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

Chapter 448: Rapid Change and Forced Arms Race

In the Crystal Palace, the steam engine was the undisputed protagonist of the Expo, and the core of the exhibition were the steam textile machines, steam cargo ships, steam steamships, steam pumps and other crowns of the Han Dynasty's industrial pearls.

Among them, a small railway train circled the Crystal Palace. The latest train was humming along on it. Behind the locomotive were more than 80 small carriages, each of which could seat four people. people sat on this small train and circled the Crystal Palace, making the people around it envious.

After almost five years of improvement, Yang Xiong and his team continued to improve the problems encountered by the steam locomotive. Xu Fan, based on his knowledge of later generations, lengthened the locomotive and added some hollow pipes to help them improve the steam efficiency (Xu Fan talked, while Mohists took action).
The latest generation of steam locomotives now look 10% like those of later generations, with a power of horsepower, making them the most powerful of all the steam engines in the Han Dynasty. In terms of power, they have completely surpassed the current rail carriages of the Han Dynasty.

The only advantage a rail carriage has is in price. The price of a horse in the Han Dynasty is 5000 coins. A rail carriage is usually pulled by six war horses. The price of the power part of a rail carriage is about 6 coins, while the price of a steam locomotive is now 20 coins.

At the same time, the maintenance cost of steam trains is higher. Although steam trains only need to burn coal to drive, which is much cheaper than the war horses that need to be fed, the original post station system of the Han Dynasty is well compatible with rail carriages, which can effectively reduce the operating costs of rail carriages. But steam trains cannot do this. You need to build the train stations bit by bit, build coal bunkers near the stations, and need a master craftsman and three apprentices to maintain the steam trains. All these require extremely high costs.

Of course, even though steam locomotives have high maintenance costs, replacing horses is an unstoppable trend. Now there are 500 locomotives running on tracks in the Han Dynasty, which has greatly enhanced the logistics speed of the entire Han Dynasty. Stops in various places are also being improved to cooperate with the use of trains. When the infrastructure to match the trains catches up, the cost of train operation will be greatly reduced.

The Han Dynasty's imperial servants and officials wailed at this trend. After more than ten years of construction, the Han Dynasty had 3 miles of tracks, hundreds of track stations, and tens of thousands of rail carriages running on these wooden tracks. For every additional 100 miles of wooden tracks, 10 horses were added for motive power. The Han Dynasty's huge track network supported hundreds of thousands of horses for the imperial servants, and these horses running on the tracks made the Han Dynasty prosperous today.

But this is already the sunset of their days. This year, the court added 3000 miles of track, but not only did it not increase the number of horses, it retired 1000 old horses and did not replenish them with new ones. The most direct reason for this was that the court added 100 locomotives, which replaced thousands of horses for power.

Although the Imperial Household still had hundreds of thousands of horses, they had already seen that the trend of locomotives replacing horses was unstoppable. Now they just had to wait for the efficiency of train manufacturing to improve. Every year, more and more horses would be retired from the wooden track network. Without horses, the status of the Imperial Household would inevitably decline. Although the Han officials of the Imperial Household wanted to stop this trend, they did not have the power to do so. Because the Han court and the Han military were both supporters of trains, they trusted trains that could travel day and night more than horses.

Hu Hai, who was sitting on the locomotive, exclaimed: "The progress of this steam engine is really changing with each passing day. I remember that a few years ago, the train could only carry a dozen children, but now it has run all over the Han Dynasty. The cargo transport volume of a train is comparable to that of a 500-ton transport ship, but the speed of the train is not comparable to that of a transport ship."

Hu Hai took a steam train to return to Guanzhong, which was much faster than a rail carriage. As long as there was enough coal, the steam train could run all the time, but the rail carriage could not, and the horses also needed to be replaced and rested. Hu Hai took a steam train from Luoyang to Chang'an City, but the speed was twice as fast as in previous years.

Hu Hai's nephew Zhao Yu said: "I will apply to Mozi Academy in the future and learn how to build a steam locomotive."

For Zhao Yu, this steam train is the best toy.

Hu Hai laughed and said, "Okay, when you return from your studies, your uncle will invest in you to build a steam locomotive factory, and let the steam locomotives you manufacture run throughout the Han Dynasty."

