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

Chapter 451: Venture Capital and Sufficient Benefits
Zhang Ying wanted to continue explaining to Ren Ming and the others the importance of laying a solid foundation, but Zhao Wu came to his ear and whispered, "Teacher, it's not easy to get a rich man to support us, why do you have to refuse?"

Zhang Ying said that Ren Ming and his team were radical, but in fact he was also a radical person. Every time a new blast furnace was researched, the R&D cost was very high. Especially this time, Zhang Ying's span was so large that the R&D cost soared. Wang Guang, the manager of Bashang Iron and Steel Plant, actually thought that it would be enough to research a 30-jin blast furnace first and there was no need to be too radical. However, Zhang Ying believed that the original design of a -jin blast furnace was also doubled, and the current increase in technical difficulty was still within the acceptable range.

Therefore, there is a lot of controversy about the new blast furnace in the Bashang Iron and Steel Plant, mainly because it costs too much to verify such a blast furnace. With the support of Xu Fan, the steel industry of the Han Dynasty has an explosive development stage almost every few years, but the research funds are also rising steadily. Ten years ago, when they were researching a 10-jin blast furnace, it only cost a few hundred thousand yuan. They built a blast furnace by themselves, and when they built a 1-jin blast furnace, the blast furnace and the supporting machinery and facilities were comprehensively updated, and thousands of craftsmen were involved in the research and development team. The research cost exceeded million yuan, almost filling up all the annual profits of the steel plant.

The 200,000-jin blast furnace proposed by Zhang Ying now requires an investment of 200 million yuan, which is the profit of the steel plant for four or five years. Such a huge expense is naturally not a decision that can be made easily, so it is still in the demonstration stage. If Ren Ming and others support it, Zhang Ying's new blast furnace can be started immediately.

Zhang Ying thought for a moment and said, "First of all, I want to explain to you that the cost of building such a large blast furnace is very high. Based on the cost of a 20-jin blast furnace, the cost of a steel plant with a 50-jin blast furnace may be 2 to 3 gold. You should be mentally prepared."

"How can it be so expensive?" Wu Yande said in disbelief. At the beginning, they built three 5-jin blast furnaces in their steel mill, and the cost was only more than 1000 gold.

Zhang Ying said: "New blast furnaces need new refractory bricks, and the blast furnace capacity is larger, so the feeding machines also need to be replaced. For example, the tracks of new gantry cranes also need to be replaced with solid rails, otherwise they can't support the increasingly heavy transport vehicles. All these need to be re-developed, so the price is naturally high."

"Moreover, the ironmaking skills of your Sanchuan County iron smelting craftsmen are still not as good as those of Guanzhong. While building a steel plant, you also need to train craftsmen. It is best to establish a steel technology college to continuously cultivate steelmaking talents. Ironmaking is not the same as in the past. From iron ore and coal mines, you need master craftsmen to analyze the composition in order to smelt high-quality steel. Your Sanchuan County's technical accumulation is too poor. If it were in Guanzhong, 2 gold might be enough, but you have too many things to make up for. 3 gold is without other unexpected factors."

The merchants of Sanchuan County, led by Wu Yande, hid aside and discussed: "This cost is far beyond our budget, why not forget it."

The construction cost of 30,000 gold was higher than they had imagined. Even if they had more than a dozen stalls, it would almost drain all their working capital.

Ren Ming said, "Although the risk is high, the profit is also high. The price of a pound of iron in the Han Dynasty is 7 coins. A 50-pound blast furnace can produce 350 million coins of iron at a time. If we calculate it based on one furnace of steel every three days, the annual output value is close to 3 million. The profit of the steel industry is about %. That is to say, after building this steel plant, we only need less than years to recover the investment. Not to mention, the steel produced in Sanchuan County can enter the Central Plains."

Ren Ming's calculations made everyone present jealous. They only thought about the high costs but did not expect the profits to be so huge. This was enough to alleviate their concerns about risks.

