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

Chapter 457: The Development and Route of Xiongnu Industry

After Junchen returned from his studies, Jizhou gave him tens of thousands of slaves captured from Kangju and half of the money, and asked him to build a steel city in the Xiongnu Kingdom like Maodun Chanyu.

Junchen and his fellow apprentices lived up to Jizhou's expectations. They first explored the local iron ore and coal resources, and determined the location of the steel plant at the junction of the two resources. They then built a brick kiln factory to burn refractory bricks, used slaves to dig iron ore and coal, and began to build a city and create various equipment needed for the steel plant. Because there was no steam engine, they had to go back to using primitive water conservancy equipment.

Three months later, although the Steel City was still in the foundation-laying stage, the steel plant had been completed and began to produce the first batch of steel. Before starting the furnace, Junchen called his father and other high-ranking officials of the Xiongnu Kingdom to witness the appearance of the first batch of steel produced by the Xiongnu Kingdom.

September 15th, the 17th year of the Han calendar, at the steel plant.

Ji Zhou and other Xiongnu leaders stared at the burning blast furnace. In their opinion, the reason why the Xiongnu had not defeated the Han people in the desert was not because they were not brave enough, but because their weapons and equipment were inferior to those of the Han people. Their Xiongnu country could not even give every member a steel knife, while the Han people were armed from head to toe and to the teeth. They were even extravagant enough to wrap their war horses with steel. Many Xiongnu leaders believed that they were defeated by the Han people's endless steel weapons.

So they were both afraid and envious of the Han people's blast furnace. Now that the Huns finally had their own blast furnace, this was a historic moment, so Ji Zhou and other Hun high-ranking officials were even a little nervous.

Junchen shouted, "Open the furnace!"

The master craftsman Ning Zhi opened the blast furnace, and molten iron began to flow out into the molds that had been prepared long ago. After the molten iron in the molds cooled down, the craftsmen placed the formed breastplates under the hydraulic hammer.

"Boom, boom, boom!" Driven by water conservancy, the iron hammer weighing hundreds of pounds made a loud noise, and the breastplate was forged into shape, cooled, and finally polished. Finally, the simple breastplate was made.

Junchen handed the first breastplate produced by the blast furnace to his father.

Ji Zhouyou excitedly picked up the breastplate and said, "Back then, the Han people rode on cavalry wearing breastplates like this and drove us out of the desert."

The Xiongnu Prime Minister Zang Yan asked: "How many breastplates like this can the steel mill produce every day?"

Junchen said, "The steel mill can produce 48 jin of iron every day. One set of iron armor weighs jin. We require that all the iron ingots be used to refine breastplates. We can produce breastplates and thousands of swords and weapons every day."

Ji Zhou said a little excitedly: "This is higher than the expected production capacity."

As a military strategist, no one understands the power of steel better than Ji Zhou. A steel knife is stronger than an iron knife. One armored soldier can beat 10 unarmored soldiers, and an iron-armored soldier can beat 5 leather-armored soldiers. Steel is military power.

Junchen said: "The iron ore of our Xiongnu country has a higher iron content. The iron content of the Han ore is generally around 5%, which requires crushing and screening, and the process is complicated. The iron ore of our Xiongnu country is better, and the iron content is generally more than %, so the efficiency is faster and the production capacity is greater."

Ji Zhou laughed and said, "The steel mill can arm a thousand men a day. In three years at most, my Xiongnu will be able to produce an army of 10 steel soldiers."

The Xiongnu Kingdom naturally had blacksmiths. Even after Ji Zhou came to the Western Regions, he paid the most attention to blacksmiths. He would collect blacksmiths from every country he conquered and use them. The status of blacksmiths in the Xiongnu Kingdom was also very high, but blacksmiths still smelted iron in the traditional way. Although their ore was of high quality and the high-quality steel they smelted was comparable to that of the Han Dynasty, their efficiency was more than a hundred times lower than that of the Han Dynasty. These blacksmiths could only barely make swords to maintain the daily weapons and farm tools consumption of the Xiongnu Kingdom.

Ji Zhou also wanted to ask the blacksmiths of the Xiongnu Kingdom to make iron armor, but the cost of one iron armor was as high as 10 coins. Even though the Xiongnu Kingdom was thousands of miles long, it could not afford such expensive iron armor. Ji Zhou only had an armored army of people, which was the only military property left to him by his father, Maodun Chanyu. Now this blast furnace finally gave Ji Zhou hope to expand the armored army.

Although Ji Zhou knew before that the Han people were efficient in iron smelting, the gap between hearing about it and seeing it with his own eyes was still too big. Now that he had smelted a furnace of steel, he finally understood the power of the blast furnace. The efficiency of this furnace was equivalent to that of hundreds of blacksmiths.