In the Crystal Palace, Kuai Che went straight to the steam textile machine exhibition. He was both happy and sad to see the latest steam spinning machine. As the horsepower of steam engines became stronger and stronger and the level of machine research and development of the Han Dynasty became higher and higher, the efficiency of steam spinning machines continued to rapidly surpass that of water-powered spinning machines, and was showing an increasingly faster trend. In front of Kuai Che was a steam spinning machine that was more than ten feet high and more than seven feet long.

The master craftsman of the Mohist School gushed: "This steam spinning wheel can drive 500 spindles at a time and can spin 30 kilograms of yarn every day. The efficiency is times that of the water-powered spinning wheel and five times that of the old steam spinning wheel. Our spinning wheel is equivalent to five spinning wheels. The coal consumption per day is also reduced several times, and the maintenance cost is lower."

Then he pointed to a small mini steam spinning wheel next to it. It was only two feet high and five feet wide, but it was obvious that this mini spinning wheel had more spindles and the whole machine was more complicated.

The master craftsman of the Mo family excitedly explained: "This is the model of the next generation steam spinning machine we are going to develop in the future. It can drive one thousand to two thousand spindles at the same time. A small textile workshop only needs one such machine, which can greatly save coal costs and reduce the noise in the factory."

Merchants around were amazed at the machine. During the Qin Dynasty, this machine was equivalent to the efficiency of thousands of female workers. Merchants who wanted to join the textile industry saw this machine as if they had found a gold mountain.

The merchants in the textile industry were gloomy, and Kuai Che's face was so gloomy that water seemed to drip out of it. The continuous development of new steam engines by the Mohists was too disadvantageous for his textile factory. He spent a lot of money and finally built a steam textile workshop. As a result, the machine had not yet recovered the cost. New machines were developed again, and he had to spend a large amount of money to buy new textile machines.

The steam loom was like a black hole that swallowed up money. He had to keep investing his earnings into it to maintain the competitive advantage of his textile factory, because if he didn't do it, there were others who would. When other textile workshop owners had the latest steam engines, their efficiency far surpassed that of old-fashioned workshop owners like Kuai Che, and their textile workshops could no longer operate, forcing them to join this endless arms race.

But Kuai Che and his colleagues opened the textile factory to make money, not to endlessly update the steam textile machines. Now all the money they earned from weaving was taken away by the steam machinery workshop. Although he also had a steam machinery factory, his main business was still the textile industry, and 70% of the money he earned every year came from the textile workshop.

Now, Kuai Che and his people are somewhat nostalgic for ten years ago, when the most advanced water-powered spinning wheel could only drive 100 spindles, and they did not need to replace the water-powered spinning wheel for ten years after purchasing it. But now, they will fall behind if they are not careful. The competitive pressure is too great, and the profits in the textile industry are getting thinner and thinner.

On the other side, Ai Qiang and his team's booth was also surrounded by curious people. A female worker was spinning cloth quickly on a loom, but what amazed everyone was that the cloth woven by the female worker was not solid color but had patterns.

"How is this done?" There were many weaving workshop owners around, and the scene before their eyes was almost like a miracle to them. Cloth was carved with patterns after it was woven, but they couldn't figure out the principle of making patterns while weaving the cloth.

Ai Qiang said proudly: "This is the jacquard machine developed by my brother's textile factory. You can make the pattern on the sample first, and then use different colored threads to weave it directly into shape, or you can directly use yarn to draw the pattern."

Brothers Textile Factory is now the benchmark of the Han textile industry. Not only have they produced fabrics with various functions, they have also greatly expanded the textile market. From this point of view, Ai Qiang has made immeasurable contributions to the textile industry.

Four years ago, Brothers Textile Factory produced flannel cloth. The cloth produced by other textile factories could only be sold for a few hundred coins, but the flannel cloth produced by Brothers Textile Factory could be sold for 4 coins. The most expensive cashmere was even more expensive than gold. The money earned made peers in Chang'an City jealous to death, but they had to buy the patents for these cloths from Brothers Textile Factory. It can be said that under Ai Qiang's management, Brothers Textile Factory has always been a benchmark in the textile industry.