Ren Ming continued, "Moreover, our development has reached a bottleneck. No matter how much the number of textile machines increases, the textile market is growing slowly, and there is a steady stream of people rushing in."

"On the contrary, the steel plant we built, although not the most advanced in the entire Han Dynasty, has earned back half of its cost in the past two years. The profit is much higher than that of the textile industry. Moreover, the threshold for steel production is higher and will continue to increase in the future."

"We are already a rare group of wealthy businessmen in the Han Dynasty, but it is so difficult to unite and build a steel plant. How many people in the entire Han Dynasty have the financial resources we have? The threshold of the steel plant is high, so naturally there are not many competitors. The competition is naturally not as fierce as that in the textile industry. In addition, the Han Dynasty is vigorously developing the rail industry, various machines and comprehensive steel production. In the next few decades, the steel industry will not lack a market."

So after some calculations, everyone felt that the steel plant could be built, so Ren Ming and Zhang Ying made an agreement that Zhang Ying would help them build a 50-jin blast furnace and invest in technology to hold half of the shares, while Ren Ming and other merchants from Sanchuan County would invest 10 gold and hold % of the shares. However, the dividends from the half-tenth share would have to wait until the steel plant became profitable. Before that, they would give Zhang Yuan a monthly salary of coins.

Zhang Ying signed the contract immediately. His dividend from Bashang Iron and Steel Plant exceeded 50 yuan. He didn't care about this money at all. He wanted to see the blast furnace he designed come to the market.

Cases like Zhang Ying's obtaining angel investment happened too often during the expo, but the amount was not so huge. However, there are hundreds of angel investors every day. As long as there are people who are optimistic about a project, there will be people to invest. People who are good at making PPTs will attract more investors.

For example, Hu Hai wandered around the exhibition for several days and saw a steam car that moved on its own. Although it broke down after running a few steps, it reminded him of the steam ship he had invested in, so he invested 30 yuan and allowed young people to continue building such steam cars.

He also saw a light message station that transmitted text by changing color (like the one in The Longest Day in Chang'an). He originally thought it should be government-run, but the developer said that the court agreed to allow private merchants to join in. As long as the research and development was successful, the income from private letters could be distributed as dividends to investors, and this would last for 30 years.

Xu Fan didn't know if this kind of optical telegraph could be produced, because from the information he knew, it seemed that there was no such thing in history, and the defects were very obvious. First, the investment was very high. The construction cost of the optical telegraph from Chang'an to Luoyang alone was as high as more than 10 billion yuan. The key was that there were also many people for daily maintenance, and it was unknown whether it could make a profit. Moreover, the scope of application was very narrow, and the signal was easily cut off in bad weather.

But its advantages are also very obvious. Once it is done well, information can be transmitted very quickly. It takes less than a day to transmit information from Chang'an to Yuyang. For such an uncertain project, Xu Fan simply handed it over to the market, hoping to find a few suckers to pitch.

When Hu Hai saw this project, he was greatly shocked by the imagination of the craftsmen. If it was completed, he could communicate directly between Kuaiji County and Chang'an, which would be very useful for merchants like him whose business spread throughout the Han Dynasty. So he decisively invested 100 million yuan to support the research of Guangbao.

Later, Hu Hai invested in dozens of projects, big and small, spending tens of millions of dollars. These were all projects that he saw as promising. As long as they were successful, it would be no problem to multiply the profit dozens of times.

If a wealthy workshop owner like Hu Hai invests, it will set the tone for the entire steam expo. Workshop owners headed by Kuai Che and financial capitalists headed by Hu Hai will invest some money in any project they see fit. They all have the idea of ​​casting a wide net and catching more fish. As long as one invested workshop is established, they can get their money back. The investment cost is not high, ranging from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of thousands of coins. They can still take out this money, but as long as such a small workshop develops, the return will be extremely generous.

