in various places did not stockpile armor and weapons. No matter how you look at it, the imperial court did not seem to be about to start a major war.

Only the top leaders of the Han Dynasty understood that this large-scale conscription of soldiers was not for war at all, but to enrich Hexi.

February 2, the tenth year of the Han calendar.

A Han army wearing cotton clothes marched towards Hexi. Their destination was Jincheng County, the new territory of the Han Dynasty.

Jincheng County, Jincheng, Han army camp.

The county lieutenant leading the troops said excitedly: "We have finally arrived at our destination. Let's quickly tidy up our troops and leave a good impression on your future officers."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers in the rear immediately lined up and quickly adjusted their appearance and expressions.

At this moment, a group of Han troops appeared in the military camp.

The county lieutenant said, "Report your number."

"1, 2, 3, 4!"

The county lieutenant said excitedly: "The number of soldiers from Neishi County should be 1025, and the number of soldiers who have arrived is 1025. Please give instructions, Sima."

Li Wei said: "Captain Zhao Zhong, lead the soldiers into the camp."

"promise!"

"Everyone, form two columns and march in unison."

After the formal handover was completed, Li Wei smiled and said to the Gaoling County Lieutenant: "My comrade, would you like to rest in Jincheng for a few days before returning to Guanzhong?"

The county lieutenant nodded and said, "Sorry for bothering you."

After thinking for a while, the county lieutenant asked in a low voice: "If it does not involve military secrets, can you tell me, brother, who are you going to fight when the court summons so many soldiers to Hexi this time? Could it be the Qiang people in Hexi?"

This county lieutenant brought the new recruits all the way to Hexi. He found that the Qiang people in this plateau seemed to be enemies, but the Qiang people had already surrendered to the rule of the Han Dynasty. Moreover, the plateau was more desolate than the desert. Attacking the plateau would not be worth the cost.

Li Wei smiled and said, "If there really was a war, the court would not have sent these new soldiers. Duke Ji sold his fiefdom to the court. Now Jincheng County has become a direct territory of the court, but the population of the two places is sparse, so the court has to stockpile troops and station them on the border. These new soldiers are mainly used as garrison soldiers. They will build roads and open up wasteland in Jincheng to defend this new territory for the court."

"Ah!" The county lieutenant racked his brains but could not imagine that the imperial court had mobilized so many soldiers this time just to cultivate land and guard the border.

It's no wonder that he couldn't think of it. The Han Dynasty had always relied on princes to guard the borders. In the pre-Qin period, the practice of military farming and garrisoning the borders had never appeared once, so naturally no one would think about it in this regard.

"I'm afraid that many soldiers and their families will be disappointed this time!" sighed the county lieutenant.

Many of these new recruits were recruited by him, and many were trained by him. These soldiers and their families had high hopes for them, wanting them to achieve success on the battlefield and gain glory for their families.

But they never imagined that this time they went to the border not to fight, but to cultivate land.

Li Wei said: "These soldiers should feel lucky. If there were no military farming by the imperial court, they would never have become soldiers of the Han Dynasty. It is this military farming that has given them the opportunity. Although they cannot go to the battlefield, they will still be admitted to the military academy and can still go to Chang'an City to guard it. They can learn new skills in Chang'an City. They will not lack the treatment that the Han army should have, and they can still change the fate of their family."

(End of this chapter)