Junchen shook his head and said, "Father didn't calculate it that way. The steel mill uses hydraulic hammers, which can be used in spring and summer. In winter, the river is frozen, and many hydraulic machines cannot be used. Today's production capacity will drop by a large proportion.

Moreover, the steel mill cannot only produce breastplates and weapons. Our Xiongnu country has vast land, but most of it can only be used as pasture. This is too wasteful. We should produce more farmers to cultivate the land and produce more food to feed our Xiongnu people. We should also use iron to produce various tools to improve production efficiency. The steel mill can only produce 50 sets of armor and swords a day at most. The remaining steel production capacity should be used to make plows, shovels, hoes and other tools. "

Xia Jie said dissatisfiedly: "Prince Junchen, my Xiongnu country needs swords and armor more than farm tools. If you think there is not enough land to cultivate, then capture more slaves to farm. Our warriors need swords and armor more."

Junchen looked at the barbarian Xia Jie, and somehow he thought of a joke he had seen in the Mozi Monthly Report. The Mohists clearly had pulley technology back then. When the First Emperor was building the Great Wall, the Imperial Mausoleum, and the Afang Palace, why didn't they develop a gantry crane to save manpower?

The answer was: "Because the First Emperor had millions of slaves."

Junchen, who had worked in the steel mill for two years, was a technician because he studied hard. He hated the barbarians who did not respect technology and only knew how to exploit manpower. He said with a hint of anger: "Do you know that the eight-ox plow and horse plow of the Han Dynasty can cultivate hundreds of acres of land in a day, which is equivalent to three or four hundred slaves? The wealth of the Han Dynasty can support hundreds of thousands of troops to march thousands of miles away. Do you think my Xiongnu country can do it?
Now the Xiongnu Kingdom is not short of land and population, but what it lacks is the agricultural tools and tools to make this land rich. The Han Dynasty has hundreds of cities in Guanzhong, and our Xiongnu Kingdom is several times larger than Guanzhong. How many cities do we have? We Xiongnu can establish a country on horseback, but can we also establish a country on horseback? "

The more Junchen spoke, the more heated his tone became. He had been in Chang'an for two years, and these two years were also one of the fastest periods of development for the Han Dynasty. Steam engines were widely popularized, various inventions emerged one after another, new workshops were constantly built, the scale of industrialization increased rapidly, and the wealth of the entire society increased dramatically.

Some Junchen were like Li Hongzhang in later generations who came to the Kingdom of Hope, as if they had seen the future world. However, Junchen was different from Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang was just a quick visit, while Junchen stayed in Chang'an for two years. He understood the power of Chang'an City better and could feel the Han Dynasty becoming stronger almost every year. Junchen sadly discovered a fact that after the Xiongnu Kingdom fled to the Western Regions, the gap in strength between them and the Han Dynasty not only did not decrease, but was widening.

The Huns have not yet solved the famine problem, while the Han Dynasty is arguing about the welfare of craftsmen, the education of ordinary people, the prosperity of ordinary farmers, and even the pensions and unemployment benefits that are not moving forward.

You have to know that the Xiongnu Kingdom was a naked jungle law. Even the nobles were basically driven away by their own sons and starved to death in the wilderness when they were old. It was when Junchen's father Ji Zhou re-established the Xiongnu Kingdom in the Western Regions that the Xiongnu Kingdom finally began to support the elderly nobles, perhaps because of the Xiongnu population shortage, or perhaps because they wanted to learn the cultural system of the Han people. At least they could live to old age and die naturally. However, the Han Dynasty had already started to support these elderly people by the court, which showed its strong financial resources. The Xiongnu nobles were just at the same level as the ordinary people of the Han Dynasty.

But after he returned to the Xiongnu, he found that the efficiency of the Xiongnu's sinicization was not as fast as he had imagined. Most of the Xiongnu's reforms were concentrated in the military field. Within the Xiongnu, not even a main ethnic group had been established. In this country, there were Daxia people, Dayuan people, Kangju people, and Khotan people. The Xiongnu people only recognized their compatriots in the desert and did not recognize other races. The gap between the races was very deep.

The Han Dynasty was strong and developing rapidly, but during the three months he spent in the Xiongnu Kingdom, he found that the Xiongnu Kingdom had hardly changed in the three years since he left, and even the Shanyu City had not changed much. The Xiongnu Kingdom and the Han Dynasty were simply two different worlds. Such a strong contrast made Junchen feel urgent. Facing the increasingly powerful Han Dynasty, even the Xiongnu Kingdom, which was thousands of miles away, became unsafe. If he did not find a way to improve his national strength, the Han army might really cross the Western Regions to attack the Xiongnu.