The Han Dynasty today is a bit like the Hope Country of later generations. Riding on the momentum of the first scientific and technological revolution, various inventions have emerged in an endless stream throughout the Han Dynasty. Many craftsmen just lack some money to realize their ideas. No one knows whether these inventions have a market, not to mention the failures. But as long as one invention is useful, it will quickly occupy a vacant market and create an output value of hundreds of millions of yuan, tens or even hundreds of billions of markets. Technological monopoly can guarantee their profits for the first 10 years. Therefore, such angel investments require small investments, have quick results and high profits, and merchants are willing to make them.

This created many skilled craftsmen who became rich overnight. There were many cases of people getting rich through technology, and the Han newspapers were also enthusiastic about reporting such things. For example, a poor boy made an invention, received investment from a wealthy businessman, made millions in a few years, married a beautiful woman, and reached the pinnacle of life. After all, this was also news that ordinary people liked to hear and see.

Xu Fan was also happy to see this. The reason why he held this steam expo was to encourage workshop owners and other wealthy people in the Han Dynasty to invest in industries and absorb enough employment population.

September 15th, the sixteenth year of the Han calendar.

In order to make people all over the world pay attention to technological research and development, Xu Fan led 11 master craftsmen headed by Yang Xiong, a master craftsman of the Mohist school, to select one invention with the greatest influence and ten second-rate inventions from hundreds of new inventions in the expo.

Among them, Cai Qiao, a female craftsman from the First Steam Textile Factory of the Han Dynasty, developed a sewing machine that was recognized by craftsmen such as Tianxia and Yang Xiong. They believed that the sewing machine was the invention that brought the greatest benefits to the people of the world in this expo, and she won the gold medal of this expo.

Then, ten inventions won silver medals, including the jacquard machine invented by the female Brothers textile machine craftsman Chen Qing, the kerosene developed by the Jiguo craftsman Jia Sheng, the 20-jin blast furnace developed by the Bashang Iron and Steel Plant craftsman Zhang Ying, and the 500-spindle spinning wheel developed by Li Lei of the Dahan First Steam Textile Factory.

There is nothing wrong with this, everyone is just there to watch for fun, and at the same time, through these evaluations, they can know which inventions have the greatest potential.

But in order to make people all over the world pay attention to technological research and development and increase investment in science and technology, Xu Fan directly sent out a big gift package this time.

Cai Qiao, who won the gold medal, was conferred the title of Viscount of Dahan (a nominal title) in the name of developing sewing machines, while the ten silver medal winners were conferred the title of Baron. Among them, Zhang Ying, the master craftsman of Bashang Iron and Steel Plant, and Li Lei, the First Steam Textile Factory of Dahan, already had titles themselves, and the titles they won this time can be passed on to their relatives.

This has always been Xu Fan's policy. If you want to promote something, you should provide enough benefits. As long as the benefits are sufficient, there will naturally be countless people moving in this direction. If you want to promote something, but you are unwilling to give up any benefits or give any benefits to others, you are just fooling people.

Now Xu Fan wants more technological inventions and wants more outstanding talents to join the research and development group. He should give sufficient benefits and directly enfeoff the inventors as nobles of the Han Dynasty, so that the inventors can rise to the top and change the fate of their family overnight. In this way, more talents will naturally join in. This is the simplest and most effective method.

This enfeoffment caused a sensation in the entire Chang'an City. Although great craftsmen had been enfeoffed before, the number was very small and the people seldom cared about these top-level matters.

But this was the first time that the emperor granted fiefdoms to artisans on such a large scale, which sent a signal to the people of the world that even if they had no military merit, as long as they could invent something that would benefit the world, they could still become nobles of the Han Dynasty. Millions of artisans throughout the Han Dynasty were greatly encouraged, and countless grassroots people also began to take the ladder of the artisan industry to leap into the dragon gate.

Chang'an City, Yong'anli.

This was originally an extremely ordinary town in the city of Chang'an. In the pre-Qin period, this was where craftsmen gathered. The Qin Dynasty attached great importance to farming and warfare, and exploited craftsmen equally. As long as there were soldiers, the craftsmen here would be recruited to build various engineering equipment for the army. The corvée labor performed by the craftsmen was even heavier than that of ordinary farmers, so life here was naturally not good.