In the past two years, the profits of Brothers Textile Factory have been rising steadily, and its scale has become larger and larger. In the whole Guanzhong area, Brothers Textile Factory has 5 branches in addition to its headquarters in Chang'an City. However, Ai Qiang has a strong sense of crisis. No matter how much cloth he can make, the consumption capacity of the Han Dynasty is limited.

According to the above estimates, the Han Dynasty's annual cloth consumption market now reaches 6500 million pieces, while the total production capacity of the Han Dynasty's textile industry has reached 6800 million pieces. Less than six years after the appearance of steam looms, the textile industry once again experienced overcapacity.

However, the impact of overcapacity this time is not as strong as it was six years ago, because steam engines are constantly eliminating backward production capacity. Starting from several textile centers of the Han Dynasty, such as Guanzhong, Central Plains, Hebei, and Jianghuai, steam textile machines have been conquering cities everywhere, and water-powered and animal-powered textile machines have been defeated by steam engines. The backward production capacity of the Han Dynasty is constantly being eliminated, and in small counties that the Han Dynasty cannot see, countless textile workshop owners are wailing.

Ai Qiang was in the textile industry, and he knew clearly how many of his peers had fallen in front of the steam loom, which made him feel a sense of crisis. Although the textile industry was still making money, its investment was small and the threshold was low. In addition, under the influence of the Han Dynasty's law of equalizing wealth, the labor cost in Chang'an City was getting higher and higher, and the textile workshops in the county were on the rise.

So Ai Qiang wanted to develop the three high industries in the mountain area, which are high threshold, high investment and high profit. Now, the industries with the highest profit and the fastest development in the whole Han Dynasty are various machinery, especially steam textile machines.

So Ai Qiang also planned to enter the machinery industry. This jacquard machine was developed by them. However, due to venue restrictions, he demonstrated the manual jacquard machine. In fact, they have already developed a steam jacquard machine.

"How much is this jacquard machine?" Anyone in the textile industry knows the prospects of this machine. It can directly draw colorful fabrics, double the price, and double or triple the profit. With this machine, they don't have to keep rolling in the low-end market. It gives them a chance to breathe.

Ai Qiang smiled and said, "A steam jacquard machine costs 5 yuan, including one year's maintenance."

"I want ten."

"I want five."

Textile workshop owners in Chang'an City placed orders one after another, and soon Ai Qiang received an order for 300 jacquard machines.

On the other hand, compared to the liveliness of the steam area.

The exhibition booth in Hexi District was rather deserted.

These areas were originally newly occupied by the Han Dynasty. The Han population is not large, and naturally the industrial strength is not strong. The exhibitions in this area are all about local specialties.

The Jincheng County booth was very local in style, with several tent booths hung with all kinds of bone products, wine, braised beef, and dairy products. The variety of goods was extremely complete, but except for a few bone products that were barely related to handicrafts, the others were just agricultural and sideline products.

Jing Lei would pull in anyone who came over. "Brother, try our plateau braised beef. This is the sacred cattle from the plateau. Each one weighs four to five thousand kilograms, twice as heavy as our buffalo. They eat the best barley from the Tianshan Mountains and use the snow water from the Tianshan Mountains."

"What is Tianshan?"

"Tianshan is the closest place to the sky in the entire Han Dynasty. Think about it, my dear brother. If a cow grows in such a place, it would be nothing but a divine cow."

Many people were really fooled by Jing Lei, and then Jing Lei took out braised beef, barley wine and milk tea for everyone to taste.

These agricultural and sideline products from Tianshan have unique flavors, and with the gimmick of being the closest to the sky, they have received quite a few orders.

"This dog is so majestic, I want it." A young man saw a Tibetan mastiff tied up at the exhibition. He immediately fell in love with its strong body and thick fur.

Jing Lei immediately said, "Sir, this dog is fierce and loyal to its master. It can easily hurt people, so I won't sell it to you."

But the young master said happily: "I like such a loyal dog. One hundred thousand coins, this dog belongs to me."

But a young man rushed out to protect his dog and said, "Not for sale."

The young master was not convinced and said, "There is nothing in this world that cannot be bought with 20 yuan."

"Not for sale!" the young man said firmly.

"Five hundred thousand dollars."