Ji Zhou scolded his beloved general, "Don't talk nonsense about military and national affairs, and don't apologize to Junchen."

Although Xia Jie was unruly, he listened to Ji Zhou's words very well. He immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, Prince Junchen, but I'm doing this for the good of the Xiongnu. There is a powerful country to the west of the Xiongnu called Anxi. They are a great enemy to us Xiongnu. We don't have enough weapons and equipment to deal with such a powerful enemy."

Junchen said calmly: "The strength of a country is not only about its military. The military of our Xiongnu country is already strong enough, but now we need to make up for other shortcomings." After inspecting the steel plant, Ji Zhou led Junchen and Prime Minister Zang Yan back to the Xiongnu palace.

Ji Zhou asked Jun Chen, "How do you think the Xiongnu should develop their industry to catch up with the Han Dynasty?"

Jun Chen said: "We should learn from the Han Dynasty to establish the Shaofu and industrial zones. Now the Han Dynasty divides industry into light industry and heavy industry. Mining, steel and machinery are all heavy industries. These industries require high investment and strong technology, but the effect is slow, but they are the backbone of a country. If we Xiongnu want to be strong, we must develop these industries. The textile industry is a light industry. These industries require small investment, quick effect and high profit. We found that light industry can enrich the country. The Xiongnu country's heavy industry and light industry are two legs walking in parallel.

Since my father has already bowed to the Han Emperor, he should make full use of this advantage and send the children of the Xiongnu nobles to the Han Dynasty to learn industrial technology. This will not only make the Han Emperor feel at ease with us, but also allow us to learn the technology of the Han Dynasty. At the same time, we should continue to hire Han craftsmen with high salaries. The Han Emperor has always promoted the idea that the Han and Xiongnu are one family, and there is no need to be morally condemned for doing things for our own people. "

Zang Yan asked: "Are these people willing to come over?"

The Han-Xiongnu family is the moral foundation of Zang Yan and his people. Without this foundation, they would be traitors and the scum of Han civilization. However, the Xiongnu were the descendants of Dayu, one of the Five Emperors, and they were also one of the Chinese people. So the war between the Han and the Xiongnu was a contradiction within the civilization. So their assistance to the Xiongnu was not a moral flaw, but a normal flow of talent.

Jun Chen smiled and said, "It's different from the Xiongnu. It's very difficult to find a blacksmith in the Xiongnu, but the Han Dynasty has universal education. Every year, they have more than 100,000 high school students graduating, and tens of thousands of students graduating from colleges. Their income and treatment in the Han Dynasty are not as good as our Xiongnu. As long as you are willing to spend money, people will naturally be willing to come. These are talents with skills that can change the Xiongnu's national destiny. Recruiting them can speed up the Xiongnu's industrial development."

The reason why Junchen's fellow disciples were willing to follow Junchen to the Xiongnu thousands of miles away was because Junchen was willing to give them five times the salary and share dividends, which made them feel that there were better prospects for development in the Xiongnu.

State Prime Minister Zang Yan also said: "I still decided not to rush to develop industries. The most important thing is to lay a solid foundation for the Xiongnu. Now in our Xiongnu, there are more than a dozen languages ​​and four or five scripts. Even the communication text cannot uniformly convey an order. If you are not from the same tribe, you don't even know what it is saying. How can we exert the power of our Xiongnu? At this time, our Xiongnu should accumulate strength and educate our people."

After Ji Zhou came to the Western Regions, he gave administrative power to the Han scholars who followed him, especially when Ji Zhou decided to comprehensively learn the culture and system of the Han Dynasty and translate the Han language. Even the Xiongnu nobles had to find Han teachers to study the Han classics.

In the Xiongnu Kingdom, the status of Han people was even higher than that of ordinary Xiongnu people, and was only one level lower than the Xiongnu's military nobles. However, the status of high-ranking scholars like Zang Yan was only lower than that of Ji Zhou. It can be said that if they wanted political status, they would be given political status, if they wanted women, they would have women, and if they wanted money, they would have money. The treatment that far exceeded the standards of the Han Dynasty attracted a large number of scholars to follow the Xiongnu.