After the founding of the Han Dynasty and the abolition of corvée, the craftsmen in Yong'anli were considered to have gained personal freedom. The Han Dynasty was founded on industry, and craftsmen could freely sell their labor to make money. This was already a great progress. No matter whether the workshop owners exploited them or not, they at least gave money, while our Qin Dynasty was stingy and required craftsmen to bring their own food to serve the empire. In terms of being unhuman, Qin Dynasty went a step further. During the Han Dynasty, the industry flourished, and the income of craftsmen rose steadily. Many craftsmen even became workshop owners, directly realizing the class leap and becoming the first batch of wealthy people in the Han Dynasty. Yong'anli naturally became richer and richer, becoming the middle-class workshop in the Han Dynasty. A few years ago, the first scientific and technological revolution broke out in the Han Dynasty, and the wealth of the world increased rapidly. The craftsmen in Yong'anli also rose with the tide, and their salaries increased rapidly, becoming the first batch of citizens in the Han Dynasty. Two years ago, the Han Dynasty court issued a decree to equalize wealth, and the craftsmen in Yong'anli were the biggest beneficiaries. They generally increased their salaries by half in the past two years. A large number of white-collar workers appeared in Yong'anli.

Their political status began to catch up with the petty officials of the Han Dynasty. This was a huge improvement. You have to know that more than a decade ago, craftsmen were still a group managed by petty officials, and the status of the two sides was very different. But now the Han officials have admitted that craftsmen can marry them. This means that the Han officials have accepted some excellent craftsmen as part of their group, that is, the so-called ruling class. The gold collar among the craftsmen has climbed to the top of the pyramid.

September 16th, the 16th year of the Han calendar.

But on this day, the sun had just come out. The cattle and horses of later generations should have been busy traveling, but the craftsmen in Yong'anli were much more relaxed. They could still gather with their parents and children at the dining table, communicate with each other as a family, and have a warm and rich breakfast before going to work.

But on this day, the craftsmen in Yong'anli had just started eating breakfast when they were disturbed by the sound of clanging gongs and drums.

Everyone looked towards the source of the noise, only to see an old craftsman standing on the leading carriage, smiling and bowing to his neighbors.

"Old Jia, you are bored as hell. Why are you disturbing people's sleep so early in the morning?" People in Yong'an have lived in the neighborhood for decades. Most of them know each other well and are not polite to each other.

Another old man who was about the same age as Jia Yi also laughed and scolded: "You are so old and yet you wear silk clothes. You want to be rich. You don't do anything in the morning, but start daydreaming."

After the law to equalize wealth was passed, the income of most craftsmen in Yong'an increased greatly, and it was not difficult for them to wear silk clothes. However, they did not have such a lifestyle, and silk clothes were not suitable for their work. Therefore, the children and students of Yongxing wore cotton clothes, while the young men wore linen clothes which were convenient for work.

It was extremely rare for someone like Jia Yi to wear silk clothes. In the eyes of these neighbors, Jia Yi did not look like a prince when he put on the dragon robe. Instead, he gave people a funny feeling. Many people even felt amused when they looked at Jia Yi on the street.

Jia Yi was not angry at being ridiculed, and then smiled and said: "My son is coming home this year, so I will set up a banquet tonight. I hope all the neighbors and elders will be willing to come and show their respect."

The neighbor was surprised and asked, "Why are you talking so elegantly today? Is it necessary for Jia Dao to make such a big fuss when he returns home from middle school?"

Jia Yi said: "It's my son Jia Sheng who's back."

"So it's Boss Jia who's back. We should indeed celebrate, but you're making too much of a fuss." Almost everyone in Yong'an knew about the Jia family's affairs. There was a conflict between father and son, and in a fit of rage, Boss Jia took his two classmates to seek refuge with Duke Ji in the Western Regions.

This incident occupied the local hot search list for several months. Many families in Yong'an often use Jia Sheng's experience as a warning and tell their children that if they dare to escape to the Western Regions, their legs will be broken.