"Not for sale."

"One million yuan, think it over carefully. If you refuse to sell it this time, I will turn around and leave."

The youth also wanted to veto it.

But Jing Lei rushed out and said, "Sell, sell, sell, we will sell."

The young man wanted to struggle, but Jing Lei stopped him and said, "Do you know what one million yuan means? You can buy a house in Chang'an City and bring your parents and brothers to live in Chang'an City. Your two younger brothers can go to school in Chang'an City."

"Dahei is family."

Jing Lei said: "Your parents and brothers are your family. No matter how close you are to Dahei, Dahei is still a dog. You have to think clearly. With this money, you can live in Chang'an."

The young man did not refute.

Jing Lei smiled and said to the young man who was buying the dog, "One million yuan, we'll sell it to you."

The young master waved his hand, and his men took out ten stacks of one-string banknotes.

The young man said with tears in his eyes: "Sir, Dahei has a fierce temperament. I will stay with you for a while so that Dahei can get to know you."

"Okay, you can just follow me and take care of Dahei for a few days."

Jing Lei also laughed and said, "Mao Zheng, you must train Da Hei well."

Jing Lei originally wanted to promote the specialty of Jincheng County, but he didn't expect that the young masters of Chang'an City actually liked the Tibetan mastiffs on the plateau more. There were too many of these dogs on the plateau. Almost every herdsman would raise one or two to prevent wolves from biting sheep.

But now Jing Lei looked at Dahei and realized that it was so majestic. Its sturdy body was unmatched by any dog ​​in Chang'an City. If dozens of Tibetan mastiffs were brought from the plateau to Chang'an City, there would be countless prodigal sons like the one just now who would spend hundreds of gold to buy Tibetan mastiffs. If hundreds of Tibetan mastiffs could be sold every year, Jincheng's financial situation would be much better.

So Jing Lei immediately began to write letters to Jincheng Prefect Tian Zang, asking him to find a way to transport some Tibetan mastiffs to Chang'an City.

This transaction also caused a sensation in the entire Crystal Palace. One million dollars is not a small number. Among the countless machines in the exhibition, there is really no machine that can be priced at one million dollars.

Everyone looked at the young man leading the Tibetan Mastiff with curiosity. The majesty of the Tibetan Mastiff was naturally surprising, but spending millions of dollars just to buy this dog made him a prodigal son in everyone's mind.

But the young man who bought the Tibetan Mastiff really enjoyed the envious looks from people around him.

Jia Sheng and the other two, who were not far from the Jincheng County venue, were looking at the scene with envy.

"Why isn't there any prodigal son who is willing to spend a fortune to buy our oil lamps?" Jia Sheng asked enviously.

Wan Yu rolled his eyes and said, "The dog just now was very majestic. If that prodigal son likes it, it's understandable that he would spend a lot of money on it, but which prodigal son would buy an oil lamp? People use dragon candles."

Jia Sheng looked at the oil lamp he made of wrought iron and said, "It's of poor quality. If we made it with gold, maybe some prodigal son would buy it."

Chen Cheng said disdainfully: "You can't even think of using gold to make oil lamps. I think you want to be a prodigal son. Our oil lamps are for the common people. The cheaper the price, the more people will buy them."

Then Wan Yu said, "We have already arrived in Chang'an City, why don't you go home? My aunt asked me to ask you to go home."

The three of them were from Chang'an, so they naturally had to go home after returning, after all, they had been away from their home for two years. But Jia Sheng did not go back to his home, so his mother You Niang had to ask Wan Yu to let him go home.

Jia Sheng said, "I said last year when I ran away from home that I would not return until I was rich and powerful. Now I am only a minor official with a salary of 400 shi, and even a minor official under a vassal. If I go back like this, my father will definitely look down on me."

Chen Cheng said helplessly, "You still want to be like Dayu, who visited my house three times but refused to enter. You have to think it through. After the exhibition, we have to go back to the Western Regions. It will take at least two years to go back and forth and it may take even longer to go back to Chang'an City."

Jia Sheng thought about it and said firmly: "No, I will wait until my oil lamps are sold all over the world."

Both friends felt helpless about Jia Sheng's stubbornness.

(End of this chapter)