Later, Ji Zhou surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and Mohism also sent thousands of Confucian scholars to the Xiongnu Kingdom to educate the local people. Unfortunately, the time was too short and the results were limited. Only the upper-class Xiongnu people could communicate with each other in Chinese. But the Xiongnu Kingdom is still the same as it was thousands of years ago. The current Xiongnu is a more powerful version of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Of course, Zang Yan naturally did not know about the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but there were similar examples, such as the tyrannical Qin Dynasty. The Xiongnu Kingdom was not even as tyrannical as the Qin Dynasty. Although the Qin Dynasty unified the six kingdoms, at least the six kingdoms had cultural recognition. The current Xiongnu Kingdom was established by the Xiongnu people themselves after destroying sixteen kingdoms. The internal conflicts were more intense than those of the Qin Dynasty. It's just that Ji Zhou suppressed the entire Western Regions with his great prestige and the powerful military force of the Xiongnu people.

Moreover, there were people who advocated Sinicization within the Xiongnu, and naturally there were also people who resisted Sinicization. At the beginning, the Xiongnu’s high-level officials were composed of Xiongnu and Han people. Both sides had the same opinion on Sinicization. The military and political system of the Han Dynasty could significantly enhance the military strength of the Xiongnu and allow the Xiongnu to gain a firm foothold in the Western Regions.

However, being awarded titles based on military merit allowed a large number of lower-class people to rise up as military nobles, and as a result, military nobles from other countries in the Western Regions began to rise. However, Sinicization obviously infringed upon their interests, so they were very hostile to Sinicization in recent years.

Ji Zhou was also hesitant in his heart. The benefits of sinicization were very obvious, but it was not without flaws. The biggest flaw was that when all the Huns considered themselves to be Han people, if they encountered the Han army, the Huns would be in danger.

Although Chang'an City was tens of thousands of miles away from the Xiongnu Kingdom, Ji Bu and other Han princes were very close. If the Han Emperor armed Ji Bu and other princes to attack the Xiongnu, they would be in danger.

In order to maintain internal balance, Ji Zhou also supported the local people in the Western Regions to form a faction to check and balance the Sinicization faction.

Ji Zhou said: "Haste makes waste when it comes to educating people, so let's take our time."

Zang Yan said: "Chanyu, this matter cannot be delayed. If the Xiongnu want to truly lay a solid foundation for unification, the matter of education must be done quickly, and the sooner the better."

Ji Zhou: "The matter of great unification?"

Zang Yan said: "Great unification means the same writing system, the same wheel gauge, and a common purpose for all people, so that the Xiongnu can establish a foundation for a hundred years. Otherwise, the prestige of the Chanyu can suppress tens of millions of people, but if the Chanyu dies, I am only worried that the Xiongnu will perish in the second generation."

"The tyrannical Qin Dynasty perished in the second generation!" Ji Zhou has been studying the cultural system of the Han Dynasty for more than ten years. He has read the classics of various schools of thought, and he cannot put the Book of Shang Yang down. Naturally, he is very familiar with the history of the late Qin Dynasty.

After being reminded by Zang Yan, he suddenly realized that the current situation of the Huns was even worse than that of the Qin Dynasty. Although the Qin Dynasty was also a small country bullying a large one, the Qin people had always been a powerful country in the Central Plains. There were 500 million people in Guanzhong, while the Huns, including the newborn boys, did not exceed 30 people in total who became Huns due to their merits. This number was far less than the population of the Huns.

If after his death, the Huns were left without a strong leader, how could they suppress tens of millions of people?

The military official said, "Wealth is the foundation of everything. I was in Chang'an City and saw the tribal leaders of the barbarian countries in all directions paying tribute to the emperor. After arriving in Chang'an City, these people were reluctant to leave and insisted on staying in Chang'an City to live."

"why?"

"It's not that they really regard the Han emperor as a god, but Chang'an City is too rich. It is so rich that these tribal leaders are unwilling to return to their own territories. They would rather come to Chang'an City and become ordinary people."

The same is true for the Xiongnu. We will recruit those craftsmen who are willing to assimilate to the Han culture, give them high salaries, and let them live better than ordinary people. As long as the people of the Xiongnu want to live a good life, they will naturally take the initiative to learn the Han Chinese language and writing, and naturally integrate into the Xiongnu country. "

Ji Zhou hesitated and said, "What if Ji Bu and the others attack us?"

Junchen said firmly: "It is because Ji Bu and his men may attack us that the development of our Xiongnu cannot be slow. If the nobles of our Xiongnu country envy the life of the Han people, will they still have the will to fight? I am afraid that once Ji Bu's army attacks us, they will offer the heads of my father and son and claim to be Han people."

Junchen's words made Ji Zhou make up his mind.

The next day, in recognition of Junchen's contribution to the establishment of the steel plant, Junchen was named Zuo Xian Wang, his status as the crown prince was confirmed, and he was ordered to formulate the power to promote sinicization!

(End of this chapter)