The people of Chang'an City are naturally arrogant. They believe that Chang'an City is the best place in the world. They regard places outside the Han Dynasty as the countryside, not to mention the Western Regions, which is a completely barren land. Naturally, they did not favor Jia Sheng's choice.

Jia Yi smiled until his eyes were invisible and said, "He has been in the Western Regions for two years and has become very skilled. Some time ago, he brought his invention to the Steam Expo and won a silver medal."

A few days ago, Jia Sheng was unwilling to go home, which made Jia Yi very angry. He even said in a very stubborn manner that if he didn't want to go back, then he didn't have to.

But he could not bear the longing for his son, so he simply ran to the Crystal Palace and found Jia Sheng's booth. Unexpectedly, he happened to run into Jia Sheng's most glorious moment.

He saw his son go up on stage to receive the award and become the Baron of Han. He couldn't believe it when he saw it, but soon he was overjoyed. Now he can't wait to inform all the villagers of the news.

"Silver Prize!!!" Yong'anli quickly became quiet, and the people around gasped.

"If I remember correctly, the silver medal winners were all granted the title of baron by the emperor. Jia Sheng is now a noble lord!!!" The voice at the end became increasingly high-pitched. He could hardly believe what it said.

The people in Yong'anli were naturally the first to know what happened at the Steam Expo. You have to know that the most numerous people here are craftsmen, and those who were granted titles by the emperor were also craftsmen. To some extent, they were also proud of it.

The world has emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce for hundreds of years, and their craftsmen have not had a good life. Now, an emperor who values ​​craftsmen has finally appeared, and it is their turn to come to the fore.

But those award-winning craftsmen were all the best in the world, which was still a bit far away from them. At most, they just envied those craftsmen who became nobles, but they would never have thought that such a noble would appear in Yong'an where they lived.

Jia Yi said proudly: "That's right, my son was granted the title of baron by the emperor."

The old man who was chatting with Jia Yi just now said in disbelief: "Jia Sheng grew up under my watch. I know exactly what he is capable of. It has only been a few years, and the invention he made can win a silver medal."

Jia Yi said dissatisfiedly: "Kerosene was invented by my son. This invention has been recognized by the world and the eleven great craftsmen of the Mohist school. How come you are questioning the emperor and the great craftsmen of the Mohist school?"

He would not allow anyone to question his son's honor.

"Of course not, but I never thought that Jia Sheng could become a noble."

Jia Yi bowed and said towards the Yan Palace: "This is all thanks to the wise emperor, otherwise how could my boy have achieved what he has today? Starting today, my family will set up a three-day buffet, and everyone from the village must come!"

After saying this, Jia Yi slowly returned home in a carriage.

The people of Yong'anli said enviously, "We have a great man in Yong'anli too. The Jia family is going to soar to the sky."

Immediately, a parent took Jia Sheng as an example and said, "Did you see that? You must study hard in the future and follow your brother Jia Sheng's example. You must be admitted to Mozi College or Luban College and come up with a silver medal invention. Then our family can also become aristocrats."

To these parents, Jia Sheng is the one they watched grow up. He is just an ordinary boy with a little bit of mischief. If he can do it, their own sons can do it even more.

The Steam Expo has been held twice. Since there have been two, there will definitely be a third and a fourth. As long as my kid studies hard, he will develop an invention that benefits the world and be appreciated by the emperor. My family will also become a noble family of the Han Dynasty.

The boys who were being educated were all excited. Jia Sheng and the others understood them too well. It was precisely because the gap was not that big that they felt that becoming a noble was not out of reach. Many of them secretly made up their minds that they must also come up with an invention that would benefit the world like Jia Sheng and win a silver medal at the expo.

The people of Guanzhong had been influenced by the system of awarding titles based on military merit for hundreds of years, so naturally they had the idea of ​​replacing them. Now, awarding titles based on inventions was just a change of track, and this track was even more beneficial to them.

The impact was not limited to Yong'anli, but also to the people of Chang'an, Guanzhong, and even the people of the world.

(End of this chapter)